Willie

Wilbert Orlando Alonzo Jr.

My brother.

My friend.

He spoiled me and tickled me.

He left this earth 17 years ago.

I miss him still.

He was baby #2 for my parents.

The middle kid and the only boy.

How do I make him a part of my children's lives without being all weird about it? I mean, I guess its simple, no? Just talk to them about their uncle, my brother. Tell them what he was like and how tall he was and what he liked to do. I have many memories of him, but sometimes I feel that they're not enough. I try hard to remember more, or to remember things with more details, but it never changes. I have the same memories, they don't change.





I love hearing stories about him from my sister. She was very close to him, as they were only 2 years apart. She tells me about things they did when they were kids. Like the time they went through every nook and cranny of the house-inside the couches, under the beds, in closets, in coat pockets-all over-looking for loose change. They looked until they had enough to go to the corner grocery store and bought ice cream for the both of them.

Willie loved to skateboard. He loved to draw! He played football, too. I remember him getting his uniform on. Willie loved, loved, loved to dance! He would often go clubbing. He would listen to music really loud, too. His favorite kind of music was freestyle, back in the 80s. Some songs still always make me think of him. I still have some of his drawings. He loved to laugh and I also remember that one of his favorite shows on TV was "The Price is Right" we would watch it together on some mornings. I still remember some of the girlfriends he had. They were all very pretty. I also remember the way he ate. I remember very clearly the way he would chew his food and shovel it in his mouth! lol Willie would switch what side he would chew on several times within the same bite. Probably because his mouth was stuffed with food...he had to!

Willie was adventurous. He was brave and to me, seemed like he was never really afraid of anything. When he was 18 he decided he was going to move out. My mom begged him not to, but he was determined to be independent. So he moved out.

But he would come home every day to get his clothes ironed by my mom and to eat whatever my mom had made for dinner that day. He realized he had it good at home and he lived like a king, so he moved back very quickly. lol My mom loved it!

This is Willie with two of my mom's sisters. He loved going to Mexico to visit. I think this was the last time he went to Mexico before he died. I think it was a 1989 or 1990. Oh, what a lady killer. My aunts loved him, he was so sweet and attentive. He was a great nephew.

Can you believe this hairstyle was popular once? He's still a cutie, though. He loved to go camping. It was one of the last things he did with a group of his friends before he died.

I still have the last birthday card he ever gave me and the wrapping paper of the gift he gave me. It was for my 8th birthday and baptism. He took most of the pictures there. I remember how happy I was when he showed up!

I remember Willie big and strong and tall like this. He was in great physical shape. He worked out-I still remember all the equipment he had! He even appeared in some hotel brochures for some hotels in Cancun. This particular picture is in one of those.

This is the last picture that we know of that was taken of Willie before he died at 21 years of age. He was at a baseball game a few weeks before the motorcycle accident. He was a jeweler. I still have some of the jewelery pieces that he made. My dad wears a ring that Willie made, too. He made jewelery for my mom, too. He was such a lively person. I could literally go on for hours about the stories I remember and the many memories. He gave me a ferret, named Nina (well, it was actually his, but he let me play with her all the time). He would tickle me till I cried and throw me high up in the air so my head would hit the ceiling squares. Then my mom would yell at him. lol He even painted my nails once. He was my hero. He's my big brother. I love him.

I wish I had had more time with him. I wish Ben would have had the opportunity to meet him. But I know that he knows me and I know that he is around me. I feel him sometimes. I dream of him sometimes and I know that he still loves me. I didn't used to have a brother, I HAVE a brother. I am so grateful to know Heavenly father's plan for us. And I am indebted to Him for the opportunity to have an eternal family so I can be with Willie again someday.

This is what I will teach my children.