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Lesa on Life: Autographs for fun, friendship

While digging out more never-ending memorabilia in random cupboards in my quest to downsize, I found my old autograph book.

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Remember those? They were little blank booklets that were presented to family and friends for the writing of thoughts and silly verses. I rescued one at a yard sale. I also found three that belonged to my mother in my stash. My book was sparsely written in compared to Mom’s that were chock full of messages.

Often gifted to a tweenager for a Christmas or birthday present, girls were not only the main owners of autograph books but the main writers of the verses as well. Actually, boys were allowed to write in them so long as they were somewhat respectable or at least not gross. Mom’s twin brother, and her favourite uncle both wrote: “A ship without a rudder, A ship without a sail, But the coldest thing in winter is a shirt without a tail.”

Flipping through my mother’s books, there were messages from several relatives who had all died long before I was born. I remember Mom talking about them, so it was lovely to see messages from so long ago. Her mother and grandmother had beautiful penmanship. Actually, her father wrote elegantly as well.

The messages could be as simple as, “You are 2 sweet 2 be 4gotten.” Or a little more meaningful as when her grandmother wrote: “Life’s morn will soon be waning, And its evening bells be tolled, But my heart will know no sadness, If you’ll love me when I’m old.” Her father was a little more succinct as in: “Don’t steal this book young lady for it cost my daddy 15c.

We all had a verse or two stashed away in our heads for the occasion when a friend wanted us to sign their autograph book. One was: “By hook or by crook, I’ll be the last one to write in this book.” Of course, this was written on the last page. And there was the old standby, “Roses are red, Violets are blue, Sugar is sweet, And so are you.”

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I actually had an autograph from a famous person: Alan Thicke. He used to have a daily afternoon talk show on the television. He was in the Truro mall once upon a time. I also used to have one from Anne Murray, but it’s gone missing. Oh well.

There was something sweet and lovely about getting little handwritten messages from folks that you cared about. Another thing that is gone and forgotten. It won’t be the same reading old emails in some distant future. Not uplifting at all.

Registered nurse Lesa Light explores the art of aging and living well while sharing a few laughs about life along the way.

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