April 11, 1958 – December 14, 2008
Born to Robert and Nancy Potts on April 11, 1958, Rob passed away too young on Sunday, December 14, 2008 due to complications of a life well celebrated. With athletic skills inherited from both parents, Rob enjoyed – or was forced into – teaching his twin sisters the fundamentals of laying down a perfect bunt and how to make an open field tackle. Rob was an all-star in baseball, basketball and a wrestling letterman. After graduating from White Center’s Evergreen High School in 1976, he became a licensed meat cutter working at Lucky Foods, Big Bear and QFC. Rob was a passionate fan of all sports, lived and died at the hand of the Chicago Cubs, and developed into a competition-level golfer. His collection of sports memorabilia was unrivaled. But nothing compared to the love he had for his children, Robert John and Amy Nicole who live in Kirkland with their mother, Brenda Potts.
Rob leaves behind his mother, Nancy Potts of Seattle, who did a masterful job of care giving these past few months. He is survived by his sisters, Kathleen Langloss of Kittitas, Washington, and Karen Nicholson of Milton, several aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews. A special thanks to our Auntie Jo Cougan for her love and support.
Although Rob had his struggles in life, he always maintained his sense of humor and quick wit. There will be a gathering for friends and family following the holidays.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
War Years
Even though there was a war on our daily lives were uneventful. There was no television (it wasn't invented yet for household use) so we kept abreast of the news via radio and newspapers. When you attended the movies, newsreels were featured on all the current events. Progress of the war were headlines everywhere as most families had loved ones in the fray....sons, brothers, fathers, uncles, husbands and boyfriends. Few were exempt of worry. During the newsreels, if some particularly successful attack against the Germans or the Japanese was shown the whole theater would cheer, whistle and applaud.
The radio also served as our entertainment. Many an evening was spent gathered around the radio to listen to the comedians, variety shows, theater and kids shows. A lot of the appliances you enjoy in your households today were not yet available or even thought of....maybe in Buck Rogers comic books....or some other futuristic works of fiction. We weren't exactly taking our laundry down to the river and pounding our clothes on the rocks or making our own soap, none the less, keeping house in those days involved a little more manual labor than today's tasks.
On wash day, Mom would wheel the washing machine our of the utility room into the kitchen. The machine had to be by the sink as it was filled manually with the hose. The machine had an agitator that was electrically driven to clean the clothes. It also had wringers that you fed the clothes through to squeeze out the excess water. If you were careless feeding clothes through the wringer you could get your arm caught up. The clothes were rinsed in the kitchen sink and run through the wringers again. Wet clothes went into a basket and taken out to the clothes line in the yard where they were hung to dry. Prior to this, dirty clothes were gathered and sorted on the kitchen floor..whites were washed first, then towels, a load of colored stuff and last was the grungy work clothes. It really amounted to a full day task...by the time you did the wash, hung it out, drained and put the machine away, brought in the dried clothes from the line and put them away. Wash and wear was not in the cards yet so there was a lot of ironing to be done after the wash.
Vacuum cleaners were available but we certainly did not have the luxury of owning one. Cleaning the house was strictly dust rag, broom and mop.
The radio also served as our entertainment. Many an evening was spent gathered around the radio to listen to the comedians, variety shows, theater and kids shows. A lot of the appliances you enjoy in your households today were not yet available or even thought of....maybe in Buck Rogers comic books....or some other futuristic works of fiction. We weren't exactly taking our laundry down to the river and pounding our clothes on the rocks or making our own soap, none the less, keeping house in those days involved a little more manual labor than today's tasks.
On wash day, Mom would wheel the washing machine our of the utility room into the kitchen. The machine had to be by the sink as it was filled manually with the hose. The machine had an agitator that was electrically driven to clean the clothes. It also had wringers that you fed the clothes through to squeeze out the excess water. If you were careless feeding clothes through the wringer you could get your arm caught up. The clothes were rinsed in the kitchen sink and run through the wringers again. Wet clothes went into a basket and taken out to the clothes line in the yard where they were hung to dry. Prior to this, dirty clothes were gathered and sorted on the kitchen floor..whites were washed first, then towels, a load of colored stuff and last was the grungy work clothes. It really amounted to a full day task...by the time you did the wash, hung it out, drained and put the machine away, brought in the dried clothes from the line and put them away. Wash and wear was not in the cards yet so there was a lot of ironing to be done after the wash.
Vacuum cleaners were available but we certainly did not have the luxury of owning one. Cleaning the house was strictly dust rag, broom and mop.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Weapon of Choice
God love her, but there is a good reason that you cannot find a decent 1964 Plymouth Valiant anywhere in Western Washington. Granny Harris's weapon of choice was the 64 Valiant and perhaps if we all put our collective heads together we could arrive at the number of these wonderful cars that met their match with Granny at the wheel.
Peggy and I were down in the Lost Coast area of California over Thanksgiving weekend. We were with friends who live just out of Petrolia. We went to another friends house to visit, and lo and behold sitting in the driveway was a glorious vehicle that brought back a flood of memories of my dear departed, boogie woogie playin', Grandmother.
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