My uncle is very ill. I am not sure how old he is, but he is my Dad's older brother... and since my Dad would be like 78 now.. my uncle must be in his mid 80's.

The other day I was in the checkout line and saw that Harrison Ford was on the cover of the Enquirer for some ridiculous "Drunken Binge!" article. Obviously he went out and had a drink or two.. and got the usual drunk photos (the kind everybody gets) taken of him. Looking at the pictures of him I was thinking about how my lifetime had aged the man. I think about that a lot with celebrities, him specifically, since I am so used to seeing the much younger version of him gallivanting around the galaxy and finding precious artifacts in long forgotten caves.

But it always hits me as a surprise to see what it does to people I know. It gets accelerated when you move away from your family. Kids grow up in a couple of visits... Adults go gray overnight. My uncle is one of the kindest most gentle people I have ever met. He has a voice that you never confuse with anyone else. Him and my aunt lived near me when I was growing up for quite a while. I saw 'The Wizard of Oz' for the first time sitting in their living room. When I broke my arm in 6th grade, they came and got me. My aunt made a make-shift splint until we got to the hospital.