The LuLac Edition #1484, Feb. 20th, 2011

PHOTO INDEX: MY LATE UNCLE JOE "LEFTY" PRIBULA, WHO WAS MY GODFATHER WITH HIS GRANDSON CONNOR JOSEPH.
(SEE ARCHIVES, LULAC EDITION #1214, JUNE 20TH 2010).

THE EXIT CONTINUES

Every day we lose more people from what was term as “The Greatest Generation”. Last week my Godfather, Joseph “Lefty” Pribula passed away at the age of 87. My uncle could be described in many ways but to me he was “the guy” He was “the guy” who visited our home most weekends when he and his his wife came down from Towanda to go out with their friends on the West Side. A visit from him meant that we would build an elaborate model of some kind out of my building blocks. He was “the guy” who had the wife who would give me a shiny new dime every time she sat down at the kitchen table. (Don’t laugh, dimes were a big thing back in the late 50s!!) He was “the guy” who made sure every nephew had the chance to inspect his company car provided by Commonwealth Telephone. He was “the guy” who educated me as to the greatness of the Green Bay Packer teams of the early 1960s. He was “the guy” who drove me and my mom to Philadelphia’s Wills Eye Hospital when I was having major eye issues that almost threatened my sight. He was “the guy” who was outraged by Richard Nixon’s disregard for the Constitution. He was “the guy” who always dropped in on my mom as she aged to make sure she was okay. Sometimes he stayed and gabbed for hours. He was "the guy" who substituted the word "blazes" for hell. His golf and bowling buddies called him "Lefty". Until P.J. his son came along, because I was a left hander, I'd get his old cracked golf clubs. He was “the guy” that became the defacto Vice President of my cousin P.J’s business enterprises. He was “the guy” that never told me about his exploits during WWII. I found out about his role in that conflict when he went to his reunions of the old Army Air Corps. He was “the guy” who supported me in every endeavor, driving to my book signings and buying my books for God knows who. He was “the guy” who booked his air flights with me when I worked for the on line pagan travel company even when I told him all I got out of it was a 15 cent commission. He was “the guy” who overcame cancer and heart disease. He was “the guy” who was thrilled by the birth of his grandson, Connor Joseph. He was “the guy” we all looked up to and who made us better by osmosis. He was “the guy” who was my “Godfather”. He’s gone now, and will be buried tomorrow. He’ll be remembered as a father, a brother, a husband, a grand father, an uncle, a cousin, a relative, a co worker, an employee, a boss, a friend, a neighbor, a citizen and a Godfather. But to me, he will always remain “The Guy”.