A couple of months ago, I told one of my sons that he could read a book off our bookshelf. Umm, that sounds weird. I mean he asked if he could read a book of “this shelf”, and I said yes, any shelf “over there”. It was quiet time, and I was trying to work, so I just needed him to pick a book already, any book! Read!

Anyway, he picked a book, and read it for a bout three seconds before he called out, “hey, what’s this paper?”

Well, that paper happened to be a check that my aunt had written for my cousin’s youth council dues, way back in the day. My cousin and I had served on Youth Council together in high school, and although I can no longer remember the purpose and function of the program, I do remember that we had a lot of fun going all the way to the county seat for the monthly meetings.

Can you see the huge amount of the dues? Here is a close-up:

Yeah, a whopping $5. Can you name an extra curricular activity today that costs just five bucks?

And here is another thing. My kids have never met this cousin. We were tight as tight could be all through high school, and then we had a fight one day, and never made it right, and haven’t really spoken since. Actually, that’s not even true. What really happened is that she spoke a word of truth to me that I wasn’t ready to hear, and I quit talking to her. And by the time I realized several years later that she was saying something I should hear, it was too late. I called her a while back, and she was convinced that I must want something. Of course, there was quite a bit of stuff going on in our extended family at the time, but I had no ulterior motive with my call. I just wanted to say hello.

And one more thing. I keep this picture in my bedroom. I bought it only because it looks so much like my cousin. Love you, Shirley. Miss you, still!