My Rich Uncle Was a 21st Century Ebenezer Scrooge

He died suddenly a year ago, and there are so many questions.

One of my favorite holiday movies is “A Christmas Carol” starring George C. Scott from 1984. He is the epitome of how I picture Scrooge. Cranky, rough and hard to get along with.

Until recently, I didn’t realize I had a parallel in my own life, starring my Uncle W., the 21st century version of Ebenezer Scrooge.

The grandson of immigrants, he was the oldest of 3 brothers, stubborn and loved money. He loved his family more, meaning his 3 kids but he was always after the dollar. Uncle W. was a scrooge with his time and money.

I always picture him as tall, loud and in charge. He pretty much told everyone what to do and how to live. My dad adored his older brother and wanted to be like him.

GHOSTS OF CHRISTMAS PAST

In the original Christmas Carol, Ebenezer takes a walk through his past, kind of like a waking dream. He sees himself as a boy, then a young man, falling in love. He decides money is more important than love and that’s when his life goes down a different path.

Uncle W. chose love but he also chose money. He was lightning focused on pushing his kids ahead. Meanwhile, my parents were struggling with bills and putting food on the table, especially while General Electric had issues with strikes and layoffs in the 80’s. I remember as a kid sitting on the floor in the living room, because we had no couch. We couldn’t afford it. Our uncle knew about this but did nothing. Our grandfather swooped in and bought us a couch. Uncle W. didn’t care we had no money.

He was busy with working, sports, his kids and his social life. His brother’s problems were not his problem.

I wonder if he could go back in time, if he would have been kinder and helped out at times? I’ll never know.

GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PRESENT