For 35 years, Norm wondered what had happened to Larry. Now, he’s saving money so he can pay him a visit.
Norm Chamberlin searched for his brother Larry for 35 years. He spent hundreds of dollars, hired a private detective, placed ads in the classifieds all over the country. And when the internet became a way to find long-lost loved ones, Norm had no computer and zero computer skills.
Then along came one quiet evening and a thoughtful neighbor, and Norm was on the phone with his long-lost brother.
“I didn’t know if he was alive or dead,” he said. “There was this huge sense of relief. And joy, because my brother and I love each other very much.”
FURTHER READING: Father and son reunite after 23 years
Norm and his younger brother, Larry, grew up in a family Norm described as dysfunctional. Their mom taught them unconditional love, then became mentally ill when Norm was 16. Their dad, Norm said, “didn’t like me from day one.”
But Norm and Larry were always close. They’d build forts in the woods and play for hours – army, good guys and bad guys. One of their friends’ fathers pulled some lumber together, and they built a tree house.
When the safety railing broke one day and Norm crashed to the ground below, gasping for air, Larry came to the rescue.
When Norm’s mother went to the hospital with mental illness, she came back a different person.
“So between Larry and I, we worked to keep her life easier,” Norm said.
But then Norm left his home in Louisiana to join the military, and Larry moved away. Norm wrote letters home from his station in Kadena Air Base in Okinawa, Japan, where he served as a military policeman. They went unanswered.
“I was totally in the dark,” Norm said.
Turned out that when he moved, Larry had asked their mother not to tell their father his new address. And his father, Norm said, told his other siblings not to have anything to do with Norm.
So for 35 years, Norm wondered what had happened to Larry. Then a neighbor with a phone offered to help. They sat outside where it was quiet. Norm gave her names. The first thing they found was an obituary for his mom. She’d died two years ago. And there, too, were all the survivors listed by name – Norm, his three sisters, and Larry.
“Then she looks up and she says, ‘I found him. Here’s his phone number.’ And I thought, wow, how great is that?”
Norm called the number right away. Larry didn’t believe it at first. But when Norm told him their mother’s name, he knew. They talked for 45 minutes. There was a lot to catch up on. The last time Norm saw Larry, his brother’s children were toddlers. Now, Larry has a 16-year-old granddaughter.
Norm’s setting aside money each week to travel to Pocatello, Idaho, to visit Larry and his family in October.
“I can hardly wait,” he said. “I told him to find a restaurant they want to go to. I want to get them out of the kitchen for a couple days.”
Street Roots earnings are going to help him.
“I’m at my post at Stumptown Coffee at 34th and Southeast Belmont every day,” he said. “Soon as I get my papers on Friday morning, I head up to my post. I scan the paper. I’ll tell customers things I came across. People ask me if I have the new paper yet. Once you read one Street Roots, you’re hooked.
“Street Roots puts me in contact with healthy adults, and I need that. If I’m not there, they’ll ask the barista about me. They look out for me.”
Indeed they do. One of Norm’s customers set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for Norm to go to Hawaii for three days. It will be the first vacation he’s had in years.
And perhaps even better, the next trip Norm takes will be to see Larry.
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