Life Lessons From My Uncle Larry

Today we celebrate the birthday of a great man! Well, two great men: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, but also, and more importantly, to me, I celebrate the birth of my Uncle Larry! I love my Uncle Larry and I choose to believe when he tells me that I am “his favorite niece” even though my cousins all claim to be Uncle Larry’s favorite too.

My Uncle Larry is my father-figure, my life guide, and my heart!

Since my earliest memories, my Uncle Larry has been my foundation and my connection to who I am, where we come from and what I can do. My Uncle Larry has always loved me! He also has always teased me and came up with crazy nicknames, like “bighead” because of my slightly large sized head or, “motor” because I’ve always been a bit of a rambler when talking.

But, most importantly, he taught me so many life-lessons that, second only to my mother, his sister, has shaped my life. And, now that I’m over 40, I finally understand most of them.

Here are a few of my favorite lessons from my Uncle Larry:

1) Every day, learn something new. It doesn’t always have to be something big, but your goal is at the end of each day, you should know something you didn’t know the day before.

2) Put an ice-cube in your coffee and then you can drink it immediately.

3) Never get too hooked on a particular brand or person because it limits you. When you open to alternatives it makes life easier when you can’t get what you want.

4) When driving at night, make sure you can see the white lines and follow them. If you can’t see the white lines, it means it’s time for you to stop driving.

5) When playing dominoes, the best way to win is to control the game. Locking the board so only you can play is more powerful than a big score. Locking the board means you have strategy; scoring big means you got lucky.

6) You only get one momma and you will never get over the death of yourmother. It’s not possible. Losing your mother changes you forever and not always for the better. A child will never get over losing their mother.

7) When driving, if you see a deer on the road, hit the deer. It’s more dangerous to swerve trying to save the animal than to just hit the deer.

8. When it’s raining, don’t sit in the dark.

9) Never eat something that doesn’t exist in nature. I’ve never seen a chicken or fish with no bones, so I’ll never eat boneless chicken or fish.

10) You have family, and then you have your kinfolks. We Marbley’s all might be a little crazy, but we are kinfolk.