From left to right: Halver, Joy, John D

So my Uncle John D, and my Uncle Halver are actually my grandmother's brothers. She loves this picture, because she can see so much of her brother's personalities in it.

I could tell you story after story about my great aunts and uncles, about their childhood, growing up in an American settlement in Mexico where my great-granddad Vance was foreman on Heart's horse ranch. I could tell you about the first time I met them. I could tell you all about the fact that I grew up with my grandma's siblings as mythic heroes, and that still wouldn't give you any idea about these men.

And then I read Lonesome Dove. And I thought, " How funny...they kind of remind me of Uncle John D and Uncle Halver."

And then I saw the movie adaptation. And I thought, "Holy crap, Gus and Woodrow are my uncles!"

That's the best I can do...for now. Maybe one day I'll tell you about the cougar. Or the horse thieves. Or the bonfire....

Maybe one day, but not today.

My Uncle John D is a quiet, stubborn, noble sort of man. The kind of man that shakes your hand, and makes you feel like you've earned something. At least, that's how I know him. He's also well over 6 feet tall, lean, and walks with an easy saunter, unless he's angry.

I found out last night that he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Fun facts about lung cancer?

~The expected 5-year survival rate for all patients in whom lung cancer is diagnosed is 15 percent compared to 63 percent for colon, 88 percent for breast and 99 percent for prostate cancer.
~The 5-year survival rate is 49 percent for cases detected when the disease is still localized. However, only 16 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at an early stage. For distant tumors the 5-year survival rate is just over 2 percent.
~About 6 out of 10 people with lung cancer die within 1 year of being diagnosed with the disease. Between 7 and 8 will die within 2 years.

He had an operation today...his lungs were filling with fluid. They're going to do all they can for him, which amounts to putting a pool patch on the Titanic. In the end, they're going to make the time he has left as comfortable as possible.

He lives in Durango, and I haven't actually seen him since the last family reunion, when I was in 8th grade. And yet...I can't really stop crying right now. It didn't hit me until this afternoon, and I really didn't expect to take it this incredibly hard, but....yeah.

So positive thoughts, if you will, that his end comes before too much pain and indignity. I'm off to drown my unplanned emotions in Guinness and Mythbusters.