The crazy family members.
This weekend, I was at a second wedding with my mom's family in the last couple of years, and once again got to experience the abundance of character that is my Great Aunt and Uncle's brood.
My great uncle himself fits the profile of the crazy old coot. As a general rule you don't want to leave anyone alone with him for too long or they'll get the whole life story plus some. At my cousin's wedding, I got more career advice than I could ever need. This time, it was my Dad. But at the same time, a crazy old coot is entertaining, and you learn a lot from him, whether you want to or not.
My great aunt is another character. She is known, and a bit infamous in our family, for her letters. She sends them only on the choicest of occasions, and as she says with a tiny smile, "they're a bit nutty." In celebration of a second cousin getting an apartment, she sent him a Minnie Mouse card, because, "every apartment needs a mouse." At the most recent wedding, she identified me by "I sent you the card with the shoe, when you graduated." As per my mother's instructions to cherish it always, I still have it saved.
And through my mom's stories, I could talk about the CIA cousin (though of course, we'll never know that for sure, the one who has lived everywhere, the Yooper engineer who occasionally sails into Canada without his passport..., the one who was my mom's buddy, just now un-bachelored, and their girl.
This is just a sampling of the characters available to me, who, if I ever get time to write the stories in the back of my head, will provide endless manifestations.
Gold Star to everyone who loves their crazy-wonderful family.
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