BROTHER DAN

My littlest brother, like me before him, was married at a young age. Now, we all know that the younger your are, the harder the path.

One night I was visiting my Mom and she got a phone call from him to please come pick him up. He was leaving his wife and never going back! When she brought him to the house, he had all his belongings packed in two small grocery sacks. When he started to unpack, we all began to realize that he only had underwear and jock straps (he loved to play basketball). By the time all three of us were done heaving with laughter, he was looking sheepish and missing his wife terribly.

The phone call that followed to his wife was groveling if I ever saw it. He didn't even really spend the night. The car pulled up and he ran right out and jumped in. We never did ask what damn fool thing he did to make her so mad.

By the way, they have now been married for over thirty years, have two kids and four grandkids. They are doting, hands-on grandparents.

We went back to visit a couple of years ago and they are supposed to come out this next summer. They still take some pretty good swipes at each other and they are fun to be around. His wife plays straight man. It's like having your very own traveling comedy club. I'm looking forward to it.

Tomorrow or tonight, I will talk about the time he came out for my daughter's wedding.