Uncle Joe has been a rock in my life. He has always been a stabilizing influence and a voice of reason. Every time I see him, I learn something new and fascinating. Today, at his 96th birthday party I learned:
a) my grandmother delivered my father alone, without help;
b) my Uncle Tony was born with a “crooked mouth”. A doctor was called and fixed the alignment somehow, but my grandmother, “Grammy” always said he retained a crooked smile;
c) all of the other children were delivered by the same mid-wife;
d) one child, a girl who was the second born, died after childbirth.
He is a great man, please tell him that I was asking for him and wish him well.