Haunted by the Past

It was an embarrassing moment!  I was vacationing in Colorado and decided to visit one of the places where our church teen group went to ice skate. As I walked around the lake on that beautiful summer day, I paused before a bench on which hand carved (aka graffiti) names and initials covered both the seat and back. In the middle of the seat, the deepest and largest carving had the full name of a young man in our youth group, a plus sign in the middle, and my full name carved below.

People who have common names can get by with putting their names out there. Years after the fact no one would have any idea which of the thousands of girls named Susie Smith might be referenced. But not only did my uncommon name stand out as one-of-a-kind, the name of the young man was also of the one-of-a-kind variety. I did not know about it when it was carved, but when I saw it that day, I had no doubt that it referenced me.

This past week I returned to that lake with visiting family, including a grandson who is a teen.  There are still benches by the lake. How grateful I am that they have all been refinished or replaced and that visitors to this little mountain community apparently now have some class. No names were carved on the wooden benches!

The Lake at Green Mountain Falls

The gazebo and bridge have been added since we skated there more than fifty years ago. The gazebo is used often for weddings.  The falls at the end of the lake are now blocked by a grate and the water goes under the road and flows to the creek. Still a cool place!

Geese and ducks swim on the lake and fishing is allowed. The limit is four fish per day, so in order to catch enough for dinner the whole family needs to fish – and be successful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note: Future blogs will be posted on Mondays.

Lunch Bunch

My lunch group meets once a month at a nice restaurant where we enjoy the food and “chew the fat,” so to speak. We are called WOW.  When I tell people about our group, the response I often hear is, “I’ve heard of your group.” No doubt these individuals are thinking of one of the popular groups identified with the acronym, WOW.

Written “WoW,” the letters represent World of Warcraft. But to know us is to recognize that as somewhat past middle-age, semi-retired to fully-retired ladies, we might not be easily assimilated into the Warcraft world of Aseroth.

Most people guess that we are a part of Women of the Word. Flattering, but wrong! We are the Wild Old Women. Our mission is threefold:  to have fun, to laugh a lot, and to eat dessert when our husbands aren’t around. To check out our name with relationship to appropriateness, we might be found on a Thursday in a restaurant known for its good food. And you just might hear us before you see us.

So Sorry!

My community was counting on me, but I was dragging my feet. Failure to fulfill my duty to my neighbors is related to living in a second story condo that has sliding windows, vintage 1970’s. But, even though my excuse is as good as any excuse can be, I accept total blame for causing concern in our community.

It was with a great deal of dread that I finally faced responsibility and tackled my designated job. All of the windows in my house were removed from the tracks and each endured a cleaning, shining, repositioning process.  The result was spectacular. My windows now sparkled as the sun shone brightly on its way to disappear behind the mountains. 

Morning found me admiring the windows and the views of the mountains. Then, in a matter of minutes, crystal-clear drops started to appear on the outside of the panes and very soon moisture was pouring from the sky in sheets. Thanks to me, our spring rains had finally arrived.  The vegetation greened, the drives look freshly scrubbed, and everyone now knows that their roofs survived the winter without springing any leaks. Of course, rain is now a regular event, and my windows, once again, are covered with spots.  Even so, I must apologize for postponing my duty as the rainmaker for the mountain side of the city and for causing everyone to worry. In the future I’ll try to be more conscientious in fulfilling my responsibility.