Sweet Lorane Community News

Where did June go? I’ve always held the theory that once the 4th of July passes, summer will soon be over. It seems to go so fast between July 4 and Sept. 1.
I gave you a whole bunch of information on the closest upcoming events in Lorane in last week’s column, so I’m not going to repeat it in this one except for a couple of last-minute mentions.
There are still raffle tickets and memory bracelets available for the Amber and Michael Matchulat Fundraiser on July 7. Check out the Lorane and Crow Facebook pages for more information about the bracelets. As for the raffle, you don’t need to be present to win.
The beautiful Lorane mural will be ready for its unveiling on Aug. 12. Lorane artists, Karen Pidgeon and Alix Mosieur have been working on it since last fall, and it’s going to be something that the whole community and those who visit can enjoy. They have been working on it inside the old Dew Drop Inn building next to the Lorane Family Store. Our grandsons, Kevin Stevens and Brent Haxby, just poured the foundation forms for the structure from which it will hang in front of the store, bordering Territorial Road. It will have its own support structure and lighting and will be under a wood-shake roof to help protect it from the weather. Karen and Alix are adding a fun “where’s Waldo?” feature to it, where you are asked to find certain little animals and other hidden treasures in the painting. The plan is to have a fenced eating area near it as well, but it will come a bit later when we figure out where it would best be placed. I hope that everyone will plan to stop by and see it “up close and personal” after it is finished.
I have to pass on a hilarious story to prove that “gettin’ old sure ain’t for sissies!”
A few days ago, Jim and I decided to buy a nice lawn swing with reclining seats. They were on sale, and I’ve been needing a place to go outside in the sunshine to kick back and relax with a good book and a cold drink while the weather is nice. We didn’t take into account the fact that once we got it home, we’d have to put it together.
Well, that afternoon we got the upright structure done fairly easily, but then came the framework on which the recliners would rest. That had to be done on the ground.
For any of you who have entered your seventh decade, you know that getting down is easy, but getting back up is not only not easy—it can be downright embarrassing if anyone is watching. For Jim it was especially hard since he has had both hips replaced.
Well, we were down on our hands and knees on our blacktop driveway, bolting all the many places that needed it, scooting along on our seats or crawling if we had to move to another portion to find the right-size nut or bolt. Suddenly, our dogs started barking and I looked up to see a car at the end of our rather long driveway with a woman standing at the gate, not wanting to come in because of the dogs.
I struggled to my feet and went to see what she needed. When I got to the gate, she said with a worried look, “Is everything OK? I was driving by and saw you and your husband crawling on the ground and wanted to make sure you were both all right.”
I was mortified, but so grateful to her. I began thanking her profusely for her concern and she seemed quite relieved that we were OK. We must have been a sight. I felt a warm glow to know that our neighbors and even strangers are willing to look out for those of us who may be having difficulty. It’s a story that we will laugh and tell frequently as we picture what we must have looked like.
Thank you, thank you to our guardian angel. Your concern meant so very much to both of us.
Happy 4th of July, all!
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