Saturday, June 05, 2004
MEMORIES OF 1961....
Selling Avon for several years was an experience. Once a month we drove to Kansas City, Kansas to one of the large hotels for a “sales meeting.” It happened to be the one where the out-of-town ball-players stayed who were in town to play the Kansas City A’s across the river in Missouri. Quite often they were eating when we broke for lunch. I was impressed with their business-like conduct as they entered the room, ordered and ate. Had I not known who they were I would have assumed them to be at a sales seminar or something similar. I recognized some of them because of John who idolized baseball players….especially on our team.
Although I sold Avon it was not in my neighborhood, so I also had an Avon woman. We were each assigned a ’territory’ and were not to sell outside it. She was a delight….she would come through the door laughing and entertain whoever was there until she left. She was then in her 60’s and she just radiated. The children looked forward to her visits because she noticed them, talked to them and always had something in her ‘bag’ for them. Before long we were calling her ‘Granny Bond’ because our own grandparents were 6-hours away and the children didn’t have older family members to identify with. Her given name was Esther, which also appealed to me…….I hadn’t known anyone named Esther before her (other than my grandmother).
We used to travel back and forth in one car. It would be Esther, her friend Gladys, a friend of mine, Delores and me. We took turns providing the car and always had fun on our day “out.” I used to order a small lunch so I had room for my favorite thing on their menu…..bread pudding with raisin sauce. Yum !! I’d love to have a dish of that right now with a fresh cup of coffee. It was their specialty.
Esther invited all of us over for dinner once, then we invited them and before long we knew all about Esther and her devoted husband, Barkley. He was quiet, intelligent and had also been in the teaching profession for many years. The stories they told about in their early years of teaching were unbelievable. Young women hired on as the school-marm in the community were forbidden to marry, was not to be unseemly in public……the list went on and on. Some of their leanest years were endured without payment but instead were given produce from gardens, chickens from their farms…anything that wasn’t a paycheck. Somehow they had persevered and kept their sense of humor. Gales of laughter would roll out of Esther’s mouth as Barlkey gave accounts of those early years.
They became regular family and it was a circle of love all around. We had many good times with the Bond’s. She was a rare person who could give advice that was welcomed and worthwhile which I could chew on. If Esther had any faults it was only in her desire to stretch food and eat cheap. Of course I realize it was habit from their lean years. One time we were invited to dinner and it was put on the table in grand style. We were told it was roast beef so we ate and enjoyed our meal. As we were doing dishes, Esther laughed and said, “I told the children we were having roast beef because I didn’t think they would eat the meat if they knew it was beef heart.” I almost dropped the dish I was drying. No wonder there was a strange odor in the house when we arrived…..no wonder the meat had an odd texture….no wonder it tasted odd !!!! Yuk !!! When I told George later he almost lost his meal. I never told the children for fear they wouldn’t eat at the Bond’s anymore and I decided I would be a little wary myself the next time. We may have been on a short budget but cooking a beef heart was not in my thinking.
That summer my grandmother Stricklett came to visit and we enjoyed her so much. I took her and the children to the Swope Park Zoo one afternoon while she was with us and I have a neat picture in my album with her standing in front of the large ‘shoe’ with a roof on it. It had windows and curtains and represented the old woman in the shoe in the children’s section of the park. With grandma standing there and 3 little heads poking out of the windows it is a favorite picture of mine. (As a note…grandma Stricklett had previously sent a check for John’s second surgery…she was a wonderful grandma in every way.)
Later that summer we went back to our parents and back to Lake Norfolk. One of the favorite stories skiing at the lake has always been the way big George dropped the rope and came into shore. It was Dad’s custom when we signaled to go in he would then make a turn close to where our camp was so we would drop the rope and skis and walk on in. This particular day someone else was pulling George and the rest of us were on the bank watching. The boat came in faster than dad did and when George dropped the rope he was going so fast he skied right on up in the rocks where we were sitting. After a fast arrival and sudden stop he dropped on his buns and tore the back of his swimming suit out. I never saw my dad laugh so hard in his life. It was the highlight of the whole trip and it was OK to laugh because George wasn’t hurt…..just a little shaken up. It’s one lake memory none of us will ever forget.
Upon getting back to Shawnee it was time for school bells to ring. This year Becky would be in school all day so John would be all alone with mom now……
Until tomorrow….
Essentially Esther
Although I sold Avon it was not in my neighborhood, so I also had an Avon woman. We were each assigned a ’territory’ and were not to sell outside it. She was a delight….she would come through the door laughing and entertain whoever was there until she left. She was then in her 60’s and she just radiated. The children looked forward to her visits because she noticed them, talked to them and always had something in her ‘bag’ for them. Before long we were calling her ‘Granny Bond’ because our own grandparents were 6-hours away and the children didn’t have older family members to identify with. Her given name was Esther, which also appealed to me…….I hadn’t known anyone named Esther before her (other than my grandmother).
We used to travel back and forth in one car. It would be Esther, her friend Gladys, a friend of mine, Delores and me. We took turns providing the car and always had fun on our day “out.” I used to order a small lunch so I had room for my favorite thing on their menu…..bread pudding with raisin sauce. Yum !! I’d love to have a dish of that right now with a fresh cup of coffee. It was their specialty.
Esther invited all of us over for dinner once, then we invited them and before long we knew all about Esther and her devoted husband, Barkley. He was quiet, intelligent and had also been in the teaching profession for many years. The stories they told about in their early years of teaching were unbelievable. Young women hired on as the school-marm in the community were forbidden to marry, was not to be unseemly in public……the list went on and on. Some of their leanest years were endured without payment but instead were given produce from gardens, chickens from their farms…anything that wasn’t a paycheck. Somehow they had persevered and kept their sense of humor. Gales of laughter would roll out of Esther’s mouth as Barlkey gave accounts of those early years.
They became regular family and it was a circle of love all around. We had many good times with the Bond’s. She was a rare person who could give advice that was welcomed and worthwhile which I could chew on. If Esther had any faults it was only in her desire to stretch food and eat cheap. Of course I realize it was habit from their lean years. One time we were invited to dinner and it was put on the table in grand style. We were told it was roast beef so we ate and enjoyed our meal. As we were doing dishes, Esther laughed and said, “I told the children we were having roast beef because I didn’t think they would eat the meat if they knew it was beef heart.” I almost dropped the dish I was drying. No wonder there was a strange odor in the house when we arrived…..no wonder the meat had an odd texture….no wonder it tasted odd !!!! Yuk !!! When I told George later he almost lost his meal. I never told the children for fear they wouldn’t eat at the Bond’s anymore and I decided I would be a little wary myself the next time. We may have been on a short budget but cooking a beef heart was not in my thinking.
That summer my grandmother Stricklett came to visit and we enjoyed her so much. I took her and the children to the Swope Park Zoo one afternoon while she was with us and I have a neat picture in my album with her standing in front of the large ‘shoe’ with a roof on it. It had windows and curtains and represented the old woman in the shoe in the children’s section of the park. With grandma standing there and 3 little heads poking out of the windows it is a favorite picture of mine. (As a note…grandma Stricklett had previously sent a check for John’s second surgery…she was a wonderful grandma in every way.)
Later that summer we went back to our parents and back to Lake Norfolk. One of the favorite stories skiing at the lake has always been the way big George dropped the rope and came into shore. It was Dad’s custom when we signaled to go in he would then make a turn close to where our camp was so we would drop the rope and skis and walk on in. This particular day someone else was pulling George and the rest of us were on the bank watching. The boat came in faster than dad did and when George dropped the rope he was going so fast he skied right on up in the rocks where we were sitting. After a fast arrival and sudden stop he dropped on his buns and tore the back of his swimming suit out. I never saw my dad laugh so hard in his life. It was the highlight of the whole trip and it was OK to laugh because George wasn’t hurt…..just a little shaken up. It’s one lake memory none of us will ever forget.
Upon getting back to Shawnee it was time for school bells to ring. This year Becky would be in school all day so John would be all alone with mom now……
Until tomorrow….
Essentially Esther
