Nostalgia for an Ordinary Life

Many, many evenings have I sat in a lawn chair working on a small project, reading a book, or just chatting away in this very garage just to keep Johnny company.  He often would work into the night fixing up his Corvette, repairing the lawn mower that I somehow always managed to break every time I used it,  changing the oil in one of the vehicles, fixing a small appliance for me......the list could go on forever.  

All of a sudden tonight it hit me that these little times we had and are continuing to have together are more precious than those memories made on a vacation for they are the heart of our marriage.  Sounds strange?  When I look back, of course our vacations were wonderful, but these everyday ordinary days......the days spent in the garage, the days spent in the kitchen, the days of him being on the computer, the nights that I hear him giggle at a silly British comedy, the times he is engrossed in a black and white movie grimacing every time a fight scene would break out (I think he was actually fighting himself), even the hot, long nights in the building....THESE ARE THE MEMORIES I cherish.    

Ordinary pleasant memories.  Vacations come and go, but life is NOW in the ordinary things.  Don't wait.  LIVE a pleasant life and make those ordinary memories.  Find the good in the ordinary day to day life.

I love you.

By the way, the Corvette is still there in the same spot.  The chaos is still there, too, and the garage smell is the same.............love the memories.  Love the NOW.

It's the Same, but It's Not the Same

It's the same, but it's not the same.

I haven't planted a garden in years and years, but the last couple of years I have been planting a few seeds in a waist-high container....I don't have to stoop.  I do NOT consider myself a gardener so don't ever expect any prize winning vegetables from me.  

BUT, this morning I was able to gather a few lettuce leaves for a salad tonight.  I washed and rinsed a couple of times, dunking my hands in the cool water and swirling the leaves around and I had pleasant memories of doing that during my childhood. 

Mom would gather great big bunches of lettuce to make wilted lettuce from the grease she had collected.  (We had to have a lot of lettuce for the seven of us because when lettuce wilts, it does just that....shrinks into nothing.)  I can tell you that there was nothing better tasting as that salad.  I absolutely love it.  It was our job to rinse the lettuce and rinse we did.  We had to dunk and whirl those lettuce leaves over and over and over again, changing water several times to get the sand off.

As I was rinsing the lettuce this morning, it was the same, BUT it was NOT the same.  I walked into a cool kitchen, almost cold.  Back on Route One, Box 208, Prague, OK, it was HOT.  Hot when we picked it, hot in the kitchen, but that COOL water was everything.  It made the unpleasant task of picking it turn into a great expectation of the delicious wilted lettuce salad that mom was going to make.  I have never been able to make it as good as mom nor have I tasted anybody's else's that was THAT good.

It's the same, but it's not the same.

I love you.

Sense of Smell

Yesterday, Audrey, Shawna, and I were in Target just browsing.  We needed a couple hours out in the real world.  We walked by the crayon aisle and I picked up a huge box of Crayola's and squeezed the box to see if they smelled better than the stale box of crayons I have at home.  Oh my goodness, I was nearly knocked over with nostalgia.  I was right back in first grade with my box of oversized box of crayons.  The smell of the crayons plus the smell of the cardboard box reminded me so much of my Big Chief Tablet and my crayons.  First grade.......

Also, it reminded me of Kress' basement looking for paper dolls and coloring books for my sisters for Christmas.  Sometimes things just hit me..............  Tears were beginning to form in my eyes and I moved on..............  There's a time for sentimentality, but maybe not in Target, on Saturday, at noon!

By the way a new box of crayons will be in my shopping cart next week.  They definitely smell better.

I love you!  

  

I Washed my Hair with Rainwater

I did something today that I haven’t done in over 55 years; I washed my hair with rainwater.  Back in the 60s my grandmother used to save rainwater, because, according to her, it made one’s hair softer.  If grandma believed in rainwater as a softener, I certainly was a believer, too.  

As her oldest granddaughter and a young teenager it was my privilege (and let us not dismiss the fact that  it was an excuse to drive the car) to wash her hair on Saturdays. Her short coarse gray hair was so easily washed. I can still see her in her cotton dress leaning over the little white basin with red trim, me pouring cups of warm water over her head. The best part was always the suds, and after a gentle and thorough sudsing, I would follow up with a vinegar rinse.  Grandma always thought that the vinegar rinse would cut some of the yellow from her gray hair. I don’t know about that, but I certainly know that it made her hair squeak. Squeaky hair to her, and to me, means one’s hair is clean!  

A few days ago and quite by accident, this tub filled with rainwater.  For many reasons this brought back old memories, and I just couldn’t pour the water out. So as a tribute to her, but more of a remembrance, I washed my hair today using this rainwater. I hope that you look at these pictures, and maybe you have some memories yourself, of a time when everything seemed precious. Not everything was it as easy as turning on the tap.  

Another story about rainwater written in 2011.  Hope you enjoy!

https://retirementthegoodlife.blogspot.com/2011/05/rain-water.html

I love you.  ❤️ 

Grandma’s tub was at the corner of her porch just for this purpose.  Remember,cousins?  Sometimes I wonder if my family was the only ones to appreciate this precious commodity  

Grandpa’s Coffee

Have you ever had a memory that seemed to pop out of nowhere? Actually, it didn’t just pop out. My daughter and I were having coffee the other morning and the coffee was too hot to drink. I took the plastic lid off to cool and thought for a moment that I might pour a sip or two into it to cool faster.  That is when it hit me.  I remember Grandpa Dawkins doing that very thing. He would pour a bit into his coffee from his cup into his saucer, swirl it around and sip.

I can still see Grandpa setting at their yellow dinette table with his back to the stove, but I can’t remember if Grandma drink coffee or not.  What I do remember is that aluminum coffee pot that perked on the stove.  As I recall it had a little glass top and you could watch the water bubble up.  Eventually the water would turn brown.....not much longer.....

One of my favorite smells is coffee perking; perhaps it stems from those early breakfasts with Grandpa.  Today breakfast isn’t my favorite meal, but there’s something about that getting that caffeine fix to start ones day.  So most mornings you will find me relaxing in my sunroom having my brew......until the caffeine kicks in and I am off......

I love you.  By the way, do you know what a saucer is?  Do you own one?

Grandma's Bed

Good Sunday evening everyone. 


On Facebook a friend wrote a nice little post about her mother wrapping a hot flat iron with some fabric and putting it in the bed to warm her feet on those cold winter nights back in the day.  My friend is a wonderful writer, and after reading her post it brought back my own similar memory and I wanted to grab my computer and start writing.  Here goes.............my own memory. 


My grandparents each had their own full size beds in one tiny bedroom.  Grandpa's bed was a fluffy feather bed which was fluffed every day as per my memory.  Even with the bed made, the indent of the feather bed was always inviting.  Inviting me to occasionally climb up and sink right up to my nose.  What a wonderful bed!


But the bed I remember  with the most fondness was Grandma's bed.  No feather bed for her, but a simple mattress.  It wasn't the finest bed by any stretch of my adult imagination, but as a child it was the best!  So warm, so safe.  Every once in a while I was allowed to spend the night with her without the rest of my sisters and brother.  Those nights were what I remember and cherish the most especially on the winter nights.  They were special nights feeling extra special by having one on one time with my favorite grandmother.  I remember her heating a couple of old flat irons on the stove and wrapping them in towels and sliding them in the bed to keep our feet warm on those ice cold nights.  She'd snuggle in with me and tell me a story or two.  I remember her cradling me in her arms................  the sensation still lingers...........


I love you, my friends.  I hope you have a wonderful memory that still envelops you when you need it most.  And I hope you have a nice warm flat iron.


Is it me or do the winters of my childhood seem colder than they are these days?  Of course, back in the day, each room wasn't heated as I have in my home today.  The car was left outside and not garaged; no key fob to start the car to get it warmed.  Yes, our creature comforts are something that I'd hate to give up.  Let's hope we appreciate them.

Times Have Changed

Tonight we went to our middle grandchild's 6th grade production of "The Nutcracker Suite" and it was delightful.  Our little guy was the star of the show (in our minds).  The program plus all the picture-taking brought to mind all the Christmas programs of the past, those of my children, but even further back............to those of MY childhood.  Those days when magic, awe, and wonder was new in my heart and as simple as a new dress.  And I had a new dress every Christmas.........all my sisters did.


In those days women wore dresses........ to every "event", and their daughters were just as well dressed.  My mom made almost all our clothes, but the dresses she made for her four daughters at Christmas were the highlight of the year.  Black velvets, red satin, the tiny flowered satin print dress with the velvet tie belt, the navy satin that changed to plum according the light (I still remember twirling just to see the colors dance), the red corduroy jumpers with the white puffy sleeved blouse trimmed in red corduroy, the lace collars and bows, the lace insert skirts with matching blouses............  I even had a little fur coat with matching hand muffs.  They were all adorable.  Oh how I wish I could twirl in that navy satin dress again or touch the velvet.  Those childhood sensory memories only enhance with time.    


Those were the days.  Everyone dressed, even the men.  Everyone wore their best, but especially to something as important as a school play.  When a teacher took the time to present a program for the parents, then it was important for us to show her respect and part of that respect was showing up in our finest.   To look ones best.  I truly think it gave us a sense of respect for ourselves.


I looked around tonight and I didn't see one dress and not one suit was in sight.  I kind of long for those days when we dressed.  I think I might put on a dress...........next time. 


Times have changed.  I love you.


Some things haven't changed.  The cute kids in the productions.  The pride the parents have for their children.  The love all around us.

Blue Eyes..........

Good Sunday evening, friends.  It has been a long time since I posted and tonight I am feeling a little nostalgic so maybe I can come up with a post. 


Earlier this evening I heard the Willie Nelson version of "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain".  What a haunting, beautiful song...........and the lyrics are so mesmerizing.  It makes me want to hit the repeat and try, I repeat, try to sing along.  I didn't know until a comment on Facebook that Willie didn't write this song, but, to me, his is the best.


My family did listen to country music, however, it was not the only genre.  Perry Como as well as Sonny and Cher, along with big band music and Patty Page.............we had it covered, not to mention my sisters at the piano playing and singing hymns in the back bedroom or practicing for the high school choir.  Throw in a little Mitch Miller and Lawrence Welk.  If you listened carefully you might hear my dad singing "Duke of Earl"; you see, he liked it all.


.......And dad sang along to this song so it sends me back when I felt safe and secure....to the time when we left the doors unlocked ALL the time.  Cars, too, were left unlocked and children could play outside long after dark.  You can't catch fire flies until dark.  Not going to leave our cars unlocked these days, but maybe the world would be a better place if there were more music and lyrics like this.  Maybe easy listening pop music and hymns are better for the soul.  Just thinking out loud here.  I'm beginning to sound old and out of touch, huh?


Well, this certainly isn't the post I had in mind when I sat down at the computer, but it is in the books.  Might have to go listened to "How Much is That Doggie in the Window".


I love you.  Maybe we will meet again............


(As wonderful as my childhood was, I wonder if my mom thought her childhood was even better.  Just wondering.)

45th Anniversary

Yesterday was our 45th wedding anniversary.  No, we didn't go on a trip, but then again maybe we did.  We took a long ride down memory lane.  We drove down May Avenue.............just drove down May Avenue and talked about some of the great places we shopped or ate back in the day.  I am sure the memories are much sweeter than the actuality at the time, but isn't that what memories are for............sweet memories--isn't that the name of the song?


As far back as our dating, we had fun exploring places. Saturdays were almost always out seeing what OKC had to offer.  Sadly, a lot of these places are no longer; French Market Mall, Continental Theater--actually almost all theaters have closed, Enchanted Doll, Glen's Hickory Inn, Tony's Via Roma, Captains Table, Shepherd Mall.......the list could go on and on.


Yesterday, we even walked through the old Crossroads Mall building.  We could spend hours there and not spend one dime.  Our babies turned to toddlers to children to teens there.  What fun............visiting Santa, window shopping...........people watching............enjoying our lives.  And did I mention, we didn't have to spend one dime there.


Sometime during our nostalgic day, I started second guessing our decision to stay at home for our celebration rather than go on a fantastic trip.  Were we making it special enough?  I even started worrying that the restaurant we chose for this special day wasn't going to be memorable enough.........."was it something to remember?" and that's when the hubby turned to be and said..............


"It's about us.  It's not about the restaurant.  It's not what we do on this day.  It's about us.  We are all we need--each other."  Oh he has a way of keeping me grounded.  I love him.  Happy 45th!


That's all I have.  I love you.

Happy 2017

Hello and happy new year wherever you are.


I haven't posted much this last year, but here I am tonight saying hello.  I hope to write more in 2017.  Notice that I don't say resolve.  I am not going to have any resolutions this year.  Nope, none!  2017 shall be a year of freedom for me, maybe, unless I am hindered otherwise.  Got you confused?  Me, too. 


So...........did you eat your black-eyed peas today?  We certainly did, so our year should be a very prosperous one............a girl can dream...........!  I made Pioneer Woman's recipe for Hoppin' John and it was the best I have ever made.  But probably I said the same things last year. 


I've been reflecting this evening on all the previous years' New Years Days (man I've had a LOT of them).........filled with all sorts of memories....................ROSE BOWL PARADE.................momma.................bowl games........................family..................onion dip...................family games............food.................black-eyed peas...................FOOTBALL....................chip and ONION DIP..............ROSE BOWL PARADE...............Aunt Wilma's house in Shawnee....................cards.............family...................family........................family............LAUGHTER!

There's probably a little story in each of the above points, especially the ONION DIP, but most memorable point is LAUGHTER because each of those points resulted in laughter.  So I raise my imaginary glass to LAUGHTER.  (and here's to you Mindy.  Thanks for reading.)


Laughing together, I love you.  Happy 2017.  Again, I love you.

Enchanting Evening Lingers On

Good morning.


I've had my first cup of coffee and now sipping on my second and my fingers are literally flying over the keyboard.


Yesterday, I got my new key for my car.  I told you about that, didn't I?  Misplacing or LOSING my car keys??  I don't know, but the bottom line is they are gone.  Well, the place where we got the key was just across the street from a restaurant where we once ate.  I say ate because we went there once............a little special place that for one, we couldn't afford more than once, and two, they went out of business not long after we ate there.


Oh, what a wonderful little place.  The menu was on a chalkboard easel with only three or four items; the chef's picks which included a nice dessert.  It was an intimate inviting little place with dim lighting and candles on the tables.  (Don't you miss that?  Candles on the tables?  and a quiet place--do you miss that?)


Oh, what a nice evening we had, one that comes to mind even 44 years later.  The table was set with a full silver service arranged next to the plates.............and I'd be lying if I said I knew what those four forks and all those spoons were for, even a spoon at the top of the plate.  But, as far back as 1972, I knew enough to use the outside pieces first so I did okay, although it was a bit intimidating.  The food absolutely delicious and the chocolate mousse was by far, the best thing I'd ever eaten. 


Well, my coffee is wearing off, but the memory of that enchanting evening lingers on........all these years later. 


I love you.


     

A Look Back at a Look Back

October is going out the back door despite the Oklahoma temperatures in the high 70s to mid 80s. 


Tonight I want to share a post I published on October 2, 2011.  Just a look back at a look back.  I hope you enjoy my memories. 


My parents came to dinner one night back in 1981 and I shared the following essay that I had written that week with them.  I could tell Daddy was getting choked up at the end, but true to form he never expressed any emotion.  It just wasn't in his nature to share the emotion of sadness.  He always said there was enough sadness in the world without adding to it so we never even had Dr. Kildare or Ben Casey on in our house.  (Sometimes we girls would sneak a peak if he was not in the house.  He probably knew that.)

In the third paragraph I reference "the hands".  I am talking about the neighbors and local teenage boys.  Since not everyone had a peanut combine, it was important that the neighbors work together going from field to field to ensure that the combine was used at it's maximum potential and that the peanuts were pulled at their peak.  This story was about the earlier days of peanut harvesting when I was very young.  By the time I was 12, the way of harvesting peanuts had changed tremendously.  I will write more about that time in a future post.

I am copying this word for word as I had written it then including the grammar and punctuation - no word processing program in 1981.  Had I written this today, I would have changed it up a lot, but word for word this is how I saw things in 1981.  By the way, according to the last paragraph I was wondering if my own kids would have their own pleasant memories.  Only yesterday, my daughter reminded me of one of her own pleasant childhood memories so I guess we were developing good memories for them after all.

REMEMBER PEANUT HARVEST by Regina Dawkins Tucker 

As I gaze out of windows of my new home this beautiful fall day my mind wanders back to a quieter more serene time in my life - fall peanut harvest!  Oh how those fresh peanuts did smell.  Peanut brittle was just around the corner, which meant the holidays would be coming soon.

Each fall the two-room school I attended let out two weeks for peanut harvest.  The boys had to work in the fields and my brother was no exception.  He drove the tractor which pulled the combine.  My dad was sacking the nuts and Mom had her huge needle and string sewing as fast as she could to keep up with Dad.  I still remember her with her head tied up to keep the dirt out and oh, how they did get dirty.

While the hands were working, Grandma was baby setting and cooking dinner for the hands.  We had a sort of tradition in our community that a huge lunch (we called it dinner then) would be served by the family whose peanuts were being harvested.  Even though it was a busy time for the families of the community, everyone helped each other.  Everyone had to get their peanuts out before frost.  As I think back, I wonder if they didn't help each other just to taste each others' wonderful cooking, especially my grandmother's.

Grandma did not have a large kitchen so we set up a long table in her living room.  The table was covered with wonderful dishes - pot roast, potatoes and gravy, at least a half-dozen vegetables and even homemade dinner rolls.  I always thought of it as another THANKSGIVING DINNER and really I guess it was.  God had been good to us for another year.  He had seen us through planting; hoeing - I did hate to hoe peanuts but we made a lot of money hoeing; drought; and the rainy season....NOW THE HARVEST.

When Grandma finished getting lunch on the table she would send one of us kids to get the hands.  Since I was the oldest I usually got that job.  I remember wading through knee-high grass with the hot sun beaming down on my hair.  Even though the day was hot it still had a feeling of fall in it.  Maybe it was the beautiful fall colors of rust, reds, browns, golds and greens that made it seem cooler than it really was.  My family has always been great admirers of nature's seasons and colors, but I can remember Mom and Dad saying that the most beautiful fall colors are in our own fields at harvest time.

Since Grandma didn't have indoor plumbing all the hands had to wash outside with water from the rain barrel.  Then they would tramp inside and set down at a beautiful table.  Never did I hear Grandma complain about them coming into her house dirty.  She was just thankful that another harvest season was drawing to a close.

When harvest was over for another year we went to town to get material for Mom to sew into dresses, shirts, and jeans.  Sometimes we even got store bought dresses.  What a treat.  At that time we didn't appreciate Mom's talent for sewing.  Now that my sisters and I are grown and have children of our own we finally realize the time and effort it took for her to sew all those beautiful clothes.  Hindsight is really a lot better than foresight.

So as I set here thinking about the "Good Old Days", I wonder if my own children will have pleasant memories of yearly events in their childhood.  I know that they won't have peanut harvest to look back on for we only have five acres not hardly enough to have a garden let alone peanuts.  But just maybe, just maybe they'll remember watching leaves falling from the front window.

   
I love you.


https://retirementthegoodlife.blogspot.com/b/post-preview?token=Xdkr-1cBAAA.rTbBXnpIzF_dh9LUF-SMRZ8FJSB53nCNo1VDBXscZDtgtZ4OLAc3wuDNuRhllw94AvfF8NhWV-0lQmMujfCuMw.ButgLJfCWYZIArVgaJxgTQ&postId=704651771407964891&type=POST

White Rose or Red Rose

Happy Mother's Day.




When I was a child, it was a custom that people, men and women alike, wore corsages to church on Mother's Day.  If not a corsage, then at least a small flower, roses if you had a bush; red or pink for those whose mothers were still living and white to signify mothers who were no longer living.  You know, back then, I really didn't think much about those white flowers other than the fact that their mothers were dead.  End of it.........dead, gone.  Little did I think that those people might be hurting or even actually remembering their mothers.  You see.............I was little and death was the furthest thing from my mind.....my mother was setting right on the pew with me and her mother was four pews ahead of us.  All I really thought about was playing with my cousins at my grandma's house after church. 


Now ten years after my own mom passed, I understand the white flowers.  I understand a little more what those people in my little church might have been feeling all those years ago.  The white roses didn't just symbolize...........dead, gone...........it represented mothers who were still living in their children's hearts.  My mom.......I miss her physical presence, but her spiritual presence will always be with me for she lives in my heart, my memories, my mind.  She will be with me forever.


I hope that you are wearing a red rose today.  I hope that you are spending the afternoon with cousins at your grandma's house.  But if you are wearing white, please know that I sympathize with you.  I hope you can smell some sweet red roses today because your mother still lives in you. 




I love you all my sweet friends.

Folger's Black Silk Coffee

Good Morning Everybody.


Another fine morning in Oklahoma after a little rain last night.  Amazing what a dash of rain can do for the yard and for my spirits.  I've just had my breakfast and my morning coffee and I'm not quite ready to start my day..............so I blog!  


A few years ago my family (brother and sisters and their spouses) met at Table Rock Lake in Missouri for a little family get together.  We all had cabins and/or trailers parked next to each other so that we could easily walk from one to the other and visit.  It was always fun to walk outside in the early morn and see one of my family members up and about, stretching and enjoying their steamy cup of coffee before the rest were dressed.  Soon everybody was up and dressed, refreshed, smiling, and excited to spend another day together.  We'd walk from cabin to cabin inquiring what was for breakfast and making plans for the day.  You see, up till that point we had no plans!  And folks, that is the best way to vacation.


I consider John, my brother-in-law, the aficionado of coffee.  If John liked it, then I knew it was good.  John introduced me to Folger's Black Silk coffee on that trip to Table Rock.  I asked him if he had any coffee and he came bringing me a steamy mug of the black stuff.  I thought it was the best stuff ever and told him as much.  It felt velvety on the tongue and was so rich......and that was before I knew the name.  Certainly appropriate calling it Black Silk.  Maybe what I liked best was the fact that he brought it to me.


I had my Folgers's Black Silk coffee this morning.  I don't buy it every time for it is a little strong, but when I do I always remember John.  And just like this morning, I have vivid memories of he and I sharing a cup of coffee, I see Brenda preparing breakfast at their camp site, I see Teresa straightening up their campsite after breakfast, I see Kay with her laptop catching up on work, I see Tara and Rhonda polishing fingernails, I see Robert having his coffee at the outdoor table, I see Bill sneaking a bacon, I see Chuck walking the dogs, I see Johnny and John discussing "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo", and I see me frying 2 pounds of bacon each morning.   


I hope we have more family vacations.  They were the best!  Maybe because I have the best family!  I miss you, John.


I love you.

Reliving Prague Senior Trip - Part III and IV

Days 3 and 4.


                                                                 3rd Day  Friday


Coach came & woke us up & made us eat breakfast because we were going to Barren Fork for the day.  We loaded on the bus.  Karen Ellis had to go home today.  We stopped & got some stuff for a picnic & Coach bought us all something.


We had to wade across the creek to get to the swimming hole.  The girls were shy about going in because the water was so cold, so Coach decided to throw each of us in.  He threw me in once & decided he wasn't going to do it again, so Joyce & I were going to look at the fish & the first thing I knew Coach was behind me.  I screamed like bloody murder because there was a huge rock in the water & I was afraid I would land on it.  I had on Mary's windbreaker, too.  She told me not to get it wet.  He threw me in & it made me mad.  I was getting out of the water & him & David Flick threw me in again.  That was the last thank goodness.  We ate & Nancy, Joyce, Mary & I went up this mountain & we saw an old tabernacle looking thing.  Crazy.  It looked spooky.  So we went down.  Coach told us we didn't need to go up there.  Nothing new tonight.  We just all feel good.  Coach & Mr. and Mrs. Flick thought there would be trouble so they walked around quite a bit of the night, but they had no trouble from anyone.


                                                                 4th Day


We got up & ate breakfast again today.  We walked around & got a coke & took pictures.  We finished packing.  Phyllis' folks came after her.  We left at 10:00 a.m.  Stopped at Gore to gas up & at Checotah for Coach.  We had all kinds of food to eat.  I think most of it ended on the floor.  Sardines.  Got to Home (PRAGUE) about 12:00 a.m.  Everyone had a nice time but everyone anxious to get home.


                                                           END!  Dear Ole Prague




You know I wrote this way back when never ever expecting to let anybody know about it.  Here I am sharing with the world.  I even have my high school diary, but it shall remain private.........maybe.  Nothing in it that would shock anybody, just silly little tidbits that were so important at the time, but now 50 years later they are so insignificant.


I love you.

Reliving Prague High School Senior Trip - Part II

(Second day of our trip.)


                                                                        2nd Day


Joyce and I didn't go to breakfast this morning, but Nancy, Mary & Phyllis went.  Coach came and told us it was time to go to breakfast.  This morning we took a boat ride in a great big cabin cruiser.  Almost all seniors went.  The deepest we ever measured was 135 feet deep.  I would like to ride all day but we came in just before lunch.  We came back and ate lunch then Nancy & Joyce rode the Hondas.  Mrs. Flick was thrown from her Honda and she rested all evening.  Mary, Phyllis, & I stayed at the cabin & rolled our hair.


Nancy & Joyce got back & we all went down to get a coke and on the way we stopped at the boys cabin.  All their beds were unmade.  (Such a site)  Then we continued on our journey.  We were sitting around at the pool hall & all of a sudden there was screaming.  All of Prague's girls were being drowned by shaving cream from our boys, so, of course, we had to join in on the fun.  We went up to our cabin & our beds had been striped by our boys.  Then we went in to stay out of the firing line & they started in our back window.  We tried to hold them but couldn't.  Then Eddie came in the front & got me with shaving cream!  That stuff stings!  Then everything calmed down & everyone was happy.  We went to supper & as we were going home Nancy & I had the idea we would throw Joyce in.  So the guys in the pool were going to help us & just as we were getting ready to throw her in we were pushed in.  Clothes 'n all.


We got ready & just sat around.  Noone wanted to do anything.  So Nancy & Joyce & I went walking around.  Ronnie wanted me to go over & watch TV with them, but I didn't, & I am glad I didn't because we met these four guys in a car from Connors (a college at Warner).  They went to the dance & so did we.  Carl Dale Jones asked me to go with him to walk me home.  I did.  I danced 3 dances with him.  The guys graduated that night.  We danced to "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Bros.  Had fun. 


Oh I forgot!  We also went swimming at the pool this afternoon.  We had a big water fight.  Had lots of fun!!


And that's the way it was back in 1966.


I love you!
 

Reliving Prague High School Senior Trip 1966 - Part I

I have loved to write for years; maybe I should have been a writer; maybe I should have taken journalism; maybe I should have gone to college!!!  But I didn't and here I am pretending that I am a writer.  From what I found today, it looks like I wanted to be a writer a long, long time ago.


This year is my 50th high school reunion and I have been digging up memories....sometimes from the windmills of my mind....sometimes from old pictures.....and sometimes from a scrap book.  Today it was my scrapbook and in it, my senior trip diary.  What better time to transcribe it than the 50th year anniversary of that trip.  It is a little long so rather than type the whole thing in this post, I will stretch it out over a few days.  Here goes (transcribed as written in 1966 by a boy-crazy girl).


1st Day                                                 Senior Trip                                                                   1966


May 25, 1966, I got up at 3:30 a.m. and got dressed.  Karen and Aunt Azelee came down & we went to Prague with them.  We went up by Mrs. Ellis' house & then on to the high school.  It was very cold.  We left from the high school at 5:00 a.m.  Everyone took pictures & slept on the way down.  Cye Kahanek was the only parent on the bus.  Coach drove.


At about 6:30 a.m. we stopped at the Patty Ann restaurant & ate breakfast.  Everyone was beginning to feel good about that time.  Henryetta looked pretty at that time of day.  We continued on & arrived at Fin 'n Feather about 8:30.  Our cabins weren't ready so we got out & stretched.  Mary Duncan, Nancy McGinnis & I walked to the lake which was about 1 mile away.  By the time we got back, everyone was on the bus ready to go swimming.  It was very embarrassing to have them wait on us.  So we climbed on and went to Strayhorn to swim.  The water was cold but clear.  It would wake you up.


We came back to the lodge about 12:00 and ate our first meal.  We had hamburgers.  The dining hall was very pretty (blues & greens).


We finally got moved into our cabins at 2:00.  We lacked one cabin having enough so Mary Duncan, Phyllis Nicholson, Joyce Edmond, Nancy McGinnis and I got the extra cabin.  The cabins were in duplex style and our neighbors were 4 boys from Amber-Pocassy.  Every night we would talk through the wall.  After we got moved in we went swimming at the pool to cool off.  By the time we got back & got dressed it was time to go to supper.  It was a cold supper & tasted good, although I didn't feel too good.


After supper we all fixed up & fixed our hair to go to the dance. There was a skating party but we didn't go.  I danced 5 times that night.  I danced 3 with John (from Amber-Pocassy), 1 with another Amber-Pocassy boy and 1 with Ronnie Sykora.  Had a good time.  Then we went to bed & slept great.  We talked through the walls a long time.


                                                                   GOOD NIGHT

So Long Mrs. Sutterfield

Over a week ago one of my favorite teachers passed away at age 97.  That's her third from left on the top row.  After our grade school finally closed, we were all shipped off to Prague, and everyone went their separate ways.  It was sad in a way, to be separated from those other kids that we sat next to even though they may have been a couple of years younger or older.  Our little family was gone.  Here are a few memories of my 5th, 6th, 7th grade teacher, Mrs. Sutterfield, that I have stored away over the years.

1.  She was strict, in the strictest sense, but I always felt that she liked me.

2.  She gave us gifts each Christmas.  One I particularly loved was a set of Blue Waltz perfume and talc.  I had never had such a grown up gift.  Since she didn't have children of her own, I always felt like we were her own kids.

3.  Once a year we had a carnival to raise money for our school.  One year we bought all kinds of games.  She piled us girls in her car and off to Shawnee we went to buy games.  Some I remember are Clue, Cootie, Mr. Potato Head, Uno.  Clue was one of my favorites.

4.  She was our 4-H director and she wrote all our 4-H demonstrations for us. 

5.  She also directed all our 4-H plays for us and we were always a winner.

6.  The cafeteria was next door to our classroom with a folding floor to ceiling divider.  If we were caught up with our studies, she'd let us slip between the divider and go help our one and only cook wrap the silver or whatever needing doing.

7.  She always wanted our margins straight.  She wanted the left margin to start at the light blue vertical line and the right margins at the even lighter blue vertical line that shadowed through the paper. 

8.  She had stunning handwriting and I always tried my best to copy her.

9.  Her husband came and entertained us on his accordion once in a while.

10.  She played the piano and I always will remember her playing "Country Gardens" for the 8th grade graduation ceremony.  A nice little rendition can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RTIRFbarxw. 

That's just a few of the memories I have of her.  What a wonderful teacher.  When we all went to Prague, I remember that I was a little jealous that she was teaching other kids and not me.  I hardly saw her after that last year at Garden Grove, only catching a glimpse of her now and again at the cafeteria.

So long Mrs. Sutterfield.

I love you. 

Falls Creek Memories

Oh, there is so much to tell you about this picture.  I posted this on Facebook today for very specific people, but I can't go into detail all I would like on Facebook so here are some little stories.  Thanks for indulging me.

I am the second from the right in this picture.

This is our church campers at Falls Creek.  I don't remember the exact year, but I am guessing I was in the 7th grade.  I remember that white skirt well; like it was yesterday.  I remember buying it with my own money that I earned from hoeing peanuts for $1 per hour.  Everything I earned went to buy clothes and things for Falls Creek.  Falls Creek was where you went to meet boys or tried to meet boys.  Okay, maybe there was more to Falls Creek than meeting boys, but boy howdy, there were a LOT of them.  That pleated skirt was one of the prettiest skirts I had EVER seen or will ever see.  As you can see, white skirts were 'IN' that year. 

Look how many of us had bows, tiny little velvet bows.  They, too, were 'IN' that year.  Oh, we were so cool.

Nine of us in that picture are related.  Can you pick them out?

Six of the others are related, but not related to the nine.

Four are the preacher's family.

One boy on the back row isn't related to anybody.

One girl isn't related to anybody either, but at the time she was the nicest girl I'd ever met.  She lived in California, but came back to visit her grandmother every summer.

I thought she was the coolest person ever!  After all, she was from California.

Look how thin my mom was back then; first adult on the left.

 If only this picture could talk.  I remember our KP duties.  I remember those women fixing our meals.  I remember all the beautiful music and services each morning and night.

This is such an important time in my life.  It truly is at my core being.

I love you. 

Forgotten Memory

Hello everybody on this last Sunday evening in January 2016. 


We had a first this afternoon; quite a pleasant first.  My son brought dinner tonight; a nice Cajun shrimp lo-boil that he'd made himself.  He used their crockpot to cook everything at his house.  Once he got here, he added the shrimp and a few minutes later, we were enjoying a tasty meal.  It was delicious and a treat for me not to cook.


It brought back an almost forgotten memory.  Many years ago mom used to take food to cook at her mom's house.  We didn't have a phone so there was no way to let grandma and grandpa know we were coming.  Back in those days, it was quite common for us to make weeknight visits, and, rather pop in at dinner time with 5 hungry kids expecting grandma to fix a meal, mom would take food to cook.  (Most of the time, my grandparents had already eaten.  As I recall 4:00 p.m. was their normal supper time.)


As wonderful as the memory of cooking at grandma's house is, the real memory is the sense of safety and security I felt.  All was right with the world.  So many people I loved in the same room.  One specific memory is of me laying on the floor (they had carpet and we had linoleum) diagramming sentences for English class.  All the other kids were doing homework as well or quietly playing or just listening to the adults.  There might have been five kids, but I don't ever remember a time of us acting up at grandma's house.  We would never have dared.


Thanks for the new memory and for reminding me of a forgotten memory. 


I love you.


I am so happy that my two children are such sweet adults.  I am proud of them both.  My loves.
Now I'm going to see if they still diagram sentences.  I absolutely loved diagramming.