Oh, Brother.

Like many people, siblings are an extremely important ingredient of my family unit. I only have two but I have the best of both worlds: a brother and a sister. I couldn't have asked for more.

Recently I was reading through an old book a teacher had given me for my eighth birthday. It was called "My Writing Book"... or something. It's made up of writing prompts followed by blank space on each page. I noticed that a common theme in my writing was my feelings of disdain towards my siblings.

One prompt:

Sometimes people use metaphors to describe things. One example of this is "It's raining cats and dogs." If you could have any kind of weather, what would you choose?

My response:

I would like the wind to be strong enough to carry away littel [sic] brothers and sisters.

Another prompt:

However old you are you KNOW a lot of things! THINK about some of the things that you know, and WRITE about them.


My response: That brothers and sisters can be a pain in the neck, and that moms are good cooks but I never knew why. I know about some wired animals.


What was I THINKING? Childhood would have been so bland without other little people to share it with.

Siblings are the spice of life!



Here I am shoving my brother, Kai, down a hill.

My sister, Alexis, and I with similar hairs exchange icy glares.

"Sibling relationships - and 80 percent of Americans have at least one - outlast marriages, survive the death of parents, resurface after quarrels that would sink any friendship. They flourish in a thousand incarnations of closeness and distance, warmth, loyalty and distrust."

--Erica E. Goode, "The Secret World of Siblings," U.S. News & World Report, 10 January 1994

Child's Play

My sister recently discovered an old journal of hers from when she was in grade school. Some of the pages were guided with “would you rather” questions and “favorites” sections, etc. Here are some of the highlights, without edits:



“my favorite sandwich is liversausag because live and bread taste good together.”





“on vacation i played video games and watched my hamster die.”




“my favorite character is the cookie monster because i like cookies too.”





“no i would not like to be a dentist because if i break there gums, ill be in trouble!”





“i would rather be tigger than winnie the pooh because hes not as werd.”




“i would rather be an ocean because you can be foamy.”





“i like snowboarding on my snowboard. mostly i wipeout but who cares.”







I admire her honesty.

I can't think of a smaller or heavier word than "no." So much power is held between two letters. I feel like this word sounds like it should be short for something- something much harrier.

Perhaps it is used so regularly that it is good that it be short.                                                  

There is a house in my hometown that puts up a particularly elaborate display of Christmas decorations each year. One year they got stolen. The homeowners placed a sign in their yard that read, "Merry Christmas to those who stole our decorations." They were anonymously returned the next day.

Reunion

This is the sad version of a happy story.

Last week, I was walking through Long Beach Airport when I noticed a guy from a news station standing around with a pretty hefty duty camera. Being the nosy person that I am, I protruded further into this environment to see what kind of hub-bub was brewing. I came to get to listening to a woman who says she was there with her daughter, thirty years of age, who was about to greet her biological father for the very first time. She went on to explain that his flight would be arriving from Oregon shortly, and that they will actually be getting married after being apart for many years. The families that they have been raising separately will be united at last.

A great story, warranting a news station, to be certain. I expressed my congratulations and joy for the woman and mused over the situation in my head for a bit. Having always been a fool, it does not surprise me that I then exited the scene to go wait at my own gate to board my plane... MY OWN DIGITAL SLR IN TOTE. I am working towards a degree in photojournalism. CLEARLY I should have waited for that embrace to ensue! How lovely that would have been to capture photographically! Me, oh, my.

To make a short story long, I sat at my gate for close to an hour. No iPod. No book. Just staring at randos like a damn fool. Bored. Should have been snapping up great shots of two related strangers cryin' hysterically, wrapping their strange arms around each others strange backs. I didn't even realize my mistake until I was actually on the plane. Just a fool. On a plane. Bein' a fool. Forever.

Luckily, me missing out doesn't make it any less meaningful for them. Watch the video and read the story here.