Memories: The mind's way of staying sane

I guess this time of year, with the holidays and all, one has to think upon the past and what has transpired in one's life. Too bad the holidays bring out the bad, as well as the good.

In Minonk, I remember many a Christmas at home, on 311 Maple Avenue. That's where I grew up. No moves, jut one house until I left town in 1955 to go to school and seek my fortune. Which I'm still seeking. Funny of all those Christmases at home I can barely remember who was there for the Christmas dinners. Oh, mom and dad, sure. But the relatives. They're fading shadows.

I do remember the old German Nativity scene we had. It was Grandma Kettelhut's. Perfect detail with solid metal figurines, and some were broken. The legs of some of the animals were broken, but mom fixed toothpicks to them so they would stand up. But, you know, when they were standing in the manger scene, with the light all around, you couldn't even tell they were broken.

Memories, and staying sane.

Albie Johnson's Dad was in the same profession as mine, a dentist. Albie is a friend of mine thru e-mail and MinonkTalk, and he's really nailed some of this memory stuff. It's a way of thinking past today, and just drifting. By the way Albie, I have those "senior moments" myself. There is a picture of me in MinonkTalk that Dave took when I was up there for a visit. Albie took that picture and drew me a beautiful watercolor of same. Albie, you're something else. Now I have another memory from a friend far away.

Now when you start to think of all that you have done while living in Minonk, from grade school to high school, you could trace all of it to just a flash. A moment. Oh, there it is, now it's gone. Like the song "Kodachrome." Taking pictures with my Nikon camera. Flashes in the mind, there for you to see every now and then.

I was happy to go up in Minonk this Spring to meet old friends, we had a long chat out there at Woody's. If it would have been a few years back, we probably would have met at the "Homestead", where I used to sneak out to when I was a senior in high school.

But these are new memories. And they are valuable as well.

So I'm staying sane with my memories, and my friends who I still have contact with. This is the most important. Don't forget your friends, or they may become shadows in your memory show of the mind.