"Make sure you're home in time to take her to the spelling bee, or she'll be heartbroken!" I told my wife, look, I'll ask to get out early so I'll be here for sure. What school is it at, the Middle School she replied. My wife is an expert on all subjects. I was selling Real Estate at one time and she told me she had a great idea. "why don't you call the Listing guy and make a deal to split the commission 50/50. I said because that's against the law. Her reply "Really?" That's another story.
Off to the
Elementary School
Later that day, I did get home a little early, my daughter was running a little late, it was a beautiful day. I'm sure her and her buddy Corrina were taking their time coming up the driveway, we were a half mile back off the road. She finally got home and we headed for the Spelling Bee. We got to the Middle School (Jackies directions) and the school was vacant.I asked the Janitor where the Spelling Bee was and he said "not here." My daughter started to cry, and I said It must be at the Elementary School. We finally got there, and yes, the Spelling Bee had already started. Boy, did I have to do a sell job for her to get back in. I heard, rules are rules, no late entries allowed. So I pulled out the Big Guns. Then you guys will have to tell her. They looked at her and said"Take a seat young lady"
Phewww! Dodged a bullet on that one, would've been bad news at home. You're probably wondering, wait a second, she told you to go to the wrong school, doesn't the wife share some responsibility here? It didn't work that way in my house. It was up to me to get it right, even if some of the details were wrong. In any marriage, my wife believes that is part of the husbands responsibility. Now do you get it?
And now without
further adieu!
Now, the moment of truth. Each time a kid got up to spell, they would return to their seat each time they spelled their word correctly, my daughter was told to sit right next to the next kid getting up to spell. So they hadn't finished the first round, so we were that close to not being involved in the event. The kid next to her got up, went to the microphone and was asked to spell "knife" (can they use that word now in a spelling bee) He spelled it right. Now it was my Baby Girls turn, I thought maybe she'll get fork or spoon. "please spell the word Finesse" "Finesse.......Fines" "Finesse"We were in and out in 30 seconds. I told her at least you said it right. Her first response was" I need therapy, and a Dictionary, now!
By the time we got home we were both belly laughing about it, I told her you did spell "fines" right.
I called her this morning and it was like it happened yesterday. I told her I was going to Blog the story, she said ok. She just turned 40. How about some Spelling Bee music?
Just this past week, Mary (my mother-in-law) passed away. The family all joined together for her send off up in the Detroit area (Wyandotte and Allen Park) to reflect and talk about memories that each of us had about her. We laughed, cried, went through tons of pictures, no fights about "stuff", no arguments. Cousins, sisters, aunts and uncles, some had not seen each other for years, hugged and said stuff like, "you don't look like you", "holy crap" "are you kidding me?" Mary would have loved it!
After the Funeral, we went to Glo and Bill's house, had a wonderful dinner, played games, laughed, played with the little kids, all the things that she loved and lived for.
Typical Richards Living Room
Mary says, "Time to Move"
This post is about how I remember her. Way back when Jackie and I got married, I had no idea what Michigan was. I grew up in the Boston area, when we said goodbye to someone we said "get outta heea"! Mary said "See yuns" What did that mean? Being in Catholic school my whole school life, "see nuns" made more sense to me. I was also the first person to "get up in her face" big time and she actually loved and respected me for that. (Mary, you were wrong by the way) Another trait I noticed, was when the garage and houses she lived in couldn't hold anymore stuff, she moved. The kids used to play hide and seek, Jackie said she never got caught. I asked her where did you hide? She said "under the kitchen table!" As the years went on, I noticed she was fearless about taking risks, starting a business, selling real estate, starting a newspaper. If she thought it would work, what the heck, let's do this! I really admired her for that. She wasn't perfect, but who is?
My favorite memories, the Pawn shop, her love of art, South Haven and Chicago. Chicago shopping, she loved it, I went along so her and Jackie wouldn't miss the train, she and her daughter had no concept about time passing. I remember one trip she had a record setting week at her Pawn shop (New to You) and said she was going to make a cab drivers day. We paid for the Cab and she tipped him a Twenty, She was on top of the world the whole day. She was the only Pawn shop owner around who would rent handguns by the hour! (just kidding)
Her love of art, one time her and Jackie took some oil painting lessons from a well known artist in Saugatuck. She bought a painting from him and put it up for sale in her shop. The artist showed up a few days later and paid her 3x what she paid for it. I still ask myself, did she mean to do that?
Her love of South Haven, a small vacation town on Lake Michigan. I remember when we moved her there -5 below in the middle of a blizzard. We were afraid to leave her there alone, but she said she would get a better deal on the place this time of year. What a lady, not my mother-in-law, just Mary.
Mary, this video is for you, watch it anytime you want.
That's me watching something, there was so much stuff to look at!
She didn't cook, she didn't iron and never thought of
cleaning, but that's alright, were family.
She taught us right from wrong, she sometimes came on a little too strong, but that's alright, were family.
She saw beauty in junk, kept a lot of it around, which made her the talk of her tiny little water town, but, that's alright, were family.
She taught us to be strong, could have used a little of how to get along, but that's alright, were family
She loved life, and saw beauty everywhere, she lived in her own world, but that's alright, were family.
We are older now, and see things differently, hoping that all the strength, courage and zest for life she had was passed on to us, that's the true Legacy of family.
She taught us to be strong, taught us to push on, taught us to be family.
She came in with nothing and when she left she was rich, she had people who loved her she had family.
Our sorrow is great, our emptiness is deep, but she didn't leave us alone she left family.
God knew what we needed before we were born, she made sure we got to church, she made sure we were reborn, it's what you do for family.
I know you are walking with God hand in hand, someday we will all be together and we all will be a part of God's family.
Mom, you gave us life, you gave us love, there were many tears and much laughter, one thing I want everyone to know is that you left your kids, their spouses, your grand kids and great grand kids with great families.
We usually stay at Papa Jack's for a couple of days, or until we keep finding him out in his garden. This usually means, for a guy approaching 90, "get the hell out of here!" So we gather up the kids, and off we go, to Merry Lake. The lake is in a town, Camden Mi. which is literally a tobacco spit from the Ohio line. Pioneer Ohio is the first town across the line. This is very important to the story I'm about to tell.
We went to some garage sales in Pioneer on our way to the lake, and I asked one lady if she knew Russ Lanius, he used to be the service manager at a Canon dealer where I was the sales manager back in the 80's. She said of course, they're on their way to NC for a vacation. I can call them for you. So, right then and there, she calls them and I talked to his wife, gave her our email address and she said they would get in touch with me. It was freaky! A few days later, I got an email from a Blackberry it was Russ, the message was "I just left Wauseon H.S and I'm on my way to Mac Steel, talk to you soon". The guys still on the same service call I sent him on 30 years ago. Hilarious!
MacSteel had one of the worst driveways I had ever seen, that's probably why it's taken him so long! What's really freaky, is that we were traveling from NC to MI on the same weekend. I think we need to keep in touch, and yes, he has a daughter named Missy. You can't make this up!
Next post~Germanator shows up on Merry Lake vacation
I bought something the other day at an estate sale and the memories of my growing up just exploded in my brain. Not the bad stuff, the good stuff. I got plenty of bad ones, maybe I'll share those on "Father's Day."
Quickube Ice Cube Tray
This whole post is about a certain summer, when I was about seven. Growing up in a family of twelve, there was one sound you heard but were helpless to respond to. It was a beautiful sound, it was like the Pied Piper of Hamlin. Children would run screaming through the streets just to be the first in line. Yes, the dreaded, Ice Cream truck! My mother had a remedy for that, the old frozen Kool Aid pops right out of the Quickube. Back in Boston we didn't get near Kool Aid, it was the heavenly nectar in the glass bottle, Za-Rex. I know the makers of the stuff originally named it Zarex. They figured we would murder the name with our accents, so Za-Rex it became.
Original Bottle
I remember the M.D.C. swimming pool I used to go to every sunny day during the summer. On a hot day, the line to get in was so long, an official would come out and count the pool capacity and send the over flow back home. It cost a penny to get in, and do you know what a penny can do to soft brick on a building,while people get bored waiting in line?
M.D.C. building wall
I also remember if a Red Sox game was on the radio, you could hear it all through the neighborhood.Everybody just sitting in their homes,or on their porch, with a big old fan running, just trying to stay cool, and listen to the game.
Blueberry picking, when my mother would get in a pie baking mood, and I would get Poison Ivy. Picking flowering weeds for my mother, I thought were Violets, and just give them to her, even when I wasn't in trouble.
Sometimes, I would sit in the kitchen while she was cooking, (her spaghetti sauce smelled wonderful, it just didn't taste very good) and tell her "corny" jokes, even though she's in her 90's, she still remembers.
The Kids Day at Pomeworth Park. The City of Stoneham where I lived used to have a kids day, three legged races, watermelon, ice cream and fun games. My brother Joey and I hooked up for the wheelbarrow race, I was the wheelbarrow. We won it, I felt like a super hero! I think that's the last time I talked to Joey. Let's just say "Some people mature, some just get old"
I remember getting into a pretty serious fight with one of my brothers, and my mother lovingly yelling, "don't hit him in the face!" The time I was trusted to go buy the bread at Hanks Bakery and was told that I could buy some candy for doing this chore. The bread was 2 bucks, I spent all the change on candy, ouch! 3 bucks worth of candy back then? One night my brother Henry was locked out because he stayed out to late. He snuck in through a window and I heard him quietly sneak into his bed and breathe a sigh of relief. Next morning, at dawn, my mother came in and beat the hell out of him with a broom and yelled, "I know about the cigarettes, too!"
My most touching memory, when my mother would sit down at her old, half of the keys didn't work piano, and practice the hymn she was going to sing at Sunday mass.
I don't think I ever told her this, but that's where the love of music was given to me, from my mother. I still remember like it was yesterday. Don't forget, visit us on www.etsy.com Shop, its as good as it gets. Father's Day is on the way!
Happy Mother's Day!
All we did was hit each other in the face! I wouldn't bet on the brother with the pink gloves.
With Mothers Day coming up, why not get Mom some Vintage jewelry. Take a look at our store, all the prices are fixed. No auction hassle, no getting beat out at the last second by someone's that had a gazillion transactions.
The site is easy to use, and you never know, you may have a bunch of stuff laying around that you can make some extra money on, in these tough times.
Quiet evening at home
Some rules that apply, items must be vintage, (25 years or older), handmade by someone, and spare parts. If you're not a "pack rat" hit some garage sales, church rummage sales and become one. As you can see, Jackie and I are enjoying a quiet evening at home. The paper I'm reading is dated May 20th 1978, the Wyandotte News Herald. This picture was taken in 2002. As you can see, we do have some extra things laying around. How would you like to see our storage rental?
She loves books
wife's recurring
nightmare
She really loves books, one time I asked her about getting a "Kindle Fire" She said," the landlord asked us not to use the fireplace," I said no, it can download all your favorite books and you can read them anytime you want. She laughed, "Yeah, right!" and left the room. Seriously though, take a look at our site, and maybe It can help you "de-clutter."Go to www.etsy.com Our store sites name is, its as good as it gets, just type the name in the search box, watch a few tutorials and ask some questions. My next post will be around Mother's Day, our Anniversary is the same week. Happy Mothers Day. One whole week of lavishness! Til next Time~
I don't work for 1-800-flowers but this video is very touching and entertaining.
