Everyone should have an Uncle Bob

Posted on 15. Dec, 2009 by kchristieh in my life

I used to joke with friends that it seemed that everyone has an Uncle Bob. If they don’t, then they’re missing something special.

My Uncle Bob, my father’s only sibling, died just a few hours ago. He was young – just 71 – but he lived a very full life. We’re all going to miss him terribly, and I can’t imagine seeing my aunt and cousins without him being there.

(The picture to the right features my father, my mother, Aunt Roe & Uncle Bob.)

Here are some of my favorite memories of Uncle Bob:

• When I was little, my father and Uncle Bob would get together each fall to make Bread & Butter Pickles. I love pickles, but I never liked these. Perhaps it was because they’d make them in a…garbage can. (Does that sound White Trash or what??!?) Don’t worry – they’d buy a new can every year. But I could never reconcile the pickles’ origins with their final purpose.
• No one embraced the advent of email more than Uncle Bob. There wasn’t a joke, picture, or soppy story he wouldn’t forward. I’d roll my eyes at many of them, but every once in awhile there’d be a gem. But I’d always try to click on them, just in case it was an email he wrote about what he or his family was up to.
• He and my Aunt Roe raised the best kids ever. Truly. My cousins are awesome. My sister and I spent a lot of time with the oldest two when we were younger, since they lived a few towns away and were nearly the same age we were. I wish my cousins lived near me, since I’m sure we’d be great friends, too.
• I’ve never seen a more productive vegetable garden than Uncle Bob’s. I picture it surrounded and covered by wire fencing, to keep the deer, rabbits, and other critters out.
• I never realized until this evening how much it meant to my husband that Uncle Bob and the rest of that side of my family were so accepting of him. He wasn’t sure they’d open their hearts to a Hispanic guy from the Midwest, although I never had a doubt.
• I traveled the world vicariously via Uncle Bob’s journal over the past few years. He would email me long stories of everything from the personalities on the cruise ship to the food he ate onshore. I’m glad he didn’t wait until he was older to do what he really wanted to.

I’m sure that over the next few days and months I’ll think of more great memories of Uncle Bob. I miss him, and my heart goes out to my aunt and my cousins and their families.

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It’s no surprise that I found a recipe for Bread & Butter Pickles online in a book called “White Trash Cooking” by Ernest Matthew Mickler. Maybe I’ll make some in Uncle Bob’s honor, minus the garbage can.

Tags: bob christie, christie, cousins, death, obituary, recipes, relatives, robert christie, uncle bob, wayne