Life is made up of many relationships. We move in and out of some easily or out of necessity. However, there are many who remain with us our whole life through and are never forgotten. With some, we are as hooked on impact, as a bug on a windshield while others never seem to hang on at all.

As most children raised in my generation, we were not doted on. My mom and dad went about every day in their work-mode and there were never any plans made for us especially…..they were the nucleus we traveled around. We sort of grew up like Topsy……learning by watching and listening.

School teachers were law enforcement in those days. No one dared being disrespectful to a teacher…..it’s been over-stated but it was true….if you got in trouble at school, there was sure to be trouble once you were home. Because of all this, when you were a kid in the 30’s and someone was nice to you, actually took notice of you and seemed interested in what you might have to say…..they became an instant hero to you.

I have been most fortunate in the area of hero’s. It seems just when I needed one they popped up in the nick of time. I learned many of my strong morals from Walt Disney movies and the many children’s classic books I read. Though times were hard at home, books were my friends. Books took me around the world and filled my head with wonderful fantasies.

As a little girl, I longed to have someone tell me I was pretty or I was smart or I was anything. Parent’s didn’t worry if their kid would grow up with a diminished feeling of self-worth……they worried about food and sickness and being unable to work. I know now that I was blessed with a very special gift. The ability to think I was worth “something” and although I didn’t know where that would take me, I thought I could do anything and be anyone I wanted to be.

Thanks to a lot of hero’s along the way I have been enriched beyond what I could have been without them. I like to think they are angels of freedom. Angels who appear when you desperately need help and they send you on your way of safe passage to the next angel who sends you on when the time is right.

One such angel was named Opal Plummer. She was in my life at the crucial time of having my first child. She gave over and above what any friend should do for another…..yet, she came day or night when the need was there. She moved away shortly after young George was born and we lost track of her but I will never forget her generosity of spirit and helps.

When I asked how I could ever repay her…..she just laughed and said, “Why honey, you can’t repay me. Just remember when you see someone else who needs help, give them a willing hand. That’s the way it works. Someone else will help me down the road somewhere.”

I hope you’ve known an Opal Plummer in your life and the lessons learned have been handed down by you.


Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther