Brother Broken

Good morning. Meet Uncle Emil:

Uncle Emil was a large man with the mind and innocence of a child. As a baby, he had suffered brain damage due to a severe fever. The injury marred his intellect and comprehension. He could never be self-reliant.

To us, Emil was like another fun kid to play with, though much bigger. His size, we thought, we could exploit. It couldn’t hurt to have a perceived bodyguard on our side. In reality, Emil was the one who needed protection, and no one understood this better than our grandmother. Even though Emil looked like he could take care of himself, it didn’t take much prodding to reveal his childlike vulnerability. We weren’t allowed to tease him, which was something we could hardly resist. It took but one encounter with my grandmother’s wrath to eradicate the temptation.

Uncle Emil had many qualities of a child’s favourite playmate. His body was plump, like a cherished teddy bear. His big hands could have been fashioned after the Friendly Giant’s own hams. He borrowed Santa Claus’s cheeks and nose, and his eyes had a puppy quality. Uncle Emil was hardly ever irritable, and hanging out with him had huge advantages.

If we had a notion to climb a tree, and the bottom limb was too high to reach, Emil offered a boost. Then, when we were done climbing, he’d give us a hand down again. If we wanted to know the time, we’d ask him, “Tsee Mil, what time is it?”

Uncle would look at his watch, wind it, and check the time. He’d tell us it was “four cluck.” According to Uncle, it was always “four cluck.”

Brother Broken

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