New Year Remembering Old Friends

In just a few days another year comes to an end. Somehow the years seem to pass much more quickly than they used to. Before I know it, I’m looking at a new year beginning before I’m finished with the old one.

Each year fills our lives with happiness, sadness, milestones and achievements.

I received word yesterday (Sunday) that a woman I knew for 50 years had died. For a long while afterwards I walked back through the years of our friendship. I’d met her on my very first weekend trip to Chicago. Her father was a brother to my uncle. We connected immediately. Each time we got together we had such a great time.

Eventually she decided to board the train and come to Montana for a visit. Rita had such a sense of humor. And watching her in totally different surroundings was a delight.

For instance, I had cooked a beef roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions for our Sunday dinner. On Monday, I diced the remains of the roast and potatoes and served it for lunch along with a vegetable and dessert.

Rita thought that was a great idea to use up leftovers, so when she returned to Chicago, she prepared the same meal. As she was cooking the leftovers, her Dad asked what she was doing.

“Oh,” she replied, “This is what they do with leftover roast and potatoes in Montana.”

We had fixed up a guest room in our basement. One night, Rita came rushing up the stairs as fast as she could go yelling, “Help! Help! There’s an alligator on the floor by my bed!”

The alligator was a mud puppy that had managed to come into the basement through the deep basement.

One day Rita was helping me post checks. She would read the information on the check to me and I’d enter it into my bookkeeping records. All of a sudden, she stopped reading. I asked her what was wrong. She said, “Nothing really. But I just realized this is a business.”

When I queried her on what she thought our farm was, she said, “Just a farm.” So I explained to her that we had to purchase fuel, parts for repairs, supplies, groceries, pay for our electricity and phone, etc. She told me she’d never thought of a farm as being a business.

Over the years we gradually lost touch. Then, a couple of years ago, I received a friend request from her on Facebook. She had also provided me with her phone number. I quickly picked up my phone and called her. We talked for several hours.

From time to time, we’d send each other messages or talk on the phone. She wanted to come back to Montana for a visit, but her and her husband’s health issues prevented it.

Then yesterday I learned there would be no more phone calls or messages. And I thought to myself, “Why didn’t I call her more? Why didn’t I just get on the train and go visit her and her husband?”

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in our daily lives we forget to take time out to call a friend or send them a card or visit them in person. And then the day comes we are told our friend has died.

It’s not exactly a New Year’s resolution, but this year I hope to be in closer contact with my friends to share stories and laughter and memories. And to store up new stories and memories. I wish all of you everything good in this coming New Year.