Issue 28.15
The start of each summer causes me to reflect on a number of items. One of those items is that I’m glad that I live in Cedar City and not St. George. Growing up in St. George the heat didn’t seem to affect me as much as it does now. It does make me grateful for technology and how it allows us to have things that the pioneers didn’t have…Such as air conditioning.
Another thing that summer brings to mind is family reunions. Especially this summer we seem to have a number of family reunions that we are attending. It is always fun to gather with family members that I may not have seen for many years. I remember growing up and having our extended Maxwell family reunions with Grandma Maxwell. They were always really fun, as we would go camping up in the mountains somewhere to get away from the heat. We would go hiking, play games, sit and talk, and of course go snipe hunting. As the Maxwell family is pretty prolific there was always a new generation of Maxwell’s that hadn’t ever been snipe hunting. One of the most memorable snipe hunts was when one of my older cousins had tied a piece of cloth or fur onto a twine (or fishing line) and attached it to the back of his belt. After leading the younger cousins on the hunt and seeing something twitching he finally took off running, screaming at the top of his lungs while the snipe was “chasing” him. It was definitely one for the memory books.
Another memory was the homemade root beer that grandma would make every year and bottle for us to drink at one of the family dinners. All those bottles of root beer became a prime target for my delinquent cousins to take every opportunity to “steal” the root beer from grandma. Of course, I never participated in such activities. Grandma went to great lengths to hide and secure the root beer and we went to greater lengths to steal it. Of course, as grandma became older the root beer started to have a bigger “kick” to it as it became fermented. That was a whole set of experiences in itself, as we had to find ways to tell grandma that we liked her root beer without lying about it.
We definitely enjoyed our time together, being with each other, creating bonds, talking and listening, laughing and crying.
As I have thought about those family reunions they have made me reflect on how grateful I am to have my senses working correctly. I’m glad that I could see the beautiful mountains, feel the wind in my hair (which I had more of at that time), taste the fermented root beer (and other good food), and be able to hear my ornery uncles yelling at us or telling TALL tales.
To sum it all up, if you are having troubles hearing don’t let it affect all those good memory making times. Like the change in technology that caused living in St. George bearable during the summertime (air conditioning) hearing instrument technology has also changed and can make reunions not only bearable but also enjoyable. Come to our office and see what you have been missing.
Until next time…here is to better hearing. (The preceding thoughts are solely the opinions of Dr. Eric L. Maxwell. Other Maxwell’s may have different recollections.)