“HEROES”

MARCH 27, 2020 

Growing up we had a lot of heroes, Evil Kanevil , G.I. Joe, The Six Million Dollar Man, just to mention a few. Our days were spent pretending to be one of these heroes, building ramps where we would jump our bicycles over a few Tonka Trucks or something along those lines. we spent the majority of our time outside. I never remember our Mom telling us we needed to go outside, it was always just the opposite. I remember most nights Mom calling for us to come inside.

I remember when the biggest problems in my barefoot life was Bull Nettles and Grass Burs. I remember laying in a field at night while on Lightning Bug excursions , looking up at the Big Night sky so full of stars that looked like diamonds against black velvet, that reached from as far as the eyes could see. A new Moon the color of fresh churned butter, with the sound of all the crickets and frogs serenading , The chaos of town was so far away, this was home, this was where I always wanted to be.

But let me tell you about another one of my heroes, one that wasn’t on TV or in a book. It was one that I was with everyday, that taught me almost everything I knew. That Hero was my Bother, Jerry. We are 2 years and 8 months apart, with him being the older. As long as I can remember I have always chased behind him watching what he does and trying to copy those things. Jerry spent a lot of time with me, I think I was his toy in a lot of ways. I got all of the good things as well as the bad. I was the one who most of the time ended up in the ER for stitches or a cast. Usually after a dare….I was the only one who started Kindergarten with the ability to write in cursive. I could do most addition and subtraction, I could tell time, (on a regular watch, no digital at that time). I could count money, I was familiar with all the readers because I had read them all and had them read to me. Jerry would go to school and when he got home everything he learned he would sit me down and make me do the work too. I wanted my clothes to look like his, if he put his name on something, I wanted mine on it. My tackle box looked like his. At times we shared a bedroom and I was held to the same amount of room cleanliness that he had. (I kinda sucked at this). We each had a shelf in our room where we kept our belongings. I always had mine just like his. When I got in Jr. High and started playing football, I already had a good sense of the game and The Atlanta Rabbit Football Program, because I had been in the older brother after school program for years.

I never was as good as Jerry at football, but I gave it my all. I remember first time on the practice field the coaches were getting the teams set, calling out names, it went something like this. Robert Wall….Sir….Are you Jerry Wall’s Brother….yes sir…..You’re on the A team. After a couple of weeks of practice, Coach said……Wall…..yes sir…..Wall, you’re moving to B team….. Lol, I never could catch him in sports. I will never forget the first time I realized Jerry wanted to and did go somewhere without me. I was devastated. He chose a Buddy over me??? He probably felt like a Siamese twin after recent separation. FREE….

Even in our adult lives I have always enjoyed spending time with Jerry. My ribs usually hurt for a few days from laughing. When Jerry lived 50 miles away, he would come down on Friday nights after working Swing Shift, and we would literally never go to sleep, until Sunday night. We would do all kinds of crazy things. We would go next-door to our parents house and start the lawnmower outside Daddy’s window and leave it running at 3 am. We have hunted, fished, worked together a many day. When our families get together we stay up way late just laughing and talking about the old times. We have even been to Prison together….Lol…We used to go to Prisons with Mike Barber Ministries doing ministry there. Now that we are both Grandpa’s we have definitely slowed down a whole lot and gained a bunch of Wisdom along the way.

Jerry was my first hero, I saw the whole world through his eyes. He taught me a lot at an early age giving me a head start on my education. Jerry is still one of my heroes. He is a good Brother, Father, Husband, PopPop, Successful Businessman, and Man of God. So on this 27th Day of March 2020, I want to wish my Brother Jerry, A Happy Birthday….You were my first hero, and still one of my Favorites!!!!! I Love You Brother….