From Andy Ferguson:

I never realized until I got a lot older all of the depression era influences that Trudi passed on to us.

I first noticed it with food, I never understood the judicious application of butter to a ham sandwich. I think that was an old habit from the depression when they would try to get cheap calories into it( I think I saw it in Cinderella Man). Either way it helped me. I am sure it helped boost my immune system as a youngster as I use to take that slice of the bread from my sandwich at school and scrape it against the underside of the lunch table to get the butter off before re applying the bread to the sandwich. It's a miracle I wasn't the first case of tuberculosis-pneumonia-flu ever reported. Then I use to notice it at Cape Cod and chowder, Trudi would buy one quart and then use butter, flower, and milk to cut the chowder to feed the masses.

I also remember from Run street all of the knick knacks, you never threw anything away because you might need it some day, that house was a treasure trove, especially Uncle Jim's Playboy collection in the attic. I found that when I was 12, which would explain a great deal.

I used to love watching the Master's golf tournament on Sunday's with her. Trudi would be sipping the Gin and Tonic Jim made for her to ease the nerves of having a house with 10 grandchildren coming and going.

Fall was a great time of year at Run Street also, there was the ditch out front where we would rake about three football fields of leaves into it and then run and jump into them until we were filthy. I remember that white swing in the back which use to pinch your hand the second you stopped paying attention.

The memories I could write down would clog my email system, but here's to Trudi, thanks for everything.

Andrew D. Ferguson