My uncle and honestly, looking back now from years, almost a decade away… for his laugh.
Uncle Dany’s laugh was loud, - obnoxious even. Contagious. It had the same theatrical quality to it that Kody’s has. I recognize it now. It’s a vibe. It’s a little too much. It has a twinge of sckootchy evil in it. It can get you in trouble - a stage laugh. Only it’s the most authentic stage laugh you’ll ever hear.
It had an altruistic quality to it too though. It could wrap around you like a hug, tell you it’s all gonna be alright. It could protect you from the crap and point you toward the humor; the upside. One of the last times we were with him - just him and I visiting my father - a nurse ran in saying she thought she was about to break up a party. But it was just him, his laugh, and our addrd choral echoes. He could even make a hospital room sound like a party. I guess that’s why I think I most miss him at funerals.
But I still hear him often in Kody’s laugh - in Niky’s too. Most of all I hear it in my own. And when that happens, I literally laugh louder because I’m kinda laughing with somebody that I know I will always hear. And he taught me how to do that. Now I hope I get to teach it even if only to one person, it’ll all be worth it.