Dad's Siblings

I realize that I am slow in getting this included in the blog, but here goes.

I am the oldest of five children. The next oldest is my sister, Lynne Lorraine Brown, who is three years younger than I. My clearest memories of Lynne is that when we were young we fought incessantly. I don't remember ever having any kind words for my sister, or she for me, until we were both married and had children of our own. In particular, there was a time in Fairbanks when Lynne (about age 6) had some jelly beans and I (about age 9) asked her for some. She refused, so I stole some and hid them inside my school lunch sandwich wrapper. Of course, I got found out and was punished, but that only added fuel to the fires of our dislike for each other. I remember one time my mother told me that some day I would love my sister with all my heart, and I thought Mom was nuts. That could never be. But, she has proven once again to be right (don't you hate that, when your parents are right?). Lynne is now a mom, with two daughters and two grandchildren, and I do love her intensely. She is a good lady who tries hard to do what is right.

My next sibling is my brother, Robert, who is eight years younger than I. Robert was born while we lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. He is enough younger than I that we never had much in common until later in life. I have always had a special respect for him because he served a mission to the Navajo indians, where he was treated rather badly by those whom he was trying to help. Had his Christmas box from home stolen out of his apartment. Had his camera stolen. Etc., Etc.

The same is true of my brother, Mike (that is, that he was enough younger than I that we didn't have a lot in common). He, too, was born in Fairbanks. My earliest memory of him is when I was in high school in Mullan. Mike was only in about the first or second grade. He had some kind of seizures where he would crouch down on his haunches, with his hands clenched into fists and his eyes closed, and he would start to cry. Nothing could get through to him when one of those hit. They were very infrequent and disappeared within a couple of years, but it was terribly disconcerting to have him doing that for 10-15 minutes at a time, and not being able to make it stop. It bothered me especially when I was babysitting and I couldn't do anything for him. I confess that I even tried slapping him on a couple of occasions, but I might as well have been blowing on his face. He was completely unaware. And, he never had any memory afterward about what had happened. Wonder what caused that and why he outgrew it?

Jon was a kind of surprise. He is 15 years younger than I. He was born in the Wallace, ID, hospital, which is now gone. Jon was my favorite in the early years of his life and when I went on my mission, I was particularly upset to have to leave my neat little brother who was only four. That sadness was compounded when I came home two years later and found that he had become a rather pesky and obnoxious kid. I was disappointed.

But, I have come to love all of my siblings with a very deep love. I think most of you know that Mike publishes "The Lauritzen Ledger" every quarter. He used to do it every other month, but cut back some. He has been doing that faithfully for 24 years. It used to be just a newsletter with nothing but print. But now, it includes a lot of very interesting photographs, too. I have a copy of every issue in my Family History archives. Anytime you want to read them, just drop in. It is a clear testimony of the bonds that exist between us all.

Perhaps the highlight of my sibling relationships was the trip that Robert, Mike and I took from Springville, up through Glacier National Park, into Alberta, through Red Rock park, Banff, Jasper, Lake Louise, the Columbia Ice Fields, and back through Yellowstone National park. This was in 1963 after I got home from my mission. I wanted to see some of the scenic wonders of Alberta that we were not allowed to visit while I was a missionary. Some bonds were built then with Robert and Mike that have only grown stronger over the years.

I feel particularly blessed to have the loving relationship that exists with my siblings. I only wish that my children were universally as fond of each other as I and my siblings are. There is nothing that provides a sense of security like knowing that you have a strong family and that you can depend upon each other any time.

Grandpa Lauritzen