Escapees May June 2015 Demo

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| May/June 2015 |ESCAPEES .63
Different Viewpoints
RVers’ Opinions and Advice from the Road
• Opinions contained in “Different Viewpoints” are not necessarily those of the Escapees RV Club, its officers or the membership in
general. Escapees RV Club accepts no responsibility for what is expressed here by any person, group or company.
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directed to accepted, submissions will be edited for magazine style and formatting.
Plowing Up Memories
Some would say that remembering is the same thing
as memories. Well, at least I still remember that I have
memories—memories of things distant and not so distant
in the past. You know those things that plow up memories?
Things like a smell, a word, a laugh or an expression? Do
you write things down so you will be able to remember
them? I do.
I used to be able to write my grocery list and even if I
forgot it and left it on the table at home, I would remember
almost everything on the list, everything except the one
thing I needed to make that special dish for dinner. Then
you make the decision to cook something else and make
the first dish the next night. Except the next day you can’t
remember that you were going to stop at the grocery and
pick up that one thing you needed, let alone the fact you
were going to make that dish tonight. And so the remem-
bering thing is a moot point. I find it is better to have the
ingredients of several items on hand so I don’t find myself
in that situation.
Back to those plowed-up things I mentioned earlier. See,
I remembered to remember them.
• Smells. A smell can sometimes smack you in the nasal
passages of time. I remember the smell of rice with
raisins cooking as I came down the
stairs in the morning before school.
It is a “comfort” smell today. Then
there is the smell of the lilacs that
bloomed every spring in the yard on
the farm where I grew up. Oh, and
now when I mention the farm—you
know those smells that waft through
the windows as you drive through
the country? Well, some of those
memories are not so good. But I can
tell you the difference between cow
smell and pig smell. That is a talent I
can sure be proud of remembering.
• The word “please.” It was called the magic word.
Please could get you a lot of things; just ask my kids. Or
maybe you shouldn’t, since I may have been a little too
hard on them sometimes. But when I do hear that word
coming from a child, I am reminded of those requests
that were followed by a “peeze.” And I am reminded of
those beautiful days when my children were young.
• Laughter. Oh, how I remember and love laughter. My
dad had a wonderful smile and laugh. I see that smile
and hear that laugh in my children. My husband has a
ringtone for our grandson, Ryan, set on his phone that is a
young child’s laughter. It sounds like Ryan’s baby laugh-
ter. I wish he would call more often so we could hear it.
• An expression. I remember the expression my father had
when someone, probably me, did something bad. The
expression was worse than punishment. Disappointment
registered immediately and you wished you could crawl
under a rock and hide. I don’t remember any punishment
I ever received, but I do remember that “look.”
If this little story has piqued your memory in any way,
you’ll find that memories are great to have, and remember-
ing them is even better.
Carol Hopkins #89703
Continued ›››
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Different V iewpoints