Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Three Beautiful Things 12/31/13: Errand Odyssey with Mom, Quick Stop at Don's, Kellogg Elks Club is Happy/Fun Central

1.  General Hospital showed a rerun, so Mom could leave a little earlier in the afternoon to go on our odyssey of errands.  We defeated the slushy conditions and made stops at Ace Hardware, Stein's Family Foods, Sunnyside Drug, and Yoke's Fresh Market.  It was sloppy out, but not frozen, and by pulling the car up to the door, or very near the door,  of each establishment, Mom got in and out fairly well.  Getting in and out of the car is more difficult for Mom all the time.  Our reward once we left home, journeyed, defeated the elements, and returned home again?  A New York steak dinner with Caesar salad and baked potato.

2.  Before I walked through ice and slush to the Kellogg Elks Club to celebrate the end of '13 and to usher in '14, I strolled to Don Knott's to give him a pint of Hennessy's Cognac,  wish him a Happy New Year, and to enjoy a fine brandy.  This is one of my favorite things to do in Kellogg...drop in on Don, talk about stuff, tell stories about Legion baseball and Wildcat basketball and other things we did, have a drink (or a few).  We talk about the present and we bring back the past -- and we've got plenty of past to bring back and enjoy. 

3.  Speaking of the past, I walked into the Kellogg Elks Club and there were Ed and Sharon and Danny and Steve and Kris and Cindy and Bert at a table where I joined them and we were the youngest people there and as I scanned this room of people my parents' age, the history of my life in Kellogg and of Kellogg itself came to life in my memory.  Jake and Carol and Al's band is called "Remember When" and it's the perfect name for the music they play, perfect music for the crowd who comes to dance to their music.  I got to do some dancing, including a slow dance with Carol's mom, Maxine, whom I have known since memory began for me.  We watched the ball fall live in NYC on the television at 12 EST (9 o'clock in Kellogg) so that this older crowd could get to bed at a decent hour.  BUT, "Remember When" played until after 10 and nearly everyone stayed to dance and gab and enjoy each other.  The Kellogg Elks Club was happy/fun central. 

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