Russell is the fifth child in our family, and he is the youngest of the Dodges. Russell looked different than the rest of us Dodges. We all had dark blond hair, and he had pale blond hair and freckles. As a result, we used to tell Russell that he was an alien that mom and dad had adopted. Perhaps my other siblings remember more details of the alien adoption story.

Russell got an early start in learning to climb.

I got a chance to go out to West Virginia with Russell a couple of summers while he did some rappelling. I’ve gotta get my own harness and join him next time. (Although I’m more interested in climbing UP than rappelling DOWN…). I’m heading out to visit Virginia in a couple weeks, so maybe I can make it happen.

Russell rappelling down Castle Rock in West Virginia.

Question of the Day: Any Russell stories to add?

Kevin was fairly quiet as a child, with a very quiet, “perfect straight man” sort of sense of humor. As a result, I think he got picked on a lot by us older kids. (Russell was picked on even more; later about that when I write about him.) I spent a lot of time with Kevin and Russell, and so a lot of my stories about one of them also involves the other.

Super Kevin!

I’ve always felt a special bond to Kevin. The two of us have a lot in common, including an enjoyment of science fiction, the natural world, and a peculiar sense of humor. People often tell me that Kevin is the sibling who looks the most like me.

I babysat Kevin and Russell a lot when they were young. I used to bribe them to brush their teeth and go to bed by giving them little baggies filled with dry cat food. I don’t really know why they liked that stuff. They also enjoyed uncooked spaghetti with soy sauce on it.

(Hey Kevin, should I insert the Zippers wedding story here?)

In high school, I drove Kevin and Russell around in our dad’s station wagon fairly often. The little street leading up to our house had a 25mph speed limit, and I’d drive even slower than that (maybe 7mph) and make “VROOM!!! VROOOM!!” sounds like we were going 120. We’d all end up giggling like crazy. Another time, I did just the opposite when Kevin and Russell weren’t behaving (and I guess I must have been in a foul mood). I sped up to probably 80mph on the windy, hilly road leading to our town, and it scared the poor boys so much that they sat quietly in the car for the rest of the ride.

When I was in my freshman year of college, Kevin and Russell came to stay with me in the dorms. There wasn’t too much to do there, so they got in the elevator, and pressed the buttons for all 10 floors repeatedly, and kept riding up and down, making everyone else stop at every floor, whether they wanted to or not.

When I was in grad school, Kevin came up to visit me in Rhode Island. All I remember was Kevin being greatly amused as I chased my cat Forest around the house with a pair of scissors, trying to cut the fur off of her backside. (Side note: Kevin named Forest and gave her to me the previous year.)

Me with my LITTLE BROTHER Kevin

Before Kevin and his family moved to Korea, I visited them at their home in San Diego. We took Paul to the San Diego Zoo, and I don’t think Paul was too impressed by the zoo until we got to the birds.

Kevin and Paul at the San Diego Zoo.

Question of the Day (for my family): Any Kevin stories to add? I know there are some great funny ones out there.

Kara with her daughter in the redwoods near Santa Cruz, CA

Kara was a very thoughtful, sensitive little girl. She used to help out around the house without being asked. Whereas I was a tomboy playing baseball and army, Kara enjoyed dolls, especially Barbie. Every time someone tried to give me a doll, I handed it straight over to Kara without even looking at it. I remember one time she gave one of her dolls a haircut, and she was devastated when she learned that it wouldn’t grow back.

Our parents were divorced when we were fairly young, and our dad used to come every Tuesday to take all five of us to Pizza Hut or McDonalds. During one of our trips to McDonalds, Kara told me that she wanted to have what I had gotten the last time. I asked, “What? A sundae?” She exclaimed, “Not on Sunday, on Tuesday!”

Another sweet Kara incident happened during the summer after my freshman year in college. I was invited to go to the beach for a weekend with a coworker of mine, and I invited Kara to come with us. We were having a good time, going in all the little shops, and Kara was buying gifts for everyone, including a little pair of sterling silver earrings shaped like shells for me. When we sat down to lunch, Kara realized that she had spent all of her money already, and she started to cry. I felt so heartbroken that she spent every last bit of money she had on gifts for other people. It still tugs at my heartstrings when I think of it now.

A couple of years later, Kara and I went to a Nine Inch Nails concert with Marilyn Manson opening. After the show, I spotted Marilyn Manson’s bassist just wandering around, and I pointed him out to Kara. Kara went running up to him, telling him what a huge fan she was and how great the concert was. The bassist pulled out a couple of backstage passes for us, and we spent the evening backstage with Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson.

Kara the Marine

Question of the Day (for my family): Any Kara stories to add?

Michael is 1 year and 9 months younger than me. When my parents brought this strange creature home from the hospital, I couldn’t pronounce “Michael” so he was “Buckles” to me.

To say that Buckles and I did not get along growing up would be a gross understatement. We fought all the time, sometimes ending in physical altercations. The most memorable was the “claw hammer incident” in which he chased me around the basement while I was riding my tricycle and hit me on the head with a claw hammer. Thankfully not the claw side!

Michael was always getting into trouble. I remember once we had a single solitary watermelon growing in the garden, and one day it was gone. Michael’s face was covered in pink juice as he vehemently denied breaking it open on a rock and eating it.

Despite his rebellious side, he also had his endearing moments. I learned to bake very young (maybe 6 years old?), but I was terrified of the oven. Michael used to put things in the oven for me, and take them out when they were done. Michael had a fear of his own. When our dad used to read How the Grinch Stole Christmas, we had to cover Michael’s ears when dad got to the part about how the Grinch had a “terrible, wonderful idea.” That part scared him every time. Michael also had this plan to climb the aluminum fence that went around our yard to get to the moon.

Michael was a skater in his pre-teen and teenage years. He built a quarter-pipe in our driveway, and a half-pipe in the backyard, where all of the neighborhood boys would hang out.

Michael the skater

Michael showed his artistic leanings early on. He was constantly in the process of painting (with spray paint) his bedroom. Every object in his room was covered in colorful paint. Although I wasn’t allowed in his room, I could tell what color he was currently painting every time I blew my nose.

Somehow Michael and I magically learned to get along when we hit 18 years of age. Michael, who had always teased me for being a vegetarian (calling me “veggie vamp”) became a vegetarian himself. I visited him as he moved from major city to major city around the US. He field-assisted for me in the desert in Nevada when I was working on my Masters degree in geology. He helped collect rock samples, took GPS data, and carried around a big bag full of my rock samples. Not to mention entertaining me by singing around our campsite… I also visited him in Berlin in November 2003 when he was participating in an art show there.

Michael and I have become good friends in adulthood.

Me and my brother Michael.

Michael is currently living in LA with his long-term girlfriend Molly. He is an artist, showing on both the East Coast and West Coast as well as Berlin, Germany. You can check out some of his work on his web site at dodgemahal.org.

Question of the Day (directed at my family members): Any Michael stories to add? Any stories of my cruelty toward Michael growing up?

There really aren’t too many funny stories about my mom. In fact, the only one I can think of is about her trip to Señor Frog’s a few years ago, and she would probably rather I didn’t tell that story. So instead of telling a funny story about her, I’m going to tell a sweet story about her.

In high school, I lived with my dad and three brothers, and I would visit my mom’s house occasionally. One day she wanted me to come stay the night at her place after school. I told her I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have any clothes to wear to school the next day. So mom took me on a trip to Jo-Ann Fabrics, and she made me clothes to wear the next day: a blouse, a skirt, and a vest (it was the late 80s…). I really don’t know any other moms who would sew an entire outfit overnight like that. I cut the patterns and pressed the seams, and she did all the stitching. I think that might have been when I first started learning to sew (as an adult, I’ve taken quite a few jobs as a seamstress.)

Another quick mom story… When I was in college, I signed up for a quilt-in-a-day class, and invited my mom to join me. I brought the fabric, and she showed up with an entire picnic lunch for the two of us. She had no prior quilting experience, but she enjoyed machine quilting so much that it became one of her main hobbies. She now goes on annual trips to Pennsylvania for quilting fabric, and I think all 7 of her children have something quilted that she has made.

Photo of my mom with me as a baby

My mom is currently living in Virginia with my youngest sister Danielle. She works as a nurse/manager in managed healthcare.

Question of the Day (again directed at my siblings): Do you have any funny mom stories (other than Señor Frog’s)?

I probably have more stories about my dad than about anyone else in the family. My dad is still a kid at heart, I think, and he spent a lot of time with all five of us children when we were growing up. He read us bedtime stories, he helped us build forts, he played sports with us, and he laughed at our childish jokes.

When I was about five years old or so, I decided to plant a maple seed (or “helicopter” as we called them because of the way they would spin around when falling from the trees) so I could grow my own maple tree. I planted the seed in the backyard out near the shed, and lo and beyond a green plant sprouted! My dad noticed that I was very attentively caring for a little plant in the backyard, but instead of being a maple sapling, it was a poison ivy plant! Without my knowing it, he replaced the poison ivy with a proper maple sapling, and I was none the wiser until my teenage years when my dad finally told me the story.

Me and my dad at my undergrad graduation, Photo by Rima Laviano

My dad is currently living in the same house my siblings and I grew up in (in Virginia) with his wife Keson. I don’t talk to my dad or visit him nearly enough. My favorite things to do when I visit him are tossing the football around and working on cars with him. I enjoy weeding the garden with him, or changing the oil in the truck. It’s some good quality time.

This question of the day is aimed at my siblings: Any good dad stories to add?