I was the fourth of five children; and I can attest to the fact that by the time the fourth baby is born, the traditions that were afforded the first and maybe the second child, are just about non-existent for babies three, four, and five.

No baby shower, baby book, no new comforter set, and new shoes were simply hand me downs with enough coats of white polish and enough tissue shoved into the toes to make some semblance of a good fit. If pictures were required for proof of birth, I would be considered a non-entity.

What I came to realize, when I sometimes felt lost in this sea of brothers and sisters, was the fact that while my mother was busy delivering the discipline to three teenagers, while holding a toddler on her hip, I had my father all to myself!

What a treat! As I grew older I came to value the relationship we built during those hours that just he and I shared. We weren't a wealthy family by any means, but my father's hard worked overtime and my mother's careful financial planning, had provided an opportunity to have a boat built at the local boatyard.

Every Saturday, My father and I would take the drive to see the progress made on the boat. He told me that boats were always named after females, and I thought that was so special and I wanted the name to be special, too.

She was 16 feet long, with a very small cabin, and a hatch that accessed the bow. Although she was small we admired her as though she were a yacht. On a Saturday in early May, my father said we were making our last trip to the boatyard.

The boat was completed. She sat on the cushioned rollers of the trailer, with a brand new 35HP Johnson motor,that sat at the stern like a polished white giant gem. It was the most beautiful thing that I had ever seen!

My father asked me to go around the boat and inspect it to insure it was in pristene condition. It was then that I received the sweetest gift I've ever had. At the stern, in beautifully elaborate lettering, was my name, Judy Ann 1!

That following summer, I learned how to fish, when to know if I had a bite or a tangled mass of seaweed. I learned how to manuever a snall boat against a swift current, and bring it stern first into a small slip. Everything I learned that summer was something my father taught me, and for everything he taught me, there was something I learned about him .

His love of the ocean, taught me how to love and respect Dad. The way he taught me, with patience and respect, showed me the proper way to treat people. He was a man with much to offer,and a very special way to offer so much to so many. I was so lucky that I was the fourth child out of five, and I had Dad all to myself!