Rob Rudick: Make Your Mark

Rob Rudick: Make Your Mark

Growing up with an older brother, I benefitted from following in his footsteps. For example, my brother made it easier for me to fall in love and marry a “shiksa” (Yiddish for a woman who is not a Jew), even of German descent, because Rob had already introduced my parents to his non-Jewish Bolivian wife. I don’t know if my parents would ever have come to know and love my wife without my brother’s help.

Recently, the woman I work for part-time told me I was the most loyal person she knew. “That’s because you don’t know my brother Rob,” was my reply.

Rob has been particularly loyal to Mark, whom he met more than a decade ago when he made a one-year commitment to serve as his “big brother.” When the commitment time ended, Rob continued being his “big brother,” even though it entailed bailing him out of jail numerous times, paying for and helping him obtain his green card, guiding him with relationships with his bosses, and always being there unconditionally for Mark whenever he was needed.

Although I have mostly outgrown the need for a big brother, I still find comfort in knowing my brother is there for me and my siblings whenever needed. For example, when my sister broke her leg, Rob was there with a home-cooked meal when she returned home. That’s loyalty and devotion.

I sometimes wonder where Mark and I would be were it not for the constant support of a big brother. I’m guessing that Mark would have been first in jail and then deported. My brother Rob knows how to make his mark — one sibling, one friend, one person at a time.

I too wish to make my mark, one person at a time. Thank you, Rob.

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There But for Fortune by Phil Ochs

Show me a prison
Show me a jail
Show me a prisoner, man
Whose face is growin’ pale
And I'll show you a young man
With many reasons why
And there but for fortune
May go you or I.