I am grateful for my brothers. Life was generous in granting me two - one older and one younger.
Me and my brother John - a few years back
My older brother John taught me resilience and toughened me up a little as all older brothers do. He was my early musical mentor introducing me to the guitar although for the first few years I played his on the sly, watching out the window of our loft to make sure he didn't catch me playing his guitar without permission. Watching him and his pals play House of the Rising Sun at an end of school assembly in 1969 was my own personal Woodstock.
Jamie and I with our old dog Jason
My younger brother Jamie was a late addition to our family arriving when I was 13. He taught me to have patience with young children, not to mention how to change diapers, which served me well when I eventually became a father. His enthusiasm when I returned home for visits from university pulled me back into youthful activities - playing ball hockey, making snowmen - that afforded me a brief extension of those magical years before the responsibilities of work and adulthood weighed in.
Families bring together people who might not normally associate with each other if they were not related. If you have brothers, how have they influenced your life?