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Shirley Bouck

No matter how long ago the passing of a loved one occurred, memories last even longer. Recently, I was thinking about my mom. I have never known a harder worker than she – if there was a job to be done, she did it. In my early years, I was so convinced that she could do anything and everything, I was always volunteering her for any school event that came along. Many times, it was stuff way beyond her expertise, but that never occurred to me. I just knew she would either do it herself, or find someone who could. She often accused me of “having the longest arm in class” as it seemed I was always waving it in the air, volunteering her services. Oddly enough, she was never terribly upset with me. She would just hug me and say, “Oh Shirley-girl, you’ve got me in over my head again!” But whatever the job was, she would go at it with vigor and determination, and get ‘er done. That was my mom.

Having been a “show off” all my life (present time included), there were little skits, singing groups, dance groups, you name it. I always said, “Count me in!” My mom, besides raising my sister and me with some help from our dad, had a full-time, five-day-a-week job. But if I was doing anything creative, I would always warn her a week or so in advance so she could have her emergency  “I feel a headache coming on that day,” excuse on the calendar. That made it fairly easy to skip work so that she could come to school and watch me “show off.”

She was a southern lady, born in Kentucky, and never completely lost her soft mesmerizing accent. She was a beautiful woman, feisty if there was a point to be made, and fiercely protective of her family. I think I always knew that no matter what, she would be in my corner. For me, that was very comforting.

I must say, however, she had a language all her own, which as a kid, was sometimes difficult for me to interpret. For example, if she thought someone was strange, she would say, “He’s as odd a Dick’s hatband.” What’s so odd about a hatband, and by the way, who’s Dick? If embarrassed, she would declare, “I felt just like the bird on Nellie’s hat.” Again, who’s Nellie, and why did she have a bird on her hat? When talking about an unknown person, she would say, “I didn’t know him from Adam’s off-ox.” I always thought she was saying “aw fox,” so I never really got it. I have since learned that an “off-ox” meant to be off the road, on the right. OK, but who’s Adam? Her fearlessness was an accepted fact. She explained it by saying, “I’m not afraid of the devil or Tom Walker.” I’ve heard about the devil all of my life, but who’s Tom Walker? Of these adages, the one about the conceited man is thought provoking: “If you could buy him for what he’s worth and sell him for what he thinks he’s worth, you’d have a bargain.” I had to think that one through – you might have to also. My final quote, and also my favorite was told to me when I was just an itty-bitty kid. When I was afraid, Mom would say with utter confidence, “You’ll be as safe as in God’s pocket.” I believed it then, I believe it now, and it has given me strength and comfort all these years. Thanks, Mom.