The really elderly handsome gentleman to the left (no, no, the one with the glasses) is one of my heroes. His name is James Melbert and he is my beloved Uncle. Now, one thing you absolutely must know about Uncle Jimmy is that he is a liberal Democrat (hence, his picture is on the left of course) but other than that one serious flaw, he is a really good fellow and the last surviving member of my Mom's family. Fortunately for Uncle Jimmy, he is married to a marvelous woman by the name of LaVerne who is conservative.

Uncle Jimmy is the father of two terrific cousins, Bruce and Kay whom I also love dearly. Kay sent me an e-mail not too long ago letting me know that Uncle Jimmy is about to have a repair to the mitral valve of his heart. Now, Uncle Jimmy is a member of the "Greatest Generation" so you know he is no spring chicken, but despite that, when you talk to him, you'd think he is much closer to my young age (and no, I'm not going to tell you how old that is.) At any rate, some of my fondest memories are of the times I spent with the James Melbert family, first in Lake Jackson, Texas, then Angleton, Texas and most recently in Houston, Texas.

Mom, Jimmy and his family, our family were all tied together by the patriarch of our family N.H. Melbert, D.D. preacher-man extraordinaire and probably the finest man I've ever known. But, I digress.

Jimmy enlisted in the army and was in the european theater in WWII. He was a chemist for Dow Chemical Company until his retirement and has a number of patents under his name when he worked for Dow (now, there is this story that Uncle Jimmy once brewed beer in the basement of the Parsonage and the bottles exploded just as my grandmother was entertaining a bunch of ladies from the church. This was back in the late 20s to mid 30's so you know how well that went over - Uncle Jimmy, now you can come clean... did that really happen?).

One ultra-memorable summer in the late 50's I spent a couple of weeks with my grandparents in New Orleans and was invited to spend the rest of the summer at Uncle Jimmy's and Aunt LaVerns'. Wow, what a summer that was. There was a popcorn machine to make fresh popcorn when we watched T.V. and this really big garden spider that lived under the eaves out in the back yard. I remember Bruce and I making up little plays and acting them out with Jimmy, LaVerne and Kay playing the audience. Glorius, absolutely Glorius.

In 1998, my beloved mother became seriously ill and rapidly declined, both physically and mentally and passed away that November. I miss her quiet love and strong personality to this day, but though I told her many many times how much I loved her towards the end (and, indeed all the years I knew her), I've never been sure that she heard or processed it. I'll not make that mistake again. So, the purpose of this blog entry is simple, Uncle Jimmy, Aunt Laverne

I Love You!

There, got that? I thought so!

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