Suddenly family duty called; I was going to have more time to write and no time to build furniture. My Aunt Irma, who lived in California at the time, developed Alzheimer’s and was found wandering around in a hospital parking lot. I owed her; because she had always seen to it that her little nephews in Texas had plenty of big bright packages to open at Christmas time. My brother settled her estate and moved her to Texas. I bought her a trailer house, joined it onto our deck and I began paying back my debt of gratitude. Then, suddenly Mother found out she had terminal cancer ... my patient load grew. My bedside vigil gave me time to research. The folklore and history surrounding Red River and the people of the river captivated my thoughts. I started writing Treasure River. I started my biography; memoirs of growing up on Red River as a child. The name of it eventually became River of Dreams. I dreamed more and more about Dad's dream of floating down Red River. I decided I would make his dream come true as soon as I paid my debt.