Friday was a perfect day for a country auction. It was a cool morning but the sun came out and a crowd gathered before the ten o’clock start. It was field parking on the grass with beautiful views of the valley. It would be a sale of house, contents, vehicles and personal items. The couple are now in retirement housing. They sold 128 acres some years before. The 3 ½ acres had a barn, shed and home. Friends, relatives and the auction crowd gathered.

I remember the summer that I first became interested in collecting vinyl record albums. My dad was an Air Force officer who had spent his career as a satellite engineer. He was nearing retirement and after many years of hearing the ribbing of fellow military men of his lifetime as part of the “chair force” he decided he wanted to shift gears and go for the gusto. He began actively pursuing an assignment in a deployable radar unit.

Anyone who visits Cowboy Rick’s Corral of Collectibles on Ruby Lane will see a picture of me on the home page standing in front of a large display of cowboy hats. The picture was taken at Wahl Drug in South Dakota—a well-known and often visited tourist stop in an otherwise barren part of the country. I was tickled pink to find this wall of hats because I collect hats, cowboy hats that is.

It all began one hallowed night in Paris in the year 1830. This night commenced an important and historical event in the Catholic faith. The Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother Of God, appeared to a young girl named Zoe Laboure. Zoe is much better known currently as Saint Catherine Labouré.