letter to my uncle lee

hey man. 

im sitting here listening to music and it always comes back to me that i owe a lot of good taste to you. you made me a music fan, not just a music listener. you taught me to listen to the details and the songwriting and the harmonies. this is shit that im still using to this day. i barely use a damn thing i learned in school!

it was vital for me and i can't thank you enough for it. i know you're kinda like me, you're not good with compliments so its ok if you don't have much to say back. i just want to make sure that you are aware of what you did for me when i was younger. my life has been full of many great things because of simple tools that you gave to me. you should sleep easier at night knowing that. for all your flaws that you may have, or any sort of thing that weighs on you and makes you feel bad about yourself, this is one thing that you should feel good about cause im alive and well and its your doing.

you saw yourself in me and you acted on it, and because of that i have helped other people the way you did. i have counseled friends. i have a friend whos family basically adopted me when the things went down with my mom. her youngest daughter, justine, calls me her brother and i am close with her like you were with me. we do everything together. we've been through everything together. she tells me her darkest secrets. my thoughts always somehow end up going back to you. you may have had some angry times, and volatile times, but you were real with me and i respected you for it, and it allowed me to find the courage to come out of my shell.

you developed the artist in me.

and the world didn't get to me in time, it failed to crush my dreams and now I am still here living them out and living my life of art and music. i am immersed in it and its my life and i couldn't think of a better life for myself. thanks for kicking my ass into shape and picking me up and dusting me off where my mother failed. 

i love you, pal. i recall those memories of when i was a kid a lot. they are fond memories and when i go through my comics it all comes back to me. you saved a good life, and i've done amazing things with it, and the best is yet to come.

take care man.

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this man saved my life and is the sole person responsible for me being who i am. I would have never had the courage to become who I am if not for this man who stood against the oppression of his family, who stood against the ridicule of his sisters for years to nurture the artist in me. all i can do is try to make him understand what he did for me. what NO ONE could do for me. many have tried, many have failed. this man did it with grace and style. the coolest man i ever met is my uncle lee. loud booming voice, big smile, and a joke to make you laugh. never afraid to make a fool of himself to make someone else laugh while everyone else at the party is looking at him like he's an asshole cause thats how my family is. he always stood up against the bullshit and he was a shield for my protection. i haven't had many in my life but this one was enough. we don't see each other as often as we should. he is now married and living a county over and just trying to stay afloat in life while I am busy with my rich life of playing music and touring the country. 

i feel like theres a sacrifice somewhere in there that he made for me, and i'll be damned if i let this depression thing burn me out because he gave me fire in life and taught me how to live it. i forget sometimes, but i'm still picking myself up because of him, because of my niece, because of shaun luu. i have to ride this thing out to the end. no matter how many times i want to quit or i feel like im getting in over my head. i just have to ride this thing out cause they did this for me.