I Declare This to Be 'Brother's Day'

Or, it could be "Sister's Day." Just as long as it's one or the other, or better yet, both.

See, I don't have (any more) a mother or father, so that leaves me with nobody to say nice things about. You people with mothers and fathers get to say all kinds of nice things ("taught me everything I know"; "taught me stuff I didn't want to know", etc.). Now then, if we had a Brother's and Sister's Day, most of the rest of us could roll out our platitudes.

My brother, Richard Lee Maudlin (aka Dick Maudlin), is entirely worthy of praise. For one thing, he used to write on our little church envelopes his name: "Dick the P." I giggled every time he did it.

Another time, some neighborhood acquaintance wanted Dick and me (ages 7 and 6) to take down a neighborhood bully and make him say uncle. So we squared off. The bully had me in a bad way, but brother Dick was on his back, pulling his hair. So he "uncled," and we each got 5 cents for a fudgesicle. (Big money in 1936.)

When we were about 11 and 10 and visiting our Grandfather down in New Pine Creek, we went fishing in Lily Lake. I caught a fat 12-inch rainbow but couldn't seem to haul it in. My brother stepped in the water, grabbed the fish and took it up above an old downed Ponderosa pine. You got a brother who will walk in the water for you?

In high school there was a thing called the Grahlman Award. It was given to the senior who was judged best in his class in football, basketball and track. No student had ever won in two different sports; my brother was judged best in ALL THREE. You got a brother who walks on water?

Except for mostly some broken attempts at a higher education in Eugene and Salem, my brother went back to Bend and lived there the rest of his life. He retired, then decided to run for County Commissioner. He had never run for much of anything. But it was almost no contest, two elections in a row. I think he cures people, too.

Now Dick has some form of cancer. He's in the second round of chemotherapy. Naturally, he's winning. He always won.

Happy Brother's Day, Dick.

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My favorite word today is solutions. N., liquidity. Def.: The reason there are problems.