I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve sat down here at my kitchen table, with its fun beige and white checkered table cloth, put my hands to the keys, and… nothin. My mind goes blank.
But I can promise you – just a few minutes ago I stopped everything I was doing in my kitchen, and left quite a mess, to sit here and peck out one last story on these keys for the ThumbPrint News because I really believed I had a good idea. And now? Oh, now I can’t remember what that good idea was.
But I’m still sitting here at my beloved found-on-the-side-of-the-road oak clawfoot kitchen table. I have written so many stories for the TPN, my blog, and published three books right here at this table – quite a few of them even inspired by this old piece of furniture, so she feels like a faithful old friend. In fact, if it were at all possible, I bet she’d be just as sad about this being the last issue of the ThumbPrint News as myself and everyone else.
I read yesterday that 90% of what we think about today, we thought about yesterday, so I suppose we’d better be wise with our thoughts, right? Well, I like to think about the good old days, and I think the ThumbPrint News readers do too.
What ever happened to small 800-square-foot homes with one bathroom and a front porch? Why do people own so much “house” now and sit secluded on their back decks, only seeing neighbors when they pull out from their garages? It seems as if the generation behind me is trying desperately to go back to our good old days – raising chickens, canning tomatoes, peaches, and all sorts of jams, baking sourdough bread, and even making their own soap. There seems to be this longing to return to the good old days, even in the hearts of those who’ve never spent a day enjoying those decades. It always makes my heart smile when I get to my son’s house and my daughter-in-law is wearing her apron and is busy in the kitchen surrounded by littles wanting to stand on a chair and help. Her apron is also checkered, by the way.
That’s what the ThumbPrint News feels like. Filled with history, riddles to solve, household tips, cottage stories, community calendars, and feel-good Pure Michigan stuff, it has long been a reminder of the good old days for its readers – and also for its writers. I’d bet my next paycheck that’s what Al and Diane Kodet had in mind when they started it. They certainly did nail it – didn’t they, though?
I remember the first time I met them. I was sitting in Fox Fire Fixin’s in that corner booth with the taxi cab seats, and an old bra was hanging from the antenna above it – which will ONLY make sense if you’ve been there, and if you haven’t – well then, I guess you need to go check it out!
I’d driven up with my friends Marilyn and Keith, and two other friends joined us – Pam and Barry. Al was walking around visiting from table to table like he always loved to do, and we had a little chat about the newspaper. The next thing you know I was hearing from Diane asking me to write on a monthly basis. A friendship was born that day, and the start of a fun season of life I’d never seen coming. Oh, how I’ve enjoyed writing for this paper.
I heard from a cousin I didn’t know I had because of my “Dinky the Duck and Bologna and Pickle Sandwiches” story in the ThumbPrint Newspaper, received letters from Tennessee and Virginia, and made a new friend from Kentucky. I even have a patient who sometimes mentions to me that she reads my articles. Writing for the ThumbPrint has made me love and appreciate that small town feel from my childhood, where families and friendships are valued. It’s almost made me feel as if we’ve all waved at one another from our front porches, or dropped off tomatoes and cucumbers from our gardens.
Thank you, to Al and Diane Kodet, for allowing me to be a small part of a sweet effort to remind the community of what really matters in this short life we all live. Thank you, Brett, for all that you do to keep up your family’s legacy, and being such a source of encouragement to all of us. I am certain they are proud of you. I look forward to a good Fox Fire Fixins’ dinner with a great big home made cinnamon roll for dessert soon!
And thank you to all of the TPN readers who have encouraged me along the way, and taken the effort to send a note mentioning when a story made you remember a sweet childhood memory. I am a frequent St. Clair boardwalker, so chances are we’ve brushed shoulders beside Lake St. Clair. And if you ever see a chubby white-haired woman sitting on the bench eating ice cream – it just might be me, and depending on whether or not it’s dripping down my chin, I may or may not admit to my identity 🙂
These days I am writing for the on-line Keel Magazine covering all of St. Clair County, and you can find my articles here https://www.secondwavemedia.com/the-keel/authors/Rita-MacDonald.aspx.
My favorite hobby aside from being with my grandchildren in Richmond is writing for my blog at www.kitchentabledevotions.com, where you can subscribe and also find many of the ThumbPrint News stories, recipes, and much, much more. I hope you’ll join me there!
The words “thank you” hardly seem sufficient to TPN readers, for being a part of such a sweet season of my life! I so appreciate all of you!
So long! And So very sincerely,
Rita
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