Below is the text from my latest Goins On column in our LSA Voices newsletter. I have already have more comments than from anything I have ever written. Who is your Cleo?
Over the years I have Goins-ed On, Gone-On, okay, written about many people who have shaped my life and the life of LSA. The only time I write about my personal life is when it relates to community, connections, and elderhood. I’ve written about my parents, Isaac Kuhn, and others who helped make me the person I am. Today I want to tell you about Ms. Cleo.
Pete and Cleo Miller were members at SharonLutheran, Statesville when my dad became their pastor. I was born not long afterwards in 1958. I used to take a bath in Cleo’s kitchen sink. The sink is still there, but my foot is now bigger than the sink. Pete’s brother, Huitt, and his wife, Helen, who lived right across the road, were my godparents; two more that helped make me.
Cleo turned 96 on July 15, 2010. I got by to see her the next day. There aren’t
many times over the last ten years that I’ve driven up I-40 that I haven’t stopped
in to visit. And it has nothing to do with the pound cake she usually serves when
I show up! I rarely call in advance. We just have a deal: if I’m coming by at a
reasonable time of day, I better stop.
I consider Cleo one of my best friends. She has a vicious sense of humor and
we always laugh over everything. I blew in on her the other day with four
coworkers as we headed home from a meeting. She welcomed us all. The
accompanying picture was taken by one of those coworkers. I gave Cleo a copy.
She immediately covered my side of the picture and declared it looked much
better without me. Agreed!
Sometimes our elders are forgotten in whatever place they call home. We don’t
remember to call or visit. Cleo is one of the fortunate ones; she has a son who calls or visits daily.
Our elders have so much to share. Cleo knows the
people I grew up with and all my family. She knows me, maybe too well. And
she knows pound cake!
I love you, Cleo. I’ll be by soon!
Who is your Cleo?
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