This Was Supposed to Be about Perception, but it Ended Up Being about Ice Cream and Geese

I apologize for the delay for this. I was having a hard time finishing the drawings for this because of stupid things such as assignments and forgetting to hit the save button before I finished the drawings.

A couple of weeks back, I realized that I have yet to blog about my favorite person in the world: my brother. His name is Sean, and he means the world to me. He's actually my half brother (different dads), but he's like a real brother to me. We both don't really keep in contact with our dads and our mom raised us both, so he was like a full, hardcore brother to me. He's also like a father-figure to me since he is fourteen years older than me. Our mom died when I was nine, so he is the closest family I have.

Despite us being close, my brother and I are two VERY VERY VERY VERY VERY different individuals.

Even when I think we could be similar, we're not.

Sean currently lives in South Dakota (how he ended up there is too long of a story for this blog). We Skype and talk on the phone more than most siblings. In fact, I would say I talk to my brother AT LEAST three times a week, and I quite enjoy it.

Recently, there was one incidence that very much demonstrated our differences while I was talking on the phone with him. What I am about to show you is my interpretation/perception of what happened on the phone. Since, I am quite some distance away from my brother, I have no idea what actually happened except what I heard. Based on what I heard, I drew (no pun intended) my own conclusions of what was happening.

Now don't get me wrong. I love ice cream just as much as the next hormonal female (not to refer to my brother as a hormonal female... he's actually quite manly), but I've never been one to actually crave it. I get ice cream when it's available to me, but I never go out of my way to get ice cream. Let's be honest here, if you want ice cream, then you're probably not wanting to do much to obtain ice cream. Ice cream is one of those foods that you already feel the consequences of eating it when you're thinking about eating it.

Another thing is that I have a hard time actually remembering that ice cream trucks exist. My brother and I grew up in a small, rural ghost-town in southwestern Ohio. It was at one time, like most small towns, a lively community, but it died over time. With my brother being significantly older than me, he managed to live through a time where the town had some life in it and ice cream trucks ran rapid through the streets. I, on the other hand, only saw an ice cream truck pass through our town ONCE and I thought I was hallucinating.

My first and only experience getting ice cream from an ice cream truck was of course with my brother when he was living in Tennessee. My brother's ice cream radar went off and he ran right out the door, leaving me, his fifteen-year-old sister, to wait on his six-year-old son so he would have someone to walk outside with. Yes... that is right... my brother was more excited than a fifteen-year-old and a six-year-old.

With watching my brother at this point in life, I think my imagination is pretty spot on when it comes to predicting what happened when the ice cream truck decided to make a route through the part of Rapid City, South Dakota where my brother resides.

And pretty soon, I went into little sister mode.

Clearly, I don't understand my brother's longing for the ice cream truck. I also didn't understand his disappointment when the ice cream truck never came. In my opinion, I figured if he wanted ice cream that bad, he could drive to the store to get some. No, let me take that back. Every time I have ever went to visit my brother, there has been ice cream there so I can almost GUARANTEE that while this was happening, there was ice cream in the freezer. But no... "it's the principal of it all!"

Do not get me wrong because it's moments like these that make me glad that Sean is my brother. He always manages to make me smile in the best ways. I think he may just be one of the funniest people ever, and sometimes, I wonder if we are the only two that find each other funny.

The reason I wonder this is because of one particular incident that I am POSITIVE no one else would laugh at except for us. This incident took place the same summer of my first ice cream truck experience. Sean had just brought me back to Ohio after spending some time with him in Tennessee. We ventured to a place near home where there was an arcade, go carts, and putt-putt golf. After my brother destroyed me in putt-putt, we headed into the arcade where he convinced me to play Dance Dance Revolution for the first time ever.

Despite how horrible I was at first, I ended up getting slightly better. I was slightly behind my brother, and the last match would determine who would win. It was neck and neck. Then, all of the sudden the power went off. It came back on within ten seconds, and after our chorus of "NOOOOO!"s and "I WAS SO CLOSE!!"s, we turned around to see people outside with shocked looks on their faces.

Sean and I went outside, and we approached one lady that had her hands over her mouth to ask what happened. She informed us that a goose had flew into a transformer which is what caused the power outage. My brother and I exchanged a look and dismissed this lady's comment. We knew that no bird, no matter how much I may despise birds, could have flew into a transformer. We decided to leave for home, and as we were leaving, we saw a cloud of smoke rising on the street with a semi-circle of people gathered around what was left of the electrified goose.

Now, before you read the next part, I don't want you to think my brother and I are some sadistic, heartless people. But the sight looked so unreal. It seriously looked like Daffy Duck after losing a fight with Bugs Bunny in the old school Looney Tunes show. Needless to say, we started laughing so hard that I am pretty sure my brother was crying and I was concerned that if I laughed too much harder that I would urinate myself.

And just when we tried to compose ourselves, leave it to Sean to ruin the composure.