Deb Weir’s My Brother’s Secret Life, Adventures in the Heartland

My parents needed a break from the constant battling between my two younger brothers. Dad was so embarrassed by my brothers’ constant fighting that he runaround the house slamming windows shut. 

 “Be quiet! The neighbors will hear you!” He tried to protect his reputation as model parent and church leader. Furthermore, he was the drum major in a bagpipe band that raised money for Shriners Hospitals for Children. He had to protect his image as a lover of children … even his own.

However, one day the boys fought viciously on the front lawn. Dad was so mad that he ran outside and screamed, “I’m going to send you to two different reform schools!”  His face turned red and I thought he’d have a stroke. 

Unwittingly, I added fuel to the fire.

I ran outside and stuck up for my brothers. “If you send the boys away, you’ll have to send me, too!” I don’t know what made me think that Dad wouldn’t have been glad to get rid of all three of us, but he stopped yelling ... too late to avoid putting on a wild show for the neighborhood. 

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