“These Foolish Things…..”

My high school sweater,
still with my pins,
only fits in my memory.

There are so many foolish things that prompt a bow from nostalgia. As were many in my small prairie community, I was a member of a 4-H Club in high school. Head - Hands - Heart - Head. The four H’s  were the focus of these clubs spread across North America. Most members were active in the Beef Club or the Grain Club. Smells and sounds of cattle and fairgrounds are not so foolish. Waving wheat and the beautiful smell of fresh turned soil in the spring pass us by without much notice. Making mitred corners with fresh clean sheets or setting a dinner table for friends is just part of ordinary housework. Those little things were our lessons in the 4-H Homecraft Club. How to set the table for Sunday dinner with forks and knives placed correctly. The knives, to the right of the plate must have the blade toward the plate edge. Whether cloth or paper, napkins were to be placed to the left of the plate, providing a bed for the fork. 

When Ella Fitzgerald sings the romantic song “These foolish things that remind me of you’, I am reminded of many things. The romance of home and the fun I had going to the Provincial Fair in Regina with several 4-H members from different communities. Sleeping on the floor of our exhibit, and loving the community of young people learning about home and agriculture. I don’t remember what exhibit we Homecrafter’s had to present. Maybe it was a doll’s bed, a place setting or some home canned vegetables. Oh my, I just about forgot……there was an exchange trip to Helena, Montana on a big yellow school bus with 4-H members, also from different communities. We were away for a week, billeted with different families and it was rodeo time at the County Fair! Teenage crushes flourished on that trip, but withered away once we were each in our own communities.

Those foolish things are still with me each time I make my bed. Each time I set a place even for myself. (When I started in nursing school after high school, I had already mastered the mitred corners.) Remembering ‘these foolish things’ ~ like a sharply folded bed sheet or properly placed cutlery ~ has cheered me on for decades. 

“Oh, how the ghost of you clings!

These foolish things remind me of you.”

~ ‘These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You) ~

Written in 1936 

Lyrics by Eric Maschwitz

Music by Jack Strahey and Harry Link

Credits from Wikipedia.