Thursday, December 3, 2020
Hanging out with Uncle Tom was always special and full of surprises. As a young adult, I happen to be sitting at the bar in the family room while he was filling the Crown Royal bottle with a blended whiskey that I'd never heard of. He swore no one would know the difference. I opted for a beer just the same.
But, running errands on a Saturday morning was always amazing. Whether by design, or by happenstance, running errands consisted of a fully orchestrated series of barter events that were just amazing. Now, it would take a couple of hours just to pick up the window that Tom had fixed because someone would need a donut or two, which was traded for the news paper, which was then traded for...eventually Tom was able to get the item that the glass repair guy needed. The thing is, the entire routine wasn't about the barter process. It was about the relationships that he had developed over the years. Those folks loved seeing him, and he loved visiting them. Not to mention, he always loved having someone ride shotgun with him. That's a life lesson that just doesn't get taught these days and I'll miss him forever.
Thank you Uncle Tom. Now go fix St. Peters bathroom...
