We all have lots of people in our periphery who surface unexpectedly in our thoughts.  Maude Call came to my mind recently from out of nowhere and left me with warm thoughts and a determination to be better.

I “knew” Sister Call when I was a child.  She always struck me as a kind and focused woman.  I don’t think I ever had a conversation with her, but she was in my world.  Her son Dee was my Uncle Thurm’s best friend.  Both families lived in Salt Lake and visited Malad for Thanksgiving most years.  Their kids were friends as well and so Maude’s granddaughters would hook up with us on occasion.  I remember walking the railroad tracks from the Mill Stream down to the Depot with my cousins and the Call girls.  We knew how to have fun in those days!

I knew another of her sons, Max, designed the high school.  I think Lois, her daughter, was Miss Malad one year…if she wasn’t I thought she should have been!  Anyway, in talking with friend Syliva Williams recently I learned Maude was Del’s aunt.  Del is Sylvia’s husband.  Del’s family lost their mother when the five boys were young and Aunt Maude stepped in to help with laundry, meals, etc.  Maude herself was a widow raising several children on her own. 

As Sylvia and I talked, Sylvia told me Aunt Maude had a “Blue Room” that she used when she needed answers.  She would go into the room and not come out until she knew what she needed to do.  Well, I don’t have a “Blue Room,” but I have a green room and there are plenty of times I need answers.  So, Sister Call, wherever you are, thank you for being in my world and helping me build The Good Life!