Paul Lester Photo

My brother, Fred Jr.

At this point in my life, I am fascinated by the passage of life and the changes in values that one goes through in midlife. Certainly, it has been called a crisis and for some, I’m sure that it is. Sometimes it is a complete restructuring of ones life. Values change. Things that worked before, no longer work. Relationships dissolve, others are born out of the loss. Amazing if you step by and look at it.

As a young man, of course, my career was important. Raising a family, doing the right thing, etc. Now, as I’m older, I feel the need, no the desire, to reconnect with family. All of my brothers and sisters are 1/2 brothers and sisters, same father, different mothers, save for my sister Earlene, same mother, different fathers. However, we’ve never used the ’1/2′. We are just brothers and sisters.

I have 3 brothers, two sisters:

• Fred Jr. – Akron, Ohio
• Charles – Akron, Ohio
• Henry – Memphis, Tennessee
• Earlene – Akron, Ohio
• Carolyn – Memphis, Tennessee

All of my siblings are at least 10 years older than I. As families go, I was pretty much raised as an only child. And, as a consequence, my siblings and I were never very close. We loved each other, but didn’t hang out together. As a matter of fact, I don’t even remember their birthdays or ages, except for Earlene’s because we talk all the time and I stay at her house every time that I go to Akron. Also, our birthdays are in the same month, February. Hers on the second, mine the 20th.

Fred Jr. is the elder brother. We did spend some time together. He loves to fish and so he, my father, and I used to go fishing a lot on Lake Erie. We like to joke with each other about who can catch the most undesirable fish. I see he is the king; he says that it is me.

I took this photo last weekend while in Akron. I was walking around downtown taking photos and he drove by, stopped, and we talked for about 20 minutes or so. He was riding in his minivan that has nearly 200,000 miles on it and it’s only about 5 years old! He drives a lot.

Some number of years ago he got really deep into the church, became a preacher, and now travels the world and the country visiting prisoners and preaching his truth. Thankfully he doesn’t preach to me.

I see him probably about once a year when I visit Akron. I feel that I want to visit much more often now, at least twice a year.

Yesterday, June 5th was Tony’s high school graduation. Next week is his 18th birthday.

‘C’ is for cookie, that’s good enough for me. ‘C’ is for cookie, that’s good enough for me. ‘C’ is for cookie, that’s good enough for me. Oh! Cookie! Cookie! Cookie! Starts with ‘C’ — Sesame Street – Cookie Monster

This song lives on in my head. I had to listen to it every single day for what seemed like eternity, but was probably on the order of a year. Each morning, Tony got up at about 5:30 or 6:00 AM, wanted to eat, and then watch the Sesame Street tape. That was the very early years. After he learned to walk and subsequently climb out of his crib, then it was on to sports. Sports! Sports! Sports! No more Sesame Street. No Barney (Thankfully!!!). No cartoons. Only sports.

As an adolescent, he wanted to challenge his brother, Pedro, in everything: Soccer, basketball, street hockey, ice hockey, baseball, etc. Heck! As a matter of fact, that still goes on.

As a young man in high school, it was, and still is about sports. Now, he heads off this autumn to a boarding school for a year in between college and high school in the hopes of getting better, strong, and faster in basketball and securing a college scholarship at a Division I school.

It’s been a pleasant ride, sometimes frustrating, but always an amazing ride. It’s been great to watch him grow, to photograph him along the way … not nearly enough times, but I cannot go back and do it again. No do-overs.

During the graduation ceremony, they showed a short video where each of the seniors had several pictures of themselves as they grew throughout the years. It was great seeing my photos on the big screen and having people laugh and smile. I remembered every one of them, too. I certainly remember the location and the event, though not necessarily the time and date.

Two things that made me especially proud of Tony were:

1. His choice of senior project: He and another student set up a scholarship fund for underprivileged children. This was a year-long project and the completed it successfully, got donations, set up a non-profit organization, and selected a group of students to run it after they left. It was impressive.
2. I spoke to one of his teachers who teaches special education. She said that Tony always comes to the special-ed room, knows all of the kids by name, and spends time talking to them, making them feel special.

What a fine young man! Now, one might rightfully ask: Why don’t you have close-up photo of Tony in his cap and gown … well, let’s just say that he was in a hurry to get them off. By the time that I saw him again, after the ceremony, he was in basketball shorts and a tee shirt! He told me: You know, I’m not a sentimental guy. I’m sure that you got enough pictures. I saw you taking them.

That’s my boy!