Guest Blogger Barb W. on "Uncle P"

Barb is a 'Disney Dork'

When I was asked to guest blog, my first thought was HOW COOL!! Then my second thought was "What the heck am I going to write about?" So I thought about the infinite things I could write about and listed them out.

I could write about the things I know, such as baking and cake decorating. I could write about the E-commerce shopping channel for which I work. I could write about the thing that makes me a FL dork, in general.

And then I thought that these topics, while interesting to me, would bore the pants off of most people. So what else could I write about with which I feel comfortable? Something I know and feel comfortable sharing with people all over the globe who read this blog, regularly?  The answer was quite clear, when I thought about it. I will blog about my brother, Uncle P.

Oh not in the way you think.  I want to share with you how special my brother is to me.  Most people who have siblings love their brothers and sisters and some may be particularly close to them. But most people I know are not.  My brother is 6 years older than me and in many ways that’s never been an issue.  Sure there are generational gaps because of obvious things like in the early 80’s I was just beginning high school when my brother was just beginning his adult life.  

But for the most part, the age difference has never been an issue in our relationship.  It has brought diversity and enough difference to help round each other out.  We both love movies, theatre (although he more than me) a good laugh and general silliness.  We both love to read and are both a bit of a foodie.  But as much as we are alike is just as much as we are different. 

Why does all of this matter?  Well, I think more than anything because whenever I think of my brother, I can’t help but smile.  I have wonderful memories from my childhood that always make me smile because of him.

We have more inside jokes than any two people I know. He is the only person I can make laugh by uttering one word.  To give you a bit more insight on how we grew up, I was probably the only girl around the age of 10 that was able to quote Monty Python and actually get most of it.  

One very special hing we shared as kids was our love of The Little Rascals (I'm talking about the really old ones, with Spanky as a toddler). We quote them and refer to them often and most people don't have a clue as to what the heck we are talking about. Our mother (and my husband) will tell you that we have our own secret language, which neither of them understands.

I guess what I’m trying to say is if you don’t already know this, Uncle P is a very unique and special individual.  With all of his ranting, raving, accomplishments, challenges, opinions and sometimes just plain silliness, you the reader have entered a world via this person that is pretty incredible.

Is it extraordinary?  Probably not by some people’s standards but by mine, yes.  

I may not say it all the time but I am so proud of my brother for taking risks and for being who he is on his own terms.  I love him like no other and always will. 

Keep reading because I know you will be not only entertained but slightly enlightened by the shining soul that writes this blog. 

So with that, I leave you with a source of some of that silliness and hope it makes you giggle like a fool like I do when I see it and I know he will while watching it.

 Uncle P, here. I was torn about posting this piece. I was surprised and a little humbled when I read what my sister had to say but ultimately decided to post it because a) I asked her to write something and b) she did so, beautifully. And speaking of something beautiful, here's a couple of her beautiful cakes:

Hairspray  opens tonight. I'll be back on Sunday.

More, anon.