The First Videos

I remember when my dad brought home our first family video camera when I was about 8 years old. Now the video cameras back in 1984 where not like the ones today, oh no, you had to carry around a backback with the actual VCR in it and attach the camera with a cord to it. crazy stuff. so my dad gets it all set up and Adam and I are just teaming with excitement cause we are going to get to see ourselves on TV. there was nothing cooler in 1984 as a kid, than seeing yourself on TV. so my dad starts filming and i am acting a fool trying to think of something to do on camera and enjoying being the center of attention. well adam decides that isnt going to fly cause he was always the center of attention wherever he went. he proceeds to jump in front of me and try and steal the show which i didnt like too much. things got a little dicey so my dad decides to make us go outside and settle our differences like real men, with lightsabers! Adam and I, like most kids in the 80's, were Star Wars fans. i had a plastic replica lightsaber that was probably one of my all time favorite toys and adam had a plastic white sword (aka. lightsaber knock off) that he called a lightsaber. so we both go outside with our lightsabers...now keep in mind, i was almost 8 years old and adam was probably just under 4 years old so i had a considerable advantage (i.e. 4 extra years of learning the force). my dad is video taping this spectacular event as adam and i battle it out in the front yard. i took it easy on my brother but adam didnt believe it taking it easy on anyone. he started swinging wildly with his lightsaber striking me in the leg which was a huge mistake on his part. i proceeded to unleash my full fury and whack him upside the head with my jedi weapon. he started to cry, which to this day i think he was faking it since that seemed to be something he mastered early in life. my dad got mad at me for unleashing my aggression on my younger sibling and nothing i could say would change his mind. adam miraculously recovered from the head strike as soon as i had been scolded and we were back battling each other again. its a classic video in every sense of the word. those were the good ole days....i miss you bro and think about you every day.

The Horn........

There are so many stories to post about Adam, but I gotta start with the horns.

At work one day he told me he was going to have some train horns put on his Tahoe and he showed me the website. We laughed for a while but I had no idea. Right after he got them we were returning from lunch and were going down Government Street to get back to the office. Right before we crossed the tracks on Government Street, he blew them. I have never seen so many people get nervous about crossing tracks before. That was probably the hardest I had ever laughed in my life until we went riding around one night videotaping people's reactions to the horns.

Adam was the only person I know who would have put something like that on his car for fun, and I'm glad he did. I always knew that a good time would be had when hanging out with Puckett, whether it was riding around blowing the horns or just sitting around shooting the breeze. Adam really was one of a kind and we're all fortunate that we can call ourselves his friends.

The Entertainer from Gisele Puckett

From early on, Adam assumed the role of "entertainer" in the family. He could always make us laugh and I can honestly say I don't remember dull moments whenever Adam was around. Even when I was mad at him, it was hard not to laugh at the faces he could make, trying to avoid getting punished. He loved Halloween and dressing up in characters and always had a plan of what he wanted to be. For the first few Halloweens, he wore Jeremy's hand-me-downs, but that quickly failed to satisfy his need to be something really spectacular. My favorite costume that he had me make was the Joker. He helped pick out the color of the fabric and he chose an orange shirt with a purple jacket. I think he settled for black pants and of course we had to find a child size felt hat to complete the ensemble. I don't remember who painted his face in white with the red smile plastered across it, but it was perfect. Can you think of anyone else with a better smirk for the Joker than Adam? Not me!

When the boys were in elementary school, St. Margaret School had a lip sync contest and I think Adam entered it just about every year. If I remember right, he also won every year. His first year (kindergarten or 1st grade), he was in a group with his buddies and he played a mean saxophone to a rock and roll song. Another year, he did a solo and slicked his hair back, put on tight jeans and a cool shirt. The song (I believe it was "Do you want to dance?") called for him to do several dances from the 50's, and I did my best to teach him. God knows he didn't get his dance skills from his parents, as we are both mediocre in that area. It must have come from his grandmothers, who were stars on the dance floor. Adam rocked the house and had the audience on its feet, clapping. When Jonathan entered school, he wanted to be on the lip sync, too, and Adam was gracious enough to share the stage with his younger brother. They lip synced "Barbara Ann," and it was fantastic. I made a life size doll (Adam couldn't convince Jonathan to be Barbara Ann), and Jonathan settled for being the guitar player. Sure wish I could see the video again, because Adam made Barbara Ann come alive when he danced with her. I still have Barbara Ann, who was returned to us after a stint with Adam's female cousins. Such wonderful memories and so much fun! I don't think I could ever forget the joy he had in entertaining others. That was a big part of what made him Adam.