6A COTTAGE GROVE SENTINEL AUGUST 30, 2017
The
Chatterbox
Betty Kaiser
Vacations don’t get better than this!
The dog days of summer are dwindling down
to a precious few. Sunny days and vacations will
soon be a distant memory but those times will
never really go away. I became aware of that as
a group of my friends gathered for coffee and
conversation. The subject of the moment was
our childhood vacations. Nostalgia and laughter
reigned as we shared simple stories from 40-50
years ago.
Two of the women’s vacations always included
big family reunions. Barb’s mother was one of 9
children and her father was a teacher. Fortunate-
ly, her family had time to drive across country to
Minnesota and visit relatives every summer. She
said it was a wonderful opportunity to meet in a
park for a huge picnic and get re-acquainted with
all those cousins.
Kaylen’s favorite memory was of family gath-
erings at Shasta Lake in No. Calif. Her mother
William only loves one person, my son-in-law,
for the rest of us he evilly squints his eyes and
hisses, swats and growls at us. Even my four-year
old grandson walks by the cat announcing, “That
cat is mean” and that cat is!
William the Terrible, a stray, showed up in my
daughter’s yard, walked up the rock wall, then
climbed onto my son-in-law’s shoulder and has
not left. The kitten kept growing and growing...
into a 22 pound Maine Coon cat with black tips
on his ears like a wild bobcat. And wild this cat is.
That is until I turned him into a real pussy cat!
I was staying at “his” home after watching Animal
Planet’s, “My Cat From Hell” about playing with
cats to tame their bad behavior. So, I took some
garden twine and strung 1/3 of a plastic straw on
it, and then secured it with a large knot. This way,
when the toy is dragged on the fl oors, it makes an
was one of 8 children. Some-
times there would be as many
as 100 cousins, aunts, uncles,
shirt tail relatives and friends of
the family camping on one of
the islands with the ski boats on
the water ferrying kids and kin
around.
Other favorite vacations in-
cluded Sandie’s annual trip to a
primitive cabin in the Sequoi-
as without electricity or water.
Lynn’s family trip to Disneyland shortly after
it opened was one to swoon for. Shirley’s fam-
ily didn’t go on vacations but she made up for
it when she married Ernie and they discovered
cruise ships. And fi nally, there was Toni’s mother
who randomly declared vacations by announc-
ing that Toni and her siblings didn’t have to go
to school—everyone was going to the beach for
the day!
That morning with my friends got me wonder-
ing what vacations my kids and grandsons found
most memorable. Due to space limitations, I can
just print a few of their responses but you’ll surely
fi nd something that you can relate to.
Our daughter Kathy was the fi rst to chime in
and make me laugh. To set the scene— In the
1970s we owned a tent trailer. The fi ve of us
toured National parks and the entire state of Calif.
in that rig. My husband hated it. Betty, Kathy, Jeff
and John loved it. We didn’t have to tow it or set
it up.
Kathy says, “My most memorable vacation
as a kid would be our tent trailer in Yosemite
with the boys sleeping in a tent outside and us
(inside) hearing a bear.” Oh, yes. I remember it
well. Kathy woke up in the middle of the night
whispering, “Mom, there’s a bear under my bed.”
The boys were outside probably with food in the
tent! I elbowed Chuck. He fl ung open the tent
door, looked around and said, “Nope. No bear
here,” and went back to sleep. The next morning,
we found remnants of the bear’s feast from the
picnic basket that we had conveniently left out-
side! Yikes!
Son-in-law Tim’s favorite vacation was a toss-
up. “For me,” he said, “It was at Hume Lake, rid-
ing motorcycles in the Sierras and target shooting.
In 1976, it was going to the east coast with the Ca-
lif. Cavalcade of Bands (I played saxophone). We
began in Boston and ended in Washington, D.C.
on July 4th with fi reworks in the Mall.”
Our daughter-in-law Betsy is a Middle School
Teacher and classes started last week. She still had
time to type this: “My favorite summer memories
are at our mountain cabin. Swimming in lakes
during the heat of day, eating an ice cream cone as
it melted down your arm, staying up late, playing
cards and sleeping outside. Doing all these things
with the people you love the most. It doesn't get
much better than that!”
Paul, is our fi rst grandson, 26 years old and
an EMT. His memories mimic that of the other
three who had similar experiences. “My favorite
childhood vacations were always going to Hume
Lake. Being by the lake and surrounded by all the
trees was the best playground a kid could ask for!
We got to go swimming, play on “the log”, hike,
explore and watch all the animals. The great part
about being at the lake was the pace was always
up to us. We could decide to lounge around the
cabin and put together puzzles, or we could go
explore a new to us part of the National Park that
surrounded us.”
Grandson Matthew is now 23 years old and a
graduate of Pt. Loma University. I like to think
that he speaks for all the boys when he said, “My
favorite vacations as a child were the escapes to
Oregonland! From the mystery adventures, to
building tree houses, racing tractors, and beyond.
I knew in Oregon there would always be some-
thing special waiting for me. Being a Southern
California boy the thought of snow, rain, and big
green trees out the window seemed so magical.
Top that with donuts, trips to U of O, and even the
99 cents store what more could a boy ask for?!”
Thanks to friends and family for sharing. Now,
dear readers, it’s your turn to share some good
time vacation memories with each other.
- And for a giggle: animal advocate and come-
dian, Elayne Boosler, admits that she and her dog
were soul mates for the following reasons, “We
both took naps, we both skipped lunch, and we
both hated the vacuum."
Share your pet tips and tales.
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irresistible cat noise.
From that moment on, I swung the string
above, around, and over William the Terrible as
often as I could. At night, on my way to the bath-
room, I grabbed the twine from its home over the
back of the kitchen chair. No matter the time, or
how asleep William was, he came running, and
was at my heals all the way to the bathroom, kill-
ing his prey the entire way. He danced, pranced
and jumped after his toy. Apparently, “William
the Pussy Cat” was bored and angry about it, but
not any more. Honestly, I think I saw him smile!
Over the next four days, wherever I walked,
the string and William followed me. As you can
see by the above photo, he became my friend, no
longer hisses at me and did not chew my face off
during the photo – thankfully! Which proves you
can tame a wild beast!
Tips and Humor
- Anne’s Whippet gets
excited when she takes a
huge plastic coffee con-
tainer and places a small-
er container inside it with
a sock full of treats. The
concept is like the Rus-
sian dolls. It keeps him
happy for an hour, and he
glows with pride when he
fi nally reveals the treats.
Does your pet fear your
vacuum? Pets fearfully purr-ceive that the ma-
chines are growling at them. Sonja’s Ben doesn't
trust it either, so he solved the problem by ‘safely’
observing it from the couch.
- Ben is passionate about squirrels and look-
ing for tips on how to catch one! Every time he
spots one from a window, he barks, spins around,
and charges out his dog-door to try and get it.
SCORE: Ben=0 Squirrels=3,926.
- Yard free-range chickens excavate your soil,
eliminating pests without using pesticides, plus
they daily deliver healthy eggs!
- Suzka in Portland, Oregon suggests, "When
you brush your pets, toss their fur outside near a
tree or a bird feeder. Birds collect the fur for their
nests. They pack it around their eggs, insulating
them, keeping the eggs warm.
You Can Help
Cottage
Grove
Kids!
Contact Betty Kaiser at 942-1317 or email
bchatty@bettykaiser.com
PARTY IN THE PARK
Cottage Grove Faith Center would like to thank the following
businesses & individuals for their donations & contributions which
made our 17th Annual Party in the Park such a Huge Success!
Due to your generous support, we were able to distribute over 300
backpacks fi lled with school supplies, 42 back to school hair cuts, and
approximately 900 hot dogs and fun food items.
ICE FOR SNO CONES
CG Dair y Queen
Cottage Market
Killion’s Market
Pinocchio’s Pizza
Ron’s Conoco/Kwik Pik
McDonalds – Cups & Punch
CASH / SCHOOL SUPPLIES
Cottage Grove Faith Center
Brad’s Cottage Grove Chevrolet
Emerald Fitness Club
United Methodists (also “provided” diaper changing station)
6th & Gibbs Church of Christ (also provided all the clothing)
Starfire Lumber Company
Jonathan Backer, DDS
Calvar y Chapel
Living Faith
BACK TO SCHOOL HAIRCUTS
Volunteer as a
Court Appointed
Special Advocate
A rewarding, professional volunteer opportunity
in 10-15 hours a month helping Cottage Grove
foster children to stay safe and healthy.
Cottage Grove training begins this fall,
with applications due by August 11th.
Visit www.casa-lane.org.
A powerful voice
for abused kids
Bochetto: Julie H.
Body Works Salon: Torie, Lori, Sherrie
Carrol Bailey’s Barbershop: Christi
Dave’s Place: David, Rayme, Kayla, Carmela
Lions Mane: Deanne, Dee, Kim
New Creations: Judy, Jessica, Heidi, Kristi, Erica
Salon 7: Shawna, Mar y
OTHER CONTRIBUTORS
Delight Valley Church – Cotton Candy Machine & Supplies
Dr. Bahen with Emerald Valley Dental – Large BB Q
Garland @ CG Garbage Ser vice – Dumpster & Trash Cans
Jerr y Settelmeyer – Tents
Grocer y Outlet – Help with Hot Dogs
Riverside Church – Tables & Volunteers
SVA – Entertainment
ATA Northwest - Taekwondo Demonstrations
Cottage Grove Police Dept.
Cottage Grove Fire Dept.
City of Cottage Grove
Head Start
If you are interested in supporting Party in the Park for 2018,
please contact Sheila at sheila@cg4.tv.