Elizabeth Hugo

Tonight I was cutting up a pineapple and a funny memory came to mind.  The knife I was using was one I received from my parents. Knives were very important to them! They had purchased a set of Cutco knives many years ago, and those Cutco knives hung on their kitchen walls. Those Cutco knives had a life-time warranty and my parents always took good care of their purchases.

I remember visiting with Mom and Dad, and my Papa began to tell me how one of the Cutco knife’s handle was broken and how it had a life-time warranty. He asked me if I could call and get it replaced. Mind you, Papa was already blind and hadn’t used these knives for quite some time….but, they had a life-time warranty. I kept dismissing it thinking that it wasn’t necessary, but when my papa wouldn’t let it go on multiple visits I realized that apparently it was necessary. After some research and a few calls, a new Cutco knife arrived in the mail to replace the 50 year old damaged knife. Papa was happy.

Another time Papa was talking to me about the things that needed to be done around the house and how he just couldn’t do it anymore. I asked him what was it that he needed to do that was so important. His reply, “I need to paint the inside of the garage.” Who paints the inside of the garage! Then there were the times when we went to their home for Thanksgiving meals every year and we would bring the special tree clipper to trim this one cherished tree on their front lawn.

My mom’s prized possession was a stone cart and donkey that adorned their front lawn. This traveled with them from their home in Bayshore, Long Island where I grew up to their new home in Toms River, NJ over 25 years ago. My mom would paint and re-paint that cart and donkey every couple of years until one year her neighbor somehow ran the cart over with his car.  (This was a senior citizen community :)) The cart didn’t make it but the donkey survived, and it now adorns my front lawn with a missing tail and a missing ear. Don’t think I will ever paint it!

Funny the things I remember now that they are gone and  the things that trigger those memories.  My parents paid attention to details and their simple, quiet lives allowed them to do so. Now those details are my cherished memories.

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your own hands, just as we instructed you before.” The Bible