Another Gift from Mom

Thinking about my last post reminded me of a story I wrote five years ago in response to the prompt "Unexpected Outcome."

Car Trouble

Residing in Florida while having parents living in Massachusetts meant I put hundreds of miles on my car each year as I made that trek up the Eastern Seaboard twice a year: once in summer and again for Christmas vacation. (In 65 years, I have only missed one Christmas with my family!)

In the pre-cell phone days on the late 1970’s, most of these semi-annual drives were uneventful but one still resonates with me as a cautionary tale for the driver of an 11 year old car whose main power source was 4 cylinders that possessed the torque of 4 squirrels!

On our way to Danvers for Christmas holidays, Mesmerelda (my 1967 Ford Pinto coupe) and I were enmeshed in the harrowing experience of navigating Washington DC’s Beltway when I heard a thunk from behind me, but nothing happened with my car. No jolt. No hitch in the engine putter. Slowing down was impractical as all 4 lanes were bumper-to-bumper at 60+ miles an hour! Pulling over to the shoulder was impossible as no shoulder existed.

After a moment of minor panic, I realized Mes was performing just like always, puttering along, so I kept going up through Maryland and Delaware and onto the New Jersey Turnpike. (The car got exemplary gas mileage and I had figured I would be safely through New York before I had to stop.)

At each tollbooth on the Turnpike, I had progressively more trouble getting her into gear after paying the toll, but the looming tenements and buildings of the Oranges freaked me out, so I kept going north.

At the first tollbooth in Connecticut, Mes gave up her fight. I could not get her into gear at all and she had to be pushed to the side of the toll road in the dark. A call by the tollbooth operator to AAA resulted in a tow truck’s eventual appearance. When he delivered me to his gas station, it was approaching 9:30 PM. I got permission to call Mom and Dad collect to inform them I would be delayed getting home as Mes has developed a leak in her transmission line (probably during that Beltway Thunk) so I was probably going to be spending the night in this service station as the repairman did not come to work until the morning.

Mom reacted with her usual aplomb, taking contact information and telling me not to worry about anything. She was glad I was safe and in no danger.

About 30 minutes after I hung up, a Connecticut State Police cruiser pulled into the station. The officer who got out came up to me and said, ”If you’re Marty Mayer, your mother sent me.”

Say whut!!!!

Mom had called the Conn State Police and request aid!

I was driven to a local motel with assurances that I would be picked up the following morning and returned to my car!

That happened. Just as Mom ordered.

Mes was repaired within a very short space of time and I motored safely home.

The morale of this tale: AAA is valuable but a mother who protects her cub is without price!!!

An Unexpected Gift from Mom

This afternoon as I was going through another of Mom's boxes, I found an envelope addressed to me and never mailed. In it was the following with a Post-It attached which stated, "Honey, When I re-read this, I realized this was my version of your blog."

Mom may not be physically in my life anymore, but emotionally and spiritually, she is still teaching me lessons.

One More Lesson

I came to Duke in September 1941 with a better than average scholastic background and, by and large, had not much difficulty with freshman subjects. Actually my first contact with learning on the more detailed, precise, for-me-new college level came in zoology 1 under the guidance of a scrumptious looking red-headed bombshell named Katherine Jeffers.

I enjoyed the factual material; of the course and was so utterly fascinated with the lab work that I rarely managed to do the dissection and write-up the work in the lab manual at the same session. I consistently volunteered to help absentees do make-up work and by this guise was able to remove four frog brains instead of the normally allotted one to a student.

I must be one of the few students who failed utterly on an important exam because of too much interest in the subject. The second semester included three “quizzes” only; the last on Arthnopeta inclusively. As I began to review the night before the exam, I became so entranced with the segment on insects that I never got any further and didn’t even realize I hadn’t until I looked at the question sheet. At that point realization was such a shock that I forgot everything and got a 46 on the exam and a D in a course that I still remember with precise detail.

The elusive ingredient here was the professor. She didn’t lead; she only pointed the way and I found the superb excitement of finding out by myself the basic likenesses of protozoa and life in its most complex form. Never once did she say look for God in the laboratory, but I know that because of her I found a quiet reassurance in the like beauty and basic simplicity in everything I see and touch.

I loved school, enjoyed and was thrilled just with learning and for this I am grateful to many people, but to Miss Jeffers for this special kind of wonder that brings me joy every day I live.

Today I learned another lesson from this good friend. Baron and I were enjoying the Sunday paper with breakfast when he said quietly, “Katherine Jeffers died in Cleveland this week.”

I had the awful feeling of a child who is next in line when the last lollypop is given out. For four years, Miss Jeffers had been at Jackson – so close – and yet I never got to see her. We talked often on the phone, but I never quite made the extra effort to go to Medford – less than twenty miles.

Feeling this frustrating sense of too-lateness, I am trying to recall others I must tell what they have meant to me – and through me, to others.

That I am now thirty-six; that this will happen to me much more often; that I must prepare my thinking now to deal with this dreadful knowing that I have waited too long – this is the one more lesson. Like the other lessons fifteen years previous – she didn’t do more than point – or need to.

God bless Katherine Jeffers.

By Kaye Mayer 1959

Day Trippin', Yeah!

I've taken several day trips lately. I've discovered a profound enjoyment in these brief escapes, so I'm sharing three of them in the hopes I can inspire others to indulge in this activity.

Cumberland Island.  A long-time friend and I spent one breezy Thursday exploring the historical side of this magical place. Steve has spent hundreds of hours on the island - all at the northern end with his classes as they explored and catalogued the wild flora and fauna for the science classes he teaches at a local high school. I'd been to the island about a dozen times back when I was teaching. neither of us had been in a several years.

He gave me a copy of Will Harlan's biography of Carol Ruckdeschel, Untamed: The Wildest Woman in America and the Fight for Cumberland Island to prepare me for the changes since I had last visited. The book fascinated, repulsed and angered me simultaneously; I couldn't put it down!

As we walked up from the dock remarking on the damage done by Hurricane Matthew, we turned right onto the path (animal track) leading off into the thickets. We strolled, chatting and side stepping to view water's edge scenes. When we arrived at Dungeness, Steve was silent; then he turned, hugged me and said, "My God, it's breath-taking. I've never been here before!"

We spent four hours reading every sign, finding every spot mentioned in the guide pamphlet. The island healed both us - working its magic as it always has. Odd, though, that I took no photos of the ruins, instead, I captured the day in critters and trees!


The Jacksonville Zoo. An environment nearly as diverting as Cumberland Island. I love a good zoo, and this area has one of the very best. We spent nearly five hours wandering around. The only animals I didn't re-visit were the tigers and the Komodo dragon. I was succumbed to the enthrallment of the Asian Bamboo Garden, I could spend hours watching the koi swim and the branches wave while soothed by the sounds of water falling. Sigh.

Letreze and I treated Jean to the Zoo for her birthday. Our day began with a chuckle - as we stood before the Lego Tower to determine our ticket price...we all had to the "tall person" price - unusual for Letreze and me, not so much for Jean. We all enjoyed the day. Jean got to feed a giraffe!

I adore that I can walk up to birds and they just pose. They are such hams!

This successful day offered three women who spend hours together a different venue for talking, reminiscing, speculating, laughing, investigating and sharing interspersed with periods of silence. All in the name of "let's do something a little different."

St. Simon's Island. This is an annual trek for me as my aunt and uncle from Indianapolis come every February so Uncle Paul can golf and they can escape the mid-west winter. This visit was enjoyable as Aunt Marion and I got so wrapped up in going through family photos, recipes, letters and documents, we totally forgot to eat lunch!!!

When Paul returned from his day on the links, we got into a discussion of smart phones and I showed him how to take a selfie - his first ever!

I relish this small window of time that allows me to have Marion and Paul all to myself. Selfish as that is, I am so glad these people are in my life!


I encourage everyone to take a day trip. Getting away for few hours gives you a renewed sense of adventure and re-connects you with people you see nearly every day in a different atmosphere.