Tuesday, June 3, 2025
He took us cousins on fun adventures, like riding in the bed of his green pick-up truck up a winding mountain road for a tubing trip down the river. None of us will forget when one cousin whose rear-end was burnt when he fell through a rusted-out portion of the bed and onto the hot muffler. Also, we explored a cave that day and with Uncle Reid leading the way until, in the dark, he stepped on somebody’s number 2 with his barefoot. He also took us shooting countless times and packed all the ammunition himself. One time, my Dad shot a 357 into the wind and Uncle Reid had overpacked the round, resulting in my Dad’s eyebrows being singed, as the flame from the muzzle flash blew back over the gun into Dad’s face. I still have my cherished mouser M1903 Springfield Riffle Uncle Reid gave me. I am still grateful that he allowed us to play with his beloved Captain Video Board game even though it seemed everytime we played one of us loss a piece of the game. Anybody would have been lucky to have an Uncle Reid in their family. When I was very young and he visited our home a few times, I remember being very excited to see him pull-up in his Volkswagen Bug. Despite my career as an Army Air Defense Officer and almost two decades total in the Pentagon, Uncle Reid always had things to teach me about UFOs of which I had no idea. He knew of technology and secrets that nobody in the Pentagon was allowed to know. As interesting as he was, he was always good to us and I know my Dad loved his little brother for sure. I am very that he is gone and there will be no new fun stories. All of us will have to make do with what he provided us. Unfortunately, with his passing, it will be hard to convince others with whom we share our stories that they are true, because uncle Reid was truly one of a kind, and you had to meet him to understand.
