A Family Tribute

#1 – 2 Minute Mark

I chose to tribute Mark first in my family tribute series because he never reads this, so I can make fun of him. The second reason is because I thought of his nickname today, 2 minute Mark, which he is infamously known for by four others that were at my bachelor party. And the meaning will continue to be known by only those four...(Ask me later)

Mark & I have a kindred spirit, which, I guess would make sense, since we are kin and all. I have fond memories of him hiding in a closet and bursting out with a butcher knife threatening to kill me. Seriously. I'm not kidding. But those were in the olden days, when we were but small children, playing small children's games. But people who saw Mark & I as kids would say that we are similar. We were both over-competitive, we both made some bad decisions in the girl department (in high school, I mean. Come on guys, we love our wives!) and we are both SEVERELY overweight. Not really. Well, I am, but that's not the point. I do have a treadmill after all.

Here is my tribute to my brother.

#1) Best nick-name ever
#2) He is someone I can look up to. And I don't mean someone I can look up to like Ghandi or Martin Luther King Jr. or Dave Turner or someone else famous like that. These guys brought peace to the world, struck blows against racism, and in Dave's case, we have yet to see. But none of those people are real to me. They are heroes to the world, and great men, but the world is made up of heroes like my brother. He is someone real to me. He is my brother and friend. He is a great dad to his kids. He is an honest Christian who is doing his best and really trying to please God. He feeds people and combats racism at home and in his city where he sees it. He challenges me to be a better person. If the world had more heroes like this, then maybe we wouldn't need the big heroes (No disrespect to the big guys, they are great too). Everyone would be a hero. And everyone needs someone close to them that they can look up to in this way. Mark is one of mine. Hey, 2 Minute Mark could even be a super-hero name...
#3) His job is helping kids who are at the end of their ropes. He works for Child & Family Services in a group home that cares for kids that not even their families want. He gives them a friend, some discipline, an ear, and becomes a hero to them. It's jobs like his that make a real difference in this world. And I know that you can make a difference where ever you are, and that's true, but Mark is in the fire. Maybe he would be embarrassed by me saying this, and knowing his humility, he would probably talk his role down a bit, but this is real, and this is the work of Jesus.
#4) He likes ketchup on his tacos, and when I put ketchup on my tacos, other people think I'm crazy. Thanks for being there for me, Mark. There with ketchup.

I could go for longer, but this is getting too long, and I'm in ACTS class right now, so I better pay attention. Sorry, teacher/uncle Blair. The moral of this story and the reason for this tribute is that my brother Mark is one of the coolest dudes I know, and if I turn out to be half the man that he is, I will be proud and honored to walk in his footsteps.

This is really getting out of hand...I'm weeping uncontrollably right now!

P.S.- If you are ever in trouble, just yell out “2-Minute Mark!”, and he will come to your rescue. It's like Superman, but faster!