Aunt Stella and Her Grandson

Several years ago, Beautiful and I on a trip to the West made it a point to go through Lamar, Colorado. I wanted to visit a favorite Aunt who was in a nursing home there. She was really pretty far down the road of life at the time of the visit, and I have never been sure that she really knew me that day. She passed away shortly thereafter.
A much younger Vanilla with Uncle Wayne and Aunt Estella .
Aunt Stella, aunt by marriage as she was the wife of my Uncle Wayne, was one of the sunniest, most pleasant people I have ever known. To visit her was always a pleasure, for she had a way of making one feel that he was the center of the universe. She had plenty to keep her busy, too, for she raised six children, and she was Uncle Wayne's wife. Yet she always had time for me and my family when I would show up on her doorstep.

While in Lamar, we stopped by the Visitor's Center where we saw the large bronze sculpture "Short Fuse on a Slack Rope" near the entry, a magnificent and impressive piece which was done by Justin I. Young. Mr. Young, a well known artist, is a resident of Lamar. He is my first cousin, once removed, and yet I really did not know him. His mother, Aunt Stella and Uncle Wayne's daughter Alice, was considerably older than I, and Justin is a good bit younger than I, we lived in different areas, and thus our orbits just never intersected.
We called Justin, told him who we were, and he graciously invited us to stop by his home for a visit, which we did. He took us into his studio and showed us many of his works. He gave us a very interesting lesson on the process he uses in casting the bronzes which he creates. Justin explains process to JoAnn.

At the time he was working on a large bronze which had been commissioned by a city in Wyoming.
Justin was a wonderful host, and a patient teacher. We were thrilled to have this visit with him .
I am privileged to own a print of his "The Sentinel" which is proudly displayed on the wall in my office. If you would like to see some of Justin's work, you may visit his website. http://web.me.com/youngart/youngart/Home.html. A large bronze by Justin Young.