I would like to share a few things I remember about my big brother Tim. He was such a good guy. I really enjoyed his sense of humor so much. And just kind of the way he unexpectedly could make me laugh.
I probably should not share this because letting it out of the bag might haunt me, but Tim always called me Colly Wolly Doodle All Day. All I could come back up with was Timmy Wimmy, which was weak, he definitely had me on that one. For some reason we both thought Broccoli Wockily was really funny also. He would always ask me if I was having Broccoli Wockily for dinner. You never knew how Tim was going to answer the phone, if he was in a playful mood, he might answer the phone Grace L Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company, which is from an old Bob Newhart skit, we both liked that one probably because I work for a travel company. Recently I was helping him to get a ticket for our upcoming family reunion in Colorado, we were on the phone together while I searched on the internet, somehow it turned into a professional call where I was saying things like “Now Mr Larkin what are your seat preferences, do you prefer the aisle of the window? Mr Larkin did you want a vegetarian meal, or would you like to have the diet meal etc” we never broke character and it was just fun, both of us giggling on our end but not letting on. I used to do Tim’s taxes for him for a few years, until one year when he got audited because I accidentally put on his return that he was blind and over 65. He had perfect vision and was about 55 at the time. He quit asking me to do his taxes after that. But he would scold me every year around tax time about it.
One time I got an envelope in the mail from Tim, inside was a ripped out calendar page for Feb this was in March, there was a little note attached that said, “ I don’t need is anymore so I thought I maybe you could use it.”
I don’t know how this started but he also would sometimes sign his name Timothy M Larkin R.T.K. The RTK was an inside joke between us which meant Registered Trained Killer.
When we were kids, Terry and Tim and I would play some wild games of Tag, just before I was ready to tag him he would yell out “New Rule” and then make up a rule that would prevent me from tagging him. Because he is 10 years older than me this kind of means he was playing tag with me when he was practically grown, he just had that childhood playful spirit. Sometimes as a grown up when things are not going my way I am thinking in my head that I wish I could invoke the “ New Rule” thing.
In talking to Tim’s dear neighbor Darlene I know she and he shared some of this similar humor, although they lived just one house apart, they had many phone conversations, which Darlene described as “ if anyone ever heard our conversations, they would think we were nuts”.
I wish I could think of more, but the other side of Tim was such a tender caring side. Things like the tragedy in Haiti were so hard for him, he wanted to help everyone. I know he spread good will and shared money generously with many people often at just the time they needed it most.
