The Beckers of Ridge Road.

After over 30 years the Becker-OShaughnessy's were together again , and THIS time not a single one of us was arrested . Always a postive sign that a reunion is going well.

Lets backtrack. The year, 1971. The place, a gravel lane called Ridge Road running between Manhattan and Elwood, Illinois. Two Catholic families meet at mass, the Beckers and the OShaughnessys. The rest is pure Will County Police Department History. By the time these two families went their separate ways five years later, they had helped raise 16 children together. Wait, maybe it was 17...18 ? Anyway, it was LOTS of children.

                      From left is Madonna, Sandy and Jay

Thanks to Facebook, I reconnected with one of the older Becker kids, Madonna, a few months ago. She then contacted some of her siblings who came to visit our farm yesterday. From the moment Madonna, Jay, Sandy and Sandy's young son lept from their vehicle until they left a few hours later the farm was filled with wild laughter, and the retelling of even wilder stories of teens and pre-teens gone astray. How we all survived those years is miraculous. (Picture an bright orange  pick up truck , its bed crammed full of unrestrained children, being taken for a speeding joy ride by some unlicensed teen girl )

The fact that both sets of parents sadly died while being relatively young (none of them reached 70) is probably testament to the stress we inflicted upon them in those out-of-control years. Sorry moms and dads. Really, we are.

Hopefully though we also gave them some great laughs. Becker family, it was great seeing you again !!!