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The Falco is the moniker of my youngest step-brother, Ranier. When my dad remarried, he became part of a family that aleady had grown kids. The best part of the deal for me was becoming a kuya, the filipino word for older male relative. Being an older brother means you need to have all the answers, or at least most of them. It means steering your younger sibling around life’s obvious obstacles and helping them out with the challenging ones. Having long talks with Ranier about food, life, and photography, reminded me of my own childhood and being the source of so much knowledge for my brother Tom. I still have a never-ending curiosity about how the world works, and I really like that trait in both Ranier and Tom.

My brief resurgence as a brother-mentor is pretty much over, and I’m thankful that I had a second go-’round.

Ranier writes two blogs, one about fashion and one about dating – check them out!