Joseph Butcher
brother
And now, I'd like to introduce my "little" brother. By "little", I mean that Joseph came along, chronologically, after me. If I had could find a handy digital photo to compare his size to mine, you would see that he got more of Mom's corn-fed genes than I. Yes, the fact is I'm the runt of the litter; Russell and Joseph are both "bigger" brothers.
Sauntering ever so awkwardly past my size hang-ups, we move back to Joseph.
In the early years, I was amazed to have a brand new brother! I marvelled at his growth as a human being; I just couldn't get enough of seeing how a baby turns to a toddler, etc. I was very excited about helping to learn. Mom always prompted me to help teach Joseph about anything and everything that I could. We had even learned a little sign language to expand his communication skills.
I also got to learn a whole lot about being responsible for my own actions and to see how those actions would be mirrored in the behaviors of my little brother.
Joe turned out to be a pretty smart kid (and now a pretty smart dude) and I got to learn a whole lot about human learning and responsibility -- pretty cool trade, if you're asking.
(The sad twist here is that we lived in a horribly backwards school district that instructed my Mom to STOP teaching him at home.)
So, Joe also turned out to be a pretty funny guy. As a kid, he always preferred the silly to the serious. He always tried to keep things light and make anyone and everyone around him smile. As an adult, though I don't get to spend nearly the amount of time with him as I would prefer (he lives in PA and I in TX), he's still trying to keep it light and makes folks happy.
Seems like a natural brother for the likes of me!
This week Joseph celebrates a birthday. So, wish him a great day and a good year!
Happy Birthday, Joe!
Thanks for being a great brother! I love you!
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"The world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing."
~ Albert Einstein
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