SUNDAY MEMORIES
Judy Wills
My Mother’s handwriting was really beautiful. From what I understand, she and my Aunt Jessie were taught “penmanship” in school. Not only is that not taught in today’s schools, but I’m afraid that cursive writing is a thing of the past. I suspect it will be as difficult for our grandchildren to read as the Old English is to us. What a pity.
In any case, I loved getting letters from Mom. While she nearly always hand-wrote all her letters, I always type out mine. My handwriting is terrible! Almost unintelligible! But Mother wrote lovely, loving letters and I enjoyed them all.
As I was growing up, we never heard of automatic dishwashers, so I learned to wash and hand-dry the dishes from our meals. Since the humidity in Albuquerque, New Mexico was very low – very dry – it didn’t take long for those dishcloths (T-towels, we called them) to dry out.
One Christmas I received a set of T-towels from my Mother, that she had hand embroidered for me. Now, embroidered T-towels were not a novelty, but these were special. Mother had written out some “sayings” and embroidered those sayings on the T-towels. I told her once that I would always have her “with me” – since I had her handwriting on those towels! Here are the things she wrote:
I used those towels until they literally had holes in them, before purchasing new ones. I don’t know how to embroider – I’ve tried many, many times, but just can’t get the knack of it, so my T-towels will remain plain.
But I always have the ones my Mother made especially for me – in her own handwriting. They are treasures for me.
of the road, and steer from the right side of the car; that meant I was going to have to drive with my right hand and shift with my left hand, while trying to keep from hitting a pedestrian or running off the road into a ditch. Are you beginning to get the picture? All this, while trying to read the road signs and dealing with the “Round-A-Bout” intersections, that were new to both DiVoran and me. I was going to have to retrain my brain if we were going to live to see the rest of the UK we had come to visit. DiVoran and I agreed that she would remind me to stay on the left side of the road every time I started to stray to the right. Leaving the rental car agency parking area dumped us right into Charlwood city traffic, so it was white knuckle driving from the “get-go” with DiVoran yelling, “KEEP LEFT” – “KEEP LEFT” at every cross-street and round-a-bout.
those cool looking red telephone booths to call the rental car agency, who told us we would have to take the car to a Vauxhall dealer in the area to get them fixed. Great! Now we had to locate a Vauxhall dealership in a town we knew nothing about, and pray they wouldn’t give us a hassle reserved for “American Tourists.” As it turned out, we were able to find the Vauxhall dealership without too much trouble, and they fixed the wiper motor, without as much as a, “And where are you from, Yank?”
Museum there. The Royal Pavilion was built in three stages, beginning in 1787, as a seaside retreat for George, Prince of Wales, and was not finished until 1822, where it was used as a remote location for the discreet liaisons of the then King George IV. The Brighton Museum & Art Gallery contains beautiful displays of Art Nouveau, Art Deco furniture and other decorative art. There are also Sussex area archaeology relics and the history of Brighton. The Booth Museum of Natural History, the Preston Manor and the Grange Rottingdean are short distances away, but we were getting tired and saved them for another day.
DiVoran Lites
After she died, and Jessie couldn’t keep them up, she placed some of her knick-knacks and beer steins there, so she could enjoy them.
was fascinating. Actually this same theme was throughout the house wherever there was tile – kitchen (white with black), downstairs bathroom (green with black), etc.
brother’s chose to not spend the holiday with me, I have mourned, cried, tried denial and even went on a Thanksgiving cruise. Nothing has worked to chase away the Thanksgiving blues. This year I am changing things up.
taking off from. I walked down the street a couple of blocks, and came upon the entrance to the AOPA 2013 AirPortFest. I couldn’t believe my luck! I ask the people at the gate if there was a fee to enter, and they said “No” so I walked in and spent a couple of hours checking out all the latest in General Aviation aircraft. What a great show that was! And of course, that’s where the C-47 was giving rides around Ft. Worth, if you had the price of a ticket. I didn’t ask.
One of the most interesting planes I saw there was actually a glider. The German built Stemme S10 MotorGlider has a retractable Rotax 914 F2/S1 supercharged flat-four engine in the nose, providing 113.5 hp for takeoff and climb, retractable landing gear, and a range of over 900 nautical miles; all for that special low price of $390,000 (US) when “you” pick it up at the factory in Strausberg, Germany. Of course, you have to go by yourself as there is only room for the pilot.
morning, and I guess they must have all been at church (?) So, I drove down to the Ft. Worth Stockyards Station and played the part of a tourist, while taking in the sights. Most memorable was the video story of the western cattle industry development, how Ft. Worth became the rail yard hub for that industry, and how the cowboy was instrumental in making all that happen. Then at 11:00, there was the real Longhorn cattle drive down Main Street. What a sight that was! Of course, back in the late 1800s, there would have been a lot more than 40 Longhorns running down a dirt street kicking up a lot of dust or mud, depending on the season.
I arrived in Orlando in time to take DiVoran to a delicious Baby Back Rib dinner at one of my favorite restaurants before heading home to Titusville, and my own bed. Have you ever noticed how much better your bed at home feels compared to any motel bed? It’s just not the same comfort level is it? At least not for me, it isn’t. Now don’t get me wrong, I love to travel, visit museums and see the sites, but it’s always nice to get home to the one I love and to my own bed. So, until next time, enjoy each and every day God gives you and let’s “Keep ‘em Flying.”
Old Things R New 