I Remember When…My Brother Said “Drop That Louie”
For the last two weeks, I have featured a new series titled “I Remember When…”. This series retells memories from my past along with any reflections that go along with the story. Last week, I shared the story of our families big move to the east coast. And two weeks ago, I recalled the time when I first learned to ride a bicycle. Today, I share a story that has been tucked back in my memory bank for years.
For as long as I can remember, I have loved my brother, David, but I haven’t always been the best at showing it. In fact, there were times when I was down right mean to him. I’m not proud of the way I treated him on several occasions – like the time when I was seven years old. We lived in Wheaton, Illinois, and we had a couple of big maple trees in the backyard. I had a friend, Jeff Jankowski, over after church one Sunday. We had two rakes and a yard full of leaves. Being older and stronger (at the time), Jeff and I naturally took the rakes and used them to rake up a huge pile of leaves.
At some point during the afternoon, my brother who was five at the time grew tired of being left out of the raking. At first, David asked us repeatedly for one of the rakes. When this didn’t work, he resorted to trying to “steal” one of the rakes. As each moment passed, he became more and more frustrated. Finally, David had enough and he burst out one of the funniest statements I have ever heard: “Drop that Louie!”. He was so mad. Jeff and I stood there stunned holding our rakes next to the leaf pile. We weren’t sure whether to be scared or whether to burst out laughing.
I don’t exactly remember how the altercation ended, but it seems to me we were laughing too hard to be angry with my brother. David has always had a way with words. He could always be depended on to grab the spotlight with a funny joke or story. Meanwhile, I was always the serious kid who was bent on over-achieving and protecting my spot as the oldest sibling.
I regret my behavior towards my brother when I was younger. Thankfully, I have had a chance to apologize to him for the “sins of my past”. We’re still very different people today. He’s a Packers fan, and I’m an Eagles fan. We’re also polar opposites when it comes to politics. But we have learned to love and respect each other. And we share a common bond in Christ. I’m so thankful for my brothers!
Do you have any siblings? What kind of relationship do you have with your sibling? Do you have any funny stories that involve your siblings?