Wednesday, November 30, 2005
NOVEMBER....1999
I was sad to hear on the news of Walter Peyton dying the first day of November. He was only 45-years old and had a rare type of liver cancer. He was unable to obtain a transplant in time and refused to “go ahead” of anyone else. That made him a hero in my eyes, if not his brilliant career with the Chicago Bear’s in his glory days. He was poetry in motion to those of us who love football.
On the third day it frosted heavily but the phlox and roses continued to bloom. My mother used to bring me her last rose of summer every year…..she would come walking down the road (with the little vase she normally had on her kitchen table,) and in it would be her last rose bud. It’s funny what you remember about a person…….actually, it’s the little things that seem insignificant at the time. I could hardly tell you of any gift I received for birthdays or Christmas, but the everyday things speak volumes, even yet. Mom was master of small acts of consideration.
The 7th-day was the third anniversary of Dr. Applegate telling us that Bear had a very fast moving brain cancer which was inoperable. My world ended that day but Bear received the news bravely and never wavered……the calendar date brought back a rush of memories. Time heals everything but the heart…..there is no substitute for a person who impacted your life for almost 27-years.
I was working hard every day to get the leaves up. They were almost all down now and after several hard days, the yard was finished. I cleaned the mower good and put it away for the winter. I baked cookies to mail to Jennifer and LJ…….they both loved Chocolate Chip cookies and once in a while I would surprise them with a box in the mail.
A strange thing happened in the middle of the month…..Becky and I were spending the evening together as we crocheted on afghans for Christmas. We were listening to the championship football game of Willow Springs when the phone rang. A woman’s voice I didn’t recognize told me they were having an emergency and could I look up a number for her in the phone book……..the noise in the background made me think it was a legitimate call and I obliged. The phone number she asked for was the home number of our music director at the high school……Mr. East.
Later that evening, a friend called to tell me Mr. East had a heart attack right before the band was to play the National Anthem. He was rushed to the hospital but they couldn’t save him. The caller was a teacher at the game who was trying to reach Mr. East’s wife to inform her that he was being taken to the hospital. Needless to say, I found the circumstances a million to one that I was randomly dialed to supply the phone number…….Willow Springs lost the game, unable to overcome the trauma they experienced right before the team came on the field. Mr. East was popular with the school community and the whole town was in shock at his sudden death…….he was a young man.
George came on the 19th and I had pizzas made for his arrival. He had other plans for Thanksgiving so he made a quick trip to visit with us the week-end before. When Becky came from work we ate to our heart’s content and then indulged in a piece of fresh apple pie. The next day we just visited and Becky spent the day with us….we watched a lot of football and kept working on our afghans. In the evening, Jonathan and his Becky came by for a while to visit with George. I filled him full of home-made goodies and he left around noon on Sunday.
Thanksgiving was a quiet day for Becky and me. George drove to Ohio with a friend, Jonathan and his Becky went to Oklahoma and John’s family went to Mississippi for the day. I finished the afghan I was working on, washed and dried it…….turned out beautiful. I immediately started another one as we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade…..then football and ice-skating. John and Jennifer both called and we had a nice visit. John was going back to work at Greenbrier with Marty, on Monday…….he was happy about that. Becky and I finished the evening off with Pumpkin Cheesecake. Yum!!
The end of the month came which would have been Bear’s 75th, birthday. I could imagine him directing the angel choir as he so often fantasized….when asked one time what he wanted to do in heaven, he said with all seriousness….. “I want to sing in the choir, direct the choir, play in the orchestra and sometimes lead the orchestra.” Of course he knew it was only make-believe but I like to think it is happening just that way………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
On the third day it frosted heavily but the phlox and roses continued to bloom. My mother used to bring me her last rose of summer every year…..she would come walking down the road (with the little vase she normally had on her kitchen table,) and in it would be her last rose bud. It’s funny what you remember about a person…….actually, it’s the little things that seem insignificant at the time. I could hardly tell you of any gift I received for birthdays or Christmas, but the everyday things speak volumes, even yet. Mom was master of small acts of consideration.
The 7th-day was the third anniversary of Dr. Applegate telling us that Bear had a very fast moving brain cancer which was inoperable. My world ended that day but Bear received the news bravely and never wavered……the calendar date brought back a rush of memories. Time heals everything but the heart…..there is no substitute for a person who impacted your life for almost 27-years.
I was working hard every day to get the leaves up. They were almost all down now and after several hard days, the yard was finished. I cleaned the mower good and put it away for the winter. I baked cookies to mail to Jennifer and LJ…….they both loved Chocolate Chip cookies and once in a while I would surprise them with a box in the mail.
A strange thing happened in the middle of the month…..Becky and I were spending the evening together as we crocheted on afghans for Christmas. We were listening to the championship football game of Willow Springs when the phone rang. A woman’s voice I didn’t recognize told me they were having an emergency and could I look up a number for her in the phone book……..the noise in the background made me think it was a legitimate call and I obliged. The phone number she asked for was the home number of our music director at the high school……Mr. East.
Later that evening, a friend called to tell me Mr. East had a heart attack right before the band was to play the National Anthem. He was rushed to the hospital but they couldn’t save him. The caller was a teacher at the game who was trying to reach Mr. East’s wife to inform her that he was being taken to the hospital. Needless to say, I found the circumstances a million to one that I was randomly dialed to supply the phone number…….Willow Springs lost the game, unable to overcome the trauma they experienced right before the team came on the field. Mr. East was popular with the school community and the whole town was in shock at his sudden death…….he was a young man.
George came on the 19th and I had pizzas made for his arrival. He had other plans for Thanksgiving so he made a quick trip to visit with us the week-end before. When Becky came from work we ate to our heart’s content and then indulged in a piece of fresh apple pie. The next day we just visited and Becky spent the day with us….we watched a lot of football and kept working on our afghans. In the evening, Jonathan and his Becky came by for a while to visit with George. I filled him full of home-made goodies and he left around noon on Sunday.
Thanksgiving was a quiet day for Becky and me. George drove to Ohio with a friend, Jonathan and his Becky went to Oklahoma and John’s family went to Mississippi for the day. I finished the afghan I was working on, washed and dried it…….turned out beautiful. I immediately started another one as we watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade…..then football and ice-skating. John and Jennifer both called and we had a nice visit. John was going back to work at Greenbrier with Marty, on Monday…….he was happy about that. Becky and I finished the evening off with Pumpkin Cheesecake. Yum!!
The end of the month came which would have been Bear’s 75th, birthday. I could imagine him directing the angel choir as he so often fantasized….when asked one time what he wanted to do in heaven, he said with all seriousness….. “I want to sing in the choir, direct the choir, play in the orchestra and sometimes lead the orchestra.” Of course he knew it was only make-believe but I like to think it is happening just that way………..
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
