Another busy day in the life of Lou Mercer

 Hopped in my litttle Ford at 8:00 this morning load with groceries and bound for Los Pobres, the migrant center run by Sister Nancy.  Our church had gathered food stuffs all month and today was delivery day!  And I get to do it!  Hooray for me!

 Snowed last night and the mountains were beautiful.  Since I had almost a half ton of food in the trunk and back seat, I was not worried about sliding off the road.  Can't slide when you are that heavy.  Very soon I arrived.

 I went inside while Rosie made coffee and we waited for the workers to arrive to unload the car.  I knew I had to run back into town and get another load and bring it back before I had to be at the library at 11:00 for another appointment.



 So off I went and very soonly was packed again!








44 bottles of oil and 43 bags of flour later and I am headed back east.







This time Sister Nancy is there and little kids are playin on the computer.  With this picture of serenity in my heart and mind I am once more in the Ford this time headed West to the Library and the delivery of the AIDS Quilts.



My watch and my speedometer are keeping me on track.







Met these two guys from SCAP at the library and dropped off the AIDS Quilts to be hung later, had coffee at the Pantry and then decide to head for the post office.

 

Luckily when I reached for these two packages, I dropped my keys and headed inside.

 

And this was my next stop.  This is the Auto Tower from Colorado Springs that Triple AAA sent to get me back in my car!

 

 

And this is my new friend, Cisco, who actually opened the door so I could retrieve my keys from the floor!  Guess God just thought I should have a little break.  I sure appreciated it.  When you are standing in the middle of a parking lot waiting for some one to open your door, you meet a lot of nice people who tell you,  "Oh, been there, done that!"  And then you don't feel nearly as stupid as you did 20 minutes earlier!  And Triple AAA is very fast!  They call it a "lock out", so I am pretty sure I am not the first one to do it!

 

 

 

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?

She belongs to the ages now.

 

Go rest high on that mountain,

Girl your work on earth is done!

Go to heaven a shoutin'

Look for the Father and the Son..........

 

Mary Bell Bartholomew Shea

June 16, 1945

November 13, 2013



Myself-Edgar Guest

I woke up this morning with this in my head.  Kept playing it over and over until I went and found it so I could print it here.  Know where  I first heard this?  They always say that a teacher can make a lot of difference in a kids life an this one sure did mine.  I was in the 7th grade and his name was Mr. Bollinger.  He also ran the movie house in Nickerson. 

I remember him  as a little round man with very thick glasses.  I was devastated when he left the school after only a few years. At least it seemed a short time to me.  He would set on the corner of the desk and for the life of me I can not remember what class he taught, but he was always quick to give us something like this to "think about".  

 

Myself 

I have to live with myself, and so,
I want to be fit for myself to know;
I want to be able as days go by,
Always to look myself straight in the eye;
I don't want to stand with the setting sun
And hate myself for the things I've done.


I don't want to keep on a closet shelf
A lot of secrets about myself,
And fool myself as I come and go
Into thinking that nobody else will know
The kind of man I really am;
I don't want to dress myself up in sham.


I want to go out with my head erect,
I want to deserve all men's respect; 
But here in this struggle for fame and pelf,
I want to be able to like myself.
I don't want to think as I come and go
That I'm bluster and bluff and empty show.


I never can hide myself from me,
I see what others may never see,
I know what others may never know,
I never can fool myself- and so,
Whatever happens, I want to be 
Self-respecting and conscience free.

Another sale goes in the record books!

Ah, the last day of the sale and I am the wrapper!  That means it is my job to "wrap" the purchases.  Hell, I showed up with my microphone and a tune all composed:

"Hey there people, see the threads!

 Check out the hats for your heads!

The fleece is spun so you can knit!

Come on in-this is IT!"

Well, they put a stop to that sort of "rapping" very quickly and showed me what I was actually put here to do.  And here is my first "wrap"!

And here is the lady who is proudly carrying it home!  Wonderful lady and very happy!

And here we have two of the honchoes who would not let me do the "rap music!"On the left is Joanne Caldwell and on the right is Carole Snow.  They are but 2 of the many people who keep the sale running smoothly and make it possible for the lazy little Lou to set home and still make money!

 

This is Hannah Guthrie who was the sales lady on this second shift.   I know Hannah when I see her, but never her name.  This gave us an opportunity to get to know each other better.  She uses my butters, so now I can deliver to her instead of her waiting a whole year to get her hands on it.  I very much enjoyed working with her today.

And I got to help do the "take down" and visit a bit with Sue Seufer.  She does lots of different things and can spin like no one's business!  That is me sucking up to a real artist below!

Now the place is about to get completely empty!  I need to add here that no good deed goes unpunished.  I was trying to move a naked mannequin across the floor to the front door without putting my hands on her inappropriately.  To make a long story short, her arm fell off and whacked me right across the mouth.  How I am going to explain this one to my friends at church this morning is beyond me, but if any of you have an idea, please, do share it with me!

But one more thing before we leave.  We sold chances on a rug and this was the winner!  I did not get her name, but look at that smile!   Happy woman!  Nice rug! 

And so to bed!

 

 

 

Good old days!

Copied from an email.


Remembering  Mom's Clothesline
  There is  one thing that's left out.
We had a long  wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push  the clotheslines up
so that longer items  (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and  get dirty.
I can hear my mother  now...
  THE BASIC  RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:
 
(If  you don't even know what clotheslines are,  better skip this.)
  1.  You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the  top.

2.  You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the  waistbands.

3.  You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before  hanging any clothes -
walk the entire length  of each line with a damp cloth around the  lines.

4.  You had to hang the clothes in a certain order,  and always hang "whites" with "whites,"
and  hang them first.

5.  You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always  by the tail!
What would the neighbors  think?

6.  Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the  weekend,
or on Sunday, for Heaven's  sake!
 
7.  Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines  so you could
hide your "unmentionables" in  the middle (perverts & busybodies,  y'know!)
 
8.  It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather...  clothes would "freeze-dry."
 
9.  ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down  dry clothes!
Pins left on the lines were  "tacky"!
 
10.  If you were efficient, you would line the  clothes up so that each item
did not need  two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes  pins with the next washed  item.

11.  Clothes off of the line before dinner time,  neatly folded in the clothes basket,
and  ready to be ironed.

12.  IRONED??!! Well, that's a whole OTHER  subject!

Play pretties from the Vail Hotel.

I am pretty sure this was made by Marilyn Hoisington.  If I ever figure out how to do this, the world will be my oyster!  Now, let's see what else is hanging out here at the Vail.  Bear in mind that my information that I should put with the items is out in the car, and it is dark and scary out there.  I will try to put names on stuff tomorrow, but for tonight, just enjoy the pictures.

This is a weird looking bird and I am betting that Janet Anslovar had a hand in this.  If not, I will correct it tomorrow.  Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow!  Mother taught me that.

This is made of wire and I poked my tiny little finger on one of the wires.  Need to be careful around sharp wires. Mother taught me that also.  That and not to run with scissors.  I listened to mother and that is why I am still alive today!  It is gold and red wires.

Button made from an antler.  That is too cool!

Bookmarks?

An apple that used to be a gourd.  I made that!

This is almost see through.  I like the little pieces of color and the texture is subtle.

Ok, I am going to grab a glass of milk and go to bed.  I promise I will do better tomorrow.  (Bet you have heard that before!)  And you will hear me say, as I disappear from sight,

Merry Wednesday to all and to all a good night.