Uncle Nick

late last year my uncle nick passed away. my relationship to and with him is a complicated one and i have no qualms about telling that story, but this isn't about how i know him, it's about what came from knowing him.

uncle nick was... unique. he was loud. i think it came from being a lieutenant general in the royal thai army. he spouted orders left and right to those around him, including his family. he accepted no less than the best in things and in people. there was a certain way he wanted things and that was just how it was going be. none of us dared to say no. none of us really had a reason to say no.

he demanded that those around him were held to the highest measure of conduct regardless of their position in life. it could have been the boy that cleaned the stables at his horse farm, my mother (his primary consort), his daughters, or himself - he held us to the same standards of behavior. he made us better people through trying to live up to those standards.

though he was loud and often demanding his disposition was tempered by his loyalty and generosity to friends, family, and those who worked for him. i can not begin to tell you about everything he did for me, what he gave me both financially and morally. when most people lost faith in my abilities and told me either implicitly or explicitly that i wouldn't amount to much, he flat out would not allow me to believe it. he chided me in that way he always did, loud and firmly resolved. he still held me to that high standard and expected me to hold myself to it as well. through him (and a few others) i found the mettle to dance to the beat of my own drum.

thanks uncle nick.