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I will not take these things for granted
Feb. 7th, 2004 06:34 pmToday I received the sad news that my great-great uncle died. He was only 2 months short of his 100th birthday, which I was hoping he'd make but it was apparently not meant to be.
I only met him once just before I left California and moved to Seattle. I will never forget the devilish look he gave me before he said, 'So, who's the boy?' when I told him about the move, and the long afternoon we spent talking about our family. I hate the fact that I am descended from two black sheep (my grandpa & my father). I know that I have many relatives in the Bay Area (one of my dad's cousins called me & I'd never heard of him before), yet know that I'm not a part of the family.
Uncle Oscar was not like them though, and kept in touch with me through letters over the past 10 years or so. He was very happily married for over 50 years before his wife died in the 1970s, and it was because of him that I decided to keep my maiden name as my middle name. Before meeting him the name meant nothing more to me than a connection to my father, but it's pretty much lost that connotation now. Uncle Oscar wrote a letter that we included in our wedding time capsule that we'll open on our 25th anniversary, and I can't wait to see what he shared in it.
I only met him once just before I left California and moved to Seattle. I will never forget the devilish look he gave me before he said, 'So, who's the boy?' when I told him about the move, and the long afternoon we spent talking about our family. I hate the fact that I am descended from two black sheep (my grandpa & my father). I know that I have many relatives in the Bay Area (one of my dad's cousins called me & I'd never heard of him before), yet know that I'm not a part of the family.
Uncle Oscar was not like them though, and kept in touch with me through letters over the past 10 years or so. He was very happily married for over 50 years before his wife died in the 1970s, and it was because of him that I decided to keep my maiden name as my middle name. Before meeting him the name meant nothing more to me than a connection to my father, but it's pretty much lost that connotation now. Uncle Oscar wrote a letter that we included in our wedding time capsule that we'll open on our 25th anniversary, and I can't wait to see what he shared in it.
