HB, TN!

Today is August 17th and it’s my brother’s birthday. My kid brother, by 23 months. He comments here as Toluca Nole. He lives in LA where he is pursuing his dream of acting, while working in the industry. His job forces him to keep odd hours, so we don’t speak much by phone. We e-mail a lot though. I don’t know what I’d do without e-mail.

He and I are very close. (My whole family is close.) Growing up in a military family, moving from duty station to duty station, siblings are the only guarantee that you’ll have anyone to play with. There is great security in family.

He’s an extraordinarily creative person both acting and writing. He is an excellent writer, educated in thus, although that is not the trade he is plying now. I am thoroughly amazed at the things that pop into his head. Whereas I can only write what I perceive, he can both create works of fiction as well as write with regard to what goes on around him. He can change his voice into various accents, whether it be Scottish or Spanish or French. I can do one… American vernacular.

He is the traditionalist in our family, which we love to tease him about. My Mom doesn’t dare not serve cheese grits with ham on Christmas, because that is tradition! All it takes to become a tradition in our home is for something to have happened once and for everyone to have enjoyed it. Then it’s BAM!, instant tradition. Poor Mom. And my brother seems to have become the tradition policeman.

He loves my boys and they love him and when he sees them twice a year, the big thing is for him to play jokes on them while they’re sleeping. One time they woke up and he had toilet papered their bed. Another time they awoke to their beds full of raw egg noodles. They don’t quite get his sleeping habits as he usually gets in at 4AM and sleeps till Noon, prompting Son#2 to say one day, very seriously, “Mom, I don’t think Uncle is human, I think he is really an Owl.”

His first movie with a part came out a few months ago! We were so proud. He had one line and we all went to the theater on opening weekend to see it. The Great Omnipotent One timed his line at 3 seconds, and we all have his line memorized. “Hey, you can’t take that car! Its Mr. So and So’s!” His line is with a very famous actress and to me that made it even more cool. He was bummed his line was short, they had cut one of his scenes, but I couldn’t be more proud. People would say, “Was it a good movie?” and my reply has been, “Of course! My brother was in it!”

So Happy 37th Birthday, Little Bro! I love you.