This Sunday, my baby brother Jamal will get married, and words in a blog cannot properly express how happy I am for him. I came into this world 3 years before he did, and since then I have done my best to look out for him. There have been times when I have failed miserably, there have been other times when I've wondered how he really looks at me, and of course there have been times when I've wanted to beat that ass repeatedly. I remember playing soccer, basketball and football in the backyards of all of our houses, and I used to beat him in every sport, and then get mad when he didn't continue to participate. We would play Double Dribble on Nintendo, and he would beat MY ass so bad that I'd rip the game out of the wall and say "Fuck that son!" I remember Jamal would get beatdowns from my mother and father way worse than me, and part of me would feel guilty, although a larger part of me would be laughing that he was dumb enough to get caught. On a sadder note, I can remember that one day in '97, when Jamal and I fought over something trivial, and he tried to stab me. I remember telling him that if he was THAT mad, and if it was that serious, that he needed to stab his older brother, that he should go right ahead(he never did it thank God). As I'm typing these memories, countless more are playing in my head montage style, and I cannot even begin to type them all.

I guess my point is that Sunday is the end of an era. Jamal lives in ATL, and I live in DC, but we still retain a certain degree of closeness. We text each other Chappelle jokes, we talk about any and everything, and we just give each other that pick me up that is so desperately needed sometimes. And as much as I appreciate my friends, Jamal provides that comfort that I need sometimes, because he's known me the longest. But he's about to be married now, and he'll be a father in a few months, and then THEY will be his responsibility, and frankly that is how it is supposed to be. That is a necessary part of growing up, and I understand that. I also understand that we will always be brothers, we will always love each other, and we will always have each other's backs. But my baby brother is gone..he's a man now. And I wish him luck.

When we were young, my father used to play this song by War entitled, "Me and Baby Brother". And although all of the lyrics don't apply, he told us to always look out for one another. I found t the lyrics this morning, so I thought I'd post them here:

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=download&ufid=C51297973B527AA4
War
Me And Baby Brother

Me and baby brother
Used to run together
Me and baby brother
Used to run together

Welcome one another
Headed for the corner
Welcome one another
Headed for the corner

Shiftin on his mind
Is like drinking funky wine
By the river
Chippin on his mind
Is like drinking funky wine
By the river

Me and baby brother
Used to run together
Me and baby brother
Used to run together

Welcome one another
Headed for the corner
Welcome one another
Headed for the corner

I remember the day
We used to fight together
I remember the day, yeah
We used to fight together

Me and baby brother
Used to run together
Me and baby brother
Used to run together

Hang on, baby brother, oh
They call it law and order
Hey, hey, hey

Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Your my baby brother
Your my baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Your my baby brother
Your my baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother
Come back, baby brother