Los Hermanos

For Joel -

Who complained that I don't post about him, and for Jon-Pow who doesn't even bother to comment on my blog.

Since we were but wee lads, my brothers and I have all had our own fairly unique characteristics.

I was the clever, handsome guy that all women dreamed of dating......(others might have referred to me as a nerd w/ slight athletic capabilities in soccer), I 've always enjoyed sarcasm to a fault, and I'm something of a misanthrope.

Jon-Pow has been singing since he developed lungs..... he's always been into acting, and always had a strange attraction to cattle.....

Joel has always been into music (he took break dancing lessons when he was little), he's been in choir etc, and now he DJ's.

So my brothers have different things that they're into - and these characteristics definitely dominate their personalities....... but they have hidden qualities that you might not pick out from my brief description of them.....

For instance: Jon-Pow, while being an extreme extrovert in most instances in his life he actually has a shy, self-doubting side to him which crops up when he's faced with various obstacles.... and his passion for all things dramatic is graciously subdued in the face of real need..... Let me give an example, I briefly dated someone who I'm confident will never read this blog.... she was an actress - and as a result displayed no range of emotion, and as a side-effect I could never tell what she was feeling...... Jon wears his heart on his sleeve.... you know when he's disappointed, you know when he's hurt, and you know when he's happy. But when people really need someone to be there for him, like his friend Andrea, he'll step up to bat and forsake the things he's going through to help others. I think he's a talented actor, but I'm very glad that he's a real person.

Joel is the epitome of care-free.....not that he isn't something of a worry-wort, but if he wasn't so lax in his persona the stress of life might drive him insane. I'm reminded of a poem I quote often (Ulysses - Lord Alfred Tennyson) "I shall live life to the lees, all times I have enjoyed greatly and have suffered greatly both with those who love me and alone." Joel's a guy who rides out the storms with people. He's very laid back, he'll talk to anybody about anything, and he's one of the most unassuming people I know.... he has friends all over the social spectrum.... let's put it this way, he wouldn't fare well in a caste system society. Joel has the remarkably unique gift of being able to genuinely care about people in a self-sacrificial way (which causes him lots of grief because people abuse that attribute constantly). Joel really cares about his friends.... he's fiercely loyal.

Then there's me......I'm not sure how the three of us came to be the people who we are..... Jon was always into acting, Joel was into all things music, and I was into rocks. Nonetheless, I'm grateful to have unique brothers who challenge me in different ways.... they have different life experiences which sharpen me and make me a more rounded individual and I love them both.

And now.... a limerick:

There once were three Umbriaco boys,
Sitting in their rooms playing with their toys,
Joel with some glow sticks,
Jake with his rock picks,
And Jon-Pow just making some noise.