Month: November 1998

  • Charlotte gives everything away

    Money was tight when my husband’s parents married during the Depression. To afford what they needed for their house and five children they shopped at auctions. He bought tools and equipment. She came home with beds for their five children, a kitchen cabinet with chipped paint and dressers with cracked varnish. Between changing diapers, scrubbing…

  • lunch time in the bank vault

    I had the key to my lock box the day I dashed into the bank on my way to lunch. I needed it to take out birth certificates for a spring trip to Mexico. The clerk solemnly handed me the sign-in sheet and quietly watched as I scrawled my name on the designated line. She…

  • positive peer pressure

    As my grandmother and mother before me, I taught my pre-schoolers the alphabet , counting to 100 and how to print their names. I even held gym class for one – he needed special exercises to recover from an accident. I made him walk the plank, pedal his tricycle around the house and go through…

  • Cub Scout magic show

    It had not been a good morning for checking out the neighborhood garage sales. I had found only a couple of books that interested me I was ready to quit for the day when I spied one more sign. I pulled over and parked. The usual rack of clothes, tables of knick knacks and boxes…

  • Art Center play

    I was minding my own business, studying by myself quietly when this guy said we should go to the back room. I followed, watching him carefully. He turned and swung his hand at my face. I stepped back in surprise. A couple seconds later, I took a couple of steps and fell to the floor…