Eleven children in the “Holiday House” at Christmas time and one adult willing to corral us all. Uncle Mark, Papa or Grandpa; we all called him something different, but when it came down to it, he was the favorite. Mark could do no wrong for so long until one day he was found out for having made one of the biggest mistakes ever; greed had taken over and caused him to topple from the pedestal all eleven kids had him placed so high upon.


A staple at every birth, birthday or holiday were my Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark, the duo whose marriage stood the test of time. The idyllic couple rarely fought and seemed to have the strongest bond around. Aunt Pam and Uncle Mark were the king and queen of the family. They had the gigantic house that the rest of the family would flock to for holidays, the best ideas for gifts, and hearts generous enough to make a child feel like his or her birthday was a national holiday. Things had always been so perfect, until Uncle Mark’s greed took over and caused the relationship to begin its’ rapid descent.
In October of 2004, Aunt Pam put the final piece into the puzzle and found out that Uncle Mark had been having and affair for quite sometime. He thought he could have it all and not get caught, but he turned out to be sorely mistaken. Having realized this, Aunt Pam called a divorce lawyer and Uncle Mark was made to move out. Six months later, Uncle Mark was living in a one-bedroom apartment on the shady side of town with no family to speak of and nothing to do but attempt to reconcile. When reconciliation was considered, but rejected, the divorce was eventually finalized in March of 2005.


























There is no doubt that every one in the family had a different, special bond with him, and then, in a split second bad decision, he was voted off the island and no one was allowed to contact him again. Many Christmases and birthdays have passed without the amazing, 6’5”, uncle standing off to the side waiting to liven up the party. People say that is what he deserved, and he had brought on the punishment himself by committing the crime, but in the eyes of others, the punishment has been too harsh. Despite what he probably wanted to do, he has accepted the punishment and moved on, getting engaged and buying a house, making things somewhat easier on everyone involved.


The end for the Uncle Mark in the family has been a rough one, but each of the two sides has gotten through it. Both now remarried, hard feelings between the “indestructible couple” have been put aside, but as for the family, we’re divided. The tragic hero in our family made his mistake, accepted the consequences, but has gotten a much better ending than that of the ancient Greek tragic heroes, making the ending alright, but certainly not happily ever after.