Uncle Itch was a folk music enthusiast. You could always hear him singing Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger or Peter, Paul and Mary songs. Some songs he sang just stuck with you. I still can’t get the song, “The Cat Came Back” out of my head whenever he’s around. His main instrument was the guitar, though that didn’t stop him from attempting other instruments. He has also learned to play the fiddle, mandolin, and harmonica as a performer. He told us that he took piano lessons as a child for a short time and in Junior High School he played the trumpet. As an adult he tried learning the viola, string bass, saxophone, and both hammered and mountain dulcimers, but just couldn’t stick with them.
October 2009
Uncle Itch
Posted on October 13, 2009 at 12:50 pm in
As Dave Barry says, “You can only be young once. But you can always be immature.” That is probably not the best way to describe a good way to grow up, but it sure explained my Uncle Itch. His real name is Herman, but to me he’ll always be Uncle Itch (short for Uncle H). Itch being that he was always there to tickle your funny bone through pratfalls, silly voices or crazy tales. Uncle Itch is our family storyteller. He always has a tale to share and never tells it the same way twice. I always looked forward to a visit from Uncle Itch.
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