One year I was called to look at a house in our water community of Shippan Point to perhaps get the listing.

The woman who owned the home answered the door wearing earrings that I recognized instantly because I owned a pair myself and was familiar with the artist who created them.

I mentioned all of this to her, and she confided that her husband had bought them on a trip out West, and she hated them, thinking they were cheap because of the loose strands of silver and turquoise. I had the pleasure of enlightening her that they very costly and were made by a well-known jewelry artist in Steamboat Springs, CO.

She was astonished, I got the listing, and her husband got hugs!

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World War II interrupted my high school life like everyone else’s – and I found myself entertaining our boys through USO gathering and other patriotic ways.

A school group of us girls would be bused to White Plains, NY, about a half hour away, and we would spend the evening talking and dancing with our troops.

I never sat still enough before to be a “knitter or sewer,” but I learned to knit for our boys. The argyle socks turned out pretty good! We would occasionally bring a few boys back to our families for a home-cooked meal.

Even at high school age, we all seemed to know the importance of winning this war.

So much excitement feeding the elephant…such a little mouth under that huge trunk! Docile and content – but not always…

We were in our open Land Rover with the best guides in Botswana when they saw a large herd, as many as 40 elephants coming our way. The guides slid the Rover into a shadowy, small space where we could look up to see the herd passing very close. The giant matriarch of the herd walked in front and the others followed her. Quiet… quiet as could be and then suddenly the blaring of our car radio as another guide was advising where many lions were gathered. Very unfortunate as the matriarch suddenly turned and crashed toward our noise. We were right in her angry path – and we all held our breath – two steps more, and we would have been crushed.

She loomed above us like a cartoon giant – ears flapping (bad sign) and abruptly stopped, looking down at us. We were quiet all right, too stupefied to move. Then as quickly as she had been charging, she turned and walked slowly away. Whew! A very close call, and a safari incident to remember forever. Writing about it just now, I feel my heart pumping faster.

Another time, we were chased by a young male, but that was “peanuts” compared to this! But if I could visit Africa once a year and see these animals wild in their native surroundings, I would make the trip. I loved every minute being in Kenya, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Botswana.

We have an “initial thing” in our family. Boys have names with the “R” initial – girls have “J” – even our dogs!

So it starts with Rolf and June, then travels to Reid and Jan – then our grandchildren, Jordan and Rhett, and on to our great-grandchildren, Jace and Riley – and on to our dogs… J.J., Jazmin and Rocki.

Now what are the chances of our two kids marrying a “R” or a “J?” Well, Jan married Jay – and Reid married Jani, the lovely mother of our grandchildren!

How’s that for happenstance?