We celebrated my brother turning the big 5-0 tonight after church services. I wrote this for him and thought I would share it so our family who wasnt able to be with us can read and hopefully enjoy, and to give everyone a laugh to start your week… Growing up my big brother Todd has taught me lots of things! 1. He taught me how to have fun/look foolish…he was always the leader when we would dress crazy and have parades in our front yard, most of the time making our little sister Stacie the Grand Marshall… as long as she would ride in the wagon, lol! 2.He taught me the humorous approach of dealing with greedy people. We would attach fishing line to an empty wallet, place it out in the road and hide in the barn until someone would stop to pick it up. By the time they stopped, backed up, and then got out to get the billfold, we had pulled it back in toward the barn and they would get so mad! 3. He encouraged me to use my imagination while doing chores- way back when, it was legal to burn trash. Anytime we would go burn trash and there was a newspaper in the trash we would unfold it and lay it over the fire and Todd would hum the theme song of the show Bonanza as we watched the fire attack the newspaper, just like the fire burned the map each time as the show Bonanza began. 4. Growing up with an older brother taught me bravery, of course! If I wanted to be brave like Todd and his friends I always had to do what they did…and NOT cry! To be tough like them I let him melt one of his plastic army men and let a drop of the hot wax fall on my hand…and I didn’t cry! 5. He proved his desire to protect/serve others after an accident while climbing a hill across the road from our house. I fell down, rolled down the hill and was knocked unconscious. Using sticks/twine Todd and his friend tried to make a stretcher to carry me off the hill. It took them awhile to do this and I woke up before they got it finished! 6. Todd also taught me that he is NOT Tarzan! He was bravely swinging on a limb using the sound of Tarzan…AHHHHHHHH, that turned immediately to OHHHHHH when he fell and broke his arm :P 7. He taught me that when something good is going on you need to share it with others. At 4:00 each evening Todd was the neighborhood announcer that it is time for Mr. Cartoon!!!!! He would stand on our front porch each evening and yell CAAAAAAARRRRRTOOOOOOOOONS!! And we would all come running! 8. He taught me that when something bad comes your way….just DUCK! Dad had built two additional bedrooms little by little. He had recently put up the doors and we heard many, many times how expensive the doors were and didn’t even have doorknobs! One day Todd made me mad so I picked up a shoe and through it at him. He ducked, and the shoe went right through that expensive door that dad had just put up. Still remains up today…we just hung a mirror over the hole. During our Teen Years we weren’t as close…typical teenagers, I guess. However there were some things about Todd during these years that I will never forget.. Little Debbie was his first love – You know, the Little Debbie snack cakes…Todd always used his money he had earned to buy snacks and hide them in his room. And no, he NEVER shared! He loved watching TV- Todd would be so quiet when a show was on, but when it came time for a commercial he would become an airplane, car, siren, something noisy, when he would get up to go through the house making one of these noises…still does it today…I swear! MANY THINGS HAVE CHANGED OVER THE YEARS: 1. The front/side yard where we had our parades looks totally different now. 2. The barn that we hid in to play the billfold trick is basically where the garage to my house is now (so I guess we still could hide out and do that! LOL!) 3. It is no longer legal to burn trash in the backyard like we did and use the newspapers to be like the burning map at the beginning of the show Bonanza, but no matter, Bonanza and the song is long gone too, 4. I do still have the scar of bravery on my hand where I PROVED to Todd that I was as brave as he was! 5. The future volunteer fireman, who built a stretcher for his patient, is still serving in that capacity today…thankfully a little faster and more efficient, lol! 6. Tarzan’s training tree had to be cut down last year due to damage from storm. 7. He still has the loud voice that announced the cartoons many years ago, just not quite as energetic as he was back then! LOL! 8. Though he taught me how to duck when someone throws a shoe at ya, he didn’t learn that lesson totally, but cause he hasn’t been able to duck the arrival of old age! AS WE HAVE AGED WE HAVE ALL CHANGED… The one who encouraged me to burn myself with melting plastic in our younger years is the same one who… Would do anything he could when Dad was so sick. He would do whatever we asked him to help, whether it be with dad, or our kids, or something for Stacie and I, he would always do whatever we needed. (of note, he is also the reason why St. Mary’s took DOWN their suggestion boxes! He filled every box with suggestions every day when dad spent several months in the hospital! After awhile, the suggestion boxes disappeared!) He’s the same one who, during my 1 ½ years of nursing school would say he was just coming over to eat ice cream and watch NCIS with Katie, but what he truly was doing was easing my mind that someone was with her every Tuesday night that I was away at school. He’s the same one who was the young paramedic who tried to build a stretcher for his sister, and still serves on the Salt Rock Volunteer Fire Dept. today, always looking to help others. Well Todd, though you failed at being the next Tarzan, you have grown into a pretty nice fella. Thanks for all of the lessons you have taught me. Happy birthday! Love you!
Posted on: Mon, 25 Nov 2013 06:25:54 +0000
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