Main Street

I grew up on a farm. It was the very same farm my Dad grew up on. I was the oldest daughter with 2 sisters and a brother. Penny was 3 years younger, Jamie and Jeff -11 and 12 years younger than me. Everyone thought Jamie and Jeff were twins but they were a year apart. Jamie could convince Jeff to do anything especially if she was afraid to do it. She was so good at convincing people of stuff that one year she convinced Dad to let her open all of her Christmas presents before Christmas. Then she cried on Christmas Morning when she didn’t have any presents to open – so Dad went in town and bought her a Cat. That cat lived 17 years. I was sure after all that convincing and a bit of manipulating that Jamie would go into Politics. She always liked to do things her own way – even putt-putt.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

Every Sunday during the winter Dad made Penny and I go with him to cut wood. Our winters were cold and Dad would get those fires roaring so we needed a lot of chopped wood. Dad would tell us he used do the same thing when he was a boy and we heard a lot of ‘when I was young’ stories on those Sundays. Penny and I would jump in the back of the truck and Dad would drive us down in the pasture looking for trees needing to be chopped. Dad cut wood with his chain-saw as Penny and I would load it in the back of his truck. I hated it. Penny loved it because I hated it.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

Many Sundays as we would drive through the pasture, my dad would stop his truck in front of the same old tree. This tree was bent. It was old. It was crooked and twisted. It looked like it surely had weathered some storms. My dad would stand there looking at that tree with a smile on his face and tell us; (every week) ‘That old tree is still here. I used to climb that tree when I was a boy. I played hide and seek around this tree and it’s still here’. I never understood the significance of that old tree until years later when I had my own children. One afternoon I went for a walk in the pasture and came upon that same old tree. I found myself looking at that tree the same way my Dad used to look at that old tree and saying the same words I remembered Dad saying, ‘That tree is still here’. Life is funny that way. Suddenly, I loved that old tree and saw the beauty of an old weathered tree with leaves that are still a brilliant green in the summer. It’s had weathered a lot of hard storms, thunder storms, ice storms, tornados, snow storms and it’s still here; kind of just like me. I’ve weathered some hard storms in life, been tossed around but I’m still here.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

There was a cafe on the West side of Main called Victory Cafe. My dad loved the place and loved the owner Bob Greeves. He would take my sister Penny and I there every Sunday afternoon after all the wood was cut and loaded. Those Sundays we could get what-ever we wanted. Dad would sip coffee and Penny and I would eat and fight. She bugged me a lot back then. Now she’s my best friend.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

During the summer, Mom would drive us into town and drop us off at Kreem Kup. My sister and I would order lunch then walk to the City swimming pool and swim all afternoon. One day Mom dropped us off at Kreem Cup to get a burger and
fries. We got our meal and headed down to the Wamego Swimming pool. We noticed we didn’t have ketchup so Penny and I took our lunch over to Victory Cafe right on Main Street. We sat down at a table, took out our burger, fries and small coke from Kreem Kup and politely asked Bob Greeves if we could have some ketchup. We heard a lot of mumbling and grumbling as he brought us the ketchup. He never let dad forget about how we brought in food from Kreem Kup and asked for his Ketchup.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

I met Diana Crilly, on the bus ride home from school in the forth grade. She lived right down the road from my farm. One day on the bus she said I could be her friend if I went to her church. Now, Diana was popular, pretty and a born
leader. So right there on the bus that day I became a Presbyterian so I could be Diana’s friend. We’ve stayed friends for years. I am not a Presbyterian now; but I am still her friend.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

Mary Poppins came to the big Theater. We had to go to Manhattan Kansas to see the movies. The night our whole family was going to head to Mary Poppins – we had a huge storm. Dad said – we need to stay in and wait this out. We lost all electricity so Dad started one of his roaring fires. It was the only light in our big old farm house – the raging fire from the fire place. Those fires were so hot, they could of kept all of Wamego warm. Penny and I were both a little mad that we could not go to the movie in spite of the storm. Dad went and got a jar of Peanut Butter and Crackers. He put a scoop of peanut butter on each cracker and started handing them out as we sat around the fire. I remember him saying ‘One day you will remember this night. The night we could not go see Mary Poppins because of the big storm and you will remember eating peanut butter and crackers before a big fire in the fireplace.” Well, Dad, you were right – I still remember. I still love Mary Poppins and I still love those fires.

I think about those days when I drive down Main Street.

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