My Uncle BS Story ...

 

I have told this story many times on here before, but I promised my uncle I'd tell it whenever I thought of it, and while watching the movie "Eleanor the Great," I thought of it.

But first, I need to explain that he wasn't actually my uncle, he was my grandfather's 1st cousin - we just called him "Uncle" Gene because he wasn't much younger than my Grandfather.

(Also, both of my parents are only children, so I have no aunts or uncles or first cousins, only great aunts/uncles, most of whom died before I was born.)

In fact, in 2022, after a DNA test, I discovered that I'm actually not genetically related to any of the people I'm about to discuss, but that's another crazy story! 😂

Secondly, I need to explain why I call him Uncle BS.

I started calling him that after Southern comedian, Tim Wilson (now deceased), referred to one of his uncles as Uncle BS, and that everyone in the South has one.

So an Uncle BS is your Southern storyteller uncle, who completely makes sh*t up, either to make you laugh or because he's crazy or both. 😂

He would tell me all kind of crazy stories as a child, like the reason the Kamikaze pilots crashed into Pearl Harbor was an accident - they crashed because of my Aunt Urpha's pineapple upside-down cake! 😂

He said she sent them her cake as a peace offering and they tried it on the planes and it was so good they forgot what they were doing and crashed into Pearl Harbor! 😂

My grandpa, Pap: "Careful, Mule, you might step in something your Uncle Gene dropped." 😂

("Mule" is my Southern nickname but not for the reason you think, also another story.)

 

Uncle Gene: "May God strike me down if that ain't true, Orville."

 

Pap: "Well, I'monna stand over there by that tree, then, it's safer - 'cause ain't nary a word of that's true, Gene, except how good her cake is." 😂

Now - when I've told that story before, I've used the actual racist language he did exactly, because that's the way he talked and it bothered me to no end, which is exactly why he did it - he was like a little boy, like that, did things for shock value to get a reaction - right up until the story I'm about to tell. 

Unfortunately, that aspect was completely missed on telling this story previously, as was the entire point of the story.

So I won't do that again so there's no misunderstanding  -  but it suffices to say he had a habit of calling different groups by derogatory and even racist names - like Limey for British, Krauts for Germans, Japs for Japanese, Pollocks for Polish and worse, you get the picture. He never used the N word for people of color, but he used another one nearly as bad.

So he'd use these derogatory terms and I'd scowl at him, even leave the room - then he'd come kiss me on the cheek and call me "Just messing with ya, ya Commie Pinko, I love ya."

It was hard to stay mad at him when he did that.

The very last time I heard a story by Uncle Gene was in 2007, when my grandmother had terminal lung cancer, and he died not long after - but this one was different.

He joked around for a while, as per his usual, but became uncharacteristically serious, I'd never seen him like that. 

Out of nowhere, he told the following story ...

Uncle Gene: "You know, Mule, I used to call people stuff to get a rise out of you, but I didn't mean it. We was trained to talk like that during the war, so we wouldn't feel bad killing people, I know that. I've always known that. But that ain't how I really feel ..." 

 

"When I was a GI in Poland, I will never forget how them Jewish people were on the day we liberated them from that factory. Chrystal, they was SO happy. You think you know joy, you ain't never seen joy like that, with people freed." 

 

"They couldn't speak English, only Polish, but we understood each other. They was so grateful they got down on their knees and kissed our feet and cried until we told them to stop, we're not gods, just soldiers trying to do the right thing." 

"Then we danced and sang together. They offered to cook for us, but they was rail thin and had no food, they was like the walking dead.  So we shared what little we had with them. You ain't never seen anything like that, just pure joy."

 

"Later, we was trying to eat and drink and be merry and all that bullshit, but it was hard, celebrating, because there was a big stone Nazi swastika bolted over the doorway of the factory, just hanging over us like a dark stormcloud."

 

"So me and 3 of my buddies, we climbed up there and and unbolted that nasty thing. We worked on it all night. And you know when we finally got it, right before dawn, that thing crashed down in a million little pieces. A million little pieces, Chrystal."

 

(He teared up at this point.)

"You never saw the like of cheering and dancing and singing and celebrating. A million little pieces."

 

"I don't know why I told you that story, I'm sorry. But this one's actually true lol. You won't find it in any history book, but it is. It took us all night to do it, we had no explosives left." 

"I guess when you near the end, you just want people to know the good you done once, the price of freedom, you want the young people especially to know what we done. What freedom really means. How many had to pay for it with their lives."

 

Me:  "I've never seen you serious or cry, Uncle Gene, you DO have a heart, after all" - 😉 - winking and placing my hand on top of his and giving his hand a playful little shake. Then I stood up and stood behind him sitting, putting my arms around him, and said ...  

"And I know this one's true, for a change, I can tell lol. I've never seen you like this! And I promise you I will tell that story whenever I think of it, okay? Everyone will know. And THANK YOU for what you did for them and for us."

"Hey, not bad for your 'commie pinko' niece, eh? I love ya" - and then I kissed him on the cheek, as he had me, so many times. 😂

He laughed through his tears, and patted my arms around him  - is there any better emotion than laughter through tears? 🥹

Of course, this was back when Republicans and Democrats mostly just teased each other, rather than any politician encouraging others to distrust, fear, and even hate someone because of their political party, using propaganda and false accusations which are believed blindly.

Now - I understand that many old wounds have needed to come to light for a long time, rather than us continuing to pretend, continuing to ignore them, in our society, I do - and that process isn't easy.

But I also miss a time where we just politely disagreed and could do so while still feeling love for each other, rather than utter disgust.

I'm hoping that one day, all lies will be exposed, all truth will be revealed, and that those wounds will finally be addressed and finally healed  - and then perhaps we can return to that someday.

Most importantly, most of us can't remember a time in our lifetime that we've engaged in a a war for honorable reasons - to truly fight for freedom rather than over conquest of land or oil.

We throw around the word "freedom" today selfishly, from an entitled perspective, in terms of our individual rights, having no true idea of what that really means because we have no true frame of reference.

Thus sometimes, I think we need to be reminded of what freedom really means. 

True freedom is NOT the right not to wear a mask during a global pandemic.

It is NOT the right to own an assault rifle as a civilian, when a pistol or hunting rifle/shotgun works just as well, if truly intended for self-defense.

It is NOT about the right to not be properly trained or background-checked for crime or mental illness before owning one.

It is NOT about having the right to be a rude, racist, bigoted, false-accusing, lying, propaganda-spreading, intentionally inflammatory A-hole. 

In fact, true freedom isn't about YOUR rights at all - it's about equal rights for everyone - which includes the public's right to be protected from you and being the target of your irresponsible, hateful, selfish behavior.

True freedom is about having equal right to speak, vote,  paid for work and even criticize the government or those in power - and in some cases, just exist -  despite being different than the majority due to color of skin, religion, ethnicity, financial status, or political beliefs - without fear of harassment, imprisonment, forced labor, violence and torture, or death because you disagree or are different than the majority.

Yes, with that comes the fact that you DO have the right to not wear a mask or vaccinate - but the public also has the right to not be exposed to your being especially susceptible to a deadly, highly contagious virus because of your refusal.

Yes, you DO have the right to bear arms to defend yourself - but the public also has the right to be protected from you, especially if you're not trained and haven't proven yourself responsible first. 

Yes, you DO have the right to freedom of speech that doesn't incite violence - but I'm pretty sure our forefathers intended that to mean the right to criticize government leaders and those in power, particularly despotic and tyrannical kings -  NOT the right to be a rude, racist, bigoted, falsely-accusing, propaganda-spreading A-hole.

If you want to abuse that right, feel free -  but never forget - you haven't paid for it  -  others did, with their lives - and THIS is how you choose to exercise it? 

So unfortunately, my uncle was right - we've become a nation of spoiled brats who throw around "freedom" having a child's idea of what that really means, throwing tantrums if we don't get exactly what we want, though what we want may not be good for us or anyone around us.

Thus, take this story as intended - reminding you have what freedom truly means - and the price our grandfathers, great-grandfathers, uncles and great uncles had to pay for it.

______________________________________________

PS

I just wanted to add the last time I saw Uncle Gene was actually at my grandmother's funeral, right after the interment at the cemetery.

There was a lot of gossip going around, started by my sister - but 5 family members bypassed my older sister completely and made a beeline straight for me - my 2nd stepcousin, Ann, and her son, Corey (who I used to babysit), my 2nd cousin, Bobby, and Uncle Gene and Aunt Urpha.

They made it very clear they stood with me, practically circling around me like adult elephants protecting their baby! 😂

That is because those people really knew me -  they knew the lies  going around were started by my sister over the will.  

In fact, 4 out of 5 of those people (except for Corey, who never met my older sister)  openly told me they knew she was lying because she never set foot herem the entire time Granny was sick, to help me with care, nor was my mother -  and they knew that because they visited often and were in constant contact with Granny when she was sick, but said that should've been obvious to everyone anyway.

They also revealed what I never knew - that they knew she hated me "from the day I was born," they said, it was obvious -  especially after I was in that movie as a child. 

They said they even had childhood pictures of us playing, all of us smiling and laughing, except her -  glaring at me, seething with hatred, which they now found kinda scary. 

They also said she never seemed to have any interest in them at all or ever asking them about themselves, which they perceived as looking down on them. 

They said if she did speak to anyone besides my grandparents and my bitchy 2nd cousin, Martha, when she visited, she mostly bragged about herself and her fabulous Chicago life now, and yet no one was  as impressed as she thought they should be. 

So they held onto me in bear hugs and almost didn't let me go - isn't that great of them? 🥹

I could feel the love and defense of me coming off of them, which I never really had in my immediate family - flawed people, maybe - but they knew it - and actually truly great people underneath it all.

Sad, though, because only one of those people is still alive -  Ann's son, Corey - and I understand he's doing very well for himself now, which warms my heart. Sweetest little boy ever, he was 😊