The Seventh "B" Finally Accounted for.

The other day my sister called and told me some really amazing news about One of my Uncles. My Dad was one of Seven children. He Had Five Brothers and one sister. All their names started with the letter "B". There were the Boys, Bob, Bill, Bert, Bart, Burney and Burley and the sister Beulah, of coarse she went by her middle name Maryellen.

I grew up knowing my uncles Bob, Burney, Bert and I remember meeting my uncle Bart when I was very young But I don't recall much about him. My other uncle Burley lived what one might call a "Hobo" life style. From what I've been told he drank a lot and wasn't all that pleasant to be around and had a bad temper. Oddly enough though I only have good memories of him being as he was the one that gave me my first drink of beer and taught me to drive a car when I was about 8 or 9 years old. He would put me between his legs on the seat and put the car in gear and let me drive it around a large parking lot across the street from where we lived. This was at a time when he was living with us and trying to get sober which apparently didn't work because he left town and from what I've been told was never heard from again until My uncle Burney received An envelope that contained Burley's personnel effects such as his ID wallet and other Items. Because of this the whole family assumed he was dead.

Well here it is nearly 30 years or more later and My sister gets a call from my aunt Maryellen and finds that Burley Just died a little over 1 1/2 years ago. He has been living in the desert area of southern Ca. near a town Called Nyland. All these years he was alive and could have reached out to his family and didn't. Go figure. And the strangest thing is that the town where he was living is only a short car drive from where His sister Maryellen lives. Apparently he was living at an abandoned Military base known as the "Slabs" because all the buildings have been torn down and all that remains are the concrete "Slabs". It is apparently a popular camp site for the homeless.