Dear Friends,
How are you doing? I'm again glad to be able to write a composition for you to read. You see, I'm not a professional writer and I like to write mostly in Thai, my native tongue. But I find this opportunity to "sharpen my knife." For the old saying is, "If you don't sharpen your knife, it will be blunt and rusty." So the following is the result of my knife sharpening.
One
day in early July, I received an artistic postcard with sunflowers on it inviting me to
join the reception for Mary Hussey's birthday at the Cosmopolitan club on Friday, July 24,
at 7 p.m. How could I turn this down? I accepted and marked my calendar to guarantee that
I'd not forget. I'm getting old, you know.
Friday, July 24, came. I still did not have a present to give. Then while looking out the kitchen window, I was struck by the beauty of my hibiscus plant that was loaded with lovely pink blooms. I thought I heard the flowers say, "pick me, pick me." Should I cut some flowers to give as a gift? It wouldn't have any monetary value, but it would come from a sincere heart. So I cut some and put them in a vase, hoping that Mary would like them. While walking from the parking lot to the Cosmo House, I was stopped by a young lady who was admiring the flowers. She asked, "It's so beautiful! Are they real?"
At the reception, besides a big birthday cake, there was also a decorated cake with a design of a cute cat. Andrea (my "ideas" friend) had this special cake made for Mary. At the party there were also punch and ice cream. Friends came to wish Mary a happy birthday. Mary is very fond of cats, so cat cards, cat cake, cat necklace, cat pins all happily surrounded her.
I presented the flowers to Mary and wished her happy birthday. She was so appreciative, and she posed by holding the flowers above her head to look like the Statue of Liberty on Ellis Island. I couldn't let this moment pass by, so it was captured by my handy camera (see picture).
I have been amazed by how alert and lively Mary is. This woman is 91 years old, and she's still very lively! While I, not even half a century old yet, am so inert.
So what is Mary's secret of keeping herself so lively? When I mentioned this to my ideas lady (you know who), she said "Why don't you find out and write it down so we can put it in the Newsletter? The next one will be in November; the deadline to submit writing is October 15."
Oh, Oh, she's serious!!! I should not have opened my mouth at all! Now I'm in trouble !! Well, calm down, Vara; all things are possible if you try.
So August 14 at 10 a.m., I gave Mary a call. I felt sorry to interrupt her because she was busy editing a letter for a friend. She asked me to call back.
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| 1st row:
Eileen Feeney, Julio Urbina, Mary (holding the cat cake),
Elsie Kline, Kay O. Aston 2nd row: Lilia Peters, Zarina Hock, Susan Taylor, Mary Louise Hamilton, Ruth Youngerman, Mary Graham 3rd row: Judith Gordon, Judith's mother, Andrea Shields, Hans Hock, Dave Monk, Virginia Sharp |
I called Mary again on Sunday, November 1. She was kind enough to talk to me. Mary was born on July 28, 1907, in rural Williamsville in Sangamon County, about 10 miles northeast of Springfield, Illinois. For seven years, she went to a country school, which was a mile from her home. As they walked to school, she had a hard time keeping up with her brother, who was six years older than she. Her last year of elementary school she spent in a village school. Then she went to Williamsville High School, and after graduation, she came to the University of Illinois, where she got her A.B. and M.A. in English. Her first job was at Monticello High School, only 25 miles from C-U. She taught junior and senior English (11th and 12th grades) and speech and drama. After 14 years she returned to C-U, where she taught freshman rhetoric 4 years. Then in 1947 she and a colleague founded the Division of English as a Second Language (later called the Division of English as an International Language). In 1974 Mary retired from the University and since then has been tutoring nonnative speakers in English.
When I asked her what the secrets that makes her so lively, she said "nothing in particular." She is very fond of cats; her cat companion is Penelope, a partial long-hair, all white cat.
About eating: Mary loves chocolate. She likes to eat out. Her favorite restaurants are Aunt Sonya's, Perkins, the Prime Room at the Clarion, and Jumers. She doesn't like to put pepper or salt on her food. She has oatmeal for breakfast. She said people shouldn't eat too much, and I agree with her but I don't practice that. Entertainment was dancing when she was younger.
For entertainment she likes to attend the programs at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. She never was a sports fan, but she likes to watch basketball and tennis sometimes.
At the age of 91 she is still in fair health with some problems with vision and hearing, plus some digestive disorders. Her only complaint was that she doesn't get enough sleep. (Who does?).
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