Brothers

Today is the shortest day, or if you prefer, the longest night, of the year, the Winter Solstice. And, for the first time in a very long time, I have a Saturday with nowhere to go and nothing pressing to do (the reason for this is not so great, which I will come to shortly, but I shall make the best of it and enjoy this unexpected free time).

I am writing this sitting at my desk in my home office, enjoying my morning coffee in my favorite holiday mug (with just a splash of bourbon, a rare indulgence that this cold and rainy morning seemed to call for), with the CBC Playlist Classical Holidays playing in the background. Life is good.

One of the things that for me makes life good is surprises. Not big surprises, like a party thrown in my honour that I was not aware of until I walked in the door and was greeted by the shouts of “surprise!!!” from the many assembled guests. Which did not happen, as I believe those closest to me know that this is not something I would enjoy. And certainly not bad surprises, like having my car break down ten days before Christmas with no garage able to even take a look at it until December 20th, and then informing me that it is a big job, but he hopes he can have it ready by December 23rd. Which did happen, and is the reason for my unexpected free day. No, not these. I like the pleasant little surprises, like discovering that the twelve-dollar bottle of wine I bought just to see what it was like is actually quite good. Or popping into a local pub, with my oldest son, for a pint of Guinness and having the beer arrive with a holiday image in the foam.

I had another surprise recently that falls into this category of pleasant little surprises. It came in the form of a gift for my 60th birthday from my always thoughtful stepdaughter, Kylie. It was two books. One was, 300 Writing Prompts. A book I would have definitely purchased for myself, if I had known it existed, and have been using everyday since receiving it, and the other was, Brothers, by Alex Van Halen, about himself, his late brother, Eddie and the band Van Halen. A book I would never have bought for myself.

I am not big on reading rock biographies or rock autobiographies (though I did read Life, by Keith Richards) and I was never a Van Halen fan. But it was a gift, and being someone who appreciates every gift he is given, I decided I would read it as soon as I finished the book I had been reading at the time.

The next evening, when my reading time rolled around, I picked up Brothers, with the intention of giving it a quick perusal before continuing with The Rebel Angels, the book by Robertson Davies that I had been reading, and have yet to finish. I read Brothers in two sittings and finished it with tears rolling down my face.

I am certain that Brothers would be nobody’s idea of great literature, but Alex Van Halen has a writing style that is light and easy, and he is so open and honest that I couldn’t but help enjoy it. The story of the brothers, their childhood and their rise to rock stardom, is moving, often heart warming, and occasionally heartbreaking, and one that I am so grateful to Kylie for giving me. If not for her thoughtful gift I would never have read this.

In this single gift I received several of those pleasant little surprises of which I am so fond. I found a wonderful book somewhere I would never have looked myself, I became a Van Halen fan, the book 300 Writing Prompts has given me the motivation that I apparently needed to write everyday, and I discovered that someone knows me so well that she was able to get me the perfect gift. As I said, life is good.

Cheers!

Stephen