Sibling Survival
I am the only girl and youngest of 3 older brothers. That birth order alone set my life in a certain direction. Growing up, my name was...
"Harvey, Kevin, Steven... AMBER!"
It's hard to get much past a mother of Irish descent, although she definitely has Yiddish qualities. If you're lost, please do a cultural review or just move on to the next paragraph if you don't care. She was also a sister to 12 siblings. No, that's not a typo... 12.
My daddy was a pastor with a great sense of humor and the patience of a saint. He had one sibling, his sister, Betty. He loved mom's siblings and enjoyed being part of her large and shall we say, LOUD family.
You see siblings have to survive as parents learn how to parent. If something gets broken, everyone is guilty, until the culprit folds. My brothers were excellent "non-folders."
Bullies at school, no problem! Go grab your sibs, you'll take that other kid down in a minute. No one fights with you or for you like your sibs. I remember one time at school, a teacher grabbed my hand and starting pulling on me (he would be arrested today!). My brother Steve saw him from across the hall, ran over, and jerked the teacher's hand off of me and said, "don't you ever touch my sister!" At that moment, Steve was my defender. Of course as soon we got home, he became my offender. He would "frog" me until I cried.
Bullies at school, no problem! Go grab your sibs, you'll take that other kid down in a minute. No one fights with you or for you like your sibs. I remember one time at school, a teacher grabbed my hand and starting pulling on me (he would be arrested today!). My brother Steve saw him from across the hall, ran over, and jerked the teacher's hand off of me and said, "don't you ever touch my sister!" At that moment, Steve was my defender. Of course as soon we got home, he became my offender. He would "frog" me until I cried.
My brothers and I survived a few things:
No car seats, not even enough seats in the VW bug!
No childproof caps
A couple of house fires, with maybe one smoke detector if we were lucky
TV's on TV trays
Taking rides in the dryer
No baby monitors
No bike helmets
Guns in the house
Only 3 channels on TV
13-19 inch TV
No VCRs, computers, Wii, PS3, but if you were lucky... ATARI PacMan!
Oh, the list goes on and on...
My brother Steve died June 15, 2006. No one can replace a sibling.
As time has passed, I don't think as much about his death, but about his life, his survival, our survival... SIBLING SURVIVAL!
Steven Patrick Best #3 sib
12/05/1968-06/15/2006
Harvey Jackson Best, Jr.
The oldest of the sibs
Kevin Wayne Best
#2 of the sibs
Notice a theme?
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