My Cousin Kenny was six months younger than me; we were the two youngest in a group of 14 cousins, with the next youngest being four years older. He hated that I was "older" than he was; and up until the age of 11 or so, he would always check, every time he saw me, as if he thought eventually maybe he would get to be the "older" cousin.
My Cousin Kenny used to play with me and scare me out of my wits in my grandparents' enormous, gloomy attic. He taught me to dring whiskey sours when we were way too young! He always had a one-liner ready; he kept us all laughing. He begged me to please do less well in school, because his mother was always after him, "Why can't you be like Carrie and get straight A's? You'll be the death of me, Kennny!"
My Cousin Kenny had a wild adolescence, got over it, and settled down with the most boring, staid woman we had ever met. They produced three children very quickly; the youngest is 1 year old. My Cousin Kenny turned out to be a wonderful father, a deeply committed family man. My Cousin Kenny was full of surprises.
My Cousin Kenny died today from a heart attack at the age of 40.
I loved my Cousin Kenny and I don't think I ever told him so.
Goodbye, Kenny.
My Cousin Kenny used to play with me and scare me out of my wits in my grandparents' enormous, gloomy attic. He taught me to dring whiskey sours when we were way too young! He always had a one-liner ready; he kept us all laughing. He begged me to please do less well in school, because his mother was always after him, "Why can't you be like Carrie and get straight A's? You'll be the death of me, Kennny!"
My Cousin Kenny had a wild adolescence, got over it, and settled down with the most boring, staid woman we had ever met. They produced three children very quickly; the youngest is 1 year old. My Cousin Kenny turned out to be a wonderful father, a deeply committed family man. My Cousin Kenny was full of surprises.
My Cousin Kenny died today from a heart attack at the age of 40.
I loved my Cousin Kenny and I don't think I ever told him so.

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