Stephen Deploys
Well, yesterday my youngest brother—Lance Corporal Stephen Peter Uhl of the Third Battalion of the Fifth Marine Regiment—deployed for Iraq, there to do battle with our nation’s foes. By this time I imagine they will have deplaned and either are now or will soon be in their new quarters.
Our relationship is rather complex: due to the difference in our ages
(almost eight years; he was born after
the Challenger explosion!), in some ways I regard him
more as a father or uncle than as a brother. I saw him born; I cut
his umbilical cord; I changed his diapers (probably not that often if
you asked Mom or Dad, but it seemed all the time to me). He visited
me almost a decade ago, when he was only eleven and I was in college.
He was still a cute little kid, so I dressed him in a coat & tie,
gave him a snifter of orange soda and took him around all my friends
trolling for girls. It was absolutely hilarious. As adults
I’ve tried to be something of a wise uncle
to him,
moderating his vices and encouraging his virtues. I’ve not
always been successful, but I like to imagine that I’ve helped
moderate his excesses to some extent.
I very much hope he’s safe for the next seven months, but there’s nothing I can do now but pray. I bid you, my readers, to keep him in your daily prayers.
