‘I am excited regarding seeing Granpa Askew at the 4th of July Picnic,’ Billy B. exclaimed! ‘I did not realize that you had a Grandpa Askew…I have never heard anything about him until I heard the plans for the Picnic,’ Chet said. ‘Does he live in Mt. Vernon as Grandma A. did for many years,’ Jane asked? ‘He is a bit of a rolling stone,’ laughed Neva J. ‘He would be gone for long periods of time and when he returned he regaled us kids with stories of faraway lands and strange customs,’ Neva J. continued. ‘He walks with a golden walking stick and has a Bowler Hat nattily placed upon his head,’ Billy B. noted.

‘What do you say Banger, called out Neva J.? ‘Nevie Navie No…I am glad to see you,’ Wanda said. Wanda and Neva J. had been close since childhood. When they saw each other their eyes glistened and they reverted to the nicknames of their youth and most definitely the mindset. Charles Askew was an enigma. He possessed several different birth certificates and they were not only from different times…but different centuries. Neva J. had not seen him in 20 years yet she said that he looked the same and not a day older. Of late his son and Neva J.’s and Wanda’s brother Gene had been his caretaker and worked under the term Conservator. Gene was tasked with looking out for Grandpa A.’s financial welfare and endeavoring to ensure that he did not get into mischief. Grandpa A. had a wicked grin on his face as he sipped a Bullet Rye Whiskey. ‘Come and sit on your old Grandpa’s lap,’ he said with a wink to Billy B. ‘Would you like to have a gift, Grandpa asked Billy B.? ‘No sir but thank you,’ Billy B. said…because this is what Neva J. had told him to say. He pulled from his watch pocket a solid gold piece dated 1849 and handed it to his grandson. ‘Where did you get the gold piece Grandpa A.,’ asked Billy B.? ‘Why I was the first to stake a claim at Sutter’s Mill in 1848, Grandpa A. said with a wink.

‘Is there any more Rye Whiskey left…I have a powerful thirst,’ Grandpa A. said with a chuckle. Billy B. brought him another glass and Grandpa A. gave him a healthy sip…or three…

‘I wonder what I will do when I grow up,’ said Billy B. to his Grandpa. ‘You will do well and have many people work with you…you will be a great father…I bragged on you many times,’ Grandpa A. said to Billy B. ‘I was there…I called myself Jim A. and told you how mannerly Aaron and Jonathon were and how nice that you had them outfitted and I gave you $50 every Christmas,’ Grandpa A. said with a faraway look in his eyes.

‘Dad…what stories are you filling Billy B.’s head with,’ Neva J. asked? ‘Only the stories of an old man’s travels,’ Grandpa A. said. ‘Soon we will return to our youth again…I promise to be a better Dad this time…’

Billy B. turned the gold piece between his fingers that Jim A. had given him when he heard the story of how Billy B. had been forced to cash the 1849 Gold Coin in for groceries during a difficult financial downturn when his kids were young. Jim A.’s widow had given the Gold Piece to Billy B. after Jim’s passing…with the instruction to tell Billy B. how proud he was of him…