Steve the King
I had 3 cousins growing up amongst my generation. Scott, Lisa and Steve. I Rusty, was the youngest and the baby of the group, Scott was the oldest and self-determined, Lisa was the smart one, and Steve . . . well to me Steve was the cool one.
Even though Steve was 13 years older than me, he was the closest to my age. When we would get together for family gatherings it was Steve that played with me the most. Steve was really fun. I remember playing laser tag, being thrown around on the bed, piggyback rides and him helping me put the decals on my transformers that I got for Christmas. I know I followed him around like a baby duckling, but Steve never seemed to mind my company.
As a child, my father liked to watch a lot of movies with Steve McQueen. I remember Steve McQueen performing motorcycle and car stunts to evade the enemy so through my eyes I thought that actor was the epidemy of cool. But I also knew a Steve, and my Steve was cooler. Therefore, I called Steve, Steve the King.
One of my fondest childhood memories took place at Uncle Bob's Lakehouse. For several years in a row, our family would get together during the 4th of July. This was like a Christmas in July to me. My family had 4 birthdays that all fell around this time. My dad's birthday was on June 20th, Aunt Phyllis July 4th, Steve the King July 7th, and my own birthday July 8th. No offense to the rest of my family, the 4 of us were the coolest of the group. Mainly because we were the ones getting all the presents.
I remember my Grandma Pinkerton, Aunt Betty, and Aunt Phyllis mostly in the kitchen cooking. My Uncle Bob playing host would roam around making sure everyone was having a good time. Lisa and Jim were joined at the hip during this time (they were newlyweds) so you always found them together. My dad and Scott would try their hand at windsurfing. While my Mom would play cards with anyone and everyone else that was willing to play.
We swam, we paddled boated we would lounge on the hammock, but what I mostly looked forward to was the fishing.
I brought my little kid's fishing pole along with my little kid's tackle box while Uncle Terry would arrive with perhaps 10 fishing poles, along with a gargantuan tackle box that would put pro fishers to shame. Uncle Terry and I would compete on who would catch the most and biggest fish. Of course, Uncle Terry would set up all 10 of his fishing poles and leave them or take a nap. So, I ended up catching many of his fish for him. Uncle Terry would tell you otherwise, but I'm pretty sure I caught the biggest fish, with my little kid's fishing pole. A catfish that my dad fileted, and my Aunt Betty ended up cooking for me.
On 4th of July night, all of us would gather to the dock. The lake was filled with people on boats all in anticipation of a fireworks show. The show was performed by a family that gathered across the lake and our family. My dad had brought some illegal fireworks from South Carolina so we had some good-sized fireworks. My dad, Scott and Steve helped set and launched the fireworks, while Uncle Terry made sure we were using proper Boy Scout fire safety regulations. It was a spectacular display as fireworks were being launched on both sides of the lake. To this day, these were the best firework displays I ever seen.
Once the fireworks were over we would gather back into the house to open up presents for the cool people. Now, I only remember 2 birthday gifts I received from these trips. One was a magic trick that Jim dazzled me with. The other came from Steve the King.
As we were trying to gather the family to open up gifts, Steve couldn't be found. So naturally, I started searching for him. I finally opened the door to one of the bedrooms and I found Steve in the process of wrapping a remote-control car he had got for me. Steve, in the coolest way he could handle that situation said, "Yyyo, Rusty, I'll be out in minute."
I shut the door and pretended I didn't see it, because I realized I ruined his birthday surprise for me. But at the same time I was exuberated that Steve got me a remote-control car. In the late 80's there was 3 main gifts a boy could want: A Nintendo, a bike, and a remote-control car. These are gifts that you would only expect from grandma's and parents.
Though the remote-control car didn't last long. The memory of receiving that gift will forever be ingrained in my thoughts. I received the coolest gift from the coolest person I knew, Steve the King.
Steve, you will always be my King, I will forever treasure our time we had together. In life and in death you are my hero.
Share with others
