Wonderful responses
John E. Peterson
Thursday, August 23, 2007
MY EGO forces me to periodically tell you about the pleasing responses I get from you lovely people about this trivial column. I will do that again, if I have my way.
First, some responses of a general nature. My balance was worse than usual that day, so I used my cane as I went into the post office.
As I got inside and met a lady coming out, she said, “If I had my way, you would not have to be using that cane.”
I thanked her for the kind remark, laughed and agreed with her.
I do not recall where it happened and I did not know the gentleman. As we passed by, he said, “If I had my way, you would write columns about luncheon trips more often.”
I wish I could, too. We just cannot take trips as often as we used to.
We went into Coburn’s one evening to dine. After ordering, we moved toward a table and said hello to groups of people we knew at two other tables.
As we sat down near a gentleman and lady in a booth, he said to me, “If I had my way, you would say hello to us, too.”
Of course, I did say hello and was happy to do so.
I often get comments about my columns at the band concerts in Fremont Park. I suppose that is because the column appears on Thursday nights and Thursday was always the night of the concerts. Some people, then, have just read the column before coming to the concert. That is great! I like it!
For example, we were seated in our folding chairs waiting for the concert to start. Most of the people were still arriving.
Former neighbors Jan and Bill Borst came by. As they passed, Jan said, “If I had my way, every band concert night this summer would be this nice.”
I agreed. It was a beautiful evening.
Now, to some comments about the column telling about our luncheon trip to Cassoday. That story came out the same evening of a band concert. As we sat before the concert, one of the band members, a young woman, came by on her way to the bandstand.
She stopped and told me that she had just read my column, as she usually did. She was especially taken with it because it was about Cassoday and she was from Cassoday.
She told me where the house she had grown up in was located. She told me some things about the cafe and that it had just closed because of a small fire in the kitchen. It would be open soon and the restroom would be functioning, if she had her way, she said.
A few days later, a lovely lady at the Wednesday night book club in the library told me, after the meeting, how much she had enjoyed that column because she was from the Cassoday area. And an acquaintance of Merle’s told her that she had enjoyed the column. She particularly talked about my account of the trip home. She said that we went right past her house when we went through Strong City.
Though we live in one of the villas outside the Presbyterian Manor, we now are often going to the Manor to dine. One evening, just before going into the dining room, a lady chatted with me about that Cassoday column.
She said she really liked it because it reminded her of her early days. Her parents had operated a restaurant in a small town in northeastern Missouri. Reading about Cassoday and its restaurant made her girlhood memories come back, she said.
One more response about that Cassoday column. Merle and I were going into Applebee’s for lunch. As we were taken to our table, we passed one at which Dick Keller and his lovely wife were lunching.
She said, “Happy birthday! I read about your birthday in your column about Cassoday.” I told her my birthday was a good six weeks back, but thanked her very much anyway.
Since I have mentioned my birthday and said above that we are often dining at the Manor, I am reminded of some other Manor-related responses.
On my birthday, I got a card from the people who work at the Manor. On it, Susan Siepelmeier had written, “If I had my way, you would have a happy birthday!”
A very nice thought.
Back when we went over to the Manor only occasionally, I got this response.
We had finished dining and I was getting up from the table when a lovely lady at the next table said, “Mr. Peterson, if I had my way, you would eat here more often and sit next to me. I like your column very much.”
Of course, I was very pleased. And flattered.
And then there is Virgil Basgall over there in the Manor dining room. I would guess that Virgil has said, “If I had my way” to me a half-dozen times. And then added some further comment to it. There have been a good many other comments about my columns from people at the Manor, too.
There, then, are come of the responses I have gotten about my trivial columns. I have notes about more of them, which I hope to share with you some day.
In the meantime, you would keep saying such nice things, if I had my way.