My uncle Tommy was the greatest role model of my life.
After my dad died of cancer many years ago, Uncle Tommy would drive us many miles to go camping with him up in the mountains.
I love camping with my uncle Tommy because he always told amazing stories and he taught us several survival techniques, including how to forage for food and how to build a campfire. However, ironically, the best part of these road trips with Uncle Tommy was that we would stop halfway to the mountains at a very fancy hotel. You see, his company paid for the hotel, so he figured we might as well take advantage of it. Uncle Tommy was not particularly fond of staying in such luxurious conditions, as he much preferred the great outdoors, but he appreciated that we loved the luxurious rooms and the swimming pool and jacuzzi, so he would always let us stop there for a day and night before continuing on to the mountains. I remember him chilling by the pool, eating snacks while we played. Then he would toss us a couple really big beach towels and we would head back to the hotel, wet and cold from the freezing air conditioner above us as we headed to the elevator. I loved the air conditioner in the rooms, because it was so powerful and yet so quiet. I also liked the remote control that Uncle Tommy allowed me to use to control the thermostat for him. Yes, I genuinely think I enjoyed the hotel more than the camping!