Narrative essay structure and techniques

¶ … uncle started to open his first bottle of beer for breakfast. Everyone figured he would grow out of it, that at age 35 he was under a lot of stress and it was understandable that he needed a chemical crutch before getting his life back in order. Having lost his job two months earlier and saddled down by raising a five-year-old child on his own, my uncle Ramos could be forgiven for any number of transgressions. He was the kind of guy that got on everybody's good side because his personality was so smooth and likeable. Ramos always had a girlfriend. He probably had too many girlfriends, which is why he ended up with a child he never asked for. Testament to his honorable nature, Ramos took care of baby Bryant when Joline died. I believe Ramos really loves his kid even though it seems now that he might be unfit to raise him. Last month my cousin, five-year-old Bryant, was diagnosed with autism. My uncle now faced a new battle, and alcohol and drugs were the only weapons he knew how to use against his fear and pain.

When I was ten I remember hearing how Uncle Ramos got busted and would be in jail for a while. No one would say what he got in trouble for, but I now suspect he might have had some weed on him. At the time I thought it was kind of cool, having a crazy uncle. It seemed like all my friends also had uncles like him. Ramos was always nice to me and everyone else in my family so no one held it against him. He was always welcome in our home, although I recall my dad and him arguing once because Ramos wanted to stay over a while and my dad said no. Ramos also asked my dad for money; I know that because my mom told me and my mom never lies. When my dad refused to lend him the money my mom snuck him $200 and told him never to tell anyone, especially my dad. He never did tell anyone, not even me.

After I graduated high school, Uncle Ramos offered to take me with him to Hawaii on vacation. Can you believe what that meant to me? Surprisingly my parents agreed and Ramos and I spent a heavenly ten days basking on the beach in Maui. Ramos had a different girlfriend each night but I didn't care, because I met someone too. My first real romance blinded me to the trouble Ramos got into at the beach house, and I didn't ask any questions when we got kicked out of our room and had to spend the night in a dirty motel near the airport. All I knew was that Ramos treated me to a vacation of a lifetime and I might have met the love of my life.

The love of my life faded, and when Ramos and I returned home I had to work and so did he. We didn't see each other very often. It seemed Ramos was trying to get his life together by working hard. When he started dating Joline his life became more complicated. Joline was white, and Ramos' dad was prejudiced. Not only was Joline white but she also worked as an exotic dancer. With two strikes against her, Joline was not welcome in our family even though she was one of the sweetest people I have ever met. I was happy they were together because Ramos seemed happy and the two of them made a good-looking couple.

Then Joline got pregnant. Ramos told no one until the baby was almost born. One day he just called me up and said, "Joline is having a baby. I'll tell you what sex it is when it comes out next week. Later!" didn't think anything of it; Ramos was thirty years old and I thought it was good that he would be settling down finally. Part of me knew that the baby would be trouble and I felt sorry for the kid before he was even born. Yet another part of me knew Ramos would make a good dad and that the baby could change his life for the better. Maybe he would stop getting into so much trouble.

Joline and Ramos never got married. After the car crash Ramos told me that he was planning on asking her to marry him that very night. I asked Ramos if he was drinking that night and he said no. Now I realize he must have been lying because when he got picked up by the police for drunk driving they took him straight to jail and now Ramos has no driver's license. Having no driver's license meant that Ramos couldn't get to work, which meant that he lost his job. Losing his job was probably the straw that broke the camel's back.