Uncle Dale

Wit and perspective

I don’t know when it started, probably in the early two-thousands when Bud Light had those iconic Super Bowl commercials that led men across the country to shout “Wazzzzzaaaaap?” at one other. But at some point, Dale and I started elongating the vowels and turning our “hellos” into extended, drawn-out, “Daaaay-aaaahls” and “Mitch-ees” because that’s the type of man he is.

Two of his sons are similar in age to my brother Dylan and I, so we spent thousands of hours at their house growing up, and I feel like I know my Uncle Dale better than many of the other uncles. Funny, gregarious, and ridiculously confident, he’s an easy man to chat with. And God hasn’t made a human with greater wit. 

In church a few weeks ago, we were chatting with someone from out of town whose children are all in college. She was surprised to hear my Aunt Joan and Dale’s youngest is still in middle school, saying, “Wow, you guys kept going, hey?” To which Dale smiled and quickly replied, “Yeah, Joan never understood ‘no.’” The few of us who heard the joke widened our eyes and held in laughs, and he continued, “Ah, we’re in the back (of the church). We can make those jokes.” 

He’s light-hearted and has a playful energy, spotting a friend across the church and holding his cupped hands over his eyes like binoculars, honking and waving at random people on our recent road trip to Milwaukee, or taking credit for his son’s golf shots a few summers back, claiming it’s all about his technique… during conception. He’s got ten children; he’s allowed to make those jokes. Whenever I hear Thunder by AC/DC, I think of when we were kids, and Dale was bringing us to the ice rink. The song came on, and he flipped his hat backward and started screaming, “THUN-DER!” while punching the roof of the vehicle. He did it just to make a car full of children laugh hysterically. That’s my Uncle Dale. 

He’ll have you rolling on the ground laughing and will effortlessly become the Chairman of the sit-on-the-deck-and-chill session and lead the conversation. 

And I’m learning he has a surprising depth and perspective on life, love, and faith.