Thanks for understanding, Magickal and Lex.

It bothers me how my brother treats my dad, because my dad has always been highly respected in his career. He was a ferrier (horse shoer) and highly in demand. He even did work on race horses at Arlington. He can't do much work any more because his hand and shoulder have deteriorated and the doctor said if he had surgery he'd end up with less mobility than he already has. But he's still asked by the people in his field to come along and help with the horses and give his opinions. He raised the best beagles and people would come from other states just to get one.

Unless I'm in serious denial and have blocked out some awful abusive memories, I just don't understand where all of my brother's disdain for my dad is coming from. My brother was a handful, but my parents always encouraged us in our interests and didn't push us to keep up with them if we outgrew them. They weren't pushy or neglectful.

When I was about 6, my dad had to have surgery on his nose to remove the septum (I don't know why). I think it might have been broken at one point and they couldn't repair it. Anyway. I remember he'd let me lay on the floor and I'd put my big toes on each side of his nose and scrunch his nose all up and side to side. We'd get a big laugh out of that. One time I was riding one of our ponies in a newly combined cornfield, and the pony threw me. I laid there with the wind knocked out of me for a few seconds and then dad said I needed to get back up on that pony and show him who was boss. Those are the harshest words I ever remember him saying to me, and that was because if I didn't, the pony would continue to misbehave. It was just a necessary part of the training.

I don't know. Maybe what I respect in my dad are the things my brother sees a failings. I don't get it at all.