So I needed to give my brother a little bit more credit than I have been. When I think of him, I think of him as he used to be: One year as a child he refused to wear any clothing that wasn't camoflage. My entire family was worried that he'd never make it into college, and at some points were worried that he wouldn't make it through high school. I don't think he ever read a book for pleasure until after he started college. But that's just it - college opened up something in him, and helped him to engage the world. Tough to explain if you hadn't known him beforehand.
Anyway, I had a pretty good time with him this weekend, mostly playing the 'What we have here that you don't there" game, as he's living in the ol' hometown, Burlington, Vermont.
So he gets in, and almost the first thing out of his mouth is, "Is Bowling For Columbine plaing anywhere?" I had forgotten about his love for the movies. So Friday night I took him out to dinner at Redbones in Davis Square because you can't get barbecue in Vermont. As it turns out, you can't get good barbecue in Boston either, but it was worth a shot, and he enjoyed it. Then we wandered around Copley for an hour trying to find the Copley Plaza movie theater, which, as it turns out, is in a mall I didn't know existed. We made it just in time, and we both enjoyed it immensely.
Saturday morning we got up and I had basically nothing to eat in the house, as I hadn't had time to shop during the week. So we stumbled to the grocery store and I bought walnuts, raisins, and oatmeal, and we came back and I made some of that for breakfast, with the maple syrup I already had. Then we walked to Harvard Square, bought some music, walked back to Central Square, and bought food for dinner. The family that cooks together, stays together, and I figured that if we both cooked half the meal we could swap recipes and we'd both enjoy it. I made the cheesy garlicky mashed potatoes, and he made some sort of pantanella, which looked an awful lot like a vegetable salad with toasted bread in it to me. But it was all very good. We had a couple beers, and watched a movie we had rented. "("Meet The Feebles". It deserves its own entry.) hen we trudged into Brookline to catch DJ Food and Amon Tobin at the Paradise, as I've had tickets for a couple months, and he's a bigger Amon Tobin fan than I am. As neither of us dance unless there's tons of alcohol or a pretty girl involved, we sat in the corner and got drunk together, and listened to music.
And then we walked home, babbling to each other to stay awake. When we got home, we both immediately crashed. And this morning, after yet another hearty and healthy oatmeal breakfast, I saw him off, after handing him copies of music I had that he thought he'd like. (The new Amon Tobin album, Rasputina, Belle & Sebastian, and Ben Folds Five for his fiance. And that was that. It wasn't a mind-blowingly good time, but it was pleasant. But I still can't get inside his head.
Anyway, I had a pretty good time with him this weekend, mostly playing the 'What we have here that you don't there" game, as he's living in the ol' hometown, Burlington, Vermont.
So he gets in, and almost the first thing out of his mouth is, "Is Bowling For Columbine plaing anywhere?" I had forgotten about his love for the movies. So Friday night I took him out to dinner at Redbones in Davis Square because you can't get barbecue in Vermont. As it turns out, you can't get good barbecue in Boston either, but it was worth a shot, and he enjoyed it. Then we wandered around Copley for an hour trying to find the Copley Plaza movie theater, which, as it turns out, is in a mall I didn't know existed. We made it just in time, and we both enjoyed it immensely.
Saturday morning we got up and I had basically nothing to eat in the house, as I hadn't had time to shop during the week. So we stumbled to the grocery store and I bought walnuts, raisins, and oatmeal, and we came back and I made some of that for breakfast, with the maple syrup I already had. Then we walked to Harvard Square, bought some music, walked back to Central Square, and bought food for dinner. The family that cooks together, stays together, and I figured that if we both cooked half the meal we could swap recipes and we'd both enjoy it. I made the cheesy garlicky mashed potatoes, and he made some sort of pantanella, which looked an awful lot like a vegetable salad with toasted bread in it to me. But it was all very good. We had a couple beers, and watched a movie we had rented. "("Meet The Feebles". It deserves its own entry.) hen we trudged into Brookline to catch DJ Food and Amon Tobin at the Paradise, as I've had tickets for a couple months, and he's a bigger Amon Tobin fan than I am. As neither of us dance unless there's tons of alcohol or a pretty girl involved, we sat in the corner and got drunk together, and listened to music.
And then we walked home, babbling to each other to stay awake. When we got home, we both immediately crashed. And this morning, after yet another hearty and healthy oatmeal breakfast, I saw him off, after handing him copies of music I had that he thought he'd like. (The new Amon Tobin album, Rasputina, Belle & Sebastian, and Ben Folds Five for his fiance. And that was that. It wasn't a mind-blowingly good time, but it was pleasant. But I still can't get inside his head.