The phone rang. I answered even before the first ring was complete. Mrs. Werne? You have a very sick little boy. Pack a bag right now and take him to Riley Hospital. Don’t stop for anything. The date was Saturday, July 25, 2003. The little boy was James. He was only three years old. Friday evening, James wasn’t quite right. He threw up (doubly gross because Gary had brought him a blueberry slushy to drink). As I washed James off…
Does anyone else feel conflicted about blueberries? They’ve rolled in and out of my life over the years, with mixed reviews. Let’s start with 1961. Apparently I just loved a bowl of fresh blueberries and cream. Mom even wrote a poem about it: For Paula, Who Is Three Tomorrow (I won’t be able to do it then) Who likes blueberries, blueberries, blueberries …all of the children in our house. For we have small and padded bearswho sit on small and…
Did you get hit with crazy cold temperatures this past week? Snow for some, overnight freezing temps for many more. Rita, my mother-in-law, would always say it’s “the Iceman” making mischief when there’s a cold snap in late April or early May. She warned not to plant crops (and flowers) too early in the spring. Tuesday afternoon, Farmer Gary dashed over to the home place to cover the geraniums his sister Sharon and her husband, Mike, planted a few weeks…
Veta Louise Simmons, I thought you were dead! That is one of many funny bits from the play Harvey. Elderly, yet still glamorous, snooty Mrs. Ethel Chauvenet knows how to make an entrance. Her niece, Veta Louise, also up there in years, is mortified that Aunt Ethel might find out about Harvey. Veta’s brother, Elwood, has befriended Harvey, who just happens to be a 6’3″ white rabbit, visible only to him. If you haven’t seen the 1950 movie, rest assured…
I always looked forward to seeing my Aunt Janet when our families got together. The middle of Dad’s three younger sisters, Jan was not one to get lost in the shuffle. Born on August 4, 1934, Janet grew up knowing not everyone receives the gift of robust health. Of her mom‘s nine pregnancies (including a set of twins), only five survived. Grandma struggled with anemia those years and spent some time in the hospital. I’ll always wonder if those early…
Today is the anniversary of V-E Day. That’s “Victory in Europe Day,” the day the Allies accepted Nazi Germany’s unconditional surrender in World War II. Gary’s Dad, Andrew, celebrated in Austria. A soldier there with the U.S. Army, he had to wait his turn to make it back home. There was a “point system” and as a single fellow he had fewer points than those returning to wives and children. Andrew was a long way from home, but he’d survived…
Did you see those book-banning fools are at it again? In Alaska, they’re quivering with fear at the thought of their young darlings reading Catch 22 or (gasp!) The Great Gatsby. As if that’s not embarrassing enough, when it’s discussed around the world – especially by the country that gave us Queen Victoria – it’s time to simply duck under the covers with a good book and read ’til it’s safe to come out again. Happily, banned books tend to…
“Goose! You know BEE-thoven?!“ Cameron was stunned that I recognized the piano piece he’d just finished. Yes, Cam. In fact it was the wedding song played when Papaw and I got married. “Goose! You and Papaw are married?!” Clearly we need to talk about the fact that Gary and I haven’t just been shacking up all these years. Cameron is our constant delight. Our joy. Looking back even further than our 1982 nuptials, I realize Beethoven’s 9th Symphony has always…
Mom wrote this poem, called simply Cherries, when her granddaughter Lucy was just a few months old. It may be that this cute little outfit inspired her. Cherries Lucy’s little yellow dress is cherried Take her to the hammock under cherry treesand in the early evening wrap herin the childhood cherry spreadremembering another eveningwhen we rode a ferris wheelafter a day of cherry picking Grandchildren and sister loved the cherriessent for summer birthdaysand from a country marketwe wooed each otherwith…
They’re married! Saturday was a lovely day for a wedding. Since Aubrie and John’s plans for April 18 nuptials ended up as part of the coronavirus quarantine, it was somewhat … diminutive. That’s Cameron’s new word: diminutive. (I’ve since learned that it’s from a Bugs Bunny quote in the movie Space Jam. I can’t wait to tell my father; he’ll be so pleased to know another generation loves that wascally wabbit.) Rather than list what was … er, diminutized, let’s…