Stories about my Little Brother on the Occasion of his 60th Birthday

(1)       When I was twelve years old, asleep with my sister Linda in our room on Feb. 4, my father woke us up, his eyes shining with excitement. "It's a boy!" he said. I was delighted, but my favorite memory of that moment is Dad's excitement.

            And now the blank line on the mailbox, after "Ken and Lois Coogle," "Linda," "Diana," Sharon," and "Laura," each with its own separate strip of black plastic, could be proudly filled in: "Lee."

L to R: Lee at 2 yrs, with his sisters: Laura, Sharon, me, Linda

(2)       When Lee was a baby, Mom would be holding him and say to all his four older sisters crowded around, "Should we keep him and love him or flush him down the toilet?" We would answer in a chorus: "Flush him down the toilet!" Then Mom would say, "Oh, let's keep him and love him," and we would all give in and agree.

(3)       The original idea for the famous Coogle trip to Alaska in the summer of 1959, when Lee was two years old, was for Lee to stay with Grandma and Grandpa in Kentucky, because having him along would mean extra trouble, and, after all, what would the trip mean to a two-year-old? But when it came time to kiss him good-bye, Mom couldn't let do it, and so he came with us.

            We were all glad. Without Lee Mom would have moped every day, and we all would have felt his absence. Of course, having Lee did add to the chores. Besides setting up the tent, helping with dinner on the Coleman stove, and blowing up air mattresses, someone always had to be taking care of Lee. Because I cherished every moment of the Alaska trip and was afraid Dad would turn around and take us home if we complained about anything, I was always willing to take Lee out from under Mom's feet. Usually I took him down to the creek or the lake, where I tried to skip rocks over the water. Lee, following suit, threw rocks. Evening after evening I would say to him, "Let's go throw rocks in the water," and I would take his hand and lead him to the creek, leaving Mom unencumbered to do other things and giving me one of my best memories of the Alaska trip.

(4)       Then there's the famous story from the Alaska trip about the time we stopped at a gas station for gas, and everyone poured out of the car to use the bathrooms. After filling the car, Dad started the motor to move it away from the gas pumps. At that, Lee came hurtling from the bathroom without his pants, screaming, "Wait for me! Wait for me!" Mom chasing after him with his pants.

(5)       I treasure all the memories and stories I have from each visit Lee has made to me in Oregon, and I could tell several (chief among them is when his dog, Dusty, fell in my neighbor's septic pit), but I especially appreciate his being here for and participating in my seventieth birthday. He was indispensable. My favorite memory is the way he divided people into teams for croquet: you four, you four, you four, not paying any attention to who knew or didn't know whom. The result was a great mingling of party guests.

(6)       I love my little brother.

Lee today at 60