Echoes From the Loafers’ Club Meeting

My wife says that I’m hard of listening, but I like to think of myself as a good listener. Are you?

I think so.

Yeah, me neither.

Driving by the Bruces

I have two wonderful neighbors — both named Bruce — who live across the road from each other. Whenever I pass their driveways, thoughts occur to me, such as: It’s odd how I sometimes pay particular notice to only those cars that are of the same brand I’m driving. The rare exceptions are a car I wish I were driving, a car that I’m glad that I’m not driving and one exceeding the speed of light. I hadn’t driven far from a hospital visit when I saw a funeral/cremation services business. Such enterprises are necessary and appreciated, but maybe there should be a 5-mile setback from hospitals.

Not one is named Primghar

The most common names for new babies in my neck of the woods are Adalyn, Alexander, Anna, Aria, Asher, Ava, Ayden, Bennett, Brooklyn, Charlotte, Emma, Genesis, Henry, Isaac, Isabella, Kinsley, Jackson, Liam, Madison, Mason, Oliver, Olivia, Paisley, Sophia and Zoey. I haven’t encountered a single Primghar. Primghar is a fine name.

I was working in Primghar, the county seat of O’Brien County, Iowa. The sign declared it to be the only Primghar in the world. The town’s name is an acronym created by using the first letters of the last names of influential county officials and surveyors of the town. Pumphrey, Roberts, Inman, McCormack, Green, Hayes, Albright and Rereick.

Hoop dreams

I tried to mosey past Morpheus, but had no luck. I slept deeply until I awoke and looked at my alarm clock. It read 2:14 a.m. I looked at the same clock later and it said 1:47 a.m. I’d dreamed that I’d looked at the clock the first time.

That night, I was seated on hard bleachers in a big gym watching a granddaughter play basketball. It’s a place where I’m best known as Joey’s grandfather.

I watched her skillful play and thought of a George MacDonald poem, “Where did you come from, baby dear?Out of the everywhere into the here.”

Joey’s team won, her performance was exemplary and there were no injuries to any player. Those things brought me great joy.

My wife and I drive down Second Street in Rochester regularly. There is a fellow who wears outrageous outfits while he stands on the sidewalk and waves at passing cars. The guy cheers me. I wave back. His name is Joe and he has battled medical conditions that kept him indoors. Then he said that one day he “got a calling from God,” went outside and began waving. He mans his post each day, drinking Pepsi while waving flags, no matter what the weather. One cold winter day, I saw him bare-chested and wearing shorts while waving at each car. Waving makes him feel better and he thinks all people would feel better if they did it, too. He has found a way to spread joy. I hope that everyone finds a way to do that same thing.

Life lessons

I saw a poster that I enjoyed, “5 Lessons in life from Dr. Seuss.”

1. Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.

2. Why fit in when you were born to stand out?

3. You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

4. Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.

5. Today I shall behave as if this is the day I will be remembered.

Nature notes

Dan Richards of Geneva found a headless cottontail rabbit under a bird feeder and wondered as to the perpetrator of this act. Perhaps the rabbit had made some enemies. We could rule out rabbit zombies in search of bunny brains, sharks and Bigfoot. The great horned owl is skilled at decapitating prey. It’s a jungle out there.

Meeting adjourned

The obituary of Edward “Ned” Martin Mayo revealed that Ned had been named after his father’s (Dr. Charles Mayo) close friend Dr. Edward Martin. Upon Ned’s birth, Dr. Martin sent Dr. Mayo a telegram full of hopes and prayers for his namesake. It read, “You have no obligations other than to love all beautiful things, spiritual and material, to patiently and tenderly help those who sorrow or are afflicted, to add to the happiness of those near and dear to you, and always have a song in your heart.”