Walden Ponder

The Other Brother

---

Last month I wrote about my bigger little brother Mike. It is only fair that I point out that I actually have another brother, also bigger than me, Billy. The thing about Billy is that he is sort of like a little kid, but all grown up. It’s great.

To best explain my big brother, it is reasonable to start with his freedom from high school. He absolutely hated school. The thought of continuing education wasn’t even on the radar. I may be exaggerating here, but it seemed like within a week of getting his diploma he was shipped off to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for boot camp.

After finishing boot camp Bill was sent off to Korea for a bit. He wasn’t much of a fan but at least it was doing a job that he wanted. From there he came back stateside before shipping off to the desert we call Afganistan or Iraq or both or wherever he wasn’t able to tell us he was blowing crap up. He kept pretty tight lipped about his life overseas, always claiming that his life 24/7 was classified and could not be disclosed.

That was the brother that I knew. I mean, we were proud of him and all. He went overseas and kicked ass while dodging bullets and getting blown up himself. He survived with all limbs in tact so it was cool. Aside from a little ringing in one ear he dusted himself off and did some heroic thing, I’m sure.

Then he did it. Billy got married. It was a little weird hearing that he was engaged and getting hitched later that year, before I had met Felicia. It turned out to be a good move and Felicia makes a fantastic addition to the family. She also makes these little red potatoes with cheese that are among the most delicious things I have ever tasted. I give both of them crap on a regular basis about being married, but it seems to make them happy. Mother was thrilled to finally have another female in the family, potentially to take her side once in a while.

Bill and Felicia got hitched in podunk nowhere, I mean Spokane Washington. From there I think they moved to Milwaukee and eventually down to Texas so Billy could take up his new career. He’s a federal peace officer, but I’m not allowed to talk about specifically what he does. It’s not as restrictive as double secret probation, but he does prefer to keep it out of the public spotlight.

I was giving them a hand moving from Milwaukee to Texas or maybe it was from Texas to Milwaukee or even possibly back from Milwaukee to Texas. The two of them can never make up their mind. Sometime in the process of moving I came across a plastic tub, not a small box, of medals, awards and letters of recommendation that Bill had received over his career in the Air Force. None of these achievements or recognition had he ever mentioned before. We knew that he was special forces and probably doing a good job, given that he came back alive, but I had no idea that he was consistently a top performer and awarded for his superior performance. He doesn’t like to talk about it, being proud and all, so I thought that I would talk about his achievements and how proud of him I am.

Even in the current job where he encounters the very real possibility of dodging bullets, Billy is consistently recegonized for his skill and achievements. As much as he hated high school and made us to believe that he wanted to cut corners by skipping college, he has proven just the opposite with his track record in the armed forces and federal service. In fact, having gotten to know Bill since he has come back and been married, he is pretty much the last person I would expect to cut corners or half-ass a job.

These days Billy is still trying his best to look as badass as possible in a different desert, rural Texas. He and Felicia are planning on a family and have a boxer puppy (Miller) with explosive energy. He does a good job playing big brother and I am confident that there is very little I could not rely on him for. He would be there in a pinch.

Should be exciting to see how he handles kids. If you saw him with his dog you would understand. Miller knows better, but if Billy is around he knows that it doesn’t take much to hop into bed, get a few extra scoops of food when Felicia isn’t paying attention or as many obnoxious squeaky toys as Bill can sneak in.

I’m proud of you too, big brother. Just don’t expect me to babysit.