January 2001                                                                     The Megaphone                                                                              Page 5

A Bit Of This And That
by Sharon (Benedict) Hurst

  It is supposed to be headed right into the January thaw today, January 10, 2001.

  I am not sure exactly what that means.  I suppose they talked about that when I was growing up here in Elwood, but being away from this area for such a long time has really dulled my memory about the weather.  I suppose it means a warming trend before it gets very cold again.

   Since moving back to Indiana we have had such mild winters that it was more like being in the Dallas area than what I remembered as a child.  I remember walking in snow above my knees with scarves around my head and over my mouth and nose. I remember adults walking to the grocery stores and to the dime stores down town. We wore snow clothes . . . leggings, sturdy boots, knitted caps for the boys and men and scarves for the girls and ladies. We had neighborhood schools, grocery stores and service stations and everybody walked. We all took turns with the snow shovel at our homes and there was always soup simmering on the stove or meat loaves in the oven.  A lot of baking went on in the winter, I suppose a lot of it was to help heat our homes.

   One of the best winters I remember was during the time we lived in South Jersey. We were in Egg Harbor which is near Cape May and we were very close to the ocean.  Nothing was more beautiful than to look across the beach and watch the giant snowflakes falling into the sea. To this day I can close my eyes and see the beauty of the snow covered beach and the green and white waves breaking across the snow.

   The north Atlantic is an ocean with a constantly changing character unlike the warmer waters of the south Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico.  It can be fierce and it is easy to watch the breakers and imagine an old whaling vessel tossing and turning as the waves crash across the deck. On the island very near Atlantic City there is an old mansion that sits on a high cliff area overlooking the sea.  This was built by a sea captain whose name was Starnes and who is quite a legend in the area.  The cliff is very sheer and probably the equivalent of a two or three story building. On calm days the waves would break at the top of the sea wall and if you were standing close, you would become wet from the spray.  On blustery days the spray would actually come across to the house itself.  It is said that when Captain Starnes found this site he thought it was more like watching the sea around his vessel than any other land site he had seen.  My children loved to go there and play pirates . . . the rougher the sea the more they liked it.

   Another thing our children loved to do while they were living at the edge of the water was sailing their toy ships.  We found some sailing ships about 2 feet long that had masts with canvas sails just like the real thing.   We soon found that because of the tide their was no way they could play with them in the water without constant vigil. I found that by tying heavy kite string on them they could be controlled from the shore and would not be carried away. This became a marvelous pastime for us as there is nothing more relaxing than to sit and listen to the sounds of the surf.  I have a CD of the North Atlantic surf that I regularly use to help me relax.

Next time . . . South Padre Island.

Your Roving Reporter,

Sharon (Benedict) Hurst '54

  Dear Meg . . . by our very own Meg A. Fone

"Dear Meg,
   If your husband forgets to give you anything on your wedding anniversary . . . over 20 years . . . not even a card . . . what do you do . . . ???"  Forgotten Wife

Dear Forgotten Wife,
   You have never received an anniversary acknowledgement from your husband in over 20 years and just now wondering what to do about it!? Sorry dear, but by not addressing this problem way back at year one or two, you have said to your husband it's okay to ignore your anniversary.  If you want to change things now you should sit down with hubby and explain that your feelings about your anniversary are different than they used to be and you would like to begin exchanging gifts to celebrate the blessed day, or perhaps take a nice trip together, or whatever it is you have decided you need after so many years.   

I remain,

Meg A. Fone