Strange Americans, Part 2
Today is a special day! The birth date of a very strange American, my Uncle Dean. He is the oldest brother on my mom's side and a unique character. If you ever meet him, you will remember it for a lifetime. He's been a roofer his entire life, climbing on top of houses in boiling heat or freezing cold. Mixing and smelling hard chemicals. A hard laborer with an immense amount of knowledge packed in his brain. This knowledge hasn't been knocked out, despite several falls from high altitudes, broken ribs and even legs in the course of his roofing work.
What's so unique about him? First, he's an American "picker." This is a term for people who travel all over the States, and even the world, searching for unique items to collect. His house is like a living museum, storing one of a kind artifacts intertwined with useless junk. He has huge piles of Playboy magazines from every decade, a lot of Civil War memorabilia, old political posters and buttons, stamps/coins, vintage electronics and toys. The list goes on and on. One day I'll take a visit to his home and photograph some of his "picked" items for the blog. At any family gathering, he's the life of the party. Here, a photo from our Christmas gathering where we had an ugly sweater contest. Notice the bizarre costume? The Nixon button? Yes, this is crazy Uncle Dean! :)
Second, he's an avid reader and military veteran. He was stationed in Germany during the Vietnam war and can spend hours telling you stories about prostitutes he slept with and troops he met along the way. He will say the strangest things, engage in random conversation topics and basically make you scratch your head at times. Is he really from this planet? This is a burning family question.
Do you have such a crazy relative in your family? Someone who always makes life interesting? Please share.
Later in the week, my first post from the Eastern Euro journey!