Who Is YOUR Crazy Uncle?

This is a tribute to my Crazy Uncle Ronnie. His title "Crazy Uncle" is capitalized because it is a very special title he has earned. Ronnie LaRue is the younger brother of my mom, Bonnie Lou and my aunt, Connie Sue. No, I am not kidding ... those are real names. But you would have to have known Grandma Naomi to understand, and that is a WHOLE other story. If there had been another sibling, he would have been Johnny Who, because Grandma could not think of another rhyming name, God bless her. You could blame this on us being from the South, but we are not.

So, back to Ronnie. He was a lifetime military man. He would go on long voyages to far away places, and many times we were not told his location. This was in the 1960s and 1970s. He would come to our farm on leave. As I was his only niece at the time, he would bring me special gifts from afar...mostly strange-looking dolls. I was a tomboy and did not play with dolls, but nonetheless, they were very special to me. He even brought me a plate with my PICTURE on it. Who knew this could be done back in the day???

Even more special were the songs he taught us. On a recent visit, my little Elliot sang the songs to Ronnie. It was so sweet to hear Elliot's little voice sing: "Ronnie Bock-- Superstar!"

And Ronnie chimed in, "Who in the hell do you think you are?".

I did not remember THAT line. Elliot looked at me with big eyes. I gave him the look that said, "It's ok if Crazy Uncle Ronnie says hell. Please don't correct him". He earned the right to say hell in front of children.

Another favorite song goes like this, "Mercy mercy mercy me. Ronnie Bock's pretty as he could be". He would line us up on the front porch, my three brothers and me, and make us sing this for my mom. I am sure my dad was in the barn somewhere, as I don't think he thought Ronnie was pretty.

On his most recent trip to our home state, I missed his visit. I remember I was very pregnant. Waiting for me on the back step was a 5-gallon (maybe not THAT big) bottle of Tequila. Yes, I knew instantly Ronnie had been there.

He never said, "I love you", but I know he loves us. He is suffering from cancer now, suffering in a very bad way.

I just want to say that I love my Crazy Uncle Ronnie. Ronnie, I love you for bringing so much color and naughtiness into our quiet lives on the farm. I love you for making me feel special.

I hope everyone has an uncle like mine.