My mother passed away last October shortly after her 83rd birthday. It still seems impossible that she is gone. Still, I find her everywhere from books with newspaper clippings in them to uniquely rigged repairs. I came across her yesterday in the trunk of the 1981 diesel.  It’s from 1981 –  a Delta 88 Oldsmobile – and the trunk lid is extremely heavy and does not stay up on its own. I recall knowing this, although it was not something at the front of my mind. But yesterday afternoon I took it to Wal-Mart and when I opened the trunk to carry out the transfer of stuff from the cart, I saw an old walking stick.

Yes! Aunt Sara’s walking stick. Aunt Sara was actually my grandmother’s aunt; she was the youngest sister of the oldest Wisler boy who was grandma’s father. I think the difference in their ages was about four years. Aunt Sara was the one who married the Encyclopedia Britannica traveling salesman in the first decade of the last century. She continued to travel until she was quite old and then retired to a room in New Orleans. Not my choice, but I’m not in Aunt Sara’s league.

So, here is this antique walking stick and Mother used it to prop up the diesel trunk lid. I never thought that strange. But now that she’s gone, I guess I’ll bring it in and find an old fireplace poker or something of that ilk to do the job.