The Wacky Uncle

Tuesday January 22nd, 2008 - Stevens Point, WI/Green Bay, WI

Day off today so I decided to go see my cousin Leah and her husband Rob up in Stevens Point, WI. I had to be in Green Bay tonight so I could do radio tomorrow morning and it’s not that far of a drive from Stevens Point. Their daughter Janine just had a birthday a few days ago and I wanted to take her out for pizza. She’s a great kid and deserves some fun.

Any time I can add to a kid’s life I always do it. Those are the memories that burn into a life the most and years later they’re lived all over again. Janine is a sweet kid and we have many good memories together. I remember when she was born and I usually see her about three or four times a year. I try to always make it special in some way so it’s a memory.

She just turned 14 last week and she’s not a kid anymore. She’s almost as tall as me and could probably take me out with a couple of punches. She’s growing into a young woman now and kid stuff is getting passé to her. Now she loves Tony Romo and thinks he’s cute. Gag. Puke. I had to bite my lip but I did. We had good pizza, a lot of laughs and big fun.

That was the missing ingredient of my whole family growing up - fun. Nobody had any and now all these years later most of them are dead and what did it get them? They’re still dead but those unpleasant memories are still stinking up my memory closet and what for? I’ve really tried to live exactly the opposite of those people but they made it very difficult.

Leah and I talked about that over pizza. Her father and my father are brothers and she is trying to raise Janine to not have the lives we had as kids. They moved to Stevens Point to start a life of their own and I can’t blame them for that. Now her father is nearing the end and it doesn’t look like he sees his mistakes. He still thinks he did a great job as a parent.

It amazes me how that is a common story with idiot parents. My father never EVER had any regrets about his parental accomplishments. He always looked for anything else to put the blame on other than his lack of effort and even to the end he was defiant. Now it’s the same story with his brother and the funny thing is they never got along in life. It’s goofy.

My friend Max in Springfield has the same problem. His father is a callous lout just like mine and he is indignantly waiting for Max to apologize to HIM. How insane is that? The same feelings I have are shared by a lot of others apparently and it’s all a big waste of life. Those dunce bucket parents are never going to change their ways so it’s best to move on.

But even though it’s best to move on that’s not always the easiest. All of us want to get that pat on the back of approval from our parents. It’s hard wired inside us. How many of us actually get it? I don’t know but I know it’s not me and never will be. That’s why I am always trying to add to the lives of others, especially kids. I want to break that evil chain.

Janine has had a good life so far. She’s happy and well adjusted and won’t have to sit at Christmas wondering if she should blow her head off. That’s GOOD. I am glad I had a bit part in that along the way. I might not ever get to be a parent but I’m a great wacky uncle.