Uncle Jimmy

Uncle Jimmy was funny. He joked. He danced. He sang. He did whatever he could to brighten your day. And, man, was he good at it. He was a natural. With perfect comedic timing and a flawless sense of wit, it seemed bringing a smile to my face -- or anyone for that matter -- was his sole purpose. He was a good guy. No, wait, he was a great guy.
Unfortunately, though, Uncle Jimmy was also an ex-convict. With six felonies on his record, he was constantly worried about his future. "Who's going to hire a man with six felonies," he'd say. And at 42 years old, he was single, never married, a father of three (who, by the way, he rarely saw) and an ex-drug addict. Crack. Cocaine. Marijuana. You name it, he did it.
Child support payments, court appearances, and unwavering thoughts of an eviction notice placed ever-so-carelessly on his door plagued him constantly. Jobless and with no money in his pockets, he was stuck. Stagnant. And there was nothing any of us could do to help.