Why would anyone embark on any sort of collaborative endeavor—especially a blog—with their own uncle?
Uncles, after all, can be irascible and mercurial. Perhaps that is why they don’t fare very well in popular culture.
Quick: name a famous uncle.
Uncle Fester? Crazy, wide-eyed eccentric.
Uncle Sam? Always pointing his finger at you, harping about “duty,” and trying to get you to join the army.
And then there’s Uncle Scrooge.
Dicken’s most memorable character is perhaps one of the most notorious relatives in Western culture. Recall this exchange:
Oh sure, Disney tried to soften his image years later with their Scrooge McDuck character. Bottom line: same old curmudgeon repackaged in tail feathers.
Still, if that’s what you desire as you walk through this world, to call on, from time to time, your dad’s weird brother—with his wisps of gray hair, old Led Zeppelin 8-tracks, and worn out Levi’s—I am humbled...
Uncles, after all, can be irascible and mercurial. Perhaps that is why they don’t fare very well in popular culture.
Quick: name a famous uncle.
Uncle Fester? Crazy, wide-eyed eccentric.
Uncle Sam? Always pointing his finger at you, harping about “duty,” and trying to get you to join the army.
And then there’s Uncle Scrooge.
Dicken’s most memorable character is perhaps one of the most notorious relatives in Western culture. Recall this exchange:
"A merry Christmas, uncle! God save you!" cried a cheerful voice. ItWho would want to hang out with this guy?
was the voice of Scrooge's nephew…
"Bah!" said Scrooge, "Humbug!"
"I want nothing from you; I ask nothing of you; why cannot we be friends?"
"Good afternoon," said Scrooge.
"I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. We have never had any quarrel, to which I have been a party. But I have made the trial in homage to Christmas, and I'll keep my Christmas humor to the last. So A Merry Christmas, uncle!"
Oh sure, Disney tried to soften his image years later with their Scrooge McDuck character. Bottom line: same old curmudgeon repackaged in tail feathers.
Still, if that’s what you desire as you walk through this world, to call on, from time to time, your dad’s weird brother—with his wisps of gray hair, old Led Zeppelin 8-tracks, and worn out Levi’s—I am humbled...
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