It is Mother’s Day Weekend. We may go to the Antique Store. We old folks like antiques. They remind us of our past and even our parent’s past. At times a vintage item can transport me in time.

I saw my little metal JFK Bank last evening. It came from the Antique Store. When I noticed it I immediately recalled being a child in Eldorado and Neva J speaking of the President as if he were a member of our family. My life had been a bit upended as Neva J and Bill had contemplated divorce and subsequently moved from Chicago to Eldorado to save their marriage. President was a constant in my young life. I knew we would somehow be alright as long as JFK was around…

Grandma A loved to serve me cold milk in a large white ceramic coffee mug. The milk was ice cold and good. Although I was small I could drink a couple of mugs full. When her little dog Nugget whom she renamed Narky died. Grandma A was devasted. She poured me a customary mug of milk and told me that she was going to go and pray for Narky and when I completed my milk I should join her. I wondered why she was praying for her deceased dog so I drank slowly.

Old things are precious to us. We Americans revere our Constitution. The Holy Bible is the most-read book ever written.

Steve from Sauk Village was a master of Marionettes. When he conducted a puppet show I was mesmerized. The Marionettes took me to another world. When I discovered Marionettes at the Antique Store I was euphoric.

This past December we brought a large and a small blo-mold Santa to our Southern Illinois home. I remember them from my childhood. They made our Christmas complete. A few years before that Jonathon bought me a Christmas gift of a small stuffed Santa in the image of my Laughing Santa from Chicago Days.

Our lives appear to progress in a linear fashion when in reality we live all of our experiences that formed who we are. When you look in the mirror you see a reflection of someone who has lived many lives in the skin that appears in your view.