February 23, 2010

I'm told my Uncle Denny was a lot like me. For one, he threw lefty on the baseball field. And he wore glasses just like I used to. Square build, strong legs, thick, dark hair. They say he was very argumentative, but no doubt sharp. He liked to fish and he liked cards. He loved to play basketball. He loved sports.

Uncle Denny died when he was 17. He was pulling out of his parent's - my grandparent's - driveway. On his way to baseball practice. A neighbor hit him head on and he was impaled by his own steering wheel. That was almost 20 years before I was born. But I think about it a lot and how Uncle Denny's life is a part of mine.