Safe For Another Day

Every morning I read the obituaries from a select number of sources.  You might think that is a bit strange for morning reading, but as the old joke says, "just checking to see if I am in them."  Actually I do it for geneology research.  This one in the Greensboro News and Record Newspaper for Artola "Artie" Marie Johnson Meyland really grabbed my attention.  Pretty much sums up life:

GREENSBORO Once strong hands now rickety with age Once keen eyes now wild with uncertainty and dismay A body once lithe, now pale and frail Such is life for the aged nearing the transition Like a wave rolling onshore reaches its high water mark And then slowly draining down the beach to rejoin the vast waters Flotsam of time. Artie was a native of Idaho when few people could make that claim. She was born in Payette County on January 20, 1921, and raised in the small farming town of Fruitland, a stone's throw west of Boise. She made her way to North Carolina after meeting and marrying a young B-29 navigator, A. L. "Gus" Meyland, during World War II. After a stint in post-war Chapel Hill, she and Gus came to Greensboro with a baby (daughter Sarah J. Meyland, J.D.) in tow and another (A. Leger Meyland III) on the way. She settled into family life in Greensboro and added a third child (Roger M. Meyland) to the pack while living next to other postwar couples in Kirkwood. She is survived by her children. For 71 years, Artie called Greensboro home, a happy place to live, raise a family and make friends. She played bridge in the bridge club, raised flowers in the garden club, cheered on the UNC Tar Heels and went to the beach. She switched her kids when they needed switching and hugged them when they needed hugging. She was a mother and a wife. She loved spending summers in the family's cottage on the shores of the Pamlico River and it pained her greatly when she could no longer make the trip down East. A member of the Mayflower Society, she outlived her husband and her many great friends, but never forgot them. She died on May 13, 2017. The family would like to thank the staff at Cone Hospital, Abbotswood and Beacon Place for the care they gave Artie. She was interred in Green Hill Cemetery at a private, family graveside service. Online condolences may be offered at www.forbisanddick.com. Forbis & Dick North Elm Street Chapel is assisting the family.

Besides her poor taste in college basketball teams, I think she is someone I would enjoyed talking to.  Rest in Peace Artie.