Martha Hardin
1815 W. Irving Blvd.
Irving, TX 75061
(972) 254-5845
marhar2@aol.com
I have been married to Dudley D. Hardin for 55 years
(1/1/46). When we moved to Irving in
1953, the population was about 1200 and new homes and shopping centers were just
beginning to be constructed. We bought our first new home, and have lived at
1815 W. Irving Blvd since 1955.
We had three daughters,
Vickie Ann, Rebecca Jane, and Mitzi Lou; eight grandchildren; and 5 great
grandchildren.
I retired in 1993 after 17
years with Sanger-Harris/Foley’s in Irving; after 37 years,Dudley retired from
Braniff Airways when he closed the company doors after the second shutdown in
February,1990. We are very fortunate in
that we have been able to travel the
world over, still love traveling and enjoying the wonderful lands, particularly
our own U.S. of A.
This is a snap shot of
our current “at home family” – Dudley, Myself, and our mini dachy, Tippi. She is so smart and Makes Us Laugh!
After I retired, I wanted to
do something to try to keep the ole’ gray matter from turning to stone, so I
bought a computer, took two classes at Northlake College, and then was lucky
enough to find about the computer group at Lively Park Senior Center. Lucy Hendy was the person who made me feel
so welcomed, then Betty Holland took me under her wing and hasn’t been able to
get rid of me since! Others have been
so very helpful and I just hope I have been able to respond in kind.
We have a fine bunch of
people in our Computers For Fun Class and I look forward to attending
every week.
We are particularly fortunate to have had Jere May, with all his
patience, coaching us along at our snail-paced capacity, for some months
now. Kudos to you, Jere!!
Someone from my
past that I would like to locate:
My best friend in the high school was Peggy Jean
Smith. We graduated from Texarkana, TX
High School in 1944, I went with her Mother that summer to take her to St.
Paul’s Nursing School in Dallas, where she studied and became a nurse. Through the war years following, I lost
track of her and would really like to be able to meet up with her again.
Favorite Pastime Activities
Other than my computer
pursuits and conquests, I love reading books of all kinds. Among my favorite authors: John Grisham,
Mary Higgins Clark, Danielle Steele, Sue Grafton (I have all of the last two
authors books and all but one of Grisham’s).
On my 70th birthday, one of my daughters gave me a
book that she said made her think of me and thought I would enjoy. The title is “When I am An Old Woman I
Shall Wear Purple” An anthology of Short Stories and Poetry edited by Sandra Martz and printed
by Paper-Mache Press. The first poem, “Warning”, by Jenny Joseph is my
favorite and is somewhat a multipart of me, myself & I.
When I am an old woman I
shall wear purple
With a red hat which doesn’t
go, and doesn’t suit me.
And I shall spend my pension
on brandy and summer gloves
And satin sandals, and say we
have no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the
pavement when I’m tired
And gobble up samples in
shops and press alarm bells
And run my stick along the
public railings
And make up for the sobriety
of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers
in the rain
And
pick the flowers in other peoples gardens
And
learn to spit.
You
can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
And
eat three pounds of sausage at a go
Or
only bread and pickle for a week
And
hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.
But
now we must have clothes that keep us dry
And
pay our rent and not swear in the street
And
set a good example for the children.
We
must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But
maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So
people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When
suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.
