Presenting the one and only...

"Uncle!" "Nephew!" ~Charles Dickens (A Christmas Carol)

It has come to my attention that there is a lot of folklore to be fleshed out with regard to my uncle, the famous "Unc." He is, as I have said, my mother's only brother, and was for a long time unmarried, which left him plenty of time to come and visit us every Christmas in our home in Georgia. Though I love all my uncles, it was always nice having a special uncle who didn't have any kids and could devote all his time to us. Until he got married, of course. But by that time we had already moved to Utah, and visiting would have been difficult anyway.

But enough of the sad times - it's time for the Potluck Unc Folklore Fest!

UNC PHOTOS

We have many photos of Unc, but I only downloaded one of him and my mom, on our most recent vacation to "The Farm," which is what we call the old house where Unc lives in Johnson City, Tennessee. Can you see the family resemblance? I wish we had pictures of Unc doing what I remember him doing when we were little - pillow fights, carrying us on his shoulders, making scary faces, etc. But I guess the standard "Cheese" and click photos are better than nothing.

UNC MEMORIES

First, here is an amusing journal entry of mine which I found from when I was ten years old:

"December 23, 1998: Unc came! He seems to be very tall to me. I feel sad that he is going away on Christmas Day, but Dad says that is what happens when you get friends (girlfriends). Yuuuuuughhhhhhheeaaiiou! Ugh. Without Unc, it wouldn't be Christmas."

Second, the most famous funny story we have regarding Unc occurred several years ago when he wrote us an email, signed his name "Unc," ran spell-check, and sent it to us, failing to notice that the computer had changed "Unc" into "Ounce." We still laugh about getting an email from someone named "Ounce" to this day.

UNC EXPRESSIONS

Unc has a very distinct Southern accent, more so than my mom, I think, and his normal voice is a rather slow, soft-spoken drawl. When he's teasing, he'll either make his voice squeaky and nasal, or low-pitched and grumbly. And no one can say these phrases exactly the way that Unc does, although we have tried.

"It IS...?"
"Who's this?"
"That's right."

UNC TRADITIONS

The "Wild Child": Just as I developed a special name for Unc, he developed a special name for me - the "Wild Child." I'm not as wild or as childish anymore, and he doesn't use it as much, but if I remind him, which I like to do for fun, he will.

Presents: When he came to visit us in Georgia, Unc always brought presents, but occasionally he would pretend to have forgotten to buy them or bring them with him. Once he managed to smuggle them into the house before I could sneak outside and rummage through the car in search of them.

Late birthday cards: Unc used to send each of the children in my family a birthday card on his or her birthday. Now, he may or may not send us a card, but if he does, we know that it will arrive late and be one of the cards that has a "Sorry I missed your birthday" theme. We keep our birthday cards and hang them up every year, and we joke that we can always tell which ones are Unc's merely by looking for a phrase like "I can't believe..." "I'm sorry..." or "I hope your birthday was..."

Phone call: Unc still calls Mama on her birthday every year, which I think is sweet. She also calls him on his birthday, and they always talk for a couple of hours.

Tricks: This is by far the most famous of the traditions associated with Unc's coming, and the one which we most looked forward to as kids when planning the visit. The idea is to stage either an elaborate, creative, and foulproof "trick," which usually ended in the form of a pillow hitting Unc, or something like that. I think it was begun by my oldest brother Joseph, but we all readily followed his lead - in fact, one year I recall Unc having to go through the routine four separate times! We keep the tricks much simpler now that we're a little older and Unc doesn't come to visit as often. An old "classic" is to have one child wait with a stack of pillows on the staircase above the front door, have another child ring the doorbell, and then drop the pillows on Unc when he walks towards the door. I tried it just last August when we visited Unc on vacation, and it worked pretty well, so I guess this trick is a definite keeper!

Completing this entry reminds me how much folklore actually has to do with people other than traditions, and why we are drawn to traditions because of the happy memories, family members, and friendships we associate with them. I can't make it possible for my children to have an "Unc" the way I did, but I will gladly share with them the memories and stories. I absolutely love Unc and can't thank him enough for making my childhood extra fun and exciting.