April 2012 Everything’s Relative

Hear, Hear!
This is a true story about my own brother. Bob went to the doctor yesterday to get some relief for a rash on his hands and feet. He’s a little hard of hearing, and when he called me after seeing the doctor, here is what he said:
“Doc said I need to see a specialist and referred me to a genealogist.”
I laughed so hard, I could barely tell him I would call the dermatologist for him.
Shirley Cullum » Italy, Texas

Mother’s Treasures
I’m starting this story without having any idea how it is going to end. Let’s see where it is going to go.
I’m 86 years old now and my mother has been gone for many years. But I remember so well the little items that she treasured and kept put away because they were too good for everyday use. There were a couple of dishes and silver items, but mostly they were little crocheted or tatted pieces of fancy needlework that her mother or sister had given to her. Once a year she got them out of the closet, washed them carefully, starched them lightly, lovingly ironed them, wrapped them again in tissue paper and put them back in the linen closet.

And then one day she dropped dead. The coroner said she was dead before her head hit the floor. All her little treasures were still in the linen closet, and she who cherished them so had now gone on to her reward.

She died at a time in my life when my family and I had to travel across country to take care of funeral arrangements and clean out her house—in as little time as possible. The maid at the motel where we were staying belonged to the local Moose lodge. She said that the lodge was having a rummage sale soon and would be happy to send a truck to take anything we might want to send, a quick and easy way to clean out all of her possessions that we couldn’t keep.
And so all of her little treasures were carried away to be sold to total strangers.

The moral of the story: Is it wrong to set such store in material items? Not necessarily. But should Mom have used and enjoyed these things during her own lifetime? Yes, I think so. Because of this, I use my sterling silver and good dishes every day.

Beyond this, another questions arises: Isn’t it possible that the person who found these small treasures at the rummage sale had some understanding of their value and treasured them too? I want to believe that this is true.
Charlotte C. Dunn » San Diego