This is a book about family. More specifically, a story about a young man who grew up in north Idaho and northwest Montana and was surrounded by a wonderful group of people who knew him as “Wadie.” When Wadie started to settle down and form his own little tribe there was some unspoken uncertainty about how to be a father. The obvious remedy was to look among the kinfolk to see what worked and what did not work. Maybe even to seek some advice from time to time. This is a book about friends. In that magical place called Many Lakes where Wadie and his wife chose their first home there were so many opportunities to form bonds with people across the street or down the hill. In other accounts those folks might be known merely as neighbors. Mix in friends from church, work and even old high school buddies and the stew called life bubbles up and becomes more savory with time. This is a book about flying. Wadie had a job that others would die for. He strapped on an Aero Commander 500B every night and went out into the wild skies of Montana to deliver mail. In reality it was a job best described by the phrase popularized by President Reagan; “Hours and hours of boredom interspersed with moments of stark terror.” There are a few moments of stark terror described in this book. There are also more than a few moments of stark beauty described as well. Steve Shirley of Helena was kind enough to allow the use of one of his photos as the profile picture. It captures the essence of the moment; a young man leaving college in his sporty red convertible to take on a job filled with perils beyond his wildest imagination. A few years later the same young man was driving a small pick-up truck with a topper. All the better to haul disposable diapers to the refuse site. The name of the book comes from a snippet of conversation between Wadie’s mom and his soon-to-be wife. “Wadie was such a good baby, he would play for hours and hours out in his sandbox, just looking around and thinking about things and not be a bit of trouble.” Wadie found a way to take the sandbox with him where ever he goes. In fact, he is in there right now.