Uncle Art passes away

I just found out that my uncle Art died. That is sad. I didn't really know him though so it's not as sad as one might think. But still, flesh and blood has passed on over to the other side. I feel sad to that. He was my father's only brother and was older than my dad so he must have been at least 75 or so. My dad's sister, my aunt, is still alive and doing well as far as I know. My dad passed away when I was little and I really didn't have much contact with that side of the family. Actually, we moved out of Ohio when I was like 6 so I don't have much contact with any of my family, other than the occasional phone call with my brothers and my sister. It's really a drag, I love my family, I miss them. Whenever we get together (it's rare, due to the distance), I am in awe of them. After living almost my entire life without anyone really like me (I'm a pretty odd duck), other than my crazy ass mother, I get giddy spending time with my siblings. They crack me up. The laugh like me and have the same sense of humor. It's really weird. My brother and I are 7 years apart and we actually grew up in the same house so I know him better than my oldest brother and sister. He was a total asshole to me when I was growing up and I stop resenting him for that recently when he "found Jesus"... that's a total different post (see "conversations with crazy" from 2008 postings). I am glad that he finally sees me as someone with a bit of intelligence and a real idea of how life works. He must have finally accepted the fact that I'm smarter than him... bitter much? I'm working on it. Any way, my oldest brother and sister are the ones that I have spent the least amount of time with and considering they are 14 and 17 years older than I, they are more like parents than siblings. They are really cool people and when the four of us are in a room together, I am happier than I ever thought I could be. I really wish that we lived closer or that I could take a trip to see them every other year or so. I want to have my kids grow up around them and spend Thanksgiving and Christmas at their house and them at mine. I have a family where I live now, my wife and her parents, brother and sister in law... even her grandma is like family, but that doesn't stop me missing my own flesh and blood. So, even though Uncle Art wasn't in my address book or even knew where I live or who I am (he did know who I am I think), it's still a relative and a part of my family and he will be missed. I wish his immediate family well and I hope he died peacefully. I think when my dad was around him and their sister, he was really happy too. There truly is nothing like your brothers and sisters keeping you reminded of who you are and where you came from, (especially when you occasionally can't remember where you came from or how in the hell you got to where you are). So long Uncle Art... see ya on the other side... have Thanksgiving dinner ready for me would ya?