Fond Memories

This was my Uncle Lorenzo he died in 2003 after a short battle with cancer.  He would have been 48 years old today.  He was a real fighter whether it was for his family or against this sickness.  It was one year to the  date that my grandmother passed .  I was glad for that because she always said she didn't know what she would do if she had to bury any of her children.

He always was the one out of my mothers 4 brothers she would call on because he could be counted on.  He would often come to visit when her other siblings never did. Whether it was to talk or to help us move he would be there.  

  He bought me my first ring and many of my other pieces of jewelry that I owned.  He wanted me to pass them onto my sister at the same ages that he gave to me with hopes that one day we'd still have it to pass on to our daughters.  My sister wasn't the best at keeping things but I remember that.

    Our whole family is loud but he was proclaimed to be the loudest and he didn't care.  In the summer when my Nana gave cookouts you could even hear him coming before he got around the corner. Everybody would say,"Here comes Renzo!"   He'd  be popping off at the mouth to some of his buddies as he came between the buildings in the projects. 

Like a proud uncle does for their nieces and nephews they take you places and show you things.  He'd would buy you candy and give you a dollar.  But what really cracked me up about him was that he would remember giving you those dollars.  I don't know if it was his test of loyalty to your family but when the chips were down he'd come back to you and ask you could he borrow a quarter.  Or ask you to buy him a bag of chips.  I used to think uh, you're my uncle you should be buying me.   He made the family laugh when we all got together at Christmas and Thanksgiving.  I don't know what its like to loose a brother but losing this uncle was very significant and I miss him a lot.