Brothers = David Cicero

Brothers – David Cicero

Not all brothers are biologic. Sometimes God drops a brother into the family because he knows it just completes it. That’s what happened to my family. We got Dave Cicero who could not be a better brother.

Dave became a part of our family when his mother died, and his father could not care for him. He became a foster child to my aunt. Our families were close, so Dave was always there. He was special to my mom and dad. When I was born Dave was a young teenager. I still have the donkey stuffed animal he gave me.

He is smart and worked as an engineer including designing things for the space program. If you’ve ever bought some honey in the little bear container you’ve seen something he designed. If you’re old enough you may remember chocolate syrup in a robot container (I think it may have been called “clanky”) you’ve seen something else he designed.

If he has a flaw it’s staying away from injury. He’s tussled with bikes, army gas masks, 5-ton trucks and big pots, not to mention motorcycles and tires falling off a car. I’m thankful a guardian angel has kept him around for his and our family.

When you’re a child you don’t know the reality of things. It took many years for me to know that my aunt didn’t treasure him as much as my family did. Dave was always being punished for some infraction that was usually the fault of my aunt’s adopted son. She passed up a chance to adopt a better son, but I think her prejudice prevented her from adopting Dave. It pains me to hear him refer to her as Mrs. Ludlum when he was her foster child for 17 years and she never let him call her mom or mother or any other maternal name.

After my aunt died, David lived with us until he got married. He worked for RCA and bought a color TV. His bedroom was upstairs, and my little brother and I weren’t supposed to go in his room. One night the Wizard of Oz was on TV. Dave brought us up to his room to watch his TV. I still remember my amazement when Dorothy opened the door and black and white turned to color.

After he married our families spent holidays together. When his children arrived, I was a babysitter for them. My mom and dad were God parents for their oldest child. When my dad was dying, Dave was by his bedside and when my mom was ill, not only was he for us but his daughter and son-in-law helped navigate the medical maze.

Dave is the most loving, compassionate, totally good person on the planet, and I’m blessed to have him as a brother.

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