Happy Birthday Uncle Billy

Today is my brother-in-law Billy's birthday. The only reason I am writing a post for his birthday is because he is an avid reader of my blog! (That was my disclaimer - don't expect a blog post on your birthday!!!)

Billy has been around for most of my life. I was only about 9 or 10 when he started dating my sister. They met at a bar, and not in the usual way. Trust me, if you knew my sister, you'd know that the only thing she would pick up in a bar would be lunch!! He was the manager of the bar, and she would come in for lunch during work. And that's how he noticed her. He called her place of work and asked her out. The rest, as they say, is history.

When they were dating, they would take me along on weekend trips to his parent's place in N.H. They also took me to a Georgetown University basketball game ("Let's go Hoyas!") and out for pizza (he remembers the name of the pizza place, I don't!). We went hiking up a mountain while we were in N.H. and he yelled at me for throwing cheese from my sandwich on the ground. (Isn't it stupid that THAT is what sticks in my mind after 25+ years???) His father taught me how to light a campfire. His sister gave me her marshmallow ambrosia recipe that I still make every Summer. At my wedding, he asked me to dance and then got all mushy and sentimental on me(something I didn't expect) and that is one of my favorite memories of that day.

Later in life he decided to become a police officer, and completed the academy with "kids" half his age. Now he is the Chief of Police in a small town. I admire his decision to tackle something most young people can't handle. Last May, Uncle Billy decided to ride his motorcycle to work and misjudged the side of the road which was dirt, and flipped his bike. He was thrown from the bike and luckily suffered only minor injuries. My sister was home, listening to the police scanner as she always does, and actually heard the call come in about his accident. She knew, before she was notified, that it was him. It was a scary time for both of them, but obviously his guardian angel was watching over him because it could have been a lot worse. It took him a good month or more to recover physically. My sister, on the other hand, has still not recovered emotionally!

So, Happy Birthday Uncle Billy. Thanks for being one of the few followers of this blog. I am glad you had the guts to ask my sister out all those years ago. Love ya!

-G