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Without a doubt, whoever reads these sagely words of omniscience can surely list as many things as I can to be thankful for; such as growing up in Gillespi Park. We kids really have good memories of that place; tennis, basketball, football, field hockey, kick-the-can, baseball, tree climbing & fishing (after the alligators went on tour). Fortunately the hooks were bigger than the fishes' mouths so all we really did was feed them bread crusts. The water was clear as rainwater (which it was) and one foot deep so we could watch the whole show. Watching the night time submarine races in Brumby Lake was also very popular.

Archery was also a popular sport. When I was 11 or 12 years old there would be six or so archers who set up hay filled targets for practice and/or competition. Safety regulations were strictly enforced and adhered to. After "quivers are empty" and "bows on the ground" I would run to the targets to help hunt for and retrieve errant arrows. The ones that had ricocheted off the side of the target could be 50 feet away or farther.

One of the archers was nice enough to give me his old 4 foot-long bow with arrows when he bought a new 6 foot lemonwood deluxe and arrows to match. I just barely had enough oomph to pull that string back. At first the other shooters would hide behind a tree when I was on the shooting line. He even paid for my one year membership in the club. And, I got my Archery Merit Badge in Boy Scouts.

So, I'm thankful to George Cameron Shute, Jr. for rewarding me for helping him. I haven't seen him in over 60 years, but I'm still grateful.  Life was/is good.