I was just reading Syd's post today (a very nice tribute to his father) and it hit me that this past Sunday, Dec. 6th, was the 35th anniversary of his death. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 35 YEARS I DIDN'T REMEMBER WHAT DAY IT WAS! I always think of my dad on Dec. 6th, but this year it literally slipped past me.
Then I got to thinking about all my aunts and uncles (he had a big family) and one story relates to addiction/alcoholism. I will share it here because it reminds me of what a good person my dad was.
One of my dad's brothers was an alcoholic "Uncle Bob". No one described him that way and I would not have known what an alcoholic was at that young age, but I knew that Uncle Bob didn't have a job and had no where to live and apparently the other siblings had passed him around for a few years. So my dad said Uncle Bob could live with us.
We gave him my sister's bedroom and she moved in with me. We were told never to go in Uncle Bob's room but of course we peaked in there when no one was looking to see what the big deal was. There was nothing to see, but it smelled funny (booze).
I actually liked Uncle Bob living with us (other than sharing a room with a sister who was five years younger than me!). He was handsome and funny and liked to do stuff with us kids, like play catch in the street or fly kites in the field.
I think as time went on I figured out that Uncle Bob had a "drinking problem". I heard my dad give him an ultimaum once. A few days later Uncle Bob moved out. My dad was a kind man, but I think he felt that his kids living in a non-drinking enviroment was more important than helping his brother.
Peace, Hope and Love,
Barbara
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