Roseau Times-Region - Serving Roseau County for over 100 Years - The Official Roseau County Newspaper

When there was....

A phone, which had a receiver that you could pick up and hold to your ear and talk into the other end..

A need to drive to a store, to buy a pair of shoes.

A chair you had to sit at, in order to order your food.

A lemon Coke served in a glass, which cost only 5 cents.

A library, which was the only place I knew, to go to do research.

A new pair of black and white saddle shoes for myfirst day of school.

A school dress code.

A blue gym uniform.

A large patch of raspberries in the backyard ready for picking.

It is a good thing to remember how things were, but also good to move forward. Time has a way of getting ahead of us. Memories both sweet and bitter. What does your memory bag look like? What do you pack with you. I need to go through my pictures and write on the backs who is who.

I came from a home where the past was very rarely mentioned. No stories about how it used to be. (Except for the story about the Barnum fire in 1918). My mom's family all went and stood in a lake to keep safe. This was all she said about it.

My dad fought in WW2. There was a trunk in our basement which was all packed with his military belongings. I remember opening it up and just looking at the surface of his things. All I remember was the color of Army Khaki. That was all of it. His Army memories were in a closed place. My parents were very private people.

James 1: 23-25 reads:

For anyone who hears the word but does not carry it out is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror, and after observing himself goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom, and continues to do so-not being a forgetful hearer, but an effective doer-he will be blessed in what he does....

Hearing and doing, these words work together. Listening to good advice, being teachable. You can justify everything you do, but that doesn't make what you do always wise. Learning from the past? Don't let bitterness poison your future, or your choices. Be careful with fear. That train can take you into a land that doesn't exist. Or if it is applied with good judgment, can keep you safe. Mask up, winking works, but now and then let people see your smile.

One more important thing. God believes in the importance of memories: this is why we celebrate "The Lord's Supper" (the Eucharist) in our churches regularly. Jesus said to his disciples at the Last Supper: "...do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19).

It's worth remembering!