View From The Bridge 4/20/16

VIEW from the BRIDGE
By Muncie
4/20/16

ALL IS QUIET
 I have not heard of any kind of entertainment in this area in the next few days. As a reminder I will mention an interesting ad in the River Press about the Adult Prom Dance. It is on Saturday the 23rd at the Palace Bar at 8:00 pm. Note that it is next Saturday and it sounds like fun. (I think I’ll drop in just to see how many couples show up.)

The CCPA presents Streisand and Sinatra on Wednesday the 27th at 7:00 pm. This is a do not miss evening.

There is a Senior Citizen Appreciation Luncheon on Thursday May 5th at 1:00 pm at the Elementary School. Have you called in your reservations yet?

Put all of these events on your calendars and see you there.

OOPS AGAIN
A couple of weeks ago I said that the Benton Pharmacy sponsored the Pub Night.  That was not correct. They sponsored the Ventriloquist program. The Price Rite, Shannon and Rob, sponsored Pub Night.  Sorry about that Sykes . You deserve all the credit you can get. (Besides you donated the buffet table that was so special.)

PIANIST
Last week I forgot to tell you what the pianist, Richard Dowling said about Fort Benton. That was my first question to him. He said it was his first visit to our town and it must be wonderful for all of us to live in such a beautiful place. He said that everyone who visits here must love it. (Muncie’s comment….This is so true. Most of the Visitors to the Visitor Information Center say that very thing. Do you really appreciate living in Fort Benton? Do you know your neighbors? Are you involved in any volunteer activities? I cannot remember if I said this before or not but I will repeat. “Ask not what Fort Benton can do for you but what can you do for Fort Benton? You know I did not make that up and thank you to J.F.K.)

INFORMATION CENTER
That brings up the subject of volunteers for the Information Center this coming visitor’s season. Last year the volunteers had 3 hour shifts which accounted for 14 volunteers. If we had 7 more volunteers we could have 2 hour shifts. It is not that I couldn’t handle a 3 hour shift. What would be 2 hours out of your life once a week? Yes, I know what you are going to say. “I am busy.” I am busy too but the Center is a time to relax, enjoy Fort Benton’s history, and visit with people from all over Montana, the United States, Canada, and the World. Most of the time it will be someone who knows someone or is related to someone you know. It’s a wonderful world and you can enjoy it at the Information Center. Call in and volunteer today. Just do it.

10 DAYS LEFT
The most popular subject around these days is the weather. Remember last week when I said that Mother Nature was full of surprises. Waking up the other day to snow falling was a surprise. I thought that the forecast was only for rain. Fort Benton actually had it easy compared to Great Falls. They were hit quite hard with 5 inches of snow. I am grateful for that line of weather change around Carter that usually gives Fort Benton a break.

So….there are only 10 more days of April and usually by the first week of May the trees have leaves on them and the flowers are blooming. I know that everyone loves spring like I do. It makes you rethink the beauty of this earth. Enjoy every minute of every day of it.

CELEBRATION QUILT
All of the t-shirts were collected and taken to the Quilting Angel Margo to begin working on the quilt. There will actually be 2 quilts because we accumulated 22 t-shirts.

By the end of this month or shortly after, the one quilt will be finished and on displayed somewhere. The raffle tickets will be on sale by members of the Summer Celebration Board Members. I’ll have names and phone numbers for you soon.  Please be generous and good luck to all. (Gosh, I hope I win.)

GOODBYE FOR NOW
In the last two weeks Fort Benton has lost four long-time residents. To the families of Mary Leaf, Roberta Marcussen, Barbara Gilbert, and Dick Cassutt we send out condolences. They will be missed and thought of often.

Very often now our older generation, grandparents, great grandparent’s family history diminishes. Their stories of the Old Days go away too. Hopefully someone in the family is keeping those stories alive. If you have in your possession those wonderful stories, please try to preserve them somehow. Write them in a memory book or tape them. It is not an easy chore but someday the younger generation will appreciate listening to them.

My parents and grandparents did not do much talking. I learned about some of my grandparent’s lives after they passed away. Much of the information was story- telling and everyone in the family had a different slant to the stories.

I like the way the Native Americans kept their history. Stories were told over and over again until the youngsters got it right. I have observed that in a family when a story is told, everyone has a different version. Then there are the, “Family Secrets,” that no one will ever know.

My darling Grandmother was married 4 times and I did not know about it until she was gone. What a whirlwind adventurous life she must have had. All I have is a postcard of the town in Hungry that my Mom was born in. The little bits and pieces of their lives that I know make me regret I did not ask more questions. We just didn’t get into those kinds of conversations. Oh well! I can just pretend that I was a Hungarian Gypsy Princess.

OBSERVATIONS
A human brain has a capacity to store 5 times more information than in Wikipedia.  (Muncie’s comment…my problem is that it is not as easy to find it in my brain.)

GOD BLESS AMERICA. OUR TROOPS and THOSE WHO PROTECT US.