Question of the Day | 05/12/2008 12:00 am

What is your favorite possession?

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Ms. Dee, I answer most of the questions late at night and I do think if I waited to morning my answers would not be so melancholy. Actually, the booties, jacket and cap are beautifully made and I plan to have them preserved in a frame. Mom did not save the items to be worn by a future child; she simply put them away along with a baby book, all the congrats cards to my parents on the birth of their daughter and then all the sympathy cards, dried flowers, the obits from the newspapers, an article in the Hoover Dam periodical because that is where my Dad was employed. Mother only told us there was another baby, their first born, and did not invite any further questions. We knew not to pursue the matter and just to be grateful that she and Dad recovered from their loss. I will finish the story. The baby was buried in the paternal family plot in a cemetery in Spokane, Washington. Everyone was so poor at the time, that the manager of the cemetery said that they need not use a full plot, the baby could be buried next to the little stone pillar that had engraved upon it the family name. No one at that time had any money for an additional tombstone so my parents and their parents agreed. When Mom told me of the story of our little sister, I told my brother who was stationed near Spokane while he flew with SAC. As it would happen, my brother married and settled down in Spokane and would have Mom travel up to visit him often. One afternoon, he and his wife took Mom to the cemetery. A granite marker now marked the spot where our sister lay. We did not have the deed to the plot but the records of the cemetery were very well written and kept….so there was no problem with my brother providing this last give to our eldest sister.

By Bonnie Oliver on 05/12/2008 2:41 pm

Bonnie, your true-life story was very touching and heartwarming. Thanks for sharing. I have tears in my eyes.

By Estimada C on 05/12/2008 3:59 pm

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I should not try to reminise without a scrapbook or photo to keep me accurate. My father worked on the Grand Coulee Dam and it is their periodical to which I referred. And the last sentence should be last “gift” not give. Oh my.

By Bonnie Oliver on 05/12/2008 4:39 pm

Bonnie Thank you for your story. It was very touching

By Frannie Em on 05/12/2008 7:08 pm

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bonnie, it took till i was a teenager to learn of my two dead brothers. one died within a week of birth, and the other was my parents’ eldest child and a son. he died when he was four. the old story was scarlet fever, but the recent story is misapplication of sulfa drugs. i have the desk they bought for him when he was a baby. those hopes and dreams don’t get discussed.

By mary lou s on 05/16/2008 3:41 pm

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Without a doubt it is the B.A. in History I just earned, at the age of 53! I was actually 2nd in my class!

By Jaki Kennedy on 05/12/2008 6:09 am

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CONGRATULATIONS!!! Many celebrations for you :o)

By Kate Bierd on 05/12/2008 7:50 am

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Jaki-Congrats—a great achievement.

By Frank Peterson on 05/12/2008 8:37 am

Frank re: 8:37 - I think you will a appreciate this. On my son’s first deployment to Afghanistan they were out regularly on the border of Pakistan looking for OBL. Anyway, we didn’t hear from him very much. Letters were sporadic. They were out on patrol for weeks at a time so once in a while we would get a call - full of static and distance, but with the beautiful voice of our son on the other end. Since it was a sattellite phone they would only get 3 mins - whatever. Well I finally got a letter from him. It was written on the back of an MRE box. On the front he drew it to look like a postcard. The back had the ingredients and nutrition facts for SPAGHETTI WITH MEAT AND SAUCE. The to: address was to Ma and Pa ………… The return address was from Beetle Bailey, and the salutation is “Dear America”. It was a mother’s day card, but the best thing was that the Postal Stamp was on May13 - which was his 21st Birthday. I had it framed in glass so you can see both sides of it, and that is one of my favorite possessions.

By Frannie Em on 05/12/2008 1:27 pm