Who Do I Think I Am??

This one's about the brothers.

THE PROMPT: "Tell us about your siblings: How many sisters and brothers in order and tell us a story of you and your siblings. If you don't have any siblings of your own, tell us about some siblings in your life."

Good evening folks! I hope everyone's enjoyed themselves today...I know I have, and by "enjoyed" I mean "spent closing a store on a slow night". Yeesh. At least I get tomorrow to relax a little.

So I could sit here and kill a couple minutes talking about my four siblings, but let's face it, none of us are really that close anymore anyway, so let's bend the topic a little, shall we? Who am I ever not one to do that?

Sometimes in the travels of your life, you meet a lot of new, interesting people. And we all know people come and go in our lives. But sometimes you reach that magical connection with people in your life that, no matter what happens or changes or gets thrown your way, these people are always gonna have your back. You're not just friends with these people; they're family to you.

I'll never forget the day I moved from my mom's house to the next village over and into my dad's house. I was 17 and it was the day before I was to graduate high school. It was a whirlwind week of finishing packing, exams, and shuttling back and forth between houses. Things were so miserable back at home that I had even considered moving during the school year, and I had a lot of friends and cousins at the other school, but I didn't want to change districts in the middle of my last year. I stuck it out, and by June I was spending most of my free time away from home.

In February I picked up a job at the local Arby's. I hadn't started college yet, and since I was 18 I could work any shifts and such, with no restrictions. Usually I worked during the day through the lunch shifts, and I'd leave around the same time the night crew came in. Some days, this dude would walk in, he'd nod a hello at everyone, and sit in the lobby having a smoke or two and listening to the music pumpin' through his headphones before he started his shift. I'd get to know him better on the days where I'd work the 11am-7pm shift. We'd chat a little...he was friendly and personable, and very polite for a 16 or 17 year old; I was a brash, outspoken pain-in-the-ass 18 year old. His name was Dave. You may recall me referring to someone as my boy DMFM. That was him.

We started hangin' out after work or on our days off. A couple of us that worked together did. We'd go bowling (we even joined a league and won a championship once) or out for coffee or just drive around. And we'd talk. We would kill pots of coffee at Perkins some nights, meeting up with other groups of friends. Sometimes we'd know one side of the entire restaurant. Those were good times.

Through DMFM, I met one of his good friends, my boy Adam. Adam and I were friends, but not as close back then. Adam's always been a great dude, but there were stretches that I'd only see him if we were going to the same concert together. And I've never had a bad time with Adam at any of the shows we've gone to. It's only been within the last few years that Adam and I have been hangin' out more and more, doing things besides concerts. Helping each other out, hosting parties, or just getting together for Sabres games. We both, in fact, (along with DMFM's brother and another mutual friend) we stood up as groomsmen in DMFM's wedding last summer. And since then, I've seen Adam a lot more than I've seen DMFM...but that's what happens when you're married I guess.

The point is, I love those guys. We've all been through so much together, so many things that we've all seen each other through at some point in our lives. I've known these two for more than half my life, and they're not just my friends. I proudly call them my brothers, even if we're not related. All of the holidays, marriages, funerals, births of other friends' kids, concerts, games, nights out, nights in, stories created and recreated years later, that's got the same place in my heart. They will always be there for me like I am for them, and just like our unofficial motto, I suppose...through thick and thin.

MUSICAL BREAK!!

My brothers are huge music junkies just like me. We've all at some point or another turned each other on to different bands and singers at different times, even though our tastes were all over the place. I wouldn't have found a lot of my favorite artists without them. I can thank them for some of these tunes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbjqruCITIU&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtRkpk67wG4&feature=plcp&context=C4b1f6efVDvjVQa1...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCwTdw6JSFY
"We're loyal, like brothers, just us versus all the others."

VITAL STATS:

I was at work and decided to check the score of the Sabres game. They were down 3-0 already in the first period, and they can't afford to lose the rest of their games now. I was pretty bummed. As we were walking out, I remembered and figured the game (and the Sabres' playoff hopes) were over. I locked up and checked again...they won 6-5 in overtime! Whoo hoo! Must've been a freakin' amazing game! Two more chances to clinch this thing before the regular season's over. Let's do it boys!

And that's all I've got for tonight...better hurry up and get this in the forum before the clock strikes midnight and it turns into something that you'll just wind up reading later anyway. Peace, and GOODNIGHT NOW!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8T095mFdW8