Nick will probably have a fit when he finds out I posted his award here. For sure, I won't be winning any Cool Mom awards!
My uncle Dick died this past Sunday, the day after Veteran's Day. He was a Korean War veteran, a retired small-business owner and a family man. He was seventy-five. He was married to my mom's half-sister, Helen.My aunt was only sixteen when they married; Uncle Dick was forty-one. Odds for a successful marriage may not have been good, but they made it work for thirty-four years, until death finally parted them.I've lost three uncles in the last two years. Seems like my family is just slipping away, like sand through my fingers, and I'm one of the "old people" now. I mean, I'm a great-aunt! The cycle of life is quite exciting...seeing young ones come along and how they grow, what kinds of decisions they make, the kinds of people they become. But the cycle brings sadness on a day like yesterday, when I learned I have lost another uncle.
I just came from voting at our rural volunteer fire department. Election volunteers were so genial, especially the little old lady who handed me my ballot and ink pen, and instructed me to make sure that I fill in the little ovaries completely. A check mark, or an X won't do, she advised.I chuckled to myself and proceeded to the booth to do my duty. I was almost distracted by her telling voters behind me in line to fill in their little ovaries. No one corrected her, no one advised her that they were ovals.David, my nephew, had brought me to vote. I asked him when we left if he filled in his ovaries. He chuckled. He hadn't even noticed what the woman had said.It's a common phenomenon around here, especially with the older folks. Not only can ovals be called ovaries, hysterectomy is often called hysterectum, hiatal hernia is known as high hernia, and kerosene is kerasan. If they can't remember the actual word, any variation will do. And, rarely does anyone bother to correct them.Well, I guess it's not really that important. At least the voting ballot seemed right. Unless I'm so immune to local vernacular that I wouldn't even notice!
What a difference a few weeks make! The photo above was in our Sunday, Nov 5, 2006 Stanly News and Press. It's the same field I photographed (below) just a few weeks ago, on October 11, 2006.
