Hazel

It was written in blue ink, in loops and cursive, on an old piece of tape: "Hazel".  I found it slapped haphazardly on the back of a dresser that once belonged to my grandmother, Hazel. Before Hazel owned the dresser it belonged to her parents, Clyde and Edna.  We were moving around furniture and pulled the dresser away from the wall.  The tape and the name caught my eye and it caused me to pause and remember my grandmother. She made great cookies and pies. She was prone to say, "oh, for the heaven's sake."  She liked to pick berries. Her house had an attic where we used to explore old things, like a stereoscope. She grew amaryllis flowers on her porch. She enjoyed rides in the car and watching out the window. I always loved seeing her, and I always cried when we left her house.

 Here is Hazel as a young girl, circa 1915.

 as a young woman, circa 1928

and as an old woman, which is the way I remember her most. Here she is with her younger brother, Arthur, on the left.