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Dr. Bortrum
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https://www.gofundme.com/s3h2w8 |
06/05/2002
Goodbye, Annie
I had been having trouble with this week''s column. I started to write about one subject but decided it wasn''t working out well and switched to another topic. Unfortunately, after about three pages, I decided that I was striking out with the second topic as well. Then yesterday, June 4, I was getting dressed to attend the wake for the brother of a friend of mine when I received a very distressing phone call from our nephew in Pennsylvania.
My wife''s sister Annie had passed away. She died in her daughter''s arms at the age of 90. Annie was the most remarkable woman that I''ve ever met and I hope you don''t mind if I simply use this column to say my own goodbye to her. If I were a Catholic, I would without hesitation nominate her for sainthood. She was widowed at a young age with six children to care for in a house of the most modest accommodations. The door to that house was open to anyone for sustenance, conversation, counseling or therapy. There were many times of tragedy and pain that might easily have caused one to become bitter or depressed. Yet Annie maintained throughout her life an aura of inner peace and optimism and wisdom that helped make her home a refuge for those with their own problems and needs. Indeed, Annie was not happy unless she was doing something for someone else. In the days before she died her concern was that she was no longer of any use and she was ready to go.
Annie''s humble kitchen was her temple. From it flowed items fit for royalty and in quantities that boggled the mind. She could even butcher a deer if one was presented to her! Her nut rolls were to die for and on our return trips back to New Jersey our trunk was invariably loaded with jars of her pickled beets and pickled cucumber with onions and garlic. We still have a goodly supply of the former and will eat them with relish and with sadness.
Annie believed in the old fashioned ways of doing housework, disdaining offers by her children to buy her an automatic washer and dryer. To the end, she insisted on using her old washing machine with wringer and hanging her clothes out to dry. The past month when she was in the hospital, some members of her family installed new flooring, and a modern washer and dryer. The intention was for her to spend time at her daughter''s recuperating, then return to her newly renovated house. When asked if she wanted to stop and see her house after her discharge from the hospital Annie said no. It was probably for the best.
So goodbye, Annie. I could go on and on but I know you hated long speeches. You will be sorely missed by all who have had the great good fortune to have known you.
Allen F. Bortrum
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