This Memorial Day weekend is filled with memories of those who have fought for our country and its freedom. Gradually, it has also become a weekend where families visit cemeteries and tend to the graves of their loved ones who have passed to their eternal rest.
All of these things are admirable and to be commended. It is a time when I also visit cemeteries, and tend graves of my two husbands, my parents, and others who remain forever in my heart. Right now my van is loaded with flowers that have yet to reach their destination, but they will get there before Monday.
Most recently, part of my Memorial Day weekend involves planting some flowers, a couple of tomatoes, some herbs and maybe some pepper plants. So far, I haven’t purchased any of that, but I am getting the urge to do so soon.
Since 1985, this time is also a time to reflect on my anniversary of writing for The Shawano Leader. The first published column appeared on May 28, 1985. That seems a lifetime ago. I have spent some time going through the first year of columns. Some I recall like they were yesterday, and others are strange to me. Did I really write that? I ask myself.
In that first year, I wrote one personal column a month, and did human interest stories the other weeks. Gradually, I moved into doing all personal columns. Those early years saw a lot of cat columns, and dogs were also a huge part.
During the first year, I used the first name of my husband, and two youngest children, who were still living at home. When Burger King had their Herb commercial running in 1986, I wrote about having a husband and a son by that name, though my son was called Bert.
Well, when Bert came home from school after that appeared, he said he had gotten teased in school. So, that is how the term “farmer husband” came into being. My children were mentioned in general terms and not named.
I noticed that I wrote about my son’s Little League team without mentioning his name, and two years later I wrote about my daughter’s rag tag, traveling softball tournament team, and didn’t mention her name either. Now that I have been attending my granddaughter’s high school softball team’s games, reading those columns brought back a flood of memories.
Through the years, a lot of animals both domestic, farm related or wildlife have been written about. Cats, dogs, heifers, cows, snakes, bats, mice, a bear, and even a skunk made it into my columns over the years.
It seems I have touched on many emotions over the years. A sweet, and haunting autumn poem, some downright laughable moments of keys locked in cars or houses. Goofy cooking experiences, and then there was my tongue-in-cheek nightmare of calendars. There were sad times, too: the death of my mother, my brother, mother- and father-in-law, and, in 2004, the death of my “farmer husband.”
You, my loyal readers, have seen me go through all of these and more in the 29 years I have been writing this column. For that you deserve a round of applause!
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