"That Your Uncle Steve, Sweetie. He's a surfer."

i found out today
that my Uncle Steve is gone

i love my Uncle Steve
here are some of the things i remember about him

i remember a picture on my mommy's dresser
"mommy, who's that?"
"that's your Uncle Steve, sweetie. He's a surfer"
"wow, my uncle's a surfer"

i remember one Christmas in California
i got a race car track
the old plastic kind from the 70's
but this was when it was brand new
Uncle Steve was there to help me put it together
what a cool guy!
young, surfer dude, with a hottie girlfriend
takin' time to help his little nephew put together his toy

i remember him visiting us in Vegas
it was him and his new girl
plus 2 friends of theirs
it was the 4th of July and we were all going to a party
i went with my mom and wandered off to look for my Uncle
i found his friends there and asked, "where's my Uncle Steve?"
they were like, "Uh, i don't know man"
so i walked with them a few minutes, then i split and went back to mom
when we got home, I was like, "where were you guys? I ran into so and so..."
my Uncle was like, "uh, they didn't go either! I don't know who you were talking to, but it wasn't them"
"Weird" I thought

i remember him and his wife moving to Vegas
they had a little girl with them
a cousin for me
we didn't get along then, and i don't know her now
i hope she's as good as she can be right now

i remember him getting divorced
it was ugly
she got custody

i remember another woman after that
she was nice, but i guess not to him

i remember him at my Grandma's funeral
17 years ago
it hadn't really affected me as much as I thought it would
i loved my Grandma, but i guess we weren't that close
anyway, at the funeral, Uncle Steve was just bawling
then I started bawling
i felt so bad that he had lost his mommy
now i'm feeling so bad that
my mommy has lost her baby brother

i remember him always being there for me
i know that he loved me very much

he was also a mechanic
and he would always take care of me
when my car needed help
i remember he was sad
when he had to tell me that
my car was not gonna make it :O)

i remember how proud he was when i gave him that first "pro" CD
he was always my biggest fan
it didn't matter what the music sounded like
he just thought that it was so cool that i was making music
that i was drumming on a CD
he was so proud of that

i used to daydream about winning some sort of award
and giving my Uncle some props from the podium
i didn't really think or care about awards
i just wanted to make him proud

i remember him coming over to our house
and arguing with my step-dad about sports
i remember my Uncle Steve was a fare-weather fan
i remember that i didn't mind at all

i remember him coming by drunk one night
i remember that i didn't mind at all

i know he had a rough time
i will think of it as an accident
i will hope it was an accident
i will think of his 2 daughters often
i will always remember his laugh
i will always remember his smile
i will always remember his shining eyes

Uncle Steve was...
a good man
a kind man
a loving man
a gentle soul
a sensitive being
an Uncle
a Father
a Son
a Brother
a Husband
a Surfer
a Mechanic
a Sports Fan
a Me fan
Geniune
Helpful
Happy
Unhappy
Friendly
Good Natured
...my Favorite Uncle hands down and one of my favorite people ever!!!!!!!

Uncle Steve, i wish you coulda just hung around long enough to meet my baby boy.
You woulda loved him too!
I love you.
I'll see ya later.
Don't worry.
Everything will be alright.
Say hi to Grandma for me please...