Monday, November 11, 2013

Veteran's Day: My Brother the Marine

I photographed this today because today is Veteran's Day and my brother is a Marine. 

As a child he survived being told he is offspring from aliens, ice water baths and feathered in baby powder, being tied up to perform Houdini escapes from ropes and locks, double-dared and accepting: to tumble in an empty dryer, repel from a second and half story deck with only a rope around his waist, drink special concoctions made with the ingredients of Dr. Pepper and Tabasco for him to hold down and digest, timed obstacle courses, sliding down the stairwell in a slippy sleeping bag, and surviving twisting rope swings holding on and navigating with only one arm while being targeted, bombarded, and deflecting Nerf balls, soccer balls, and footballs. 
I'm pretty sure that the childhood MarineBrother had with me as his big sister and EngineerBrother as his big brother was a much more rigorous training than bootcamp could throw at him. If not, it was one helluva preparation for the USMC. 

What is amazing is that as a child as well as in adulthood, he never turns away from a challenge and always yearns for more adventures. Because of this he is such an awesome person and excels at his job. Last week, MarineBrother earned The Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal. That's a big deal! 

Not just because today is Veteran's Day and he is a Marine but every day I'm so damn proud of my brother! 

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