BEHIND THE MIKE

I remember as if it was this morning’s Mass at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Columbia. We lived in Lexington, some 12 miles west. At the time there were so few Catholics in South Carolina that we commuted to the state capital for Sunday Mass.

Michael-A (my dad) and Mama Alice,(my mom) would line us up every week in the first pew in the church. They would always sit right behind us to ride herd on the shenanigans that invariably took place with my siblings.

When Michael-A would catch my brother George and me doing the elbow competition while kneeling, he would lean over and speck our ears… and not softly either. Felt like you were hit with a 2 x 4.

I fondly remember Monsignor Joseph Bernadin (who later became Joseph Cardinal Bernadin). A friend of the Aun family, he would often say Mass and join us for lunch at the Aun household with many of our 11 children.

Mama Alice lost her first three children before having Mary (nicknamed Myrt). She was my oldest sister who joined the Convent right out of high school. She later earned multiple degrees but had to leave the Convent to make those advancements.

George Elias Aun (nicknamed Buzz), was the oldest boy in our family and was named after both grandfathers, George Aun and Elias Mack. That is how I got named Michael A. Aun II after my father.

My nickname was Yogi, a moniker hung on me by my uncles Eli and Arthur Mack (my mother’s brothers). I looked like Yogi Berra but also looked like Alfred E. Newman on MAD magazine. I was the kid that had a front tooth missing, thanks to the foot of the neighborhood bully Joe Clyde Leaphart, who kicked it out one afternoon after I tackled him hard in a daily game on South Lake Drive in Lexington.

George was in many ways my hero growing up, though he never knew it. He was a year and a half older than I, but I managed to catch up with him in the 9th grade. Ultimately, we graduated together. Those who didn’t know better thought that we were twins. The only set of twins in our class, if I recall correctly, were basketball greats David and Duane Barnhurst.

As my oldest brother, George proudly served for over four decades in the Army National Guard. I am sure he was inspired by my father Michael-A, who was a multiple Purple Heart winner (wounded four times in combat) as well as a recipient of the prestigious Silver and Bronze Stars.

The thing I admire most about my brother George and his wife Gale is they raised a house full of boys to grow up to be remarkable men, serving as doctors, military intelligence people and a variety of other very admirable positions in society. Simply extraordinary and amazing young men.

George was a better athlete than I’ll ever be, but he had a tendency to chat it up too much. Coach Whiney Ingram parked his butt on the bench and that silenced the chat and ended his athletic career.

George went on to do outstanding things in his life, most especially making heroic efforts in the United States Jaycees along with his close friend Jack Brantley, who was nationally known for all his work.

When I spoke to the US Jaycees convention years later, I recall getting a nice standing ovation when referring to both men and all they had done for the Jaycees over the years.

We all draw our inspiration in different ways. I became a Grand Knight with the Knights of Columbus at the age of 21, largely inspired by what George did with the Jaycees. I never told him that… and I regret never acknowledging him for all his inspiration and encouragement.

Who has made a difference in your life? My brother George is a keeper!

Michael Aun, CSP, CPAE, was the youngest Grand Knight ever elected in Council 724 in Columbia, SC. During his tenure, the K of C built Christopher Towers, a 16-story high rise for the moderate-income ambulatory elderly, which still exists today almost 50 years later.