My Uncle Bud

I stopped by to see my Uncle Bud yesterday. I only get to see him about once a year or so. As soon as I pulled in he greeted me with a big smile and told me he had a present for me (this is what he always does) He went into the house and came back out with a couple of key chains for me. One was a miniature sudoku game (I am a sudoku addict by the way) and the other one was a little miniature guitar hero game. Uncle Bud loves miniature stuff and I think that is where I probably get my love of the same stuff.

His real name is Lloyd, but the family calls him Bud. He is the 2nd oldest of four. Edna Ruth is the oldest, then Bud, then my mom and last but not least is Mary Ann. Bud was considered to be a genius growning up. He was the spelling bee champion of West Virginia. After he graduated he came down with tuberculous (a common ailment in the fifties) and he had to go to a sanitarium for awhile. He was never the same after that.

NOTE: A SANITARIUM WAS A PLACE THAT THEY SENT SICK PEOPLE TO GET WELL IN THE FIFTIES - IT WAS NOT AN INSANE ASYLUM WHICH IS WHAT I THOUGHT UNTIL I WAS CORRECTED IN HIGH SCHOOL

He spent years hiding in his room, playing his guitar and doing a little gardening. He also only ate fudge and fried potatoes for years too. Even though he was having these problems he was always a good uncle. We would visit him in his room or play while he worked in the garden. (he has an amazing green thumb) I remember he had 2 dogs once named boy and girl. When we would leave the house he always stood on the porch and waved to us until we were out of sight.

One time my parents went on vacation and left us at my granny's house. Every night all night long for a week we had to listen to Bud play the rift of "Smoke on the Water" ALL NIGHT LONG. I couldn't listen to it for years after that without getting irritated. Now when I hear it, it brings a big smile to my face. It has turned into a funny, happy memory.

In my early 20's I happenned to be driving by when I observed Bud getting in a car. I watched him as he reached over with his right arm and actually picked his leg up and put it in the car because he couldn't raise it. Then he took his right hand and picked up his left hand and placed it in his lap and used his right arm to then close the door. I knew something was seriously wrong so I went straight to my mom. She forced him to go to the doctor and he was diagnosed as having a massive brain tumor. It was as big as a grapefruit. The doctor said it could easily have been growing 30 years or more and would account for Bud's strange behavior. They did surgery and he recoverd beautifully.

The problem was after all those years of not acting normally, he was not going to act normally ever. Even so, he is a wonderful uncle, who lets me know that he cares about me every time he sees me.

I love him too.