Life in the Cheese Drawer

while growing up, it was inevitable that friday nights would be spent with an aunt, uncle or cousin. it was like 21-year-olds’ partying and boozing needs on fridays, except for the kiddies. so i packed my bags and went to whichever relative was the relative du jour.
for about 5-6 years of my life, that was my uncle squire. he doted on my sibs and me so much, and looking back i can’t see how he did it so well since he had so little money. he would buy us anything we asked for. he would always make a grumbledy grumble about how much something cost as he dug out his greenbacks, but we knew deep down that he liked doing it (and he did).
so it came no surprise to me that when he died, he kind of became my patron saint of money (if there can be such a thing). a patron saint of financial well-being is more like it.
this became blatantly apparent to me when nate and i went to visit his mom in the hospital last year shortly before she died. i had just been laid off about a month before and we were strapped for cash. on the drive there, not knowing what to expect from the day, from his family, and even from him, i prayed (yes, me, i do actually pray sometimes) fiercely to squire for help. i didn’t know what kind of help, just help, and i knew he would give it to me.
after staying in the hospital for the day (and not encountering anything abnormal), nate and i decided to go back home. we needed to get some food somewhere, so i decided to stop at the hospital ATM to get some cash in case we ended up at some greasy spoon that didn’t accept credit cards (of which squire would have most certainly approved).
so i walked up to the ATM, inserted my card, and just happened to look down before finishing the transaction.
there in the cash dispenser well was a $20 bill. my immediate thought: squire.
i looked around furtively to see if someone was rushing back to the ATM to get their cash, then cancelled my transaction, pocketed the $20, and nate and i went to find a place to eat.
coincidence? i don’t think so. squire had definitely pulled through.