ANOTHER THEORY ABOUT WHY UNCLE ALBERT NEVER MARRIED.

Even though Uncle Albert never married, he had a girlfriend that my brother Buddy and I remembered when we were young. We watched him enjoy a special friendship for years.

ANOTHER STORY ABOUT WHY UNCLE ALBERT NEVER MARRIED.

This sign is near Uncle Albert's farm. 

Uncle Albert put two plates on his table, and every time he put something on his plate he put the same thing on the other plate. 

After a week, he decided it would cost too much to have a wife. She would eat too much.

This story circulated throughout south Smith County. My sister-in-law’s sister reminded me of it. Those of us who knew him well understood why this legend was untrue. Albert was generous with his extended family to a fault. 

UNCLE ALBERT HAD A REPUTATION OF BEING A WISE MAN. 

He invested his money carefully.

Many of the business people of Taylorsville spent time on his front porch because he was known for his wisdom and wit.  He would listen carefully to his friends as they told him their problems.  Shaking his head and grinning, he would offer his advice.  If he could see that someone was thinking erroneously, he would not hesitate to speak his mind.  On the other hand if he approved of a person’s ideas, he would say, “You’re the doctor.”

Although he lived his life on his country front porch, he knew what was happening in the world.

He subscribed to The Clarion Ledger, which he received in the mail a day late.  Every afternoon he read his newspapers, which he filed in stacks in an unfurnished room of his house.  Once Uncle Albert, dressed in his best straw hat, clean overalls, and a blue chambray shirt, rode to Jackson on the Trailways bus and went to his nephew John Edwin’s law office to offer counsel to the young lawyer.

My brother Buddy and I knew about his girlfriend. This relationship lasted as long as we could remember.

Every Saturday, Uncle Albert would clean up and change into his best overalls and blue chambray shirt or sometimes khaki shirt. He’d sit reading on his front porch.

Every Saturday afternoon, Mama, Daddy, Buddy, and I would go to town. It was a ritual. The country people went to Taylorsville and spent the afternoon. We had to pass his house to get there.  He and a certain lady sat on his front porch, and her car was parked in his yard. Sometimes we saw the car, and no one was on the porch. We assumed they went to look at his pear tree.

Every Saturday afternoon, an attractive, prosperous, and prominent widow from Taylorsville dressed in her finery and drove down to Albert’s house to discuss his investments. She didn’t need his money—we knew she wasn’t trying to gold dig. She was one of Taylorsville’s wealthiest citizens. When Daddy teased him, Albert grinned and looked away. “We’re just talking about the best way for me to save my money.”

My father, Albert's baby brother, wouldn't let it go. "She sure stays a long time."

These days, it seems wonderful that Uncle Albert enjoyed his life in some secret ways.

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In HOUSE OF SEVEN  a mysterious character named Uncle Albert, has a completely different story. We’ll talk about this man, named in honor of my Uncle Albert, another day. Look for  a post soon called, “The Other Uncle Albert—Why He Never Married.”