We don't need a state law in our family requiring riders to wear motorcycle helmets. We have Family Law and it paid off last week when I had my motorcycle accident. There is blue paint from a car on my helmet.
And although none of us wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, we can see that it would prevent serious injury. A few hours earlier we were at the scene of a freak bike accident. The fork broke and the boy was thrown to the sidewalk.
My bruises have pretty well healed, but I have a dozen thoughts now about motorcycle safety. One includes more "lights-on" rather than just the headlight in daylight riding. Another includes safety orange clothing. We've seen our neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Guy Miller, take off on dozens of rides wearing similar safety gear.
I've been handed a lot of kidding and picked up two nicknames since the accident: Take your pick — "Evel" or "The Blue Baron."
We've been asked whether the accident has put a damper on the long-talked motorcycle trip. My tank driving friends say I'm crazy to consider it now; my two-wheel friends say make the trip.
A WWI friend who wore a leather cap while at the controls of a Jenny airplane says "go," another friend says it's just like riding a horse . . . you get back on when you're thrown by the animal and pointed out that helmets are not the uniform of the day on horseback.
The kindest words came from a smiling gray haired many-years-young woman who said she didn't know about motorcycles, but enjoyed the bass voices in church choir and hoped that I'd be there again next Sunday (I liked Miss Heebner's advice the best).
Mrs. Everett Haith called the other day to offer some pictures about Omaha's tornado of 1913 and tell of a family experience in Georgia.
The couple's daughter, Candy, was with her husband near a military camp when much of the state was swept by a storm. The Nebraska City family waited many hours before they could get an anxious call through. The Georgia family was safe.
After the twisters hit Omaha last week, Mrs. Haith recalled the Georgia incident and said the family is now in Frankfurt, Germany, "and I think they're safe there."
In reference to the 1913 storm, we reprinted a story about a year ago by John L. Mattox who was an eyewitness to that day of horror.
Al Willis, 1015 North Tenth Street, was in Omaha on business the day the tornadoes hit the city. Mr. Willis went to a shelter at his office at 73rd and Pacific. He came out of the shelter after the storm unscratched.
His car?
"About the size of a Pinto now," Mr. Willis said. He drove a 1967 Lincoln Continental to Omaha that day.
The City Singers directed by Mrs. Charlotte Mabie performed last week before the Methodist congregation, Bishop Don Holter and District Superintendent Emmett Streeter and were called back for an encore.
Pastor Streeter asked for a repeat of "Oh, Happy Day." The group obliged and earned another round of applause. Later we talked with Mrs. Streeter. She had to hold down her husband because he was ready to join the kids on the stage.
"They think that's something written by Garfunkle," the pastor said in his famous booming voice, "that's an old Methodist hymn."
Stolen
The boss and his sales manager were gloomily surveying the company's sales chart. In one corner a graph showed the firm's descending gross, the rest of the chart contained a map of the territory, with pins indicating the location of the various salesmen.
"Frankly," the boss sighed, "I think we have only one hope. Let's take the pins out of the map and stick them in the salesmen."
Robert Rathe, who teaches distributive education and advises students on jobs, took a bit of kidding from his charges the other night at the annual banquet.
Mr. Rathe's gifts from the students were not what you would call useful, but then again maybe a colorful T-shirt has some use and the block of wood with the words to the wise might work well as a door stop.
It was a moment of fun for the kids and the jokes were taken with a smile by the teacher who obviously enjoys his work very much.
Twenty Nebraska City businesses employ one or more students in the DE program. The News-Press is in the program and has been for many years. The boys and girls also work at jobs in service stations, furniture stores, restaurants, grocery and other retail stores.
Notice to Mrs. Merlin Hartman, Douglas.
Enjoyed your Cherokee Casserole printed in the OPPD paper. I'm partial to anything with rice (Pacific GIs learned the value of rice) and the strips of cheese on top set it off fine. Millie also served a tossed salad, hot bread, and creamed peas. No. 1 son (he's our "garbage disposal") and other members of the family liked it, too.
Congratulations to Burton Copenhaver who was recognized by the Syracuse-Dunbar-Avoca teachers association with a Community Service Award. Burton has served as a school board member for 25 years.
Mr. and Mrs. Copenhaver and SDA Supt. Don Craig were pictured on Page 1 of the Nebraska Education News last week.
We are well acquainted with Burton's civic interests. He is one of the many volunteers in the rings at the county fairs. Burton has "worked" the beef judging for several years and we would have been lost many times getting names and results if he hadn't stepped to the side to make sure we got it all down.
During a medical examination the man stretched out his arms in front of him. His hands trembled.
"Good heavens, how much do you drink?" the doctor asked.
"Scarely anything at all," answered the man, "I spill most of it."
It's mushroom time.
When Everett Browning of Peru called the other day we dropped everything and drove to the Mushroom Happy Hunting-Ground. After about an hour walking a wooded hillside near his home we came out with a small bucket of mushrooms.
So, the other night we had fried mushrooms . . . and probably a few bugs.
Since I'm not supposed to know anything about cooking, only tasting, I can report the activities around the hive of the Queen Bee:
She dipped the mushrooms in egg batter, rolled them in a mixture of flour and cornmeal and fried them in butter . . . and if that isn't the route to getting fat, I'll put in with you.