Last weekend, my Uncle Jimmy visited us. He has lived in Paris for almost thirty years, so it’s not often we get to see him. Last year, we unknowingly scheduled vacations to Vancouver on the same week (see my post, “Coola”), so we spent a few days with him there. We had a great time, so we were excited about his trip to San Francisco.
When I was kid, Uncle Jimmy used to bring me presents, like Swiss chocolates (back when you couldn’t get them at Safeway), and my first Swiss Army knife. He still brings gifts, but I enjoy seeing him more than I do the things he brings in his suitcase. I particularly enjoyed watching him interact with my boys. He taught them how to play croquet, and he told them about all the sites in Paris. In a way, I got to relive his visits when I was a boy through my kids’ eyes.
He also introduced my boys to the song, “Anything You Can Do” (see video below). It’s a hard song to get out of your head, and my boys keep singing it, so although Uncle Jimmy has now returned to Paris, he is most certainly still with us in spirit and in song.
We had a fantastic time, so now my kids are bugging me about when we are going to visit Uncle Jimmy at his home. Bientôt mes fils, bientôt.
Filed under: Art, Family, Sketches
