Monday, May 20, 2013

I remember meeting my uncle, Scoop Eshelman , for the first time when I was about 6 or 7.  I’m sure I had met him previously, but my family had moved from Iowa when I was 2, and I had so many uncles and aunts, (Dad had 10 siblings, Mom had 3, all of whom lived close to Iowa) it was hard to keep them all straight. He and my aunt, Barbara had come to Arizona from Omaha to visit during the winter.  As you might imagine, winter is a popular time to visit Arizona.  Scoop had forgotten his razor and had been to the drug store to buy a new one. The razor company had included with the purchase a promotional book about space, featuring Alan Shepherd, the first American to travel into space.  As a peace offering for giving up my bedroom, he gave me that book which I still have due to my nearly complete inability to get rid of a book.  During the same trip, the Great Squirt Gun war began.  For a reason I cannot begin to remember, each time Scoop and I saw each other over the next 10 or 15 years, and we only saw each other infrequently, one or the other or both of us would come to the meeting armed with a squirt gun.  The surprise of being blasted unexpectedly made family reunions and other visits an adventure I didn’t share with anyone else.  It wasn’t until years later when Barb and Scoop made their home in the Phoenix area that I really got to know my uncle.  He was one of the most gentle and polite and kind men I had ever come to know.  He was always genuinely concerned about each member of my family and never wanted to be a burden to anyone. He was a great example of what a gentleman should be.  Restoring player pianos became a hobby he enjoyed in his later years and I was fascinated by his persistence in acquiring parts and supplies and rebuilding beautiful pianos and collecting the paper rolls that made them play.  I am still jealous of the talent he had in crafting those vintage instruments.  Scoop became ill recently and at 85 years of age, passed away on May 15, 2013.  I will treasure the memories I have of him and will miss his always smiling face when I go home to visit.