Oh, Brother! Where Art thy Post?

What strange creatures brothers are!” (Jane Austin)

I have had, at times, similar sentiments to those expressed by Miss Austin in her novel, Mansfield Park. I grew up with a lovely sister. I had, primarily, female cousins and most of my friends and neighborhood playmates were girls and came from families of many sisters. Even my darling Mr. Murphy has two sisters, no brothers!! Brothers and their relationships were somewhat of a mystery to me. That is why I am ever so thankful that my life was blessed with the Murphy Brothers! My appreciation of and feelings of affection toward brothers has grown exponentially, even if I don’t understand everything about their unique relationship. 😉 (Why are they always punching each other, anyway?🤔)

                          

When the Murphy Bros were little and squabbling about this or that, I would make it a point to tell them some important truths about the relationships of life...

• Friends are wonderful, but some are only for a season. They come in and out of your life as your situation and circumstances change. 
• No one loves you like your parents, of course, but parents get old and die. 
• Your spouse will hopefully be your partner forever, but we all know there are no guarantees and some marriages do break. 
• Even your own children will grow up and move away. 

But your brother, your God-appointed best friend, is with you from the cradle to the grave. Brothers have a unique and special connection. Brothers share the same past, they stand by one another, shoulder to shoulder, in the present and will fight for one another in the future. Don’t take this special relationship for granted! Cultivate it and make it a true friendship. Be your brother’s keeper!

This theme of brotherhood has been prominent in my life lately. Last fall we went to two concerts where brother acts performed, The Avett Brothers (Scott and Seth Avett) and For King and Country (Luke and Joel Smallbone). While watching “The Tiny Desk Concert” series hosted by NPR Music, I recently enjoyed the brotherly performances of The Black Crowes (Chris and Rich Robinson) and The Jonas Brothers (Nick, Joe and Kevin).  I watched a documentary about the Drs. Mayo of the Mayo Clinic (Charles and William), the movie Tombstone (featuring Wyatt, Morgan and Virgil Earp), the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys (a movie about fictional brothers staring REAL LIFE brothers Beau and Jeff Bridges), and the new release 1917, about one brother’s attempt to get a message to the frontline in order to save his brother’s battalion from a German ambush during WW1. While chatting with Murphy Boy Wonder (the elder) I learned that he was reading East of Eden, Steinbeck’s classic story about, you guessed it...brothers. Brother post even arrived in my mailbox...I got a catalog from Brooks Brothers (Daniel, Edward, John and Elisha). 😉 It seemed as if this theme of brotherhood was everywhere!! It got me thinking about famous brothers and postage, of course. Who (and his brother) has been on a postage stamp? 🤔

• The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, have been honored on several stamps. 
• John and Bobby Kennedy have each been the subject of a postage stamp, but not together. 
• The Ringling Brothers were honored with the circus Forever stamp issued in 2014. 
• The Mayo brothers were recognized by the USPS in 1964 with a commemorative stamp. The stamp’s color is green, a color traditionally associated with medicine. 
• The Biglin brothers from New York (John, James and Barney) were active in professional rowing after the Civil War when rowing was a hugely popular spectator sport. James and Barney were the subject of several paintings by Thomas Eakins and one is featured on a postage stamp. This stamp was released in 1967 to honor the painter, Mr. Eakins, but I feel it honors the Biglin brothers, too!
•  I also discovered some international stamps that honored brothers, like the brothers Grimm (Jacob and Wilhelm) on a German stamp. 
• Groucho Marx was depicted on a postage stamp from Grenada, but they left Harpo, Chico, Zeppo and Gummo out. Sorry, fellas. 😕

Another interesting, but much more somber, stamp I discovered was the Gold Star Mothers stamp, issued in 1948 to honor mothers whose sons had been killed in war. In November 1942, Thomas and Alletta Sullivan of Waterloo, Iowa, lost all five of their sons after a Japanese submarine sunk the USS Juneau, on which they all served. News of the family’s loss made international news and president Roosevelt sent a letter of condolence. In 1944 a movie called The Sullivans was released telling their story. It was nominated for an Oscar for best original screenplay. Two US Navy ships have been named The Sullivans in honor of the family’s sacrifice. When the stamp was released in 1948 the first sheet of stamps was presented to Alletta Sullivan, as a Gold Star Mother. 

                              

After all of this brotherhood research, I’ve come to the conclusion that brothers are great and they can do amazing things when they work together! In celebration of brotherhood everywhere I am creating and sending some snailmail to the most wonderful brothers I know...those Marvelous Murphy Bros! 

XOXO
Mrs. Murphy