Remembering Glenn

There were only six years between me and Glenn.  But somehow he always seemed so much older.  He had different friends, different interests, and had moved ahead of me in the growing up years so quickly.  As I reflect back over those years, I remember…

He played with cool toys like legos and lincoln logs.  He shared his toys with me and my sister at Christmas, since his stuff was so different than ours.  I remember playing with his hot wheels track and a mini air hockey table.  He liked science fiction shows like Lost in Space and Star Trek.  He had friends in the neighborhood that would ride bikes together before I could even balance without training wheels.  His easter baskets always contained white chocolate, since he didn’t care much for milk chocolate.  Some of his favorite things were lemon meringue pie, steak and potatoes, and Mountain Dew.  Glenn had an artistic flair – one I wish I had.  He was good at sketching and drawing.

He loved music, classic 70’s rock and roll.  He played the trumpet in the high school band.  He was an avid Eagles fan.  I have memories of him picking me up from school and blaring the radio SO loud, pounding on the steering wheel and singing along to the music.  Before I could even think of driving, he had a job at a local pizza shop delivering pizzas.  Finally when I was old enough to drive, Glenn (& my sister) took me up to the junior high school parking lot to practice and then out onto the roads in our little suburb.  He laughed as he coached me how to stay on my side of the road.

He once brought home a lost and scared siberian husky, and somehow convinced my dad that we should keep her.  Glenn loved to play games.  We spent many nights playing cribbage, 500, hearts, spades, you name it.  He also enjoyed badminton.  I remember playing with the family on many a summer night.  The birdie would inevitably end up on the roof of the house, and he and dad would somehow get it back down so we could continue to play until the lightning bugs came out and it was too dark to play any longer.

He had a girlfriend before I ever entered my adolescent years .  Her name was Kathy, she was his high school sweetheart and he married her.  Together they shared 25 years of married life and had three beautiful children, my niece Krystle and my nephews Shawn and Robert.  I regret that their years together on this earth are over, but pray that they will cherish many family memories together.

We have a pillow in our house with a sweet little saying on it.  I think it is appropriate as I remember Glenn, and I hope it will be true for my two sons who will be brothers for life.

“A brother is a lifelong friend.”

Though we didn’t always agree on everything Glenn, you were a lifelong friend, one that God put into my life, always older, always going before me.  I will miss you my brother and my friend.