The Call

I just got a telephone call from my brother and I’m so happy!

It’s not unusual, especially with all the brothers I have. But the day is, for me anyway, special. It’s my birthday. Every year, no matter what, this one brother makes sure to call me on my birthday. And every year, I call him on his birthday. To people with normal-size families this is not spectacular, but with more than 100 foster kids growing up in one very crowded house, it’s a wonder that people remember even our names.

Paul always remembers.

I need to point out that this probably has more to do with his memory than my birthday. Paul has the closest thing to a perfect memory that I’ve ever encountered. When my family reminisces about a summer vacation we took a few decades ago, the rest of remember that it was during the summer – one summer, a while back, in the past. Paul knows the date (the year, the month, the exact dates of the vacation) and probably can recall the time we left and the weather conditions.

This year, for the first time in ages (note that generalization; Paul will know the exact number of years), I was home for Christmas. At a family gathering, I mentioned how many things about the Bay Area I had dearly missed, including driving across the Golden Gate Bridge. Corny, yes, but if you’ve ever seen you understand. Mom mentioned that, as a child, she crossed the bridge during its opening ceremonies. Paul chimed in with the date and time of the opening ceremonies, the number of people who worked on the bridge and details about its architecture. He doesn’t have a computer at hand; he just knows these things.

But, there’s a big step between knowing (remembering) and doing (calling). He calls every year. I could be anywhere and he would find me; he would call. Likewise, I have called him from across the country and across the planet, long before email was a viable alternative to calling and before any of us had cell phones. I asked him once if he ever doubted whether I would call on his birthday and he said one of the nicest things that anyone has ever said to me: “I knew you would call. You would find a pay phone in the desert to call.”

Of course, I can’t remember exactly when he said that, but I’m sure he does.

Until next time,

Conna