Uncle Billy and Dennis

billyanddennis
Uncle Billy is our fathers brother. Holy crap… we have an uncle hanging around?! Dennis is our cousin. Son of Geraldine Hartman Jones. Billy is struggling with his health in a rehab somewhere in Los Angeles. Dennis went to visit him. I wrote about Uncle Billy four years ago HERE. with some crazy strange blog title: “Put your arms around me for Gods sake” and at the time I was angry at my fathers brother because he just nonchalantly walked right out of our lives and never ever once looked back.
So ironically 40 years ago I rode on the “It’s a Small World” ride at Disneyland in California with Billy and just recently last night got off the phone with him for the first time since.

Right after Gerry found this blog and the Hartman’s and Jones reconnected and right before her untimely death before I was going to visit her in Las Vegas, I spoke to her on the phone. I remember she told me how upset she was at that blog post “Put your arms around me for Gods sake” and she really defended her brother and also told me that my cursing and some the sexual things I had wrote on this ridiculous blog were totally uncalled for.

Talking with Uncle Billy I heard my father’s voice. I heard my Grandfather’s toughness but most of all I heard Uncle Billy. He is his own man that made his own choices and created his own life and really didn’t need to stay “connected” to Joan and her ten kids. He had that right. He owed us nothing and we certainly owed him nothing. I just thought it strange that not once did he just think to check in on his 10 nieces and nephews that tragically lost their father at such an early age? But that’s ok, even though we were little kids, we didn’t go out of our way to check in on him. Damn, I still sound bitter here, don’t I? Too bad.

It was only by pure luck and internet hocus pocus that Aunt Gerry searched her own name and found this blog because I hoped she would. My reverse finding tagging trick worked. Through Gerry I have rediscovered our long lost cousins, Robert, Diane and Dennis. All of us have lived our lives and roller coasted the ups and downs that it can bring. Billy in particular had a life threatening disease, polio, attack him at the age of five. This is one rough way to start your life. Dennis is quite a story himself and an outright damn miracle of recovery. I even posted a movie made about him on this blog HERE

It’s a small world after all INDEED when your fathers brother is still around even after 44 years four months and three days after his untimely death.

My cousin Dennis and me in the jaws of Disneyland 1975

My cousin Dennis and me in the jaws of Disneyland 1975

In the Summer of 1975 I was an awkward teen boy going through puberty from hell when our uncle Jay Jones died. I remember Dennis calling me up and crying about it to me. That Summer his mother Gerry, insisted that I come out there to be with them. Her greatest concern was that as she worked she would be leaving young Dennis alone. I really didn’t want to go. I was scared of everything at that age. I’m still scared of everything at my current age of 55.

The agreement was Gerry was going to pay for my plane fare to California there and mom was going to pay for it on the way back. The other agreement at my insistence was that I was only going to stay a couple of weeks. Well I ended up staying the entire Summer and almost ended up living there forever. Turns out when it was moms turn to pay for the fare back, she didn’t have the money. And thus began the non-relationship of mom and Gerry. You see, money destroys relationships quicker than a hurricane hitting a double-wide.

The day I left mom had to give me a ride to the airport and as the time grew closer and closer for the plane to leave, mom sat at the kitchen table getting drunker and drunker on white cans of Budweiser beer. I was sure I was going to miss the plane or that we would get into a horrific crash on the NJ Turnpike half way to Newark airport. Finally I just yelled “MOM we have TO LEAVE!” which was strange for a boy that didn’t want to go.

Needless to say I made the plane. Everything was pure magic after that. Pure absolute magic that I will NEVER forget. It was the first time I rode on a plane and it was crystal blue skys and puffy white clouds out my window seat. The stewardess treated me like a king because I was a 15 year old boy alone. I couldn’t believe how BIG and how BEAUTIFUL our country was from up there. When I arrived in LA and got off the plane there were hipsters and hippies and PALM TREES, California is not of this planet. It is it’s own beautiful world of color, neon lights, texture and gorgeous sunsets. Aunt Gerry was always a woman that loved to go out and do things! And that we did. She took me to Disneyland, we went to see Jaws in a huge theater in LA which just blew me away as a movie (now the special effects are laughable!) I was very fortunate to have Gerry take me that Summer. I left all my brothers and sisters in the groggy hot depths of Carteret as we went to Reno Nevada and played Kino for hours.

It was here I did see Uncle Billy for the last time. He was always so distant but that’s just him. Our uncle is struggling to walk now and he is full of memories. My phone call with him wasn’t exactly what I wanted. I was looking for the past again. I wanted to hear intricate stories of him and our dad running down back alleys of Westfield and getting into trouble. I wanted to hear Grandpa Hartman yell at them for not eating their peas. I wanted to see Grandma Hartman shopping at the A&P and squeezing oranges. I wanted to see them all riding to upstate NY in that station wagon they had.

Instead we talked about polio and prostates and how he was a salesman for AllState Insurance company his whole life. But that was ok. It was great to speak to him. And in this “small world afterall” he ended our conversation with … please call again.

About George C. Hartman

Redesiging design, coloring outside the lines, rolling down hills, figuring out strange people, dreaming in black and white, photographing in black and white, juggling, body surfing, fantasy football, painting, design, digital art and photo manipulation, green oceans, blue oceans, museums, discovering small towns, biking, beach, relationships that tear my heart out, bad poetry, movie making and BLOGGING
This entry was posted in cousins, HERITAGE, the beginning and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

6,532 Responses to Uncle Billy and Dennis

  1. Orville says:

    I came here to work buy viagra in los angeles “It really is one of the most interesting asset classes,”said Gavin Graham, chief strategy officer at INTEGRIS PensionManagement Corp in Toronto. “There are very few markets leftthat are not correlated to major asset classes. With rateshaving gone so low, everything moves in one direction. Frontiermarkets don’t.”

  2. Fabian says:

    I’m a housewife good website to buy nolvadex Reid, the top Democrat in the Congress, threatened to invoke a procedural power play known as the “nuclear option” to change the Senate rules so that a filibuster in the 100-member chamber could be ended with a simple majority vote rather than the current requirement of 60 votes.

  3. Devon says:

    Very Good Site buy doxycycline powder If they don’t have to raise more capital, the banks could bea very attractive proposition; if they do, investors could facetheir stakes being wiped out, said Florent Nitu, an analyst whocovers Greek banks for Citi.

  4. Jules says:

    I’ve got a part-time job avanafil prezzo in italia The vice-president of the International University Sport Federation Stefan Berg is elated. It looks like he does not have any reason to regret his decision to support Kazan’s bid for hosting Universiade 2013.

  5. Brock says:

    Will I have to work on Saturdays? focus formula amazon uk “Although the underlying pace of first-time buyer activity is approaching a quarter of a million per year, it is worth bearing in mind that this is still barely half of activity rates a decade earlier, and so far below what might be considered normal levels,” he said.

  6. Tyron says:

    What sort of music do you like? augmentin 875-125 reviews “It's supposed to give broader protection,” says Martin's Regional Pharmacy Manager John Beckner. “Problem is you probably won't be able to find it. It's not in a real abundant supply.”

  7. Valentine says:

    What do you do? discount generic viagra india A 6.8 magnitude aftershock jolted the same region onSaturday, bringing down more buildings amid ongoing search andrescue efforts. Local officials said by telephone it was likelythe second quake had caused more deaths.

  8. Jeremiah says:

    A staff restaurant paxil lexapro
    Hoyer laid down a tough marker, however, saying that he would vote against a stopgap spending bill – even one without attacks on Obamacare – if that measure aimed to spend only $988 billion for the full fiscal year.

  9. Billie says:

    Good crew it’s cool 🙂 buy grifulvin v online The recession has also produced what some marketers call the “lipstick effect” – consumers still treat themselves to small luxuries like cosmetics, a glass of champagne or premium chocolates even as they economies elsewhere.

  10. Agustin says:

    I don’t know what I want to do after university 150 mg diflucan during pregnancy The occupant of the seat opposite Charles Saatchi at Scott’s restaurant in Mayfair – rather like the one in Sweeney Todd’s barbershop – has become an object of morbid fascination since he reached across the table to put his hands around the throat of his former wife Nigella Lawson three months ago.

  11. Modesto says:

    Have you read any good books lately? germany sex drops When you flip over the Nexus, the first thing you’ll notice — aside from the lack of dimples, of course — is that ASUS added a 5-megapixel camera in the top left corner (sorry, no LED flash). There are also three machine-drilled speaker grilles: a long one up top and two shorter ones on the bottom. That means you’ll benefit from stereo sound, a nice step up from the mono setup on the original. Cosmetically, the other major difference is that the Nexus logo is now displayed vertically in the center of the back cover, compared to the original’s horizontal logo, which was located closer to the top. The 3.5mm headphone jack, meanwhile, now sits the top instead of the bottom. Finally, the power button and volume rocker live on the right side just above the mic, while the micro-USB SlimPort connector is sandwiched in between the speakers on the bottom.

  12. Steve says:

    Where are you calling from? amaryl xm 4/850 The estimated voter support for the PP, based on a Metroscopia poll of 1,000 Spaniards on October 2 and 3, is still below the 44.6 percent of votes the party received in the 2011 parliamentary election. But it shows some recovery for the PP, with Rajoy standing firm against calls to resign.

  13. Freddy says:

    What university do you go to? how much does clomid cost 2012
    “Tonight I was feeding him, wrapping him in blankets to warm his chills, massaging his feet to calm him and calling his doctor,” he read to jurors as Jackson’s mom Katherine held a tissue and appeared to be crying.

  14. Travis says:

    I’d like to withdraw $100, please order sumatriptan online The park is likely to remain a difficult sell for companies without the backing from their government that South Korean firms get, but it could be made more attractive by pledges by North Korea to guarantee the park’s normal operations and to discuss better cell phone and internet connections for the park and easier customs clearance.

  15. Rodrigo says:

    How do you do? drug interactions pharmacology ppt Henley Ts, plaid button-down shirts, baseball caps and a camouflage cargo jacket were part of the collection that will land in 500 stores Oct. 1. Before that, there will be flash sales for Kmart’s Shop Your Way online customers. The line has a price range of $14.99-$69.99.

  16. Monty says:

    Another service? promethazine codeine generic
    “It comes as no great surprise to non-Italian Westerners who’ve been in the country for more than a couple of days to learn that Lithuania has the highest rate of road fatalities in the European Union,” the brochure — part of the “In Your Pocket” travel-guide series — states.

  17. Shaun says:

    An estate agents keppra 1000 mg precio mexico He said the complaint misrepresents his statements, one of which is that injection wells “pump POISONED WATERS under the feet of America’s Citizens.” The second sign quotes prophecy from Revelation — on men dying from waters “made bitter.”

  18. Benton says:

    We used to work together olanzapine degradation impurities Rodriguez was prepared to accept an 80- to 100-game suspension and then retire following the ban, the sources said. The offer, however, came with one crucial caveat: Rodriguez would retire with pay, meaning he would collect about $80 million of the remaining $100 million on his contract.

  19. Nilson says:

    What do you like doing in your spare time? fungus key pro In July, a unit of China’s state-owned Tsinghua Holdings CoLtd had said it would acquire Chinese cellphone chip designer Spreadtrum Communications Inc for a raised offer priceof about $1.78 billion.

  20. Gianna says:

    I want to make a withdrawal cialis gnstig kaufen mit rezept The gas storage business is expected to see lower profits inthe second half of the year, after the average price at whichCentrica sold storage space at its huge Rough site fell to 23.3pence, compared with 33.9p in the previous year.

  21. Dennis says:

    I’ve been cut off prevagen goodrx “Banks will want to take corrective measures before the endof the year. It’s far better not to be singled out by the AQR ashaving had a problem and fixed it in 2014; it’s better to avoidthat and do it now,” said Mike Harrison, a banks analyst atBarclays.

  22. Lauren says:

    Could you tell me the dialing code for ? what is omeprazole dr 40 mg capsule @bluewater23000 wrote: Wrong. You are not an elected official for the State of Pennsylvania nor are you a judge. You have no standing to defend or even comment on the Constitutionally of a law. You might have your own opinions, and that’s fine. But your opinion does not matter in a court of law. The Attorney General is tasked with defending the State. But just as in California, the Attorney General has every right to not defend laws that are unconstitutional and therefore illegal. Maybe you should run for Attorney General (I doubt you even have the qualifications). Our US Constitution ensures “equal protection under the law.” That’s the 14th Amendment. It is not equal to create a second class of citizenship. Period.

  23. Elden says:

    I’m in my first year at university medroxyprogesterone pharmacy2us
    Started by 30-year-old Krishna Kumar with a $200 loan from a friend in 2010, CropIn has partnered with companies like Pepsi to make farming more profitable through better planning. A desktop “dashboard” lets product managers follow agricultural experts into the field, where they input data on the farms they monitor.

  24. Octavio says:

    Do you know what extension he’s on? cenforce avis As well as the private bondholders, the Co-op is facing resistance to its plans from activist hedge funds that have bought up the cut-price debt in an attempt to negotiate profitable terms. The Co-op needs 77pc take-up for its £1.5bn rescue to work.

  25. Clark says:

    Recorded Delivery what is fougera fluticasone propionate cream used for President Barack Obama and congressional Republican leaders inched toward resolving their fiscal impasse on Friday, but struggled to agree on the length and terms of a short-term deal to increase the U.S. debt limit and reopen the government.

  26. Garry says:

    We were at school together southeast alabama medical center dothan al Detective Inspector Dave Hindmarsh from the Metropolitan Police is an expert at catching them out. He says this kind of crime costs the industry a fortune and, as ever, it's the honest, insurance-paying motorist who is footing the bill,

  27. Manuel says:

    I’ve been made redundant abilify 10 mg pris Under the 2005 accord, South Sudan received 50% of the former united Sudan's oil proceeds, which provide the vast bulk of the country's budget

  28. Janni says:

    US dollars buspirone reviews weight gain The story said that the SEC is also looking into bank records from what the report calls “sister company” Gulf Coast Funds Management. That company is run by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s brother, Tony Rodham, and has been involved in the visa process.

  29. Newton says:

    What do you want to do when you’ve finished? buy cialis viagra online In an emailed statement, the company said it uses “an added boost of vitamins” in some of the drinks. But a lawsuit filed against the company noted that the vitamins are actually synthetic ingredients, including a fiber made by Archer Daniels Midland.

  30. Dogkill says:

    Hello good day us pharmacy cialis online easyJet also released figures which showed a 4.8pc increase in the number of passengers in September from the same month a year earlier. That followed a a near-4pc increase in the number of passengers in August, putting paid to fears of a slow summer in the European air travel market.

  31. Dwight says:

    I work with computers meloxicam 15 mg does it make you gain weight
    George has dissented repeatedly over concern that assetbuying could foster future financial instability and risk thecentral bank’s anti-inflation credentials, earning her areputation as one of the Fed’s most hawkish officials.

  32. Incomeppc says:

    We work together atorvastatin and fenofibrate combination therapy Youngsteadt underlined the important function these city insects play, adding, “This isn’t just a silly fact

  33. Ellis says:

    It’s a bad line centrul medical recumed srl
    The deal last week that will see China participate in the £16bn construction of our first nuclear plant in 25 years is a case in point. Without it, the lights could be going out in 20 years, or sooner.

  34. Bryan says:

    I’d like to transfer some money to this account what is methyl protodioscin “From what I’ve already seen, he is focused on how best to support our students — in their research, classroom activities and professional aspirations,” she said in a statement. “He will bring the classroom a rare perspective drawn from decades of mentorship and leadership in global initiatives.”

  35. Errol says:

    Through friends weaning off effexor xr 75mg A criminal background does not automatically disqualify someone from federal service. Federal guidelines call forseveral factors to be weighed, including the seriousness of theact, how long ago it occurred, and the age of the person at thetime the conduct occurred.

  36. Wallace says:

    Would you like a receipt? viagra no prescription overnight That, in itself, was new. But when the scientists examined the stem cells more closely, they found that they could pull off a trick that stem cells from embryos or developed in a dish could not: They could produce placental tissues. The researchers also found that some mice grew cysts that had embryo-like qualities — another novel development, and a sign that the stem cells in the mice were more flexible than other types of pluripotent stem cells.

  37. Luke says:

    Do you know each other? prevacid order online Then I’d have liked to have inquired about the U.S. European Union Free Trade Agreement. The U.S. and the EU account of 40 percent of the world’s GDP. A Free Trade Agreement between the two would bring a measurable increase in their GDP, thousands of jobs and a chance to stand shoulder to shoulder against the commercial competition from Asia that is killing American (and European) jobs.

  38. Jimmie says:

    I’d like to transfer some money to this account animal pak pills explained
    If we thought My Morning Jacket was loud, well, Wilco gave the word completely new meaning. It felt like we were on the runway beneath a landing 747. The band seemed to be hoping to achieve the world’s first stationary sonic boom. The audio assault made my teeth hurt.

  39. Jarred says:

    Could you ask her to call me? zovirax krem reseptfritt Does she see her husband’s foe-turned-friend, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, getting that job? “She hasn’t announced anything, so I’m certainly not going to get ahead of her,” Obama said, laughing.

  40. Rodrick says:

    How do you do? diclofenac sodium tablets uk “I think that hoping for top 10s and wins all the time is fairly unrealistic,” she said. “I think it’s far more realistic to hope for top 15s and top 20s right now. If there is one thing I’ve learned, it’s about baby steps and it’s about making realistic goals that you can achieve. Otherwise it’s just constantly frustrating because if you had set a goal of top 20 and you finish there then you have something to be happy about.”

  41. Keneth says:

    I’d like to speak to someone about a mortgage mesilato de doxazosina 4mg menor preço This project involved an analysis of 34 studies worldwide, involving over eight million people, 24,500 of whom had liver cancer.

  42. Luther says:

    I’d like to cancel this standing order raspberry ketone pure max strength 600mg
    Addressing members of his Conservative caucus ahead of apolicy speech that will outline government priorities for thesecond half of its 4-1/2-year mandate, Prime Minister StephenHarper said the government planned moves on “choice, fairtreatment, competitive prices.”

  43. Allen says:

    We need someone with qualifications erextra
    In the 11th, d’Arnaud ripped a groundball up the middle that glanced off Marlins shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria’s glove into center field to leadoff the inning. He was stranded on third. He came to the plate in the 12th feeling pretty confident.

  44. Dannie says:

    How do I get an outside line? doxepin for dogs “We publicly disclosed this matter in our 10-Q filing last week, and are fully cooperating with regulators,” Hong Kong-based J.P. Morgan spokeswoman Marie Cheung said Sunday, referring to the investigation. Neither J.P. Morgan nor the people it hired have been accused of any wrongdoing, according to the report.

  45. Jake says:

    What line of work are you in? is betnovate n good for acne scars This incredible feat of leadership and endurance has elevated Shackleton to legendary status in the world of exploration – Edmund Hillary called it the single greatest journey of survival in history. Yet Shackleton’s epic adventure has never been repeated. Tim Jarvis, encouraged by Shackleton’s granddaughter Alexandra and with the 100th anniversary of the voyage looming, decided to take it on: “I’ve been involved in this sort of stuff for years [Jarvis holds the record for the fastest unsupported journey to the South Pole and the longest unsupported journey in Antarctica] and it always seemed to me to be the end game. This is the big one.”

  46. Weldon says:

    An envelope viagra sales canada Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan). As far as electronics are concerned, he’s in the right place, with the East Asian country continuing to produce a plethora of gadgets and gizmos for tech addicts around the world. When not writing for Digital Trends, Trevor can be found out and about taking far too many photos, or in front of his computer trying to sort them all out.

  47. Angelina says:

    Very interesting tale ibuprofeno 600 mg preo panvel With a Kalashnikov in one hand and a laptop in the other, the 2011 generation of Arab youth has established its revolutionary credentials like few others in history: four dictators toppled already, most of whom needed a rather more forceful shove than that which felled the Berlin Wall.

  48. Kelvin says:

    An envelope augmentin antybiotyk dla dzieci dawkowanie The discount reflects analyst expectations that Raiffeisenmay have to raise around 2 billion euros in fresh capital tosatisfy market expectations that its balance sheet measures upto international peers.

  49. Alfonso says:

    Could I have , please? para que sirve glucophage xr 1000 mg This comes from our ad serving technology and is used to track how many times you have seen a particular ad on our sites, so that you don’t just see one advert but an even spread. This information is not used by us for any other type of audience recording or monitoring.

  50. Francis says:

    Will I have to work on Saturdays? levonorgestrel price at walmart The UK’s current main battle tank is the FV4034 Challenger 2 – a 4.2 million behemoth originally designed and built by Vickers Defence Systems (now known as BAE Systems) in 1998

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *