Well.....here I am, back in my study after a long absence. Two things are obvious to me after being gone so long. First of all, our housekeeper didn't think it was necessary to keep my desk dusted while I was gone. Secondly, we really need to get a housekeeper. This whole room could use a good dusting.
Where have I been you ask? I have been nowhere. I've been wallowing in a grand funk for a couple of months now. I haven't had a funny memory....or any memory for a long time now. I am afraid if I keep writing these little one page stories I might possibly have to make something up. I'll put it off for as long as I can and I will give you some notice if I decide to write a few paragraphs of fiction. My cousins tell me nearly all my memories are fiction but that's just not true. I always tell them "Mea memoriae non vestra memoriae, ergo tace". For the non-educated among us, that's Latin for "My memories aren't your memories, so shut up". It does sound better in Latin, doesn't it?
I was following a group text between my siblings this morning. We tend to have our reunions in the form of text messages. Everyone was wishing everyone a Happy Valentine's Day. I wasn't too keen on this since I have never given Debbie a bouquet of flowers or a Valentine's card in all the forty-nine years we've been married so, I feel a bit guilty for giving the wishes to someone else....especially my brother of all things. I finally posted a heart emoji to keep from being rude. Eventually the conversation turned to memories. I love this part of of the group texting, especially now that I can't remember anything. I can't give credit to any of the sisters or brother for any of these memories because my phone crashed a week ago and I haven't entered new contacts. All I can say is phone number dah dah dah #1 remembered the little boxes of chocolate our daddy always had for us on Valentine's Day. Phone numbers dah dah dah #'s 2, 3, and 4 all commented on the memory and everyone felt nostalgic for a moment. Then phone number dah dah dah # 3 asked if we remembered the dollar bill we always got in a birthday card from our Grandma Mihills in South Dakota. That sure brought back some good memories. It was a great day to get Grandma's card because it boosted our monthly income by double! Not only could we buy a quarter's worth of penny candy every week of the month but we could now include any toy M.E.Moses five and dime stocked for a dollar or less. Good times! Oh sure you laugh, but those are golden memories and I wouldn't trade for them.
This memory reminded me of our weekly allowance. I don't know how much the three younger kids got for allowance but Cindy and I, as the oldest, got twenty-five cents a week. Sometime in 1962 daddy approached Cindy and I with a great deal. Instead of giving us the quarter every week, if we wanted and only if we wanted, he would stop this weekly practice and give us a dollar a month. We both agreed heartily and danced the happy dance. It took us about six months to figure out we were getting shorted a dollar a year with this setup. I may have mentioned before we weren't necessarily the brightest bulbs on the Christmas tree.
Speaking of Christmas, every Christmas morning was a total blowout with gifts stacked to the ceiling...and I'm not making that up. Daddy loved all the holidays but Christmas was his favorite. Mama and daddy would start moaning the financial blues right after Thanksgiving every year and every year we expected a pair of socks under the tree...if we were lucky. Christmas morning would then absolutely blow us away. We never seemed to catch on to this skullduggery and always fell into deep depressions before the actual day. Daddy really knew how to enjoy Christmas! I can't believe mama went along with it unless he fooled her too.
Easter was another good holiday. Every spring included a trip to Sears or "MonkeyWards" (that's Montgomery Wards for those not accustomed to our family language). We got new dress clothes, shoes, socks, and for some reason underwear. Debbie Sue was probably the only one to show off her new underwear at the "Easter Parade". We did look good on Easter Sunday and we had Easter baskets loaded down with candy, eggs, and a couple of nice presents. As Cindy and I got too old and figured out the Easter bunny was actually daddy, he stopped giving us baskets. That was wonderful because he substituted really nice gifts in place of the baskets. I remember one year we each got a brand new Arvin AM radio. Mine was mint green bakelite and Cindy's was pink. Oh the joy! We could now listen to the top forty in the privacy of our own rooms.
The top forty......now that's a memory I had forgotten. I'm gonna write that down for a later story.
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