What were your siblings like growing up?

I am not sure if I will get in trouble with any of them for trying to describe them to an audience, but hopefully, they will laugh. I love them all and miss them. I am the only one who lives a distance away. 

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My brother Michael and I always battled on the basketball court, and he soon developed an incredibly quick shot release since I often tried to jump high and stuff him. He was always a listener, a gentle soul, and a good friend of many. Perhaps that's why he is now a licensed counselor. 

I’d describe Brian as a bit quirky, crazy, and fun. He had the most entrepreneurial spirit in my family but also has creative gifts that have helped me in the story creation of several Riverside musicals. As boys, he and I came up with many role-playing scenarios for the neighborhood kids: spies trying to get the secret disk from the Soviets; Indiana Jones, or a Jedi on a high adventure. I think the scene from E.T. when the kids go flying into the air on bikes was an inspiration to us, and so riding bikes always took on imaginative flights and adventurous treks. 

James is the oldest. He ran away from the circus to join the priesthood years ago. That says a lot about him, but he's a huge personality with many gifts. He always makes my parents laugh, and his free spirit and explorer personality have launched him into many adventures, travels, and meetings with all sorts of people. He is four years older than I am, so in some ways when we were kids,  he was in a different realm than the rest of us.

My sister Elizabeth brought beauty and gentleness into a motley crew of lost boys. She sang opera growing up, and could blow the roof off the house with her mezzo-soprano voice. I often tried to compete with her loudness by turning up my electric guitar in the basement. This did not go over well with Liz, or my parents especially when I started playing Clapton, Vaughn, and Hendrix in my teenage years. 

My brothers Tom and John were the young rascals who were fun to play with. They laughed a lot, and to this day love to have a good time, to bring people together. They enjoy hosting parties that have meaning to them, with all sorts of fanfare, food, and good fellowship.