My uncle Jimmy was just like a second dad to me, in fact, he was my dad’s older brother. My parents divorced when I was just 6 years old and my mother and I moved across the country so that we would be near a lot of families (very important for a newly divorced/single mom to have family support). My uncle Jimmy was married to my mom’s sister Dolly, so we had a “double connection”.
My uncle Jimmy was a big man with a deep and at times intimidating voice. A real baritone!
He always made me feel so special and no matter what trouble I found myself in, he never got upset or angry with me.
Shortly after moving to California, I fell and ended up with several sutures, right on the “crown” of my head. My uncle told me that they would have to be removed after about 2 weeks and that we didn’t need to go to the doctor to have it done, he could do it! The thought of having the sutures removed scared me to death, as did going to the doctor. I was thrilled that my uncle Jimmy could remove them for me.
When it was time for the sutures to be removed, he took a towel and draped it over the ottoman of his favorite chair. He told me to lay my head down on the ottoman and he would take them out. He made a big production about the entire suture removal procedure!
Just before he started, he asked one of his kids (he had 6) to run and grab the pliers! PLIERS???? I can’t begin to tell you the fear that that provoked in me.
After much fiddling around on my head, he announced that he was done. I felt nothing. I was so confused. Then, in his deep, burly voice he laughed, as did all the family members that were in the room. He told me that it was all a joke and that the sutures were dissolvable and that there was nothing to take out. It was all a prank, and it was a good one at that.
To this day, when I think of my uncle Jimmy who has been gone now for more than 25 years a smile comes on my face and so many fond memories fill my mind. I miss him very much and his pranks and feel so blessed for all the fun times we had and all the love he showed me.
I love you, Uncle Jimmy. May you forever rest in peace.
Submitted by : Laura Lahage Banner
From: Georgia, United States
