When my Uncle Ford Comfort died, several of my cousins and I were busy cleaning up his house. At one point, one of my oldest cousins said to me, "The rest of us cousins know you twins and Ford had a special relationship." He couldn't have said it better. Uncle Ford was truly the father-of-our hearts and we were sons-of-his-heart as well. And my twin brother, Steve, and I couldn't have had a better person to model for us what a real man should be like. We loved the Donald Duck comics and tried calling him Unca Ford like Donald's newphews, Huey, Duey, and Louie. It was soon shortened to "Unc" because it was easier to say. Pretty soon, everyone in our community started calling Ford "Unc" too. Don't think he especially appreciated that--at least, in the beginning. Like any nickname, one gets used to it and learns to live with it. In 1947, my Mother, Grandmother, and us boys moved back to Kansas from Michigan to settle on the Comfort farm. Uncle Ford also moved back to the old homestead at that same time. He was still a bit messed up by his memories of the recent war in Europe. I'm not sure that he quite knew what to do with us. As farm kids we were both total failures. We had neither the aptitude or interest in such--although he patiently tried to teach us some rudiments of mechanics and farm chores. We did worship Ford, however. Steve and I followed him around like chicks after a mother hen. We liked to ride with him on his tractor when he went out to the fields, but then after a half an hour or so in the fields, we'd get bored and hike back to the house. Ford often went off to town in the evenings. I suspect it was as much to get away from his two extra shadows as much as anything. After several years, my mother got a job in town and we moved seven miles into Minneapolis, the county seat. On weekends, we would go out to the farm or Grandma and Ford would come into town for Sunday dinner. Usually, after dinner, Ford would take Steve and me for long rides out into the countryside in his '51 Chevy pickup. It was our "man" time together. We would be gone for two or three hours and usually we went up into the hills. Most of the driving was on back country gravel and dirt roads, but sometimes we would travel paved highways as well. Often we would go through three or four counties in one afternoon. (Most Kansas counties averge thirty miles long and thirty wide.) Ford would tell us about what things were like when he was growing up. We learned a lot of local history from Ford on those rides. He rarely spoke about his war experiences; however, by the time we were teenagers, Ford would tell us some things. He never spoke about the really bad things, though. (It was not until the last five years of his life that he became more vocal about his WWII experiences.) Sometimes, though, we traveled miles without anybody talking--just content to be out looking at some pretty country and enjoying just being with each other. ________________________________ Thanks for putting up with another trip down my memory lane. Also for your continued interest in my postings and your comment and encouragements. This posting is one of my "milestones;" it is my 800th posting at Renderosity. Jeremy CREDITS: Vehicle: Dreamland's "1951 Chevy Pickup" and their "1951 Panel Truck" (both at Renderosity). The pickup was a bit "street modified" so I had to kitbash the front end from the panel truck (in PS6) to get what I wanted. Figures: all are Predation's "Lorenzo Lorez" (DAZ). Pretty decent likenesses of the three of us, too, even if I do say so. Fence: Shamira "Hot Wire" (both Renderosity Freestuff & ShareCG). Road: Modulaz "Western Roads" (RDNA).