I would like you to meet one of my favorite people. This is my cousin Diane. We grew up the only girls in the Ashlock clan of boys. I think I was 14 before another girl came along. That would have made Diane about 10 or 11. Diane was raised mostly in Waynoka Oklahoma. In 1962 she and her family moved to New Mexico for my uncle's job. That would have made her about 14 if my math is right. All most every summer, Diane and her mother; My Aunt Celinda would ride the train from Waynoka to Wichita to spend a week or two with our grandparents. I know that I always looked forward to those visits. She would either come to my house and spend the night, or I would go to Grandma & Grandpa's. We always had a good time. Growing up, we didn't spend as much time as maybe we could have together, but one thing is certain, we have always remained close. I was remembering a time that we were at Grandma & Grandpa's over night. We stole a package of Grandpa's cigarettes and decided we would try them, just to see what it was all about. Our Grandma & Grandpa lived in an older house, so the windows were really big. We opened the window, and sat there puffing away, blowing the smoke out of the window. I am sure we didn't inhale, or we would have been green. I remember being scared that we would get caught, but alas, we didn't. One thing we always looked forward to was eating cherries out of Grandma's freezer. Our Grandma always put up fruits and veggies, it was their way of life. She would take fresh cherries and mix them up as though they were going into a cherry pie. She would then put them in paper cartons and freeze them. And when she wanted to make a cherry pie, she would pull out one of the cartons, pour them into the pie shell and presto, a cherry pie. She ALWAYS had extra for Diane and I to eat. As I remember they were pretty darn good. I also remember sitting on the ice cream freezer when they would churn ice cream. No electric mixers in the olden days. They packed the freezer with ice covered it with blankets and then we would sit on it while they turned the handle. OH the good old days!!
There are lots of good memories of Diane and I. She "gave" her approval when I married Gary, actually, I think she was in love with him too. Diane is one of the most caring people I know. She has a big heart, I think she got that from her Mom. There are so many times I wish we lived closer to each other, I miss seeing her and a visit once every now and then is just not enough; especially when you get to be our age. (whatever that means) If I had been blessed with a sister, I would have wanted her to be just like Diane. But, I only got brothers, so she is the next best thing to a sister a girl could have. I love you D!!
