My Brother Chuck

My other brother Larry did a tribute to him yesterday, or maybe the day before.
It got me thinking about Chuck. Chuck is really quite a guy. He's been the butt of many of our jokes. I asked myself why, and maybe it's because he's man enough to take it. Or maybe it's because we are constantly trying to get even with him. I don't know. I just know, when it comes down to it, I know I can count on him, when others may decide they have bigger fish to fry.
I remember in 1971 when another brother (Don) passed away. I was overseas, stationed at a Navy base in the Phillippines. I was searching for some reason God would want to take a 25 year old school teacher. Somebody who had more friends than you could count and not an enemy to be found.
Chuck wrote a letter that made the whole thing come together for me. It wasn't that Got wanted to take him away from us. We had each other. God was taking Don away from the pain and suffering he was going through. He had lived a complete life. We stopped and counted the things he had done. Things like, riding a raft down the river with a couple or three of his friends. What it boiled down to, is that there are gray haired people who have lived less of a life then Don.
It's not like I don't still love Don. It's just that I've learned to cherish the memories.