I called my brother just now. It's our mom's birthday, and since I couldn't call her, I decided on a whim to give Gary a buzz. Haven't spoken to him in probably 2 1/2 yrs. I've tried a few times in that period of time to call, but I just get his voice mail. My cousin tried once and called 20 times before Gary answered. My guess is he just finally answered to get Tom to leave him alone.

Gary was 7 when I was born. I adored him until I was about 15 and he fell off the pedestal I put him on. Things were never quite the same; I became "the good sister" to his "alcoholic musician" brother. Marsha followed with her vices (mine's food, in case you don't know me!), and we all grew apart as years passed. He lives in Tampa, Fla. right now, and I'd like to see him - he's made a great deal of progress in his journey, and I wish we could recoup some of what we've lost. The last time I saw him was our mom's funeral, as I drove him to the bus station. He told me that he wished we were together more, that he thought we were more alike than before.

I'll let you know if he calls - it'll be great to hear from him.

Oh yeah - Happy Birthday, Margaret Young !