Well, yesterday my youngest brother—Lance Corporal Stephen Peter Uhl of the Third Battalion of the Fifth Marine Regiment—deployed for Iraq, there to do battle with our nation’s foes. By this time I imagine they will have deplaned and either are now or will soon be in their new quarters.
Our relationship is rather complex: due to the difference in our ages
(almost eight years; he was born after
the Challenger explosion!), in some ways I regard him
more as a father or uncle than as a brother. I saw him born; I cut
his umbilical cord; I changed his diapers (probably not that often if
you asked Mom or Dad, but it seemed all the time to me). He visited
me almost a decade ago, when he was only eleven and I was in college.
He was still a cute little kid, so I dressed him in a coat & tie,
gave him a snifter of orange soda and took him around all my friends
trolling for girls. It was absolutely hilarious. As adults
I’ve tried to be something of a wise uncle
to him,
moderating his vices and encouraging his virtues. I’ve not
always been successful, but I like to imagine that I’ve helped
moderate his excesses to some extent.
I very much hope he’s safe for the next seven months, but there’s nothing I can do now but pray. I bid you, my readers, to keep him in your daily prayers.
