My Brother Don

I got a call last night from my niece Debbie, about my half-brother Don. Also, my brother Mike just called me this morning. Our brother Don is dying. Don was a child from my father's previous marriage. He's only in his late sixties or early seventies.

One time in the summer I stayed with him. He did pig roasts for the F.O.P. (he used to be on the police force) The preparation was an all-night ordeal, staying in his RV with the roaster outside cooking all through the night. The time we did this--I must have been 13 or 14...someone asked him who I was, and he said, "This is my brother Kelly." The guy says "Well there's quite an age difference between you two." I'll always remember what Don said. He said "He's actually my half-brother, but there's no halves or wholes between us."

Don is morbidly obese. He has been forever since I can remember him. He's had problem after problem until last year his kidneys failed and he had to be on dialysis. He's been in a nursing home the past year, and not doing well physically. I should have gone up to see him, but it's always been financially or transportationally impossible.