I Don't Think I Ever Told Him ...

He was the oldest of the seven children in my mom's family.

On the surface he was

rude, opinionated, proudly curmudgeonly, mouthy,

crusty, ornery, and a right pain in the ass.

He was a royal tease.

With a twinkle in his one good eye, and a cockeyed grin,

you never knew what he was going to do or say ...

and he didn't care ... he would laugh anyway.

He was the quintessential red-neck,

and proud of it.

He was not without his problems.

But deep down - where it counted,

he had a tender heart made of the purest gold,

he would do just about anything for anyone,

he called many friend, and acted accordingly.

Along the way he taught me a few things:

to be honest,

to be truthful,

to never quench the hunger to read and learn,

to be willing to argue (sometimes just for the argument),

to be good to other people,

to never take life TOO seriously,

to laugh - A LOT,

to be consistent:

if you say, it do it,

if you believe it, live it.

BUT most of all, he taught me to judge people

not by their outward surface and appearance,

but by the heart that beats within them,

and by the way they live their lives

and treat other people.

To many he was an enormous ass--le,

but to me and my family he was simply:

Uncle Drake

and I can honestly say,

not a day goes by that I don't miss him ...

... I wish he was around right now:

he would help set some people straight!!