This memory submitted by Doug Chaston.

I believe it was the month of August 1997. It was the year that Tara and Eric were married. Danny had asked earlier that summer if he could go hunting with us.  I remember that Judy was quite concerned about him being small and in the way. I do remember thinking that it would be more than OK with me because I don't like hunting alone and Eric would always drive around at fast speeds and leave me in the dust.

Danny came over the night before we were to go so he could sleep over as we usually left between 5:00 a.m. -  5:30 a.m. in the morning. Judy again asked if it would be OK and was the worried Mommy. Danny was excited to the max and I don't think he slept much that night.

The next morning when I started waking people up, Danny was up in a flash and jumping around all over the place. He was so excited that when I told him to get some cereal, he didn't want to eat. I told him if he didn't he would be starving in an hour and there wouldn't be anything to eat. I think he went through the motions of eating breakfast, but we know how kids are.

We took off on the four wheelers with Danny sitting behind me. I asked him if he wanted to sit in front so he could see where we were going, but I think because it was cold early in the morning that he said no and rode behind me. He was short and just the right length to rest his feet on the calves of my legs. Every time he wanted to look he would just stand up with his feet on my calves, and he wanted to look a lot. Needless to say my legs got pretty tired.

We had hardly got to the top of the mountain and he wanted something to eat. I told him if he ate his lunch now he wouldn't have anything to eat later and it was going to be a long day. He begged and I gave in. He said he would only eat a little bit. By 9:30 a.m. in the morning his “little bits” had finished all of his lunch. By 10:00 a.m. he was asking if he could have just a little bit of my lunch. Mike Chaston came by about that time on his four wheeler and I asked him if he had any munchies Danny could have. He offered some Fig Newtons and Danny said, "Those are dees gusting!" By 10:30 a.m. he was eating Fig Newtons without complaint. By noon Danny and I had finished off my lunch.

Later in the day it got warmer and Danny went with Eric, but he left his coat on my wheeler. Late in the day it started to rain extremely hard and I couldn't find Eric and Danny to give Danny his coat. Come to find out Danny and Eric got soaked and had started down off the mountain. Eric had his coat on and had zipped Danny sitting in front of him on the four wheeler zipped up inside his coat like a cocoon.  As they arrived to the Chaston home, Danny ran in with his usual big grin and looked pretty cold.  His head was dripping from the rain.  He stood in the living room shivering yet wanting to tell Marsha all the details of his exciting ride home in the rain.  Marsha began questioning him as how he managed home without his coat.  He anxiously related the details and finished telling her that Eric just put him in the front and zipped his coat around him.  Marsha then asked how the ride was and he threw both hands up against his chest and said “like this!”

Eric immediately drew a warm bath for Danny and then found some not so small clothes to dress him.  (He didn’t seem at all bothered that he was wearing Annie’s sweats). 

I know that this was a pretty special day for Danny especially having the chance to spend his day with his soon to be “big brother”.