When Families Don’t Talk: Mark Opens Up

Today I'm talking about relatives that you don't talk to. And there are all kinds of reasons that cause it. Divorce, they don't like your spouse, they borrowed money that never got paid back. The list goes on and on.

I've got a couple of cousins in Alabama that I haven't talked to in 30 years. But for us, I think it's mostly geographical. I mean I've been down there to see my aunt a few times. But they have never visited me in Montana. And I've tried to find them on Facebook. But their last name is Johnson. So I haven't been able to track them down yet.

I didn't speak to my little sister for over a year because she chose to do drugs over her family. And back before cell phones if you lived in different towns, it was hard to track people down. Even if all you wanted to do was yell at them.

Then there was my Uncle Jerry. He was my mom's older brother. He graduated high school in Great Falls and then immediately moved to New York City. He supposedly attended acting classes with Dustin Hoffman. But apparently couldn't make it as an actor. And to tell you the truth, I don't know what he did for a living. But he had some sort of midlife crisis. He left his first wife and son. And moved to Holland. (I know. Crazy, right?)

He never responded to any correspondence from anybody in our family except for the snotty e-mails he sent my mom about her political views. So I never got to talk to him after I was a grown-up. And I'm told that he passed recently. So no I'll never be able to ask him about his choices.