by jphilo | Nov 29, 2012 | Three Thoughts for Thursday
Furbies, kids’ electronic tablets, and Yvolution scooters top almost every list of 2012’s hottest Christmas toys. Those lists led to these three thoughts about hot toys of past years.
- Hot toys for my kids were anything in the Lego castle line and American Girl dolls. Those toys are now in storage.
- The hot toy when I was in third grade was Chatty Cathy. I pulled the string on mine so much, it only lasted two days.
- Mom remembers one Christmas during the Great Depression when her only present was a stick of gum. Presumably the gum provided a day of chewing pleasure…or more if it spent the night on the bedpost.
Kinda puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? What were the hot gifts when you were a kid? How long could you make a stick of gum last? Leave a comment!
by jphilo | Dec 20, 2011 | Family, Reviews
My future husband and I hadn’t been dating for long before he started talking about Uncle Harold, his mother’s older brother.
Uncle Harold lived in the Idaho mountains.
Uncle Harold was a World War 2 pilot.
Uncle Harold had bowed legs.
Uncle Harold had an amazing singing voice.
Uncle Harold.
Uncle Harold.
Uncle Harold.
Before meeting Uncle Harold for the first time, I wondered how any man could live up to such hero worship. But after meeting him, I better understood my boyfriend (and his mother Elsie’s) opinion of him. Uncle Harold was, and still is, a remarkable man.
In the past few weeks, I’ve come to know him better through his most recent book, The Preacher’s Kid. Its pages chronicle Harold’s life from his early remembrances until shortly before he enlisted to serve in World War 2. (He’s recorded that story in a previous book, Yes Sir, No Sir.)
I don’t want to give away the good stuff about Harold’s childhood in two small Kansas towns, Clayton and Norway. Or the summers and one school year spent living with his Uncle Ross and Aunt Alma near Hope, Idaho. But, I do want to share a few conclusions drawn from reading about his childhood exploits in the the late 1920s and throughout the 1930s Great Depression years:
- It is a miracle that Uncle Harold is still alive.
- I am very thankful never to have been Harold’s teacher.
- If Harold’s family had been Catholic instead of United Brethren, his mother, Mary Anne Walker (affectionately known as Grandma Annie to our generation) would have been nominated for sainthood.
- His Kansas Great Depression in Kansas stories are as grim as my mom’s Minnesota Great Depression stories, though they involve considerably less snow.
- Harold really did love his little sister, Elsie.
- I had never heard the story of Harold being chased by armed bank robbers before.
Okay, so the last one gave away a little of the good stuff. But, there’s plenty more. So much, that even though you don’t know Uncle Harold, you might like to read The Preacher’s Kid. It’s kind of like a movie where so many things happen to the protagonist you begin to think it’s all made up. Only this story isn’t made up. It’s true and so amazing that my opinion of Uncle Harold now matches that of my husband and my mother-in-law Elsie.
Harold Walker is a most remarkable man.
by jphilo | Oct 20, 2010 | Family
Tuesdays are usually for visiting my mom, Dorothy. Most weeks we go out for lunch, run errands, keep appointments, pay her bills, and balance her checkbook. But my crazy week of travel meant our day out was today, Wednesday.
Which was fine by Mom. She’s been hankering for schedule change ever since Village Inn started their Wednesday-free-pie-with-any-purchase promotion. So today we made a beeline for Village Inn – before putting gas in her car or buying some birthday cards – and made quick work of lunch. Then we ordered our free pie. Cherry for Mom. Strawberry-rhubarb for me. It was surprisingly good pie, though it couldn’t hold a candle to homemade.
The fact that it was free had Mom, thrifty survivor of the Great Depression, grinning from ear to ear. Free pie made her happy enough to crack a few jokes on the way home. Engaged enough to read yard signs and comment on the political leanings of home owners along the way. Secure enough in who she is to use her cane in the Target parking lot. Silly enough to choose the goofiest card she could find for her son-in-law’s birthday. And to think, all it took to make her happy was a schedule change and free pie.
Wednesday with Dorothy – priceless.
