Uncle Reuban

Uncle Reuben When I look back on my life there are a handful of men that helped shape the person I am in some way or other. One of those men was Reuben Chapman. Reuben was married to my Mom's sister Clara. She was from a small town in the North Carolina High Country called Montezuma. Reuben was from Wisconsin. When I got to this planet our family lived within a few blocks of Clara and Reuben. They had four girls and one boy. Uncle Reuben was a truck driver and was always gone it seemed like. When he was around he was a hoot. He would tell stories about driving his truck and about wrecks he had seen on the way. He had a big loud laugh that was contagious. Uncle Reuben went on to be with the Lord this week after a battle with poor health. He is with his Clara now walkin hand in hand with Jesus. As a toddler I got to watch old movies with my Dad. One of the main characters back then was Robert Mitchem. I was confused cause I thought Uncle Reuben and Robert Mitchem were the same person. He also had that John Wayne presence about him. He was tall and wore jeans all the time except to church. As our family would visit he would entertain us by getting out his electric guitar and play a few country and gospel tunes. My mother's side of the family seems to be blessed with musicians and when they gathered everyone would get out their guitars, banjos, jews harp, and keyboards. Uncle Reuben would play a song about either a truck or a train wreck called "Old 99" I believe. Uncle Earl Hartley would play the harmonica and sing, Cuzzins Danny, Vick, Larry, Dwight and David would all pitch in to make a wonderful sound. Those were the days we yearn for. Uncle Reuben was my golf buddy. Every chance we got over the years we would sneak off and play a round. He loved the Lord and his family. His son Jamie was his "boy"! He would talk of him so proudly and at the same time they would clash cause Jamie is a clone of his Dad. He loved his girls and loved to be around them like a good father would want to be. I hope I can have a wonderful relationship with my daughter and grand kids like he did. I will miss my golfing buddy as he now is walking those streets of Gold with his Clara and his Jesus. I hope he has picked out a good course to play when I get there. Stan The Ramblin Man