posted on July 28, 2000 01:28:48 PM new
Looks like the tooth fairy thread has spawned yet another topic!
I've got two sisters that I get along with pretty well - typical ups and downs - but overall we're pretty close and "there" for each other.
HCQ's description of her brother in the tooth fairy thread made me start thinking about my own brother. It's a little different story cause he moved out when he was only sixteen. Started his own company when he was in his early twenties and has become a multi- multi- millionaire in the process. (about ten years now)
I'm so proud and thrilled for him that I could spit. BUT it blows my mind that he can enjoy the kind of wealth he has and yet has never shared it with any of his family. The closest he came was when he sent our mom $5,000 to help her buy a car a few years ago. About once a year he takes his teenage daughter (from a previous marriage) on a shopping spree - the rest of the year he does very little if anything to help her mother support her. He's a bright, kind and loving brother - but, he says his wife "won't let him" do more. Oh pleeeeeez! I'm not saying he owes his siblings anything - but I can't imagine having that kind of money and not just wanting to share it in some way. And, btw, we all spoiled him rotten cause he was the youngest. I just wanna shake him!
posted on July 28, 2000 01:38:08 PM newAnd, btw, we all spoiled him rotten cause he was the youngest.
Hmm...couldn't be that he got so used to getting, he never got any practice giving?
Val's youngest sibling (the only male) got the same treatment. Took him an extra 20 years to grow up. Hard knocks turned him into a pretty sweet guy but he STILL has to be the center of attention.
posted on July 28, 2000 02:05:01 PM new
mybiddness...my husband's uncle owns his own company and is rolling in the dough. This guy gives so much to his siblings it's amazing. There are 7 kids total and he takes them on a vacation every year (all expenses paid) and throws a big Christmas party every year for the entire family. He's been working on their family history and took my FIL to Germany with him to look up the family members he had contacted. He is there whenever there is a money problem of any kind with an open wallet. Needless to say, it's very obvious he gets so much out of the giving aspect, especially since they grew up pretty poor most of their lives.
Hard to say what makes people so generous vs. so stingy. IMHO, it's not the money in the bank that's important, but what you can do with it when you spend it!!
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That's Flunky Gerbiltush to you!
posted on July 28, 2000 02:17:04 PM new
You know, it just occurred to me. Val's BIL was raised with plenty dough (his mom founded one of the largest mailing-list companies in the US). He's the most quietly generous guy on earth, and has assumed - again, unpretentiously - the role of family protector. I think it's because he had a role model to follow.
posted on July 28, 2000 03:58:47 PM new
My sister was nine years older than I. While we had the regular sibling spats once in a while,on the whole we got on famously. I was a preemie--a bit over 3 weeks, which in the 50's was a lot. Mom used to tell about how Karen would wheel me about in her doll carriage & playing with (once almost giving a new neighbor a heart attack) & how I gave my sister that little scar on her nose with my first tooth. Karen taught me how to read before I was 3 years old. She was a "daddy's girl," unfortunately and when he walked out on us (I was 7 & she was 16) she suffered a nervous breakdown in h.s. one day. Although she was brilliant (Mensa-level) she never fully got over it. She committed suicide when I was 17. I treasure memories of her. She took me to see my first live rock band when I visited her in San Francisco. She took me to my first film at a movie theatre when I was 4. She introduced me to literature at a very young age. She cared passionately about others, and volunteered to help improve the lot of migrant workers when she was a teen & took me along with her. My first taste of politics came when she volunteered at Republican headquarters & brought me a few times to help, too. It is shocking sometimes to pause & think that I am now older than my big sister.
posted on July 28, 2000 06:18:51 PM newBunnicula I'm so sorry for your loss. It sounds like your sister was a very special and loving person. Your stories brought back memories of some of the times I spent with my sisters. When you have a relationship that special I think it's a bond that even death can't break.
HCQ Maybe I should go back a little.
We spoiled him alright, but he still joined the Army at 16 - did some major maturity there - and worked his fingers to the bone
to build a successful business - all while getting a college degree. I'm proud of him for that - cause he really started with nothing but a dream and a lot of hard work. When I say we spoiled him it was seldom with anything of a material nature - mostly just love and encouragement. Which, I guess is why it's so surprising to me that he is the way he is. I think he was actually more generous in materialistic ways before he acquired
any real wealth. Course, come to think of it that was also before he acquired his wife - I've never seen anyone pinch a penny the way she can. I swear I've seen the woman count toilet paper squares and set them out for each use. According to her calculations, it should never take more than one dozen squares per wipe.
