I'm thinking of you, Baby Ben, with very much love. It's an honor to be your grandmother.

I remember Baby Ben’s chubby little arms and his big smile - he was just so cute. He would be twenty years old today. Twenty. How can that be. It’s impossible not to think about what might have been. One thing for sure, Baby Ben would have been a stellar person in every way. We were lucky to know and love him even for a while.

One of the sweetest moments I recall happened one particular day during baseball season. Grandma JoAnn and Eddie remember it, too. Ben Rio was there as well. We were off to one of Eddie's games over in Rincon Valley and I was babysitting that afternoon. Baby Ben was so good-natured - he enjoyed the game and festivities until he just ran out of steam. I walked him around some until the game ended and everyone piled in the car (it was the old Trooper which held a lot of people and stuff). Baby Ben was pretty tired and started to cry once we put him in the car seat and he couldn't see me (he knew I was in charge and a pretty safe bet). Ri, Eddie and Eddie's friends tried their best to console him, but the usual distractions weren't working. So, I suggested they sing his favorites. It was such an endearing moment - Baby Ben quieting to the harmonies of this little 'teenage-boy choir' singing 'Wind Beneath My Wings' from Beaches. And, 'This Little Light of Mine'. Maybe even a little Al Green, too - all his 'lullabye songs'. It was so heart-warming, I'll never forget it.