Happy Birthday Gary!

I wanted to take a moment to wish my (not-so) little brother Gary a very happy 22nd birthday.  I couldn’t be prouder of how my little brother turned out and how much he’s accomplished.  He just finished his junior year of college (marketing major!), and I look forward to the future days of our media and marketing empire, “Levinson and Levinson Worldwide, LLC.”  I’ve yet to get sign-off from him on this specific proposal, but trust me, it’ll happen.

Gary and I last year at my dad’s birthday dinner.

My very first memory, in fact, is his birth.  I’ll tell the story, and then my mom will likely comment and tell me that I’m remembering something else — but it’s the sentiment that counts, right?  I was around two-and-a-half, and I remember being at our old townhouse with my grandma and grandpa.  We got a call from my parents (on an 80’s-tastic brown corded phone with a built-in chalkboard), and I remember being handed the phone and being told that I have a new little brother.

Gary and I, in cuter times.

I was pretty jealous of the new arrival. Being the firstborn of the new generation of both sides, I was fairly used to attention, and he was so fat and cute it was hard for a kid to compete.  Just look:

Here’s another first memory: when I was four, I cut my hair with scissors, and then tried to pin it on Gary, who was actually too little to even hold — let alone work — a pair of scissors.  Gary, I apologize.  I don’t know what I was thinking, but I suppose you were an easy scapegoat.  You still are, in fact.

Gary, happy happy birthday to you, I love you and I’m proud of you, always.