This is my cousin Riley Howard with his mother, my aunt Eleanor (my mother's sister), as they greeted guests in the receiving line at a reception and dedication ceremony at the Annette Howell Center for the Arts last night. It's not a good photograph, but it's the only one I have, because people kept stepping in front of the camera. Riley and Eleanor had big smiles on their faces all evening, so I don't know how I caught them looking so serious.

After the end of World War II, Eleanor and her husband Bill were stationed in Germany, where Bill was a pilot during the Berlin Airlift. Bill was tragically killed flying one of those missions, leaving behind his young widow and his nine-month-old son, Riley.

While living in Germany, Bill and Eleanor had fallen in love with German porcelain, and had collected a large number of exquisite pieces, predominately antique Meissen, some dating from the eighteenth century. Eleanor has recently donated her collection to the art center, where it can be enjoyed by our entire community, and a special gallery, named in honor of Bill and Eleanor and Riley has been opened to house it.

Jimmy was not feeling well last night, but I went for a while by myself, and the center was packed with people the entire time I was there.