Shared Pleasure

Shared Pleasure

Noel Laflin

5-19-16

Mom kept small gifts in the old, squat dresser,

In the event the grandkids might show.

And the kids knew exactly where those gifts were stored

When they came to visit my folks,

(Which, was often) -

Racing from a parent’s car,

Across the lawn, through the door,

Down the hall, and to the spare room where the

Small, squat dresser held the horde.

It never got tiresome, the watching of that race,

The pleasure shared by young and old alike.

Penny Hunt

Penny Hunt

Noel Laflin

5-16-16

Friday nights were frequently penny hunt nights,

And dad relied upon young eyes to help in the search

Of elusive Wheat Back Lincolns with evasive mint dates.

That’s when my sister and I were suddenly in demand.

My father would clear the kitchen table and dump

A newly acquired batch of pennies dead center.

The bright blue coin folder was fetched from the hall closet,

An old magnifying glass was liberated from a kitchen drawer,

And a bright reading lamp was moved to the table

As Susi and I would begin to flip the coins to a heads up position.

Then the hunt would begin in earnest.

“I’m still in need of a 1914 D,” my father would say,

Time and again -  “and a 1922, no mint mark while you’re at it,”

He’d remind us - session after session - hunt after hunt.

Alas, those two, along with a scattering of other highly prized dates

Were never found.
I’ve got a faded blue penny folder to prove the point,
Along with the same old magnifying glass which,
Now resides in my kitchen drawer.

But the hunt continues on these many decades later,

As we  still glance at change, especially pennies,

Before it goes into the Betty Boop piggy bank.

And, as David’s eyes are younger than mine – 

He knows the drill.

Cup Waving

Cup Waving

Noel Laflin

5-16-16

I had a vision of my dad just now,
Seated in his favorite chair, waving an empty coffee cup in the air.
I suppose the vision came about as it was me 
Who did the cup waving this time.
You see, my cup was empty and I, 
Having a nice warm computer in my lap,
Couldn’t resist the urge of being waited upon –
Let alone losing the warmth of that laptop.
My dad, minus the computer, did the cup waving routine
On a regular basis his last few years.
But he was an old man by then,
Bent low with age, bad eyes, bad knees –
He deserved being waited upon.
And while you were refilling his cup –
(He did in a pot or two of the hot, black brew for ninety years) –
Dad would ask if there were any cookies lying about.
I am not to that point yet –

As my recent cup waving was done purely out of laziness.

But I should have asked for cookies nonetheless.

And Pecan Pie for Dessert

And Pecan Pie for Dessert

Noel Laflin

5-2-16

Bob Laflin and Vi Glasrud snuck out of town 74 years ago today, drove over the state line, found a justice of the peace, had the man’s wife stand in as a witness, and got quietly hitched.

 

On the way back from Wisconsin to the small town of Lake City, Minnesota, they stopped at a diner and ordered hamburgers and coffee.  They had pecan pie for dessert.

Only the immediate family was aware of the marriage, as Vi was a high school teacher, and Minnesota law at the time did not allow for married female teachers.  So they stayed mum on the issue for the next four years.

A few weeks after that quiet Wisconsin ceremony, Bob Laflin reported to army boot camp, was promptly shipped off by train to Riverside, California for infantry training, then rode the rails back across the country, boarded a ship out of New York bound for North Africa, and along with a few thousand other GI’s and Brits, chased Field Marshal Rommel around the desert before heading off to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia, and eventually France, Belgium, Luxemburg, and Germany itself.

He addressed all of his correspondence to his wife, by using her maiden name.  They used a secret, prearranged code so she might know where he really was at any given time.  He would send tiny packets of soil, wrapped in cellophane, within many of the letters, so that she could also ‘feel’ for herself the land from which he wrote.

There is so much more that could be said, and perhaps will be when their Diamond Anniversary rolls around at this time a year from now.

Suffice to say for the present, I wish they were still here to celebrate these milestones – but alas, they are celebrating elsewhere no doubt.  And if there is a heaven, I am sure it serves hamburgers, coffee, and pecan pie for dessert - the traditional anniversary dinner we all craved each May 2nd.

I am glad that I listened to some of their tales growing up.  I only regret not having taken notes at the time.

Love you, Mom and Dad.  Happy Anniversary.

 

Can you see this cup of coffee raised in salute?

I just wish that I had a slice of pecan pie to go with it.