My brother and I were unalike as brothers could be. He steered clear of what I didn’t: trouble. Occasionally, though, his saintly behavior betrayed him, as it did when my boyhood best friend and mentor Jaybird captured a chipmunk. The old black man loved wild creatures, and if he trapped one that he thought could be domesticated, he brought it home. After transferring the creature from the trap to a large birdcage, he asked us to name him. I suggested Monk, but Jaybird preferred the good boy’s choice: Chippie.
