My daughter says that I shouldn’t watch and read so much news because it tends to make me agitated. I guess she’s right.

Well, there’s always gonna’ be plenty of stuff to worry about and whatever transpires, life goes on, right? Of course, right!

Besides, the creator of the universe counsels us not to worry about tomorrow. Good advice!

I once knew a lady named Gloria who, though she’d been through a daunting amount of hardship and heartache, would always remark with a little smile, “Well, life goes on.” Nowadays, you don’t seem to come across many folks like this remarkable person. Most have gone on to much greener pastures, God bless ‘em!

Gloria was 15 years old when her mother died in the great flu epidemic of 1918-1919. She had four younger sisters and baby brother. Like many in that era, her father owned a small farm.

Almost immediately, she assumed all of the duties of running the household — cooking, cleaning, caring for the younger siblings and her father as best she could. Gloria would sometimes reminisce about those times when she was grief-stricken, but had to keep going — being exhausted, but having to sew or shell peas even when sitting for a moment on the porch away from the hot cook stove.

“I’d cry so much that I’d get the clothes I was sewin’ or the peas I was shellin’ all wet with my tears, but life goes on, you know.”

She stayed and worked on that farm until each of her sisters and brother had completed their schooling and was married. Then when about 35, she met and married a man with whom she had a baby girl. About two years later when she was pregnant with another child, her husband became ill and died. This was in the midst of the Great Depression and she had little or no money for food or rent. She moved in with her sister who lived in a large plantation house on Edisto Island. There she stayed and soon gave birth to a baby boy. She said that she hated taking charity from her family, but she would say with that same little smile, “Life goes on, and I had two little children to think about.”

Shortly after her marriage, Gloria had met her brother’s father-in-law. His wife had died some years before and he had accompanied them when his daughter and new son-in-law had came on a visit from Pennsylvania, where they all lived. Her husband and this man liked each other immediately, spending many hours in amiable conversation. Thereafter they would exchange letters continuing their discussions about many subjects.

After Gloria’s husband’s death, her brother’s “Yankee” father-in-law kept writing, but now to her.

After some months of this correspondence, he suggested that, perhaps, they might consider getting married. He had a home, a good job and they were both lonely after having lost their respective mates. After many letters discussing the pros and cons of this proposal, Gloria finally agreed. He sent travel money and Gloria boarded a train with her baby boy, little girl and their few possessions for the 700-mile trip and a great scary adventure into … who knows what?

Gloria and “Claude” were married soon after her arrival and soon they were deeply in love. In due course, they had a boy and a girl of their own.

“Well, I knew Claude was a very good man,” Gloria would say with that same little smile, “besides, times were hard, I was desperate and, anyway, you know, life goes on.”

Incidentally, Gloria was my wonderful, resourceful, adventurous mother, and I’m the boy who was born to Gloria and Claude — the two most loving, faithful people I have ever known. Life is still going on.

T&D Columnist Rush Button can be reached by e-mail at buttonrl@aol.com or by phone at 803-534-3724. His column appears every Tuesday.

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