my little brother has had the same best friend since he was in pre-school.

they went to the same elementary school, the same middle school and the same high school. naturally, they're at the same university in philadelphia, pa.

yesterday, robby turned 20, and as a bona fide 20-something, this post is dedicated to him. welcome to the world of twenty-somethings, kiddo. it sucks.

robby has been part of our family since he was a kid; but robby has never been a kid.

once, when he was 4 or 5, we were watching martha stewart cook something on tv, when robby noted that "the quality of the coconuts is particularly good this year." (we have never let him live that one down.) he knows about botany and can talk at length about horticulture and saltwater aquariums -- and has been able to since he learned how to speak. robby is also an expert on mangos, mangroves and eggplants.

he used to come over to our house and raid the pantry. as one of the family, he would help himself to whatever looked interesting, and he would literally eat anything that had sugar in it. since no one in my family drinks a lot of soda, we keep them around for guests in a refrigerator in the garage -- the "outside fridge." after finishing off what usually amounted to some cookies, chips, candy and crackers, robby would help himself to a soda. but our house etiquette states that if you're going to get yourself a soda, you have to ask if anyone else wants one. inevitably, robby would never ask.

around the time robby and my brother hit 13, my mom put chimes on the pantry doors so she could at least monitor his raiding habits.

it didn't stop him.

... and we still have the chimes on the handle.

robby is also a thespian, and as such, sings and dances. and when my sister and i beg, he will sometimes perform "sppppppanish rose" from his 9th grade lead role in "bye-bye birdy." since robby was into drama, my brother also found his way into the theater; while robby tapped in the spotlight, my brother ran the lights and sound from the tech-booth filled with lots of cool buttons and switches. that about sums up their personalities.

at a recent inter-family function, robby poured himself a glass of wine, stuck his nose in it, inhaled deeply, and then held the glass up to the light, swirled the wine around, and pretended to analyze the color. the piece that makes this story funny is that robby's mom is very strict about keeping him away from all alcohol. she nearly had a heart attack; my mom didn't bat an eyelash. after some comment about the fruitiness, acidity and quality of grapes, my sister and i couldn't control ourselves. frankly, robby wouldn't know merlot from welch's grape juice.

robby's been in a band. he's very into his hair. he's always got the latest fashions. (he wears the collar up on his polo shirts.) he's the kid who walks around frat parties in college with a glass of wine (might be grape juice?) because he won't drink beer.

by no stretch of the imagination, robby is "that guy."

but we love him despite his quirks; we love him because of his quirks. and he watches out for our real little brother ... when our real little brother isn't watching out for him.

today, when he's home visiting from college, robby still raids the pantry and beelines for a soda in the outside fridge. except now, as he makes his way to the garage, his voice trails off "i'm gonna get a soda. anyone else want one?"

at least we raised him right.

happy birthday kid.