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Uncle Dennis wasn’t as
handsome as Clark Gable who played Rhett Butler in Gone With The Wind, but
that was where the difference stopped. In every other way he was
well-dressed, fine mannered, a gentleman of the south. His grandmother of
Kentucky was a strong-willed woman it was told. She certainly made an
impression on her grandchildren. When we talk about a person being clean
and well-dressed today, usually it means their sweats just came out of the
dryer. In contrast it was a regular chore for him to carry his clothing
back and forth to the cleaners. When he returned to the ranch from town,
he carried with him two things. One was groceries and the other were the
plastic-covered hangers which held clean, pressed suits and freshly ironed
shirts. Ties and handkerchiefs for his pocket were of the same fabric and
rich looking. Cowboy boots usually always accompanied his otherwise
expensive selection of clothing but this was not to say that the boots
weren’t equally as costly. To complete his ensemble was the ever present
3x beaver Stetson and it was always cleaned and sharp, kept that way by a
professional blocker of hats.
“I’m so happy to see you!”
My uncle was, indeed, welcome. As much as I wanted to be a part of my
husband’s family there was not a comfortable feeling of trust with them,
yet. The advice and direction I needed were here with my own.
Uncle Dennis had raised his
family and they were off and gone with their families. The time he spent
raising them was recorded as experience and this had given him knowledge
for knowing what to do, it seemed, in any situation.
I spoke to him of the
events involving the center and the appointments for therapy and what had
happened along the way. He listened quietly and when I handed him the
bottle of pills Rod’s aunt had given me, and he was suddenly alert.
“You don’t need these.”
This was all he said.
The bathroom in the tiny
house was all but in the front room and was actually just steps away. He
took the few steps toward that door and quietly shook the pills out into
the toilet and flushed them. Nothing else was said about that.
“I’m not sure about what
I’m doing. Always before I had you, or Mother, or Dad to counsel me. This
is just all too much.”
“You have a spiritual
family, you know. Any where in the world you have them.” Uncle Dennis was
always able to make an impression on a person with a few words. There were
times when he would joke with me.
“Well, you don’t need a
ball bat to make an impression on someone!” He would laugh and I realized
he had made another point.
So it was, we were busy
about town, meeting a new acquaintance one or another whom we then called,
“The Friends.”. One man owned a farm equipment supply and his home was
just across from the business. When I met his wife, we instantly liked
each other. She had Indian blood, about as much as I and we had a bond
already. They gave me the time and place where meeting was held. How
little I knew then, time and unforeseen circumstances would make such
heavy happenings upon all our lives. To be able to see into the future
wasn’t a problem at the time. All I was going to learn was how the hurt of
struggling through Rhonda’s condition was no longer something I would have
to do alone.
Uncle Dennis was in his
element. He was a people person, as the saying goes. He loved making new
friends. Somehow or another he could fit into their lives as easily as if
he was their dear uncle instead of mine. Some even referred to him as
Uncle Dennis.
My life suddenly was tied
up with Bible study, community service through Bible study and socializing
with my new friends.
The phone was jangling and
when I answered one of my new acquaintances asked, “Do you think Uncle
Dennis, your husband, Rhonda and you could come to a get together we are
having this weekend?” |
