Sister Lynn

Robin has asked me to write a few words in honor of her mother’s retirement. I suppose I should write a few words about her many accomplishments and contributions to the welfare of the world. A few words. There, that didn’t take long, did it.

Hmmmm. Maybe I should mention a few things in her life that she never quite got around to mentioning to her children. She may not have mentioned honor points to them. Highmore high school has a quaint institution called honor points, which are given to students who participate in activities or actually pass their classes with a grade higher than a C. Lynn was a compulsive gatherer of honor points and set a record for the most honor points accumulated in four years. In fact she accumulated so many that they ran out and didn’t issue any for several years afterwards.

Lynn was a very good singer when she was young and had a beautiful voice. Her singing stood her in good stead when she was a young adult. During her college career she purportedly spent a semester at an academic institution in France. After passing with flying colors she rambled about Europe for a while, making her living as a torch singer in French cabarets. That is how she met Richard, the father of her children. I am not privy to the details but I gather that he was so happy to find a go-go girl who spoke English that he swept her off her feet.

When we were children we used to run around on the roofs of the farm buildings. Some of our games involved reliving radio programs. I no longer recall the details but I do recall that Lynn’s secret identity was Boston Blackie.

I have a confession to make. It is embarrassing to admit it, but the simple truth is that Lynn used to beat up on me when we were small children. I’ve only had one broken bone in my life and she was the one who broke it.

I think that it had something to do with originally being named Doris. Not being a psychiatrist I am not willing to speculate about that something might be. All things said, it was probably all for the best that she changed her name.

I only mention these things because Lynn is a little reticent about her youth and is rather confused about the details. Even though her memory is not all it should be, she can be quite dogmatic about her recollections. For example, she still maintains that Freckles was her horse.