18 Jun
banana sandwiches
you know, it’s not that nice to have favorites. it hurts peoples’ feelings if they’re not it. for this, i am sorry, uncles billy, vincent, keith, and larry (only to name the uncles proper on my side). my favorite uncle is my uncle jack. he is my father’s older brother, by a decade. as far as i know, he’s everybody’s favorite uncle, probably even people to whom he is not related (i’m looking at you, leigh anne). he’s just one of those guys, everybody loves him. people name their children after him (here they are together: john davis colson III and jacqueline davis colson IV).
he does things like round up his wife and grown child and half-grown grandchild and bring them from alabama to georgia for his great-nephew’s first birthday party. at all the big moments for me and my three sisters, he has always been there.
at this moment, uncle jack could be better. he has quite recently been diagnosed with extensive stage cancer. an ugly one. [note: originally i had this linked to something different, that i mistakenly thought he had. fixed now, thanks heather.] we are heartbroken all, and hopeful at the same time. i know he would want me to mention that this ugliness has drawn him closer to God, and he feels blessed beyond measure in each moment of each day. a big pile of us (two of my sisters and three of our kids) went to visit the alabama colsons last week. though we showed up immediately after uncle jack and my sweet aunt linda received what had to be some of the most frightening news of their lives, they were so happy to see us, and so gracious. we all had peanut butter and banana sandwiches together. oh, we love him so much it hurts. please God, heal our uncle jack and leave him with us….we need him. now you pray for him, too.
Posted by Greg on 06/18/08 at 10:20
We Love Uncle Jack! You are in our prayers everyday!
Posted by Leigh Anne on 06/18/08 at 15:33
Thanks for sharing this. I won’t get all Lifetime Television For Women on you, but yeah…Uncle Jack rocks. Anyone named Jack, living in Alabama, and of the Colson lineage is flat out awesome in my book.
We will be praying…it’s what we do best. (Yeah–talking to God. Verbose and all.)
Posted by Vicki on 06/18/08 at 18:17
Hate to hear about your uncle. Cancer is such an ugly thing, but there have been miracles and still can be. I’ll be praying.
Posted by Sara on 06/18/08 at 21:20
Aw I’ve got an Uncle Jack too, only we call him Uncle Paul. I’ll be keeping him in my thoughts and prayers for sure.
Posted by Nana on 06/19/08 at 10:38
He is by far the sweetest guy and it breaks my heart and brings tears to my eyes. The whole family is in my thoughts and prayers. God does perform miracles; that we are first hand at knowing.
Posted by kevin on 06/27/08 at 1:41
I hope Jack punches this illness in the mouth. I still have the “Cross-Man” postcard on my fridge-and fondly remember listening to Jimmy Buffet with him, in fact that is the only thing I like about Jimmy Buffet. Best wishes.