As promised in my last "Flashes", I will now expound on the beauties of Skagit Valley... and hope that Nancy will embellish with a picture or two of the gorgeous tulip fields we saw.

     We left Seattle in mid-morning under a pewter-colored sky and arrived in the valley around noon. The day was perfect; windless and not a single spatter of raindrops.
     The newspapers had warned us there would be fewer fields to view this year, and that is true, but the ones we saw were awesome... breath-taking.... gorgeous! Nan's new camera did a fine job of recording them for mooning over in the future.
     We had fish and chips at a place called "Whiskers" that overlooks the Swinomish Slough. I'm sure the coal-black cat I saw on the dock was who gave it its name, even if John looked skeptical when I said so.
     Nan and I prowled around a shop called Good Kitty, Bad Kitty.... which was full of every kind of cat art you could imagine. I had to keep reminding myself that I am "downsizing" at home. There were so many cute, beautiful, weird cat things there.... You'd have to see to believe. I hope to go back there again on a day when my defenses are down! I wish I had torn down de fences while we were there!
     Wonderful day.. from the perfect weather, the lovely flowers, the monstrous ice cream cones... down to the bunches of tulips we brought home to enjoy during the week.

    Delighted to be able to say Jack's good friend, Nick, and his brother, Matt, are both home from the battle area. Hildy says their family is throwing a "welcome home" party. I'LL BET!

    I have been pleased to receive warm e-mails from several members of Arthur Delfel's family, one of whom ran across a story of mine that mentioned him as a childhood friend while she was surfing the Internet. She was just typing family names into Google when my story surfaced. Arthur was her grandfather. I knew him when our family lived on Bagley, over eighty years ago. Nancy helped me send them a picture of him at about age 4. His son wrote to say I was the center of attention at a family dinner last week, while they all enjoyed the picture and story. Sure made me feel good.

April 26, 2004

    Today was a short trip day with Nancy at the wheel. I got my wish to go to the Volunteer Park Conservatory. We saw plants you wouldn't believe! Orchids came in all colors and some were huge. One type was colored salmon and soft green in the petals and each blossom had a long petal that hung like pennants, at least a foot long! There were hydrangeas in all shades of blue and lavender and the purest white. One we particularly liked was composed of large, flat petals of deep, sky blue with an inner bouquet of tiny, white blossoms. All these lovely blossoms were banked with plant after plant of maidenhair fern.
     Another room was loaded with bromeliads and the warmest section boasted hundreds of varieties of cacti.... some in unexpectedly beautiful bloom. We didn't stay in this room very long.... It was hot!
     We drove through the Lakeview Cemetery, trying to pick out the headstones for pioneers. It would be hard to miss the Arthur Denny family's group of stones. Vern and I stayed in the car while Nan scooted over to see the new marker that has replaced the old, wandering one for Doc Maynard.
     Additionally, the view from the tiny park just across from the cemetery is truly spectacular. Today, we could clearly see the houses as far away as Laurelhurst and the Cascades with their shoulders of snow.
     It was a very rewarding trip.

    I learned about "Smoothies" today, too. Nan made them for us from yogurt, frozen blackberries, a little sugar, and a drop or two of vanilla. Oh, Boy! That was Yum.

    Enough for now. Blessings all around.

Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

     Lyn Bruce sent this picture of their family. Bradley Bruce, far left, is Vern's Uncle John's grandson. The others in the picture are Adam, Lyn (Brad's wife) Amber, Amy and her fiance, whose name I do not know. These are the people we visited in International Falls in 1981, when we did the truck-and-trailer trip across Canada to the east coast, making special stops en-route at International Falls, MN (to see relatives of Vern's) and at Merrill, WI (to see where the Pfisters came from).
      When we were there, Brad and Lyn were young marrieds with Amy a toddler of about 18 months.
      It is my hope my kids will meet Brad and Lyn someday. They are very nice people.

     One of Anne W's nephews is home from the war zone, for which their family is very grateful. Now, the other one is slated to return, as well. His tour of duty has been lengthened before, so they won't know until he gets the final word. Hope it is soon.
      Anne is still enjoying rowing in the 8 person shell. She is presently out practicing two evenings a week and Saturday mornings. We are so proud of her!

     Anne Lightfoot, Dan's Mom, has just moved to a ground floor apartment at Executive Estates. She is now just around the corner from daughter, Ellen, a better arrangement. Anne finds it more difficult to get around these days, as do most of us who are in our eighties. We hope this will be a happy change for her.

     We have some birthdays coming up this month. Christopher and Christa will both be 18. Paul's birthday is on the 20th, but he doesn't want to talk about it. He is still our "baby" and always will be... if that makes him feel any better. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Story from Bill Vivatson:
      A couple traveled to Europe to attend a track meet. A fellow came walking by with a long pole. To be friendly, the lady said,"Are you a pole vaulter?" The guy said,"As a matter of fact, I am Polish, but how did you know my name was Walter?"
Another:
      Did you hear the one about the Palistinian man that moved to Ballard and married a Swedish woman? They named their first son Yser Youbetcha.

Nan's story:
      Did you hear about the incident at the airport? When they took the knitting needles away from a 90 year old lady, she asked if they were afraid she was going to knit an Afghan.

Thought for the day:
      Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away.
      (one of those times was Monday when John, Nan, Vern and I went up to see the tulips in Skagit Valley. More about that, next time.)

Dixie-Dorothea, Senior Editor

    When talking with grandson Jeremy's friend, Amity at History House last Sunday, I heard her last name for the first time. It is "Egge". Asked if she was related to the Egge twins who used to live near us on Corliss, she told me Dick Egge is her grandfather. This world sure gets smaller all the time.

     I'm sad to report the death of my dear, old friend, Charley King. We met at a Northeast Improvement Club dance when I was about 15, and have been friends ever since.
     Charley was the young man with whom I ran a trapline on Thornton Creek early every morning before going to school at Roosevelt Hight School one year. He ran the traps. I never saw the catch, safely packed away in a backpack before he came back to the trail. Their family, like most of the rest of us, needed the few dollars brought in by the sale of the pelts to help put food on the table. This was during the worst part of the Great Depression.
     Charley was a wonderful dancer. Dancing a schottische or Spanish waltz with him was as effortless as bird flight. During the years since those days, he never failed to mention our schottishces when he would call me, usually on my birthday.
     Vern and I met at Charley's wedding to Shirley Keller, in 1942. John Medley and Margaret Bavin (Miggs) met that same day. Vern, John, and Charley were all in Boeing's apprentice program together.

     Goodbye, Old Friend.

* * * * *

     On to happier things, again. Bill Vivatson sent me this bunch of Burma Shave jingles. For those of you who may not know, Burma Shave was a shaving cream that came in a jar. Their unique way of advertising consisted of sets of five-in-a-row signs standing along the highway. Each sign carried a line of a jingle.... the last one always said "Burma Shave".
     Bill wrote,"It was always a thrill to be traveling along the highway and see these red blips in the distance. The speed limit was probbly 50MPH, so one had time to read them."
     Here they are, as he sent them:

DON'T LOSE YOUR HEAD
TO GAIN A MINUTE
YOU NEED YOUR HEAD
YOUR BRAINS ARE IN IT

DROVE TOO LONG
DRIVER SNOOZING
WHAT HAPPENED NEXT
IS NOT AMUSING

BROTHER SPEEDER,
LET'S REHEARSE;
ALL TOGETHER,
GOOD MORNING NURSE

CAUTIOUS RIDER
TO HER RECKLESS DEAR
LET'S HAVE LESS BULL
AND LOTS MORE STEER

SPEED WAS HIGH
WEATHER WAS NOT
TIRES WERE THIN
X MARKS THE SPOT

THE MIDNIGHT RIDE
OF PAUL FOR BEER
LED HIM TO
A WARMER HEMISPHERE

AROUND THE CURVE
LICKETY-SPLIT
IT'S A BEAUTIFUL NEW CAR
WASN'T IT?

NO MATTER THE PRICE
NO MATTER HOW NEW
THE BEST SAFETY DEVICE
IN THE CAR IS YOU

A GUY WHO DRIVES
A CAR WIDE OPEN
IS NOT THINKIN'
HE'S JUST HOPIN'

AT INTERSECTIONS
LOOK EACH WAY
A HARP SOUNDS NICE
BUT ITS HARD TO PLAY

BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL
EYES ON THE ROAD
THAT'S THE SKILLFUL
DRIVER'S CODE

THE ONE WHO DRIVES
WHEN HE'S BEEN DRINKING
DEPENDS ON YOU
TO DO HIS THINKING

CAR IN DITCH
DRIVER IN TREE
THE MOON WAS FULL
AND SO WAS HE.

     And my all time favorite

PASSING SCHOOL ZONE
TAKE IT SLOW
LET OUR LITTLE
SHAVERS GROW

     To these, I have to add the only one I can remember that was different from his:

THE BEARDED LADY
TRIED A JAR
NOW SHE’S A FAMOUS
MOVIE STAR.

That’s all for now
Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor