Tales and Stories of "The Little Boys"

Written By: Ben

I don't know if I have ever seen two more good looking kiddos in my life. As I mentioned in the last post, I wanted to put this picture back up for a few different reasons. First and most obvious the two kids in this photo are stinking cute! Second, we are still pretty dang good looking if I do say so myself (see photos below). Third, I would be pretty hard pressed to find two closer human beings in existence. 

The above picture is of my cousin Alex and myself when we were probably seven or so. Alex and I have been thick as thieves for as long as either of us can remember. Ever since we were rambunctious enough to walk we have been up to all forms of adventures and shenanigans. Coined the "Little Boys" by our families, we are now the two tallest of said families (not so little anymore!!). Although at heart I think we are still those "Little Boys", whenever we are together we are always having adventures. Now I want to clarify, we MAKE whatever we are doing an adventure, whether that is/was playing with sticks in the backyard as if we were mighty warriors from another time, or on the very frequent late night excursions in search for "grubbies". These adventures or stories include a wide range of activities, items, troubles, and mischief. Some of these tales have ended in great victory while others have ended in sorrow, heartbreak or punishment. Now these tales and stories vary from the exotic to the mundane, from small boys to grown adults, from Mentos, HoHo wrappers, and Mac n' Cheese to knives, bows, guns, four-wheelers and in fact everything in between. 

Perhaps a story to illustrate what I mean. My grandparents live in basically the middle of nowhere in a gorgeous log style home. Their home was a place of many wonders and adventures for Alex and I. One of these locations at the Grandparents house and property is a small mountain/hill a small jaunt from the house on their property. Since we were old enough to be allowed (or not allowed) out of the presence of adults this hill was a place of adventure, wonder, and make believe. I do not remember the first time we ventured into that great unknown, perhaps because it was in fact so long ago. Anyways one day Alex and I were exploring the mountain and to our sheer amazement and joy we stumbled upon an old Indian scouts camp (or so we believed and which probably a small portion of our hearts still believe). This was a true discovery for two young adventurers, the old fire pit, flint chips/flakes, animal bones, and many other remnants of a life of exploring (little did we know, my Grandpa made the camp as a place for us to find) After much investigation and amusement we rushed back to the house wanting to tell everyone, but especially my Dad and Grandpa. On the way back we realize that if we tell everyone it will no longer be a secret place of wonder, so we decide to only tell Dad and Grandpa (seeing as we thought they would know more). To this day whenever Alex and I are at the Grandparents home we still walk up the hill to the old Indian camp and reminisce of times gone by, and the simple care free lives of two young "Little Boys".    

Although we can no longer get away with peeing off the back of the trampoline, we are still up to our adventures. I had the amazing blessing and privilege to spend a full week with my "cuz". We did a lot of things and made every single one an adventure to remember. From going to Niagara Falls, hiking in a place that feels like it is straight out of a fantasy novel, and participating in some of the MLB All-Star festivities, we always seem to have crazy fun stories to tell. Sadly if I were to include these stories, this blog post would be far too long, and crazy. As our week together came to a close and I drove him to the airport it was hard not to cry. (I cried after I dropped him off for sure though). We have been through a ton together and we talk about everything with one another. Although truthfully we have lived many miles apart for the vast majority of our lives, we are closer than brothers. He was among the first people I called when I received the dry run call a week ago, and we both expressed our bond and how it would never fade away, no matter what happened. I would live, die, hide a body, and do anything and everything in between for my cuz.

 Man, we are two good looking guys. Alex is just as much part of the family as I am, and you can bet he makes sure to be there when I can't.

We always jam to "The Boys are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy. In fact it is one of the songs that could easily act as one of our theme songs if we had to pick one. Although neither of us can really sing we still jam to a wide variety of songs during our many adventures and grubby (food/snacks) runs. 

 Although this picture is not of either of our makings, and the credit for it belongs to some other genius out there; I feel it shows just the tiniest fraction of the humor we "bust a gut" to. If I am being honest though, we laugh at just about anything, even at times the dumbest things. 

Okay, before I wrap up I will give a quick update. I am doing well, my health is pretty much unchanged, and I still try and get out and do things as much as possible. I had an amazing week spending time with some absolutely incredible people, and doing some pretty sweet things. Life is indeed back to "normal" after all the craziness of last week. Moms bingeing a show, I'm chilling, and the world keeps on turning. 

Although we can be giant goof balls, we are also two of the most tender hearted people out there. We laugh, cry, have serious discussions, and get in way over our heads on a frequent basis. I wish to share one last story that is a favorite of my Moms when she is talking about the two of us. One night in my early teen years Alex, Damon (Alex's brother), Bailee, and myself were downstairs watching a movie. As my mom tells the story: She and my Aunt Brenda (Alex's Mom) were upstairs, they could hear this strange noise coming from the basement... After a few moments they decided to check it out. As they sneak their way down the stairs (as to not disturb us) the noise seems to get louder. As they peek around the corner to get a view of us kids and what is going on (we were all on a pull our couch bed) they see what I can only imagine as a touching yet hilarious sight. There on that couch all those years ago are three young boys hysterically balling while watching a movie, and my sister sound asleep as if bored out of her mind. Now I am talking like snot running, can't breathe kind of crying, not the pretty stuff you do to try and keep it together. Of course our parents find this hilarious and to this day bring it up when we are in the presence of new company and old friends. I should also mention that the movie was "Where the Red Fern Grows" and guaranteed Alex and I would still cry today, just as we did back then. 

Even though years have passed since we have been given the name of "The Little Boys" I doubt the nickname will ever die. When we are old and gray, long past the days of boyhood, we will still go on grubby runs, still laugh till we cry at stupid things, and still dream and imagine worlds of wonder and amazement. Indeed no matter distance or age, life or death, happiness or sorrow, we have been, still are and always will be "The Little Boys".