The Cast of Characters
by Kellie Morin


I guess you could say I’ve lived a charmed life. On February 20, 1968, I stepped into this world. From there I spent the bulk of my free time with the two most incredible people on God’s earth. Their given names were Dave and Sandy, but I knew them as Mom and Dad, protectors, caregivers, school-clothes buyers, my own personal taxi service and ATM machine, and most importantly, my first real friends. If I were to try and describe how I feel about these people, words would quite simply fail me. They developed my mind, my considerable sense of humor, my heart, and pretty much everything that is me. They gave me my sense of self and others and they “loved me big.” I never realized how lucky I was. In retrospect, given the chance to roll the dice and arrive on this scene again…I would most certainly decline, for I now understand just how incredible the odds were of ending up in the care of people like them.

Dad was the third child. He could subsist solely on laughter and fun. In fact he made everything fun. Even learning, which he surreptitiously got me to do on a regular basis under the guise of games. If you were ever looking for me…just find Dad and there I was. We were a two-headed monster (one bald, one with ponytails). Mom, well she was just special. Feeling sad? Go see Mom. Need a hug? Go see Mom. Feeling insecure? Go see Mom. I’m cresting 34 years of age now and guess what…it still works. She’s the “make you feel better” machine. Everyone should have one of these.

I was quite pleased with their work and am happy to say that on December 5, 1971, they produced a second model. This would be my brother Brad. His cloying, undivided-attention-robbing presence annoyed me extensively pretty much until he was 20. But thankfully, he finally crossed over from the excessively hair-spraying, ripped t-shirt wearing, muscle-car driving, Nikki Sixx wannabe to a much more palatable, neatly coiffed, corporate type who knows what an iron is. He has henceforth held the title of “funniest person I know.” The extent of his humorous ability is perhaps unmatched anywhere in the annals of history and he has, on numerous occasions, left me in a quivering heap on the floor after having made me laugh so hard, I no longer possessed the simple muscular capacity required to hold myself upright. To this day he holds the distinction of being the only person ever to send me into a whining fit of laughter bordering on an uncontrollable hysteria so profound that it went so far as to earn me concerned looks from passersby. And he is, without a doubt, destined to be the person that eventually gets me fired, since screaming, wheezing laughter is generally frowned upon in the “cube farm” environment. In my world, which is almost entirely ruled by humor, he is the wind beneath my wings.

So there they are: the cast of characters that were to flank me throughout the first 30 years of my life. In subsequent articles, you’ll get to know them better and will, no doubt, appreciate them almost as much as I do. They are a very special breed, and having them in your life, even in a literary sense only, will make a difference. You’ll see.

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About the Author;
Kellie Morin is a professional freelance writer from central Massachusetts who loves her family and life. You'll enjoy her heartfelt style. Kellie can be reached at Kellie@boomerjournals.com