The Jacket -by Cherrie Thornton

Last Summer my 16 year old grandson made a solo trip across the pond from his home in England to visit with his American side of the family. He spent two weeks having many experiences - camping, fishing, rafting, bowling, hanging out with his teenage cousin and friends, golfing with his Grandfather and spending a couple of days with me. I was delighted! He was interested in trying out digital photography, and we spent the morning exploring Horsetooth Reservoir, sculpture in Loveland, the CSU flowers in front of the old Fort Collins High School. Lunch followed; I was immediately reminded of my sons and their teenage appetites. We then spent some time in the butterfly room at the Gardens on Spring Creek where he took most of his photos. The second day we worked with his photos online: cropping, sizing, changing contrast and light; creating his own artistic expression of what he saw through the camera lens. Toward the end of the day, I asked if he would like to see photos of his Dad when he was much younger. The answer was definitely “Yes”. As we were paging through photo albums, I remembered that I had his Dad’s Rocky Mountain High School letter jacket hanging in a closet and asked if he’d like to see it … another definite “Yes”. He tried it on, and it fit ! Well, the sleeves were a little short. I tried to explain about letter jackets and importance to players of high school sports. I had shown him Rocky Mountain High School as we drove by and he marveled that there was a sports field right next to the school, something new to him. Then I asked if he would like to keep the jacket and got a big grin. He planned to wear it and show his American letter jacket to his friends at home. Later on, I heard he wore it on the plane and gave his Dad a big surprise when he arrived home.