"..And Mary Carol poured"

In a small town, there's always a column in the local newspaper called Local News which chronicles the highlights of the citizens social happenings. So and so had a baby, so and so visited Mr and Mrs Smith, etc. When we moved to Pelican Rapids, I read this part of the paper, written by our then newspaper publisher's wife, Mary Carol, trying desperately to learn people's names and who knew who. My Mom Esther wrote this column for our hometown paper so I knew it was an important part of the social fiber of a community.

Moving to Pelican Rapids and trying to get to know people was very hard for me. Granted, it was at a very challenging time in my life having just lost my dad, my job, becoming a stay home mom and knowing that my mother would soon be dying of cancer. Yes I desperately needed social contacts! Eventually by volunteering, finding a couple part-time jobs, getting known in the community and God's grace (I think), we were able to say we had friends here. My long distance telephone bills decreased significantly.

One of the jokes my "new" friends and I had was that every time we did something socially we were going to call the local paper and tell them of our events so it would get in Mary Carol's column. We'd always end the joke by saying "And Mary Carol poured". It seemed to us that our social gathering was deserving of the highest form of respect to make it in the column and also a tongue in cheek way of acknowledging that life in a small town isn't always that exciting and quirky at best.

Eventually we grew to have deep friendships in this community--people that I will truly miss. Fortunately we have our lake cabin here and so we will return every summer-probably for the rest of our lives.

Last night in my dreams, everyone I've ever met or known in Pelican Rapids ran through my head. It was a nice dream, kinda sad, but reassuring too. When I woke up in my hazy state, I uttered the phrase..."And Mary Carol poured". I'm going to take this as a blessing and a sign that we are receiving good wishes from our friends and aquaintances here--although most are sure we're crazy!

Oh-by the way--for those who don't know, Mary Carol is also an accomplished, award-winning artist. The picture at the top of this post is one of her pieces that I own and highly value. I will miss not seeing this piece of art every day. So now I've shared it with you AND I can look at it when I read this blog. I think Mary Carol would be pleased about the fact that I''ve mentioned her former column and featured her artwork-she's a hec of a gal! It would probably even earn a mention in her column.