~ Frick and Frack ~

When My Captain was in 3rd grade, his big brother, Dallas, was swinging a bat and accidentally confused My Captain’s head with a baseball.  The bat tore an artery in his forehead that squirted all over the ceiling of his parent’s house.  His mother, lovingly known as Goggy,  aka “The Saint”,  calmly put a dishtowel over it, made a mental note to wash the ceiling, and took the wounded little imp to the hospital.

While the little guy was stuck at home healing, a friend of his dad’s had his son, Ty, keep him company.  Actually, the story goes that Ty was made to play with My Captain.  As in, he didn’t have a choice.

That was a bizillion years ago.  But to this day, they are long standing, loyal-to-the-core best friends.    In fact, Ty and his wife, Maggie, made us dinner on our Wedding Night.  (If you are ever looking for a fantastic Shrimp Scampi, get Maggie’s recipe…better yet, ask Maggie to cook it for you.  You might have to get married or something equally big, but its worth it.)

Now here is the “Awwww!” part of this story.

The boys grew up together, went to the same high school, and volunteered at the same fire station as teens. And now as men, both My Captain and Ty are Captains in the same Fire Department.  They are also both seasoned Paramedics.  Both Troy and Ty are very tall, quite handsome, scary smart, quietly heroic, and irritatingly in shape.  The ONLY difference is that Ty kept his hair, whereas Troy decided he didn’t need his.

Put these two together, and you get all kinds of stories of trouble.  You’d never know looking at them now that they were little hellions then.

A couple of years ago, a local pub decided to have a fundraiser on St. Patrick’s Day, with guest bartenders.  Somehow the manager finagled to get two of the handsomest Captains Montgomery County Fire and Rescue has to offer (I say that with absolute objectivity) to fill the slot.  Here is what the patrons got an eyeful of:

I don’t recall how much money they raised for the cause at the time, but I also don’t recall caring.  I was happy just to sit there and watch.

Is that wrong?

And just think, this amazing friendship, and all this do-gooding might not have happened if his brother had not accidentally bludgeoned him back in 3rd grade.

Life is so weird.