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. Darin says:

    Where’s the postbox? what is tretinoin cream We put our hope in the SAR operation and thank the Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysian governments,” he wrote, referring to the search-and-rescue effort in the Java Sea along well-trafficked shipping routes.

  2. Erich says:

    I need to charge up my phone citrato de tamoxifeno 20 mg preo Those who take regular medication should check if they have enough to last over the bank holiday, and have their prescription renewed in advance if needs be. Many GP surgeries have links with pharmacies offering a repeat prescription service, meaning medication can be delivered or collected at your convenience.

  3. Camila says:

    I’ve just started at generic coreg problems “We just wandered around LA,” said Houser. “Our researchers did an incredible job of finding us some of the strangest people: retired cops, former FBI agents, entrepreneurs who’d retired on a massive fund of money at 28, people who specialised in knowing the underworld of LA – and everyone in between. We’d just hang out with them for a few days to see what happened.”

  4. Unlove says:

    Could I have an application form? hsg cost clomid
    Ann Coffey MP, the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Runaway and Missing Children, welcomed the new guidelines for prosecutors but said that urgent action was also needed to tackle the problem of aggressive cross examination by defence barristers in court.

  5. Danny says:

    I’m doing a phd in chemistry xenical medscape
    Tennant’s lyrics mirror the mix. If they seem aloof, it’s only to mask a ruinous faith. In “Love Is a Bourgeois Concept” the narrator brutally condescends to romance before revealing the need that hides behind his stance.

  6. Chase says:

    Not in at the moment best uk kamagra supplier Raymond Hernandez was sitting on a staircase inside the Bedford Park building chatting with another man at 9:55 p.m. when a bullet punched through a front door window, striking him on the chest, the sources said.

  7. Shelton says:

    Three years non prescription albenza Lee, if we are able to talk with him and he cooperates, maybe will give us the reasons,” Duke said

  8. Clair says:

    I’d like to send this parcel to where to buy permethrin lotion The Continental problem impacts 6,000 engines on U.S.-registered planes. Using an hourly labor rate of $85, the FAA offers this rather staggering bottom line for inspecting and fixing the engines’ apparently dangerous multiple separations, cracks and leaks: “We estimate the total cost of this proposed AD (airworthiness directive) to U.S. operators to be $82,620,000.”

  9. Barry says:

    We’re at university together is olanzapine considered a benzodiazepine The grenade rolled to a stop. It began giving off a black, acrid smoke. Just feet away, Kashvi stayed face down, never looking up. Keya covered her head with her arms and waited for the blast, which never came.

  10. Augustine says:

    Nice to meet you zencored capsules uses in hindi
    Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, will acquireBharti’s 50 percent stake in Bharti Wal-Mart Pvt Ltd, which runsabout 20 wholesale stores in India under the Best Price ModernWholesale brand, and will run the business independently.

  11. Titus says:

    I’m on work experience forzest 20 mg india Essentially, Democrats argue that they would accept current spending levels for a short period — just not as long as Collins proposed — so they can have another go at the sequester cuts in the near future.

  12. Tony says:

    I’d like to send this letter by viagra online uk boots The government earlier this month said it aimed to run abudget deficit this year and next as it forges ahead withspending on infrastructure. It must now find additional funds torepair roads and infrastructure hammered by the storms.

  13. Tobias says:

    Where’s the postbox? trylo flex and trylo fire for sale Twenty-five years to the day since he blasted down lane six of Seoul’s Olympic Stadium, leaving arch-enemy Carl Lewis wide-eyed in his wake, Johnson returned to the South Korean capital on Tuesday with a warning for the next generation of athletes: stay clear of performance-enhancing drugs.

  14. Clint says:

    Where do you come from? use of dapoxetine and sildenafil tablets These individuals will never be able to truly foster the innovation and change that they need because many of them have never worked in an that had that sort of environment

  15. Wilton says:

    Punk not dead colchicine 0.6 mg capsule goodrx Trading ceased in all Nasdaq-listed securities Thursday after the electronic exchange experienced a technical glitch. Trading resumed at about 3:25 p.m. ET. Nasdaq vowed to take “necessary steps to enhance the platform.”

  16. Jerald says:

    We need someone with experience duloxetine 30 mg capsule Another experiment showed that elongating the time between performing the ritual and eating the food magnified the effects. Participants in this case were anticipating eating carrots of all things, and they said they tasted better after waiting.

  17. Grace says:

    I’d like to take the job prezzo stendra in italia “From the military standpoint, as a soldier, before you go into combat you kind of close your eyes and you think about, ‘OK, I can expect it’s going to sound like this, it’s going to feel like this, it’s going to be chaotic, it’s going to be loud,'” he said.

  18. Clifton says:

    I’ve just started at costco santee pharmacy phone number * A decision by Alitalia’s biggest shareholder,Air France-KLM, on whether to participate in an emergency shareissue for the near-bankrupt Italian airline is evenly balanced,a source close to the Franco-Dutch carrier said on Tuesday.

  19. Jerrold says:

    Who’s calling? metformin er 500 recall Information Google users have previously shared with a limited “circle” of friends will remain viewable only to that group, as will any shared endorsement ads that incorporate the information, Google said in a posting on its website explaining the new terms of service.

  20. Delbert says:

    What line of work are you in? zyprexa 20 mg tablet There is a huge demand for African ivory in Asia for use in ornaments and conservationists suspect that most of the poached rhino horn is destined for traditional medicine markets in South East Asia, where it is believed to contain powerful healing properties, despite there being no scientific proof of this.

  21. Willy says:

    this post is fantastic trazodone generic walmart France is the most popular country with British skiers and snowboarders, with nearly 35 per cent of the market last season, according to the 2013 Crystal Ski Industry Report. However, Andy Perrin, chief executive of tour op Inghams, says the company has fielded calls from people preferring to holiday where ski hosting is allowed. “It’s a lose, lose situation for France but good for Italy, Austria and Switzerland,” he says.

  22. Santiago says:

    Other amount no prescription celexa Despite Vietnam’s turbulent history, the Vietnamese are perhaps surprisingly gracious and friendly to Westerners. Tourists from France and the United States are arriving in growing numbers, and, even in Hanoi, once the stronghold of North Vietnam, Westerners are made to feel welcome.

  23. Winfred says:

    Enter your PIN minilovebites cupcakes (Additional reporting by John Chalmers in NEW DELHI, Maria Golovnina, Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD, Abu Arqam Naqash in MUZAFFARABAD, Hamid Shalizi and Jessica Donati in KABUL and Mark Hosenball in WASHINGTON; Editing by John Chalmers and Raju Gopalakrishnan)

  24. Emory says:

    We were at school together nexium esomeprazole 20 mg PARIS, July 30 (Reuters) – Struggling telecom equipmentmaker Alcatel-Lucent surfed on strong growth in itskey U.S. market to beat analysts’ estimates and said mobile chipmaker Qualcomm would buy a minority stake as part of aresearch partnership.

  25. Zachariah says:

    How do you do? hoteles habana cuba todo incluido
    Ladbrokes, a 127-year-old bookmaking conglomerate that runs nearly 3,000 betting shops in the U.K., Ireland, Belgium and Spain, has opened wagers on Microsoft’s next CEO with a list of 26 candidates that include current and former Microsoft executives as well as people from rivals such as Apple and Facebook.

  26. Carlton says:

    I’m a trainee hot springs pharmacy virginia “Of course you didn’t. He was born this way and didn’t choose it any more than he being [sic] left-handed,” he wrote. “You however, have made a choice of being hurtful, narrow-minded and backward.”

  27. Stanley says:

    I’d like to speak to someone about a mortgage bentyl drugs.com
    Regulators overseeing the implementation of financialreforms still have an enormous and complex task before them, andWall Street’s new approach plays to that reality. Withconstrained resources and limited time to get it accomplished,agencies are falling behind.

  28. Samantha says:

    I’d like some euros canesten clotrimazole Many patients at the community health centers value theconvenience of their neighborhood locations and their servicesfor health issues affecting low-income areas, includingnutrition counseling and crime victims’ support groups.

  29. Preston says:

    Canada>Canada what does cialis do to men The British actor died on Feb. 1, 2013, just four days shy of his 62nd birthday. He is best known for playing villainous character Ethan Rayne on the hit series “Buffy The Vampire Slayer,” but boasts a full resume and will also be remembered for his roles on “Babylon 5” and “Star Trek: Voyager.”

  30. Guadalupe says:

    We’ll need to take up references buy cheap albenzalo The order by U.S. District Judge Thomas Griesa came in response to a proposal in August by Argentine President Cristina Fernandez that would enable her government to keep paying creditors who participated in restructurings after the country’s $100 billion default in 2002.

  31. Wally says:

    How much notice do you have to give? unjha pharmacy contact no I'm told it has also been disruptive for some central banks, even in low-income countries trying to manage their foreign exchange reserves. Many officials here want the Fed to be very careful about communicating its intentions so as not to cause excessive volatility in the markets.

  32. Bradly says:

    I’m originally from Dublin but now live in Edinburgh sulfasalazine (azulfidine) dosage He was not wrapped when Wednesday’s game started but got taped after going 1-for-12 in the first half.

  33. Theron says:

    I’d like to send this letter by prilosec otc online coupons A medical report from Dr. Michael Levy of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore that was submitted to the IPC suggested that if Arlen were to get years of physical therapy, she might be able to walk again.

  34. Gustavo says:

    I enjoy travelling will permethrin 1 kill scabies Terna also has an agreement with Tunisia to build aninterconnector to Africa to access renewable energy – planswhich have been put on hold because of unrest in the country butwhich remain on standby should conditions change.

  35. Ollie says:

    Could you tell me the number for ? how much does flomaxtra cost “We have always kept our ears close to the ground. That’swhy we spent days, weeks on one-on-ones and answered more than athousand questions. There were no alarm bells and red lightsthat came to me days before the bid date,” he said in a mobilephone text reply to questions from Reuters.

  36. Connie says:

    I’d like , please mydoctorgames.com
    “I think it was going to be one of the drivers for initial games-console bundle sales and will probably push back some of the hardware sales that would have happened right out of the gate for Sony and Microsoft,” said Lewis Ward, video games research manager at consultants IDC.

  37. Jasper says:

    Excellent work, Nice Design amoxicillin pediatric dose mg/kg Airbus, the core planemaking unit, would remain based inToulouse. It may gain a longer name resembling that of Boeing’splanemaking unit, Boeing Commercial Aircraft, to distinguish itfrom EADS, which is poised to rebrand itself the Airbus group.

  38. Emile says:

    I like it a lot mirtazapine 45 mg nhs 4. Late, illegible, incomplete, defaced or corrupt entries or entries sent through agencies and third parties will not be accepted. No responsibility can be accepted for lost entries and proof of despatch will not be accepted as proof of receipt. The winner will be drawn at random from all entries received by the closing date. The winner’s name and county can be obtained by sending a sae to Park Hyatt Paris-Vendome Prize Draw Winner, Telegraph Create, 111 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 0DT between October 26 and November 25, 2013.

  39. Garret says:

    I have my own business photos of omeprazole capsules Abe’s policies have boosted Japan’s benchmark Nikkei average by two-thirds since mid-November, cheering stock marketinvestors who used their new-found wealth to splurge on luxurygoods such as handbags from LVMH-owned Louis Vuittonand jewellery from Tiffany & Co.

  40. Dorian says:

    i’m fine good work university of louisville pharmacy program
    Grant Baldock, chief executive of Equestrian Australia, said: “EA will provide guidance to Kevin as he works through the options available to him through the FEI processes. EA treats any breaches of doping and medication control seriously and has fully adopted and endorsed the FEI and ASADA anti-doping policies and procedures in this regard.”

  41. Noah says:

    Very funny pictures test prop anavar winstrol cycle Nearly four months after welcoming baby Rainbow Aurora, Holly Madison has more good news to share — she’s engaged. The former Playboy Playmate’s boyfriend Pasquale Rotella popped the question at the 17th annual Electric Daisy Carnival at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on June 23, 2013. “My fiancé was so wonderful in creating such a romantic night!” Madison wrote on her blog. The 33-year-old also happily posed for photos showing off her massive 18-carat, cushion-cut yellow diamond rock that is surrounded by pink and yellow diamond flowers, according to People.

  42. Glenn says:

    Your cash is being counted has anyone ordered accutane online The team believe that a catastrophic event must have torn the atmosphere apart 4bn years ago. The clues to this come in the ratio of two forms of the gas argon (one a primitive form, the other created more recently by radioactive decay) which is very different from that on Earth, suggesting that a major upheaval changed their relative amounts. Grady suggests that this could have been due to volcanic eruptions, or a massive collision that stripped the atmosphere away.

  43. Lyndon says:

    Jonny was here enalapril price uk The dog barked back, becoming distracted from its investigation of the car, police said. As the officer attempted to handcuff Mr Morrison, he resisted several times, according to the police report, until two other officers arrived to assist.

  44. Gianna says:

    We’ve got a joint account femigra canada
    The state legislature passed the “right to work” law in December amid union protests in Lansing, dealing a stunning blow to organized labor in the state that is home to U.S. automakers and the symbol of industrial labor in the United States.

  45. Rudolf says:

    I’m a member of a gym doxazosin dosage forms And Dell has a new XPS 11, which has a hybrid design. It can be an Ultrabook laptop with a full keyboard, or you can detach the screen and use it as a Windows 8 tablet. It is 11 millimeters to 15 millimeters thick, and it weighs 2.5 pounds. The screen has a new display technology dubbed oxide TFT. The display has a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, with more than 3.6 million pixels, or the highest number in a 2-in-1 display today.

  46. Deandre says:

    I’m on holiday active ingredient in motrin 800 Obama specifically mentioned Florida’s “stand-your-ground” law, which allows individuals to use reasonable force to defend themselves without any obligation to retreat or flee. Critics of the Sanford police department’s investigation of Zimmerman say it was central to the decision not to arrest him immediately.

  47. Dorian says:

    An envelope cialis mail order australia
    When you want to access commonly used special characters, you don’t need to press the symbols button for the separate keyboard. Instead you can hold down the full stop button and a box of commonly-used characters will pop up, saving you time.

  48. Kyle says:

    I can’t get a signal metrolag 500 mg metronidazole Orton stood high on the ring’s ropes to hype up the crowd when a man entered and hit him hard from behind – causing the WWE star to collapse. He quickly got back on his feet and began approaching the attacker but security got to the offender first and escorted him out of the ring.

  49. Freddie says:

    We need someone with qualifications oxybutynin by pliva The 27-year-old Canadian’s sensational play in net has even inspired a unique giveaway as the first 10,000 fans who arrive for Thursday’s home game versus the Boston Bruins will receive a Hamburglar mask.

  50. Valentin says:

    How many are there in a book? androenlarge cost Fifa said in a statement: “The chairman of the Fifa disciplinary committee has provisionally suspended a Bulgarian international footballer for an initial period of 30 days following an adverse analytical finding in relation to a doping control.”

Leave a Reply

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