Camp Fires

I have an older brother who is 5 years older than me and a cousin who is 4 years older than me. I also have myriads of sisters (6) plus a younger brother but this isn't about them. These two were basically hell on wheels, and when they got together it only got worse. Of course I was the victim in many of their misdeeds because I was younger and for some strange reason, wouldn't rat them out. My cousin is now a fugitive of the law, I think they want him in 4 or 5 different states mostly on drug or DUI charges, my brother was smarter, he grew up.

I'm reminded of one of my first childhood memories of the two (my brother and cousin) together. See we went to dad's house on the weekend. And our cousin, my father's sister's kid, liked us, plus I'm sure she couldn't wait to get rid of him, so anyway we were all at my dad's house, except my dad wasn't because he was going out... if you know what I mean. (the night time was his time, during the day we were all his)

My father left us in the care of older sisters. I was probably 3 or 4. Anyway these two geniuses decided to make a camp fire, in my father's bedroom closet, with his Playboy magazines. Can you imagine??? I was in the room because my sisters had their boyfriends over or what ever. And I can hear them with matches... MATCHES, trying to start a fire. At some point they went to a lighter, and I remember seeing a flame along side my dad's dresser. Lucky for everyone that this two idiots couldn't get anything ablaze... this time.

Well my oldest sister comes in to check on us and.... she says "I smell smoke" she then calls my other sister and confirms that yes, she too smells smoke. The "I smell smoke" thing repeated again and again. I mean so much so that it's a bit of joke all these years later. "Do you smell smoke? I smell smoke. What about you?" "No I don't smell smoke." Maybe the beating they got from it just made it even more memorable or maybe it's just me.

Really, my childhood would probably not win any awards. Often times I got beat on because of something my brother did, or everybody would get a beating, sometimes for nothing. Then again, he might not do anything, and that was why my brother was always willing to at least try anything, because you really didn't know what kind of reaction you were going to get out of the old man.

But I love my dad, and he was going through some things, mainly my mother leaving him, that I couldn't fault him for. Back to my brother, it's crazy to think about now, the egging houses, the ummmm knocking on doors (racial slur, involving the "N" word), the bottle rocket wars, the making of bombs, Setting all kinds of things on fire, not to mention all of the grief and physical harassment brought on me, that I even lived to make it to this point.

But it makes me who I am and I don't think I'd change anything... well maybe not so much trouble from my cousin, but really I don't even think I've seen him in 15 years, so even that I wouldn't change.