Saturday, October 1, 2022
PILLOWS
It was late summer, 1956 - shortly after going on a maternity leave from my job at Ma Bell's Wood River (IL) office. My baby was due in September, first grandchild for my husband's mother. My older sis and brother had already brought eight grandkids to my mom, who planned to fly out to Illinois from...
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Friday, September 30, 2022
MHS MAYDAY CELEBRATION, 1953
Jean Newton was Mossyrock High’s English and World History instructor. She organized the school’s May Day program/Homecoming during my senior year. Since she was from jolly old England, she was well-versed in the finer points of traditional Maypole dances. She coordinated with the band director to...
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Thursday, September 29, 2022
CUSTOMER SERVICE AT MA BELL
1956 I got a job at the local office of Illinois Bell Telephone Co. in Wood River, IL using my previous experience at Pacific Telephone in Seattle as an extra qualifier. It was a shoo-in, and they were happy to hire me. Like the other “girls” in the office I was trained to handle various tasks. In...
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Wednesday, September 28, 2022
THE LIGHT
There was a story on the TV news about a car wreck in which three people were killed: a mother, her infant, and the mother’s best friend. At first it seemed to be a routine tragic event. But as sometimes happens, a witness snapped a photo. Later when she looked at the photo, she noticed her camera...
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Tuesday, September 27, 2022
FROM THE ARCHIVE
REVENGE SALKUM, WA: Circa 1948 In Salkum, population around 200, everybody knew everybody else’s business. Because most families had outdoor privies, the neighbors knew your very private business and habits. Some drivers would honk to be sociable if they happened to drive by as you entered the...
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Monday, September 26, 2022
MY BIRTHDAY WEEKEND
Saturday morning my daughter Robin showed up in my driveway just as I pulled my car forward to make room for her. I'd gone out to sweep the maple propeller seeds from the porch and sidewalk - but mostly to keep an eye out for her. She'd flown in from Florida and checked into a local hotel late...
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Sunday, September 25, 2022
DID YOU EVER KEEP A SECRET FROM YOUR PARENTS???
When I was very young – between the ages of 5 and 12 – our family lived in the Kennewick area of eastern Washington. This area as I remember it had open spaces, lots of sunshine and quite often it was breezy, with grit and sand blowing on the wind. The two acres behind our house was full of scrub...
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Saturday, September 24, 2022
SAME STUFF DIFFERENT DAY
I checked the headlines; Trump's not in jail. Putin's war against Ukraine has amped up a notch as his people head for the border to avoid being forced into his army. The stock market is fluctuating and the Fed has upped the interest rate to slow down inflation. Robo calls continue to harass people....
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Friday, September 23, 2022
ONCE UPON A TIME IN ACADEMIA
Sometimes a thing happens that confirms the old sayings. For instance, there's this old saw about being book smart and street stupid. I lost my sense of awe about the elevated status of professors at the university after working in the social sciences department. My title was Secretary IV, which was...
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Thursday, September 22, 2022
READY FOR MY CLOSEUP, MR. DEMILLE...
This phrase was famous in the long ago, as Hollywood stars posed for publicity photos or were caught "accidentally" by a wandering photographer on the Boulevard who was looking to get his work paid for by a magazine (these days it's mostly on one of the online sites). Someone who seems uniquely...
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