my uncle

2006-06-29 - 10:10 a.m.

(Post #2 today)
In response to a request to talk about someone I knew who's passed away, here's a little bit about my late uncle.
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My uncle was...an experience. He was in a pretty awful foster home until my grandparents got him and I think he just never really learned how to adapt and to connect with people.

He was a peeping tom for a while (alas there is no money in the field or he would have been swimming in it). He stalked a teacher from junior high. As an adult, he pantsed a woman on the street, thinking it was someone he'd met the night before (why he figured that made it ok, it's hard to say). He had periodic violent bursts and ended up in some massive gambling debts.

That said, he also was quite the model for just going for it when you think about trying something new. He didn't just think it'd be cool to be a kicker for the Skins...he showed up at tryouts. As he did for a hockey team, too. Of course, some practicing may have helped, but still...he went. He never let complete lack of preparation stop him from trying for something he wanted and that led to a zillion stories for everyone who knew him. There was always a little amazement when it came to his antics.

Without realizing it, he became the perfect wingman for his buddy. The guys would go to a bar together and the women would flock over for my uncle's good looks. But once he opened his mouth, they'd realize he was a nut and then his plainer but sweet, smart and funny buddy would reel them in.

Shortly before he died, it was like he knew it was coming. He started apologizing to people he'd taken advantage of, paid back small sums where he could, and called my grandparents up to take them to dinner just to thank them for everything they'd done for him. So at least, in the end, it sounds like he got it on some level.

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