Our wise mother knew that when she left some cookie batter in a large bowl for Alan and me to eat with our spoons, she should make a dividing line at the bottom of the bowl to separate each of our halves and establish the boundaries. Should one of us disregard the boundaries, mother would hear in Pennsylvania Dutch, "Mama, gook!" meaning "Mama, look!" She would come to our rescue.
Alan liked icing on a cake, slicing it, and placing it beside his plate. He then regarded that particular spot as his "private domain" indicating to the rest of us that we were not to molest it. That was the most savory last bite for him.
He liked to eat butter and lots of it. While eating at the table, he might hear, "Do you eat butter with bread or bread with butter?"
Our parents raised young peeps. One was crippled and Mother named it Mehibosheth referring to a biblical character who had also been disabled. This little peep followed Alan outside and they became "companions." It even climbed inside his pant leg. It provided interesting scenes.
Alan and I liked to play softball in our yard near a few trees. Sometimes we would disagree about something while we were playing. I don't remember what those disagreements were but we were loud enough for the neighbor man across the street to whistle at us. That was a signal that we need to stop arguing. Alan also hit the ball hard enough to crack and break slate on the building near the house. He was quite a ball player as well as a ping pong player with many different twists and turns to keep one swinging the paddle in all kinds of ways and still lose the game!
The Hochstetler family liked to eat ice cream which was somewhat a delicacy in our household. When our parents were preparing to go to the grocery store, I would beg for them to buy ice cream. One time our Dad came home with a gallon of ice cream. To our delight, Dad, Alan, and I sat around the table devouring every bite of the delicious ice cream until we had eaten the entire gallon. Fortunately, none of us got sick from overeating!
On Alan's return trip to Indiana, we would put a jigsaw puzzle together if time permitted. One time we were finishing a puzzle but could not find ONE piece. After searching and searching for it on the floor, under objects, and anywhere we thought the piece could be found, it was eventually discovered where it was safely nestled in his shirt pocket. How the lost piece got there remained a mystery and the puzzle was now done. After this incident, Alan was teased numerous times about keeping puzzle pieces in his shirt pocket.
The Hochstetler family liked to eat ice cream which was somewhat a delicacy in our household. When our parents were preparing to go to the grocery store, I would beg for them to buy ice cream. One time our Dad came home with a gallon of ice cream. To our delight, Dad, Alan, and I sat around the table devouring every bite of the delicious ice cream until we had eaten the entire gallon. Fortunately, none of us got sick from overeating!
One lasting remembrance is for our family to gather around the piano and sing hymns, many of them unfamiliar to us. Once we bought a new hymn book on a Saturday at the local book store. We spent several hours singing the unfamiliar hymns in four part harmony as Dad, Mary Ellen, Alan, and I gathered around the piano as we sang. Alan had a very good bass voice, Dad sang tenor, Mary Ellen soprano, and I sang alto. Dad was very musical and provided the opportunities for us to enjoy music as well as participate singing in quartets and choirs. He also took us to concerts. The love of music was kept alive all these years.
A special tribute to my brother, Alan: compassionate, uncomplaining, competent, dependable, skillful in many areas, and kept his mind active with certain activities even though somewhat physically disabled. He is a brother that has left an empty spot but never forgotten in our family.
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