The Press-Dispatch
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The Press-Dispatch Wednesday, November 15, 2017 D-1 HOME LIFE TO ADVERTISE: Call: 812-354-8500 Email: ads@pressdispatch.net Visit: 820 E. Poplar Street, Petersburg Deadline: 5 p.m. on Monday Brighter Side by Janice Barniak What Linda remembers THE DEADLINE FOR ALL REAL ESTATE ADS IS 5 P.M. EVERY MONDAY Youth First Today by Alicia Slaton, Youth First, Inc. How to get quality time with your kids It's a Sunday, and Aunt Linda is at the door again, looking windblown and cold on our doorstep to tell me she wouldn't be letting the sketchy man on our roof. Yesterday, I came home to Aunt Lin- da, who lives in an apartment above ours, in the parking lot with a lone 20 -something man in a dilapidated Volkswagen car, who wanted her to sign a contract. He already talked to the owner of the building, he said, and he want- ed permission to go out onto the roof through her apartment window. I guess ladders aren't in fashion for roofing anymore, I joke, and he doesn't laugh. Maybe because a ladder wouldn't fit in the unmarked V W. The thing is, it was almost complete- ly dark outside, and this isn't exactly the weather for roof work. "I just need you to sign this so I can measure," he was telling her. Linda came of age in rural Connecti- cut, never supported herself and nev- er married. Despite her more than 20 years on me, several people in our impover- ished downtown Evansville neighbor- hood have taken advantage of her. "Don't let him or anyone on the roof or inside your house," I whisper after he left yesterday. So today I came home to a card- board sign she's written. "No one is going on the roof today," it said. I could only imagine what the oth- er neighbors thought. Did we need to all announce when we weren't doing things? "No one is eating Lima beans today," I think. "No one is planting flowers to- day." But at least I knew she wouldn't be answering the door to him, and that was the thought I was having as I chopped onions and heard her knock on the door. Once she's settled inside, I congrat- ulate her on the sign and she tells me she felt bad about it, he probably needs the work, but she couldn't let him be- cause she had a premonition. "A premonition? " I ask. She nods. That man would have died if he got on the roof, she tells me. It was the feeling, the silence that let her know. I nod, more slowly. When her mother died, she explains, her father wouldn't move out any of her mother's things, and they went on, living in the house with all the things her mother loved for years, just years. Like she was still there, but they never talked about it. Her father was a postman, gone during the day. Every day he went on with the grim determination to live life the same as if her mother's loss was just rain, sleet, snow or hail in the way of delivering some necessary message. He never missed a day on his mail route until he retired. One day, he hired a contractor— or was it, she said, a friend—it was a friend to take out a tree in the back- yard, not the really bad, black one, mind you, not the one that was rot- ting out. He wanted the perfectly good tree beside it down, and why? Well, he just didn't like it. He let the dead one stay, why would you do a thing like that? I shrug, onion in one hand, knife in the other. I haven't been chopping, I re- alize, and I turn, my back to her. The man brought along his girl- friend, and Linda decided she and the girlfriend would go through her moth- er's things as Jim cut down this per- fectly good tree. Jim and the woman would be there when her father got home, which would keep him from being public- ly angry at her about cleaning some things out. She'd send the extra clothes with the girlfriend, and then there'd be no going back on it. It's going good, great really, she feels great when it's over and it's finally in bags in- stead of looking back at her like it had for so long. It's getting dark and the man, how does she know it's Jim after all these years? "But I'm sure his name really was Jim. Jim hasn't come back from cutting," she said. "It was the si- lence, Janice, I should have noticed. There was no chainsaw going. There hadn't been a chainsaw sound for so long, and when we no- ticed his girlfriend ran out to find him." She screamed and screamed, Linda said. And screamed. He died in the helicopter sent to take him to a hospital, she said. Her father, when she finally reached him, came home, but didn't come in- side. He sat in the driveway for hours in his car. It was just the two of them at that point. She was afraid he'd be angry at her. He came inside, finally, into the qui- et house; she hadn't even turned on the lights. "He never said anything about it; he was so silent." Right in the middle of the living room, there was the bag with her moth- er's things forgotten, and he said noth- ing about that, too. He was as quiet as the woods. She tells me that anxious feeling came over her from that day when she thought about letting the man on the roof. There's another 15 minutes, before my neighbor-aunt feels talked out, and goes upstairs, and it's silent here. I start chopping the onion I had, again, forgotten about. I have to turn on the radio, for the living noise, her story is so full of ghosts. Parents are exhausted. Think of all of the responsi- bilities that come along with being a parent/ guardian – pre- paring lunch- es, drop-offs, pick-ups, home- work, dinner, bath time and bedtime. When you add a job, medi- cal appointments, school ac- tivities, parent-teacher con- ferences, extra-curricular activities, play dates, and the rare adult social outing, it's a lot of activity! By the end of the day, you're lucky to even have the time (or the energy) to take a shower before you drag yourself to bed and start all over again. Who has the luxury of spending non-in- terrupted quality time with their kids? Your time is valuable, but think about the amount of time your children spend in activities that don't include you. They spend the major- ity of their time at school or day care, sleeping, at camp, at friends' houses, etc. The bit of time you do spend with them is very precious, and you want to make the most of it. So how can you spend quality time with them and not break the bank? You have to consider the cost of the outing, but you want the time you spend with your kids to be memorable. Most families try to plan a few special outings a year - dinner and a movie, Holiday World, Sky Zone, etc. You're making happy memories with your child, and these are memories they will have for the rest of their lives. When you think about your day and divide up how much of your time is spent taking care of responsibili- ties versus how much time is spent truly engaged with your child, it's surprising and a bit alarming. Most of us are probably thinking about how consumed we are with messy rooms, conflicts over clothing, waiting in the drop-off line, stress from work, etc. I challenge you to be mindful of your time with your child and ask that you start by spend- ing 15 (free and uninter- rupted) min- utes with your child each day. To get you started, here are some sug- gested activities that don't cost anything: 1. Make dinner together. A fter a long day this can feel like a chore, but since this is something you have to do anyway, why not make the most of it? Working to- gether to make dinner can help give them the attention they crave while also giving them some useful life skills. 2. Create a bedtime rou- tine. Wash faces and brush teeth together. Allow your child to pick out a book and read it together before call- ing it a night. 3. Eat dinner together (at the dinner table and without T V or technology). Dinner is often grabbing a burger at the drive-through or eating while sitting in front of the T V. While re- search from Columbia Uni- versity's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse found that having at least five family meals a week has a lot of bene- fits, there are other ways to spend quality time together over a meal. If you can't fit five weeknight dinners into everyone's schedule, plan to have a meal together on the weekend. 4. Do chores together. If your children have a list of chores to complete, pick a day of the week that isn't as chaotic and complete them together. This will help you bond with your child, help them learn to work with oth- ers and help you get through your checklist faster. Spending more quali- ty time with your kids isn't about reducing your work- load or increasing your splurging on events; it's about turning the minutes you get to spend with them into memorable moments. Quality time can occur when you least expect it; it can be as simple as having an en- gaging conversation about their day on the way to soc- To enter the Birthday Club, email your name, ad- dress, phone number and birthdate to birthdayclub@ pressdispatch.net. Only the person's name, town and birthday will appear in the paper. As an added bonus, one lucky person each month will receive a free prize from a local business and a free three month Press-Dispatch subscription. This month's birthdays have a chance to win a $25 gift certificate to Pott's Pines. THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS Diana Barnes ............................ Petersburg ..... 11/17 Greg Loveless ............................ Petersburg ..... 11/17 Rhonda Dillon ........................... Petersburg ..... 11/17 Dale Wiscaver ...........................Cannelburg ....11/20 Evelyn Montgomery ................. Oakland City ...11/20 Diann Martin .............................. Winslow .......11/20 Melanie Loveless Faulk .............. Petersburg .....11/21 Joann Cook ............................... Petersburg .....11/21 THIS MONTH'S SPONSOR Potts' Pines 4590 S. Royalty Rd., Winslow (North of Arthur, off Hwy 61) 812-789-5213 John Deere 60 in. cut diesel lawn mower, 2 Cras- man stand up tool boxes, lots of Crasman and Proto ratchets wrenches and sockets, Echo and Stihl chainsaws, Rigid pipe wrenches, Snap-On creeper, Snap-On clock, Snap-On screw driv - ers, several crescent wrenches, Ryobi drill and saw set, pliers, Honda powerwasher, crock, pocket knife, corn shellers, Dazey butter churn, Stevens .22 long rifle, Rugar .22 long rifle, metal outdoor chairs, cast iron patio set, wooden patio set, air compressor, wooden and aluminum ladders, long handle tools, heaters, fans, car ramps, jack, cast iron water pump, advertising thermometers, one bedroom set with dresser, chest of drawers, night stand, Tell City table and chairs, Tell City hutch, 2 curio cabinets, desk, couch, file cabinet, many sets of 50 state quarters, 1999- 2008 commemorate quarter sets, commemorative Keelboat nickel sets and many other coins, many binders full of baseball cards, 1970's sport pro - grams, pink and green Depression glassware, cut glass, calendar and state plates, chest freezer, por- celain-top table, Harley Davidson clock, 14-karat gold and sterling silver jewelry, and so much more! Auctioneer's note: is auction has very nice tools that are American-made. Items are in good condition. If there is bad weather, sale will be held indoors. Come spend the day and have fun! - Kaleb and Staff ESTATE OF DONALD BUTLER Terms and Conditions: Cash or approved check with proper I.D. All items are sold as is, where is. We are not responsible for accidents KALEB CLARIDGE AU11700062 Public Estate Auction Saturday, Nov. 18 at 10 a.m. EST 3688 E. CR 900 S, Stendal TOOLS • GUNS • COLLECTIBLES FURNITURE • COINS • GLASSWARE BASEBALL CARDS View photos on www.auctionzip.com 10 TH ANNIVERSARY AUCTION November 18 • 9 a.m. Watch website for listing and photos. Celebrating 10 Years for the Washington, IN location with ham & beans, cornbread & cash prizes. Expecting 150+ Vehicles Including state fleet vehicles with 2011 Dodge Charger, pick-up trucks, Jeep Libertys, cargo vans, passenger vans, Ford Taurus & more. Other items include 2011 Rockwood Camper with 3 slide-outs; Zetor 3340 4WD TRACTOR W/ 340 hours; Woods 10' foldup rotary mower; utility trailers; Scag Turf Tiger mower; 3 walk-behind mowers; The second auction ring will be selling the Estate of A.V. Grogan with one-owner GM pickup, Olds Ciera car with 32k miles; complete household, furniture and tools. Graber Auctions ~ 812-254-2220 Mark J. Graber - AU19400133 1382 S. State Rd. 257, Washington, IN • www.graberauctions.com Accepting Vehicle Consignment until ursday at 5 p.m. Equipment & Misc sell first… Vehicles will start selling at approx. 9:30 a.m. #320. Good rental property or fixer-upper. 613 S. 9th St., Peters- burg, 3 bedroom with hardwood floors, gas heat, full basement on city lot. $18,500. We Make It Personal! Warner Real Estate 11/15/17 Patricia Warner, Mng. Broker 812-582-1734 or 812-354-2867 Rhonda Dillon, Broker 812-354-5645 Kim Willett, Broker 812-766-0915 Corner of SR 61 and Prides Creek Road, Petersburg • 812-354-2867 WE NEED LISTINGS BAD! #1055. 1501 E. Walnut St., Petersburg Extra nice 2 bed- room bungalow, large living room and kitchen, range, refrigerator, washer, dryer, new gas furnace and A/C, water heater, new vinyl and carpet. 2 city lots, garage and half basement, 1,100 sq. ft, roofed 11x15 deck. Best of all, it's been reduced to $39,900! Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/WarnerRealEstate COMMERCIAL • RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE We're here to assist you find or sell your home and with loan assistance. #1019. 1202 E. Walnut St., Petersburg. Turn-of-the-century Victorian with large rooms an his- toric features. Upstairs apartment has 4 rooms, 1-2 bedrooms, 1 bath and separate entrance. Level 1 has 6 rooms, 2 bedrooms and 1 bath, living room has a fire- place. Both levels have hardwood and linoleum floors. Includes carports, garage, nice corner lot in town with flowers and shrubs, much remodeling has been done. $39,900. Priced below value! #1083. 2 parcels, 30 acres each. Perfect for hunters and camp- ers. Electric and water available, blacktop frontage, large amount of acreage is in water, well-stocked for fishing, some clearings, rest in woods. Build site ready. Also has 20 acres that are perfect for hunters, campers and homes. Call for details. Owner will entertain serious offers. #1079. 1 acre commercial building sites available on Prides Creek Road across from Prides Creek Subdivision. Includes wa- ter and electric. $10,000/acre. #319. 2 to 3 bedroom home on 2 acres with 2.5-car detached ga- rage adjacent to Prides Creek Golf Course on SR 61 S at the edge of Petersburg. Newer furnace and A/C, newer roof, nice potential to be remodeled, great location! #321. Bells Hill Corner on SR 57 S., Petersburg. An acre with side road access, home has newer roof, furnace and A/C, many pos- sibilities, even for development. Low $20,000s #322. 39 acres of commercial acreage on the edge of Peters- burg on SR 61 S. Close to I-69. SALE PENDING! SALE PENDING! See TIME on page 7