Say “hi” to that cranky old-timer!
Reflecting on my late Uncle’s gruff (loving) personality
You know that old curmudgeon who lives down the street? Next time you see him, say, “hi”. It’s amazing what that word can do for others, even if they don’t show it to the outside world.
My uncle was, simply, a bad-ass. He was a rodeo cowboy, biker, auto body repair man, and others. He was surly, cranky; with crude humor, and he didn’t care what people thought of him — even his mother who he lived with so she wouldn’t be alone.
My uncle complained about everything, but he would drive hours to reach you in a snowstorm if your car broke down. He would complain about how some of our family has made bad life decisions, but he would save up social security all year to buy them a present.
My uncle had a bad-everything. He broke his back while repairing the roof, broke his knee (also while repairing the roof), lived on anti-acid pills and Doritos, and co-existed with daily headaches. Yet, he didn’t drink, didn’t smoke, and genuinely tried to help everyone he could regardless of his own discomfort.
He loved my wife, son, and I visiting him and grandma. He would say that grandma couldn’t get out and lived to see family. This is true, but he looked forward to our visits just as much as she did. He would text (only decided that this technology was ok to embrace 6 months ago) and ask when we were coming over next. Because of Covid, our visits have all but stopped other than a few visits where we stood out on the sidewalk and he and grandma stayed on their front porch. Definitely not the weekly, hour long visits where we sat in the living room listening to him gripe about the world.
Since his passing, we learned that he adopted a stray cat, fed it, and even paid for veterinary care for it. He had a route that he and his dog walked daily, where he would stop and speak with several people to brighten their days. The world that he showed everyone was nothing more than a mask to hide a genuinely nice, caring, man who put family and friends before anything else.
This article doesn’t have links, no listicles on how to cope with anything; but there is a call-to-action: Say “hi” to someone today.
