This is hard for me to write. Today my Uncle Richard, after a hard bout with dementia, passed away at the age of 74. He and my aunt had just made it to 50 years married. My aunt had to have him in a home because it was just impossible for her to adequately take care of him. He was my dad's youngest brother, and even though he was a generation up from me, my uncle was only 7 years older than me, and I felt that we kind of grew up together. When I was growing up I didn't know anybody else who had an uncle who was practically their age, and when I was handed down one of his shirts I just thought that was the coolest thing. We had many years of fishing and hunting together, both up in Canada and on his farm. So if it looks like I am absent for a little bit, it will be because we are gathering together to remember his life.
