Completely in the Dark

If I had to break down the “Four Elements According to The Family Project,” it would be:

Brother = Earth

me = Fire

Mom = Air

… and Dad = Water.

Well, that was an easy exercise.

Now here’s my rationale: Fire scorches Earth, but is extinguished by Water. Conversely, Earth could put out Fire, but it’s not as fast as Fire. Fire is fed by Air so… being who I am, and my brother being who he is, and Mom and Dad who they were, it’s a formula I can get behind.

At least it sounds reasonable enough.

***

Every late spring, we “put in” the boat dock.

To get down to the lake, you first stood at the top of a stairway on a steep embankment. It was Sunday, April 16, 1978: “I went home and spent most of the day taking the…