My brother, the author

So my brother Dave recently posted about a mean-big-sister-trying-to-brush-off-an-annoying-younger-brother thing I did as a teenager. I felt so sad for him. So sad. I almost cried. I almost phoned and begged his forgiveness. I almost promised him homemade treats and money if he would only wipe that incident from his memory - and his blog. Until I remembered the infamous story that Dave wrote when he was a young boy. [Side note - and then I remembered as well that given the opportunity to trick my brother again I would in a heart beat].

Back to the main issue...Dave's story. Now, I can't remember it word for word, but the main gist of it, the climax, the whole point of it, if you will, went something like this:

"And then Janine died. And then we had a big party."

Everyone in my family thought it was really funny. So funny, in fact, that when my mom found that story again about 10 years ago (yes, she kept it), she went to the trouble of sending me a copy. I'm not sure why she thought I would enjoy having my very own "edition" of the Death of Janine!

To be honest, my mom did make David rewrite the story. The new version featured the miracle of me returning to life and then we had the party to celebrate. Yes, much better, but still - the original is what everyone remembers and what my mom decided was worth saving.