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This column is dedicated to acknowledge examples of positives that express the community spirit of Columbus — our town.
Which childhood memories stay “fresh” for many years? In my opinion, it is often the memories of Christmas and other seasonal holidays. The season of “giving” is quite well remembered as one writes thank you notes or pays credit card statements. Today, I fell into a daze remembering how much fun it was to peek into my wrapped gifts before Christmas. Mother’s clothes’ closet ... second shelf was the first place I’d look. It only took a second to pull the dresser stool over to the closet door.
I could climb up easily and once I spotted a suspicious object mixed with Mother’s shoe boxes, I could be fairly sure the new box might be one of my gifts. She really could have hidden it better, but what fun would that have been? It was relatively easy to pull the scotch tape down a bit. Then I could carefully slip the gift out and discover what it was. My record of snooping must have been quite good. I never was surprised. “Santa” did leave some unwrapped presents and that helped me “act” surprised. Most of my wrapped gifts were books. Mother was an avid reader and delighted in my love of reading.
An only child’s life on the ranch can be somewhat lonely and routine. Those times stand out in my memories. There were a few summers when our neighbors’ grandson came to visit from Houston. The Graham’s grandson, Clyde, was a bit older and could climb a tree like a monkey. However, he certainly wasn’t great at riding a horse. There were several tanks in our designated play area. His ability to swing from one tree to another was always my challenge. I never knew much about Clyde. However, I guessed that he loved the country since his grandparents never made him take a bath. Mother often examined his feet and, deciding on her own, that it would take lye soap to get his feet clean.
One day, Clyde invited me to accompany his grandparents to the Santa Fe Railroad Station where his mother was arriving by train. I can’t remember her name, but she was a beautiful lady. I liked her hair and the sophisticated high heels and jewelry.
Later that week, I saw her in other stunning summer outfits. One afternoon, she invited Clyde and me for lemonade on the porch. Even her fingernails were a dazzling shade of pink. We discussed books, horses and riding the train. I knew that Clyde and his mom were leaving soon. However, I was grateful for the little episode we had.
It was a month later that the mailman, Leslie, delivered a heavy box to our front door. It was wonderfully fun to open the box addressed to me. Upon opening, it was absolutely phenomenally exciting when I lifted out seven beautiful Nancy Drew mystery books. They were not new; however, they were new to me. Today, one will find them in my personal library. Perhaps there is a child in your life who would enjoy hand-medown books.
