Because there is such a gap between my brothers and me, I don't have a whole lot of memories that do not involve them giving me bruises. By the time I was old enough to have lasting memories, my brothers were all at the age where they were hanging with their friends and being a little more independant. For some reason, memories of Jim are hard to come by.
Jim is my middle brother, seven years older than me. Often cranky and mischievous, he filled the role of Middle Child perfectly. He demands that you walk on egg shells while in his presence even today. However, His quick temper is outshone by his quick wit. Jim is the family comedian and risk taker. Be it sending away for a ventriloquist dummy as a child to learning how to SCUBA dive as an adult, Jim is always up for the next challenge.
Jim served as the little devil on my shoulder. He encouraged me to bring out my devilish side on more than one occasion. Most of the time, the angel on the other shoulder won the fight. One time, though, Jim set up a fight between me and my neighborhood best friend. He wanted us to duke it out so egged us on until we ended up in a full blown fist fight. My neighbor went home in tears and I earned some brother bragging rights. Did I mention that the neighbor I sent home crying was a boy? My brothers sure were proud of me, but I couldn't say the same for myself.
My brothers and I used to always take baths together. You can see by Jim's little grin that he is likely withholding that blue toy thing from me probably trying to get me to cry. But as you can see, I was all smiles.
I wonder how old we were when we stopped taking baths together. At least my mom was nice enough to cover up the important parts for a photo.
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