Phil is Gone

I got a call from my father recently. It was a call that nobody likes to hear. One of my uncles died. He wasn't a maternal uncle as my father only has sisters, and he really wasn't well liked because of his past, but he's dead now and I feel obligated to give the man his due.

He wasn't much of anything, because he didn't do much, he went AWOL and did some time in Ft. Leavenworth, from there what he said he did and what actually happened leaves a lot to be desired. But he was a basically good man in that he stayed with my aunt and supported her until the end.

My father had a special relationship with that aunt, (5 girls, 1 boy) and the kids of my father and my aunt grew up together. She had a boy and a girl, my dad had 2 each. Many a weekend was spent at June and Phil's house.

I've tried to think of something good to say about him, like really, really tried. But I keep coming up bupkis. He wasn't a wife beater or anything like that. He and his son were "car guys" and they had a bunch of them. But my cousin is an alcoholic and wanted in more than one state for DUI convictions. So I can't really say anything good about the man. He was at best a neutral part of my own development. Not really doing anything positive or negative. Just kind of existing. I hear he was a good guy to party with. Bye Phil (or John) nothing more needs to be said.