It is more than appropriate to make Uncle Coleman the first in this series of Posts about my uncles.
Many Blog readers knew him well. He was in many respects my second father. Uncle Coleman was Mom's only brother. That's the reason my middle name is the same as his.
For several years his family and our family shared a single large house on a small farm in Southern Indiana. His children are more like siblings to me.
My Dad and Uncle Coleman were best friends for over 80 years. They were co-valedictorians of their KY high school class.
Uncle Coleman, like my mother and one of her sisters, had high cheek bones. Part of our family oral history is our grandmother was part Cherokee Indian. At his funeral several people remarked that I resembled him more than some of his children---upon second thought that may have meant I looked dead !! Uncle Coleman's chin seemed to be chiseled from material which supported his ever present smile. He could tell you the time of day with a smile and a half laugh which would make you glad you asked him.
Unlike my mother, his face was more angular than her round face. He had a full head of hair throughout his life---something I envied! His nose, like mine, was size Native American large. He seemed to have a year-round tan. His quiet dark eyes bespoke his personality. He was a walking billboard for overalls. Sometimes he would wear them without an undershirt.
I never heard him utter a curse word. Later in life I recall that he called everyone---"Honey" He was a genuine Christian. He and wife Corrine served as a "home away home" for many relatives and their children. These were not overnight sleep overs. Stays were sometimes several months long. In one incident a girl friend of one of my cousins and her brother, spent several months with Uncle Coleman's family. During a prolonged hospitalization of my mother, I stayed with his family.
He had calloused Christian hands. Uncle Coleman spent some of his vacation time working at his church's camp. He called it "Camp Meeting" ----an old time reference to intense Christian worship and praise.
Often he would play his guitar and sing in his church. If I close my eyes and rewind the memory tape I can almost hear his guitar and him singing 'On The Jericho Road ,There's Room For Just Two, No More And No Less, Just Jesus And You.'
Uncle Coleman and I often talked about Southern Gospel Music. His favorite groups were not fancy symphonic productions. He believed the message made the song. One of my favorite memories is the time Uncle Coleman, his youngest son, my wife and I went to an all-night gospel singing in Indianapolis. This was decades before 911 and the fans could bring coolers, picnic baskets, lawn chairs, etc. I had more fun than an adult should have by convincing my almost teenage cousin that my cooler was filled with rattlesnakes and about midnight I was going to see who really was in the Spirit and pass them around.
That same evening I went by the record tables and there was Uncle Coleman buying a 3 for $10 special. He saw me and said,"I guess I'll have to tell Rinney (his nickname for Aunt Corrine) what happened to the rent money!" During some of the songs that night I saw a lot of mist in his eyes. Must have that big city night air! That same evening my wife got to shake hands with one of the legendary icons of Southern Gospel Music---Jimmy Blackwood as he came singing into the audience.
About 4am the crowd was getting tired and restless. Then the Speer Family came on and must have sung "I never shall forget the day!" about a dozen times. That crowd was sleepy no more. Yes, we were all in the Spirit by then and made it until the benediction was given as the sun up over the city of Indianapolis. (I did confess earlier to my cousin my big lie about the cooler containing rattlesnakes---actually the cooler had KFC and RCs.)
I deeply regret I was never able to go with him and his two oldest sons to the National Quartet Convention in Louisville, KY.
TO BE CONTINUED
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