Sister Sledgehammer

Sister Sledgehammer

I was born on the fourth of October in 1956, which is significant only in so far as that blessed event coincided with my sister’s fourth birthday. If you knew my father, such an extreme example of planned parenthood would not be surprising, but still what were the odds of that? Nevertheless, by the time I was aware of my surroundings some five years later, Karen was still hopping mad I had ruined her fourth birthday party with my untimely arrival. My “big sis” was a complicated combination of meanie and softie, mostly softie, and I remain convinced any meanie in her was caused entirely by this unfortunate happenstance and the ensuing years of awkward birthday party management.