Aunt Maude & Uncle Willard

I was thumbing through the weekend paper and I saw this article about unusual jobs. One of them was this mermaid at Florida's Weeki Wachee Springs - and I remembered I've seen that show - Aunt Maude & Uncle Willard took me there. The other picture is me and their son (my cousin) Bill Kendall. I remember Aunt Maude & Uncle Willard taking me on 3 trips - 2 to Florida and 1 to Michigan. I never really knew why I was the lucky one - was I just the right age at the right time or was I such a headache for mama that they offered to take me off her hands for a while? Either way, those trips were great fun for me and I've never forgotten them. In Florida we enjoyed a lot of time on the beach and they taught me how to play shuffleboard. I remember Uncle Willard introduced me to shrimp cocktail at this cafeteria we went to almost everyday. I think they let me get away with eating the shrimp and watermelon the whole trip. We usually stayed in St. Petersburg Beach but they did take me down to Miami once where we met up with Bill and his wife, Lorriane. I remember them taking me to see the Fountain Bleu Hotel in Miami because that was in a current James Bond movie.
I always enjoyed spending time with them and I don't ever remember them scolding me - not even when U. Willard & I broke a lamp in the motel room playing with a beachball. When they retired they moved out of St. Louis so my kids never really got to know them well before they died - but they were one of those dear sweet natured couples who loved to laugh and have a good time - and they loved kids. Memories of them always give me a quiet peaceful feeling.