Q. So are there people out there with different names related to you?
A. My Dad's brothers
(For Lent, I've decided to write 40 posts about people I love / made me who I am / thankful to know / appreciate)
Today's post was to be dedicated to my Dad's three brothers, and the extended family under their various patriarchies...
Honestly, I hate to say it - but I'm pretty distant from them all... Geography doesn't help I guess... Not to mention my Dad doesn't seem much like his older brothers (at least the two still living). It's pointless to get into the differences...
Maybe if I list them out you'll have a better time knowing my inability in knowing where to start
-the former Jesuit turned author
-the former Priest turned protestor
-the touring musician
-the academic, university professor, muscisian
-the one that has learned the craft of making mandolins from scratch
-the folk musician, who I'm sad to say probably would't recognize on the street tomorrow
-the landscape architect or evaluator of organic farms in New England
-the mother in Minnesota (who has two kids who I think are in college now)
-the homosexual in San Fran
-the 50+ year old cousin of mine that got married in a cave (still married)
-the cousin, who I've never met, that lives in Australia
I actually think I'm missing some...
But in listing that out, I think I've found my focus.
The widow of my Father's oldest brother.
Ever since my Uncle's death, my Dad has taken it upon himself to make sure he stays in contact with her.
She's the kind of person that I want to write to her grandchildren - to remind them they have an awesome opportunity with an unbelievable "crazy fun grandma"
Carla, her name, calls my dad "Danny." (It's always a surprise to hear this nickname, and a shock to see my Dad react to it)
My Dad doesn't seem to be cut from the same cloth as his older brothers... And by extension, I might feel as close to those cousins as some others... But by that same token, I need to understand that my life has been shaped by them.
