Saturday, February 26, 2022
My Memory of You
For my uncle glenn
In, 1969-70ish, two sisters yelling at each other through an apartment door, one on the outside banging on the door, “Open this door diane!, I’m vacuuming Connie”. That’s all I remember, but it was a big fight over my Uncle Glenn. He was a keeper way back then, you would think he was a ladies man, tall, handsome, and funny. But that was not my uncle. He was devoted to those he loved and held dear to him. He was a father to none but became a FATHER to 6 little babies that lived behind that apartment door, where the vacuum ran. He also became my uncle and father figure to me too.
He and my aunt dee dee bought a small general store in Millstone NJ, I remember my mother bringing us 3 girls there to visit and my aunt or uncle picking me up and setting me on the counter. I was always looking forward to seeing them. All the time. Of course I was their favorite.
Then came the Millstone farm. What else do you do with 6 kids, you start farming. Load a barn up with dairy cows and give them all names too! But at that time, about 1971ish, 72? The Alpaugh gang lived in Kendall Park NJ for a few years. Glenn would get up very early every morning and drive to the millstone farm, he would come into the bedroom, and say “huuuuurted, time to wake up” and UP I WAS. Ready to get to the farm and see BABY and BERTHA, make bets with my uncle on who was going to fill the bucket that morning. He worked his tail off all day and come home late in the afternoon every day, for years. I loved the Kendall Park home, my cousins had great friends in the neighborhood and my aunt and uncle always had good friends to come visit. My Second Memory of my uncle, EVERYONE GOT A NICKNAME!!! Nobody escaped my uncles sense of humor. You walked in that kendall park door, you got a nickname, friends and family alike. Mine was “hurted, hurted mcgurted, hurtin hurted and it hurted!!!” my uncle would tease me, pick me up and give me that great big hug I been dying to get since the last time I seen him. Sometimes a week long wait, sometimes a few months. But when I got there, I could always count on that love from my uncle, every….. single….. time.
Then came the Asbury Farm, where my Uncle had another opportunity to give a bunch of new friends NICKNAMES!!! I knew I would miss the millstone farm, but the Asbury farm became more of a home and a childhood safe haven for me. We actually lived in a house ON THE FARM this time!!! YIPPIE!. My fondest memories of my childhood still rest at the end of the dirt road on the Asbury farm thanks to my Uncle. I would arrive, hop out of the car and fly into that house looking to see my aunt dee dee, get a hug from her and ask “where’s glenn”. And off I went and disappeared into the barn somewhere looking for glenn to get that hug and get caught up on the goings on. I couldn’t wait to get busy with the cows or something. It didn’t matter, I just wanted to be a hard worker for my uncle and have fun with the animals and forget about what ever troubles I left back home. I was the wart on his ass! You couldn’t peel me away from that man. I loved my uncle so much and still do.
Then came PA, it broke my heart that my family moved so far away, but it was a new farm to explore. For a kid like me, it was everything. My Third Memory of my uncle. He was ecstatic over this farm. “Look hurted, the silage comes out of the ceiling, look, just push a button!” the milk collection machine was more automated and new technology. It was like the “ jeffersons movin on up” except, for the alpaugh clan, it was like the clampets moving to Beverly hills. Farm family moving to a whole new world. Sadly, the PA farm was the last farm, my aunt and uncle divorced. Hard family times, but Glenn met “Sal” a wonderful woman we all became to love, including me. As sad as I am that my uncle is gone I take comfort knowing he and sally are together again. It always saddened me knowing Glenn was without his sally, but no longer.
I may have just been a little girl, less than first grade age but I do remember quite well that my uncle was the first man in my life who was a father figure to me. Loving, funny, and smiling. , He will forever be the man I looked up to, longed to see every weekend and every summer. My most cherished childhood memories still lie at the Asbury farm with my uncle, some day I too will be on the other side and I imagine my uncle glenn will be there waiting on me calling “HURTED, HURTIN HURTED” .
These are my memories of you, you will forever be in my heart. Til we see each other again glenn, rest easy and give sally a hug for me.
Love hurted