My name is Allen. I have a twin brother named Alvin. We are "mirror" twins. I am right-handed; he is a leftie. I part my hair on the left; he parts his on the right. You men will get this part: I hang left; he hangs right. Yes, we are identical; thus we are "mirror twins." This story has its genesis in our first year of college. I went to a private college in Jacksonville, IL while my brother went to college at Eastern Illinois University.
I wanted to be a sports writer for as long as I could remember. My career goal was to work for the Chicago Sun-Times as a reporter; covering the Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Bears and Blackhawks. The college I attended was well known for its school of journalism. My brother also studied journalism but he had a desire to be a political writer so chose a different college. This was the first time we were apart but I needed that to grow as a person.
Early on I met a girl named Debijo Farmer. She was named after her mom and her dad. She was an education major and both her parents were alumni of the college. We hit it off big time and soon were an inseparable couple. We both liked classical music, rock and roll, and any book by Herman Wouk. I took her home that first fall and she immediately liked both of my parents. She also liked my younger brother Glenn and teased him a lot. I was pleased to see how she just fit in with my family. Unfortunately, Alvin was spending thanksgiving with some friends and was not home.
All too soon we were back at college to finish the semester and get part-time jobs. I worked for the local newspaper and Debijo worked at a daycare center. Our times together were few and far between; and we made the most of them. My fellow students used to joke about driving to Peoria Heights to watch the "submarine races". I first got to 2nd base while with Debijo. Even on the hottest days students parked on the Heights would have fogged-up windows.
As I grew to know Debijo I began to call her "Debi" because her whole name sounded so formal. Often times you could not fit one blade of grass between us as we sat on the quadrangle. My friends used to ask me if we went to the bathroom together: we were that tight.
At Christmas that first year I went home with Debi to meet and spend time with her family. Debi looked just like her mother; who showed me pictures of her twin sister; Debilyn. Debi mentioned her sister "Lynn" but had said nothing about how close they were in name. Debbie, the mother, mentioned that they had met Lynn's boyfriend, Paul, at Thanksgiving, and was glad Debi had met a boy. The mother was very much a matchmaker.
I liked Joe Farmer a lot. He, like my father, was a farmer in occupation as well as by name. Being one of four sons of a farmer myself, I had an instant likeability factor. In fact, for the six days I was there I helped milk the cows and slop the pigs. Joe was a St. Louis Cardinals fan so we had intense conversations about who was better; Ferguson Jenkins or Bob Gibson. He did tell me if I ever hurt his daughter he would come looking for me. The 12 gauge hanging on his back porch was all the confirmation I needed of his sincerity.
I liked Debi's brothers, Gary and Lowell, immediately. Gary was older and in the Army in Viet Nam. Joe Jr. was a junior in high school. We horsed around, shot hoops, and acted just like brothers. They would tell stories, many apocryphal I sure, about Debi and Lyn. But Debi gave as good as she got. Because I slept in the basement with them, we sat up night telling guy stories. If their questions got too personal I just referred them to Debi.
All in all, Christmas with the Farmers was like Christmas with my family. I helped wash dishes and did my own laundry. Debbie was amazed that I, a boy, knew how to sort and wash my own clothes. That is when I told her it came from being in a family four boys.
My brother Alvin dropped out after his first year of school and joined the Marines. By the time he came home from Viet Nam in January 1971, Debi and I had been married for three years. When he visited us in March of that year he mentioned he was going to look up Lynn and try to reconnect. That is when we discovered his Debilyn was my Debijo's twin sister.
By October Alvin and Lynn were getting married. They moved to Portland OR where he worked for a weekly newspaper. Debi and I stayed in Illinois where I worked as a sportswriter for the Tribune group of newspapers. We all stayed in contact and made lots of trips back and forth.
After 20 years in the news business I decided to start a second career. I got my MBA at the University of Illinois and decided to become an auditor; earning my CPA and my CFE designation as a forensic auditor. Guys with MBAs were in huge demand in 1980s. At one "Slave Auction" the IRS recruiter asked if I was interested in being a Revenue Agent. I said yes and gave him my resume and filled out an application.
Three weeks later I got a call from the IRS office in Portland OR. They wanted me to come and work for them as a Field Agent. After talking with Debi, and sharing with my brother, I accepted the offer and we moved west.