Bobo is the nickname I gave to my uncle Jim, who was born to my grandmother five months after I was born to my mother. Mama was Mamaw's oldest daughter, and obviously, Bobo was my grandmother's last child, her third son. We grew up more like brother and sister during the times that my grandparents lived in Louisiana. The worst thing they ever did for him was to move to Houston, Texas, but when Papaw got where he could not farm or cut logs, he needed an income and an easier life, so he managed a gas station in Houston. I remember going to visit them once. They lived in an apartment over a garage. At that time, I think that my "little uncle" must have been both overindulged and unhappy. He was drinking a gallon of whole milk a day, and he was a butterball.
I have a book of memories about him, some of which I will probably keep secret till the day I die. I'd prefer to share the funny or happy ones, like the way we'd jump off the barn, or the time we hung Curtis. (I still say Bobo did it, but I got whipped for it, just the same.)
He lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in far too short a time. It seemed only days between diagnosis and death, but I know it was more. I talked to him just a few days before he died. His voice on the phone was weak and shaky, but I assured him that he was tough and he'd beat this thing. He wasn't tough enough. He leaves behind his grieving widow Sylvia and his children.
Recently on the news they announced that the great singer Aretha Franklin has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. My heart broke.
Elizabeth Edwards lost her battle with breast cancer this week. I will always believe that her husband's infidelity and blind ambition hurried her toward her grave. Those wacko sicko people from the Westboro "Baptist" Church are supposed to protest at her funeral. I cannot imagine why. These people are all the proof I need that if there were a god, he'd have struck these idiots dead a long time ago. They are a group of people whose ideology is so offensive, I cannot even fathom how they think.
Right now I am holed up in my little apartment, supposedly grading all weekend, but we've got a major storm headed for us, so I got out to get food and other necessities earlier, and when I returned, I ate lunch and promptly fell asleep in my chair. We're being warned that maybe as much as a foot will fall on us. I hope not. The calendar has not yet even clicked onto winter. Ten more days.
My Kindle arrived in the mail on Tuesday. Esteemed Spouse drove up Friday evening to take me out to eat and to bring me the Kindle. I've downloaded several books on to the Kindle, but I haven't figured out how to read them yet! I'm less of a technophobe that I was, but I still hate gadgets' needless complexities. I know once I get the hang of it, I'll wonder why I ever thought it was so complicated.
One more week, and I've got a nice little break coming up.
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