Cast of characters: Johnny

Every big family needs a middle child to bridge the gap between the big kids and the babies. Our family got John -- not smack in the middle, age-wise, but the perfect brother to anchor the siblings and keep the young 'uns in the family loop.

I picked this photo to show Johnny's lighter side, the side I remember the most from my growing-up years. He is forever frozen in my mind's eye at 14 years old -- ornery, handsome and totally cool. He was always off somewhere in the neighborhood or about town on his adventures. Like most boys his age, he sometimes got into a little trouble -- like the time when he was 15 and took the car out for a spin while the parents were out. As (bad) luck would have it, he wrecked it into a garage in the neighborhood -- and not just any garage, mind you, but the garage of a state highway patrol.

I know he was hit by a car when he was about 7 years old, whizzing down a hill on a sled. Thank God, he survived. And I remember being jealous because he had a tree house, and I didn't. Yep, there's no doubt that John had a beguiling way about him, and to my little-girl mind, he was like Tom Sawyer.

He also had a cute pack of male friends who often hung around our house, which gave me status among the girls my age. And unlike Don, who wouldn't even give me a ride around town in his sports cars, John actually let me drive his dark green Porche with my friend Suzi, allowing me to feel suave for an entire afternoon. And he was nice to my friends, even acknowledging our existence when he saw us on Court St. and we were making fools of ourselves.

John has the distinction of being "the smart one," too. He did us all proud when he earned his master's and then his Ph.D., making us all seem a little smarter by association. He was the one with the summer job on the Cape, the one who skiied in Colorado, the one who got around, the one I looked up to. John was always my hero.

He kept in touch, always making time to visit my family when he traveled nearby. And he poured his heart and soul in to helping Mom and Dad in every way he could. When the rest of us were far away, which we almost always were, he was there. He relied on reason when I was awash in emotion. He and his wife Bernie catered to Mom's and Dad's needs for years.

I think that of all of us, he was the one most taken for granted. Perhaps that's because he excelled and made it look easy, because he was always there, because he took care of himself and his family without fanfare or drama. Maybe it's just the lot of the "middle child." But I know one thing: I am now and always have been grateful for my brother, the one who didn't shun me, even if he did make pig noises at the table when I was eating and teased me mercilessly. Thank you, Johnny, for always being there for me.