First Tuesday of February

This is a picture of my sister's former neighbor Skag Wylie from Montana. The young man sitting next to him is Shawn Michael. Skag's former wife Nivea's grandson. I remember Shawn Michael as a small boisterous boy with big ideas. He use to stay with Skag and Nivea when they were married and his mom was trying to discover her role in life. His mom found a guy to marry and Shawn Michael was brought back into his mom's life. The removal of Shawn Michael added to the tension of Skag and Nivea's marriage. Sadly the marriage did not hold together. I was use to thinking of them as a couple and not separate hearts with no one to love. People tend to grow up too fast. Yet, I still have the pleasant memory of my Granddad teaching me to bait my hook with a giant squishy earthworm that was cold and slimy to the touch. I would toss in my line from the neighbor's dock along the Tippy Canoe River and get my line stuck in the rocks. My Granddad would fuss at me and try to teach me how to untangle my line. Lots of times he had to do it for me. Yet he seemed more patient about it than my dad. Somehow getting my line stuck in the rocks took the fun out of my dad's fishing. My Granddad seemed to go with the flow and accept it as part of the fishing experience. Skag did help my sister bury her prize baby horse that killed himself by running into a tree. This was lightening of a great burden for my sister. I am sure she appreciated the help he gave her. I was always kind of amazed how my mom knew so well Logansport where she grew up as a child. She could identify buildings, places, rivers, and things that were no longer there. I felt like I was sharing someone else's history. It was like stepping into a time machine with my mom and traveling with her to her youth. I would choose to attend my parent's wedding, if I could step back in time for a brief period. I would love to hear the "Ave Maria" that was sung. I would love to capture the expressions of the bride and groom as they exchange their vows of marriage. I would love to see my Aunt Jean as the Maid of Honor. I would love to see the facial expressions of the members of my dad's family and members of my mom's family sitting in the pews. I would love to see the friends at the wedding and establish how they were connected to the bride and groom. Sadly this could never happen, but I can have the memory of my mom and Uncle Forrest fussing over who was going to pay the check when we went out to eat. I found it humorous to see two grown people argue over a small subject. I looked at it like a source of pride. One thing I can say about the people of Indiana, they have the most giving spirit of all the states in this country. They don't think twice about giving to someone in need of help. I don't have such an elaborate history, but I can look at events happening on the Internet. I do have Lillian's wedding to enjoy. I can enjoy the sea life of the pelicans, sea gulls and occasionally see a dolphin in the water. I can look at the beach goers and try and capture the interesting ones on my camera. This is what a new day brings in New Smyrna Beach, Florida.