You be Tails, He'll be Sonic, I'll be Knuckles

I am my brother's keeper.

Being the middle child has some awesome perks, it makes me a "little" brother and a big brother simultaneously. Even though I'm twice both of my brother's size, I do look up to Jesse and I try to set the example for Alex as best I can. My simple statement about my two brothers is only I'm permitted to fuck with them when they are wrong or being stupid, no one else. Anyone else tries to fill those shoes that are outside of my family is going to get the piss slapped out of them. As a trio, we definitely compliment each other quite well. Jesse would have to be most intelligent and witty of the three of us, Alex is the critical thinker and is a sponge when it comes to learning things, and I seem to be filling the role of the more physical and out-going brother. But fortunately all three of us possess the intelligence and common sense to make things work for us.

I'm especially proud of Jesse, especially after finding out we would have yet another awesome addition to our family, my future sister Nicole. I met Nicole at a bar one night in Patchogue when Jesse brought her down, and immediately knew that she was special not only to Jesse, but possessed her own hidden strength that I can sense every time I am around her. She's an amazingly beautiful, kind and warm-hearted woman that deserves the best from Jesse and from the rest of my family. Although I haven't spent nearly as much time with her and Jesse as I should have in the last couple years, every time we have spent together me and Nicole have always gotten along like we have been siblings for years. She indefinitely is the cheese to Jesse's macaroni.

Growing up with Jesse as my older brother involved a tremendous amount of friction at some points, but at the end of the day, if you can't figure out how similar me and Jesse are personality wise, you are Helen Keller. We had our differences in the past sometimes, but even before Alex was born me and Jesse were inseparable, we both had the same interests when it came to games, sports and friends. Especially once BatMUD came around, me and Jesse both started playing about the same time and even to this day we still play it occasionally. I am thankful for that game, as lame and addicting as it is, it's my number one source of communicating and virtually hanging out with my brother. Yes, Me and Jesse are nerds motherfuckers. We both still play Pokemon on our computers, and we're addicted to good RPG video games. Go ahead and Judge me, and I'll kill you. The most recent of our endeavors together is when Jesse and Nicole came down to Atlantic City and I met up with them there to hang out with them there the weekend before I left for Afghanistan. Even though we were just playing poker and hanging out, it's another memory that I am glad to have spent with my brother. (-300$ USD = Bad beats).

Now for the little guy, who evidently is growing some peach fuzz on his upper lip. I became an older brother at ten years old, something that I had always wanted to be. Once Alex came into the family, I spent most of the years when he was an infant to a toddler with my little brother. I can't tell you how many times I put that kid to sleep in order to use my mom's computer for like 30 minutes. Alex is a combination of both me and Jesse, he is both mentally and physically intelligent. I harp on him for being lazy, especially when my parents ask him to do something, and I definitely harp on him doing well in school, avoiding making the same lazy mistakes that me and Jesse had made in high school. I remember one specific thing that my mother told me that made me realize that Alex is going to be just fine, One day she calls me and tells me that Alex got in trouble on the bus. I soon came to find out that he punched some kid for pushing a girl on the bus, good job kiddo. Setting the example for Alex over the years is sometimes a bit difficult because of my age and what I'm involved in, but I hope that some of the drive and determination that I have Alex can emulate in some of the aspects of his life. He's a good kid, and I'm glad he has a solid relationship with both my mother and my father, and has gotten to spend a lot of time with them since I've been gone.

"I sought my soul, but my soul I could not see. I sought my God, but my God eluded me. I sought my brother and I found all three. "

Long live the Lionhearted.

S/F
Rob