Nelson Reminded Me of A Great Couple

I finally got a chance to fish at Nelson Reservoir last Friday, and as we were pulling up, I couldn’t help but remember my great-uncle Reverend Arthur Blackshire and his wife Rosie Lee Blackshire. He passed away in 2009. She passed away in 2019.

I have no idea why I am telling you all this but… They were very dear to me, despite us being over 60 years apart in age.

They were two of the most influential people to me in my younger years. There was never a doubt in my mind that they truly loved each other and truly were God-loving and God-fearing people because that love was in every fiber of their being. I spent a lot of time with them during the summertime.

Auntie Rosie Lee was the sister of my grandfather Bradie Simmon, my mother’s father. She would remind me from time to time that there is Sioux in her blood.

Though they lived in a suburb of Chicago, the couple owned farmland and grew greens, lentils, and other crops. I had helped out a time or two.

I have had numerous memories with them but one of my favorite memories was taking a trip six hours north of Chicago to Three Lakes in the upper peninsula of Michigan.

At Three Lakes, I went with him on a boat to fish and found plenty of success. One trip, I recall catching 25 fish and two turtles. We ate the fish, and for a while, I had two turtles as pets.

I don’t know if my parents ever told me what happened to those turtles. I would imagine that they are still swimming around somewhere! The Yellow Bellied Slider can live for 40 years, according to the internet.

I don’t know why they took me fishing, but as a 34-year-old, I appreciate that they took the time to take me. It reminds me of how my boys have been able to go fishing with their Grandpa Jim Fauth and Grandma Nancy Fauth.

Though it is a different style of fishing, I believe that Uncle would’ve liked bottom-bounce fishing at Nelson. I think that he would enjoy the peace that I experience while fishing there.

I didn’t have a chance to catch their funerals, but I am thankful for moments like last Friday when my mind takes me down memory lane.