My uncle Kenny…
I didn’t realize how this man, uncle Kenny would become such a gigantic influence in my life, resonating in every aspect. My aunt Sherol, his wife, has no shortage of great effects on my life as well. (More to come)
Don’t get me wrong already, he had faults. Mainly he was grumpy 90% of the day. The other 10% was only from 4:30 am - 8:00 am when he could aggravate his young nephews. Which I have adopted this personality trait and have expounded upon it! We slept on the living room floor on a 80 pound feather bed that he added goose down feathers to every year from duck and goose hunting. There was only 1 air conditioner in their 800 square foot home and it was in their bedroom. The living room had a swamp cooler and I honestly don’t ever remember being too hot. He only had a black and white TV with rabbit ears for many years. They eventually upgraded to color and not to mention, added a VCR! I felt so sorry for them thinking they were missing out on the finer things in life, like a dishwasher, color TV, central heat & air. They hung their clothes on the line when the weather permitted and us nephews had our fair duty of chores. We cooked some, did all the dishes, rinsed the tub clean after our bath, (they didn’t have a standup shower until later) hung and pulled clothes off of the line, even our aunt’s underwear!
He was a plumber from as long as I can remember, but often heard stories of his home building framing crews he ran before the home building bust in the 80’s. Staying with them thru the summers, we had only 1 place to go during the week and that was with uncle Kenny. We carried his toolbox, drop light, rags and whatever else was needed for house calls. Faucet repair, toilet rebuild or whatever repair the customer needed. We crawled under houses, dug up sewer lines, water lines and gas lines. He taught me how to respect a customer, respect their home to the tune of not walking on their lawn, taking shoes off, making eye contact while smiling and talking clear and loud to the elderly customers.
