I Know A Guy

As far back as I can remember, my Uncle Gary - younger brother of my late father - has been involved with one type of business or another. Each of these ventures has brought him into contact with a variety of suppliers and tradesmen with whom he has kept in contact over time. For many years he was "Frederick the Mattress King" of East 33rd Street and consequently knew many of the other business owners in the neighborhood.

My uncle has also always known where the best deals on anything could be found. It was he who turned me on to Costco (then Price Club) in the early 1990's. As a result of all of these contacts and knowledge of bargains, one of my uncle's common responses when one expresses a need to buy something is "I know a guy . . ."

In 1993 when Betsy and I moved into our first apartment, we needed some bookshelves with odd dimensions to fit a particular space. After an exhaustive and fruitless search for pre-built units, we mentioned our quest to Uncle Gary who responded, "I know a guy." Two weeks later and voila - we had well-built custom bookcases that fit the spot precisely for a reasonable price. They came with us to where we live now and we still use them. More recently, Betsy was bemoaning the price of quality cookware. Gary's response: "I know a place . . ." and Betsy is now in contact with a supplier in New Jersey.

All of this might seem somewhat ordinary, except that Gary is a consummate New Yorker with a seemingly gruff exterior which masks the teddy bear within. A gravely voice and knowing look (complete with raised eyebrow) can make it seem like his recommendations are somewhat nefarious or fell off the back of a truck. Of course this isn't the case, but it perpetuates a caricature that amuses me.

Recently, we have been dealing with my Aunt Judy's unexpected hospitalization and now confinement in a hospice with only weeks or possibly months to live. Judy - Gary and my dad's baby sister - never married and did not have an extensive support system. Consequently Gary, with the help of his wife Gail and support from my brother and I, has taken the lead in ensuring that she has adequate care and arranging her affairs. Upon learning of her prognosis, Judy and Gary had some frank discussions regarding the future and Judy expressed a desire to be cremated.

Last week, I brought up the subject of the funeral and cremation with Gary. I do not know anything about the cremation process and wanted to start exploring options with him. Gary stopped me in mid-sentence with, "I know a guy."

It is my belief that one can find humor in even the most morbid of situations, and I could not help bursting out in laughter at the notion that in Gary's travels through life, he knew someone that would give us a great deal on cremation. Gary explained the circumstances of how he came to know such a resource. It was not the story that amused me, but the fact that somewhere in Gary's brain, in the vast file cabinet marked "Great Deals", there is a folder bearing the label "Cremation."

I love my uncle and I love that this is a facet of his character that makes him uniquely him. This has also confirmed for me that as I go through life, should anyone I know need anything, be it a product or a service, I can proudly turn to them and say, "I know a guy."