My uncle Mike had a heart attack on Monday. It seems to be a common occurrence in our family.
Mike was the one I looked forward to seeing the most at Christmas. I never really knew much about his life or what he did for work, but none of that mattered because he brought the best snacks. When all the adults in the room were having their boring adult talk, he paid attention to me.
One Christmas Mike gave me a disappointingly simple gift: a plastic container containing ten, like-sized plastic monkeys. One by one, he showed me how to connect their wildly extended arms.
I still remember this gift.