My Brother

This a TMI, personal post. I have a story about my brother...and how he taught me to stay focused in the face of danger. He was the danger. I'm a little annoyed about it today because I just learned he tells the story as an example of something great he did. He laughs and is proud. Here's the story.

I was 12 and about to join my first little league baseball team. To prepare for that, my friends and I formed mini-teams to practice. We played in a rocky field next to the neighbor’s house across the street. The field had been the staging area when the house was built and there were lots of rocks and small pieces of cinderblock. You didn't dare slide during the games.

My 15 year-old brother was a real sports nut and often served as the umpire when his team wasn’t playing. During one of those games, the neighbor’s son hit a ground ball to me. It hit a rock and bounced away. For some reason, my brother went berserk that I didn’t catch it. He wasn't even on my team, he was the umpire!!! He ran over to me and started yelling. Then I made a big mistake.

Fights with that brother were common. He had a bad temper and you never knew what would set him off. I knew we were about to fight and thought, “here we go again". During the time it took for me to have that thought, I sighed and rolled mys eyes—for just a second. When I looked back, my brother had already reared back and was throwing the ball at my face as hard as he could. Since we were only 5 feet apart, I didn't have time to react. The ball hit me in the middle of the forehead and I dropped over backwards like a tree falling. I'm not sure what happened next. But apparently the neighbors (Mr. and Mrs. B) chased my brother off and helped me to my feet. He wasn't allowed to return—ever.

I thought maybe he told people the story as a form of confession, maybe he felt guilty. But his wife assured me that wasn't the case...he thinks it's one of the funniest things he's done. It was probably the hardest shot to the head I ever took from him....so, that's funny???


PS - He started a lot of fights.  Since he's 3 years my senior, I was at a disadvantage until I was about 15.  At that point he learned not to start trouble with me. When I was practicing driving at 16 I accidentally hit his car. Rather than starting a fight, he decided to run into the house instead. It took him a few more years and a trip to the hospital to learn he shouldn't start fights with strangers. My brother!