Monday, November 16, 2020
Some of my best childhood memories took place on the Nickelson farm. Every Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, 4th of July and most wheat harvests from the time I can remember up until the passing of my father was spent there and I loved every second of it. That is why it pains me so much that I couldn’t be in attendance today to honor “Uncle Danny”, and to be there with the rest of the family. I have had many memories roll through my mind over the past several days, and all of them have brought a smile to my face. I’ve thought about times spent at the county fair and seeing the joy he had spinning people on the Tilt-A-Whirl, and I’ve thought about him enjoying a bowl of Tin-Roof-Sundae ice cream after dinner. But I’ll never forget the time the one of our fireworks flew askew and landed into the neighbor’s field. Before it could even reach the ground, Danny jumped up out of his chair like he was shot from a cannon, got into his tractor and bounced through the ditch into that field to get the fire out before it even had a chance to get started. As a little kid I remember thinking he was like a super hero he had moved so fast. I also remember the time he raced Theresa, a track athlete at the time, through the parking lot of the football stadium in Dodge City, before one of Mike’s games. Of course he was in boots & jeans, but that didn’t slow him down any. Whether it is the value of hard work, or my loyalty to Dodge trucks there is a lot I learned growing up around “Uncle Danny”. My thoughts and prayers are with Twilla and the rest of the family. I wish I was there with you today to celebrate his life.
