Sunday, February 15, 2009

Why Marvin is my favorite brother!

Here is a photo of my two oldest brothers. Marvin on the left and Robert on the right. Today I am going to tell you why Marvin is my favorite brother.
He was my parents first born child. He had a twin sister that did not survive. They were born early and at home. Marvin weighed around 3 pounds according to my mother. He was very vulnerable and lucky to have survived during those meager days. They wrapped him up well and kept him near the stove. I think I heard he slept in a dresser drawer that was set on the oven door. He is 17 years older than me. He left home before I got to know him very well. He quit school and joined the service before he had a chance to graduate. My first recollections of him are when he would come home for about a month at a time "on leave". It would take me the whole month to finally get comfortable with him. He always had a camera on him and took pictures of all of us kids. I always hated having my picture taken. We had to look to the sun and I would always squint. He was very good and generous to my mother. He helped her pay for the farm that we lived on. He sent her money every month from his checks. He was very outgoing and made friends with everyone he met. One time when he came home he hitched a ride with a couple who none of us knew but he had my mother get up in the middle of the night to feed them before they left. He always seemed to want to help everyone. He gave money to anybody who had a hand out. He was married four times before he found the right woman for him. With Tomsy he seemed to find religion which has served him well over the years. He never had children of his own but has a church family that he adores and vice versa. He is my favorite because he is so vulnerable and sensitive. He is a kind man and very generous. He is forever giving money for this church or that. He also has a thing about buying stuff and then giving it to you whether you want it or not. He just wants to be giving to someone all the time. He also can drive me absolutely crazy. I think he misses growing up with all of us. We are becoming more close over the past few years. My hope is that he will move back to Wisconsin.

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