"Uncle Buddy"

Many of you are like me in your mid to late 20's...I'm 29 now and have two little ones of my own now...but mentally I feel nearly like a kid...I have a playful disposition, good personality, and good humor...

I often think back why I enjoyed simple things so well...like going outside and feeling so carefree and content...

The more I think back on it the more I have to give credit to Uncle Buddy...His first name was "Robert" but I called him Uncle "Buddy", because that is what my Dad always referred to him as..."Buddy". I love my Dad, but for some reason he and I found it difficult to be close, we shared few interests...

My Uncle Buddy, on the other hand seemed so unique. He was a fellow with a smile on his face nearly all the time... and talk about humor!...His best jokes were about himself! Believe me, very funny

It seemed he always wore the same overalls with the same red cap...His wife had left him before I was born so his love was hunting with a passion. I can still remember him waking me at 3:00 a.m. in the morning when I was 9 years old to go duck hunting with him....Did I like hunting? No freaking way....Here I was shivering cold right before dawn,..wet, cold, and wanting so badly to get home. The sound of the shotgun scared the wits out of me...It's funny, I couldn't even eat the ducks, though I was so hungry.

I guess my parents thought it was neat that me and Uncle Buddy went hunting together because we did that quite a bit through the years...Duck hunting, Doves, Rabbit, Deer, Bear, and of course, I was introduced to squirrel, the rest is history so to speak...

I guess it started to grow on me, because I really looked forward to these trips usually once or maybe twice a year...I loved the woods and took an interest in firearms ( though Uncle Buddy said all I needed was a thutty-thutty, and a half-decent shotgun.)
He was fun to listen at: "Doesn't cut turkey", "over yonder" were frequent phrases...He told some good stories when we were camping about him being younger and attacking a bear with a knife...of course, he probably fibbed about this, but I pretended to believe him.

During high school, I didn't hunt much, but took it up back again while going to college...By this time, I no longer went with him, primarily due to the fact, we lived apart...

It was not until after I graduated college a couple years ago that I was notified by my Dad, that Uncle Buddy was very sick...so sick, he could hardly walk. As big as his heart was, it didn't function correctly...I remember being angry and upset...Why did my Dad wait so long to tell me?

I would like to say these last couple of years haven't been bad, but it got to the point where he had to have someone help him at home...My Dad did a lot of the helping and I remember him saying he would take care of his old hound. Uncle Buddy responded that he might need him when he got better to go hunting, he laughed of course...

Uncle Buddy died 6 months later on November 28, 2000...a year ago tommarrow...

I remember how I felt such shock and such a mixture of emotions...I kept a lot of it to myself, and thought Christmas was ruined....but rather than feel sad, Christmas made me think of all the cool adventures...I often feel like he is there with me when I make hunting trips by myself. I realize holidays can often cause people to feel sad, and especially now with the disaster and recessed economy, but I hope people can embrace the good they have during times like these and if you have a significant other or kids,... remember to cherish the "simple" things together.