Captain Hook and My Big Brother

So, how is everyone surviving the storm?

Thanks to the back-up generator in my apartment building, as far as electricity goes, I haven’t had to deal with anything more than some prolonged flickers. So, I’ve been super lucky. I even got to keep my TV, which was surprising and lovely. I caught up on all those shows that I haven’t been able to watch for weeks.

During all of this TV time, I was particularly interested to see the arrival of Captain Hook in Once Upon A Time. I’ve always been a fan of Peter Pan. I’ve seen the various movies and staged productions. Watched mini-series. Read books (if you haven’t checked out Peter and the Starcatchers, you really should). Kids fighting pirates? I’m there. Not quite as interested in the never aging aspect of the story. I like progression.

As my mind often connects stories to specific memories in my life, doing all this thinking about Peter Pan, my mind immediately went back to when I was a kid, obsessed with the Mary Martin version. I could watch it over and over again. And you can bet that every time she pleaded with us to help save Tinker Bell’s life, I clapped until my hands were red.

I remember one particular night that I was watching it for the umpteenth time. The little sis was sitting by my side, singing along with me. And my brother was in the kitchen making us popcorn. My parents were out and he was watching us. His friends stopped over to say hi for a few minutes and then headed out to wherever they were going. Because they were boys, they naturally wanted to take a moment out of their night to scare the little girls.

They made a slight mistake, though. They told my brother their plans.

He nodded and smiled. And the moment they went out the door, he carried into us a big bowl of popcorn and told us not to get scared when someone banged on the windows, because it was just the guys. He sat down with us, watching the movie and eating popcorn. And we all laughed and rolled our eyes when all the noise started.

It wasn’t the last time that the attempt to scare us was made. I mean, we were all kids. Where would the fun in that have been? I still can’t look at American Girl’s Samantha Learns A Lesson without also thinking about that damn Freddy Krueger mask.

But I always knew that if my brother was forewarned about the scare, I would be as well. So, now when I see Captain Hook, I don’t just think “fearsome pirate, most well known for his hatred of children,” but “man, I have a great brother.”

It’s downright confusing.

Hope you’re all staying safe during the storminess!