Dear Michael

This letter has been a long time coming. 

I saw you this last weekend for the first time in like 8-9 (2015-2016) years. The last time I saw you, you forged up fake eviction papers with our parents names on it evicting my entire family from the duplex they had us living in.

Before that, there was a brief run-in in 2012 after Pop's drowning incident at the hospital when you made a quick obligatory appearance. 

Before that, there was a brief social encounter at a family members baby shower back in around 2010.

And the only other memories I have of you were us growing up together dating from high school back to middle school. I don't really recall elementary with you. But those middle and high school memories were awful. I constantly had to defend you from bullies who would call you gay (back then it was more insulting and I was still a bit brainwashed from the church). I do however vividly remember you slapping me across my face in high school right in front of my dad who didn't stick up for me or protect me (a common theme from our family). 

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Let's take a step back. And travel back in time. Let's go back to when we were kids. You had an obsession with money and material items. You were and are easily the most materialistic person I have ever met in my life. You looked up to our family in Fresno (Diaz family) so much because you believed they had more money than us and they seemed to have a much more lavish lifestyle than us. I don't know if that was factually true, but you believed it and Im sure you still do. You always spoke of money and fashion. You would constantly critique me in the way that I looked and the way that I dressed. Making comments all the time about my body and my appearance. You told me my entire childhood and even into my early adulthood how ugly I was and that I looked like a man. That no one would ever look twice at me. Primarily because of you, I had the worst self esteem ever. I still struggle with the effects you had on me to this day. 

I remember an instance where you told me my eyebrows were so disgusting that I needed to pluck them. I went into the bathroom and plucked. When I came out you told me I needed to do more. Each time I came back out you told me it wasn't enough. By the time I was done my eyebrows were so wrecked and I looked absolutely terrible. I don't know why I ever listened to you. 

When we got old enough to start dating you would try to pawn me off to anyone. Telling everyone that I needed all the help I could get to get a guy. One time you set me up with a guy who ended up trying to assault me during a movie date. I immediately stopped talking to him and he ended up stalking me for years after that. He even continued when he moved to Alaska. I never understood why you felt the need to do this. You always did love to play match maker.. you did the same with our sister which I will elaborate on later. Brothers are supposed to be protectors. You often see them in the movies of shows talking to people that their sisters are dating saying something along the lines of "you break her heart, I'll break your legs." You know, protective stuff. And here you were feeding me to the lions. Wtf is wrong with you.

Skipping ahead to maybe 2007ish you started secretly taking our sister to have dates with your best friends (at the time) brother. Our parents were very much against dating for recreation and especially so young. But you made it seem like you were just hanging out with your sister but instead facilitating these secret dates. This went on for years. You then moved up north of course to be closer to the "rich family" when you started your new chapter with your new wife. Then roughly 2009ish. I recall you were in town visiting. I can clearly remember that we all made plans to meet up for lunch at a Cuban restaurant in Glendale, CA. While sitting at the table catching up, you whispered across the table to our then approx 15-16 year old sister. You asked if she was still seeing the boy you had been taking her on secret dates with. She said yes and you nodded in agreement saying "good". By the time she was 17 she ended up getting pregnant. You made it a point to call my mom and to tell her she raised a whore. I was there when you called and she had you on speakerphone. I heard the whole conversation. You then went on to tell her that she would never have a relationship with your future kids. And you held on to that promise. 

The years rolled by and you rarely ever visited them. There was that one time you showed up to a yard sale and thats when you wrote up those fake eviction papers. In that same visit you also tried to swindle my parents out of their house and to put your name on the deed or some paperwork. Im not even sure now of the exact paperwork but it could have even been you trying to be a POA or beneficiary. At the end of the day it doesn't matter what you were trying to do specifically. You were trying to take advantage of our parents financially (which is a common theme for all my siblings. See my posts to my other siblings for that story.)It was also at this visit you tried to persuade my children to watch your religious propaganda knowing I would be against it.

Through the years your kids never really got to know their grandparents. But still they had more interaction than any of us as their aunts and uncles. And speaking of your kids... my very first interaction with you and your first child was shortly after my first child died. I was on the way home from the hospital and you had the nerve to call me before I even made it home to announce that you and your wife were expecting. Fuck you.

****

Fast forward to last month when our dad was actively dying. You had not been involved with them for years. You decided to show up and throw some money around and get my mom a new bed since she had to get rid of hers to make room for Pop's new hospital bed. Thats all you ever do. Is make money the most important thing to make it look like you give a shit. That wasn't even the worst part. Pop took a turn with his health on 11/20/2024. I was told you visited, just you, on Friday 11/22/2024. Im told you showed up and walked to his bedside and said "hello" and that was it. There was no care for him at all. No tears or sadness. You showed up just to say you did. You didn't even talk to him. The next day 11/23/2024 I showed up with my family. The rest of us siblings were there, thank goodness you weren't there to fuck it up for us. We all were sobbing and crying the entire visit. We stayed for hours. We wrote notes to him and told him all the things our heart wanted to say. We took photos and videos knowing it would be the last time. That last visit will never be long enough. It was the last day he was able to talk. You were there when he was able to talk too and you didn't give a single fuck. The next day 11/24/2024 you showed up again this time with your wife and kids and once again none of you said shit to Pop. You just showed up to say you were there. I will never forgive you for that.

And all this time you have been an elder in your congregation claiming to Shepard your people. GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE. You are what the church calls a wolf in sheep's clothing. 

****

All that to say: My brother died in high school. I picked high school as the time of death because in our high school yearbook you decided to change your name from Michael Sherman, to Michael Sherman-Diaz. That's right. You hyphenated your last name to reflect the last name of our "rich family". You wanted so badly to be one of them. I hope it was all worth it to you. I don't like to use the word hate often but honestly Michael, I hate you. I want nothing to do with you. I want you to stay the fuck away from my family. When I die, if you are still alive, I don't want you to show up to my service. There are specific instructions to turn you away if you even dare show up. I have no brother. The only thing I have left to say to you is: GET FUCKED.