I woke up early on November 16 and swiftly made my way to our shared family bathroom. A quick bath before the others awoke and started banging on the bathroom door, I back combed my hair and slipped on my school uniform. Our house was small so it did not take long to reach the kitchen where I would eat my bowl of cereal and a piece of buttered toast.

And there it was. My prayers had been answered. The most perfect transistor radio ever sat on the oval kitchen table.

Not from my parents. Not from my grandmother!

It was Uncle Jim who elevated me from rocket radio owner to transistor radio heir!!

Cheers to my Uncle Jim. The best uncle in the whole wide world.

A brown arborite table trimmed in “silver” sat at the end of my bedroom on Autumnwood Drive right beside the chipped veneer dresser. That table came as an added “bonus” when my mother bought a new dinette suite from a local discount furniture store. The eldest child of five, my siblings will tell you I managed to achieve favored status in the family. This included having my own room while the rest of the kids had to share and it also involved inheriting the miniature kitchen table for my exclusive use.