the funniest person you will ever meet

my dear uncle paul recently started a blog and the stories about his life are fascinating. his writing is second to none. all i can say is that his writing is comedic genius.

paulie as he is affectionately known as by our family was a kid himself when i was born, a mere nine years old. he has told me many times (and i love to hear it every time) that he loved me like a puppy. we spent a fair bit of time together when we were kids. i owe him a big thank you for getting me hooked on the beatles at the ripe old age of five. when i started to live with my dad i didn't see much of him over the next few years but we started to reconnect when i was about eighteen. in 1994 i moved to toronto to go to school and paulie was the only person i knew in that great big monster. i still remember the day i moved into the dorm. he came to the school to take me out for ice cream. i always had a place to go if i was feeling lonely. his door was always open, literally sometimes, even when he wasn't home. i could always count on paulie to get me tickets to see a second city show, usually to opening night so we (christian and i) could go to the after party. in a small way he helped becky and i get together - a second city show was our first date. he was always around for breakfast at the grapefruit moon or for a beer at paupers. and of course he would always make me laugh.

i talk to paulie about once a month since we moved away and i miss him. and now i can read some of the funniest stuff ever written. he is more than an uncle, in a very real sense he has become a big brother to me. thanks paulie.