Extraordinary Stories From An Ordinary Guy: The "My Brother Steve: A True Friend" Story

It was an ordinary day. Just dropped off my latest framing job at my brother Steve's house in nearby Ephrata, Pennsylvania. Steve is five years younger than me, but also five inches taller than I am. If I had to describe him it would be: handsome, athletic, funny, helpful, a bit crazy, caring, a good dunker and most important, a great brother.

Phillies poster and team from their Championship year.

The latest job that I just framed for him was a 40 inch by 32 inch collage which featured a large Boston Red Sox poster and 26 individual baseball cards from their 2004 World Series Championship season. Fun job to frame, but very challenging since one card was extremely small while others were close to a quarter of an inch thick. Steve knows someone in Ephrata that is a Red Sox fan who happened to see one of the Philadelphia Phillies posters I did for Steve and asked him if he could do one for him featuring the Red Sox.

My brother Steve and myself.

In no time Steve was online and within a few weeks had obtained all the cards from the Sox. Some cards are auto- graphed, some are metal and one even is a real collectible being that it is #1 of 10. Most cards are vertical, but four of them were horizontal making it a tougher job to lay out. I designed the job on a computerized mat cutter at Grebinger Gallery where I work part-time. The result was stunning with the blue and red team colors and the large poster in the top center of the job. I'm not sure what he was going to charge the person who wanted the job done, but some of the cards had to be very pricey. To the new owner I'm sure it will be priceless! I did the work for my brother for no charge since we will spend a week at the shore with he and his wife at no cost to Carol and me. Check out the photos of my brother and myself as well as the finished Boston Red Sox poster. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.