16th January 2006
My brother Eric…
Has undoubtedly been one of the most significant influences in my life. I might not have ever started running if it wasn’t for him, and probably wouldn’t have had so many terrible haircuts - partly because I wanted to be like him and he wore his hair like he was either way before or way behind his times; and partly because he was responsible for cutting my hair a few times, including the short mohalk that I sported during 4th grade. The monster mullet I had for 6 weeks of my senior year in high school was a tribute to him because he sported a monster mullet his senior year - but he didn’t know it was a mullet, he just thought it was cool - and at the time I did too. Come to think of it, I still think it was cool.
But hairstyles aren’t the only way Eric has influenced me. He also made me want to be a class clown. He was always telling jokes and pulling pranks; people whom he was in high school with will still tell me about how he and Nate McHenry would make money off of people by gathering up the most disgusting plate of food they could and getting people to pay them to eat it. Or people will remember stories about his activities in the catwalks of the school auditorium during orchestra rehearsal, various objects flying around or dropping out of nowhere… I was never really as good at pulling off pranks like this; maybe I never had the guts to do such things in school.
I was the best man at Eric’s wedding, which was kind of funny because I was only 13 and certainly nothing resembling a man. Melissa’s sister Kaitlyn, the same age as me, was the Maid of Honor - how are 13 year olds supposed to come up with good toasts? (Or host bachelor’s parties… not that that there would have been licquor as Eric was only 20 when he was married…) My toast was something about how Eric was a good fisherman but none of us knew how he’d made a catch this good. If I were to make it now, being a bit more bold, I think it would have been something more about how Eric and Melissa owe their marriage to the good will of their siblings who had to go with on all of their dates or whatever they might be called (something to do with courtship)…
One of my first memories of singing in church is of Eric making fun of me because my voice was so high (of course it was, I was in like 4th grade!). Irony would have it that while Eric’s voice developed into a high tenor, mine settled into an upper baritone range. This memory withstanding, however, one of the things that I remember about Eric in church after this - or at least at youth group events - was his passion for singing and praising God. In our spiritual lives we usually have to learn from other people, and especially other people’s example. Eric’s example in worship helped me to worship more freely, even if the full effect didn’t take place until after we were involved with different churches.
And this website itself is largely the work of Eric, a skilled web entrepreneur in his own right. And today, ladies and gentlemen; TODAY is HIS BIRTHDAY! So,
Happy Birthday Eric!
and I hope this year brings even more joy than the last.
And sorry that I didn’t get you a birthday present. See entry below about feeling sick. I just came home from the doctor’s office with some antibiotics for a sinus infection. And Michael stole my idea anyway… But maybe as a gift I will try to convince my few readers to visit your sites:
Eric has a site with lots of personal information at ericholmlund.com
His personal blog, which isn’t updated that frequently is at uglyblog.com
His business blog is at ericstips.com
And the online prayer community that he founded is at prayway.com
Everyone out there should check out my brother’s pages and maybe even wish him a happy birthday!
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