This is one of those times when I doubt that I can scrape together 500 words for a single topic, so I am going to offer several opinions of a much shorter variety. I have been saving these up for your reading enjoyment, don’t you know?
I want everyone to know that this year for Christmas I finally got the blue sweater of my dreams. I did! The Youngest Daughter searched the Internet for exactly the right one and eventually found it. There was one minor snag in its appearance when she spied it online — it had gaudy gold metal buttons and she knew they would never do. But she bought the sweater anyway and replaced the buttons herself. It is exactly right and I am as appreciative of that sweater as I have ever been of anything. I even threw away the old one — the one with only one and a half buttons, elbows worn out, multiple runs through the knitted cable, and one separated shoulder seam. I loved that sweater, but I have moved on. Now what will I ask for next year?
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I think you should know that I am hoping to become an honorary Geezer Group member up at Food Mart when I hit 65 in the fall. I think those boys need a little feminine influence, don’t you? This idea has been growing slowly and I am still working on the details. I could be the Geezer Girl. I could organize bake sales and car washes to raise money for road trips. They could be ambassadors for the community, spreading the story of Peabody far and wide. We might even wander up to Topeka and investigate what it takes to become Silver-Haired Legislators. Imagine the possibilities! Bring me your suggestions for community projects and I will take them under advisement. The Geezers never read this column so the whole thing will be a huge surprise. Shhh — don’t tell.
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After my column in the past issue of this newspaper, I heard from quite a few of you about the jobs that fill my resume. “Did you really sort lima beans on a conveyor belt for Del Monte or sell foundation garments for J.C. Penney?” Yes, I did. I also babysat four little girls younger than 7 for 25 cents an hour and washed the dishes and ironed their father’s shirts. I had good bosses and bad bosses and four little girls who thought I was the best thing going — one of life’s lessons.
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I also have had folks ask what happened to our sometimes-editorial-writer Paige Barnes. If I were a real journalism person, I would have already featured her and her success story in this newspaper. However, I flubbed it. Paige got a scholarship to Butler Community College where she is majoring in communications. I’m pretty sure the columns she wrote for your reading pleasure had something to do with her successful college career. She is writing for the Butler College Lantern and she is doing just fine. I receive the weekly school paper — it is sharp and pertinent, a little edgy sometimes and thoughtful at others. Paige has covered a variety of news stories and she has done well.
So far, I haven’t seen Paige’s name on an opinion column so I expect she is on “editorial overload” and just dying to let the whole campus know what she thinks. Good for her. My guess is that no school is going to turn the editorial page over to a freshman, but she likely thinks they just should! I fully expect to see her name in that arena next year.
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And now you all know what I know.
— Susan Marshall