I’ve never been one to shy away from the number of candles on my birthday cake. I’ve lived life thoroughly and without many regrets. I choose to celebrate life rather than fretting about my age. But lately, the years of my existence are accumulating at an alarming rate.
It seems everyone is reminding me of my upcoming 65th birthday, including a plethora of insurance companies vying for my insurance dollars. I’ve been inundated with choices and yes, I’ve taken care of business and signed up for what I needed to sign up for, but hadn’t given my birthday much thought.
Branson Bound
It hadn’t phased me until my husband and I recently visited Branson, Missouri. We enjoy the shows, especially Sight & Sound https://www.sight-sound.com, and also love exploring antique stores along the way and while there.
There’s a great mall in Northwest Arkansas where we could easily spend a few hours. That’s where I spotted a great coffee table book featuring the history of Madison County, Iowa. https://www.madisoncoia.us/ Only $28.
Madison County Genealogy
I immediately called my brother, a genealogy buff who has done extensive research on our ancestors, as well as helping others search for answers in their family trees. http://www.rgy.com/ I knew that if Glenn didn’t have this Madison County historical book, he would want this copy.
“I’ve already got a copy of it,” he responded when I got him on the phone, “but you might want it since you’re IN it!”
“What?” I replied, incredulously.
He grabbed his copy and told me to look on a certain page. Sure enough, there I was with my brother and our parents in a black and white photograph taken in the late 60s.
There were also pictures of our maternal and paternal grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles taken about the same time, as well as stories of generations before with Madison County roots. My brother actually submitted several of the photographs and stories compiled in this 1984 book. He didn’t want another copy, but I’ll admit, I was a bit tempted.
“What kind of a deal could I get on this book,” I asked the clerk working at this antique store. I told him I was in it, and he quickly said “Well, you’ve just GOT to have it!” as he offered me a 10% discount.
His market couldn’t be too promising. Who else in Northwest Arkansas would buy a book about Madison County Iowa? But the price was too high for this bargain shopper, so I returned the book to the booth after taking a quick selfie.
It’s not every day you find yourself in the pages of a book on the shelf of an antique store. Right? It was kind of a blow to my ego, but a humorous one, nonetheless.
Jim and I enjoyed a few shows and explored more of our favorite antique malls in the Branson area as we celebrated our 45th anniversary.
When we are ‘antiquing’ – our inexpensive Branson entertainment – Jim is always on the lookout for tools and manly stuff, while I’m drawn to books. Imagine that!
While visiting our last downtown antique store, another book caught my eye – a 1974 yearbook from McPherson College. http://www.mcpherson.edu
Kansas Connections
I pulled it from the dusty shelf and started looking through it only to find so many familiar faces. I had taken a few courses there, and graduated the year before from the cross-town rival, Central College (now Central Christian College of Kansas). http://www.centralchristian.edu
My first real job after graduation was at “Mac” College, as Executive Secretary to the Business Manager. It was a great trip down memory lane as pictures of students and faculty members kindled fond memories. Since I wasn’t a student I don’t know that I’d ever seen that yearbook, nor did I realize I’d find myself in those pages.
Oh my goodness, this can’t be happening again, I thought. To see yourself on the pages of a book in an antique store is a bit disconcerting, and for it to happen twice in as many days, well – it’s almost traumatic.
Perhaps I really AM getting older…or, perhaps I should just stop frequenting antique malls.
You are just a spring chicken to me. Your first comment about people really vying for your dollars really caught my eye. The reason is that in my endless quest to find something meaningful and useful to do during retirement, I trained (and am still training) to be a SHIP volunteer. The purpose is to help seniors through the ever increasingly complicated maze of Medicare. It is interesting, but very complicated. Jerry, being the more mathematical and business oriented has always taken care of that. I told him things he didn’t know. I hadn’t known that you couldn’t just pick a supplemental plan and keep it but you have to continually re-evaluate. We have switched drug(part D ) plans and are saving $1400 a year, and we really don’t take many drugs for people our ages. This group is very eager to help people as when they report that they have helped, it helps ensure that they will keep their grant. Google SHIP and find your local group. In Tennessee, it is just called SHIP(the national name), but in Missouri, it is called CLAIMS, and in Florida something else. They will consider the drugs you might be taking and put you on a “Plan Finder” which will help you choose the best supplement. They can show a chart listing the advantages of traditional Medicare vs. Advantage Plans. I am impressed with them and highly recommend them. My baby sister’s husband just went on Medicare and is delighted. He is self employed and was paying a bundle for himself and Susan. Anyway, my free advice for the day.
Carol – glad you were able to read my latest post. Thanks for commenting too, and good for you for becoming a volunteer to help ppl with their “maze” of Medicare! Take care, friend!