Well now seems like a good time to share a bit of a tale, In advance warning it may be a bit long winded, but hopefully it will help to explain some things about my personality in the future.
Grab a Drink, Smoke 'em if you got 'em and bear with me for a while.
Might as well start at the beginning, No not 4 and a half billion years ago or in a galaxy far far away.
I was born in the mid 80s to a 16 year old 'disabled' single mom and spent my childhood bouncing from Slum to slum. We sometimes had a roof and sometimes we didn't. I would definitely say she did the best she could and I am grateful.
Not sympathy fishing its just for context, and to be fair the facts are the facts.
As I mentioned before her disability was a technicality she had 4 fingers on each hand but played bass in a heavy metal band, Raised kids and begged borrowed or stole what we needed to get by. Basically One Bad Ass Momma.
Now for the point of this story, Last Night after a few drinks and a fatty, Me and My missus got on the topic of father figures so here goes.
Now when I was about 6 or 7 My Aunt married this dude. His Nickname was Mouse because he was 5'4, stocky and surprisingly fast on his feet. He was a group home boy who was bounced around foster care and the system left, right and center.
He took a shine to me, and to be honest at that age having a father figure in my life was a huge deal. Over the years he taught me to fight, play ball, Boxing, how to look after myself. At the same time he taught me to boost car stereos and hubcaps in seconds and just as quickly get out of dodge. How to Roll a joint, Pack a bowl, and how to avoid drawing attention to myself, or attract it all in one quick outburst.
Most Importantly He taught me to laugh. Now Mouse had shitty Luck. He had his arm damaged by a forklift accident at work, He was arrested and pulled more times than I can count for his buddies, and to be fair he did the time without once ratting anyone out. His marriage with My aunt, and every relationship with any girlfriend after was a mess. If The dude bought a lottery ticket he somehow would manage to lose more than the ticket cost. The list goes on...
Most Importantly no matter how bad his luck he would always smile, Laugh, when possible skin up, and take it on the chin. Everything was a joke and that's something I inherited from him. No matter how bad the situation he would find something funny about it.
As I said the whole point of this is something he told me when I was about 10 years old, I was struggling at school, getting beat up on the way home, same ol shit just a different day. I went to his place and in his own crazy way he gave me the best advice of my life.
'Hurts doesn't it? Just to let you know its still gonna hurt tomorrow. Good news is its only pain, and all that matters is that you grin, bear it and dust your ass off.'
Now I am definitely not recommending my choice here to other people, But to be fair I don't think I would be alive today without it. Over the last 7 Years I have had steel bars in my hand, Had an excavator topple and crush my foot bad enough they wanted to amputate, Been diagnosed with Primary Progressive MS, Suffered from constant pain in one form or another. Realistically Life has been less than amusing at times.
More Importantly I've become a father, a good husband, a good friend and I've made the best friends of my life. I kept a foot they wanted to cut off, I can annoy metal detectors at every airport,I have Started a business and I am damn sure still laughing and smiling.
So If I laugh at something you might not see the humor in I'm not laughing at you, I am definitely laughing with you.
I've rambled on enough for now I guess, Mouse sadly finally cashed out a few years ago without hitting 50, I missed his funeral. His Obit in the paper was shit and contained less content than a MacDonald's coffee cup.
But the point of this is he changed my life, Helped make both the good and bad parts of my personality, and stood by me through his actions and never once turned me away.
So Here's to you Uncle Mike 'The Mouse' Wherever they got you now I hope there's plenty of Beer, Wild Turkey and endless Bud. RIP.
