Estrangement

I was talking to my mom earlier and it looks like we aren't going to be speaking to my uncle anymore. My mom is through with him. That's fine by me. I never had a terribly high opinion of him, nor did I ever feel terribly close to that branch of my family. It's ironic because they have always loved me. I was terrible to them as a little kid and I have minimal respect for them now and yet they have always held me in high regard. I remember my aunt buying me dolls, only to have me say, "I hate dolls!" and run away. I've never really wanted to hang out with them and never really liked the company of my cousins. I found that they've gotten more tolerable in recent years. My uncle has gotten weirder and weirder and honestly, the progression has been pretty interesting. He's got money and power and he's just a smidge weird because of it. Seriously, his house is like a museum. Really like a museum. His collection of antiques is something to marvel at. Everyone who sees the place is always in awe. I know I am each time I go. My mom generally isn't. She said she started to get a little tired of his "I am king" attitude. The thing is, I've never taken him seriously enough to bother listening to him. It's like I'm a duck back and he's water. He bounces off me and I go, "Hmm. Interesting." And then he's gone. Then I have a story about water to tell my friends. That's a strange mix of a simile and an axiom, but you get the idea.

Anyway, my family has finally had it with his treatment of my brother during the one time my brother has ever asked for help. Even my grandma is a little shaken, and he's her son. She mentioned how hard my uncle fought to reduce the jail sentence of the guy who killed my cousin and that cop, but he barely lifts a finger for Tony. She said he's always resented Tony. I never noticed it really as a kid. I mean, I always noticed that Tony actually enjoyed their company and that they certainly didn't enjoy his. They always much preferred me, who has a low opinion of them (shows what a great judge of character they happen to be). Now, my uncle is showing his true colors a little more by telling Tony he has to pray and saying that this trial will whip him into shape and set him straight. Tony doesn't need to be set straight. Tony has made mistakes, but he hasn't done anything wrong. Let's contrast him with our cousin Michael (the one who's still alive).
Tony: doing amazingly well in business school
Michael: still studying for the LSATs since his scores are so low that even having a close personal friend on the board of directors for McGeorge (who arranged a meeting with him and the rest of the board and got them to overlook his low GPA) couldn't get him admitted
Tony: takes personal responsibility for the money the trail is costing my parents and applied for (and received) several scholarships
Michael: still does whatever his dad tells him, to the point where he's still applying to be a lawyer (and studying in the office next door to his dad) even though it's clearly the wrong profession for him (oh and did I mention his dad disliked his girlfriend of several years who he had been living with for a while and so Michael broke it off?)
Tony: said he wanted to be a pro in racquetball (even though he started out pretty clumsy and uncoordinated) and through hard work is going to make it happen
Michael: all the work in the world doesn't seem to get him to achieve his father's goals
Tony: has gotten in some trouble with the law because he put too much trust in someone sleazy
Michael: had to spend the summer in drug rehab

So of course my uncle is delighted that something is actually going wrong in Tony's life.

Yeah my mom's bitter, and honestly so am I. It's hard for someone to disappoint you when you already have a low opinion of them, but I daresay my uncle has managed it.