Today is my brother Jason’s 34th birthday and I wanted to make sure and wish him a happy one. My brother (on the left) is a little over 2 years younger than me and looking back over old pictures today I had many fond memories of the good times we had together as kids. Sure, we fought like all siblings do, but we enjoyed hanging around with each other and playing games together.

We grew up initially in a trailer court and then moved to a small housing area in the country. There were few television channels and even when cable emerged it wouldn’t reach out that far so we were used to making up ways to entertain ourselves. We ‘invented’ a game we played frequently called ‘ship-a-boat’. This was essentially us using our beds or the furniture as boats from which we would embark on high seas adventures. How we ever came up with that name I’ll never remember but the family teases us about it today. Don’t misunderstand me, however, we still watched alot of television!

I’ve posted on this blog and others that many of the things that I am nostalgic about today, The Muppet Show, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Night Gallery, are all programs that I watched with my brother and my memories and fondess for them are inextricably linked with Jason. Jason and I watched many a test pattern together in the mornings before cartoons would come on!

I love my brother very much. He was more than a brother growing up, he was a friend. We shared a bedroom, we worked jobs together, and we had many, many good times together. One of my lasting memories of Jason happened just before I moved to Tulsa to go to college. In high school we didn’t spend nearly as much time together as we had our own friends, and jobs, girlfriends, etc. Jason took me to the local mall and bought me a really nice pair of name brand tennis shoes as a going away gift. He purchased them with his own money that he had earned at his restaurant job and they were the first pair of truly ‘name brand’ shoes that I ever owned. This really touched me deeply and I’ve never forgotten it.

My brother lives in Nebraska and I don’t get to see him as much as I’d like to. We still have a tremendous amount of fun when we get together. My brother is a movie trivia wiz and is an absolute blast to play games with. He has a great family and I miss them all very much. Happy Birthday Jason, I hope you have a terrific day and know that your older brother loves you very much. I’m proud of the man that you’ve become.