Today Jamie turns 37

 

 

 

 

Where did the time go?

 

Yesterday I took a couple hours off to just go do a family thing.  Mom is interested in the 86 year old widower, Manifred Lively.  We’ve known Fred for nearly 40 years.  He has a lovely home on Lake Keystone, and has often held church picnics there but in all these years, I’ve never gone.  Mom invited Fred to family dinner last Thursday, and Fred reciprocated by invited her whole family out for lunch, jet skiing and a ride around the lake on his pontoon boat.

 

The boat used to be the Anheuser Busch Paddle Boat and belonged to Art Pepin.  (We are friends with Tom Pepin, his son and Tom’s second wife, Lauren.  They let Jamie release Thor the bobcat there and allow her to track him on their 100 ac off Racetrack Road.) The paddleboat was used as a floating billboard and party place for the company and traveled up and down the Hillsborough River.  I don’t know how long ago Fred got it, but it no longer had the faux paddles and there were times I thought it might sink because it was taking on so much water over the bow.

 

I spent a lot of time on Lake Keystone as a child.  By the collective best estimates, Momma Jacquie and BigDaddy moved into the Wayne Road house circa 1969, maybe earlier.  They lived there until about 1992, at least, according to Fred.  Then they moved to Golf Club Lane in Carrollwood.

 

So many of my memories must have died with that part of my brain in the car accident where I had amnesia, but I have a vivid image of Jamie, about 3 years old, toddling on the bank of Lake Keystone, at my grandparents home.  She had impatiens in her long, curly hair and was smiling.  I don’t remember her smiling much.  I was always so angry (with whatever stupid thing Don had just done) or consumed with business worries that I was always impatient with Jamie.  (The irony of the impatience and impatiens is not lost on me here)

 

Jamie loved the water.  She swims like a fish, so there’s never been any worry about her drowning.  On this day she’s happy.  Maybe I remember the moment so well because I drew it.  I used to sketch and paint and although I was never one of those sentimental moms who lived and breathed through their children, I was captivated by Jamie’s ability to survive my poor parenting skills, and be so happy on this day.

 

Someone must have taken a photo of her.  Maybe it was me.  I’m pretty sure I drew the sketch from the photo, as that is how I would usually draw things.  I no longer have the photo or the sketch, but I can still see it in my mind.  That’s tenuous.  Fast forward three and a half decades and it is still so rare for me to see her happy.  I cry writing this because all I really want is for her to be happy.

 

Nothing else I did, to build the real estate business, or the sanctuary really matters in the end.  The only thing that matters is love.

 

Hi, I’m Carole Baskin and I’ve been writing my story since I was able to write, but when the media goes to share it, they only choose the parts that fit their idea of what will generate views.  If I'm going to share my story, it should be the whole story.  The titles are the dates things happened. If you have any interest in who I really am please start at the beginning of this playlist: http://savethecats.org/

 

I know there will be people who take things out of context and try to use them to validate their own misconception, but you have access to the whole story.  My hope is that others will recognize themselves in my words and have the strength to do what is right for themselves and our shared planet.  

 

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Music (if any) from Epidemic Sound (http://www.epidemicsound.com) This video is for entertainment purposes only and is my opinion.  Closing graphic with permission