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Grandpa Pete and Uncle Arnie "Black Beauty", Uncle Arnie's Super Buick and RheaArnie was mother’s younger brother, the youngest in the family. He and his wife Rhea had no children of their own. I thought he was so handsome and loved it when he would pick my sister and I up after school and give us rides home in his new convertible, especially if the top was down.

Rhea was originally from West Virginia and the closest thing to a femme fatale I ever knew. She was older than Arnie and an outrageous flirt who often flirted with dad at some of the family gatherings. It drove mother bats and there were often loud arguments after the company left. Dad, flattered by the attention, swore up and down Rhea wasn’t flirting with him which made mother even more upset. Hey, come on dad - it was even obvious to me and I was very young!

After Arnie passed away in a construction accident at the age of 44, Rhea moved to Minnesota. She had always flirted with an older brother of Arnie’s whose wife had also recently passed away and I think she thought he would ask her to marry him but he didn’t. Rhea eventually moved to West Virginia and we lost track of her.

DH was very close to my uncle and considered him a close friend and misses him to this day. So do I. And I regret that we lost track of Rhea. People that you share a past with aren't expendable.