Two Brothers Try to Save the World – GWC Mag

A quiet Midwest family had two boys,
Who played with Lincoln logs and Tinker toys.
They scavenged wooden scraps and metal rings,
Were always building, always making things.

Each single-minded brother specialized:
Young Miller sketched and then devised
Inventions that he made with his own hands.
That’s why he needed springs and rubber bands.

He fashioned gizmos, mousetraps, toasters, trains;
He built a slingshot, stove, and model planes.
“I make things!” Miller said when he was two;
As time progressed, the statement still was true.

His brother Brady’s days were always filled
With plans for houses: Brady loved to build.
The child sought out nails and 2x4s,
Abandoned sinks and old discarded doors.

“He loves to build,” his parents always said.
He made a treehouse; then he made a shed.
“I build things!” Brady proudly liked to say:
A truth confirmed with every passing day.

The brothers stayed away from pranks or tricks;
Instead, they looked for broken things to fix.
Their parents beamed; what handy kids they had!
The boys’ chief joy was helping mom and dad.

The maker and the builder had no fears.
Young Miller made, and Brady built, for years.
Eventually they put aside their toys,
And sought out jobs that matched their private joys.

So Miller manufactured shopping carts,
And plastic spoons and custom metal parts;
While Brady built a school, a grocery store,
And ticky-tacky houses by the score.

The factories that Miller owned all grew,
And Brady’s building business did well, too.
The brothers were (with reason) very proud,
Until their fates were dimmed by a dark cloud.

The climate crisis reared its ugly head: A heat wave came, and countless fish were dead. Such odd events had never yet been seen! “It’s time,” the brothers said, “we all…