A NICE Legacy...

Today I drove down a street called Quirk in my little hometown.

It's kind of a "quirky" name when you think about it,

which I haven't until this second and now I'm kind of smiling over it.

I was driving on my way to spend some time with a 5 year old so his dad could go to an appointment.

  He was happy to see me because I brought him a "tweet".  I was happy to see him because he calls me "Aunt Trista" and that makes me smile.

As I pulled out of my driveway I noticed the house to my left.  The man who has lived there all these years isn't there anymore. It feels kind of lonely without him.

Then a little bit up the road I saw Betty's house.  She used to grow daffodils all over her front lawn.  It was always a fun sight.  She's not there anymore but the fact that she still keeps a can in her driveway for the high school kids to put their garbage in makes me smile.

I continued to drive and to my left I saw where Leah and Toni lived for many years.  Across the street was where Ann used to walk in her front door. Before I got to the stop sign I saw where Betty Lou and Bob raised their family.  Their house used to have pink trim.  It doesn't anymore.

As I turned onto Main Street, still in pursuit of that 5 year old, my heart missed those old Grantsville faces.  Each one knew me by name and each one always made me smile.

I finally got to the house of the 5 year old, by "finally" I mean 2 minutes after I left my house.  Interesting how much you can ponder in 2 minutes.  The 5 year old talked to me non-stop for an hour until it was time for me to leave.

I climbed into my car, still feeling warm and fuzzy with thoughts of my earlier 2 minute drive down Quirk. It didn't take much for me to convince myself to take the long way home and think about those before me who used to drive these little town streets.  So I pulled out of Deseret Circle and headed for a trip down ...

I past by Grandpa Johnny and Grandma Bernadine's place on Main.  They weren't really my grandparents by birth but they laid claim to everyone in town and we all laid claim to them.  We loved them and they loved us.  Our tennis courts are named after them.

I thought of Verl.  He was a gem!!  He used to golf with Jeff's dad.  When it became to hard for Dick to golf, Verl would bring him delicious treats from his garden and stay for nice visit.  They loved each other and will forever!

On a side-note... golf or no golf, Dick still can smooch his sweetheart!

I thought of Mr. Callister.  He will forever go by that name to me, although most people knew him as Gary.  He was my 5th grade teacher.  I remember one day my mom put a bun in my hair because I was running late for school.  Oh how I hated buns back then.  I went to the desk of Mr. Callister to explain my tardy and as I walking away he told me how pretty I looked.  I didn't turn back to look at him because there were tears in my eyes. He loved his students and knew the things they needed to hear.

As I turned onto the street where I live, I passed by Joe's house and his daughter JoAnn's. Then down a bit from there was the place Barbara used to live. A little beyond that was the home of my beloved neighbor Lorraine.  She lived there when Dillon was only 3 years old.  He called her "Duane", kind of like I get called "Aunt Trista" sometimes.  Oh she loved Dillon and he loved her ... and they both loved her kitties!

I pulled into my garage thinking of my grandparents and also Jeff's.  My memory brought the faces of Tom, Fern, Brad, Ron, Bernice, Ray, Bob, Nada, Vearis, Kim, Bev, Kate, Robin, Becky, Marsha, Berkley, Faye, Florence, Morley, Donny, Marjie, Relva, Cleo,  Phyllis, Lucy, Don Ed, Joyce, Barbara, Clyde, Don, Elaine, Richard, Don and the many others who lived here long before I. My pondering caused me realize all these people, and many more, represent all that is good in this small hometown of mine.

Those people have been in my heart all day and I've wondered what made them so iconic.  Then it hit me!  It was because I never saw a single one of them that they weren't ...

I hope I will be remembered someday when someone drives down Durfee Street.  I hope they'll remember that Jeff and Krista raised their family there.  Most of all, I hope as they think of us, they'll smile and say we were always NICE!

That would be a pretty awesome 

LEGACY!