Uncle Jim

My heroe is my Uncle Jim, on my dad's side of the family. He is crazy and funny and keeps a positive outlook on life even when things are going rough. He is a preacher and volunteers as a clown, bunny and other funny things to make people laugh. Many people call him "Hoppy" because of his last name Hoipkemier, his clown name is Floppy. He is the fourth youngest out of five kids, there are four boys and only one girl. He was the baby of the family until my dad took that away from him when he was five years old. He was not happy at first when my dad was born, but my dad grew on him and he learned to love him too.

When my Uncle was young, he and his family built a cabin together, it is an A frame, and actually looks like the letter A. It was in the woods near a lake in Oklahoma. There they took lots of family vacations, but sometimes when they wanted to be alone it was a good place to go too, to get away from everyone. As they got older they brought their families there too and built more memories. My dad has taken me there, but I didn't get to see the inside because it was locked. I am hoping to get to go see it someday too.

Uncle Jim is a preacher and is very involved with the youth groups. He and his wife, Aunt Carol, have taken mission trips to go to other countries to bring Jesus to people. They have gone to Russia and China to help hand out Bibles and teach about the Lord and Savior. They also helped fixed things or help build things like a school building for the kids that didn't have one.

Last year, my uncle was diagnosed with cancer. He was very sick, but he still has a strong, positive spirit. He has never given up hope. His three kids and wife were and are very worried about him, he continues to fight his battle with cancer. He still is crazy as ever and I hope he will get cured from his cancer and live for a long time, just like my dad will.

I admire my uncle because he always makes people laugh, even when he is sick. His wife is crazy too. He once told me that at a restaurant she got a straw and spit some ice through it, he ducked and the ice hit someone else accidentally. They make each other crazy and they make each other laugh.