The wrestling matches

When my husband Ray and I were dating between when I taught school and we were married there was one activity he could take me along. In Topeka every Wednesday night in the Municipal Auditorium they had wrestling matches. He would pick me up and we would attend. He would put me in a seat in the front row (not a good seat at a wrestling match) and go sit at the press table. It was not long before the wrestlers knew I was there so at least once an evening they threw someone into my lap but I learned early to move fast so I never got one in my lap but there were some close calls. I found out during the time I attended that they already knew who was going to win every bout. I also learned that the tape on their faces was so they could sratch it and get blood looking color on their face. It was just sort of like adhesive tape they could scratch with their nails. I do not watch the ones on TV but wonder if it is arranged ahead as to who wins. I bet it isn't. In Topeka we did not have that many rules but don't think any fighter was ever seriously hurt.

Name tags

Yesterday at church I forgot my name tag and I'm kind of forgettable so that is not good. I realize how much I lean on other people wearing them. Ray use to keep one in his pocket and he put it on when we went anywhere. He said it was easier on people and they are friendly if they don't have to remember. Sometimes I'm where I would be glad if people did not remember me when I do something stupid which happens often for me. This one will be short as how much can you write about a name tag or the lack of one.

Flag pole hole

I cannot put my flag up as I have lost the hole you put the pole in. When I first put the hole in I had it even with the south end of the porch and even with the redbud tree but now we cannot find it. Perhaps when the squirrels get all the walnuts picked up we will be successful. I have a great flag at the moment. It was a gift from Congressman Larry Winn when I worked for him one campaign and has flown over the capital. Of course if Puerto Rico becomes a state it will be out of date. I like celebrating the holidays that need a flag like President Washington and Lincoln's birthdays, Armistice Day and flag day. And then there is the 4th of July. My neighbors across the street have a flag flying all the time. They don't have to take it down at night as the streetlight shines on it. I'll just salute theirs for awhile. Maybe when it frosts and the grass dies and the squirrels do their job the metal tube will show up. I don't think I put it up for holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas so we are safe until February or is New Year's a flag day?

Relatives

My parents came from two large families. My father was the oldest boy and my mother was the next to the youngest--a twin. When I was growing up I had lots of relatives but now have outlived most of them. My daughter Sally has gone to Colorado on her vacation and it reminds me of my rich uncle. He lived in Pueblo, Colorado in a hotel I think he owned. By the time I met him his wife had died so I do not remember her name but she was one of the Sharpe girls I think. His name was Morris Johnson and when he visited or we visited him he gave fifty cent coins to each of us so we called him "our rich uncle".

While I was growing up Kansas people liked to go to Colorado for vacations as you could get cool. Even my husband went to Colorado. My Uncle Bill and Aunt Ada rented a cabin. It was in Green Mountain Falls near Colorado Springs. One year we went there without my father. The cabin was small and there were a lot of us so I expect we slept on the floor. I remember driving up Pike's Peak and visiting the "Garden of the Gods". I think that was a place with funny shaped rocks but I kind of have forgotten so will ask Sally when she gets home.

Part of my mother's family went to California and raised dates. That was my Aunt Maude. I remember she cussed me out when she visited which I probably needed but did not appreciate. Later we visited the date farm. She always sent us dates for Christmas. The relatives that went to California were very tall and I had one cousin that was six foot which is tall for a girl. Since I never got taller than five foot four inches and have now shrunk on height not on weight I still look up at people.

In later years when our children would visit the Star with their father the editor would give them each a dollar. They loved it and had kind thoughts of him.

Whizzo and Sally, Stacy and Hayden

In the mornings we had a local show on TV called Whizzo. He was local and dressed as a clown. He had local children on his show also dressed as clowns. Sally loved that show. One Sunday we were going to church and we were west of Lamar--one block-- when who should drive around the corner but Whizzo. That made Sally's day. I doubt if she got much from Sunday School that day. We applied for her and she got accepted so she put on her clown suit and went off to the show. She did well. Later he moved his show to Topeka and Sally applied again for Stacy and Hayden. They made it and went up to the show. I'm sorry our movies are all on Beta so we cannot admire them and I'm sure Hayden's class would enjoy seeing their teacher on film in a clown suit. They did as well as Sally had done. We were proud of the Huggins group and show business.

Another Halloween

When I was teaching 14 kids at Pleasant Valley School I told them about Halloween and how you wore costumes and had cider and doughnuts. They thought it sounded fun as out where they lived they did not really find it practical to do Tricks or Treats from door to door and they did not do mean tricks. I thought I would have doughnuts and cider for them so I ordered them from the doughnut factory not too far from my house in College Hill. I had my cider in a jug. The night before I woke up to hear fire engines and the doughnut factory was on fire. No doughnuts. My mother got up at two and made doughnuts for me so my kids would not be disappointed. We had our Halloween Party and I got out my fancy paper cups and my cider and the first cup I poured it in did not have a bottom so the cider went right thru to the floor on Elizabeth's foot. The napkins were okay and I had extra cups. Since the kids had not had fancy doughnuts before they were happy. A successful Halloween.

My first date with Ray

When I was in high school and a Junior I met my future husband Ray in Journalism class where he was a senior and the editor of the school paper--The World. He did not have a high opinion of my writing ability which he had no problem expressing so he assigned me to the news from the girl's gym. During my high school career I also saw him in a school play, which he did very well. I did not tell him so as he rarely spoke to me. Later when we were in college we had the same history professor, Dr. Bright. Dr. Bright also was in charge of the youth program at Central Church. In my freshman year he and his wife planned a Halloween party and they divided us into couples and I got Ray. He was an hour late and was not pleased to see who he had drawn for a date. The professor was with him driving as I did not teach Ray how to drive until later. I had had a birthday and received some lovely fur mittens which I wore as October is cold. They made him sneeze. My girlfiends were all at this party also and we all belonged to the same sorority, which had dances you had to ask boys to. We were all cowards as we were not popular and had not been asked out often, if ever. So we had three boys we would ask to sorority parties of which Ray was one. But we were too much of a coward to call them so we all pretended to be someone else and asked the boys. I know only three months later I was asked out by Ray to attend Topeka's blackout as I have pictures to show it so guess he finally weakened. He was president of Independent men at that time. He later pledge Phi Delta Theta. Dr. Bright always accused me of doing Ray's history assignments but I only did his maps for him as he was color blind and did not do them correctly.