My cousin Brett didn't live near-by , but we saw each other once in a while growing up.  Brett ended up at the University , in Monroe at the same time as me.   We saw each other once in a while on campus, but our schedules kept us busy and did not often have time to visit.  He was going home to Colorado for Christmas that year, 1978, and he invited me to come.  I was excited to be getting a "white Christmas!"- something LA couldn't offer. Cousins,Ron and Sandra ,were great hosts and I have always appreciated that chance.  We went to a ski slope there, one day,  where Brett taught me how to downhill ski.  There was a ski class for beginners, but I didn't "need" that when he could teach me  for free.  After a bit , we got on the lift and up the hill we went. We planned to take beginner slopes all the way down, but took a wrong turn and went on an intermediate slope. I started going too fast and was yelling all the way down ,"Look out, I cant stop!" (Totally wrong protocol on the slopes!)  Brett had taught me the snowplow to turn or stop but I quickly learned the parallel turn when heading right for a telephone pole. When we made it safely to the bottom , I couldn't wait to go up the hill again. Bret was always very kind and carried a good conversation.    After that year I didn't see him much at all. We lived in different towns and were busy  starting to make our mark  in time, but I have always loved my family and extended families and  I am grateful for the time we did spend together.