Talk about a Throwback Thursday!!

Hello there and good morning. This is a blast from the past. That’s a picture of my cousin Dan and I back when we were about 7 years old:

Check out that fantastic yellow “Jawa” t-shirt I’m wearing! Who would have thought that 37 years later we’d be having another Star Wars movie release due out next month. Wow isn’t that a little amazing in itself?!

Well, this picture has a couple of meanings for me today. One, it is a perfect Throwback Thursday picture. I haven’t changed a bit!

But secondly, my Uncle Frank passed away this month, and spending a little time with my cousin Dan helps. I know what it’s like to lose your father, it’s not a lot of fun. I’ll be heading back to Michigan again over the Thanksgiving weekend to see him and all of the family one more time before 2015 comes to a close.

My uncle was an amazing guy. I would spend summers out in Dearborn Heights, Michigan away from my California home when I was a kid and got to know this family well. Frank taught me how to ride a bike. Awesome! He taught me how to swim! Very helpful. He taught me how to properly pick raspberries, and I still love them. He told me that squirrels bite hard, and that the University of Michigan was the only school to go to. He took me on “The Beast” the first year that it opened and showed me the first Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. He calmed me down when I found leaches on my leg while hunting for cattails in the lake. And he even got me to ride my first motorcycle one year and I’m still riding motorcycles today.

In return, I got to teach the Michiganders all about “Vans” shoes (remember, I was a California boy!) I will never forget my Aunt Connie yelling over the household “who’s plaid shoes are these!?!” I thought that was funny.

I will miss my Uncle Frank, I had the chance to thank him for all of the things that he taught me and tell him how important he was in my childhood. I personally value the “lessons” in life and most of them stuck with me when I was a kid. I’m a firm believer that life is about passing knowledge down to those that you love (and anyone else that will listen in my case) 😉 and my Uncle Frank did his part. Well done.

Hey it’s a happy day, not to worry. Look at me, how could you not smile when you see a kid like this, sporting his Star Wars shirt sitting outside with his cousin buddy. Remember those days? You should try to! Not a care in the world except when I was going to get my next pancake breakfast from Aunt Connie.

Have a great Thursday.

Sincerely, Ryan