John
There are so many memories of Mother, practically a whole life time's
worth. It is difficult to actually recall into words all the love, support,
encouragement, pride, kindness, compassion, motivation, respect, (and
did I mention love) that I have experienced. Multitudes of happiness,
and at least our share of sadness. Sometimes there was disappointment
and despair, and even some anger and rebellion. But through it all, we
remained a big, loving family.
One of my early memories of mother was when she yelled "STOP" to me and one of my friends as we ran out the back door with cups of water. All we wanted to do was put the fire out. But, being a mom, she could not let us do that and we had to watch the teepee burn to the ground. Having the fire department come put it out was exciting, but Mom, I can do it myself ! I think I hold the record among the 5 of us for making Mother mad the most often. But I did it for what I thought was a very good reason at the time. I thought I knew everything! Boy, was I ever wrong. But through it all, she would always still love me.
Top
ten not-so-great things I did when I was young (or - Boy, I wish I had
never done that!)
10) We did not mean to set the teepee on fire.
9) The first time we walked home from school in Tulsa, we got lost after
I said "This is the street where we turn".
8) And there is the time I tried to iron a plastic baggie, what a mess!
7) I will never forget the day I got a new BB gun and learned how to shoot
it.
6) "Moving" into the storage building in the back yard (my first bachelor
pad) and letting her hear that George Carlin album.
5) Going on midnight bicycle rides with some of my friends.
4) How about the time that the police escorted me home after cutting donuts
in the field by the school in that old white station wagon.
3) The day I quit going to Boy Scouts.
2) I bought a motorcycle.
1) I crashed my motorcycle. And yet, somehow through it all, Mother would
still love me, unconditionally.
Being
the mathematical kind of guy that I am, I just had to mention these facts:
70 Years is the same as:
852 Months
1825 Fortnights
2485 Birthday Candles
3,650 Weeks
25,550 Days
613,200 Hours
2,207,520,000 Seconds
Thanks for all the time you spent scouting with us. Den 3 (?) in Tulsa was a lot of fun and great place to learn valuable lessons in life. We all became well rounded adults knowing that anything can be build out of popsicle sticks and glue. Through the brownies and the cub scouts and webelos and such I just want to thank you mom, for loving us so much. You put up with the boy scouts, the camping and the smell. So we could learn a lot from what all those stories tell.
Band Boosters, PTA, various clubs and organizations, being friends with some of our teachers (who were also your teachers) - you were always hanging around our school, no matter how hard we tried to pretend we didn't know you. Looking back on it now, I sure am glad you did!
Debby
First time I met Anne, we were invited over for dinner (a delicious pot
roast). I was nervous. She greeted me with a hug and made me feel so welcomed,
I felt at ease almost immediately. From that first meeting I knew that
she was very special and on the drive home I had the nicest warmest feeling.
You know, I feel that way, every time I see her. The best part—she spills
over into the most wonderful family.
