Those of you who live anywhere near Lamar County probably know that my brother, Brad, is running for re-election of County Attorney. He was appointed the position when Dawn Beam was elected as chancery court judge several months ago. He has done an excellent job, and I have been to proud to call him my brother. With all the focus on him right now, it only seemed appropriate do a little post on Brad, or as we liked to call him, "Buckwheat"...
- Brad is 3 years older than me and of course I looked up to him. He let me follow him and his friends around all over Lake Serene. I would keep my distance a few steps behind, but I was always there. This once led to me being locked inside a dog box (the kind you put in the back of a truck to go hunting), and we had to holler until someone heard us and come let us out. It felt like eternity, and I think it may have been the better part of a day! But hey, at least I didn't miss out on any fun!!
- Brad was known to get in "vacation mode" and this is documented by a picture of Brad when he was about 3 at the beach with a pair of sunglasses on with one of the lens missing. This was the first real vacation my parents took us on, and they said he cried the whole time and would not remove the one-eyed sunglasses on any circumstances. Too much excitement I suppose. I remember a similar experience when we were a little bit older, in Gatlinburg, and my parents wouldn't let him go fly in the wind-tunnel. Of all the things to do in Gatlinburg, weren't they silly not to want to go flying? It ruined his trip. Don't worry... I think he has outgrown the vacation mode, right Janice?????
- If you look closely, you will see a scar in between my eyes. I won't go into the details... but this involved Brad, cupcake holders on my eyes, and a sharp corner.
- He was such a sweet big brother, he would even fill my bottle with milk for me... even if it was buttermilk.
- My best friends growing up were 2 little boys who lived across the street, Ryan and Evan. Brad would organize competitions for us... but somehow he never competed. He was the "judge". This involved seeing who could drink out of the water hose the longest at the neighbors house (sorry Mrs. Gerry), who could hang the longest on a tree branch, and who could roll down a hill the fastest. I think he may have gotten the better deal out of these "obstacle courses".
- Brad was feeling really froggy one day, and had a big idea that he could ramp off of a culvert on his bike (the same hill involved in the obstacle courses), but it didn't work out as planned. I remember running home to get mama. He had a face full of blood, and he had a red scraped up face for several weeks.
- When we got a little bit older, Brad decided he was going to take up Spanish. This was after the long-lived obsession with the Civil War where I was drug to Civil war reenactments all over the state. Anyway, I have a haunting memory of Brad speaking in Spanish the whole way to Gatlinburg. And I mean the whole way, that is 10 hours. My parents were threatening him by the time we got there, I even remember what his colorful textbook looked like as he read through it and spoke his "fluent" Spanish.
- When we were about 10 and 13 (I think), my oldest brother, Greg, played college football in Arkansas. We rode to Arkansas every weekend, and I know the pair of us were so pleasant. We would decide that when we wanted to nap, one would get to lay on the seat, and one on the floor. He somehow convinced me there was more room on the floor, and there I laid, on the hump. Apparently the click it or ticket law was not in effect then!
- I have been told that when I was sleeping as a child...I could be found yelling out "Stop Brad"! This was also one of the first sentences my niece, Kaylon, learned.
I could go on for days with memories very similar to these, but I won't. Even though Brad was known to be a stinker as a little boy, he has grown up to be someone I admire and look-up to tremendously. Brad has always been a model student, and I think a lot of his stinker moments come from him being so smart. Even if you tried to dig up some dirt on Brad, you couldn't find any. He is one of the most thoughtful, warm, caring grown men I have ever known. Brad was the one who introduced me to Civitan camp when I was in high school. This is the week-long camp where you care for a child with mental disabilities. Brad was the perfect counselor and the pet of the staff, he always got the most severe campers and made their week the best. Brad loves his family, and is very loyal to all of us. I remember in Sunday School at Westover Baptist, I would cry every time my mom dropped me off. Guess who would come sit through my entire preschool class... Brad! He also was the one who told me I was crazy when I started to doubt Santa Claus (even though he knew the truth).I'll never forget his concern and thoughtfulness when Janice was in the hospital having Ryleigh, her was so worried about his 2 girls and was the proudest daddy on Earth when she finally got here. A few words to describe the Brad I know... smart, thoughtful, hyper, silly, sensitive, genuine, and the best big brother I could ask for. He has taught me so much, and been a best friend to me. I love you, Buckwheat, and wish you the best of luck!
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