Diary/ Mom

Well it has been another week without being able to drive.  I have 68 days to go before I can get my license back.  I have been 115 days without it. My hair is getting quite long.  I haven't had it cut since I lost the license.

This week I have done some work on the Masonic organizations which I have responsibilities for.  An annual return for the Red Cross of Constantine and a financial report for Specialis Procer Lodge #678.  (Still working on that one.)

On Sunday my friend Su came over and we went out to eat and to the grocery store. We went to Applebys.  I haven't eaten there for quite some time.  We both had a steak with garlic shrimp.  I also had a bowl of  French onion soup.  Both the soup and the entree were delicious.  It was nice to get out of the house.  One thing about having to stay home so much is I am not being exposed to the flu.

There is a lot of that going around. One of my friends is in the hospital with it.  I would not have known about it except another person called me to tell me that she was in the hospital dying.  Turns out that it was flu and pneumonia.  The individual who called me is what my mother used to call a crape hanger.
Have you ever heard that phrase?  It is defined as follows - A CRAPE-HANGER is one who looks on the dark side of a situation, tending to see the down side of things; a pessimist, who can wring the joy out of any occasion – a killjoy. But as I recall, it was often also used in jest to kid someone who may have put a light damper on some occasion or proposal that someone else was excited about. 

The CRAPE refers to the black cloth with its crinkled or ridged surface that used to be hung from windows, mirrors, etc. as a sign of mourning 

Back before there was the almost instantaneous communication which we have today families would hang black wreaths on the front door to let people know there had been a death in the family.  The people who hung the crepe on the doors usually let others know about the bad news.  Mother described people who liked to be the first to spread the sad news about deaths as crape hangers as they seemed to enjoy doing so.

Speaking of my mother.  It was 18 years ago Wednesday since she died.  As my sister put on her Facebook page I (We) miss her everyday.  There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember her in some way.  The above is a picture of her with my sister (Ginny) and nephew (Jonathan) on the Story City carousal.

Here are some more pictures of her.

This is with our friend (and honorary sister) Maryjane R. from Minnesota

Mom loved being Secretary of Eastern Star

This is one of my favorite pictures of her.
Ruth Cole Jackson Feb 22, 1911 - January 16, 1995

When I first started this blog I wrote a tribute to her on what would have been her 95th birthday.  You can read it here.