Uncle Ed

This is my late Uncle Eddie in Detroit. He was a union boss (treasurer), sprinkler fitters union and he got my dad a job that he kept for his entire working life. Uncle Eddie used the N-word a lot. He hated them with a passion. I suppose he had his reasons. I didnt share his views, but I loved my Uncle Eddie. I lived with him and his family while I was in art school in Detroit. When I got the job at the television station for the wacky preaching show, this family--good Catholics--freaked out! But they watched every night, to hear me commentate, and when I would come home at 11:00 at night, they would pester me with inquiries about the bizarre things that they witnessed. Everything that they thought was fake healings, I would have to tell them the inside scoop. Eventually, since we knew that Uncle Ed was watching, I would have dear sweet Cleta, in her southern drawl, dedicate a song to "Brother Ed". That would make his hair curl, but I think deep down he appreciated it, even though his family would ridicule him in an uproar.