Father's Day is upon us. Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers & Father Figures all over the land. You guys know I wasn't raised in the home by my biological dad. My mother was a single parent. My sister and I are those people that honor our mom also on Father's Day. A meal (Garlic-Ginger Wings & Veggie Fried Rice) that she loves will be cooked.
And you guys know I had great Father Figures in my life.
They were my grandfather, Pau-Pau, uncle, Uncle Junior & great uncle, Uncle H. I actually had more than that. I have & had quite a few great uncles, a God-father, a few God-Uncles & one uncle by marriage that are/were instrumental in my life is some form or fashion But these men were the most influential. Now I've bragged on my relationship with Pau-Pau before in the post
Birthday Confession but he is only part of my father figure story.
1st let me talk about my Uncle Junior. He my mom's brother and Pau-Pau's son. He was the only boy in a family of girls. He died when I was twelve. Every spoiled, entitled, princess characteristic in my being can be blamed on him. He coddled his nieces. I remember impressing him because I could order food for DD & I at McDonalds when I was 8 after a museum trip.
That was big because we didn't eat fast food often and we didn't order for ourselves at all. When I overheard him bragging on me to my mom and I beamed with pride for the rest of the week. He taught me a lot about being a lady. "A man should open a lady's door." Once I opened a door and my male cousins got fussed at and thumped. I felt bad for my cousins (his two sons, Donny & Mike(blog names) & DD) and as a result I try my hardest not to open doors if men are around. Men, if you think I am picky about ashy skin, raggedy shoes & mouths? You can blame him also. Dating Lesson Number 1: You can tell how a man will treat a lady on how he treats his hands, mouth & shoes. If he doesn't care what he looks like, he won't care how he acts. If he doesn't take care of his mouth, anything could come out of it. So any guys I have dated, you got off easy. Imagine if he had lived to see you date me. Some of you would have never left the house with me. Now, he spoiled us as long as we were right. Have you ever recieved a disciplinary talk from an Air Force base from over 600 miles away? I have! My uncle didn't accept reports of bad grades or behavior. Trust me when he called home from Colorado to talk to you, you wish he would just spank you when he got there for Christmas break. He's the prideful breeze on my cheek that tells me I can make it. He didn't let me settle so, why should I?
If you ever see me type, "Yep, Yep, Yep", I'm paying homage to my great uncle. Anything he meant, he stamped it with a"Yep, Yep, Yep" to follow. My Uncle H was my great uncle by marriage. He was married to Pau-Pau's sister, Aunt V. He was very tall but the nicest man anyone could know.
He was my protector and I was too young to understand it. When I was in the 2nd grade, my teacher tried to keep me after school. Uncle H (who or his wife my great aunt picked us up after school) came to the class and the teacher didn't answer his questions right and he yelled at him to release me. I was let go. In the car, he asked me all kinds of questions about if the man had touched me inappropriately. My innocent answers must have been suffice to him. I later found out he told my mom he suspected my teacher was a pervert. It did come out that our teacher was a pedophile and he had touched a few of the male students. He didn't attend church often because he was truck driver. He would do what he could for his family. Every time my Uncle Junior came to town, his family & he would lived with Uncle H & Aunt V. He always helped take my sister & me to college in his truck, you would've thought he was one of the grandfathers. He load up as much of our stuff that he could. He was proud to take us to school. He had lots of stories to tell on the road. He told stories about his childhood in West Texas. My knees hurt still think about him tell us about doing homework on his knees on a tree stump if one failed to do them it in. He loved told us about watching his uncle who was a Black Cowboy. He loved to see others succeed. He personified this quote perfectly, "I hope we all succeed. you got the same failure fear as I do in me". He died when I was 20 years old. I was in my dorm room when my mom called me with the news. I was at school when he left this Earth, how befitting.
So, that was my grandfather's main support system in help raising Outspoken_Diva. He had/still has lots more help. One lesson they All taught me was to Never Hate my biological father. With All the Love they poured into me, how could I?
As Always, Talking to You in Adult Terms
