Forty Years Later

 April Saylor came in from her run with a thought running through her head. She was thinking about some savings bonds that she and her husband, Jeremy, had safely tucked away. Who's name was that on one of them?

 "I was thinking about how I know who the name on that bond belongs, too," she said.

 "I have not looked at J's bonds in years," she admitted, "but it was fun to dig through the safe when I got home from my run."

 She met me recently - for the first time - in November when I attended the 65th wedding anniversary celebration of Jeremy's grandparents. I wrote about that here.

 So April wrote to me, copied the savings bond and the envelope with my name on it (it was when I could still write in script). I didn't remember it at first ... and then I did.

 Jeremy was born on April 15, 1974 and the bond was dated a year later: a present for his first birthday.

 I remember those early years well. In fact I drove down to West Chester to meet the new family. The Saylor's have always had a special place in my heart. That continues to today.

Jim Saylor and his new son, Jeremy

Jeremy and Jim

Jeremy and his mother, Pam

Jim, Pam and Jeremy

Me and Jeremy

I've looked for these pictures a number of times in the past and was never able to find them. Yesterday I made a more concerted effort and managed to turn them up. They're old black and white prints and, all but one, too dark. But they're good memories just the same.

And the savings bond which started all this? Turns out it matured in 2005 and hasn't been paying any interest for the past decade. It's value: $136.12.

Finding it was serendipity anyway. "He has held them in a safe all these years and we had no plans to cash them," April said. "It was purely me 'seeing' your name in my head and having to satisfy seeing if it was on the bond envelope."

"I came home from my run, pulled it out and that's when it started."

Jeremy and April Saylor

 I suppose savings bonds can be thought of as the gift that never stops giving. Well, for thirty years, anyway.