Alexander and Angus MacQueen were great uncles of mine on my paternal grandmother’s side.  Born in Nashville, Tennessee in the late 1800’s, the two brothers struck out west to make their fortunes.  Uncle “Sandy” remained in Colorado and eventually died there.  Uncle Angus returned to his family which had since moved to south Georgia.  I spent hours listening to the stories that Uncle Angus told about his and Sandy’s trips and adventures.  If I am half the story teller that my great uncle was then readers will surely enjoy what I write.  That’s Sandy in the lower left of the photo, and Angus next to his father, William on the top row.  Angus was a life long bachelor.  He told me that the only woman he ever loved was an Indian squaw and she wouldn’t give him the time of day.  He died in a rest home in Moultrie, Georgia having lived well into his nineties.

I was an only child, raised by loving parents who taught me the values that we hope we will pass along to our children.  My father was an Army officer and from him I learned to love and appreciate the military.  As I was growing up, we lived all over the country.  My fondest years were spent living in Alaska, at Fort Richardson outside Anchorage.  I made many lifelong friends there on the ski slopes of Arctic Valley and Alyeska.  We left Alaska in June of 1964, months after the massive earthquake that devastated Anchorage.  I graduated from high school in Atlanta, Georgia and went on to Auburn University.  I graduated in 1970 with a degree in Economics and will remain a proud Auburn Tiger til the day I die.