Wednesday, December 07, 2005
JUNE....2000
A co-worker of mine had been coming for some time to weed-eat the edges where I couldn’t mow and cleaned our back wooded area as well. It was a mammoth job but he volunteered and stayed with it. When I was working on his crew I quite often took baked things to share and always a pineapple-upside-down cake for his birthday. He told me once it was what his mother always made him. Corky was a good guy….he had a wild sense of humor and I always enjoyed his visits. He was the age George Jr. was…….a little older. He was born the year I graduated from high school so I always told him I could remember how old he was.
He was well acquainted with Jonathan since his niece, Becky, was engaged to him. So I invited them, the neighbors and Becky for a party in his honor. His mother died some years before and his father had remarried……he never had anyone make a fuss over him for any of the holidays, birthday included. Corky had been here to eat quite often after I retired….he wouldn’t take money for what he did so the best way I could show my gratitude was to invite him for a meal.
He loved my Mexican fare so that was what I had most of the time and especially on his birthday. We ate on the deck and enjoyed each other’s company…..and so the first week of June was already gone. I had been helping Becky fill cracks in her paneling so she could wallpaper and we had a good system. I’ve shrunk in my old age and so I traveled along on the floor while Becky did the top. We made it around the area she wanted to paper in no time. Becky decided to have Karen and Debbie do her papering as I had done and they did a beautiful job. Becky had taken the week off for her remodeling project and was well pleased with it all.
June is always a good month for the clematis and roses. They bloom profusely and cover the fence….I take pictures every year to remember how beautiful they were when the snow is falling in January. It is never too early to begin thinking about Spring again……..that reminds me of our pastor once where we went to church in Overland Park, Kansas. He was telling about looking forward to the future with hope as Christians and told the story about a farmer whose land was flooded and he was rescued by boat. He went on to say as the farmer was being taken to safety he put his hand in his pocket and touched the seed he would plant in the Spring…..the moral of the story was that no matter how bad things are right now, they WILL be better for the person who is secure in his future. I’ve always carried that story with me…..and I have lived enough years to bear it out.
On the 23rd, John and Barb, LJ, three of his friends and another parent arrived about supper time to stay over and then travel on to Lawrence, KS. once more for Basketball Camp. I always enjoyed having them…what is more fun than feeding a bunch of hungry boys? I was ready for them, I had an array of Mexican dishes, Chocolate Chip cookies and pies made. Three of the boys stayed at Becky’s, John and Barb stayed with me and Mr. Roy and young Roy stayed at a motel.
I was up early to fix breakfast while everyone congregated again…….I made biscuits and Becky made sausage gravy……..they pretty well leveled the field before they left. They wanted to stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield (on their way) as it is a Mecca for men and boys……..I’ll have to say it is a huge and interesting place…the home store of that chain of sporting equipment….stuffed animals of every kind and displays to equal any museum. It is visited by President’s and the famous routinely.
On the 28th a high school friend called to tell me one of our classmates died of cancer a few days prior. We knew at our 50th reunion that she was battling the disease and she gave it a tough fight before it took her life. Betty was always so full of laughter and activity….I’ll always remember her that way.
On the last day of June I baked two kinds of cookies, a chocolate cake and 11-crusts for pizzas for the guys and Barb who were scheduled to come back through the next day. I wanted to have most of it done so we could visit as much as possible when they arrived. The day marked my third year of retirement and the Captain’s secretary was retiring this same day. In a few short years most of the good people I had worked with were retired and gone from the scene with new folks coming on……..and that’s what the seed in the pocket is all about………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
He was well acquainted with Jonathan since his niece, Becky, was engaged to him. So I invited them, the neighbors and Becky for a party in his honor. His mother died some years before and his father had remarried……he never had anyone make a fuss over him for any of the holidays, birthday included. Corky had been here to eat quite often after I retired….he wouldn’t take money for what he did so the best way I could show my gratitude was to invite him for a meal.
He loved my Mexican fare so that was what I had most of the time and especially on his birthday. We ate on the deck and enjoyed each other’s company…..and so the first week of June was already gone. I had been helping Becky fill cracks in her paneling so she could wallpaper and we had a good system. I’ve shrunk in my old age and so I traveled along on the floor while Becky did the top. We made it around the area she wanted to paper in no time. Becky decided to have Karen and Debbie do her papering as I had done and they did a beautiful job. Becky had taken the week off for her remodeling project and was well pleased with it all.
June is always a good month for the clematis and roses. They bloom profusely and cover the fence….I take pictures every year to remember how beautiful they were when the snow is falling in January. It is never too early to begin thinking about Spring again……..that reminds me of our pastor once where we went to church in Overland Park, Kansas. He was telling about looking forward to the future with hope as Christians and told the story about a farmer whose land was flooded and he was rescued by boat. He went on to say as the farmer was being taken to safety he put his hand in his pocket and touched the seed he would plant in the Spring…..the moral of the story was that no matter how bad things are right now, they WILL be better for the person who is secure in his future. I’ve always carried that story with me…..and I have lived enough years to bear it out.
On the 23rd, John and Barb, LJ, three of his friends and another parent arrived about supper time to stay over and then travel on to Lawrence, KS. once more for Basketball Camp. I always enjoyed having them…what is more fun than feeding a bunch of hungry boys? I was ready for them, I had an array of Mexican dishes, Chocolate Chip cookies and pies made. Three of the boys stayed at Becky’s, John and Barb stayed with me and Mr. Roy and young Roy stayed at a motel.
I was up early to fix breakfast while everyone congregated again…….I made biscuits and Becky made sausage gravy……..they pretty well leveled the field before they left. They wanted to stop at the Bass Pro Shop in Springfield (on their way) as it is a Mecca for men and boys……..I’ll have to say it is a huge and interesting place…the home store of that chain of sporting equipment….stuffed animals of every kind and displays to equal any museum. It is visited by President’s and the famous routinely.
On the 28th a high school friend called to tell me one of our classmates died of cancer a few days prior. We knew at our 50th reunion that she was battling the disease and she gave it a tough fight before it took her life. Betty was always so full of laughter and activity….I’ll always remember her that way.
On the last day of June I baked two kinds of cookies, a chocolate cake and 11-crusts for pizzas for the guys and Barb who were scheduled to come back through the next day. I wanted to have most of it done so we could visit as much as possible when they arrived. The day marked my third year of retirement and the Captain’s secretary was retiring this same day. In a few short years most of the good people I had worked with were retired and gone from the scene with new folks coming on……..and that’s what the seed in the pocket is all about………
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
