Dear Hearts & Gentle People:
Some youngster asked me the other day why I begin all TLCs with this salutation. To those of you who don't know, get yourself to an older person and ask him/her to sing "I love those dear hearts and gentle people who live in my hometown..."
Compliments, corrections, and condolences this issue.
First, a compliment from Barb Lee '57 Fay:
I was working
at the Maid-Rite as a car-hop when Bobby Price died. He and Orna Lee Lauck
used to come there for Cokes. He was about the only person in that age group who
gave a tip, and it was always a nice one. He really was a super nice
guy.
He must have been. So
many people have said that.
Shirley asked me to report that Don VanCamp died this past month.
And it is my sad duty to report that Arthur '56 Knapheide also passed away two weeks ago. Here is his obituary:
Arthur Frederick Knapheide Jr., 69, passed away at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov 30, 2007, surrounded by his beloved family at Hospice of the Valley, Dobson Home, Chandler Ariz.He was born on
Aug. 7, 1938, in Lexington, Mo., the son of Arthur and Rose Heaper
Knapheide.
He graduated
from Lexington High School with the class of 1956 and entered into the U.S. Army
in 1957, serving until 1963. He moved to Phoenix in 1959 and worked for Allied
Signal for 36 years until his retirement in 1995. He moved to Strawberry Ariz.,
where he worked with the Pine/Strawberry Fire Department and Emergency Task
Force. In 2001 Arthur and his wife moved to his favorite spot in the world,
Montrose, Colo., to enjoy the mountains he loved so much. He became very active
in the American Legion and has served as Commander for Post 73 in Montrose the
last three years, as well as District Senior Vice Commander. Arthur loved his
country and had the greatest respect for all of our veterans.
He was
preceded in death by his father. He is survived by his mother Rose of Peoria;
his sister Rose Goforth of Avondale; his wife Joy of Montrose; daughter Lisa
Gibbs of Tempe; son Dennis Knapheide of Phoenix; stepsons Jim and Tim Sapp, both
of Colorado; granddaughters Amanda and Jennifer Gibbs, both of
Tempe.
A memorial
will be on Wednesday, Dec. 5, at Valley of the Sun Mortuary and Cemetery, 10940
E. Chandler Heights Road, Chandler. Visitation and memories will be at 1 p.m.,
followed by the service at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of the Valley, 1510 E. Flower St., Phoenix 85014.
Arthur's wife Joy wrote to you all. Here is her letter, in part:
The years rush by. We keep turning the calendar pages with less and less living time in between--so it seems. Is it running out? Where is it going? We want somehow to "bank it" as a kind of investment, as if it could accrue "interest." That's really not a bad analogy, come to think of it. Some people keep journals so they can "look back" and see where they've been, what they may have learned (not just what they earned), what got done and what didn't.
Since I wrote you a year ago--so short a time ago--you and I have occupied the same intervals day by day. Each day has brought people into our lives, some for the first time (and yes, some for the last time). Many have been lifetime companions. But all are the companions of this time, of this day, of this real living time. We live it together: sometimes face-to-face, but more often through electronic voices and spaces. It all seems more and more compressed until we find ourselves in danger of missing so much.
Have you ever tried to "let it out"...slowly, let it assume its natural length and depth? This could be the most valuable exercise of the day. Try it. Just stop the flow; cut through all its dimensions from top to bottom; examine them. Stop all the coming and going. Sit still, as if you had entered some magic chamber, some inner sanctum. Take a moment to look around at all these people who belong to your life today. Look into them. Appreciate them.
Porch swings used to be so good for this exercise. The back and forth motion seemed to help "let out" the moments of the day, to let them stretch out and sink in. New year's resolution: Get yourself a porch swing, or if you have one, use it! If you don't have a porch, or if it's too cold there, that's no excuse! Find a good substitute. It may be the only way you can master the time that wants to sweep you away with it, to keep you from really living it.
Time is nothing but a brief interval between the eternity before and the eternity after. For eternity to be what it is, you have to experience time for what it is, a connector between before and after. What's it for? To live in: it is living time. If you can't live properly in time, however do you expect to live properly in eternity? Advent is the perfect season to practice this exercise: thousands of years between two eternities compressed into a little over three weeks. Steal a pinch of eternity each of these days to squeeze out all the time that's in them.
I wanted to live with you this Advent moment of brief conversation as a way of thanking you for all the moments we've had together, one way or another, since last Christmas. Maybe we didn't live them as well as we might have, but we did our best, didn't we? Well, if we didn't, we will in the new year, won't we! If we are to stay connected, though, we have to stop now and then for a little swing on the porch--yours and mine. See you there!
As I close this issue, I send along my very best wishes to all of you for a blessed Christmas season and a wonderful 2008!
Your devoted scribe,
Susan