Box number 2 this morning has had my attention for most of the morning and early afternoon. The first box was filled with my baby clothes and the like. Nice to look at but everything was quickly refolded and will soon be transferred to a much sturdier container than a cardboard box. Oh but box 2 held letters, both received and those I never sent, birthday wishes, happy law school graduation for Roy, and thank you notes from those who I do remember and some who I haven't a memory clue who they are or were. There were essays I had written in Jr High on what makes me happy, my biggest problem, my favorite season and why my parents don't treat me like a baby. Average grade B reading. Among the memories is a birthday card from my Grandma Brownlow and the $2.00 she sent me are still in the card. Those dollars will stay there once I get everything sorted and put up. I also have a letter from my Grandma Doss. It wasn't a letter to celebrate anything, so no found money there. Again letters from old boyfriends were scattered here and there. I really thought I had thrown those away long ago. I read a couple of them and I was whisked away to seventies with the most severe problem being, Keith not getting home on weekends from college because he had joined a fraternity. Of course reading between the lines as a 56 year old I see what was really going on. I did read one letter from Keith and I must have confronted him DTR. I had come to think of him as more of a friend than a boyfriend. That great conclusion came about because I had begun dating someone else. We decided that we would casually date, whatever that meant, well I guess it meant we would date each other and others. Keith was the one who broke the news to me that the love of my life was getting married. No not Keith, but a guy named David. On paper we looked like the perfect couple and mate for each other, but we just couldn't work it out. I was heart broken and it took a little while to heal. In fact I had just made the decision I didn't want to date anymore unless it was to the man I was going to marry. Funny thing, Roy just happened to come into my life several months after that decision. Now what is even funnier to me, until I read this note today, time had erased the love of my life's last name. I mean really, this is the last name I had practiced writing with a Mrs and my name in front of it. And for the life of me, for years it just didn't come to mind. Now I know but heck, I've just about forgotten it since reading it this morning.
Also this treasure trove of memories included letters and cards from my crazy friend Debbie. She had married and moved to Tulsa and then to New Mexico. I read just about everyone of those letters this morning and laughed until I cried. They also helped bring back some memories that I had totally forgotten about. One thing I hadn't forgotten was our love for Hot Shipley Donuts. Pronounced-HOOOOOT SHIP-LEE doNUTS! I must have been so inspired by them I wrote a poem. So for your reading pleasure and since I get my blog put into book form every year, I would like to write it for you now.
She was known very well in this place-
the shop in which she filled her face.
The table is set with such grace and care
for there is so much to prepare
Sugar, jelly, cream-filled is the demand
as she grabs them up with her hand.
These donuts she begins to seize-
but there must be much more than just these!
With much gusto the plate she attacks
and as she does the chair goes crack.
But she doesn't care, she doesn't mind
it's just a little extra weight on her behind.
In her desperation, she tries to restrain
but when you love donuts, it's all done in vain.
This was a wonderful, stupendous, glorious day
she'd eaten all the donuts before the plate was whisked away
Miss Donut Queen she was crowned
but she couldn't wear the formal, she was much too round.
People crowded around-they knew she wouldn't fail
because that girl had the ribs of a whale.
They wanted to erect a memorial, a shrine
She could be the queen forever, she'd never resign.
As she pulled herself off the floor
and headed out the wide load door.
She was heard to say
you can have your cookies, tea and such
but just give me, HOT SHIPLEY DONUTS!
There were several notebooks in this box. One of them was my Bible study notebook from my freshman year in college. You see in my spare time, since I was on the Baptist Student Union's Freshman Council as the Bible Study Chair Woman, I wrote Bible studies. Some of them are in this notebook. Lots of good memories there. Also are my prayer lists for the year of our Lord 1973 which includes my own requests and my prayer lists that I had for others. One of those who I prayed for is my friend Mary Madeline. She and I are still in touch with each other, Christmas visit, and I can't wait to share with her what I found. I also have the letter she sent to me when she had met Al and they knew God had made them for one another, but they hadn't announced it to the world yet. I cannot tell you how happy I am that I have that letter and so many other letters from the years that have been tucked away in that box.
Lots of memories from choir, celebrating the year of the Ray's. In the bulletin from their last Sunday I saved the Klennex that caught my tears from that day. Of course if anyone goes through this after I die, they just might wonder why I kept a Klennex, a used one at that. There are Mildred and Gertrude scripts from the early days and even the script from the funny production that Bob and Pam, Peggy, Drew and I did for celebrating Pageant's 25 anniversary.
When Roy traveled so much when he was an auditor, and since boys and girls, this was back before email, texting and cell phones, and long distance calls cost an arm and a leg, he wrote letters and sent me postcards from all his travels. I saved them all. I read them all this morning again. Roy was quite the romantic writer.
Of course with all these precious memories and precious treasures of my heart there were some strange inclusions. Several coupons, much out of date and I think some of the products aren't even made anymore. Bank statements from 1982. How did we live on so little? I also have a letter from a Sunday School teacher who I can't even remotely remember, but she sent me a scathing letter due to the lack of my participation in Sunday School class and missing a Sunday that I had been assigned a portion of scripture to read outloud. It seems that someone I had confided in from class had ratted me out to the teacher and she quotes conversation that she and Cheryl, who I confided in but couldn't even tell you who she is, I have no recollection of her, discussed at length. Uh, looks like I got a scathing letter that was based on gossip. For shame Sunday School teacher who I can't remember. The whole letter is to address my weaknesses. She didn't nearly touch half of them. For goodness sake, she even pulls in Billy Graham to shame me. This is a four page, hand written letter, with Roman numerals, subpoints 1 and so on, and sub sub points a,b, and c. I received this letter in 1984, why did I save this, and it kind of riled me up today...yes even though I don't remember one thing about this whole ordeal or the people involved. Really, she should have been happy for me not to participate, because many times my pariticipation is just to disrupt a class when I am bored. Of course this letter should be shredded with a bunch of other junk, but I just might keep it. I don't know why. I do know that this was a period of time that we were so far away from the Lord and only attended church when it was a rainy Sunday. We were out sailing with our friends on the sunny Sundays.
Well, I better start warming up the old shredder and get back to the work at hand. Thanks for stopping in and reading all these random thoughts that are provoked by boxes from days gone by.
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