Bob

 

     Over the years, both Kay and I have had pets, for me it was always a dog while Kay had dogs and cats. When we married, we each had a dog that our late spouses favored, we couldn't give them up so we took care of them until the time came for us to put them down. At this point we decided pets were not fitting into our lifestyle as we are often gone for hours and days at a time so we decided to not to have any more pets.

     Things went along fine for a couple of years until Kay discovered a young cat under the steps of our deck. He was a Domestic Short Hair Tabby kitten, with a bobbed tail maybe three inches long, he appeared to be feral because he was skittish and not accustomed to people. Taking pity on the poor thing, she put out food and over a couple of weeks the cat would come out and eat in her presence, not long after that it would allow her to pet it and not long after that it would curl up in her lap and purr as she sat on the deck. We discovered that the cat actually slept in one of the four culverts around our house but after a while Kay had gained its confidence and the cat came into our house. His visits were a short duration at first but that didn't last long. 

     At this point I need to say that I'm really not a cat person, never have been but Kay at times has been a cat person and watching her and this feral cat get to know each other I realized things were about to change. The relationship between Kay and the cat quickly grew, the cat needed a name and I suggested Bob, he was, after all, a male and he had a bobbed tail so Bob it is. After getting checked out by a vet and getting downgraded from a "he" to an "it" Bob became the newest member to the family.

     We really didn't want Bob in the house all that much and we didn't want him sleeping in a culvert so I built him a house which Kay filled with straw and an old towel. Bob now has a place to sleep out of the weather on our screened porch which means we leave the storm door cracked open so he can come and go at his leisure, sort of defeats the purpose of a screened porch with a storm door.

     It has been sometime since Bob showed up, he has the run of the place and two human servants to feed him and let him in or out the door as he often as he wants - quite often. He still is a feral cat and roams around the yard during the day but at night he chooses to sleep in the comfort of the indoors where he has several spots he has chosen for sleeping depending on his mood. He frequently cuddles up to Kay where he turns on his motor and purrs, allowing her to scratch his ears until he tires of that then he turns around and nips at her hand which now is spotted with small scabs. When we go away for a few hours or days he reverts back to being feral, Kay leaves him food and water and when we return home he's waiting for us, he knows when he has a good thing. He is Kay's companion as she works or walks around the yard, he has come in my workshop but quickly disappears when I turn on a machine.

     Often at night he will crawl in bed with us, sometimes he will cuddle next to Kay or he may get between us, his purring will be loud but comforting. Sometimes he will get in a playful mood and attack our toes, whenever we have a twitch he will jump at the movement and bite through the quilt which gets him a kneejerk reaction that may send him flying through the air. Kay has bought several toys that he will chase around the house and sometimes, after a little catnip, he will go bonkers and run like crazy all over the house.

     I must reiterate that I'm not a cat person, never have been and make no bones about it. I think Bob may have sensed that and he reasonably goes to Kay first but in the middle of the night; when I can't sleep he will come sit next to me as I scroll Facebook and allow me to scratch his ears as he purrs away, maybe we are growing on each other but still I sense that my position as master of the house is being usurped. Knowing that cats have a long lifespan and my ambition to be around for many more years, it is going to be a race to see who will outlive the other.

Fading Memories

 

     Memories are portals to the past, a culmination of events experienced by a younger you. They belong to only you because even though someone else was there they will remember the event with their own twist. This is not to say that your memory is exactly as the event happened, memories have a tendency to fade out over long periods of time. You may even find several memories intermingling with each other but that's OK, it's your memory. 

     I have been writing this blog since 2012, some 12 years ago. It started out as a place to put in writing all of my memories, every experience and happening in my life. It is also to be a means by which my sons, grandkids and future generations to know they are a part of a family they never met or knew. Now there will be no need for them to guess about their ancestry (at least not those of the last hundred years or so). I have written more than 164 stories to date, some only a few paragraphs, others pages and pages. They are all meant to inform and entertain the reader, if I did my job right you will be in awe, laugh your butt off and cry rivers of tears.

     I have now written so many stories that I have lost the ability to remember if the subject I'm about to write I have already written about it. I sometimes think that old age has finally overcome me, I often forget things at the moment only to remember them hours later, it's an annoying part of life endured by many my age. I thought about cataloging each story according to its subject matter, like a table of contents, I even set out to do it but quickly lost interest, you'll just have to bear with me.  

     I often wonder if maybe I have depleted all of my memories as my writing seems to have slowed down, maybe I have said all that is worth saying, I don't know. Every once in a while, something will pop into my head and I say oh oh I need to write about this and I do, all the while there is a nagging thought that I have previously covered the subject - maybe I did or maybe I didn't.

      I have spent my whole life making memories and often wonder if this blog might be an effort in futility, are the younger generations going to be interested in the ramblings of an old man. When I start to feel like this, I remember how just a few years ago I found myself wishing I had listened harder to the stories I overheard as a child, I find myself wishing I had asked more questions of my parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, so I keep writing. For sure a large portion of my life took place before Linda and I started our family, many of the people and places are no longer around. I think I have about recalled everything worth recalling, it's probable that I have already written about it or maybe not. 

     Kay and I are making our own memories now and from time to time I will add those to my writings. In the meantime, I will continue to write about something from long ago. If I repeat myself just think about the stories told again and again at family gatherings, you know you've heard them before but you listen anyway because it's worth hearing again, I would rather repeat myself than forget it altogether.

Space

     Each generation has some events or milestones that will forever mark them in the annals of history. Wars. advancements in science or medicine, something that no other generation can lay claim too. After World War II, advancements in science and technology started moving at a rapid pace. Many new and wonderous things came about on a seemingly annually basis, this made my youth very interesting to me. After much thought, I have decided the one thing that has caught my attention more than any other one thing, the most exciting thing was the race to space and the endless possibilities of it for future generations.

     It all started with Hitler's V2 rockets that were launched at England, they were rocket propelled and contained warhead, somehow I doubt Hitler could have foreseen any use for the V2 beyond that of a weapon. America recognized the possibilities of the V2 as a weapon and as a tool of limitless technology so they brought home as many as they could find along with willing German scientist. In addition to military applications some bright soul saw into the future and all of a sudden the space race was on.

     June 14, 1949 was the first time America ventured into space, we strapped a chimpanzee into the nose of one of those captured V2's and shot him into the air. He reached an altitude 83 miles before falling back to earth, the Chimp didn't survive but a thirst was developed. The flight was short of outer space but it was a start. Over the next few years more monkeys, dogs and mice were sent into space, they were used as Guinea Pigs to understand the effects that space flight would have on humans although none really obtained orbital status.

     The Russains had the same thoughts about space as we did so and they too had several V2's and scientist and the race to space was on between our countries. They were the first to put something into an orbit around the earth, it was a satellite, a small round orb with a couple of antennas sticking out, they named it "Sputnik" It's only purpose was to reach orbit so the world would know they were the leaders of the race, it transmitted a beeping sound as it rounded the earth other than that it was a fascination for the world to hear and see. I was ten at the time and on a cloudless and dark night some of us kids would go outside and look up at the stars and there would be one that moved across the sky at a pretty good pace. It was a short-lived flight as it's orbit deteriorated and it burned up in the atmosphere a year later. They too kept shooting sending their Guinea Pigs up with similar results. 

     It wasn't until  January 31, 1958 that the US launched a satellite that did more than beep. We launched a spy satellite called the Explorer I, it collected information mainly on Russia and probably China.

     The one thing Sputnik did do was give the US a swift kick in the butt towards their efforts to get a man in space. It was a tight race and the Russians again won the day, on April12, 1961 Yuri Gargarin spent 108 minutes circling the earth and returned unharmed after one orbit. Over the next two years Russia sent another five cosmonauts into space including Valentina Tereshkova on June 16, 1963, she was the first woman in space.

      Several more rockets and satellites were launched over the next few years before we sent Alan Shepard into space on May 5, 1961, he was touted as the first "Free" man in space. The flight lasted 15 minutes and reached an altitude of 116 miles. Many other Astronauts followed Shepard in various flights of various duration all in preparation for the ultimate goal of landing on the moon. 

     America's space program kept people glued to the TV when rockets were sent into space but the whole world shut down on July 16, 1969  as Appollo 11 was orbiting the moon with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins aboard the capsule "Eagle" preparing to make a landing on the moon, Michael Collins remained with the capsule and upon landing Neil Armstrong announced "the Eagle has landed" and when he sat foot on the moon he said "one step for man, one giant leap for mankind".

     The United States has made several trips to the moon, no other country has even tried. Several countries have space programs but they are mainly used to launch satellites. The U.S. and Russia pushed on with their programs although the US had the most advancements with it's space program including the invention of the reusable space shuttle, orbiting space labs and giant telescopes that see into the depths of space. 

     To me, the most interesting of our adventures into space was when we launched Voyager 1 on September 9, 1977, it was to explore the outer planets of our solar system and indeed it has, the pictures it has sent back are amazing and beautiful but it did not stop there. After traveling for 45 years it reached the known edges of our solar system and kept going, it still reports back to earth although not as frequently. It takes at least an hour for any transmissions to reach earth from Voyager 1. Personally I think the voyager program is near the top of man's achievements of the 20th century, in addition to exploring the outer reaches of our solar system it was hoped that it may discover alien life on other planets, it was equipped with writings, pictures and verbal messages of greeting to any who it may encounter. I would like to be around in another fifty years to see what Voyager may find but at my age it will have to be up to my grandchildren and their children to find out what is out there. I envy them.

     Now our space program is entering a new phase, it is collaborating with civilian enterprise, it is working towards the human exploration and colonizing of Mars. More advances and more adventures lie in wait in the minds of inquisitive young people with a big imaginations.     

     I am a firm believer that there is more that awaits us in space, I just can't believe that God stopped with earth, I can't believe that mankind is alone in space, this is why I have such a fascination with space. I think exploration of the cosmos is our salvation, I hope that maybe one of my future generations will someday be among the explorers.

     

      

     

Sleepless Nights II

 

     I have titled several postings as "Bits and Pieces" or Sleepless Nights". They were created to compile short stories of a paragraph or two, maybe even three or four paragraphs. They quickly filled up forcing me to create more posts for short stories, hope you find them as interesting. 

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     When Danny was almost two, his little brother Clay was well on his way. We lived in Florida then, it was a magical place that was starting to grow, one of the major theme parks was "Circus World".

      I don't remember the details, probably it was just to get Danny out of the house and let Linda rest although my aging memory suggest that Linda may have even been with us that day. At any rate, Danny and I wound up at Circus World. It was fun to see the expressions on his young face as he looked at the clowns, animals and performances that were there. I do remember that one thing we did that put a grin on his face was to ride an elephant.

     I'm sure he doesn't remember the day just as I can't remember it in detail but it happened.

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     I hadn't been at my first duty station long when I was told to make a pot of coffee, I stated that I didn't drink coffee and was told that was not the issue - go make a pot of coffee. Although I had made coffee for my mother many times I told the petty officer that I didn't know how to make coffee.

     The petty officer took me to the coffee urn that made 32 cups and told me to fill it with water and put the grounds in the pan at the top then turn it on, so I did. The first pot came out looking more like tea and very weak so I was told to do it over and this time add more coffee grounds. The second time the coffee came out strong enough that the spoon could stand up in it by itself, the petty officer agreed that I didn't know how to make coffee. 

     From that point on over the next four years I was never asked to make coffee.

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     From the time I was born, until I was thirteen, I spent a lot of time on the farm with my grandparents. Once I started school, I would go to their place until about a week before school started back, looking back those were some of the best days of my life. Being a father to two boys, I can say it was at times a chore to keep young kids preoccupied for a few hours much less an entire day, I doubt keeping me out of trouble was any different but somehow granny and grandpa managed.

     For the most part, I followed grandpa everywhere he went, I walked fresh turned dirt behind a plow pulled with mules and sat beside him as he smoked his corncob pipe as he sat in the shade of a tree. Granny, on the other hand, was a different story, she did "woman's work", cooking, cleaning and washing, none of which would hold the interest of a young boy for very long. But on occasion a rainy day would come along and there I was stuck in the house or on the front porch with nothing to do, that's when granny would do he best to keep me busy. Later in the summer was no problem, grandpa would come in with bushel baskets full of beans and peas of all kinds that had to be shelled, snapped and otherwise prepped for canning. Granny and I would sit for hours with a full basket on the floor next to us and a big bowl in our laps, the rain would be pounding on the tin roof so loud we couldn't hear anything, sometimes a little rain would blow in through the window screen and cool us.

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     Back in the 50's, air conditioning was coming of age, some of the newer homes had it but it did add to the cost. Most of the older homes did without due to the cost of upgrading and often it was a matter of this was the way people had lived and saw no need to change. My parents didn't have air conditioning until 1964 and it was a window unit in a hole in the wall. The old people improvised as they always had, electric fans of various sizes or small handheld fans. All of the handheld fans seemed to come from either a church or a funeral home, if there was a depiction of Jesus or a cross it most likely came from a church. If there was a name and address of some funeral home followed by some words of sympathy, well that's probably where it came from. Wherever they came from they made their way into homes all around town. My Riggan grandparents had these small handheld fans from grandpa's church and funeral homes in two counties and three cities.

     The fans were simple in design, they were somewhat of a square with rounded corners stapled to a large popsicle stick or tongue depressor. It seems that the places that incurred large groups or crowds were churches and funeral homes and neither was airconditioned, they must have bought these fans by the case. Pretty much every home of the time had several fans laying around and on hot days occupants and visitors would be sitting around waving the fan in a manner that cooled the face, the faster you worked the fan the more airflow that was generated. Grandmothers would use them to cool sweaty young children, mothers used them to cool sleeping babies.

     This is one of those things kids today would scratch their head in wonder of what it is and then be amazed at why people used them. One of those lost pieces of history.

Christmas of the Past

 

     Linda and I were lucky enough to celebrate 48 Christmases together. Except for the two I was in Vietnam, we celebrated with family and friends, sometimes we were hundreds, even thousands of miles from family but we were together. I can't remember all of them in detail but there were a few that stand out in one way or another.

     The year before we were married, we each gave the other a special gift. Linda had a picture from a calendar of an old sailing ship ploughing through the waves. She cherished the picture, for some reason, it stood out for her and she vowed to have the picture framed and hung on a wall in "her" home. With her mother's help I took the picture to a local artist and had a painting done and framed, it cost me $50 which was half a month's pay in 1966. She was ecstatic and the picture hung in every home we had. When she passed away, I gave it to Danny to hold for MJ when she gets older.

     That same year Linda gave me a special gift but let me give you a little background to start this off. Linda had learned to sew in her home economics class, she was proud that she could make her own clothes which she considered a necessity because she had a hard time buying things that fit her due to her being so tall. This was the start to her skills with a needle and thread. It was now that she decided to expand her skills and try knitting, seeing as how I was the object of her desire why not knit something for me. I was surprised to open my gift that Christmas, there was this beautiful burgundy turtleneck sweater and I mean it was beautiful. There was just one problem, she misjudged her measurements and it came out a little large, actually it was a lot large like there may have been enough room for both to be in it at the same time. She was a little ticked at herself and was going to rip it apart and do it over but I refused to let her. It really came in handy when we lived in Tennessee as the winters could get cold, even though it was a little oversized it was still warm and comfortable, I proudly war the sweater for years. I think the sweater disappeared when we moved to Florida in the late 1970's.

      Linda's skill with a needle and thread grew over the years, the things she made were really works of art and there are people all across the country who were warmed by her blankets, soothed by her needle point pictures but for some reason she never again knitted anything. 

     I always tried to get her something for Christmas that would surprise her. When we first met, she had a dream to go to Germany. Her mother's family were of German ancestry, her grandmother spoke little English, her mother spoke German and taught Linda who enhanced her abilities by taking German courses in school. She gave up on that dream and married me instead. In 1970 I was working for a jewelry store and found out they sold things other than jewelry, they sold coocoo clocks from the black forest in Germany. It cost me $50 but that clock hung in every place we lived until she passed away. Every time we moved, which seemed to be often, Linda would carefully pack the clock in its own box and it was one of the first things I would hang on the wall. The clock quit working many years ago and became just a wall hanging, Clay has it now, I hope he gets it fixed one day.

     Linda's talents with a needle and thread improved quickly, she went from making clothes to crocheting and needle point. We bought our first home and the walls decorated with several pieces of her artwork. I think it was 1973, Linda had her eye on a needle point kit called the "Four Season", someday she was going to find the time and get it. I bought the kit for her for Christmas, it cost another $50, I guess I was good at buying $50 gifts. The kit hardly weighed a pound and had everything she would need. I had to be sneaky and make her wonder what was in the box wrapped in bright paper and had her name on it so I got a box that was too big and added about a dozen or more king size bottles of coke then left it on the floor in front of the tree. When she came home I pointed it out and had her push it under the tree. 

     We carried on the Riggan tradition of opening our gifts on Christmas Eve. Linda was surprised when she opened that heavy box, the smile on her face was all I needed. Two days later she had started work on the project that would ultimately take about four years to complete. She labored over the project like no other, every thread had to be just the right tension or she would rip out rows and redo them. She would become so intense in her work that she would have to put it down for days or weeks even but in the end it paid off. When it was finished she had it framed with a special glass that won't allow the light to fade the colors then it was hung over our bed for the rest of her days. To me it was probably her finest piece, Danny and Marie have it hanging on a wall and will give it to one of the kids when they are older, I can only hope they see the beauty I see in it and appreciate the labor of love that Linda put into it.

     Christmas was and still is a favorite time of the year, it more so for Linda, I have never liked all the shopping and trying to figure out what gift might make people happy. Linda on the other hand knew the exact thing each person wanted or needed and she enjoyed buying the gifts and wrapping them, it was hard enough for me to figure out what to give Linda. Linda had next Christmas all planned out and most of the gifts bought by her birthday in March. 

     Over the years I bought her jewelry, clothes and every now and then something that would put the extra sparkle in her eyes, she always repaid me with her smile. As for me, she always had the knack for giving me the one thing I needed or wanted, a fishing reel, a hammer or a new coat but her best gifts were the smiles I got from whatever I gave her because to me it was all about the giving.

     Looking back, it's good to know that I chose a gift that not only made Linda happy every time she looked at it but now these things are bringing joy to her kids and grandkids. Hopefully they will become heirlooms for generations to pass down for many years to come. 

Reaching For the Stars

 

      I was watching a movie on TV today about the Space Shuttle program. It jolted a few memories loose. In my lifetime, I have been lucky enough to have seen many of the wonders this country has to offer and a few offered by the world at large. 

     My first duty station in the Navy was at Patrick AFB in Cocoa Beach, Florida. It's ironic that I was sent to an Air Force Base, seems there was one ticked off Air Force recruiter back home who thought he was going to sign me up, he did come close. I wound up working at the Navy Port at the Kennedy Space center. This was my first time away from home, I had yet to learn of the amazing things I would see and experience in my lifetime but that was about to change.

     In that short two years at Patrick AFB, I saw quite a few launches of rockets and missiles. The Airforce was constantly testing new missiles and the Navy contingent I was stationed with oversaw the Polaris missile program. I saw several rockets and missiles take off rockets that roared into space and missiles that lit up the night sky. Most rose in the sky without a problem but there was one Atlas rocket carrying several satellites that just couldn't seem to fly straight so they blew it up. They said pieces were scattered over a ten square mile area of ocean, it was a sight to behold as all those pieces left contrails on their way to the ocean.

     Over the next few years NASA launched several missions to prepare them for a moon landing. The world was glued to their TV's on July 16, 1969 when astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon while Michael Collins manned the capsule. An idea that had consumed mankind for centuries had come to life, the age of technology was upon us.

     Fast forward nine years, in search of a better life Linda and I had moved to Titusville, Florida one of the gates to the Kennedy Space Center. Danny or Michel, as he is known today, was born on July 10, 1980 some thirteen years after Linda and I were married. The space program had entered a new phase, work on the first space shuttle was in progress. This was going to be the first re-usable space craft in the world that could carry a heavy payload of 50,000 lbs. and a crew of eight then return to earth and land like an airplane, it was called the Columbia STS-1. 

     Where we lived was about eighteen miles from the launch pad to be used by the space shuttle, if we went to the river front we could see the launch gantry in the distance. Brevard County was still a small county whose population would swell by several million people when a big launch was scheduled, Titusville got most of those people. Danny was not quite a year old when the Columbia was launched into space, it was April 12, 1981. The crowds of people seemed bigger than usual but this was not a usual launch, our little part of the world was big news. 

     On the day of the launch, Linda was at work in downtown Titusville, Danny and I were home. Danny played with his toys on the floor as I watched all of the leadup programming on our nineteen inch TV. When the countdown started, I held Danny in my arms and told him what he was watching though I'm sure he had no idea. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 blastoff, we watched as the shuttle rose above the launch pad then with Danny on my shoulder, I ran out into the front yard and watched as the shuttle soared above the trees. Columbia left a cloud of steam and exhaust behind it, the engines roared a deafening sound that was heard in Orlando some fifty miles away, the ground trembled as if there was an earthquake. We watched until we could no longer hear the engines or see the contrail of exhaust, together we watched history in the making. 

     There were six space shuttles built, Columbia, Challenger, Atlantis, Discovery, Enterprise and Endeavor. They all made voyages in space over the next few years but not without problems. On January 28, 1986, moments after liftoff, the Challenger exploded and the crew died, it was determined that a rubber seal was at fault. Returning to earth on February 1, 2003 a tile damaged during launching caused an explosion that destroyed the craft and it's crew over Texas, they were only minutes from landing.

      Despite the problems we have led the world in space technology, others have tried and will continue to try but the USA seems to be the best, may it always be so. The space Shuttle program is over, new ideas have evolved; new goals have been set. There are now rockets that will lift off, go into space then return and land on the same pad they were launched from. We have machines exploring Mars for future landings by mankind and the Voyager space craft designed to explore our solar system in the 1960's has now entered the next one on it's continuing journey into infinity.

     I have lived in an age of great advancements in technology that many think was the best thing to happen to the world at large. There were so many new gadgets that I can't begin to list them all but I think it was the space program that has left the biggest impression on me. I have always wondered that there might be other worlds among the stars, the question is "are we really alone, could there not be other civilized worlds". What the space program has done for life on this planet is remarkable, the possibilities of what it can do are staggering. I envy my grandkids and their grandkids and the many generations that follow for while I think I have lived in the best of times, the best is yet to come.

     

Grannie's Apron

    

     There was a recent post on Face Book about "Aprons" that jogged a memory from long ago. There was a time when most women were mothers and housewives, there was a time when all women owned one or more aprons that they wore while doing housework and cooking, feeding the chickens, shelling beans or working in the yard.

     Aprons came in different sizes and colors, some were short and had a clothe belt that tied around the waist, others had a bibb with a clothe strap that went around the neck and a belt that tied around the waist. Some were augmented with lace and ruffled collars and sleeves; they were made from rough textured feed /seed sacks that previously held food for the livestock or flour and corn meal for cooking. They were plain and unadorned with patterns, or they were brightly colored with designs of flowers. Whatever their appearance they had one main function and that was to protect the wearer and her clothing from stains and burns.

      Aprons had many uses besides protecting clothing, wrap a portion around the hot handle of a pot or skillet and it protected you from burning your fingers, a little dust on a table could easily be wiped away with a handful of apron or spilled milk or coffee could be quickly sponged up. Most aprons also had pockets in the bibb or the skirt portion, small pockets or large, one or two pockets or more and they held all manner of utensils used in the day-to-day routines.

     My mother and both grandmothers had several aprons either being worn, hanging on a hook in the kitchen or drying on the clothesline after being washed. They used them every day and when one did finally wear out, they would quickly make another. There was one thing that I remember most about their aprons that was common with all mothers, grandmothers and aunts. Their pockets contained a feminine handkerchief, usually plain but sometimes dainty, or a wash clothe.

     These handkerchiefs had several uses, they could wipe the runny nose of a young child, be held tight against your nose as you were told to blow your nose, wipe sweat from a brow or food from mouths. They could wrap cut fingers until a band aid could be applied and wipe the dirty faces of young boys. After each use it was returned to the pocket for future use. Many was the time that I had my face wiped with grannie's handkerchief whether there was any dirt or not was questionable but according to grannies, little boy's faces were always dirty. The process of cleaning a dirty face was kind of unique, if there was water around granny would moisten the kerchief and rub the dirt vigorously until removed but if you were outside she would spit into the handkerchief and then rub the dirt away. 

     Many was the time I blew my runny nose into granny's handkerchief or had my face cleaned with a spit laden handkerchief. Were there germs? Probably so but I doubt any germ would be brave enough to make a grandchild sick  but I survived as did most kids from that generation.

     Memories come from many places, and I constantly look for them even though they seem insignificant, they are all important but this one is a little special.