For most of my life, I have been known as a "Collins Twin." I suspect it was easier to call us the Collins twins than attempting to tell us apart. When we were very young, my father called me "Gee Gair" and called my twin "Bubba". Back in those days my twin could not say "Gee Gair" so he called my "Gay Gay". I am kind of glad that name did not stick. Later, we became twin 1 and twin 2. Twin 1 (me) had one set of eyes and twin 2 (Jerry) had two sets of eyes since he wore glasses and I did not.
As young children, twins share almost almost everything from clothes to toys. One develops an incredible sense of fairness and equality. It is also a very unique situation when your brother and your best friend are all wrapped up into one. On the downside, one develops a little bit of codependency. In our case, as with many twins, our parents had the schools place us in separate classes so we could establish our own identities. As we got older, especially in college, we found that having classes together became more of a positive. If one of missed class or zoned out, then the other one had the notes.
Sibling rivalry has always existed to varying degrees. I think it drives twins to some extent. It can certainly teach one about winning and sometimes a whole lot about losing like the time I finished runner up to my brother for a scholarship. Today, that rivalry is limited to our fishing trips. By the way, I always win at fishing.
Today, the Collins twins hit the big 45. I have to add that I hit 45 nine minutes before him, but who is counting. So, I close with Happy Birthday Twin 2 except I can't say that because we both have two sets of eyes today. Well how about something more appropriate, Happy Birthday Bubba!
No comments:
Post a Comment