Friday, June 24, 2005
DECEMBER....1993
December 1st marked my 14th year with the Missouri Highway Patrol. I spent 6 ½-years as a clerk and then 7 ½-years as a Driver’s Examiner to reach that milestone. Pardon the pun. I started out with 6-guys and we were still a team, except for one who retired. In this day and age it isn’t always possible to work with the same people that long. Over the years we knew all about each other and what made us all tick. Each day as we rode to and from the towns we would work in for the day, we exchanged family news, the latest news about town and wider to the world scene. We always “fixed” everything in a neat package by the time we got to our office for the day.
Some things weren’t always easy to fix. Some of us lost loved ones or had serious medical problems……..it always helped to talk about it and give or take the welcome sympathy. Life is best lived when shared with one another and we were a family of our own making. I have been retired 8-years now and I still miss the camaraderie of the men I worked with. They were special guys. We lost Pete last November and the rest have all retired except one. He and Becky are all that’s left of the original group. Retirement gives you more time but never takes away the friendships of the work-a-day world.
Pearl Harbor Day passed on the 7th….the 52nd anniversary. I never fail to remember the day it happened and how it changed life as I knew it….. a girl of nine. Don Ameche died on the the same day this particular year…..he was 85-years old. I couldn’t count the movies I watched with him as the principle character. He worked right up until his death…..a true actor at heart, he could never get away from the greasepaint and the theatre. Myrna Loy, an actress who had worked with him some, died on the 14th…..she was 88-years old. She was best known for her character in the Thin Man series.
Mid-month we watched the Bob Hope Christmas Show……..he was another one who just couldn’t hang up his hat and call it a day. He “fed” off the audience and their unabashed love for him. I will always remember him most for his USO tours he made every Christmas. Making people laugh is a gift……..and good medicine.
Becky had been working hard getting things ready for Jennifer’s wedding to be at Canton, MO. She was to be married near campus so all of their friends could attend. Becky had been mailing things back and forth for some time, trying to get as much taken care of early, as possible.
Bear came down with fever and bad sinus infection that made him miserable and I wondered if we’d be able to make the wedding but after a few days it cleared up. George came home for his birthday and we celebrated with Becky and Jonathan. The next day Bear and I both woke up with full-blown flu symptoms and we were miserable. George came down with it the next day and we were a house full of miserable people. Becky had to do the cooking on Christmas Day because I was just too sick. Bear and George had normal appetites and were hungry but the thought of food made me sicker. George was well enough to drive home a day or two later and I had to go back to work as others were off sick…..I was better but miserable. The Patrol finally had to close down the Mountain Grove office which had never happened before but everyone had the flu and couldn’t work. This was one bug none of us could ignore.
On the 31st of December we drove to Canton for Jennifer’s wedding. George arrived shortly after we did. Becky needed to go to the rehearsal dinner so Bear, George and I went to eat. We watched movies in our room until bedtime. We were up early the next day…..Hank and Jonathan arrived and the guys all visited while Becky and I helped the bridesmaids and Jennifer get all “gussied” up for the occasion. The church was a very old Methodist Church with beautiful stained glass windows. The light filtering in made pretty reflections on the pews. Hank gave Jennifer away and the ceremony was short but nice. Friends supplied the music. Later, pictures were taken and then the reception was held in the church. The cake and decorations…..the bridal couple were all very lovely…..as it should be. Later there was a dance at a local place and happiness on feet danced the night away. It was a very nice time to remember.
Bear and I were still feeling punk so we left early and got a good nights sleep…..the next day we drove to Hannibal for breakfast. George and we stayed with each other until our roads divided and then we drove on home alone. It would seem strange not to have Jennifer coming home like she used to do…….parents and grandparents have to learn the art of sharing their loved ones with others, sooner or later, and practice never makes it easier………….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
Some things weren’t always easy to fix. Some of us lost loved ones or had serious medical problems……..it always helped to talk about it and give or take the welcome sympathy. Life is best lived when shared with one another and we were a family of our own making. I have been retired 8-years now and I still miss the camaraderie of the men I worked with. They were special guys. We lost Pete last November and the rest have all retired except one. He and Becky are all that’s left of the original group. Retirement gives you more time but never takes away the friendships of the work-a-day world.
Pearl Harbor Day passed on the 7th….the 52nd anniversary. I never fail to remember the day it happened and how it changed life as I knew it….. a girl of nine. Don Ameche died on the the same day this particular year…..he was 85-years old. I couldn’t count the movies I watched with him as the principle character. He worked right up until his death…..a true actor at heart, he could never get away from the greasepaint and the theatre. Myrna Loy, an actress who had worked with him some, died on the 14th…..she was 88-years old. She was best known for her character in the Thin Man series.
Mid-month we watched the Bob Hope Christmas Show……..he was another one who just couldn’t hang up his hat and call it a day. He “fed” off the audience and their unabashed love for him. I will always remember him most for his USO tours he made every Christmas. Making people laugh is a gift……..and good medicine.
Becky had been working hard getting things ready for Jennifer’s wedding to be at Canton, MO. She was to be married near campus so all of their friends could attend. Becky had been mailing things back and forth for some time, trying to get as much taken care of early, as possible.
Bear came down with fever and bad sinus infection that made him miserable and I wondered if we’d be able to make the wedding but after a few days it cleared up. George came home for his birthday and we celebrated with Becky and Jonathan. The next day Bear and I both woke up with full-blown flu symptoms and we were miserable. George came down with it the next day and we were a house full of miserable people. Becky had to do the cooking on Christmas Day because I was just too sick. Bear and George had normal appetites and were hungry but the thought of food made me sicker. George was well enough to drive home a day or two later and I had to go back to work as others were off sick…..I was better but miserable. The Patrol finally had to close down the Mountain Grove office which had never happened before but everyone had the flu and couldn’t work. This was one bug none of us could ignore.
On the 31st of December we drove to Canton for Jennifer’s wedding. George arrived shortly after we did. Becky needed to go to the rehearsal dinner so Bear, George and I went to eat. We watched movies in our room until bedtime. We were up early the next day…..Hank and Jonathan arrived and the guys all visited while Becky and I helped the bridesmaids and Jennifer get all “gussied” up for the occasion. The church was a very old Methodist Church with beautiful stained glass windows. The light filtering in made pretty reflections on the pews. Hank gave Jennifer away and the ceremony was short but nice. Friends supplied the music. Later, pictures were taken and then the reception was held in the church. The cake and decorations…..the bridal couple were all very lovely…..as it should be. Later there was a dance at a local place and happiness on feet danced the night away. It was a very nice time to remember.
Bear and I were still feeling punk so we left early and got a good nights sleep…..the next day we drove to Hannibal for breakfast. George and we stayed with each other until our roads divided and then we drove on home alone. It would seem strange not to have Jennifer coming home like she used to do…….parents and grandparents have to learn the art of sharing their loved ones with others, sooner or later, and practice never makes it easier………….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
