Pausing to Remember Them

The days and months seem to move so quickly that there is barely time to experience them. In the blink of an eye those carefully laid plans, anticipated with uncontrollable excitement are lived and become nothing but fond memories. As the moments rush by many people that had been a part of our brief lives are gone as though they were subjects in a magician's disappearing act. Poof! Where did they go! Some of them are remembered, some fade from our thoughts too quickly, and that is sad.

As I approach the anniversary of my birth seventy years ago I remember some of those people that probably few remember. Our small country store was a stage for me and there were many players performing in front of me from my birth until I became an adult. Many were uneducated, some were funny, most were poor, but all of them contributed something to who I am today. I want to honor a few of them by mentioning their names.

Starling lived several miles away down in a holler. He walked to our store when he needed something. Starling had some physical problems and he was a little different. Even on some of the hottest days he would wear an old full length army green overcoat. My dad once helped him fill out some Social Security papers. He told my dad that he had fought in four wars: the Civil War, Spanish American War, and both World War I and II. As I got older I enjoyed hearing some of Starlings stories. We were sure he was confused about his war experiences.

Aunt Ule was my great aunt. She never married, and lived by herself in a small hut of a house. There was no electricity and no running water.  She often kept her chickens inside, and when she did it was best not to go for a visit. But we did because my dad was the one who looked after her. She walked with a limp, one eye protruded a bit, and her appearance was always frightening to a young boy like me. Aunt Ule did some strange things, and often caused some problems for us. But she was family, and as ornery as she was my dad loved her and so did we.

Miss Mae was about as attractive as Aunt Ule. She was an older lady who thought she was God’s gift to men. She adored the men at our store, and when she came to shop she dressed up like a movie star, or so she thought. She always wore bright red lipstick which she must have applied in the dark. It was always caked on and was usually all over her mouth in which there was not a single tooth. Miss Mae flirted with any man that happened to be in the store, even if her husband was with her. I liked Miss Mae because she, I thought, was funnier than Lucy on TV.

There are others I want to mention because I loved  them. Aunt Sookie was one of my favorites. She churned cow butter and spread it on crackers for me. Mr. Feddie Stewart had an old Model T car in his barn, and he and his wife were very nice to me when we delivered their groceries. There was Norm who found me on the kitchen table eating beans out of the bowl with my hands. Of course I was just a baby. He called me Beans from that time on. Ed and Willie, poor farmers, were kind, honest and giving. I worked with them many times on our farm when my dad hired them to do some farm work.

There are others who I’m sure not many people remember. I guess there will come a time when few will be left to remember me and you. Everybody is worth remembering. So today I honor these few dear people who in some way taught me something about life. Things like working hard, being kind, showing compassion and love, moving ahead despite physical difficulties, and making others laugh.