Ron Witwicky

Ronald "Ron" Witwicky is Sparkplug's brother. When Sparkplug and his son, Spike, joined the Autobots, Ron and his wife Judy took on the responsibility of looking after Buster.

Background
Ron and Sparkplug have an unparalleled respect for one another as brothers, although their vastly different paths in life have hindered the formation of a close brotherly bond. Both brothers were raised in a strict, fundamentalist household with a hardened disciplinarian father acting as head of the household. Their rigid upbringing caused both brothers to rebel against their father, who was more willing to use a switch instead of praise as a motivator for good behavior. Sparkplug rebelled by setting out to be totally self-sufficient as early as possible in his life. Ron's act of rebellion was to immerse himself in the bohemian community. As Sparkplug set out to start a family (cut tragically short by the death of his wife in a car crash in 1981), Ron took more of a freespirited path. Possessing much of his brother's mechanic skills, Ron chose to apply those skills to whatever suited his passions, be it repairing motorcycles in the late '60s, to working and leading tech crews for rock concerts as well as jazz and blues festivals. He met his wife, Judy, at the Newport Jazz Festival. The wedding was not attended to by his father, who has routinely warned Sparkplug to avoid the "godless" influence of his charismatic younger brother.

As age progressed, Ron and Judy settled down in Portland and Ron took a job as a high-school English teacher, a position that has won him numerous state and two national teaching awards.

MUX Pre-History
In the early '80s, Ron and Judy routinely volunteered to look after Buster during Sparkplug's extended contracts on offshore oil rigs and mining excursions in Burma. However, when Spike and his father were rescued by the Autobots, the short-term solution quickly turned into a long-term arrangement. During this time, Ron had conflicting views about the situation. He knew that the opportunity that presented itself to Sparkplug and Spike was something that was nearly impossible to pass up - a chance that few people of their economic and social background are offered. Still, Ron's idealistic nature led him to take the stance that no matter how great the opportunity was, Sparkplug still chose the wants of one son over the needs of another son. As a result, Ron has always harbored a slight, unspoken resentment toward his other nephew.

Living in a two-bedroom house, Ron and Judy put off starting a family until Buster neared graduation from his high school. A self-described "hippie disciplinarian," Ron allowed Buster to freely explore whatever passion suited him (be it comic books, heavy metal or science fiction), but at the same time demanding Buster contribute to their household moreso than any of Buster's peers. Ron encouraged Buster to take part in outdoor activities, but when Buster expressed little to no interest, Ron encouraged him to explore other avenues - just anything that did not involve a TV set. If Buster showed no interest in helping repair the roof, he was expected to fix dinner for the entire family or wash the hardwood floors - alone.

Ron possessed a keen awareness of Buster's sensitive nature, realizing Buster had lost a mother and in a short time later, saw his father taking on a far more distant role. As a result, Ron made an intense effort to act as Buster's advocate, be it confronting the parents of a bully at school to challenging a teacher who gave Buster an unfair grade. This was usually done without Buster's knowledge. Though Sparkplug thought of this approach as coddling, Ron viewed it as providing Buster with a much-needed self-esteem boost, like a boxing trainer who repeatedly lays heavy praise on his boxer to boost his confidence in the ring. Ron used this comparison when came up with the nickname for his nephew: "Champ." Some of his surrogate parenting skills were on the unorthodox side - though he often was lighthearted with his nephew, he almost never joked with Buster for fear that his joshing may be perceived by Buster as cruel teasing.

While the living arrangement caused stress for Ron and Judy (tight living quarters forced the family to move Buster in the attic to give him more privacy, dealing with all the years of a teenager's adolescent angst from age 13 to 19), both quickly grew to have a deep affection for Buster, treating him like a fully-integrated memeber of the family and not an extended houseguest. As a result, Ron and Buster's closeness continues well into their adult years as the two correspond on an almost daily basis.

MUX History
Ron, who has spent most of his life watching his diet and working in an closed, sheltered environment (as opposed to working on oil rigs and in mines), is noticibly spryer than his brother. Though age has slowed him down (a knee replacement and waiting until age 42 to start a family does that to a guy), he is still mobile, routinely making visits to his brother who is currently in a nursing home. &nbsp

Slowed down by a knee replacement and repeated visits to his brother in a nursing home, Ron begain to worry about Buster's relationship with Spike. With Sam taking up all Ron and Judy's time and energy and Buster living on his own (with roommates, which were pretty much a second family), Ron felt Buster's ties with his immediate family would all but disappear without intervention. Ron, paid for two tickets for Buster and his girlfriend to go to New York City. The only catch: he wanted Buster to make a stop to White Plains, NY, where Spike was receiving extensive rehabilitation for the after-effects from the mindswap. Ron didn't want, nor expected Buster to put years of strained ties behind him, but with Spike's condition, Ron eventually convinced Buster that if any change were to happen in their relationship, Buster would have to make the first move since Spike was almost literally incapable of making the first move.

Involvement
Ron primarily serves as a background character for the MUX, existing in many-a-flashbacks that involved Sparkplug's decision to protect his son Buster until he was old enough to join the Autobots.

1994

 * August 7 - Graduation Day : Ron and Judy try unsuccessfully to throw Buster the graduation party he deserves...three months too late.

2010

 * March 18 - B-Boys: While Buster tends to Spike's injuries, the site of a basketball hoop brings back ugly memories of a one-on-one game.
 * March 22 - Choices: Buster's stressin'. First, a flashback to when his dad finally offered him a chance to live with him and Spike at the Ark. Then, he is chosen to deliver a speech in front of thousands for his class.

Players
Ron and Judy Witwicky are currently jointly temped by Bzero and SpikeWitwicky in flashbacks. However, they are available for application for those who would like to play them in the current time.

Ron.jpg Witwicky (Shattered Glass)
"Dude, I'd seriously like to help you out...but...you know..."

In the Shattered Glass universe, Ron is a definite opposite to his raging drunk brother. Unfortunately, his distaste in his brother's parenting skills never translated to action. While the Prime universe versions of Ron and Judy Witwicky no doubt indulged in a few substances during their courtship (and some after), the Prime versions of the two never made it central to their existance. The same can't be said for the Shattered Glass universe versions of Ron and Judy.

Living mere blocks away from Sparkplug, Ron has routinely seen the abuse his brother lays on his nephews. However, when Buster and Spike are over at Ron's, he'll usually just make them sing '70s rock or reenact scenes from movies to amuse himself. He has routinely said he didn't want to interfere with his brother's parenting style because that would violate the laws of nature ala a twisted variation of the Prime directive. In reality, the primary reason for his complacency is because if he told the cops about Sparkplug, he would probably have to be interviewed by the cops. And being interviewed by cops while you're stoned out of your mind on pot, acid, mushrooms and quaaludes is a major buzz kill.

The gulf between concern and action is fairly wide when you have a decent pot growing operation to maintain.