Memories of My Brother

Monday afternoon Turtle learned that his oldest brother, Fred Tock, had passed away. As I mused on life with him, I jotted down the following memories:

***********

Memories of my brother Fred began for me in Maynard, Iowa. Three stand out. I remember watching him do flips with twists on the trampoline in the school gym. I remember a fox he shot with a shotgun on a pheasant hunt with our Dad . . . at least the head and tail looked like a fox. When he came back from the Air Force in Thule, Greenland, he brought back wool boot liners, and those were well used as slippers for many cold, Iowa winters.

My next major memory was February 14, 1960 when Fred an Joyce were married at Rose Hill Baptist Church, a country church in Missouri. We enjoyed several times at the Bowie farm including shooting off fireworks.

Later Fred and Joyce moved to Red Oak, Iowa for several years. There were more good memories there. Both my brothers were 9 and 8 years older than I. They have a lot more memories of life together, but I was glad Fred and Joyce lived near us for a few years. Fred pitched in some minor league baseball. At home I was his catcher when he practiced . . . no protection . . . so I learned to catch the ball real quick as a twelve year old. Probably the most enjoyable times were when he would take me catfishing on the Nishnabotna River. The best fishing place was usually where the mosquitoes were the worst at night. I can still vividly remember the odor of the stink bait. Sunday afternoons he and I would go down to their apartment and watch NFL football. One of his favorite stories was about Tammy who would stand at their window and sing this jingle to people who walked by: How would you like a wash so white . . . white . . . that you could hang it proudly right on Main Street? . . . Quik-Solv, Quik-Solv, Quik-Solv.
Sadly, we have lived far from each other for our adult lives. However, the main memory of those years has been his love for his children, then his grandchildren, and finally his great-grandchild and all their activities, especially their athletic accomplishments. He had strong opinions, like the traffic and parking around the Holden Senior Center and how it affected his barber shop. However, he also had a tender heart and faithfulness toward people like me.

I have had more contact by phone calls and visits with Fred in the last few years as his health failed. He has been a good big brother to me. Thank you, Fred.