This story is about a modern day miracle. Not really a life changing, earth-shattering miracle by any means, but one that has special meaning for my family and me.

My brother Roger died in 1980. His was a tragic death and afterward the grieving took a long time. Following his death, we took his belongings to my house. I divided everything three ways for my Dad, my Mom and myself. I remember doing this in my little living room and having three piles for all the items.

When it came to his clothes, my husband got those. He and Roger were the same size. Roger worked for the Coca-Cola company and collected anything associated with Coke. Back in the early 1980s rayon shirts with a zillion tiny holes were in style…hmmm, a style that hasn’t changed! They are still in fashion today.

Roger had several red shirts with the words Coca-Cola written on the pocket. Larry wore these for a long time. At some point they were put in a drawer for awhile until my oldest daughter Amy discovered them. Now she wears the shirts that belonged first to my brother and then to my husband.

Roger was age 26 when he died, but he must have liked Snoopy. He had a single set of Snoopy sheets and pillow case. My son Brett, the only one of my children who knew Uncle Roger, used his snoopy sheets and pillow case. Later on, when Amy, Rhea and Jeremiah came along, they slept on the snoopy sheets also.

Roger’s belongings have dwindled through the years. Some of it is boxed away, other stuff like his TV stand is still in use. His pictures are in the photo albums, and occasionally I stumble across a remembrance of my brother.

My son once dated a girl who lost her brother tragically too. She said, “It’s like I had a brother…” I knew what she meant. It’s been so long now, you can only relive the memories so much. You can be sad but there comes a time you have to let go.

I know Roger would have enjoyed my kids. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on Brett when he was a baby. And he was always buying him some fun toy.

Roger’s birthday would be December 1. This year he would have been 48, but I can only remember him at 26 and younger. I see only the crazy cowlicks that stuck straight up in front on each side of his head all his growing up years. Finally as a teen he stopped getting buzz cuts and let his hair grow. One cowlick served to guide the part in his hair.

Roger was kind hearted and had an outrageous sense of humor. He never cared for a little sister. Possibly he did when he was little but once I got big enough to tag along and do everything he did, that was it. That party had to end!

One time I remember he got some flares from somewhere and he’d set them off in the evenings. Kind of fun, not the fourth of July or anything but we’d watch the red glare until it faded and died out, kind of like my memories of my only brother, a red glare and then fading.

Except memories never die out do they? Kind of like that red Coca-Cola shirt still hanging in my laundry room after all these years and the snoopy pillow case that my children still rest their heads on at night…