As the saying goes, We only see family at funerals and weddings. And that is the way it is going with my family. It was not always this way. In fact, and correct me if I am wrong, the Delk-Worden family reunion used to be a huge shindig. There are newspaper articles about how big it was. I was told that people, who were not family, would show up and get in the food line, and that was okay, because in the end, we are all family. It just wasn’t family reunions, there was Thanksgiving and Christmas, and other occasions when the brothers and sisters of Charlie Delk would get together just because they were family.
I remember a few golf outings with Shelby, and he tolerated this teenager who had a temper. I am sure he did not enjoy playing with me, but I enjoyed my time with him. I know I enjoyed my time with him during the holidays when he and his wife Marge opened up their house to the whole clan. There I was, the youngest of the first cousins, pestering him for something or other and being redirected toward the cookie table. If anything, I should of learned patience from him to apply to my own children, but that is another story.
Shelby will be missed. As well as those who have passed before him. Our family will grow smaller, and admittedly, I will not recognize a cousin or two if I pass them by at the grocery store. Hopefully I will see them more at weddings than at funerals, but sadly that will not be the case.
Have a wonderful New Year and stay in touch,
Brian