Brothers

I often think back to the television series called Star Trek: The Next Generation. It was a TV series conceived and produced by Gene Roddenberry. In my opinion this TV series was his opus, his crowning achievement with regards to sharing his innumerable insights into the human condition. I watched the series fully through at least three times, and the last time I did so I made notes of all the wonderful quotes that were part of the character dialog. Sadly, when my wife and I did the “big clean” back in 2019, when downsizing for our upcoming move, I threw them out, along with so much more. I regret doing that now and again when I want to reflect back and find something I had made note of.

I am mentioning the TV series because I remember two episodes that sparked this article. They were back-to-back episodes, one called “Family” (S04 E02) and one called “Brothers” (S04 E03).

Family Story-line – Copied from IMDb
With the Enterprise in spacedock undergoing repairs following its encounter with the Borg, several members of the crew have the opportunity for shore leave. Captain Picard returns to his home village in La Barre, France to visit his older brother Robert, sister-in-law Marie and nephew René. He hasn’t been home in 20 years and has always had a difficult relationship with his brother who considered him a know-it-all; the captain viewed his brother as a bully. They ultimately find a way to get along. Meanwhile, Lieutenant Worf welcomes his adoptive parents, CPO Sergey, and Helena Rozhenko, on board the Enterprise. Worf still feels the sting of his dishonor on the Klingon home world and his parents know he is hurting. As for Wesley Crusher, his mother gives him an old holographic recording his father made just after Wesley was born. – garykmcd

Brothers Story-line – Copied from IMDb
En route to the medical facility at Starbase 416 to obtain urgent treatment for a child who has been injured, Lt. Commander Data inexplicably hijacks the Enterprise. He transports himself to a planet and finds his creator, Dr. Noonien Soong, alive and well. Data has no recollection of events prior to arriving on the planet. The elderly doctor has activated a homing device in Data as a way of bringing him home. They are both surprised however when Data’s brother, Lore, also appears. The Doctor had no idea Lore had been reactivated and the homing signal intended only for Data obviously called Lore home as well. The doctor tells them that he is dying but that doesn’t stop the brothers from bickering. The reason the doctor called Data home was to provide him with a new chip to give him emotions. Lore has his own plans, however. – garykmcd

As you can see, both episodes talk about family and brothers. Both have a lot of good things to say and although I could talk about both, I want to focus on brothers since I am very familiar with that as I am 2 of 3 in a in a family of 3 brothers. Dave (66), Don (64), and Doug (59). Did you notice my Star Trek: Voyager reference with my 2 of 3, like 7 of 9, one of the characters in the series. 😊

Before I get into the nitty-gritty of what I want to say, let’s think about both fictional and non-fictional brothers we have all known and heard about over the years. I bet that had I not indicated my age above; you would have been able to guess it based on my list. Not in any particular chronology, my list is as follows.

Fictional

Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe – Bonanza
Kevin and Wayne – The Wonder Years
Greg, Peter, and Bobby – The Brady Bunch
Keith, Danny, and Chris – The Partridge Family
Frank and Joe – The Hardy Brothers
Vincent and Julius – Twins
Frazier and Niles – Frazier
Tyrion and Jaime – Game of Thrones
Jake and Elwood – The Blues Brothers
A.J. and Rick – Simon & Simon
Data & Lore – Star Trek: TNG
Jean-Luc & Robert – Star Trek: TNG

Non Fictional

Wilbur and Orville Wright – American aviation pioneers
John, Robert, and Ted Kennedy – American politicians
Groucho, Chico, Harpo, Gummo, and Zeppo Marx – American comedians
Albert, Sam, Harry, and Jack Warner – movie producers
Michael, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy, and Dennis Jackson – musicians/singers
Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb – musicians/singers

Being brothers is a very interesting concept. In my case, there are three of us who all share the same family bond and we have spent much time with each other over the years, especially in the growing up years; not so much now due to the different locations we live, but we talk lots on the phone. It is also interesting to note that although we do have that family bond and share that time together, we are not people we would have necessarily chosen to be friends with if we had been from different families and only happened to meet at some point in time in other circumstances, like school or as coworkers. This is due to the fact that we are just so different from each other, and in part, due to our various ages.

My older brother, Dave, is seventeen months older than me. We are almost Irish twins! Dave was the first born and, based on pictures I have seen, was cherub cute. When Dave was in school, he played a bit of hockey, played in the school band, and was quite popular, as far as I know. Dave received a diploma in auto mechanics after high school but moved into a completely different field right after, without ever working as a mechanic. Dave has spent most of his adult life in the sales arena in some form, be it as a sales rep, or as a district sales manager. Along the way, Dave acquired a certificate in business and took other online classes to better himself. Dave was married for a number of years and produced two wonderful children. Dave has two grandchildren. The first thing I think about when I think about Dave is what a great friend he has been over the years. In my opinion, Dave is an extrovert for the most part, and proud of it. Note that Dave lives in Calgary, Alberta

I am the second child to be born into my family, so that makes me the middle child. When I was in school, I was involved in very little. I was in Cubs as a boy, but nothing labeled as school activities, especially in high school. Although I had friends, I was not one of those considered popular, like my brother Dave was. I have had a varied work life over the years with the last 25 years spent in the world of CAD and design. I have spent more time being self-employed than I ever did as an employee. Although I do not have a degree or diploma in anything, I did take some Social Work classes at one point in my life to see if that was a direction I wanted to travel. I have been married to my wife, Denise, for 37 years, but we have been together for 40 years. Denise and I have one child and two grandchildren. The first thing I think about when I think of myself is what a hard worker I am, and how creativity is the driving force in my life. I consider myself an introvert. Although I get along with people, I prefer to be alone, and work alone, although I am always happy to have my wife along for the journey. She is my person, as that saying goes! Note that I live in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

My younger brother came along 5 years after me. He would be the last of us boys. Doug was very quiet in school as well. I believe he played the trumpet in the school band for a short while and outside of school he was in the Saskatoon Boys Choir for a while. Like me, Doug had friends in school, but was not part of the popular crowd. After high school, Doug went to modelling school and although he did not do that as a career, I did note that Doug appeared in the occasional catalog and flyer in those years. Eventually, Doug made his way into the world of not-for-profit charitable organizations where he helped people in need. Doug has a Bachelor of Arts degree, something he pursued over the years, so that he could apply for better paying jobs in the same field. Doug is married and does not have any children. Doug once told me that he works to earn money for the next trip. As such, he and his partner travel far and wide, as frequently as they can. Doug is also involved in local theater and opera (choral). The first thing I think about when I think of Doug, is how funny he can be. He was never the class clown, but when together with his friends and family he can have us all rolling on the floor with laughter. I consider Doug an introvert with a slight tendency toward extroversion. In other words, I think Doug likes the introspection of being introverted, but can make himself extroverted so he can pursue the things that interest him. Note that Doug lives in Chestermere, Alberta, just outside of Calgary.

I should mention that I see my brothers and I as very well put together with a healthy mental state arrived at by a lifetime working towards that.

One of the things that fascinates me about brothers, or even sisters, for that matter, is that we perceive things or events that occurred in our family differently. I guess the view from where we stand (age, maturity, phycological filters, etc.) is relative and that likely explains it. While thinking about this, I imagined the three of us as the three monkeys – hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil. When I showed a preview of this concept to my wife, she said in jest, that I was, or should be, the speak no evil due to all the stuff that comes out of my mouth. 😊

Clip Art created by Don Cheke

Because Dave and I are/were closer in age we grew up with, and identified with, many of the same things.  When we watched TV shows or movies like Simon & Simon, Frazier, and Twins, we always tried to peg each other with which one we were more like. As for Simon & Simon, Dave was thought of as A.J., while I was thought of as Rick, mostly due to the 4X4. As for Frazier, I guess Dave would be Frazier, while I would be Niles, but only just. Of course, we argued who would be Vincent (Danny DeVito), and who would be Julius (Arnold Schwarzenegger) in Twins. Dave would insist that I got all the junk DNA, while he got all the good stuff! LOL! Perhaps you remember that very discussion from the movie itself!

Both Dave and I loved George Carlin. All through life we said that George was our role model, as our father left us when I was 9 years old. We learned all his lines and used them appropriately all through our lives. I can still recite the seven words you can’t say on TV, and much more. Back in 2008, Dave emailed me and said that Dad had died. I knew without hesitation that he was referring to the news of George Carlin’s death.

In the original non-fictional list above, I mentioned brothers who obviously worked together, e.g. the Warner Brothers. My older brother, Dave, often teases that we should have opened a business together called, “Three Guys Plumbing.” I thought about foregoing the clip art for this one, but I couldn’t resist the temptation to do it, bum cracks and all, leaving nothing to the imagination!  Dave would be the sales manager, Doug would be the public relations manager, and I would do all the fieldwork.

Clip Art created by Don Cheke

One last thing about brothers. One can buy them a gift that might say, “you’re kind of a dick,” and you know that everyone involved knows that it is in fun and out of love, that we do so. When I was on a holiday, I spotted such a gift and gave it to my brother Dave. I could not remember what brand it was or what it looked like, so I created my own 3D model and render of something similar just for this article.

Breath Mints Tin modeled in TurboCAD and rendered in KeyShot by Don Cheke

That brings us to the end. I hope that you found some amusement in what I have written, and ignited some thoughts about your own brothers, if you have been fortunate enough to have one or more.

Donald B. Cheke – March 11, 2024

6 thoughts on “Brothers

  1. I’m a 1 of 3 aged 66 , I have a brothers Dave who is 64 and Brian who is 60 (Brian turned 60 only last week). Perhaps you should do a blog on coincidences?
    Thick a thieves as kids, and always fighting about something or covering for each other. We still get on great and because we live within a mile of each other keep close contact.

  2. I have one sister and we got along pretty good, especially as we grew older and matured. Family videos of us two when we were little leave me disappointed because I didn’t seem like a very nice brother. My sister is a year and a half younger, and our playing together showed that she had to endure some rough play like getting pulled around too fast in a wagon and getting sprayed with a garden hose. We learn a lot about life growing up with siblings. I can better see now how important family relationships are and how I could have loved my sister as a brother should. Rebekah was always a loving sister despite the difficulties life and family brought.

    It is interesting that 14 chapters of the book of Genesis are dedicated to a story about brothers (chapters 37-50). That’s more than 25% of the first book of the Bible. It is a story about favoritism, jealousy, cruelty, suffering and Divine guidance, providence, and reconciliation. It reads like a good novel with gripping twists and turns. A thought-provoking part of the story are the seemingly harsh tests of conviction and opportunities for character building that Joseph sent his brother’s way. It makes me wonder how I would perform in a similar situation. We all hope that we would respond like Judah and choose to selflessly love our family.

    (Last paragraph removed by administrator due to topic beyond the scope of this blog)

    1. Thanks for taking time to comment Gil!
      It is definitely nice to have the wisdom of age, knowing that we might have acted better in our youth had we know what we do now.

  3. I love your reflections Don and have very fond memories of much that you describe!

    As the younger brother indicated in this article, I would like to officially thank both you and Dave for protecting me from a school bully who traumatized me for two years in elementary school. I distinctly remember my beloved brothers confronting my bully at Wiggins Park in Saskatoon and making it clear he was not to bother me again! He never did! As my protectors I am ever grateful! Not only did they model how to confront someone, they did it without any threat of physical pressure. Words were all that was needed here!

    1. Thanks for taking time to read and comment on this blog. You are a very good brother, always have been! I am glad that Dave and I were able to help with the bully business.

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