As you may have guessed I was never lucky enough to have a real brother. However I did have my cousin Eddie who was two years my senior and served the purpose of being a brother for me. Of course this also meant that he could be a tease, run faster than me and sometimes scare me silly. I remember when I was about six years old and he was eight he called me over to his house (next door to ours) and showed me a glass jar filled with a strange smoke. "What is it?" "Well it's poisen gas." "Where did you get it?" "I created it with my science kit." Then to my horror he screwed off the lid and held the smoke up to my face. I ran screaming back to Mother. "He's just teasing you. That's what boys like to do." Well, it did really scare me and I didn't care to see Eddie for a whole week.
Well, there's more to it than that. Eddie devised a way that we could talk to each other without him scaring me. He strung up a long cotton string between our bedroom windows with an empty tin can tied on each end by a hole made by hammering a nail into the closed end then putting the string through and tying a knot. By holding the cans really taut, and talking into the open end we could easily hear each other just like talking on a phone. This was our secret and much more fun. It was through this magic system that Eddie arranged for us to get into all sorts of trouble.
Eddie's 18 year old married sister Doris lived in the same house. She had an adorable baby boy and her husband was away in the Navy. One day Doris became very ill with Spinal Meningitis and their house was quarantined. This meant that I couldn't go over there until Doris got better. Over the 'telephone cans' Eddie devised a way that I could sneak over. "Go into your backyard and I'll help you come through a loose board in our shed." "Right now?" "Yep."
I did sneak over through that loose board and within minutes Eddie and I were standing at the foot of Doris's bed. She was so beautiful as she slept. "Will she wake up?" "The doctor said he hopes she will, but it may be a long time." We both decided we would go there every day and watch to see if she would wake up. She never did. Later Mother explained that Doris had been in a coma and the illness had taken her away. I never told Mother how we had gone to her room before she died until after I was married and had a baby of my own. Neither Eddie or me were taken to her funeral, but we did have a chance to take flowers to her grave. Within days Doris's husband was killed in an accident. My Aunt Mae raised that tow headed boy to adulthood.
As I was growing up through Jr High and Sr High, Eddie was always on hand to check out any boys who showed an interest in me. Also, he delighted my girlfriends by letting them hang onto his outstretched arm and dangle like they were holding onto a steel bar. They thought he was the strongest boy they had ever seen. He made me feel very proud. They also thought he was handsome and I supposed he looked OK.
Eddie and family moved away to the nearby town of Upland to an orange grove house that his paternal grandparents had lived in. It was rather old and worn, but all our local relatives enjoyed the yearly Christmas party at their house where they always had an exchange of gifts. It could cost no more than $2.00 and there was a huge box for the wrapped gifts labeled only 'boy' or 'girl' and everyone brought Christmas treats. I remember there was a large hole in the wood porch right in front of the entrance door so you had to step over carefully. "Termites," noted Eddie.
Eddie graduated from Upland High two years ahead of my graduation from Pomona High. Although his parents couldn't afford to give him a car, he already had a driver's license so he could run errands for his parents. He also had several part-time jobs around town so managed to purchase car parts from the local dealer in trashed vehicles. After a couple of months Eddie appeared in our dirt driveway tooting his horn like crazy. I opened our door not knowing who was making so much noise. It was Eddie driving the strangest car I had ever seen. He managed to get the door open and appeared most pleased with his great invention. Nothing on the exterior matched, doors and fenders were of all different colors, "I plan to paint the car next month," he assured me. "Hop in and I'll show you how good it runs." I did hop in and the interior was bare bones as well.
Eddie started the car and it began to shake. "Are we there yet?" Just had to tease him for a change. "Nope just letting the car get warmed up a bit." Finally, the car jolted ahead, the ride was a bit bumpy, but we managed to get over to the Drive Inn and have a rootbeer float. Back home again. "Eddie, you are the most amazing guy I know." As far as I remember that was only the first time I had acknowledged that fact to him.
My first husband always had to have the brand new car, off the dealer's showroom floor, every year. Eddie would always say, "Drive that new car around the block and the value drops in half." On my own, I always follow Eddie's good advise to this day. I buy last years car and let the dealership take the jolt.
Eddie and I remained very special cousins throughout our lives. He passed away a few years ago. His wife said, "you know Eddie really loved you." "Yep, I know...I always loved him too." I sure miss him and will always remember his very first car.
