Blonde, Beauty, and Brains

MARVALENE McKINNON WAS BURIED not long ago. Pretty well all my memories of Marvalene go back to more than fifty years ago, as I grew up in Wing. I know she has had some hard health issues in recent years. I have only met her son Johnny recently.  But I do know he must be like the son we all hope we will have someday, when the hard times hit. He has stayed by her side, and helped her navigate those troubled waters.

     All my memories of Marvalene are memories of a young woman. A really nice, fun young woman. Blonde. Beautiful. With a personality as big as all outdoors. If Wing ever had its own Marilyn Monroe, it would have to be Marvalene McKinnon.

     Her son, Don, I only knew as a very small boy, beginning school, just starting to ride my school bus as I was finishing up at Fourche Valley School. Or, maybe, as Fourche Valley School was finishing up with me. I forget the exact wording on my diploma. I remember it ended in “don’t come back.”  Right before I was spreading wing and moving on to the rest of my life. I did, sadly, hear when he passed away some time back, way too early.

     The Mckinnons were my next door neighbors in Wing. In fact, everyone in this story was my next door neighbor. Every single one. In Wing, if you can walk as the crow flies from my house to one of those neighbor's houses, never having to walk across another house, they were next door neighbors. Even if you have to walk a mile or two.

     Marvalene had twin girls. Blonde. They were just babes when I left Wing. I did hear progress reports as they grew up. I'd heard they are smart. Very smart. I only recently met them as adults. Turns out they are beautiful, also. Just like Marvalene. 

     I was visiting brother Harold in the hospital at Danville. Seems Marvalene was in there at the same time. One of the twins, Jane, came in to see Harold. I got to quizzing her about her work. I knew she was a heart surgeon. But, it seems she now does heart surgery from next door, by means of a robot! Good grief! I remember my Mom washing our clothes in a big black pot down by the creek, using lye soap made from hog fat, and a rub board. Now something like this comes along. I must be getting really, really old. All I remember about surgery deals with when Dad hauled all us kids over to Russellville in our 1947 cattle truck, and got all our tonsils taken out at one time. Mom and Dad were about sick of tonsillitis.

     I had my first proof of my book, Spreading Wing, with me that day. I had brought it up for family to glance at, only, because I wanted to keep the content pretty well secret, until Book Launching Day at Wing. But, I saw no problem with letting Jane just glance at it. A few minutes later, Jane handed it back. Said I was a good writer, she liked the content, which she discussed in detail, and wanted one when it came out. She asked me how many countries Barbara and I traveled through, in our world travels. I proudly answered nineteen. I asked her if she had traveled much. She said through thirty some odd countries, many on a bicycle. I shut up talking about OUR world travels. Anyway, I was shocked. She knew all that about my book, from a five minute glance. I had to quiz her about that. “I'm a speed reader. I read a pretty good bit of your book.” Good grief! My nephew Big Dan got a little miffed at me today, when he found out Jane had read a good part of it, and he hasn't even got a peek. Big Dan is not someone I want to have miffed at me. But, I'm preparing myself regarding miffed people. I know everybody is always excited about being written up in a book. I hope that excitement does not cool when they find out it's a true book, as best I can remember. But, I'm sixty eight years old. What have I got to lose? A few months, or years, at most.:) Let's just all keep a good sense of humor. Please. Most of my fun-poking is aimed right at me.

     I met the other half of that matching pair, June, after the short part of the service, at graveside. And she matched Jane well, right down to the brains. Seems she's an attorney. Not just any attorney, but a really good one, I've been told.

     Blonde Flossy Wheeler and brunette Mary Wheeler, sisters, married brothers, Sam and  “Tuck” Hull. Guess which sister became Marvalene's mother? They also were my next door neighbors. Tuck Hull taught me how to catch catfish, big time, and often brought my family many messes of fish he had caught. We greatly appreciated being able to get off salt pork for a day. He was also the best hunter around. Bob Campbell, the local Game Warden, shadowed Tuck for years. Tuck was just way too successful at hunting and fishing, to Bob's way of thinking, and he suspected something had to be amiss. I'm not really sure how Bob and Tuck's relationship played out, in the long run. That was all still playing out when I left Wing.

     Mary and Flossie were both big leaders in the church at Wing. Flossie played the piano, and led the singing. Once she decided the church youth should take over those jobs for awhile. Well, we only had  two youths at that time. Annette Person had just begun playing, so I grabbed  the song book. Flossie was a good sport, and let us stay in that position a long time. Seemed like forever to us all. It never happened again.

     I know that young version of Marvalene McKinnon  is just really  perking things up in heaven tonight. That larger-than-life personality would just tend to do that. Just like she perked up everyone's life in Wing, when I was a small child.