My Brother Jim

When I was born, my brother Jim was already ten years old. And he was already the source of many stories within our family. My memories of the Blue House on Busey street are very vague and spotty. But I remember more sharply of the house on Perkins Rd.

That house was a Ranch-Style house, a long rectangle, with a basement running the length of it beneath the floorboards. We kept just tons of ... "stuff" down there. Piles of books and old magazines cluttered much of the floor area. We had tried to turn a portion of it into a livable family area. But often that area just got filled up with growing piles of "stuff". The basement was frequently "off-limits", according to my parents whenever Jim had returned home. I wasn't supposed to bother him when he was in the basement , but little brother Eric would go anyway. Jim never did complain. He was always happy to share whatever he was doing with me.

I remember once when we were talking about music (Jim and I almost always talked music). He asked me what my favorite song was. I was still very young, maybe 8 or 9, and music was only just reaching my consciousness. I wasn't really sure what to say. I hadn't ever thought about it much. But I had been hearing the radio a lot thanks to Deni and Julie. I thought about one song that was in my mind often, repeating all day long sometimes. So I told him, "Riders on the Storm". I remember that Jim smiled hugely at that, and was excited to talk about it more. It felt great to win the approval of my big brother.

I remember talking with him beside a long row of stacked magazines. Many of them relating to Hockey. Some of them comics. He was telling me about how great Aquaman is. That was the first comic I ever read. But like so often, our discussion turned again to music. I wanted to talk about Rock 'n Roll but Jim pointed out there were other kinds of music to think about too. And that's when he first mentioned Blues to me. He spent a lot of time trying to describe it to me that day. Jim was always very patient. I tried hard to understand but didn't quite get it. But it was because of Jim that I would seek it out in later years. Whenever I hear really good Blues I think of Jim. He brought it to me.

One time, Mom and Dad decided that Jim needed a quiet space all to his own. Where he could be left to his thoughts without being disturbed too much (especially by much younger little brothers). So a pseudo-room was arranged in the back corner of the basement. Well I would go there even though I was told to leave him alone. Jim never complained. He always had time to talk with me for a while.

Jim loved pistacios. The carpet on the floor was often covered with red-dyed and plain pistacio shells. Sometimes I would sneak down to this room and join him for feast of nuts. And we'd stay up really late watching old Beatles movies and singing along. Or we'd watch "Creature-Feature" until the wee hours of the morning. I watched my first Godzilla movie with Jim. To this day, I'm still excited to see any Godzilla movie. They bring back such happy memories.

Jim introduced a lot of music into my world. I've never lived in any apartment without a copy of 'Blood, Sweat and Tears'. He showed me much more than just music. He showed me patience, tolerance, and a willingness to share the good things in life. These are gifts I will always treasure for all of my days.

Eric Wicklund