Widows and Widowers: Any wonderful stories about your late spouse?

Gaer

Gaer

"Angel whisperer"
Location
New Mexico U.S.A.
Not in touch with my late husband's family and I think someone should hear this story about him:

We had a rough winter. I had $40.00 to get us through with food for another week, until I got paid.
We had been stuck in the cabin all winter and wanted to go for a ride, because the snow was melting.
I gave him half of my money but told him "It's all we have. Don't spend it!"
"Understood!"

We drove South to Farmington New Mexico where they were having the first "swap meet" of the season.
We walked around, resolved not to buy anything.

Don't know if you remember Dorothea Lange, who took depression photos, but there was a lady
in the back row who would have made a great picture; lean, sad, proud, on the verge of tears.
She had things obviously pulled from a dumpster somewhere and three children in the back of
a dumpy old open hatchback. She told her nine year old daughter she would be right back.

My husband, picked up an old bent, tailpipe and asked the price.
The little girl said, "25 cents?"
"Oh, It's worth a lot more than that. Will you take five dollars for it?"
"And that old kettle! You can't even find those anymore!" another five dollars.

His money was gone in a couple minutes and he looked at me.
"Oh No! We need this to live on this week!" (He was a lot nicer than me!)
He just looked at me and smiled. "Crap!" I gave him my $20.00. More junk!
We had now armfuls of junk which we placed in a dumpster on the way home.

Yea, we didn't eat much, or anything for a week but I sure knew I had a damn good husband!

Tell us something about your late spouse! Love to hear about him or her!
 

Attachments

  • 247.JPG
    247.JPG
    56 KB · Views: 11
Last edited:
My husband was one of 10 children. He was born in 1930, the time of the Great Depression. He used to say "there was a depression ever since, living in a household with 10 children. " Anyway, he was always thinking up how to get money for his mother, He knew the iron wasn't working so he heated it up on the stove and took it to the pawn shop and said "Mum has just finished ironing so can she get some money for it"?

He got a few shillings for it, so the family had something to eat. He also used to go down to the beach with a bucket to collect sand and sell it to the houses that had Canarys so the owners could put it in the cages. He was a Lollie Boy at the local theatre and sold newspapers on the streets. Also, he sold Bingo tickets on a Saturday night at the local Church. No wonder he was his mother's favourite son.
 
oscash said:
My husband was one of 10 children. He was born in 1930, the time of the Great Depression. He used to say "there was a depression ever since, living in a household with 10 children. " Anyway, he was always thinking up how to get money for his mother, He knew the iron wasn't working so he heated it up on the stove and took it to the pawn shop and said "Mum has just finished ironing so can she get some money for it"?

He got a few shillings for it, so the family had something to eat. He also used to go down to the beach with a bucket to collect sand and sell it to the houses that had Canarys so the owners could put it in the cages. He was a Lollie Boy at the local theatre and sold newspapers on the streets. Also, he sold Bingo tickets on a Saturday night at the local Church. No wonder he was his mother's favourite son.
Click to expand...
What a beautiful story! Thank you!
 

oscash said:
My husband was one of 10 children. He was born in 1930, the time of the Great Depression. He used to say "there was a depression ever since, living in a household with 10 children. " Anyway, he was always thinking up how to get money for his mother, He knew the iron wasn't working so he heated it up on the stove and took it to the pawn shop and said "Mum has just finished ironing so can she get some money for it"?

He got a few shillings for it, so the family had something to eat. He also used to go down to the beach with a bucket to collect sand and sell it to the houses that had Canarys so the owners could put it in the cages. He was a Lollie Boy at the local theatre and sold newspapers on the streets. Also, he sold Bingo tickets on a Saturday night at the local Church. No wonder he was his mother's favourite son.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, but why did the Iron need to be warmed up?
 
In February 2005 I took my late wife on her last trip, an Antarctic cruise. She had played piano for years, normally on an upright. There was no one in the show lounge, so she got to play the grand piano there. It really thrilled her. She passed away in May 2005.
 
oscash said:
OldFeller: I should have explained it better, the iron was broken so he warmed it up to pretend that it wasn't. They had to do drastic things in those days.
Click to expand...
That never occurred to me because my grandfather, a tailor, had some kind of flat iron that sat in a holder. I was just a little kid then but I got the impression that the flat iron was heated by something outside of itself like maybe a fire on the stove. So I pictured the iron in your story as normally needing to be heated on a stove.
 
My late husband was philosophical, spiritual, and learned. He also was a tightwad (not all the time, though).


When I met my late husband at a dinner dance (through the machinations of our matchmaking parents), he brought up the topic of Edgar Cayce, a clairvoyant, and talked a little bit about his book "There is a River." I had never heard of Cayce, nor his book, and afterward, went and looked up the author and got a copy of the book. It opened up a new world for me. That evening, he asked me for my phone number and I remember how his handsome eyes were shining at that moment. Memorable evening!

Our first date:
I told him "I just seem to keep losing whatever I build" (paraphrased). His response, "Maybe it's because you want it that way." That struck me to the core. It made me think about everything that had happened to me up until that moment, and I had always externalized it (it was someone else's fault). In a way, he did me a favor because he was saying it was my responsibility.
 
palides2021 said:
My late husband was philosophical, spiritual, and learned. He also was a tightwad (not all the time, though).


When I met my late husband at a dinner dance (through the machinations of our matchmaking parents), he brought up the topic of Edgar Cayce, a clairvoyant, and talked a little bit about his book "There is a River." I had never heard of Cayce, nor his book, and afterward, went and looked up the author and got a copy of the book. It opened up a new world for me. That evening, he asked me for my phone number and I remember how his handsome eyes were shining at that moment. Memorable evening!

Our first date:
I told him "I just seem to keep losing whatever I build" (paraphrased). His response, "Maybe it's because you want it that way." That struck me to the core. It made me think about everything that had happened to me up until that moment, and I had always externalized it (it was someone else's fault). In a way, he did me a favor because he was saying it was my responsibility.
Click to expand...
I LOVE that story! You were so lucky to have found a man of such wisdom! You were MEANT to find him! Thanks for that story!
 
Gaer said:
Not in touch with my late husband's family and I think someone should hear this story about him:

We had a rough winter. I had $40.00 to get us through with food for another week, until I got paid.
We had been stuck in the cabin all winter and wanted to go for a ride, because the snow was melting.
I gave him half of my money but told him "It's all we have. Don't spend it!"
"Understood!"

We drove South to Farmington New Mexico where they were having the first "swap meet" of the season.
We walked around, resolved not to buy anything.

Don't know if you remember Dorothea Lange, who took depression photos, but there was a lady
in the back row who would have made a great picture; lean, sad, proud, on the verge of tears.
She had things obviously pulled from a dumpster somewhere and three children in the back of
a dumpy old open hatchback. She told her nine year old daughter she would be right back.

My husband, picked up an old bent, tailpipe and asked the price.
The little girl said, "25 cents?"
"Oh, It's worth a lot more than that. Will you take five dollars for it?"
"And that old kettle! You can't even find those anymore!" another five dollars.

His money was gone in a couple minutes and he looked at me.
"Oh No! We need this to live on this week!" (He was a lot nicer than me!)
He just looked at me and smiled. "Crap!" I gave him my $20.00. More junk!
We had now armfuls of junk which we placed in a dumpster on the way home.

Yea, we didn't eat much, or anything for a week but I sure knew I had a damn good husband!

Tell us something about your late spouse! Love to hear about him or her!
Click to expand...
Your late husband was very handsome! He deserved you!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top