Missing the Rodeo.....

Rodeo was my brother's nickname. He got that name because he could do everything on a softball field. He had speed, good glove, good arm and could hit the ball a ton. I remember watching him play on a field with no fence in left field. He was the lead off hitter and hit the first pitch of the game over the left fielder's head and it rolled a mile. The umpire called it a 'no pitch' because he didn't have his mask on before the pitch. Everybody gets reset, the left fielder backs up (obviously) and then, Steve hit the next pitch further than the first.

Steve passed away in July of 2003. Both of my brothers have passed, but Steve and I were the closest. Sometimes he would call me, and we would talk for hours. I miss that. He's was the kind of guy that people just naturally gravitate to. He loved to play golf, loved to hunt and fish, but nothing was more important than family.

He had an infectious smile. In many ways, I think Chris is just like him. Not long after Steve passed, Chris got his braces off. Whenever he smiles, I see Steve. One time, I was hitting grounders to Chris in the backyard, I hit one harder than I intended, it took a bad hop and Chris made a fantastic play on it. He knew he had done something good...he flashed that smile...I saw Steve. For the rest of the day, it was like Steve and I were playing in the backyard again.

I was the baby of the family. There's at least 13 years difference between me and any of my siblings. By the time I was old enough to walk and talk and and know what was going on...they were driving. Steve fell in love with a girl named Vonnie. So did I. When they were going on a date, I would beg and plead to go with them. Sometimes, believe it or not, they would take me.

Here's a couple of my favorite Steve stories...

Steve married Vonnie and they have two children. Thomas and Christi (Christi is the baby in the picture, she's 22 now and absolutely gorgeous). Anyway, when Thomas was about 9 or 10, rap music was the thing. He wanted to see Run-DMC when they came to town. Steve couldn't stand the stuff, but said that Thomas could go if I would take him. I agreed. Thomas invited one of his friends and whenever Steve saw the other boy he would tell him "my little brother is going to take you"...."my little brother is going to take you". On the night of the concert, I walked in. I can clearly remember this 9 year old boy standing at my feet and looking straight up. Steve said "You ought to see my big brother".

Steve was a good golfer. For a time I thought I had the time and money to take up the game so I started playing. One morning, he and I went to Montgomery Bell to play. We were on the first tee at 6am. As we were getting ready to hit, two deer walked out of the woods and stood in the middle of the fairway. I was puzzled and said "Why did they do that?" Steve's response...."They know that they are safer there".

Steve loved nature. He loved to hunt and fish. One time while he was hunting, he found a baby squirrel that had been orphaned. He brought it home, raised it and let it go. I can remember seeing pictures of him standing in the backyard with this squirrel climbing on him like he was a tree.

When Christi caught her first fish, it was small of course. But they brought it home, and kept it for a long time. He kept two kiddie swimming pools one had the fish, the other was getting ready for the fish. He would transfer the fish from one to the other so that it had clean water. He spent so much time on it, the fish was not scared of him. He could stick his hand in the water and the fish would swim to him and he would catch it and move it to the clean water.

As you can imagine...the are a ton of memories and stories to tell. I always remember him this time of the year. The holidays are just not right without him and his family.