Ode to UB

Now before everyone gets all worked up, this isn't a eulogy or anything. It just so happens that my favorite uncle, Barry George Fitzsimmons is celebrating a very significant birthday this year. We think he's pretty freakin' great, so I thought I would take this opportunity to reflect on what a wonderful, caring, and amazing guy he truly is............. (pause to wipe tears)

(yes, that's Baby Tay in the pig tails.)

Actually, most of the story snippets you're about to read will communicate just how cool he is, but first, his name. We like to call him UB. It stands for Uncle Barry. When I'm feeling especially spunky, I call him Ooo Bay, which is of course how you say UB in Spanish. If any of you ever meet him, or see him again, please call him UB, he likes it.

There are so many stories to tell, it's hard to choose. There's the time he met Ray Charles, played a little chess, and discovered Ray likes his "coffee" in the morning.

Then there was the time that he stopped by Mom's house to leave something in the garage. As they live about 3 blocks apart, this is a fairly normal occurrence. What he didn't know is that, for reasons that are far too complicated to explain in this post, we had a fully dressed, life sized, stuffed dummy, who had been carelessly tossed amongst the usual crap that fills Mom's garage. As UB turned to leave, he caught a glimpse of this poor man's feet, lying between a few boxes and immediately fell to his knees. He thought for sure there was a dead body in the garage, AND that he was surely having a heart attack. Thankfully, it was only a dummy, and he survived. Pranks are probably one of humanity's greatest community-affirming rituals.

There was also the time he was at a Jimmy Buffet concert and braved the crowds to grab a beer. Heading down the stadium stairs, back to his seat, he unfortunately lost his normally agile footing and tumbled more than a couple feet. When he stopped tumbling and was able to reorient himself, he realized he had made the entire fall without spilling a drop of his beer. Rising to raucous applause he proudly, if not a little stiffly, walked back to his seat and enjoyed the rest of the concert.

One of my favorite stories involves a family reunion from just a couple years ago, spent camping at the beach in Southern California. It was a gorgeous setting. Our camp-sites were set on the top of cliffs that overlooked the ocean. We fell asleep and awoke to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore. We saw dolphins riding the surf in the early mornings before it got too hot and crowded. We roasted hot dogs and told stories around the camp fire at night. It was heaven. One evening, after a hard day of beach frolicking, we all gathered along the fence to watch the sun set over the ocean. The surfers were getting their last rides in before the day ended. As the sun was going down, we saw a pair of tandem surfers catch a wave. Once they were steady, the guy lifted his girl up above his head, and they road that wave all the way in. I swear I heard "Surfer Girl" by the Beach Boys playing in the background. As we all enjoyed the magic of a So-Cal sunset, I happened to look over and see a single tear streaming down my Uncle's face. His precious little heart had been so touched by the idyllic scene plucked from the old days of yore (otherwise known as his youth), he just couldn't keep it in. I have never laughed so hard in my life, and I fondly remember the sunset, the surfers, and the tear.

He has other great qualities too. He's generous. (He once gave us a couch. It was free..........and white leather, but still generous) He's funny too. One of his best moves is to toss his hair whenever someone says something nice about him. This is especially hilarious because he's bald. Man is he funny (he's probably tossing his hair right now).

He's an excellent host. Some of our best family dinners/parties have been at UB's. He's also incredibly handsome, and pays well if you write this on your blog (yet another example of his generosity).

All this is to say, we love the guy an awful lot. We wish the very happiest of birthdays, and hope for several years and many more stories to come.

Happy Birthday UB!!!!!!