Vi June, Reckonings
There’s an old saying, “You can’t go home again” but it’s wrong. You can go home again, and it was wonderful to be back home again. Try it, you’ll like it.
A long time
It had been two years since I had been “home” and I was mighty homesick for Minnesota and our little town of Sauk Centre, population 4,000.
Our four girls and son, Dan, said they would take good care of Bob while I was “home”.
There’s “home” and then there’s home and I needed a big dose of being with my two sisters and sister-in-law Jan.
So off I went on Valentine’s Day and returned five days later. It was five days of non-stop talking and playing hours of cards, namely 500, a great game.
I told the folks back there I just wanted to sit across the table and take them all in and I did that. Even my electric blanket smelled of “home.”
It was heavenly
I had been home a number of times in the summer but I wanted to see our farm in the snow. And did we have plenty of snow with eight-foot drifts and pristine fields all white. It was so beautiful and serene.
Some changes
We went to the nursing home to see my sister-in-law Sally who recently had a stroke. She died of congestive heart failure during my visit. I’m just so glad we saw her while she was still knowing all of us.
A community leader
When I went home in the past, I always stopped in at the First State Bank to see Pat Dubois, the president. He was a staunch Democrat and we enjoyed talking politics. I last saw him when he was 95 and he died Jan. 7 of this year. He was a stellar community leader and will be sorely missed.
In his memory I’m reprinting an article about golf which he loved. Here it is!!
Life is Like a Round of Golf
Life is like a round of golf
With many a turn and twist.
But the game is much too sweet and short
To curse the shots you’ve missed.
Sometimes you’ll hit it straight and far
Sometimes the putts roll true.
But each round has its errant shots
And troubles to play through.
So always swing with courage
No matter what the lie.
And never let the hazards
Destroy the joy inside.
And keep a song within your heart
Give thanks that you can play.
For the round is much too short and sweet
To let it slip away.
And now that I’ve had my Minnesota fix it, it should hold me for a while.
Stay well, stay involved and stay tuned.
Vi June is past Democratic state representative for House District 35. She is a former mayor of Westminster and a former newspaper publisher. A Westminster resident for more than four decades, she and her husband, Bob, have five grown children and eight grandchildren.
