Of Nostalgic thoughts and memories~~~~

THE DISTANCE THAT THE DEAD HAVE GONE,

DOES NOT AT FIRST APPEAR.

THEIR COMING BACK SEEMS POSSIBLE

FOR MANY AN ARDENT YEAR.

---Emily Dickinson 1830-1886

I know Darklings, what a strange sentiment to start a post, but it is true, at least for myself and my sister.

Over these last few weeks, my sister and I have been involved in remembering the dead, our parents, grandparents, and our oldest brother.

We’ve been reading letters and looking at photos. The letters from our Dad to Mom during World War II have this immediacy, not that it happened 60-70 years ago, instead they leap over time and boundaries and death.

To the point where we can almost sense that they just might walk through the door, Dad yelling “I’m home, does anybody care?!!” and us children running to him and hugging him, of course we care, home would not be home without his presence or Mom’s.

Sometimes he’d surprise us with a bag of candy purchased at the candy counter at Woolworth’s, and we had to share and if there was an odd number left over, well that went to Mom and Dad with Dad giving the greater number to Mom.

Sometimes comic books, one for each of us, and we’d rotate them, I still have all the “Classic’s Illustrated” issues, it was how I was introduced to the classic novels, until I could read them properly.

The modern graphic novels don’t have that style, and do not address the proper novel form.

Sis came across the old slide pictures, but we’re not sure where the projector is, and if the lamp in it works, but once it’s found we’ll test it out.

Yes Darklings, we saved everything from our parents and grandparent’s houses, the houses had to be sold to settle the estates, and we were pretty much scattered because of our jobs. But we put everything into storage, bit by bit we’d pull a few things out and decide what to do, when a box had been gone through we’d mark it and put it back in storage until it could me moved.

But now with my Great Aunt’s house and its space, we’ve been able to get a lot of things out of the storage units, and go through them more comfortably. Sis is going to use quite a bit of the furniture from our parents and grandparents in her house which is good, our brother didn’t need it as his wife had her own ideas of decoration and given how active the boys are it was considered best.

But looking over the photo’s, were we really that young, I ask. But I was so glad to miss the worst of the hairdo’s and clothing, neither I nor my sister could get into the paisley stuff or beads, and peace symbols, leather and fringe, it just seemed so tacky. And it was a good thing that we learned to sew, I could never imagine exposing my knees in mini-skirts, although they are nice looking knees, but I felt that when one flaunts too much, one is just “giving it away”.

But the Beatles---not too long ago, at one of the movie theaters they were showing “A Hard Day’s Night” and hearing that first cord of opening music, I found myself being transported back to being a teenager enjoying the infectious enthusiasm of those 4 boys from Liverpool.

The other night I heard Gary and the Pacemakers singing “Ferry on the Mersy” and the tempo and beat of the song had me floating to another time, when one didn’t have the worries that one has now, you were free floating like a bobbing cork on the ebb and flow of the make-believe river, and could take deep breaths of freedom.

But our parents and grandparent’s houses are gone, torn down, one a parking lot, the other a part of a large apartment complex, the neighborhoods have changed, its not the same, stores that were there run by Mom and Pop’s who knew our names, all gone, some torn down, some burnt down. They exist only in our minds and memories.

I think that is why I fight to keep my Great-Aunt’s house preserved and kept up, a bastion to another time, another era, a period of grace and elegance and a certain amount of stability.

I asked my sister when did things change for us, and she said “JFK’s assignation, Vietnam, Watergate, Woodstock, pot and protests, Patty Hearst’s kidnapping, children controlling adults.” Then she remarked “Our dream finally ended we grew up and faced reality when Dad then Mom died and we were in essence orphans, for our parents were the one’s that prevented us from seeing the grave our own mortality.”

She was right and we try to pass on and preserve that graciousness that unruly child/adults try to rip away.

There is really no such thing as progress, only change and sometimes time marches backwards in a strange way, the concept of light rail, echoes our trolley cars, people buying old pre-1965 cars, those who restore old things like typewriters and telephones, various historical preservation societies, and re-enactors, the concept of Retro design, community gardens an echo of the old Victory Gardens, being organic means growing and putting up your own food, re-cycling was like “metal for Victory”, getting points on your credit card was like Green Stamps and Blue Chip stamps, save up enough and you could get something and so on.

Oh this trip down memory lane can be fun, nostalgic and sad at the same time.

And for now, well Darklings I am feeling much better, but I still get a little weak and light headed, so although I’m over the worst of it, there is still some after effects, I’ve been able to go into work but just half days for now, next week I’ll be pulling full days some of the staff did come down ill in spite of precautions.

I’ve been so wanting to work on the stove, but Sis told me to take it easy, it will be there, but I do want to start tackling it at least a little bit this weekend. Just do a little at a time, once it is properly cleaned and working then the kitchen will be back in order the way it should be, and I’ll be very, very happy.

For now I look at Doyle asleep in his favorite chair, Wiener Dog curled up in a hidden nook of it, Belladonna curled up on the couch hidden under an inexpensive throw blanket to keep her warm, its in the low 50’s outside and nippy. Sis is re-mounting some of the photo’s that have come loose and labeling them, a good thing to do.

And now I’ve heard the timer go off, dinner is ready, Stew tonight, hearty and warm, Doyle brought home a loaf of French bread, Louise has just arrived home from work, I’m glad I’ve only put in a half day, and several of Sis’s clients cancelled, they too have the flu, so we were able to have the early evening to relax, and now time to fill our tummies.

Later Darklings

It is good to get together with people you love.