Thursday, October 03, 2013

A Bottle in My Pocket

I don’t have an actual memory of this event but I remember being told about it hundreds of times. Apparently, up until I was two or three years old I used to carry my milk bottle around in the pocket of my overalls. This apparently incensed by older sister to no end and whenever she was left babysitting me she’d take it away. Daddy would then get mad at her and give it back to me when he came home. 

I guess Dad figured I’d grow out of it on my own, and I did. For example, I no longer carry a whiskey flask in my back pocket everywhere I go. I stopped that about five years ago now. 

Come to think of it, most all of my older siblings (3 brothers, 1 sister) tried to do some raising of me. Thank goodness I was able to avoid being unduly influenced.

If you were a younger child, did your siblings try raising you as well? How successful were they at it?
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33 comments:

Cloudia said...

As the first born of two kids, I felt protective, but must have echoed my parents' noblesse:-)



Aloha

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I'm the youngest and other than bossing me around, my brother didn't interfere much.

Richard Prosch said...

I'm an only child --but had to comment on the larger font face your blog's been employing. Did you deliberately set it? It's easier to read on my phone.

laughingwolf said...

lol

nope, firstborn... did as i pleased ;)

Riot Kitty said...

I am the oldest. And I am still the bossiest!

Charles Gramlich said...

Cloudia, I think my sister felt generally protective. not so much my brothers.

Alex, yeah, I got quite a bit of bossing.

Richard, This is just copied and pasted from the font I use in my ms word files. Times New roman 14

Laughingwolf, indeed, you were one of those. :)

Riot kitty, surely not. I can't possibly believe it. :)

laughingwolf said...

still am! ;) lol

laughingwolf said...

of course my firstborn takes after me in that respect... wonder why? ;)

nephite blood spartan heart said...

I couldn't say since I am the oldest. I always had all of the responsibility = blame, but none of the authority.

Prashant C. Trikannad said...

Charles, I have often seen younger siblings being protective and taking care of their elder siblings, perhaps because of the close age-gap between siblings.

the walking man said...

I was 4th of 5. I missed out on all of that being directed by older siblings and was only the baby of the family for 18 months. As it was in my youth it is now, I only get noticed when someone wants something. Jaysus i wish the nephews would all hurry up and get married so no one will need anymore gifts.

Charles Gramlich said...

Laughingwolf, perhaps biology is indeed destiny.

David J., sure, take up for the older ones. :)

Prashant, family is very important. I am glad to be from the family I am.

Mark, yeah, I've always heard the middle children get kind of ignored at all ends of the spectrum.

laughingwolf said...

my middle child, female like the first, had the golden heart... son, being youngest, was called 'boss' - whenever he yelled, about anything, the rest of us ran to see what he wanted ;) lol

pattinase (abbott) said...

I wonder if carrying the milk bottle contributed to your carrying a whiskey bottle. Funny the things kids like to have on them.

Charles Gramlich said...

Laughingwolf, my older brothers would have beat the snot out of me if I tried to boss them around. Well, I mean they'd have tried to beat the snot out of me even more.

Patti, I suspect so.

laughingwolf said...

son is taller than me, now... 6'5", i'm a lowly 6'4"... working as a cross-country trucking/mover for some 7 - 8 years, he's strong like borscht, i'd be easy pickins for him, even with some 40 lb on him ;)

Ty said...

Your post reminded me of my mom's dad. Almost always wore overalls. In one pocket was a bag of Red Man. In a back pocket was a snubby revolver, usually a .38. Tucked down inside an inner pocket was a bottle of bourbon. Nearly always did he have these. Of course he spent most of his time fishing or out in his garden.

Charles Gramlich said...

Laughingwolf, I had no idea you were that big man. Wow. I'm just about 5 10

Ty, a man with his priorities straight sounds like.

laughingwolf said...

5'10" is not short

my height runs in the family...

dad was 6'2", his bro 6'6"

BernardL said...

I was the second of six. Since my older brother was six years older than me, I was assigned my younger siblings growing up. They never held a grudge through the decades since, so I guess I didn't screw up too badly... or if I did, they didn't remember it. :)

laughingwolf said...

you have the practicum, bernard ;)

Oscar Case said...

I was the seventh of eight and the older brothers and sisters left me pretty much alone since they were already gone when I came along.

Rick Robinson said...

My only sibling, older brother is 6 years my senior, so he was too far ahead to care about parenting me. I don't think he ever babysat me, bossed me or paid much attention at all. I wanted to run and play, he wanted to read. Now at 73 he's really into walking and working outside while all I want to do... is read.

ivan said...

Li'l Jimmie Dickens,

My Uncle Nort,
He's sawed off and short
Well,
he measures 'bout four-foot two.
But he's tall as a giant
when you give him a pint

Of that good old Mountain Dew.


(And thats not a reference to Pop-- who would drink just about anything).

Charles Gramlich said...

Laughingwolf. Lana is 4'11" so she always remarks on how tall I am. Certainly makes me feel tall.

Bernard, or else they're still scared of you. :)

Oscar, my oldest two brothers were gone as well, but my sister lived close and I had one brother still at home.

Richard, apparently reading ran in your family.

Ivan, I've got a story or two about "mountain dew."

Ron Scheer said...

You're talking to an only child here. Wouldn't know a sibling if I stumbled over one in broad daylight.

Charles Gramlich said...

Ron, my son is also an only child, although he has some close cousins

Belle Wong said...

I'm the oldest, but was never good at doing the big sister thing :)

Erik Donald France said...

Haha, funny on the flask :->

Well, I have a brother nine years younger and two older sisters.

That makes me a mischief-maker, despite my sisters' attempts at "managing." They did influence me to see offbeat movies and listen to a range of music.

Charles Gramlich said...

Belle, your younger siblings probably appreciate it!

Erik, sounds like they twisted you for the better. :)

jodi said...

Charles-I am the oldest of 3-all born within five years. I was Mom's helper.

Charles Gramlich said...

Jodi, one of the enemy as it were. :)

Travis Cody said...

I was an older brother of one sister. I don't recall whether I tried to do any raising of her, although it's likely that I did. The one thing I do remember is teaching her to read. She was a quick study, although she didn't take to the enjoyment of reading the way I did.