uncle jim.

that's my uncle jim with his second grandson.

my uncle is in the hospital, and it doesn't look good. my aunt beverly faces some tough decisions about "what to do" because at this point, the machines are keeping him alive.

it came suddenly. i guess these things always do.

um, i'm so not a fan of morbidity or sadness.*

i want to share a story about my uncle jim.

in may we were all at my grandparents' place, celebrating my grandma's 90th birthday. after the party with all her friends and neighbors (i had no idea my grandma was more popular than i am...), a few of us went back to their house to hang out.

and that's when this conversation took place. and i think it really captures my uncle's essence.

grandma: did you know that five generations back...
uncle jim: we KNOW mom, we know. five generations back on grandpa's side of the family, was alexander hamilton. the guy on the ten dollar bill. he's our grandpa. we KNOW.
grandma: well i was just telling allison, in case she didn't know.
me: i know.
uncle jim: that's nothing. guess what we found out...beverly, tell them who your mom said was in your family, however many generations back. john wilkes booth. tell them.
aunt beverly: oh, shut up.
uncle jim: that's right. john wilkes booth! alexander hamilton is a weakling compared to him. he whacked lincoln! that was a heck of a trick.

there are only two things that could make this memory better. 1) if i had managed to capture it on video. 2) if my grandma thought we were related to abraham lincoln, and not alexander hamiltion.

*i don't mean to downplay the grief of my relatives by sharing this. it's a very hard time for them. especially my grandparents who do NOTHING but love their family. that's all they do. and my aunt, who has to be reminded of her grief when she goes home and has to do his dirty laundry, or unwrap his gifts under the tree next week. and his only daughter jamie, who ranted for years about how she would rather be single than marry anyone who wasn't exactly like her dad. this is just how i wanted to speak of him. and this is just how i deal with hard things, in general.