A Tribute to Uncle John, September 2010

October of 2006 Michael and Uncle J holding my baby girl Ansley

September 14, 2010

I do believe in signs.  Indicators that a greater power than man is ultimately in control.  This higher power, God, is a benevolent being intervening in our lives.  Signs are the crossroads between heaven and earth, a mixing of the spiritual realm with the earthly realm.  

My uncle John passed away just recently and my aunt Linda went to visit the sight where he crashed on his bicycle and had a terminal heart attack.  In the modern age 55 is an untimely death.  We are all left craving more time with John.  

He was a dear friend, counselor, unassuming, disarming, and could mix with people from all walks of life.  He loved the outdoors, a lively tennis match, an outstanding round of golf, and even a bad day of fishing.  I remember his days as a single man living in Denver.  He lived by the "Skin Heads" in Denver but my father  (his brother) was not worried about him because Uncle J at a height of six feet six inches and with the strength of an ox could wrestle a bear.  He loved to eat Mexican food at the Blue Bonnet and was an avid sports fan.  He shared a love of the Broncos with my husband and all the other loyal fans in Denver.  While my husband was deployed to Afghanistan he kindly emailed all the stats and trades the Broncos made to give my husband a break from the mundane deployment scenery in Afghanistan.  

I also remember he was the best soft ball player I have ever seen.  When he hit the ball at Rouse Park one time he hit one of the lights out.  He is the only man I have known to accomplish this height with a soft ball.  To me he was a hero, and I know he loved me. 

Uncle J was an avid fan of the blues.  I recollect many car rides with him listening to the blues in his Toyota Land Cruiser.   The Land Cruiser was the only truck he truly fit in.   One time he tried to fit in my father's Audi and broke the drivers seat.  My father proceeded to rig up the seat with a tennis racket.   

In my childhood Uncle John was one of my top ten steady characters.  These are the people you recollect in your childhood that are there for you when the going gets tough.  They are the steady figures you bond with.  These are the people who help formate who you are.

All I truly have left besides the pictures in my mind are a bracelet that he gave me in my teens. He brought it back from a trip to New Mexico.  It is a Navajo bracelet signed by a Navajo artist.  The designer created the bracelet with silver and turquoise.  The bracelet bends around the wrist and each turquoise stone is still in the rough but the artist took the time to envelop each stone with an intricate silver setting.  The bracelet has always been my favorite bracelet but now that Uncle John has passed on it takes on new meaning.  Someday I hope his son Michael will have a daughter I can pass it on to.   

At the sight where my Uncle crashed his wife Linda met the person that came to his aid. Shortly after the meeting she returned to the car to go home.  On the top of the car was a red tailed hawk.  They used to call John "the Hawk".  Linda saw this as a sign that John's soul was in peace.