1. Christy, Paul, Carol, and I piled into the Malibu and Paul drove us uptown to the Kellogg Elks Club where we attended the 11:00 a.m. Celebration of Life for Peny Benson. The hall was packed to capacity. Christy and I joined Sally Nordstrum and Jan Lucas at a table and we fell right into great conversation together as we got better acquainted and recalled moments from the past that tied us together. I saw people I knew, or have known, everywhere I looked: Ray, Mary Rae, and Brett Faraca, Lois Dahlberg, Brian, Butch, Clarence, and Betty Moore, Susan and Joe Kerns, Mike and Nancy Peacock, Bob and Lynn Cummings, Jay Huber, Dale Costa, Madeline Johnson, Terry Douglas, Billy Manthos, and more. I saw many people I thought I should know but my memory failed me. But, the longer I live in Kellogg, the more I get reacquainted with people I used to know and the more I meet again people whom I had temporarily forgotten about.
This is the third service this year I've attended that Rev. Ken Bartel officiated. I know that we live in times in the Christian world when charismatic, demonstrative, and upbeat pastors are very popular, and I really enjoy that Rev. Ken Bartel is low-key, rock solid, thoughtful, and calm. He eulogized Peny beautifully, emphasizing that Peny was a "very beloved and beautiful spirit." Both of Peny's sons, Tom and Eric, wrote eulogies for their mother and Rev. Bartel read them with great dignity.
Peny loved cheeseburgers. Therefore, the service was followed by a hamburger/cheeseburger feed as the chefs at the Elks Club cooked up their famous burgers for any and all who stayed for more visiting and more remembrances of Peny.
I also thought about how much Peny and I laughed together at the nursing home. I saw her regularly when Mom was there and she kindly enjoyed my wisecracks, whether in her room or in the dining hall. Peny came to Mom's service and I got in one last wisecrack and we had one last laugh together. When she came through the reception line after the service, I asked her if I'd done okay officiating the service. She told me I had. I told her I'd be able to sleep well that night because my efforts received the Peny Benson seal of approval. We had a good laugh and that was our last exchange, our last interaction before she passed away on November 26th.
You can read Peny Benson's obituary, here.
2. The Deke and I have decided to go on a MWF schedule for working out at the Wellness Center. Normally, we go in the morning, but morning didn't work today, so we dashed out to Smelterville in the afternoon and did some cardio work and I focused on lifting weights with my legs and on strengthening my back and abs.
3. We are closing in on the time when we will have a kitchen again, but, since we don't, we decided to have some chips and salsa and split a lamb burger at Radio Brewing. Paige updated us on what lies ahead for her sisters' treatments and how her injured husband is progressing. The Deke left the bar and went to a table with Becky to yak for a while and I happily stayed at the bar, drank water, and continued to read about the harrowing blackout in the Northeast and in NYC on July 13-14, 1977 and the terrible problems with arson in NYC in the mid-70s as reported by Jonathan Mahler in Ladies and Gentlemen, The Bronx is Burning.
In the same way that people look to baseball as a way to temporarily escape day to day difficulties, as I read this book, I'm starting to yearn for the storyline to return to the Yankees as a way to escape the mayhem many parts of New York City experienced in the summer of 1977 -- even though I know that day to day life on the Yankees was chaotic. But, at least, the clubhouse turmoil didn't result in looting, arson fires, and law enforcement and fire fighters being overwhelmed by the magnitude of destruction. It basically just fed tabloid headlines.
No comments:
Post a Comment