The Anglican Digest--Hillspeaking

PERKY! Perky?

perky, adj. 1. Having a buoyant or self-confident air; briskly, cheerful. 2. jaunty, sprightly. — The American Heritage Dictionary of The English Language, 4th Ed.

perky, adj. 1. self-confident, aggressive; 2. gay or lively; saucy, jaunty. — New World Dictionary of American English, 3rd College Ed.

Why all this fuss about a word? Well, for one thing, perky has always been one of my favorite words, but, primarily, perky, in this case, is not just a word. Perky was a person. I never met Perky but I am sure I would have enjoyed the experience. I do not know if Perky was a man or a woman, but I suspect she was a grandmother, and a very much loved and treasured grandmother. She might well have been called Granny Perky by her grandchildren.

I picture her with white hair, she wore glasses, maybe with a bit of a stoop, but lively as all get out. I see her in a rocking chair, her favorite chair, snapping green beans for dinner or perhaps peeling and coring apples for a pie for dessert. Probably talking to one of her granddaughters about how things were when she was a little girl or perhaps helping a grandson with his homework and reminiscing about the differences in what she learned in school and what her grandchildren are now learning.

All of this is conjecture of course. My only contact with and knowledge of Perky comes from a single brick in the Hillspeak Memorial. The brick:

PERKY
1926-1947-2006

is the full extent of my knowledge of her, but I take it to mean that she was born in 1926, married in 1947 (after her husband-to-be came home from WWII, perhaps), and died in 2006 at the age of 80, greatly loved and mourned. We Hillspeakers have no other information about her. The application was signed “Anon Y. Mous”! The remittance was in cash. Somewhere, somebody (or somebodies) wanted to be sure the passer-by would know that Perky lived a full life, was loved, and is remembered fondly by those who were fortunate enough to have lived with her.

Another enigmatic brick, coincidentally right beside Perky’s, reads:

ANNIE
MAGOO
MBA - 2007

Is Annie Magoo her real name? And by whatever name, is she making good use of that MBA? I’ll not conjecture on that one.

Who were the friends who gave rise to this brick?

FOR A FRIEND
FROM A FRIEND
SHALOM

FOR PEG A SWEET,
WONDERFUL FRIEND

FOUNDED FIRST
FILIPINO ECUSA
CONGREGATION
IN HAWAII 1959

Most of the bricks in the memorial are straight forward in their wordings, paying tribute to those living and those departed, but some few excite our curiosity.

And last, but certainly not least, Hillspeak’s “official greeter” is remembered

GODFREY
DANIELS!
1996-2008

Godfrey, Hillspeak’s “official greeter” for those years is no longer here to do the honors, but the red carpet still leads to the front door of the Twin Barns — and while you are here you just might walk up to the Hillspeak Memorial to say hello to Perky.