Twins .. fraternal or maternal? That's what I was led to believe when I was young, the daughter of a twin father. I was told that my father and uncle were fraternal twins, meaning they were not identical, as opposed to maternal twins who would be identical. Spending a little time with my beloved encyclopedia (the hard copy kind that sits on a book shelf), I learned something new. For the most part, there are two types of twins, fraternal and identical - there's no such thing as maternal twins, technically speaking. Fraternal twins are created by two separate sperm fertilizing two separate ova, the result of which can be any combination of a boy and girl, who would not resemble each other any more than any other siblings. Identical twins are always the same sex, have the same blood type, and are created from a single fertilized ovum that divides to form two complete individuals. Now I found that interesting. Enough about the biology.
As you can see in the attached photos, these twin brothers were far from identical - my father resembled my grandmother, and my uncle had many of the features of his father. But, this is not where the dis-similarity ended. These boys could not have been more different.
As young boys, my father loved sports, especially those that involved a ball, like baseball. My uncle was happy to walk along the beach and loved horses. Dad grew into a young man who enjoyed the company of people he knew well, but he didn't seek out the companionship of new acquaintances. My uncle was a gregarious sort, loving conversation and thrilled to meet anyone new.
Both did enjoy the theater, but my father was the one who inherited a bit of the theatrical gene that has been passed through the generations, and he acted in plays well into his 40s in our community theater. John was a avid theater-goer, thrilled by others' performances.
During the war, my father was sent to the Pacific and fought at Guadalcanal, my uncle was sent to Europe and fought in the Battle of the Bulge. I expect that was by design of the War Department. The good news is they both came home safely.
Dad chose to settle down to a simple life as a shopkeeper on Cape Cod, and my uncle worked in publishing and then real estate in New York City. I always found this ironic and just a little entertaining. The one who sought out a private life lived in the fishbowl of a small town; the one who thrived on getting to know other people well lived in a city with millions of strangers.
My father declared his disinterest in others' opinions many times; my uncle listened to all points of views and was excited to debate the differences with his own. Dad thought there was one right way to do anything; my uncle was just happy if things got done. One became a family man, the other was a life-long bachelor.
Despite all of these differences and more, these two brothers were devoted to one another.
Today would be their 91st birthday. Despite the fact that neither is still with us, they both hold very special places in our hearts and minds - and they are as different and cherished as they were.
Happy birthday "Boys"!
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