An Unexpected Keepsake

I never knew my grandfather, the man for whom I named, and I barely knew my cousin Carl as an adult. The two now meld together in an unexpected gift from Carl's sister, my cousin Donald. The silver cigarette case says, "First Annual Jefferson County Golf Championship, Birmingham Country Club, Sept 1925, Runner Up 1st Flight, Robley C. Munger."

With all the scratch marks of use for almost 85 years, the case links me to blood-kin and over-the-sheets-family and to Donald, whose thoughtfulness in giving me something Carl enjoyed makes me love her anew.