Wednesday, December 05, 2007

my uncle died yesterday

He was terminally ill, but it just sort of happened yesterday. I wasn't expecting it quite so soon, mostly due to deep denial. This is going to sound way more emo than it is, given that my own childhood was better than 99.999% of everyone in the world, but Uncle Jim was the only grown-up who understood me as a child. He was my lifeline to the world of stupid fun geek stuff. He understood that is was okay to not outgrow thinking about faraway lands and spaceships and stuff like that. Uncle Jim was the first guy who ever spoke to me in that Long John Silver pirate voice we all use every September. He once told me he'd take a job cleaning toilets on the Enterprise just so he could zoom around in space. He was a fun guy and a good man.

Sometimes over the years I got the impression that some of my relatives thought I was a damn weirdo. It was never that way with Jim. And then there was the Thanksgiving that my friend Fred couldn't make it to his home for the holiday so I brought him with me. I got a distinct vibe that some of my relations started to suspect that I was gay after that. Which was kinda weirding me out at the time but in retrospect I find the whole thing pretty funny. So now I'm rambling.

I'll just end this post with this: Those of you or bought and/or downloaded Asteroid 1618, my Encounter Critical module, can look on page 2 and see that fake author "A.J. Putnam" dedicates the book to his uncle Jim. A.J. Putnam may not exist but that dedication is as genuine as anything I've ever written.

13 comments:

  1. Anonymous8:37 AM

    Sincere condolences Jeff. Your uncle sounds like a really cool guy.

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  2. Anonymous9:45 AM

    I think every geek has an "Uncle Jim" in their life at some point. Dr. Who was my uncle Jim.

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  3. My deepest condolences, Jeff. I too had an Uncle Jim (and that was his name), though my sense of loss was was not so much that he understood me (fortunately for me, my dad is a bit of a geek too), but he had a zest for life that I am only now starting to understand and pass on. That's what we have to do to honor their memories; pay it forward to the next generation. Thank you for sharing this with us.

    ~Wiz of Ice

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  4. Jim sounds awesome, Jeff. Condolences :(

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  5. My condolences Jeff. It sounds like you guys had lots of good times together.

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  6. Thoughts and prayers, my friend... thoughts and prayers...

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  7. I'm so sorry, Jeff.

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  8. Sorry to hear that, Jeff. My condolences. I understand what it can be like to grow up in that "Leave it to Beaver" style "textbook suburban American" life; that makes it no easier to be different by being a gaming geek. Wish I'd had someone understanding like your Uncle Jim. Sounds like he had a great life; it is best to celebrate that life and, as Chris says, pass it on to the next generation...

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  9. I'm really sorry to hear that, Jeff.

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  10. Jeff --

    You have our deepest condolences. I agree completely with Chris K. -- and I think Your Nephew The Ninja is in good hands.

    -- A!

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  11. I'm sorry I only got to meet him a couple of times. He wasn't as wierded out by me as most people, and to me that's enough. Sorry to hear he's gone.

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  12. My sincere condolences, Jeff. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.

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  13. Anonymous5:04 PM

    We've all been there, Jeff. Very sorry for your loss.

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