Chester Chatter: We need to talk about the elephant in the room

By Ruthie Douglas
© 2018 Telegraph Publishing LLC

Many folks know I collect elephant figurines. Long ago, my grandmother told me that you should never keep an elephant in your house whose trunk is facing down.

Years ago, I realized a beautiful purple glass elephant that I had bought on Cape Cod had stayed much too long in my home. He had been sitting in a spot where he reflected the most light. What could I have been thinking? His trunk was facing down.

I was already quite attached to him, so he continued to grace the side board in my kitchen. Slowly, a little of bad luck began to creep into the home, ever so slowly. Little bits here and there, we hardly noticed it at first.

Whenever my granddaughter came by, she would turn him upside down so his trunk would be up. Finally, it occurred to me to get rid of the elephant. One windy rainy evening when granddaughters Lily and Ivy were visiting, we discussed how to dispose of him. Throw him off the bridge? No, it might cause flooding or kill the fish. What about the ditch on the turnpike? No, it could cause car accidents or deer would be afraid to cross.

Suddenly we knew what to do. Lily carefully held the beautiful elephant, softly talking to it. Ivy held the trowel tight. And I drove to the cemetery in the pouring rain. We buried him by the lights of the car, far from any personal resting placed, making sure his trunk was facing up.

Fast forward many years to my home on Breezy Lane. A friend brought me an elephant for my collection. And, well, you guessed it. His trunk is down. What do I do now!?

Out and about

Dorothy Spafford has died. She was a lifelong resident of our town. Dorothy loved horses and she drove a sulky in  horse races at county fairs. She will be greatly missed by her family.

It is so sad to learn of the death of Polly Landry. She and I worked at NewsBank some time ago. Polly suffered from M.S.

Happy birthday to Joel Gabert.

The annual pool tournament sponsored by the Sons of the American Legion Post 67 has ended. Winners of the five week tournament are: First Place: Randy Bobar and Steve Green; Second Place: Greg Holley and Squatty; and Third Place: Corey Parker and Barry Snide. Director of the tournament was Andy Stowell. It was a great time.

The gals of the American Legion Auxiliary are getting excited for the April 21 Patsy Cline tribute concert. Tickets are available from Judy Henning and Angie Peterson.

Many events have had to be cancelled due to the snowstorms. I for one have had enough.

• This week’s trivia question:  What year did the Depot Post Office close and the Depot was no more?
  
• Answer to last week’s trivia question: The street on the backside of the town Green was made one way in 1945.
  

Street Talk

Should teachers be armed in the classroom?