Wednesday, December 18, 2013
As a child growing up with Doug around our family, he was my 'Uncle Doug'!! It took me years to realize the true meaning of an uncle and how important they are in a childs life. My earliest memories of him (parts retold, parts still in my head) took place after our house fire when i was four. As we were homeless, doug took us in for months to live at his great house in gan on the river. Alisha and i had the unique experience of full access to the entire house and all of its nooks and crannies. I would spend hours in the basement begging doug to teach me how to use his amazing pool table, of loving his bar, the sauna, and other cool 'stuff' that could be found if one knew where to look! Ill never forget the bull statue that sat on the bar, or the scary halloween masks that we found once and surprised the parents with (who we generally found drinking beer on the deck or in the kitchen. If you were a kid who knew dougs house, you never went far before raiding the goodie jar, which was an urn shaped pottery piece with a small lid on top and always 'chaulked full' of kitkat and snickers!! One day, just after doug had had new sod laid down his back slope to the water i remember running dwn the hill as fast as i could. Maybe i didnt see the stakes that were placed in each piece of sod, or maybe i thought i could deek them as dad and doug hollered at me to slow down? In the end, i received three or four stiches in my forehead that day after tripping on one stake, supermanning through he air for a bit, then head first into another stake further down the hill. Doug held me and let me know how worried he was for me and wondered 'just...whyyy!' i would run?
Doug had a great (i say now a little enviously with three boys of my own) way of dealing with annoying, whining kids (i mean me):
Me: Uncle doug, uncle doug, can you take me out in the boat again? Or can we play pool? I want another chocolate bar!! Daddy!! Daddy, Doug wont give me any of heees beer!!
Doug: (pause) (ignore).... (look down at you, straight faced, big belly, beer in hand)....
"BAAAAGGHH!!!!"
For some reason, it doesnt have the same effect on my kids as when it comes from your 'Uncle Doug'!!;)
Love you bigguy!
