My uncle that is, I’m not really sure what it is we did that pissed him off and got his panties in a twist but he’s pretty much cut himself off from everybody all of a sudden and refusing to communicate in any shape or form. Before you continue reading this rant I suggest you grab something to snack on, refill your drink, and get comfy. This unburdening has been a long time in coming.

It all started sometime back in March or April, I hadn’t yet gone on summer vacation but I’d noticed my uncle had stopped bothering to call me. I tried to call him, but due to the odd hours he works I never seemed to reach him and since he can’t be bothered with an answering machine or voice mail I couldn’t very well leave him a message. He does however have caller id so he was very much aware that I had been trying to contact him. My mother and grandfather however had been in contact with him during this time, more so my mother than anyone else, and after one conversation with him she surmised that he took offense to my voice mail message which was sarcastic but meant to be taken as a joke. Okay, I could see how he would think it was aimed at him, if I wasn’t trying to get in touch with him regardless.

As some may recall, back in May my mom finally got herself a truck, considering how much my grandfather had been bragging about her truck (as if it were his) she never brought it up with my uncle because 1, she thought he’d already heard enough about it from my grandfather, and 2, they hadn’t had a real chance to talk in a long time. Now remember, she got the truck in mid-May, at this time I had already been out of contact with him for a month and for some odd reason he wasn’t talking much to my grandfather either. My grandfather had even taken to asking my mom if my uncle was upset with him and when was the last time she heard from him. Since he lives out of state and his work schedule usually means we’re asleep or at work/in class when he’s up it’s hard to keep in touch regularly with him. So going a couple of months without hearing something isn’t too odd, unless it’s all of us who haven’t heard anything.

Come August, he called my mother and for once she had the day off and was able to really sit around and chat with him on the phone. Problem was, she brought up the subject of her new truck and how my grandfather was still acting as though it was his and my uncle got very upset. He essentially threw a temper tantrum on the phone wanting to know when she got the truck and why hadn’t she said anything. When she told him it was bought back in May he got very quiet then changed the subject. Twenty minutes later he abruptly ended the conversation and hung up, now anyone who knows my uncle knows how odd that was. When he calls you need to make yourself comfortable for at least an hour. The phone call with my mom lasted anywhere between 30 to 40 minutes before he made his excuses and hung up. Apparently he was upset that she never mentioned the truck and felt left out.

When my mom mentioned that he hadn’t called back and that she couldn’t get in touch with him my grandfather pointed out that he’d been having trouble as well prior to her fallout, then they both looked at me. I just shrugged and said he hadn’t bothered to return my phone calls or call me since March or April.

Now, for the last year all I could talk about was my upcoming graduation. My uncle knew darn well I was graduating in December, he even joked that I shouldn’t graduate in December and instead wait to graduate in May of ’08 so I would get more gifts. The fact remains, he knew it was in December, my mother, my grandfather, and even I tried to reach him, he never answered our calls and letters went unanswered as well. My mom was very upset, especially since she didn’t get to order invitations in time and send them out. I told her hey, he knew when I was graduating, he knows we’ve been calling him. If he wants to be a jackass and big baby about this shit let him. To which she responded by saying I was too much like my uncle for my own good, too stubborn and I couldn’t see how important it was to reconcile. Sure, it’s always good to reconcile, when there was actually a reason for a rift to occur in the first place! As far as I’m aware I honestly did nothing, but I’ve bent over backwards to keep in contact. He’s the one going “boo-hoo, wai wai” over this.

What was the real kicker is that today my grandfather has been in his room moping around. I wouldn’t say crying, but definately sad. The birthday card he sent my uncle back in September for his birthday was returned to him. Because he put a check in it for a substantial amount of money he had it certified so that no one could yank it from the apartment mailboxes. My uncle never bothered to go and pick it up so the card was returned. So now my grandfather is upset, although he won’t admit it, and this is really starting to get on my nerves. It’s one thing to act childish when you’re a fucking child, but when you’re a grown man of forty something it’s time to realize that you have to consider the consequences of your actions.

He hasn’t talked to my mom since early August, my grandfather since June or July and me since March or April. I honestly do not understand what is going through his head, why he’s acting like this, or what I should do, hell, if I should even do anything at all! It would have meant a lot to me to have my uncle at my graduation, but when my calls still weren’t being answered, or a few times picked up and hung up in an obvious “do not bother me” fashion I gave up and accepted I’ve been cut out of his life for some reason. But my mom and my grandfather are taking this way worse and I’m at a complete loss as to what to do or if I should even do anything at all. Help? Suggestions? Voodoo dolls?