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Buckeye Hunting

I had an article printed in this past Monday's newspaper about the importance of volunteering in the community. You can read it here.

The online version of the paper is read by people all over the country who like to keep tabs on their home town, and yesterday I got an email from one of those people who now lives in California. Actually, I'm not sure where the man is from, but he has a 92-year-old father-in-law who has moved to California after living here for 87 years, and the man longs for something from home. The elderly man has a hankering for buckeyes, a local nut.

People in Ohio call themselves Buckeyes, like people from Indiana are Hoosiers. I'm not sure what a hoosier is, but this is what a buckeye looks like:

You can find them on ground around the buckeye trees they fall from. There is also a candy version made with peanut butter coated with chocolate that is pretty popular, but the guy wants the real thing. He lives in an assisted living situation, and he likes to pass out these nuts as a way to strike up a conversation with strangers and tell them about his home town. Last year he gave out over 100 of them.

When my father was elderly, before Alzheimer's took over, he used to use the smallest thing to strike up a conversation or crack a joke. He got the biggest laugh, even if it was his own, when he would be finished with a piece of chewing gum and say, "Know why I threw that out? Because I done chewed the hell out of it." Bah ha ha. When I picture this elderly man from Ohio reaching into his pocket for a buckeye and offering it to someone so he can tell them about the home he misses so much, I remember my father and those corny jokes and one-liners, and I can't help but do what I can to give this man the prop he needs to make friends.

When I wrote about volunteering, scrounging around looking for nuts on the ground wasn't what I had in mind, but I can't see saying "no" to this request that I gather a pile and ship them out west. So, now I have to go buckeye hunting.

Comments

Anonymous said…
That's awesome! Why not call the local horticulture people (whoever they are) and find the nearest buckeye trees? You're a good egg, friend!
PF
8:40 AM
dive said…
What a lovely story, Robyn.
Go for it. Surprise the old guy with a box of buckeyes.
8:41 AM
Shan said…
What a sweet thing to do. I love recalling loved ones words like your fathers. Makes me think of my long gone most precious grandpa. He had such a whimsical way about him...sniff.

I had NO IDEA you could actually eat buckeyes-baha. A friend of mine brought a bowl of them to me once so I put them on a table as a decoration. They are so neat looking and fun to hold.

My grandma has always made peanut butter bon bons but a friend of mine told me they were buckeyes last year. I'm not sure if I've been purposely sheltered from them all this time or what but I enjoyed your story and this recent awakening nonetheless! :)
10:30 AM
Neponset River Bridge Dig said…
Looks kinda like a chestnut.
11:10 AM
Shazza said…
That's a great story! Happy Buckeye hunting!
1:20 PM
Maria said…
That made me mist up a bit. I kept picturing this lonely fella handing out buckeyes...
7:32 PM
RoverHaus said…
So sweet of you. (I know, I know, you would rather be called thoughtful than sweet.)

But you are sweet!
10:45 AM
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