Uncle Jimmy

I've been meaning to blog about Uncle Jimmy, especially since he's managed to access it. He's my Hungarian Godfather and sometimes I even forget we're not blood related. Uncle Jimmy is from New Jersey and met my Dad during college. My Dad would tell me he was one of the coolest 'cats' at Salem College and one of the first to bring bell bottoms to West Virginia. Ever since then, they were like brothers and shared many things in common (Hungarian heritage, Shop Teaching, Seafood, Beer). Even after 30 years of friendship, they could still discover new similarities and would exclaim "ANOTHER thing in common!"

(Please note his Woodbridge T-shirt. I have no idea where he got that!)

One of Uncle Jimmy's passions is music, and he's been in a band most for most of his life. He's been a part of a country western band, a gospel group, oldies band, and a duo. My parents always partied the most when he was in town and would invite Uncle Jimmy's old musician friends over to jam (Uncle Jimmy lived in Woodbrige for a few years after they graduated college before moving back to New Jersey). As a kid, I remember staying up late and always asking him to play La Bamba. I even found a bunch of his guitar picks when I was packing up the house.

Uncle Jimmy retired and moved to Myrtle Beach a few years ago with his soulmate, Sue (who once beat me in a limbo contest). I took a little road trip down south last fall to visit the Blacks and Uncle Jimmy. He's got an adorable house about 2 miles from the beach. He's got a great garden (complete with a lime tree for fresh gin and tonics..see picture below), hot tub, screened in porch, and an evening cocktail area. I have to say that it was a little bittersweet seeing his life down there because it's sort of what my parents had in mind for their retirement, but I love that he's living it out.

Before my trip, I asked him if there were any bike trails nearby, so when I arrived he had a full itinerary planned for us to explore a local park on bike. Of course, he cooked up fresh crabs and shrimp and took me out to his favorite beach spot. I've never really spent a lot of one-on-one time with him, and I think one of my favorite parts of the weekend was sitting on the back porch drinking coffee and listening to stories about my Dad.