FRESH OUT OF THE WASH — Sharon Mark Cohen

Our eldest son turned five on March 11, 1993, and we remember it well. A snowstorm covered the grounds on the day of his scheduled party, so we had to plan a new date.

A cowboy was coming from Wild West City and teaching the children things such as how to lasso. Wikipedia shows, “the Wild West theme park based on 1880s Dodge City, Kansas, located in Stanhope, New Jersey.”

On the day of his party, Judd wore his denim cowboy shirt with embroidered cowboy scenes. That shirt has been stashed away in my clothes closet for 32 years on the blue children’s hanger.

Now that I laundered the shirt and hung it to dry, I can hardly wait to present it to our eldest grandson, Judd’s son Dizzy, who is soon turning five. I even washed that blue children’s clothes hanger for him to use. And, I just now found the vest with the name tag still on it in Judd’s childhood bedroom.

For the party, Judd’s friends were invited to come as cowboys and cowgirls and go home as “Indians.” I dressed in my cowgirl shirt with themed button covers on each button. Maybe I’ll don my fringed shirt, which is still hanging in my closet after all these years, and we’ll put on a show.

Yep, I’m so glad I didn’t pull those two shirts when I recently purged the clothes in the closet. Even though the shirts are 32 years old, they’re in perfect condition and may come in handy.

Minimally, I will share the pictures and videotape recordings from Judd’s 5th birthday party with the family. That will be fun! They can see all the outfits and the Native American headdresses the children made to wear home.

Some of those pictures are posted here for my fans. What’s the point of saving so much memorabilia and not sharing it? Enjoy!