Summer

I don’t do well with summer. Anyone who knows me will tell you that. I moved to Montana because I thought the summers would be short and the winters long which is mostly true. But sometimes even a short summer is too long.  The women are quilting. I do believe its the first time that they quilted in the summer. They will keep at it until they get the current quilt done. Its a lovely blue one that Cathryn pieced. We meet on Fridays at 10am but finish early afternoon before it gets too warm in the old school house.

Before it gets too warm today though I wanted to mention some summer events that are actually happening at the Historical Village or to benefit the Village.  On July 8, historian Hal Stearns from Missoula will give a talk at the Village beginning at 6:30pm. This event is co-sponsored by Humanities Montana and free to the public.  Another free and awesome event is this year’s play put on by Shakespeare in the Park on August 25 starting at 6pm. The talented and energetic troupe will do “Cyrano de Bergerac” in the Historical Village. Box dinners by Cafe Jax will be available to help cover expenses to bring the troupe to Eureka.

On August 8, the annual Historical Village fundraiser, “Dinner on the Lake” will be held.  This is a wonderful way to spend an evening with friends having a gourmet dinner accompanied with live music on Dickey Lake – and support the maintenance of the Historical Village in Eureka.  Space is limited to forty people so order your tickets soon.  Call Lynda at 889-3492 for details.

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Old is good

Sometimes there’s a nudge in my mind that too much time has passed and another blog post is due. There is no lack of things to write about because this group of quilters is amazing and even when they are busy elsewhere there is a lot going on at the Historical Village because its summer. The dilemma is more me sitting down to write and narrowing a topic down to one thing.  And today it came to me that I really needed to write about getting older because 1) we all do it and 2) some do it better than others. The other morning the quilters came en masse to my house to meet a musician who was passing through.  We had coffee and various pastries while the musician told his story of growing up in the South and learning to play music which he attributes to saving his life.  I asked the women if they would introduce themselves and tell him something about who they each are.  Joan began by explaining how she came to Eureka with her husband and started the newspaper here. Then Cathryn introduced herself and gave her age.  I was thinking about why she did that and then Mary Louise introduced herself and gave her age.  I was starting to feel flustered as I know that these individuals are so much more than their age. Cathryn was a nurse and her husband was the only doc in town for years and years. She astounds me with her beautiful garden, her skills at mahjong and her ability to always know the best thing to say. Mary Louise ranched and worked in Washington DC. She’s a wonderful artist and a great cook. I asked how can telling your age possibly be enough when there was so much accomplished? Afterwards thinking about this I realized that perhaps saying your age is enough.  Kind of sums things up.  Its not said as an apology (“Sorry to be so old”) and its not said with regret (“ahh…if only I was in my twenties again”) or even as an excuse (“How can you expect anything useful of me at this point?”). Its a statement. A fact that isn’t the least bit bare but inscribed with rich colors and intricate designs. It is said with respect for the life the individual has led up to that point; the experiences, the accomplishments, the failures, the loves, the adventures. I suppose it is saying, “I am 93. You can’t possibly appreciate all that I have done and continue to do so let me just give you the number so we can move on.”