Brothers

In my last blog, you met my brother Joey.  He is the oldest of the boys, and at 57 says I am the only one still calling him Joey.

In this blog, I would like to introduce you to my brother Frankie.  He is the second of my three brothers, and yes, I still call him Frankie.  Frankie has a wonderful jolly personality.  If you hear him laugh, you automatically find yourself laughing.

All brothers have times of challenge and my brothers are no different.  The three years that separate Joey and Frankie are enough to let them be friends; but close enough to torment one another.  Don’t all brothers do that anyway?

I remember Joey had a Volkswagen Beetle.  It most likely was his first car.  Picture this; a rope going from the hood under the car to trunk and then over the roof, somewhat holding the car together as the ends tied on the hood.  Tied dyed shirts were the fad at the time; but his was the only tied down car I ever saw.  In addition, the vehicle stalled on a regular basis, which required a push to pop the clutch and get it going. 

One early chilly morning, Joey was ready to leave the house for school but was unable to start his car.  He came into the house to get Frankie to help him by getting into the family car and giving him a push. 

Frankie was slow to rise.  So naturally, he was slow moving when Joey called him into service.  Frankie would help anyone, even his tormentor.  So Frankie got up, dressed, and put on his jacket to go out and help.

Frankie got into the family Studebaker and started it up as Joey got into his Beetle.  You can tell by the fact that the family car was a Studebaker, how long ago this event happened.  Unfortunately, Frankie did not give Joey a gentle push.  It wasn’t intentional, but he gave the car a bit more gas than necessary, which caused the vehicle to jump forward, ramming into Joey’s car.

My sister Nikki and I stood in the window watching and could not help but laugh.  In his younger years, Joey had a tendency to overreact.  Turning red faced and jumping from his car, he headed for his rear bumper to inspect the damage.  Then Joey started towards Frankie in the other car with his red face and yelling that Frankie had hit his car too hard.  Frankie sat in the Studebaker laughing but taking the precaution of locking the car door.  Joey, not deterred, ran for the other door.  Frankie reached over and locked that door as well.  No automatic door locks in those days.

Joey must have felt like the wolf in The Three Little Pigs story.  He was certainly huffing and puffing.  He wanted to get his hands on Frankie so badly.  Frankie just sat in the secured car laughing as Joey went ballistic.  The funniest part of the entire event was Frankie, being the jolly person; we saw his shoulders shaking with his laughter.  This of course, was not helping Joey who by now was running late and worried about a dent in his bumper.  How could a person be upset about a ding in a car held together by a rope?

My brothers had their fair share of childhood ordeals; but they were good brothers.  Unfortunately, the years and miles have separated all of us.  However, when we do get together we love to reminisce about those younger days.  This is one of the stories we recall and results in Frankie again laughing until his shoulders shake and all are laughing with him.

I hope we never forget those great times, which is one reason I write.  I also encourage others to take the time to record your memories for your children.  I am sure Frankie’s daughters will get a laugh out of this episode.

Jan