Happy Birthday today to Burl’s younger brother, Ed. Burl and Ed are shown here a few years ago and I’m happy to report that thanks to their prowess as sharp-shooters, the town of Clinton was free from invasion while they were kids (ages 7 & 3). 
I won’t tell you how old Ed is today but let’s just say I wish him good health for many years to come since he’s now part of the government’s healthcare entitlement for seniors!
Burl and Ed love to tease each other about their birth order much as my older sister and I used to do – and since history often repeats itself, Tammy and Ralph also indulge in this kind of banter. Tammy insists we should have left well enough alone after we achieved perfection with our first-born while Ralph says we obviously didn’t get it right the first time and had to try again!
I’m the younger sister in my family so I can certainly relate to Ralph! My sister Susie and I engaged in sibling rivalry as long as she was alive although we certainly mellowed as we got older. I thrived on being the bratty little sister known for such anctics as practicing the “Wedding March” on the piano when she and her boyfriend (who later became her husband) were in an adjacent room – and that was just one of my milder stunts!
I recently found this photo of us taken when she was 9 and I was 4. I didn’t remember it but I now have it framed. 
In case you can’t figure it out, I’m the really cute one on the left looking totally angelic and mischievious at the same time – a talent I acquired at an early age and used to my advantage as long as possible. Sadly, its usefulness ran out on me!
Susie died in 1996 and I miss her to this day and regret that I didn’t tell her often enough how important she was to me. My daughters, my nephew and I share fond memories of her and she will forever be frozen in my mind lounging on their deck at the Lake of the Ozarks reading a book with a cigarette in one hand and a drink in the other.
If you’re blessed to have a brother or sister, savor the moments and don’t forget to tell them you love them – even when they are acting unlovable!
