My uncle James was one of the coolest people to walk this planet. Sure he had his scapegoats, but so do the rest of us.
His take on extreme sports could not be outmatched. I’ve seen him get like 15+ ft of air on a wake board, only to have him land on a sand bank, flip a thousand times over, get up and laugh it all off.
Or he would get Ian and I rattled up to have competitions on the tubes behind the boat. Make the craziest wake you will ever see and then pinning it. I’m certain we have touched the clouds because of the wake he created while we were tubing.
We can’t forget his fire lighting skills as well. It seemed as though every second time he made a campfire, a quarter of his hair and both his eyebrows went missing. So while he did love the aquatic life, I know deep down he truly enjoyed the flammable one as well. Sometimes the flames would engulf his whole body awhile he strikes the match.
Now not all of my memories are goofy, but I wanted to share those because they really spoke about his character to me. He also influenced my music taste, my movie taste and allowed me to understand that life is about being you, and never shy away from that.
He took me to concerts that nobody else would go to because they were heavy or extreme metal. We used to sneak watching his horror movies as kids and still to this day those flicks are some of my favourites. He cared for his fish and other underwater wild life as if they were an extension of his own body. He’s had sharks, octopi, exotic fishies, birds and a ton of other animals. This also influenced my prospective on animals. He did love lots of them, and that really passed on to me as well.
Now again I know he had his issues, but that is being human. Uncle James, it has been a while but I hope the metal gods treat you well now. I will never forget how much you helped influence my life, possibly without even knowing it. You will be greatly missed by everyone who entered your life.
Rest In Power my man.
- Alex G
