Rest peacefully, Uncle Joe

 When I was ten, my Mom gave me an envelope, from Japan, addressed to Master Rick Cabello. 

My Uncle Joe wrote to me from Okinawa and described to me his adventures as an MP, serving in the Air Force. 

He was the first human outside my family of origin that acknowledged my existence. He always asked me how I was and how my Mom and Dad were. The envelopes containing the letters he sent me were bordered in red and blue. He wrote me back as often as I wrote him. 

Today. as he was pulling away, Dad told me Uncle Joe died recently. 

I take little solace to know that I made an effort to reach out to him recently. In a time when my siblings are squeezing my daughter out of my family of origin, I can take solace from speaking to him recently about football, like we always used to do in the Seventies. 

He was my sole inspiration to write. He, my Dads cousins Johnny and Rey were the only people that acknowledged me as a human kid. Uncle Joe literally always made room for Me even when he had little to none. At perilously desperate times in my life, Uncle Joe was my sole inspiration to carry on. 

Yes I am sad. Very sad.

But no,  I will not cry in anyone’s presence. Because - except for Uncle Mickey, his son Mike, Valinda, Anissa, Aunt Ofelia and Aunt Bea and Rey and Johnny, there is no one left on this Earth that genuinely cares about family like Uncle Joe did. 

Dave knew Uncle Joe was dead. Tita knew. Dad knew, and almost took off without telling me. And none of the aforementioned bothered to tell me.

Fuck Dave and Tita.

According to my Dad, Ivan was the first of us to know. He then told Leonard, who then notified the rest of the half Garcias. Apparently, I am the last of the half Garcias to know.

So, from now on, the rest of the world can go to hell. My daughter won’t talk to me and my own siblings treat me like shit. Maybe if I borrowed money from Dad I would have something in common with them. 

My Dad has me do his real estate budding because he claims ignorance. I took care of his Dad when he didn’t feel like it. All I have are my Sons, who have grown up without a decent father. 

No one can change how I feel about my family. But now I know that no one besides my Aunts can tell me the feeling is mutual. 

Thank you Uncle Joe. I will miss you. I always have.