Mike - My Hero

Pin It

Clearly, I overlooked someone. 

And, with no surprise, he let me know.

Mike, let me make it up to you!

I don't think you realize the resources at my fingertips. 

Many childhood photos. 

Many. 

Get ready, Muzzy.

Oh, and you asked for it.  In print.  Check out the comments below the previous post. 

Mike and I are cousins. 

He is eight months older than me, and as such has been around my whole life.

I didn't ask for him.  He was just always there.

Cramming into my pictures.

Aren't we cute??

Who is cuter??

(Oh, for clarification purposes only, I am wearing the puffy pink dress and Mike is wearing the blue suit.... strictly for clarification.) 

Aw.  Looks like Nini knows who the cutest one is!!

That's my mom in the green dress. 

So, yes, Mike was at all my childhood birthday parties.

See him eyeing my cake?

(black suit, red stripe on the sleeve)

Back off, Buddy.

We were the same age, but I never did seem to catch up with him in height. 

Weird.

I hadn't noticed that until now.

Kidding.  

Luckily, for both of us, we were in the same class from Junior High onwards.

Lucky for his grades.

Lucky for my gut busting at his constant antics.

Lucky.

We loved it.

This photo (above) is Mike on St. Patrick's Day, I think.  This was not his usual high school attire. 

Usually, he had on a t-shirt. 

Usually, he had on a very old, very small, very hole-y, shirt on with a Joe Carter caricature . 

He could slip his head through one hole on the hole on the shirt.  I've searched everywhere for a photo of it, and it must be in Miramichi, but I'm sure he remembers it well! 

It was pretty cool to go through school and graduate in the same class with a cousin.  I'm not sure if anyone other pairs of cousins had that opportunity in our family.

We had a blast together. 

We even got to go to prom together. 

Not as each others' dates, but together with our friends. 

This is Mike's before prom picture. 

This is Mike's post prom picture.

We are having supper at a famous Miramichi landmark.

And, this is Mike's post post prom.

He changed for our outdoor party.

He forgot to pack extra shoes.

No kidding.

I believe he may have had to pay to replace the rented prom shoes.

But, knowing Mike, he talked his way out of it. 

Years later, we went on a vacation to the Dominican together. 

Mike was a wee bit excited.

It was wonderful.

Mike is pretending that he is the same height as me in this picture.

Very intelligent. 

There was leafy vegetation and an open bar in the middle of the pool.

Mike liked that. 

It was a blast of a vacation.

I'm very glad I went with Mike.  It was a hoot.

And here we are. 

Over three decades later.

And he's still cramming into my pictures.

And making me bust a gut.

So there you have it.

Mike - my hero.

Well... maybe not.

How about...?

Mike - my cousin. 

I would have picked you to be my cousin even if I had a choice.