On Saturday, I went to see my uncle in his nursing home with my little boy. He is my dad's brother and has been like a second dad to me, when my dad was alive and certainly since. It's funny - my dad and his brother (the aforementioned uncle) married my mom and her sister! My uncle is not in great health now, having suffered a massive stroke (his 4th stroke) last fall. But his long-term memory is still great - he still tells me stories about how he and my dad would load up a thermos full of Canadian Club and watch Jim Brown and the Cleveland Browns from their season ticket seats.

Seeing Mary Cas' picture triggered the reminder about my uncle - he had a digital photo frame in his room with lots of current and vintage pictures. There were some great ones of my uncle and dad when they were kids. It was really awesome.

Yesterday, my cousin (who is one of my uncle's 3 kids) had a cookout. My cousin Bob is about 1.5 years older than me and we were very close growing up - almost like the brother I never had. Anyway, my cousin announced that he and his girlfriend of a few years had eloped, which was a pleasant surprise to everybody. He called me after we came home from the game. They had kept it quiet because they did not want to take away attention from his ailing father. But needless to say, this joyous news helped buoy my uncle's spirits immensely - on Father's Day no less.