Good looks he had plenty, but his penchant for trouble out weighed them.  Ever see a new born puppy fighting to get in line to be fed.  That would be him, trouble was his meal and bad behavior his dessert.   “Voted Him Most Likely To Not Make It” could easily be the consensus if his family were forced to vote.

Early forays found him breaking windows,  smoking cigarettes and other acts of civil disobedience.   And this was while he was only Nine.  The free spirit in him gave his mother much concern and anguish.  Once in a town where they recently move, his mother while driving home from the store saw a boy walking who was obliviously displaying an advance case of Cerebral Palsy stumbling with involuntary arm and leg movements.  Her heart just ached for him that is until she came up along side and saw that he was her son.  History has no record of what happened that day, but I knew the Mother and she made it clear to me her displeasure.

Life happens and in accordance with fifty percent of the population his parents divorced.  For whatever reasons his bad behavior accelerated, so much so that he was taken from his Mother and placed in a Foster Home. Took awhile but his Mother with help from family was able to go to court and get him back.  His Mother took him and his brothers and sister to a home close to her  parents hoping for some family support.  No luck there, his behavior, perhaps I should say Misbehavior, developed to even grander scales.

But this time his Mother had assets to assist her in tracking his movements.  His downfall was his likability factor.   Everybody liked him.  You know the “Charming Rouge Factor“.  But now in this new close knit neighborhood whenever he did something wrong the neighbors reported to his Mother.  He especially enjoyed running away in the summer.  With the aid of his many friends he would camp out on the porches of his buddies homes and would appropriate (steal) food from the Milk Man and others who delivered  to the homes.  Reports of these excursions filtered over to his Mother almost as a daily routine.  ” Don’t worry he slept on our porch last night and is okay.“  was the usual message.

Attendance to school was almost none existence.   His best friends were Catholic and went to a Catholic school so he just went with them whenever he felt like.  Then came another move.  This time a family consolidation with Grandparents and his family under the same roof.  By this time he is nearing seventeen and is enrolled in High School.   The only thing that kept him from taking off to his usual habits was the sport of Basketball.  I’m not entirely sure if he ever played any organized ball, but we do know this, he was a natural.  Hope certainly was peeking over the horizon and he did just enough school work to be kept on the team.

The basketball coach  saw in the him adhesive for binding together a team of pretty good players.  There were better scorers, a there were better ball handlers, but what he contributed was the oil to make it all run like well oiled clock.   The boy began to show promise, that is until the Phone Call.

It was at night, three am to be exact, when the call from the Police arrived.   Seems that he took a Grocery Market truck from the store where he worked part time to  go joy riding. Might have worked out if he hadn’t rolled it over.  It becomes a little murky as to the process of the next events.  Not sure if it was a voluntary or involuntary enlistment, but in any case he was now the Navy’s problem and no longer his Mothers.

By now those of you who follow me are by now are wondering where’s the story going?   This rendition is an appreciation of somebody who overcame a lot of family negative vibes.  So let’s see how this guy ends up.  After four years in the Navy he comes back home and first finds work delivering milk for a large dairy.  Eventually he hires on as an apprentice for an  Electrical contractor.  Grueling work, but he is mentored by the owners who would later become huge supporters of his going back to school and earning his High School Diploma.

His sweetheart from High School before he enlisted became his bride and life long friend.  Four children later, all boys, who would give any parent a challenge, he and his wife raised with love, discipline and class.  His wife would occasionally remark that their home was not unlike a  boys locker room.   But life isn’t always fair and after forty four years of marriage he is left alone without her.

Now remarried to another wonderful woman, he continues on baffling all naysayers by mentoring and assisting in the care of his Step-Son who has been severely  handicapped from an Automobile accident for over twenty odd years.  To list his accomplishments would stagger those of us with an ordinary life.  The quote:  “We all are born unique, but most will die Copies” does not apply to him.  He is unique from his beginning unto this Day.

This guy I’m talking about is my Brother Clayton who turns Eighty this August.  And this post is for you Bro.  I want you to know I Love you and appreciate you and your life as an inspiration to me and others.  You proved them wrong by becoming

“The Most Likely to Succeed.”

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGFL7hIL-ik