Hella Stella

My great uncle died this morning.

It would not be a stretch to say that we didn't get along. His comments when he found out I was dating a "brown man" made me growl at his name for years. He also made my sister cry several times because she figured she could win the argument of the moment, and he knew better. So it goes.

But he was also a character. He had signature crazy eyebrows that were known among family and friends alike. Starting when he was a young man, he would grow them out and curl them upwards to make himself look part diabolical and part goofy. He was a ruthless businessman and ran his company extremely well. His car was the only Jaguar I've ever sat inside. I remember running into him once at the bank when I was still in high school, and when I mentioned that I was saving up for university, he handed me a fifty, winked, and walked away.

He mellowed over the years - his racism and homophobia took a back seat year after year, and died completely when his daughter married a black woman.

I remember grinning like a Cheshire cat when I heard that news.

I will miss him because underneath it all, he was a funny, sharp-witted man who loved to make people laugh. Cheers to you, Uncle Maury. You were one of a kind.