Ramona
By JESSICA GILBERT
Ramona correspondent
(785) 965-2621
It's been awhile since I've poised my hands over my computer keyboard to write the Ramona news. My absence, in part, has been because of a vacation, which began the end of July and carried into August.
The trip was a glorious gift from an old friend and client from California who takes his rather large family on a trip each year. He's often invited Pat and I to join this yearly family foray but this was the first year we accepted the invitation, and Tooltime Tim came along, too. The trip was a cruise — how could we refuse — on the Mexican Riviera, departing from Long Beach, Calif., with stops at Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Mazatlan.
A week before departure our client called me and asked if I had a boyfriend I'd like to bring along. "There are 99 people coming already so I thought we might as well make it 100!" he teased. "The number just kept expanding — one son invited his brother-in-law's family, the grandkids brought friends, all my brothers and sisters decided to come along."
Getting on board this "floating city" was probably the trickiest part of the journey. Imagine 3,000 people all lined up, needing to go through security checks and boarding procedures. Despite 20+ ship personnel behind the check-in counters the line crawled along — first outside on the docks of Long Beach and then we finally entered a domed pavilion, which I was sure signaled that we were almost to the finish line, but no, there was another hour of shuffling along before we reached the counter and received our "Sail and Sign" card which is everything from room key to credit card (no cash or credit cards are used on ship).
This was the first time I'd ever been on a cruise ship. Stepping on board I felt like I had walked into a floating palace. Nine floors of splendor! It actually felt like a floating city — with more than 3,500 people on board. (This was like putting the population of Herington on a ship!)
There were more than 850 kids on this cruise — Carnival prides itself on having fabulous all-day camps that entertain the kiddies. The comedian that performed on ship joked that he saw parents shuffle their kids to camp the minute they got on board and the parents hadn't see the kids since.
The food was an experience all its own with gourmet pizza and ice cream available 24 hours a day. One could choose between the formal dining room (where you dressed up — my favorite) or an informal dining area that had a half-dozen different cuisines available for each meal. This was Tim's favorite because he didn't have to wear a jacket to eat!
Entertainment was remarkable with activities all day long — like game shows and bingo, a bar just for karaoke lovers, another with live band and a dance floor, and evening shows that rivaled Las Vegas. The casino was a very popular destination for many. The only thing they didn't have on this ship was a movie theater, which we thought would have been nice, being movie lovers.
My favorite part of the trip was just being on the water. I'd be sitting having breakfast right by the window and somebody would yell, "Look! There! It's a pod of dolphins," and we'd crowd to the windows to catch a glimpse of a fin or tail.
The staff required to take care of all the guests was well over 1,000 and these workers came from all over the world. The cruise director said at the end of the trip, "If we, the staff, can all get along when coming from more than 70 counties and speaking a multitude of languages, perhaps the world at large can learn something from us about creating peace on earth."
After the trip we flew to northern California to spend a week with Pat's daughter, Jana, and the new grandbaby, who's become quite a heavy guy in the three months of his life — he already weighs 20 pounds. We celebrated Jana's 38th birthday by dressing up and going out to eat in one of our favorite Napa Valley restaurants.
Jana's birthday is July 3 and this year was the first time we've ever forgotten to send cards, gifts, and call. We were so absorbed in getting ready for Ramona's big 4th of July event that Jana's birthday slipped our consciousness! Pat was mortified. "I've never forgotten my daughter's birthday," she lamented upon discovering that she had!
Jana's husband, Richard, tried consoling Jana by saying, "After a grandbaby arrives all your parents think about is the grandchild — they forget about you!" Pat and I were further mortified because we weren't even thinking about the grandbaby — we were thinking about Ramona!
On Aug. 13, the night of city council, I finally got to catch up with folks and find out what had been happening in my absence.
"We had a four-corner barbecue," said Miriam Riddle. She quickly explained that the folks who own the four corners as you enter Ramona — at Quail Creek and 360th — decided to get together and have a barbecue. The families who gathered together were Alcorn, Noeth, Riddle, and Harris.
"The food was amazing," chimed in Margaret Harris, one of the picnic participants, along with husband, Bob. "Billy and Rohani (Alcorn) had so much food — the smoked turkey was the most delicious I've had in my whole life and the pork roast was so good it's beyond description."
Another notable treat at the four-corner picnic was homemade strawberry ice cream made by Bob Harris.
"I wish I'd been a four-corner neighbor," lamented council member Kathy Werth, who was listening to Margaret and Miriam tell about this creative event. "If I'd known about it, I just might have invited myself," she teased.
"Maybe we'll have to make up our own four-corners," I said to Kathy, since she's my closest neighbor across a field. This four-corner barbecue idea is indeed a clever way to celebrate community.
Council member Jeannie Goza and Tonya Stroda, a new Ramona resident (although she's been involved in town events for years) announced they were having a camp out in the city park Aug. 17 to celebrate the end of summer and the commencing of school.
"Everybody's invited to bring their tent and stay overnight at the park, and we're having a barbecue supper, s'mores by the campfire, homemade ice cream, and I'll have my karaoke machine there, too."
With the new bathrooms in the park, a project Jeannie helped spearhead, overnight camping is much easier. "We'd like to see this become a yearly tradition," said Jeannie, as she relished a hamburger. "Isn't it fun seeing the park being used!" she enthused.
Indeed it was delightful to see kids scampering around the park, deciding where to place their tent, and then taking on the challenge of putting it up. Other kids were getting wood to build the campfire so they could make s'mores, still others were huddled around the microphone singing their favorite songs together.
With several new families in Ramona, it was a lovely way for everyone to get acquainted with new neighbors.
On Monday morning the women of Ramona gathered, as is their tradition, at the Ramona Café for coffee and Danish. Sitting around the table this week were Orvell Brunner, Miriam Riddle, Iona Dietrich, Paula Fike, Marlene Anduss, and my sister, Pat, even dropped by for a few minutes.
"When I come home my husband always asks, 'So what did you learn new?'" said Orvell when I spoke with her later on Monday. "I told him we talked about kissing animals and how people love their pets so much that they kiss them — and where do they kiss 'em," laughs Orvell. "You know — real deep subjects like that!"
Orvell did tell me that in July they had a birthday dinner at their house, honoring Lauren and grandkids Bryant and Emily, who also had July birthdays.
My sister had a birthday on Aug. 16. She wanted to have Swedish pancakes with lingonberries so I took her to Lindsborg for breakfast. For dinner we had a "corn fest" with Jirak corn, along with a towering chocolate cake that I made as a finale. We were actually celebrating three birthdays — Pat and John Holecek (a friend of mine from McPherson) both had birthdays Aug. 16 and, Tooltime Tim's Aug. 5 birthday.
Pat insisted I take pictures of all three of them blowing out the candles — which means I'd light the candles and pass the cake to the next person for a picture. That cake was so gigantic that we took it to the park Saturday night for the camp out and let folks help us eat it.
The Ramona Seniors elected new officers for the coming year. Beginning in September Darlene Sondergard will be president, Iona Dietrich, vice president, and Myrna Eskeldson, secretary-treasurer.
When Pat and I got home from vacation we were driving down Quail Creek Road toward Marion and came to Gail and Marissa Makovec's house. There on the lawn was the sign: "Simon is Home!" We cheered for joy, right in our car!
"Only in the country, where everybody knows the important things in your life, would you see a sign like this!" After I got our bushel basket of mail that had been kept during our vacation, I saw the big article in the Marion County Record about Simon's return, and the parades and recognition. The subject has been well covered, and yet, I just have to add our joy to the mix.
Of all the news in the past two months, seeing that Simon was home safe, just had to be the best news yet! And while I was gone when it happened, it's never too late to rejoice and give thanks!
And that's the news from Ramona where a traffic jam is two parked cars and a dog in the road.
