(for a podcast of Eli Sacks and myself chatting about this topic see crapchat)
My brother Ron (the handsome fellow in the suit on the right) is going to turn 40 years old on the ides of May (the 15th). As far as snowflakes go, he's not just unique, but definitively the most interesting human I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. His story begins in 1969 during the age of free love and powerful social movements. He was spawned by our mom Nanette and pop Ronald H. in Texas. The family moved back up north before I came along five years later. Unfortunately the ancient prehistory before my entry into the world was shrouded in mystery along with some dusty photos, it's rumored my parents have vague knowledge of those times.
Soon after I was hobbling around, somewhere between one and two years old, my training began under the tutelage of six year old, Jedi master Ron. After basic language skills were grasped, I learned about the power of
toys. We tore apart an uncountable set of DC action heroes in our
search for deeper understanding of modern day production capabilities. One Christmas Ron and I received the six million dollar man and Bigfoot action figures. How fascinating of a message for youngsters, even then we were exposed to the lifelong struggle of man vs. beast, the id vs. the super ego, the ying and the yang. Now capable of finding and using the bathroom with high probability (I
learned on a groovy mini potty around 2yrs old, good move pop) I was
free to roam about our home without the "poopy pants" mom and Ron
referred to as diapers. My education advanced to Mazinga and Godzilla at three years of age reinforcing earlier lessons.
In this clash of gigantic plastic toys (almost as big as I was at the time) Ron taught me about the harsh realities of psychological isolation for immortal mega monsters and robots. There only solace was in finding other mega monsters to do battle with. I was also introduced to the concept of self, as Ron and my mom pretended to take pieces of my face off and hide it in their hands. My initial terrified reactions subsided as I realized I still had my nose.
Just prior to my fourth year of existence, I was enlightened by a series of simple memory problems that would lead to a solid foundation in mathematics. The ever repeating question from Ron:
- "What's 90 and 90?", my answer "180".
- "What's 80 and 80?" my instant response "160"
- ...
The series of simple sums sprouted into a deeper understanding of math and by first grade I was a year ahead of my class' math book, and two years ahead by third grade, thanks in large part to the powerful foresight of Ron's early lessons. At only nine years old, he perceived the advantages of being comfortable with basic math, and imparted this instruction to his younger brother. Our greatest teachers need not the benefit of age, to impart knowledge on those who wish it.
My training transformed over the next nine years as I continually sought to do battle with my elder brother. With patience and his secret weapon of "cheese face", I slowly realized Ron's lesson about the incredible advantage that one had in manipulating an infuriated opponent (usually me). I never really stood a chance. You can witness below that Ron is in a state of perpetual motion, not even the speed of light can outline his form distinctly. Notice the blur of motion for Ron while Aakin speeds by at 2/3 the speed of light while appearing perfectly still. We are fortunate that Ron has chosen to slow himself down enough to interact with our space time continuum.
- booze
- gaming (RPGs, tabletop)
- partying & music
- and GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64.
By this time many had been fortunate enough to behold the beauty of Ron's message. See below an image where I was joined by master pupil Benjamin Powers (now transmitting his own wisdom to the next generation, son Jordan). While Ron was always generous with his tireless preaching, and analogical wizardry, his leadership was such that all of us were able to impart our own messages to each other, as well as with him without the use of extended social media or email. On rare occasions, Ron even listened to these reflected truths.
A whirlwind of action, cross country travel, and life experience left us all weary yet wiser. Somehow we survived to "adult hood" (by some loose definitions based on chronological age). The most powerful vacation experience we shared was flying by helicopter into the Grand Canyon. Aakin (far right) was motivated to learn how to pilot copters and moved out to Vegas, Ryan (center back) got married, I decided I no longer needed some of my stored energy (orange shirt dropped 60pounds), Corey (far left) continues to fight social injustices, and Ron has perceived signs of unknown flying lights in the night sky several times while star gazing.
The evolution of Ron's message just shy of celebrating 40 years on Earth, is one of doing no harm. He has found peaceful coexistence in his day to day habits. His message continues to provide inspiration to others by sharing from his endless font of good will, quick wit, and unshakable faith in mankind. He is a leader and guru on the journey of life. I hope you all will share in this message (don't be shy!),
40th Birthday Ron! Your presence has inspired an ever growing number
of kind acts, and your wisdom continues to enrich our lives each day. Ron has always dreamed of traveling and exploring space while star gazing. If any of you know of a spaceship I could borrow it'd be much appreciated :D. Feel free to wish Ron a happy 40th in the comments below, or on his Facebook page here.</p>
You are invited to participate in an imagination-off.
I'm looking for the most incredible/far fetched ideas to help celebrate my brother's 40 years of life on earth. Crowd sourcing brilliant birthday wishes, I realize I had to call in the big guns on this one, my own creativity only goes so far. I'll consider any suggestion no matter how outlandish (the more eccentric the better).
I'll write up the best (3-10) ideas in my next blog post, and make the number one celebration idea happen.
Here's a link to the BIG LIST OF IDEAS(Battle of Wits) thanks to squidoo and their plexo module!
Whether or not you submit an idea back
I'm grateful for your time,
Mark Essel