In Loving Memory...

About a week ago my Great Uncle Kent passed away in China. What was he doing in China? Well, he worked for the U.S. Government at the embassy doing electrical engineering stuff. He's travelled around the world making sure the Embassies always have power. Him and his wife, Sylvia, haven't lived in the good parts of the world either...

My mom told me a story about my aunt and uncle a few days ago that I thought was totally sweet. Hopefully I can get this right.... So, they used to live in Rwanda when the civil war broke out amonst the citizens. Well, they had evacuated everyone out of the embassy and there were a bunch of marines sent to protect the embassy, but my aunt and uncle had to stay behind to make sure there was power for the marines. So, during this time when the war broke out, there was no communication out of the country except for the marines but my aunt and uncle weren't allowed to use the military's communication, which meant that no one in our family knew if they were even still alive.

One day, the rebels took over a nearby orphanage and the marines had to go rescue the nuns and the orphans and bring them back to the embassy to be airlifted out.

Then, their son, my cousin, was watching CNN.. and who do you think was on tv? My aunt Sylvia. CNN was showing video footage of my aunt helping the nuns and the children get airlifted out. So, my cousin calls the entire family and they all watch in relief that my aunt and uncle are safe.

Then my aunt and uncle finally were able to call from the satellite phone the marines had and when my cousin asked if everything was alright my aunt told him that everything was great but there were a bunch of hungry marines at her table that were ready to be fed.


My uncle was halarious though.

Funerals, in my family, are unorthodox... SHOCKER! Usually, the speakers start with the people who are very serious and will make you sad and then end with the people that have all the funny stories about whomever just passed away.

One of my favorite memories of my Uncle Kent was at my great grandma's (his mother's) funeral. I'm pretty sure he was the last one to say something and when he was done, there wasn't a dry eye in the place.. due to excessive laughter.

He talked about how his mom would always be praying for his "cousin" Bruce. Come to find out that his "cousin" Bruce turned out to be his "brother" Bruce as well... That's right they were cousins and brothers at the same time.

We all should've known that this story was going to be told because Uncle Kent always loved to pull it out on unsuspecting people who didn't fully know the interworkings of our family.

So he tells everyone that his brother was also his cousin without any background info first.

So here's the background he gives us after he tells us the story of his cousin Bruce... You may need to read it over a few times to actually understand it.

-So my Uncle Kent and Grandpa Bruce were brothers.
-They have two sets of grandparents, one on mom's side and one on dad's.
-Grandpa on mom's side and Grandma on dad's side both die.
-Then Grandma on mom's side marries Grandpa on dad's side.
-They do this after Kent and Bruce's parents are married and have kids.
-So, by deductive reasoning, or something like that, Kent and Bruce's mom and dad are technically step brother and sister.
-Making all of their kids technically cousins.

This story is normal for my family, but for everyone else... It's a bit much. But that's how my uncle Kent was, not afraid to be funny.

So, no, no one in my family has an extra toe or anything like that. We like to say that we're just an American family with alot of funny people.

Next time I'll tell you who I get all of my different traits from. I figured it out one day, and I must say... My family is halarious.. I got it from both sides...

In loving memory of Kent Mackabon... You will be missed at all funerals and weddings alike.