Kansas at it's best!

I did not plan a trip to Kansas, but here I am,  I knew I was missing my sister and my nieces and nephew, and it was my desire to travel back home a some point, but just not right now.  Kansas is rather notorious for tossing a tornado into the mix when you least expect it and that is why I had not wanted to come here at the height of tornado season,  But here I set!

Today I had lunch with my friend Joe at Skaets Steak Shop, which is owned by my sister .  Then on Saturday my daughter and her husband will be here with 3  great grandkids,  Probably have supper with Alina and Tom, spend some time with Evelyn and then get up on Sunday and head back to Colorado.  I grew up in this neck of the woods so i know a few people.

Right now the weather is kind of cool, but it knows how to get hot and humid when it wants to!  I am hoping it will not do that, but who am I?  The wheat is looking good and I think there will be a bumper harvest this year!  I tried to call cousin Daryle, but no answer.   Sister Donna is asleep on the couch, so I am left to my own devices.  I think I will wander down stairs and see what became of the room I used to sleep in when I came.

Guess I am at a loss for something to do.  Just wanted to check in,

Spring time back home in Kansas.

I wonder if I will ever be old enough that I do not miss Springtime in Kansas.  Oh, I love Spring here where I am at in eastern Colorado, but it is not the same.  When I had Bret back when he was smaller I used to plan trips back home over Spring Break.  Sadly those days are over, but not my missing the Lilacs, Spirea, Iris, and the cool spring rains that brought all that to fruition.  I would leave here as soon as school let out on Friday.  Saturday morning would find us headed East.  A short stop in Lakin and then on to Donna's house.

My sister, Donna, has a big house with a full basement and two bedrooms along with a bathroom and a shower.  So that was home for the week.  In the front yard is a tree that I forget what it is called, but it would be in full bloom preparatory to throwing down some sort of big seed covered with sharp thorns.  Hutchinson is very temperate most of the time and in the springtime it clothes itself in a floral cloak just for me!  Forsythia, Spirea, Lilac, Iris, Tulip trees, Catalpa, Redbud, Hyacinth, Maple.  Hutchinson is very humid and my skin thrives on it.  At least it does most of the time.

Donna and Karen own Skaets Steak Shop.  Skaets is Steaks spelled backwards and has been in our blood since I started working there when I was 17 years old.  I was the dishwasher at the time and when I moved back after having my kids and divorcing my husband, I waited tables.  Skaets sets right on the main entrance to the fairgrounds, so best not to go in the first week of September.

Needless to say, they have very good food.  This is son Tommy choking down a Moon Burger.  It is one of their specialties.  It is a cheeseburger with bacon.  Bacon makes everything taste better.

But we are not here for the food.  We are here for the scenery, the trip down memory lane, and to just leave Colorado behind for a week.  I usually go check out the 2 fishing holes I used to frequent.  Maybe next time I will climb up the levee and visit the Arkansas River where I used to take the kids wading.  We would stop at B & D Carry out and get a box of burgers which was 8 hamburgers and french fries, all for one dollar.  Probably was not the healthiest meal in town but it fed the 6 of us and we liked it.

I have only a few friends left in Hutchinson.  I do have a nephew and 2 nieces.  Oh, and 2 cousins, Darrell and Steven.  I think that is about it.

All this talk of Kansas is just making me homesick.  Rest assured, Colorado is my home now and I have no intentions of moving back there, but I do have fond memories of Hutchinson and Nickerson.  I married my first, second and third husbands in Hutchinson.  Four, five and six, were all Coloradans.  I owned my home in Hutch, but gave it back to my mother when I left.  It has now been torn down and an apartment complex covers the lot.   I have lived in 3 different houses in Pueblo. I have been in this house 37 years and figure I will just do the toes up thing here.  Maybe.  Lord only knows what I may run in to out there in the real world.  Have to be pretty special to make me look twice and poke out that ring finger, but I digress.

Time to get ready for church.  Sunday is the one day that I make no commitments and I think I will keep it that way.  Just sort of drift with the flow and take a long nap while watching the cooking shows.

Peace!

How would you like to live in my head?

I woke up this morning with this song by Frankie Laine playing in my head and  thinking of when I left my first husband.  I do not for the life of me know why he had picked this song out of all the songs in circulation to describe me.  I certainly did not feel like a temptress of any sort as I loaded my worldly belongings in the trunk of a green 1957 (?) Chevrolet Belair.  Nor did I shine with pride as I backed the car down the driveway .  All the kids were jumping up and down in the back seat.  As I look back on that day I realize just how many things have changed.

I would be required by law to have everyone of them in a car seat.  That is a good thing that has happened.  I stopped and filled the car with gas and then pulled onto 50 Hwy heading east.  There were several stops along the road so the kids could pee.  Tiny bladders do not understand waiting until a rest area is available.  That was alright, because traffic was light at that time.  Very few cars were going any distance and we were on a 200 mile trip.  At some point I pulled out a package of bologna and a loaf of bread and we had a picnic.  And that evening we pulled into my mothers yard.  My new life was beginning.  Thank God for my mother.

The next morning I faced the fact that I was now on my own and I had a family that needed both a place to live and food to eat.  I knew my husband would not help me in any way.  In his reasoning, I was the one who wanted out, so it was my responsibility to provide a place to live and everything that this little brood of mine required.  I had no skills and no training, but I did have a will to work.

Years ago I had worked at Skaets Steak Shop as a dishwasher, so I went there.  I was immediately hired so I had my foot in the door. I knew if I was going to survive that I could not do it on a dishwashers wages.  So a part of my first paycheck went to purchase a white uniform.  That was standard attire for a waitress back then.  White uniform and white "waitress" shoes.  And a bottle of shoe polish.  With those things in hand I went into the Red Rooster Restaurant and told them I was experienced.  I was hired on the spot.

So I waitressed at the Red Rooster in the day and Skaets at night.  It was at the Red Rooster  that I met a young man who would turn out to be a very good friend of mine and teach me acceptance of all things.  We remained friends until his death.  It is because of Gibby that I became an AIDS activist. I have always thought people are placed in our lives for a reason and we will learn from them if we are open.

Soon I had money to rent a little house.  Working 2 full time jobs left me in a stupor most of the time.  So on my way home one day and on the spur of the moment, I stopped at the Red Carpet Resturant.  I knew waitress work did not pay as steady as cook wages, so I applied for a cook's postition.  I had never even been near a grill in my life, but being a good liar, I landed the job.  I quit the Red Rooster and Skaets Steak Shop and went full time at the Red Carpet.  That job actually paid insurance!  I worked from 2 until 10 at night.  Fry cook was fast, hard work and I loved it.  But I knew that the heart of any restaurant rested in the hands of the dinner cook.  That was my next move.  When Emily quit I stepped into her shoes.

It was then that I learned how to cook in quantity.  I was still fry cook and cooked the orders, but I also made all the gravies, sauces, potatoes, and home cooked meals.  I also made the dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, hash browns, French fries and anything else required to fill the steam table.  I came back at night and backed up the fry cook.  I hired a live in girl to watch the kids.  Now, this is all background and has nothing to do with what I had on my mind when I started this entry.  I was thinking about uniforms.

When I go into a restaurant now, it is anybody's guess what the cook or the waitress (or wait person) will be wearing.  Usually it is some sort of t-shirt or shirts that have a logo on them.  Back in the day, the waitress could have left the place of preparing and serving food and gone to work at her second job as a nurse.  Waitresses wore clean, white, starched uniforms.  They wore white, polished, lace up shoes.  Sometimes the owner furnished an apron with the logo of the place on it.  Nurses wore little white hats and that was the only difference.  Time was spent every night getting the uniform ready for the next days work.  A dingy uniform would get you sent home.  A spot that would not come out better be painted with shoe polish, because a spot meant you were dirty and you were a food handler after all.

Oh, and the smoking thing!  Every table, booth or stool had an ash tray.  Some times the blue smoke hung in the air until I thought I would choke.  It was better when I was cooking because I could keep the ash tray on the shelf between the grill and the french fryier.  The smoke was pulled up into the exhaust fan and if I was careful and did not drop ashes on the grill it was a good day.

 As you know, that all changed and the ash trays are now collectors items.  White uniforms are not to be seen any where and the white shoes are definitely a thing of the past.  The kids are grown and gone.  The husband is long since deceased.

But my mind still clings to the old days.  I go back home and my sister and her partner own Skaets Steak Shop.  I watch the cook and I watch the waitresses and I wonder if I could work an 8 hour shift now.  I rather doubt it.  They do tell me that anytime I want to move back they will find a place for me.  That gives me pause, but I think I am better off just staying here where I am and doing whatever it is I do.  At least when my back hurts I can set in my chair and when my head nods and I dose off, nobody is disappointed.

By all intents and purposes I should be lonely, but I am not.  I have the cat and the dog.  I have the geese and the weeds.  I have the sun in the morning and the moon at night.  ( I guess you know to click on anything underlined and printed in blue.)

Just a few memories of Tom and Mary...

I remember when we lived on A Street and Tommy worked at the photography store across the alley.  That was when they first met.

I remember he gave her a Ford Sunliner (the roof retracted into the trunk) for her 14th (?) birthday.

I remember after they were married and lived on 25th (?) Street that two cats were on the roof making a spectacle of themselves and I thought Tommy was going to sell the house!

I remember when Mary and I thought a tornado was coming so I left work and went to her house.  We carried food, water, blankets, and half the house into the basement and barricaded the door.  Then we realized we had left Dorothy upstairs alone!

I remember her losing her contact in the middle of 5th Street.

I remember when we were hanging clothes out at mom's and Dorothy climbed up in the cabinet and ate the Ex-lax and we had to take a cab to get her to the emergency room and how hard the cab driver laughed about what Mary was in for that night!

I remember that when one of us girls was pregnant another one was also pregnant.  Everyone of our kids has a cousin the same age.

I remember starting my nomad life and only returning home on occasion so I did not see much of Mary or any of the family for several years. I settled in Pueblo in 1977.  At one point one of Mary and Tom's kids passed through Pueblo and when they told Mary and Tom, Mary asked " Did you stop and see Aunt Louella? "  The kid replied, "Well, we thought about it, but there was no way to find her since we don't know her last name!"  Sad, but true. 

I married my last husband in 1983.   She and Tommy paid us a visit 2 or three days before  Tom passed in 1993
. 
 It was not until later when I lost my husband in 2003 that Mary came to stay with me several times.  After the last good visit we had she returned to Hutch and Donna had gotten new coffee cups in the restaurant.  They proceeded to have a picture of the 2 of them together toasting me with the NEW cups and the caption "Wish you were here!

I could tell by looking at them that they were gloating!  But you know the old saying, "He who laughs last, laughs best?"  I glanced up and my eyes came to rest on the "to go" cup that Mary had brought when she arrived and used every day she was here.  So I had my own picture made!
Click this little place here...The forgotten cup story told here!   Now that I think back, I do believe I still have that cup! 

The family is slowly dwindling and that makes me sad, but on the upside, we are being replaced and the family tree is branching out.  That is as it should be and that is good.  Like they say "Time marches on."  I remember the great grandmother, and the great aunts and uncles.  Never really had a grandfather, but always wished I had.  Never really knew my cousins.  I just knew who they were.  Never knew their kids either. 

So, I set here in my little corner of the world with my memories, because when it is all said and done they are the best part of growing older.  This old world is spinning so fast that there are times when I think I may fly off into the heavens.  Then I can see clearly, and isn't that what we are all looking for?

A three day vacation complete in 3 minutes or less!

I love these slide shows.  I can take the pictures in 6 minutes, download them to the computer in 1 1/2 minutes, and spend three days trying to find them and another day and a half getting them into an album, which is immediately lost, and when found is accessible only to the man over on County Farm Road.  But now you see it. Gotta love technology!
So the vacation began on Saturday and Sunday morning was the Garden City Pool which was not open, followed by the Richardson Zoo which was not open either.  Lot of planning went into this vacation! 
Dodge City proved a little better.  First the Casino and the camera stayed in the car.  Then Boot Hill then off to Hutchinson.  Hutchinson is always the visiting place so first to Donna and Karen's, then off to Skaets to test out the Moon Burger.  Never made a trip without bringing one of those back in my tummy!
Now I do need to interject something here!  Usually a trip to Hutch the end of July is very miserable weather-wise.  Such was not the case this time.   It was cool.  Course it rained buckets, which I thought was wonderful, but it does make dashing some where on foot a little tricky.  And since driving in rain is a trick itself and something you forget how to do living here in Colorado, a lot of time was spent in the parking lot.
But Monday I met cousin Daryle at McDonalds for breakfast.  Donna and I dropped in to see Dorothy and Joyce.  Michelle, who had chosen the time so we could meet her fiancée, was a no show.  Then drove to South Main to check on cousin Stephen, who was not at work.  I wanted to walk the riverwalk, but then again was the deluge so I gave that up.  I did find Evelyn and Kay at home, so that was good.  Karen made Ham Steaks for supper and then it was veg time in front of the television.
Tuesday was breakfast at Skaets with Daryle.  Then back to Smith's to see Stephen.  Lack of rain let me take a quick trip along the river walk which is coming along nicely and is very well maintained, although I do not understand that one painting on the side of that building.  Before the highlight of my trip, I did get a quick visit in with Sharon Jackson, whom I had not seen in over 35 years.  She looks the same as the last time I seen her, but then so do I!
At 12:30 I was back at Skaets for the rendezvous with cousin Sandy and My Favorite Republican!  Did not have the camera for that either, but I do have him and I on my phone as wallpaper.  Every time I look, there he is and it makes me laugh.  We discussed politics for 2 1/2 hours and never once did we get into an argument.  As you can imagine in a Bible Belt state. the majority in the Kansas government is Republican, but as I found out, they are a different breed of Republican.  A Democrat can actually get a bill passed if it is the right thing to do.  He was having a little problem with the gay stuff until I explained to him my thoughts. 
"When my husband died, I received benefits for my son from Social Security.  Two weeks later my friend David passed leaving his partner with two kids and one paycheck and no insurance.  Is that fair?"  You should have seen his little brow furrow and the wheels turned.  "I never thought of that!  It is about families, isn't it?  That is what we are missing!"
And that, my friends made the whole trip worth it.  I am confident that he will convey to his constituents our conversation and if any of them are like minded, which I am sure they are,  we will see good stuff come out of the state house in Kansas.   I bid my friends a fond farewell until next time and drove out to the Nature Center, then through Carey Park and back to the house where popcorn and game shows awaited my attention.
Glad I went?  Sure I am.  Glad I am home?  Of course.  And of course I hurried to the kennel to pick up the dogs.  "Here are two leashes and here are 2 dogs.  Sorry, but they ate their pillow!"  I think they were pissy at me.  What do you think?

Now you can finally meet the sister!

N

Do you remember this time last year when I went to Kansas?  Well, I think that was in July and I got there just in time to see this little gal born.  This is my sister, Donna Bartholomew who along with Karen Leshure owns Skaets Steak Shop in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Has for years.  I started working there when I was 17 years old and then Donna came on board when Ruth Herrington took it over from Norman Deschene.  Damn!  That was a very long time ago.  At one time or another all the little Bartholomew girls had a go at working at Skaets.  Skaets is steaks spelled backwards.  Little side note there.

  There were 5 of us girls and one brother.  Jake was killed in 1965.  Josephine left us several years ago, leaving just the 4 of us to carry on.  I am the oldest, then Donna, then Mary and last is Dorothy.  Dorothy is the baby.  Dorothy had a heart attack many years back and actually died and was revived twice.  I will have to write about that some day.  So Donna had bought Skaets and ran it with the help of Tom and Mary Shea for several years.  I lose track of time, but I do know that at some point in time Tom died, leaving Mary alone.  Then along in there some where mother had passed.  And at some point in time Karen Leshure, a long time friend of the family, bought into the restaurant.  Karen had a very sharp business acumen  and has been the stabilizing hand on the tiller for many years.  Course they are always talking about how they are going to retire and travel and Donna wants me to get my passport because we are going some where far away.  Well, I am sure I am going to get right on that!

But this is not about Skaets, or travelling or any of that stuff, this is about that little waif there in Donna's arms.  Isn't that about the cutest thing you have ever seen?  Her name is Adrianna and I do hope I spelled that right.  She was born in July of last year and I will not get more precise then that for obvious reasons.  Her daddy is Donna's only son Tom.  He is a salesman for Sysco Foods.  And a very fine salesman he is!   Sysco sells to restaurants and other food industry's in the Midwest.  I know the Midwest, and maybe farther away than that.  

Her mother is Alina.  Now here is a true test.  Alina is from Russia and was world kick boxing champion over there a few years back.  I can not remember her last name, but I know it now.  It is Bartholomew.  She is a beautiful woman and the sweetest little thing.  Course we know Tom would only have the best.  I give this woman a lot of respect for more reasons than one.  First she deserves it and secondly she could kick the crap out of me very easily!

Donna dotes on this little ball of fluff and I am sure it is a mutual admiration society.  They also have 2 little Chihuahua dogs which are spoiled very rotten.  I am starting to get pretty lonely for Hutchinson and my family there.  But first I better tell you that when we were kids at home Donna and Mary were always very close.  Dorothy was the baby and she mostly just cried and got her way.  But Donna and Mary just kind of hung out together.  Those three mostly got babysat when mother went to work.  Not always Donna.  Some times she followed me around, but as I recall we spent a lot of time worrying that a dog with Hydrophobia would come up the road and attack us.  We also worried a lot about the Gypsies who were camped on the edge of town kidnapping us.  And a lot of time we went to the cemetary to play.  Please do not ask me to explain that one.  I was probably the ring leader on that.  Always liked the cemetary because it was quiet.

Man, have you  ever noticed how I digress?  I am trying to tell you about Donna and her grand daughter.  The top picture is at her birthday party.  I think she ended up with a lot of frosting on her.  And I bet Donna loved every minute of cleaning her up and putting some new pink clothes on her.  All I can say is momma and daddy do not stand a chance with Grandma Donna on duty.  I think I am a pretty good grandma and Dorothy is also a good grandma, but Donna is making a career out of the grandma thing!

That is not hard to do thought because the little babies are so pure and innocent and they smell so good when they come out of the bath water and we rub them with baby powder and all the sweet smelling stuff.  And when they fall asleep in our arms with the little pouty lips, we are goners!

So you go Donna, cause I have words that I remember from way back when I had my first baby.  These may not be accurate, but it is close ..."Cooking and cleaning can wait for the 'morrow, for babies grow up we learn to our sorrow.  So cobwebs you hang there and dust go to sleep.  I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep". 

And with that I bid you a fond goodnight and very quietly turn out the light.

 

 

 

 

 

Off to Wichita and sister Mary, or the Yellow Brick Road

Yesterday was Monday.  Skaets Steak Shop is closed on Monday so this was the perfect opportunity to  venture off to Wichita to see sister Mary.  Now, as you will recall I can not post pictures since this computer is the most alien thing I have come across in quite some time. But none the less, with Lyn at the wheel and sister Donna ensconced in the passenger seat we headed out to Wichita, Kansas.  I was in the back seat, because I could see a very good nap in the offing!

We arrived at Mary's house at 1:00 which meant it was time for lunch.  So off we went to PF Chang's. First order of business was to decide what to eat, then order it, then eat it.  That is a very good place to eat and I would highly recommend it. 

Sister Mary has a beautiful home and she showed me every bit of it right down to the cedar lined closet.  Now that is an ingenious idea.  Her house is rather an English Tudor, which to me means there is tons of storage upstairs.

Leave taking was a sad business because I do not get to see or talk to Mary very often.  Wish we were closer.

Now today I had breakfast with the two boy cousins and then  lunch with Cousin Sandy and State Representative Joe Siewert.  Might have spelled that wrong, but the important part of this is he is a Republican!!  There is no way I can give you all the details of this lunch, but I will tell you this, I am a Democrat and a Bleeding Heart Liberal and I had more fun with that man then I did when the pigs ate my cousin Lenny!  If all the Republicans and Democrats could set down and spend two fun filled hours as we did today, there would be a lot more action taken in the State House!  I will go into further detail when I am safely back in Colorado.

See this different color?  That means I added this later.  On the left is my sister Mary and my wiccan companion.  On the right is Mary and me in her sewing room.  It either has a very low ceiling or I am a lot taller than I remember being.  You can always tell Mary, she is the pretty one!  All my sisters are pretty, but I am still the Matriarch and they have to respect me!  Her and her friend will be coming the end of August for a few days.  I am very excited!

Now, tomorrow I will be heading East.  Our laptop does not get the Internet and I am afraid that I will not be able to send another missive until I get back home.  Just know I am thinking of you and I am having more damn fun than you can imagine. If I have the opportunity I will slip you a line, but don't bet on it!!

Alina & Tommy sitting in a tree?

Here is Alina, the very proud mother!!!

Here is great Aunt Lou and the lovely little Adriana!

Now here is a picture of daddy Tom and Grandma Donna!  The only other picture I have of Tom also has grandma on the other side.  As you kow I do not use pictures without permission and I did not get permission from Donna for any picture except this one.  Sorry.

The red writing below is now moot since you have your pictures!!

I must apologize because there are no pictures here, but I can not figure how to get them with someone elses software.  When I get home I will add pictures.  Thanks for understanding an old woman who is clueless on a computer!!

As you know I am on vacation!  This is my first evening. Left Pueblo this morning, well actually yesterday, which was Sunday. Stopped in Lakin for lunch with the kiddies, but that is a whole nuther blog!  Arrived in Hutchinson, Kansas around 7:00 PM.  Where is the first place we had to go upon arrival at my sister Donna's house?  You guessed it!!  She has a brand new, and the only one in the world at the time, Grand Daughter!  Her only son, Tom Bartholomew and his lovely wife, Alina are the proud parents of a bouncing baby girl, born only the day before.  How exciting is that? And this precious little baby was wanting to meet me! Me! Can you beleive that? At least that is what Donna told me and of course I beleive everything people tell me.

Now, I want to go on record as saying, this may look like a normal baby, but such is not the case.  Far be it from me to brag about my family of which I am the official Matriarch, having outlived the other older siblings, but I shall digress and do just that.  Her mother is Alina Aldatova, formerly of Russia and current and former Karate/Kick Boxing Champion of the World.  I kid you not! Go Google Alina and there she pops up.  My traveling companion, the wiccan, reminded me to mind my manners as I had not yet met Alina, and I sometimes come across a tad bit overbearing. She did, however, say she had my back.  Yeah, my waaaaaaay back.

Alina is a very sweet and wonderful person and I think she liked me as I left the room in one piece! I had seen pictures of her in her karate poses and asked if she would show me how she could put her foot clear up over her head while standing flat footed on the floor.  She declined, but there will be another day.

While Alina is a world wide celebrity, Tom is fairly well known in this area,  He is a salesman for Sysco Foods which sells to resturants and institutions.  Not just your old run of the mill salesman either.  Boy has been very succesful in this field.  Wins all sorts of awards, but the best part is his customers love him to death. He is one of the sweetest little (and I use the term lovingly, not literally) kids I have ever known.  But while Tom is a celebrity in the food service circle, his mother is a celebrity in the resturaunt circle.

Donna Bartholomew along with her partner, Karen LeShure own and operate Skaets Steak Shop in Hutchinson, Kansas.  Now this place has been around for quite some time.  My first job was washing dishes at Skaets in 1959. At that time it was owned by Norman Deschene and his wife.  I was 18 at the time, a mere slip of a girl, unsullied by the world.  But there is a whole new kettle of worms! 

Tomorrow I shall give you the history of  Bartholomew involvement in food service in Hutchinson, Kansas.  For now we shall just wait till Donna gets up and I can verify a few things before I post this. In the meantime, I am going to pull on some shorts and tee shirt and a pair of tennies and jog on over to McDonalds on the highway to meet my boy cousins.  I have not talked to them, but I did email them that I was headed this way and I think they will get the telepathic message.  If they are there I will eat yogurt, if not I will do the sausage and grease thing. BBL (In chat room talk that means Be Back Later!)

Oh, and tomorrow I will be lunching with the girl cousin and a Kansas politician of rather high standing, who just happens to be a Republican. Need a picture of him for my phone.