Happy Birthday Uncle Gari!

Today marks the day that would have been my Uncle's 61st birthday. While normally birthdays are fun celebrations, this one has a note of sadness as my Uncle died close to 10 years ago of congestive heart failure.

Gari was my dad's younger brother and they both grew up in Detroit and moved to California in the late 1950s. Gari got more than his fair share of rotten hands dealt to him, but managed to always act like he was cool and in control of every situation.

I'm sure your asking yourself "Really, Gari with an "i"?" Yes, as it turns out, there was a pretty famous artist from Detroit called Gari Melchers that my uncle was named after. A few years ago, I traveled to the DIA (Detroit Institute of Arts) and saw some of the other Gari's work for the first time. That was quite an enjoyable experience.

I have many, many fond memories of Uncle Gari like...

• The time when I was really little and he brought his dog Pepper over to our house. That may be the moment when I first realized that Gari would definitely become my favorite Uncle.
• The time he bought me and my sister t-shirts with "Uncle Gari Loves Me" written on them - remember those iron-on letters and miscellaneous decals you could have put on to an ordinary t-shirt in the late 70's? I still have mine.
• The Christmas that he gave me and my sister personalized aprons complete with crayons and note pads. (We loved to play waitress for guests that came over to our house. We would take their drink orders, turn them in to Dad to mix, take them back to the guest and then expect a tip!) I probably earned about $5 doing that.
• The time in High School when he was living with us for a while and he came to pick me up from the library. "You know," he said, "Your dad may claim to be the best driver, but let me tell you the truth. I'm the best stick-shift driver, so if you want to learn to drive a stick-shift, you better learn from me." (I wish I had taken that lesson.)
• The time he called me to wish me a Happy Birthday. Despite the fact that he got the day right he asked me what day it actually was (Nov. 14 for those following along at home). His voice sounded so much like my dad's that I gave him a hard time for not remembering his own daughter's birthday! Then he laughed and said, "Uh, this is your Uncle Gari."
• Lots and lots of non-specific happy times at pool parties, Christmases, birthdays, Thanksgivings and more.

Gari lived a relatively short life when compared to some, filled with ups and downs. But I think he lived a very full live. He is definitely missed.