Reilly's First Post

Uncle B, my siblings, and I used to play "fort". We built our fort underneath our bunk beds, hanging blankets from the top and stuffing pillows on the bottom bunk. We had flashlights and Uncle B mostly laid in the middle of the "fort" assigning tasks. Then, after our makeshift fort was completed, he would give us 'jobs'.

For example:

Reilly- Food Director & Secretary
Kate- Entertainment Crew
Samuel- General & Supplies
Aidan- Misc. Jobs Man
Peter- Fort Destroyer

He would give us 'secret missions'. For instance, I would go to Queen Kelly (Mom) and see whether we could have some 'backup supplies' (dessert). Or Samuel would go and tickle General D. (Beempa). After 'supply snack' and everybody got mildly tired, we would go on an 'exploration' (Everybody piling in our big Suburban, called "the Tank", and Uncle B would go driving CRAZY down our hill with Elton John's "Crocodile Rock" blasting.)

Then we would watch a movie, and after that, 'hit the sack' (go to bed). There was always major excitement whenever we got the call: "Hey, Skippy Jack BK is coming down!!" (code for: Uncle B is on the way!)

Uncle B would bring all kinds of snackie foods (he called them "treats") and then he would whip up a magnificent meal: spaghetti with mysterious ingredients, fish tacos with a lot of hot sauce ( me with the Gringo tongue didn't award this a "Favorite". I took mine without.) Anything that was in the cupboards turned into a meal. Somehow a visit from Uncle B was always a wonderful experience.

By: Reilly Lee Fitzpatrick, niece, 11 years old