my great uncle, whom i called unk, used to say: don't put good money into bad. that was up there with my grandpa who said: buy good and you buy once, buy cheap and you buy it again and again. i loved hearing these sayings - they gave me a certain sense of security. i don't have lines this memorable to pass on to zach. yet.
unk was one of my favorite relatives. he was maybe 5'3", had an infectious smile and a twinkle in his eyes until he died at 80. he was married, divorced, married, divorced, which all culminated with unk at 50 in alimony jail. and then the circus came to town. unk was friendly with either barnum or bailey....this part of the story we just accepted as fact even though no one could figure out how he met a circus owner or 2. and furthermore, why b or b offered unk the opportunity to run the circus magazine.
unk's life turned around at 50. the circus magazine that most circus goers bought as a souvenir made unk a very rich man, but even more important, made him a wise man about money. once he had money he learned how to make smart investments - much of it in real estate. he worked hard for his money and enjoyed it too - living the epitome of the bachelor's life. the last time i saw unk before he died, he was living on collins avenue in miami beach. he looked dapper as always, sitting on his terrace in silk pajamas with an argentinian woman taking good care of him. unfortunately, unk didn't recognize me, but always the ladies man, asked me out on a date.
wwcd: many people start winding down a bit at 50, but i'd like to find my unk
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