JUDGE THE BOOK BY ITS COVER
He sat quietly in church, hands folded, hunched slightly at the still proud shoulders. He was an aged man, one you’d never be able to judge the book by its cover.
He was tall and lean, except for his beer belly, around 6′-5″ or 6″, but with dusty cowboy boots and his ten-gallon hat, he looked ten feet tall, acted like it too. My uncle Buck looked like something out of a movie, or a nightmare to the man who he was at odds with, especially if he’d been drinkin’.
When I was a kid, uncle Buck was almost bald, a sun-scarred dome surrounded by circular grey hairline below. He looked worn and old even before he really was. Truth is, he looked almost the same from his forties into his seventies. I’m pretty sure he never thought he’d live that long.Buck kept a pair of tight fitting black leather gloves in his back pocket. He didn’t wear them all the time – and for darn sure not for fashion. He only pulled them on to fight.
It was hard for me to imagine the two sides of a person as a kid. My uncle was special to me, a second dad, what you think an uncle should be.
If it weren’t for my uncle Buck I’d have never got my first dog. He knew my heart and desire. That day at the grungy stables where he boarded his horse, I never left the new litter of pups in the barn. “A boy needs a dog, Harl,” he told my dad.
After a short dissertation about my mom and work associated with a dog, uncle Buck said,”Pick yourself a pup, boy.” I looked at my dad and he reluctantly nodded.
You don’t know that gratification of giving a youngster something they long for until you’ve walked in those shoes, but I could see clearly my uncle Buck was thrilled for me.
Growing up in a lake town has its advantages, one of them is fishin’. I couldn’t begin to recall how many times I’ve been fishin’, a lot, but the majority, probably seventy-five percent of all the times in my life, was with my uncle Buck.
Like a lot of folks from that generation, they didn’t throw around words like love, but they showed it with their actions.
As a young man, when I was in need, my uncle Buck, the man the world thought was crazy and mean as the devil, was there for me. He wasn’t perfect, but no one who knew the man who called out a gang of bikers and rode his horse through a bar could grasp that he was a caring person.
Hillbillies say that “blood is thicker-‘n-water”. Maybe that’s why our uncle Buck treated us the way he did. Maybe that’s why I understand now what I never could as a kid; the dark side of a man.
I haven’t done things my uncle Buck did, but things I’m not proud of all the same. I fight the flesh, what southerners call demons, too. All of us do to one degree or another.
When I think of my uncle Buck sitting in a church, the others referring to him as “brother” followed by our last name, I’m reminded of God’s precious grace and redemption… and that you can’t judge a book by the cover.
Ed
Monday, April 17, 2017 @ 2:05 am
Sounds like your Uncle Buck was John Wayne’s twin. We can always have a rough exterior, but a soft interior.
Brad Gore
Monday, April 17, 2017 @ 6:09 am
Awesome story my friend. Somehow, I feel like I know your Uncle Buck. I guess that’s what your able to do when that pens in your hand.
Lisa notes
Monday, April 17, 2017 @ 12:13 pm
I’m glad you had an Uncle Buck. I was never very close to any of my aunts, but I do try to stay close to several of my nieces. Hopefully they don’t see too much of my dark side…. Yes, grace. We all need it!
Betty Draper
Monday, April 17, 2017 @ 12:41 pm
I love hearing stories about those quiet, easy walking people that you know you would want them on your side in a fight. I had an uncle John who fit that description. He and his wife could not have children so they kind of adopted we three kids. Made sure we had Christmas presents, Easter candy, etc. When he spoke which was no often we listened. I always felt like I could go to him for protection. In fact he tried had to get my mother to take us kids away from my Dad for good, offered all kind of help. I remember seeing set of his jaw when he was around my Dad and I think my Dad was a little bit afraid of him. Thank God for those kind of relatives because they can make up the gaps that even good parents have..Great story brother..made me wish my Uncle John was here to meet my children and grandchildren.
Caleb Suko
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 3:16 am
I’ve seen a few “Uncle Bucks” in my time, oh how we need that reminder of grace!
Pam
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 3:23 am
What a wonderful relationship–one similar to what I shared with my Uncle Junie! A great tribute to him, Floyd. Made me miss my uncle. 🙂
Bill (cycleguy)
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 8:53 am
Well said my friend. i cringe when I think back how many times I judged a “tatted” guy (nor also gal) until I met a few and realized i was dead wrong. Hmmm I wonder what people think of me?
Hazel Moon
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 3:27 pm
My uncles were not that big, but their hearts were in the right places. I loved your story of your Uncle Buck and his tenderness, protection, even though others saw him differently. Yes, every boy (and girl too) need to have a dog. That made me smile. As a young child, my uncle Martin would buy the salve that I was trying to sell and others were not interested. Uncle Clarence lived with us for many years due to family problems. I remember he loaned Bob and me, $200 in an emergency situation, and we paid him back as quickly as we could. I was taught not to borrow, and that hurt to even ask. Great post Floyd.
June
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 4:29 pm
Sounds like your Uncle Buck was living proof that God can, and does, use all kinds of people. I pray you’re having a blessed week, brother!
saleslady371
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 6:19 pm
This is a beautiful message, Floyd, and beautifully written from that tender heart of yours. I loved it and remember that God sees the heart where sometimes we only see the man. May we all be sensitive like that.
Cheryl
Tuesday, April 18, 2017 @ 8:40 pm
Sounds like you have an amazing uncle…the kind every kid and adult should have. Thanks for sharing about him here. It was such a blessing to read, as always. God bless you, brother. 🙂
Dolly
Wednesday, April 19, 2017 @ 8:11 pm
Floyd,
What a special and tender portrait you drew with your words of your uncle Buck and of the important role he played in your life. Your first puppy….huge 🙂 Thanks for this beautiful read. Blessings to you and yours 🙂