Ronnie Zelinka's Brother is Dead

Ron was a friend of mine that lived down the street. Like me, he was a "skinny kid" that lived in a small bungalow on Kenilworth Avenue in Parma, Ohio. I remember walking down the street and seeing the small American Flag decal on Ronnie's window that meant his brother was serving in the military.

One day, Ronnie was crying. He explained to me that his older brother had died in Viet-Nam operating a crane on the waterfront. The crane had been overloaded and apparently fell forward and killed him.

I never could be mean to Ron after that. No matter what he said or did, I knew that I didn't want to add anything else to his pain. I remember his mom and dad yelling at me for something or other. I couldn't say anything. I felt they weren't really angry at me at all.

A freak accident, that played itself over and over in my mind. Ronnie Zelinka's brother was dead. He wasn't coming back home ever again. His name is on "The Wall". To me, he was a hero I never knew. His mom and dad and Ronnie, were the heroes I did know. Carrying the one burden that no-one should ever have to carry. The whole neighborhood carried it. It never went away. I will always remember that, every time I walked past Ronnie's home, with the little flag decal in the window, that Ronnie Zelinka's Brother was dead.