Page 28 - voices-2021-11

GLEANINGS FROM THE GROVE
Giving Thanks
Paul Fanning, DTM
I love this time of year here in the Grove. While
we might not be residing in the midst of a great
forest to speak of, this is a city of trees with so
many varieties. Springtime brings a cavalcade of
color-pink, white, and purple blossoms abound
throughout the town. Autumn or Fall the trees
once again begin to turn the various stages of
color from the red to the yellow and a range of
shades inbetween.
When I think of November, with the
Thanksgiving holiday at the end of the month, it
brings to mind the line from the song “over the
fields and through the woods to Grandmother’s
house we go” which when one thinks of Forest
Grove, it is a town out in the country still
surrounded by hills, agricultural fields, and
that old-fashioned homey feeling lost in most
major cities—even here in Oregon. I only knew
one grandmother who was from England. She
was unaware of the Thanksgiving traditions of
the Americas but totally steeped in the English
Christmas of Scrooge, Father Christmas, a skinny
version in a long red robe as well as candles on the
tree. Visiting her house, whether in Pennsylvania
or California through the years, always was a fun
thing to do—stepping back in time to a kinder,
gentler age. That is the ambiance of the Grove.
I have often heard the adage that “a stranger
is just a friend not yet met.” I have found this
28 ONE COMMUNITY
out many times this past year. How true that
adage really is. Take for example “Linda” who
I recently met through an eBay transaction. A
complete stranger to me who was clearing out
the estate of her father-in-law. I had purchased
an item, but she sent a message asking questions,
etc. about the item and to make a long story (and
several phone calls and emails) short, it turned
out that he had been a somewhat famous and
frequent character actor of the 1950’s through
the late 1990’s. Name a successful television
show during that period and he would have
appeared once or several times in the series. As
eBay restrict information about its sellers and
buyers, she found out my phone number (thanks
Toastmasters!). She asked for help regarding the
various pieces of insignia and medals he had
received through his career in Canada and the
United States, and I helped her to bundle his and
his wife’s insignia into groups. Being a collector
since age 16, and a member of several groups
gave me the credentials to be able to assist her
to accomplish the task as well as make sense of
his accomplishments. Once we had finished this
I thought it would be over and we would go our
separate ways. Not true on her part! She has kept
me in the loop with her progress, has disposed
of the bulk of his awards, and then decided that I
needed some memorabilia of her father-in-law’s