Today would have been my brother’s 57th birthday. Ken was the best brother anyone could ever ask for. He had this laugh that was so unique, you couldn’t help but laugh along with him. I might not even think the particular situation he was laughing at was funny, but I always laughed too because his laugh was contagious.
Ken was born almost four years after me. I remember thinking that I wanted my mom to come home from the clinic where he was born, but not my baby brother. As you probably know, I was jealous. I was the center of attention up to that time and my mom and dad always made me feel so loved. At four years of age, I didn’t realize that my parents had more than enough love to give me and my brother.
We had a great childhood without too much drama. Kinda like one of those television shows such as Leave It to Beaver or Andy Griffith’s show about Mayberry. If we weren’t in school, we were at our Granny’s house or at church. Playing under the shade tree at Granny’s, riding bikes, or with our mom in the cotton fields. We even had a great dog that would lay in our yard near the road every afternoon just waiting for us go get off the school bus. I’m so thankful for the loving home our parents provided for us.
My brother absolutely loved playing with his toy trucks. He had many trucks that he played with almost every day. There were dump trucks, delivery trucks, tractors, and many other types. I remember many of them were Tonka trucks and he even had a toy truck that was like the ones used at the airport for picking up luggage. That truck even had several pieces of plastic luggage for pickup and delivery. One time my brother became very sick with a fever and my mom wanted to help my brother feel better. So, what did she do? She went out into our yard and dug up some dirt, put it in a box and brought it inside for my brother to put his toy trucks in and play.
My brother was the best guy. He would do anything he could to help people out. At one point in his life he worked for a local contractor in their electrical and plumbing shop. After hours he would go to elderly people’s houses and wash and clean out their window air conditioners. He helped many friends do the electrical wiring in their barns or shops and never expect to be paid. He helped friends in his spare time when he was off work from his job. As that old saying goes, “he would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it”.
One morning my mom called our house and told us that Ken had died. We were in shock! How could this be? Today is Valentine’s Day! A day to share love, not a day to mourn. He was fine yesterday, but gone today. Ken had died of a heart attack at the age of 42. The best brother anyone could ever hope to have. He was also my best friend. Forty-two years of life…gone in an instant. How I cherish all those memories we had together. The fun and excitement of just normal things like riding bikes, fishing, camping, joking, and him picking on me. I remember it all, especially the love, and the laughter accompanied by that huge smile!
Happy Birthday, Ken! I love you and miss you!
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