That’s How Them Burger Boys Roll
I’ve written before about how important my family and friends are to me and you can read one of the pieces here. I was reminded how great my family is the other day while reading a note from my aunt on her Twitter account. She and my uncle drove down to Florida for a vacation last week. My aunt posted that my uncle ‘drove 2,847 miles on this trip to FL and brought us home safely once again!’ I liked this for a couple reasons… One, my uncle did a heck of a lot of driving with nary a complaint, and two, my aunt appreciated this enough to make a public comment.
I have no clue whether my uncle enjoyed the driving, although I suspect he did. It’s the kind of thing I would enjoy (traveling with a loved one through gorgeous parts of the country) so I am projecting a bit. I am impressed that my uncle motored their car nearly 3,000 miles given he’s more used to handling boat oars these days, and I’m impressed that my aunt was tickled by the fact that my uncle completed his version of Cannonball Run. But, what impresses me most is that these two still act this way after nearly 40 years of marriage. Inspirational.
My aunt has said on occasion that the Burger Boys - meaning my uncle and his two brothers, including my dad - are a solid bunch. (Not sure solid is the word she uses, but you get the picture). As a group, the three Burger Boys are some of the smartest, kindest, and funniest people you can be around. When together at family reunions these three settle into old routines and its like watching a seasoned comedy team. Believe me, The Cousins (which is what I call my generation’s cohort) get the biggest kick out of their shenanigans every time, even though we have seen most of it before.
One story that gets told often stars one of my uncles as the Babysitter and my dad as the Troublemaker. They were eating popcorn and my dad decided he’d make a huge mess, and tossed popcorn all over the floor. My uncle, wanting to run a tight ship while the folks were out, asked my dad to clean up the mess. Dad refused so my uncle escalated the situation. Grabbing the collar of my dad’s shirt and the belt above his backside, my uncle hovered my dad over the popcorn on the floor like a Hoover Vac, yelling at him to suck it up. Now, I suspect that parts of this story are exaggerated, but I don’t care. It’s a classic Burger Boy story.
The somewhat flip side to this story is the outpouring of compassion I received from both of my uncles and my dad when I shared I was going through divorce. I’m not much of a phone talker, and given I wanted to share the news to all family at once, I used email. The email responses I received from the Burger Boys were some of the most empathetic and encouraging emails I’ve ever read. It was just what I needed and it helped me along in a time when I felt stuck and without direction.
I provide these examples because I feel they are important characteristics in being a ‘good man.’ A good man supports his family with laughter and love as much as he does with strength and shelter. I’ve struggled with finding the right balance, but feel I am getting close to knowing where that is. My dad once said, ‘when he grows up, he hopes to be just like me,’ which is a tremendous compliment, but silly in that it’s circular logic because I want to be like him… I want to be a Burger Boy because I like how they roll.
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