5-31

Another week, another weekend. Ahh.

My uncle Joe celebrates his acquisition of a fancy schmancy hard earned Master's degree today. It's kind of a big deal because it's taken him a long time to get here, but he made it. Oh yeah, and he's blind. Karen seemed to think that this was a really big deal- because I don't know, maybe in her world people who can't see don't get educated. I don't see it as a big deal because he's one of the smartest people I know. He does everything that anyone else does, usually a little faster.

Ok, so he doesn't drive. You wouldn't want him to.

I remember when I was a kid, he would come over and ask to play my violin. I would give it to him, along with some basic instructions about how to hold it, where to put the bow and fingers, etc. It used to bother me that he did this, because I was afraid he would break it. Apparently my juvenile mind equated blindness with clumsiness. That couldn't have been further from the truth. In fact, it didn't take long before he had mastered the basic principles of violin playing that most third graders struggle with. I was impressed. He continues to impress me, even though his violin playing days have gone the same way mine have.

Congrats, Joe.