Good for my sister and there can be only one

Yesterday, I learned that my sister XXX has officially registered her business with the state of Oregon: XXX.

Good for her, I say. Which is about all I can say.

Why? Simply because I have no idea of the quality of her work, or her expertise in this field.

We do not talk about our businesses with one another. It should be noted that I technically don't have a business because I have never filed official paperwork beyond the simpliest of tax forms. There is also the fact that...well, I am a hack as everyone else in my family will quickly point out.

I was not blessed by any of the muses. And in my family, there can be only one. Literally and metaphorically.

There is only one artist in the family. There is only one writer in the family. There is only one business-person in the family. There is only one scholar in the family. It is an unspoken family rule. Introductions used to go "This is XYZ, and they are the little fill-in-the-bragging-right child in the family."

No one ever brags about me. I fill in the vital black sheep, oh where did we go wrong slot. I am a pirate and a criminal, an addict and a fool, or whatever other evil is needed to make someone else in the family look better. Or feel guilty. And several of the stories are either not true, or so badly changed from what really happened that truth proves illusionary.

Or at least, that is how it was. And may still be; last fall events make me positive that I am still being used for this despite the fact that I torched the bridges and refused to talk to several family members over a decade ago. Needless to say, last fall events made me add to my list of family members who I will never have a conversation with ever again.

So good for my sister for starting her own business. And if any of my friends see me venturing into PR work or marketing, please remind me to stop. After all, I am not the marker guru in the family.

Edited on 23 June 2010 to protect the interests of the innocent.