All We Had

My brother

My brother.

Rick.

I loved him. We would swim in the river. Do farm work together. He would do some of my chores for me. He taught me how to shoot a bow (and a gun). He basically raised me.

His favorite color was a golden yellow. Like a wheat field. He got a truck as his first car. Then he got a four wheeler the next year. We went on rides all the time. He also rode broncs. He got banged up pretty bad every rodeo. But you couldn't keep him away from it. He had set records and won belt buckles. He also loved chickens. No one knows why but those were his favorite animal. He named his hen, Jenniffer, after his girlfriend. They went on dates every Friday. Sometimes dinner. Sometimes a trail ride. Sometimes they watched the sun set. 

My brother was a cool guy. He liked to have fun. He liked to herd cattle. He liked to sing. He liked to play instruments. He liked to play sports.

Until Jenniffer went to college. That's when his hobbies changed.

He liked to drink. He liked guns. He liked to stay out late with his friends. I thought it was okay. I looked up to him. He was my big brother.

But now there's no brother to look up too.