Reunion gives brothers reason to be thankful

By J. Patrick Coolican

Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011 | 2 a.m.

David Wolner holds his hand over his mouth as passengers of Flight 1289 from Chicago glide down the escalator at McCarran International Airport.

He’s not sure which escalator to watch or even precisely what the person he’s searching for looks like, so he walks back and forth, back and forth.

“I’ve been waiting 34 years, so what’s a few minutes more,” he says.

Finally, David’s face shows a flash of recognition, his eyes widen and forehead crinkles. It’s his brother Earl. They embrace, and the tears come for David.

The moment goes largely unnoticed in the bustling airport. But there it is — what it means to be human.

David and Earl haven’t seen each other since 1977, when Jimmy Carter was president and Elvis Presley was still alive.

That was before David met his wife, Sharon, before he beat pancreatic cancer, and before Earl had to have two tumors removed. They were in San Diego. David was 25 and Earl was 27. Their mother had just passed away.

“We just went our separate ways,” David says.

David and Sharon met in Long Beach in 1981. They moved to Las Vegas in 2008 and together they manage a storage facility in Spring Valley.

“Throughout our marriage we made attempts to contact him, but couldn’t find him,” Sharon says.

Then a couple of years ago a friend with access to some Internet databases saw a story about Earl in a South Bend, Ind., newspaper and got a message to him.

Earl called right away, and he and David have talked nearly every day since. But Tuesday was the first time they had met.

“It was very emotional for David,” Sharon says. David has cerebral palsy, and he fears he got the bulk of attention growing up.

Earl, who lives in South Bend, is an Army veteran and has struggled with addiction these past 30 years but has been in recovery for a year now. David and Sharon hope he’ll move to Las Vegas. But for now, Earl will spend Thanksgiving week here.

A few moments after the reunion, Earl still looks shellshocked, but happy: “I have a lot to be grateful for.”