The Andersen family weren't without their share of ups and downs. Ray's older brother, Gary, who was adopted by his parents when he was a month old, didn't say a word until he was about 4. Years, not months! No matter what they did, the boy would not talk. On top of this, Gary turned out to be a scraggly geezer resembling a skeleton with skin on top. No meat, no fat, not pretty! The physical appearance didn't bother Ray Sr. as much as the kid's inability to speak. He could hear but never moved his lips. This condition sometimes led Ray Sr. and Mary Andersen to ponder whether they made a mistake getting home a child who wouldn't start talking when other kids of his age were belting out songs and rhymes at the drop of a hat. There were concerns from his school that while he would do all the things that was asked of him (and he would do everything better than the rest of his class), he wouldn't open his mouth for anything. This had Ray and Gary's parents extremely worried. But they had faith in the Almighty that things would change for the good and that outside intervention could be prolonged or best case, may not be necessary.
That perception changed just days before Gary turned 4. Mary Andersen thought of a unique idea to get Gary to talk. She spent the last 4 years raising him to be a normal child. One day, a week before his birthday, once Ray Sr. left the house for work, Mary decided that it's going to be now or never and that if Gary's vocal chords were functioning, they would be put to good use. She lay in bed motionless for about an hour - watching over Gary - while he played with his toys. She controlled her maternal instincts when the boy was hungry or wanted a glass of water. She kept her eyes open and transfixed on him. After several physical attempts to get Mom to wake up, Gary walked closer to her face and started shaking her vigorously. Nothing.
As tears flowed down Gary's face, he yelled "Wake up, Mom, I Love You!!". A stunned Mary sat up on the bed and gave the biggest bear hug that a woman could give and held him tight for several minutes until an ecstatic Gary tried to wiggle out of his Mom's arms saying 'Mamma, I am hungry, let me go!. Mary made Gary the best lunch of his life and couldn't wait to let Ray Sr. know about the miracle that just took place. She couldn't bother to think back what took her son so long to talk but she felt the utmost pride (and relief) that his first words would be a clean sentence that was punctuated with cries of 'Mom' and 'I Love You'. It was a happy day at the Andersen house and it turned out to be the absolute best birthday a boy could dream of. The Andersens emptied their life savings to bring in Gary's 4th. Little did they know, another star was about to be born 9 months later!
Gary was Mamma's boy and boy, he has not stopped talking since that day! He turned out to be the brother that Ray didn't want. Well, turns out Gary didn't want to have a sibling either. Tough luck for the Andersen kids! As years passed and Ray grew older, every chance that Gary got, he would literally use Ray as his raggedy old toy or pummel him into submission whenever he felt like it. Even though their parents loved both kids equally, Boy Wonder was Mamma's favorite and he took advantage of that love. Ray was pissed. It wasn't until Ray grew a centimeter taller than Gary that "respect" for his younger brother automatically found its way into Gary's senses.
The brothers were now equal!
That perception changed just days before Gary turned 4. Mary Andersen thought of a unique idea to get Gary to talk. She spent the last 4 years raising him to be a normal child. One day, a week before his birthday, once Ray Sr. left the house for work, Mary decided that it's going to be now or never and that if Gary's vocal chords were functioning, they would be put to good use. She lay in bed motionless for about an hour - watching over Gary - while he played with his toys. She controlled her maternal instincts when the boy was hungry or wanted a glass of water. She kept her eyes open and transfixed on him. After several physical attempts to get Mom to wake up, Gary walked closer to her face and started shaking her vigorously. Nothing.
As tears flowed down Gary's face, he yelled "Wake up, Mom, I Love You!!". A stunned Mary sat up on the bed and gave the biggest bear hug that a woman could give and held him tight for several minutes until an ecstatic Gary tried to wiggle out of his Mom's arms saying 'Mamma, I am hungry, let me go!. Mary made Gary the best lunch of his life and couldn't wait to let Ray Sr. know about the miracle that just took place. She couldn't bother to think back what took her son so long to talk but she felt the utmost pride (and relief) that his first words would be a clean sentence that was punctuated with cries of 'Mom' and 'I Love You'. It was a happy day at the Andersen house and it turned out to be the absolute best birthday a boy could dream of. The Andersens emptied their life savings to bring in Gary's 4th. Little did they know, another star was about to be born 9 months later!
Gary was Mamma's boy and boy, he has not stopped talking since that day! He turned out to be the brother that Ray didn't want. Well, turns out Gary didn't want to have a sibling either. Tough luck for the Andersen kids! As years passed and Ray grew older, every chance that Gary got, he would literally use Ray as his raggedy old toy or pummel him into submission whenever he felt like it. Even though their parents loved both kids equally, Boy Wonder was Mamma's favorite and he took advantage of that love. Ray was pissed. It wasn't until Ray grew a centimeter taller than Gary that "respect" for his younger brother automatically found its way into Gary's senses.
The brothers were now equal!
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