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Friday, May 15, 2009

Who Is Ratty?

Who is Ratty? That is a short but very complex question. Some of you have wondered about it, and some haven't thought about it at all. Most of us use pseudonyms here on the internet. This one is different though. Ratty is a legend. Ratty was a hero. Today I am Ratty, but I'm not the original. Ratty was my uncle, and Ratty was my best friend.

I said this was a pseudonym for me, and obviously it wasn't his real name either. I use it here on the internet, the same as any of you use yours. It was his for a much more interesting reason. I didn't just take his name for just any old reason. I did it because I guess I'm also the one who gave it to him. This is going to take some explaining, because it's a very different kind of story.

This story starts when I was only a baby. And yes, although it may sound unusual, I do remember back that far. One of my few remaining memories of my favorite uncle was when he used to bring me piles of change. I used to drop the coins down into the cracks of my grandparents' front steps. It was a fun thing for a little kid to do, and he didn't mind at all.

It was around this time that my uncle was drafted into the army, and into one of the worst wars in our country's history. He became a tank driver, which sounds like it would be a pretty safe job in a war, and it was. He used to send me pictures of him standing beside the tank. One of them showed where they had run over a land mine. The explosion created a huge hole in the ground. The tank was mostly undamaged.

One time, when his tank was in for repairs, he volunteered to go on a rescue mission. My grandpa told him never to volunteer for things like that. He did anyway. They went to rescue some wounded soldiers. They were given a kind of truck that was known for not having any protection at all. This time it was the truck that ran over a land mine. My uncle didn't come back alive.

I was only a little older than two years old at this time. I didn't understand the concept of death yet, so my mom decided not to take me to the funeral. There also wasn't any real way to tell me about him yet. It was about this time that I received a visit from somebody. It might sound strange, but the visitor was my uncle.

I still remember that day. My mom and I were in the kitchen, and my mom had to go down to the basement for something. The back door was open, but the outside screen door was locked. I watched as my uncle came up the stairs of the back porch to the door. I told him that I would go get my mom for him, but he said not to do it because he was in a hurry, and the one he came to talk to was me.

I don't remember much of the conversation anymore, I was only a few years old after all. I do remember that he told me he would be back. My mom came up the stairs soon after he left. After she asked me who I was talking to, I told her it was my uncle. He was her younger brother.

To this day, my mom tells me she heard me talking to somebody up there. She had her hands full, and was frantically trying to get upstairs. Even back then, kids shouldn't talk to strangers. I knew that very well, but he was not a stranger. My mom knew I was telling the truth as I saw it, and that I must have known who I was talking to. Besides, there was nobody there anymore, not even outside.

Shortly after this happened I made a new friend. He was a kid that was a little older than me. He told me his name was Ratty. I knew him for a long time, and we played together the way little kids do. There was one time where I was teasing my new little brother with a worm, and Ratty took it from me and covered it up so my brother wouldn't be afraid anymore. I learned a new lesson.

This whole time, my parents just assumed that I had an imaginary friend. Lots of little kids have them at some point. At the same time all of this was happening, my grandma had the idea to put pictures of each family member on one of her living room walls. For my uncle, she used an old picture from when he was a little kid. It had been packed away for several years, and nobody had seen it in all that time.

When we went to visit my grandparents, I immediately noticed that picture. I identified it as my best friend Ratty. I was much too young to have ever seen this picture before. Nobody else knew what to think of this, but they most likely dismissed it as the imagination of a small child. Wouldn't you?

I continued to play with my friend, but through the years his visits became less and less frequent. They finally stopped shortly before I started school. He still occasionally visited me in my dreams, but it just wasn't the same.

Was this all only the imagination of a child? Or was it something much more special? I don't have that answer for you, because I simply don't know. I do know that it was all real to me, and I still remember everything, including his face.

So, who is Ratty? That was Ratty. I use this name to honor my uncle, and my best friend. Thanks Ratty. I'll never forget.

21 comments:

  1. Wow, that is a historical name, if you ask me. Thanks for sharing the story...

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  2. What a wonderful story and thanks for sharing. Ratty sounded like a wonderful man. It's amazing how much children can see vs. adults. A child has an open mind with endless possibilites. Fascinating about the picture looking like your friend.

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  3. That's an incredible story Ratty. Your uncle sounds like the kind of uncle everyone wishes they had.

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  4. It's an amazing story, and how you still remember him as that young age!

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  5. What a cool story, thanks for sharing! I like the name Ratty too.

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  6. i believe it was your uncle that you saw and that became your friend. as we grow older our brains become conditioned, so to speak, that things like that aren't real, it's just your imagination. i believe that children do see things and they are very real. what a wonderful memory you have of your uncle and your friend.

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  7. What a nice story Ratty. I'm surprised you remember that far back. It's nice that your Uncle came to visit you after he died and then became a little boy again so he could be your friend. I do believe that we all, as children, can remember things about our past lives but then it goes away. My Granddaughter is almost four years old and she's always talking about being an older girl that was in school and she just can't wait to go to school.
    Nice tribute to your favorite Uncle Ratty. And I might say......you have grown up to still have a great imagination...Ha! Ha!

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  8. What a wonderful story. I do think those visits could have been very real but either way the memories are priceless and will last forever.

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  9. Kruel - The name has been with me most of my life. I'm glad I use it.
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    Kallen - My uncle was the type of person that everybody seemed to like. I'm glad I am able to still remember him.
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    English Wilderness - He was indeed a very good uncle. I only had my early childhood with him, but I'll never forget.
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    Icy BC - My memory is very long. It's unusual but I can remember when I was a baby.
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    Karen - It's a cool name. I just wish I knew exactly how it came about.
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    PJ - I believe the same thing. I think those things might have frightened an older person. I'm glad I've never really dismissed these memories.
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    Ginnymo - I remember things from even further back than that. I remember when I was a baby. I can tell older family members things from back then that they have forgotten. Your granddaughter might be remembering something. I've been considering doing a post about a past life, but it would have to be labeled as fiction, because that experience is something I'm very unsure about.

    I think if I lost that imagination, I would lose my memories too.
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    Poetic Shutterbug - Yes exactly! Whether they were real or just imagined, they left me with a wonderful thing to last a lifetime. Plus it gives anyone who doesn't believe it something to talk about. :D

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  10. It is beyond my imagination for the astonishing story behind. We use pseudonyms, but most of the times without much wonderful or emotional sentiment on them.

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  11. I enjoyed reading your story very much. I believe that we still know very little about the brain and it’s possibilities and that what we consider surreal now may be every day events in the future.

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  12. Ratty...

    Great story that you share with us here and your uncle really inspired you. I didn't know that this name "Ratty" have a very deep meaning in your life...

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  13. Rainfield - Even the least thought out pseudonyms can become special over time. I identify all of my friends on the internet, like you, by these names. That makes them all special.
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    Vagabonde - It would be a wonderful feeling to eventually learn that these are real memories, and not only the imagination of childhood.

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  14. Rose - Most people don't know the meaning it has for me until now. It is a very strange story, so I never shared much before. I thought it might be kind of interesting though, and maybe my uncle would like it.

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  15. It's too bad you had you had to come by the name the hard way. Whether you imagined it or not doesn't matter. What counts is your love and the 'memories' it inspires.

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  16. I am having goosebumps, you must be very special for your uncle. That kind of memory really is definitely for keeps, bringing inspiration to your lifetime.

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  17. Thanks Ratty, I'll have to tell you about my experience sometime. Scared the #@$*& out of me at the time, now I think it was one of the best warnings I have ever received; saved my life!

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  18. Very memorable name indeed. Thanks for sharing it with us :)

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  19. That is awesome! Maybe it is part of the reason you are an animal whisperer? Clairvoyance and visits from your uncle makes you a sensitive, and I believe animals can sense that in you too.
    You can be grateful for an experience that many of us could not have.

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  20. I really enjoyed your story and why. It is a fabulous honor to your uncle. That's what I call a meaningful memory.

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  21. WiseAcre - The tough part is looking at his army picture and seeing an adult who never got to be much older than a kid.
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    Betchai - I was just lucky because I was his first nephew. Those memories have maybe helped set the path of my whole life.
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    Scott - I'd love to hear your story. I know it will be a great one.
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    Vanilla - It took me a long tome to work up to this story. I'm glad to tell it.
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    The Retired One - I guess that could be. I have a lot more stories I could tell. I'd probably have to label most of them as fiction though. I don't want anyone thinking I'm too crazy. :)
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    Julia - The story was all about my uncle. He had a short life, but it was a great one.

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