Brother Mine
was always intended to be a tribute for the author's brother Al, but it is also a tribute to their parents. The lessons they learned growing up in Elgin, Illinois, reflect the best of the Midwestern values of the past. Though the love of anything with wheels was a strong connection between the brothers from start to finish, their lives took different roads. Education and interests beyond their Midwestern upbringing drove Mike. The comfort of familiar work close to home became the direction for Al's life. Mike's exploration of those differences is told here, as is the legacy of inspiration Al would leave behind, both expressed with lots of humor, insight and some heart-felt nostalgia for the 1950's and 60's.