Leon, My Brother
When I was a kid, I couldn't believe my luck at having Leon for a brother. He could do everything better than anyone else. In my eyes he was the best looking, smartest, strongest, and funniest guy on earth. We may have had a pretty unconventional childhood, but oh my goodness, there never was a dull moment.
If I wrote all the stories and good times I had with my brother, I'd fill up the World Wide Web, so I'll just hit on a few. For instance..........................
All the times we sat on our PaPa's back porch and smoked his corncob pipes. He would fill and light them as long as we wanted to smoke.
All the times we sat on our MamMa's front porch eating watermelon and shooting the seeds at each other. MamMa was the best shot.
Running wild with our cousins, Lowell and Freddy, at the ranch and going to the cellar every time a "bad" cloud came up. We loved it. Aunt Bonnie always brought something good to eat and Uncle Alton always had several great stories to tell. We used to go to the old watermelon patch, bust one open and eat it with our bare hands.
Visiting our Aunt Polly in Henrietta and playing at the old depot with our cousins Tony, Gary and Dicky was always a treat (cousins Steve, Perry and Connie Jane came along later). We would put pennies on the railroad tracks and wait for a train to come along and flatten them. Sliding down the slide at the old courthouse downtown was so much fun.
Leon liked olives but didn't like the pimentos. I loved the pimento, so my brother would suck out the pimento then give it to me to eat. Since I've grown-up I've often wondered why I didn't think to be the one sucking out the pimento. Another treat was putting peanuts in our cokes. It's a wonder we didn't choke to death.
When we were 9 and 12 Wichita Falls had the biggest snowstorm ever. Leon and a friend decided they were going exploring and, of course, I begged to go to. They didn't want me tagging along but, as usual, my brother gave in. We ended up in a field about a mile or two from the house and started sliding down a hill. All of a sudden I fell into a snowdrift. Leon and his friend had to dig me out. I was almost frozen solid and scared to death. My big brother picked me up and carried me all the way home. He never stopped once. I think he was as scared as I was. What a guy!
Oh, by the way Judy, did we ever tell you about the time we lived in that little two room house on a dirt road? The rent was $20 a month, bills paid. We were about 6 and 8 at the time. Well, this old house didn't even have running water or a bathroom. The neighbors (I think they were the landlords) lived next door and they let us run their water hose through our kitchen window. When we needed water we would have to go outside and turn on their water hydrant. Mom used to heat water for us so we could take a bath in an old wash tub. There was an old chicken house out back that we used for an outdoor toilet. The old wallpaper was dinghy and peeling off the wall and Mom never noticed that Leon was writing his spelling words on it. She must have really thought he was improving scholastically when she called out the words and he spelled them all correctly every time. Mom took in ironing to make ends meet. I can still remember going to bed in one room and Mom up ironing half the night in the other room. It was at that old house that I almost lost my little toe. Leon found a hatchet and decided he was going to cut off a tree branch in the backyard. When he climbed up that old tree I, as always, was right behind him. We were sitting on this limb and he was chop, chop, chopping away and I guess my foot got in the way because that hatchet laid my toe open, chopping my toenail in half. To this day, I still have two toenails on my left toe.
The girls always loved my brother. In fact, I can never remember my brother being without a girlfriend when we were growing up. I had always liked his girlfriends before so, when I was about 13, I didn't know why I felt an immediate resentment towards this curvaceous brunette beauty he brought home one day. Maybe it was the way her dark hair fell over one eye, the way she filled out a sweater, or her seemingly over confident demeanor. I remember telling him once, "The only reason you like her so much is because she's so sexy looking". I knew she meant trouble - my brother was head over heels in love. Anyway Judy, forgive me for all the times I was rude to you on the phone, all the times I tagged along on your dates (I made him promise not to kiss you in front of me), and especially for the resentment I felt that you were taking my brother away from me. Life gave me four wonderful brothers that I love dearly and Leon gave me you, my sister. No sister ever loved her sister more than I love you. .
When Carl and I married we couldn't go on a honeymoon because our old car could just barely make it across town. In fact, we had to tie the passenger door shut with a piece of rope. Well, we did go on that honeymoon after all - Leon and Judy took us. The four of us had a ball! Then twenty-five years later we all four celebrated our silver anniversary together - in Hawaii! Wow, what a trip that was!
Our children, Chris and Kelli, adored him. They have many precious memories of their own to share about their Uncle Leon.
My brothers love for his wife and children had no boundaries. He once told me that Judy was as close to perfect as a woman could be. I've never known two people as close as they were. No wonder they have such great kids. I love Jamie and Brandy so much - just like my own.
Here it is a half century later and I still can't believe my luck at having such a wonderful big brother. I know that Randy, Nick and Mark feel the same way - he was our Bubba. We were blessed, as was everyone that knew him. I think the reason everyone loved him so much was because he loved them so much. He had a way of making everyone feel "special". He was so close to God on earth and I know he is with Him now in Paradise.
Good-bye my precious beautiful brother.
Paula