Steve Stricker

By Steve Stricker

Columnist

 

To quote my hero mother, Gert – “No woman would put up with all that stuff!”  Well, when I said, My Stuff, “stuff” refers to all my treasures!  Each and every item I have is priceless to me and each has its own very long and personal story as to how I acquired it and would take me neigh until forever to voice, leaving the fascinated listener an emotional wreck! 

Oh, the day leaving Ft. Monroe, VA, finally officially detached from Uncle Sam’s Army that he nastily drafted me into against my will, heading home in my 1967 Firebird Pontiac with everything I owned to Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) to obtain my first master’s degree courtesy that old uncle; wow! Did I ever earn it.  No way! 

One of my first things obtained at SEMO, was trading that ’67 Firebird that I never liked, for a new off the showroom floor 1971 MGB-GT that I still have. Then, suddenly, job, marriage, another master’s at SEMO, three sons, divorce, move to Oxford for my Ph.D. in Counseling…in a U-Haul truck with stuff I had accumulated into a two bedroom, POC paper thin walls apartment that I more than totally hated!  

Then, two more apartment changes. All the while working at Ole Miss in various positions, on my Ph.D., and after eight years of taking no more than two classes a semester, I was hooded by hero Chancellor Khayat on my Birthday, May 10, 1997. 

While working on my doctorate, served as the Coordinator of Graduate Records in the Graduate School for five years where my good work caught the attention of hero Dr. Del Hauley and shortly after obtaining my Ph.D., hired me as the Director of MBA Career Services and undergrad teacher in the School of Business Administration.  The salary increase was substantial and enabled me to purchase my home where I am typing this in August 2000.  Whew. 

At that time, I had my double bed from home and my youth, daddy’s easy chair, our old couch, some of the treasures accumulated thus far, my first new box TV after the divorce weighing in at an elephant’s weight, and that was about it. 

Gert died four days after her 95th birthday, on February 10, 2008, and my three older sisters said take whatever you want from the house. So, down with me came their twin single beds that I pushed together and turned into one King size bed, matching a beautiful Mahoney, piano, China cabinet full of G’s things. chest of drawers, top drawer as she left it, her things, her smell (whew) dining table, chairs, sewing machine, rocking chair, end tables, other tables and chairs, and her Sanyo box TV that was already old at that time, is in my office next to me now, still works, and had outlasted several of my new Samsung TV’s, kitchen things, and other stuff. 

And there were things along the way after moving into my new house such as the beautiful 4-drawer quarter-sawed oak file cabinet that Gert got for me when St. Henry’s had a” yard sale” and is just behind me right now. And my grandaddy’s and dads old wonderful walnut desk that my computer is sitting on as I type, and another old swell oak desk, my work desk, that was thrown out by a school in Charleston.    

And I have a large, framed mirror and table, huge vase, and few other things that broken engagement Scottish fiancée couldn’t ship home. As an accumulator of curb stuff – have bookcases that I refinished to shelf my many periodicals, lamps and so many other things.  Then fill in with ALL the wee stuff, rare from my dad, G’s, my childhood, and oh yeah – my garage full of tools on earth!   

All in all, a stranger (family) looking at my stuff would say it was junk.  But to me, these are warm treasures, close to my heart, and I am the richest man alive. House is full, so have to shut my eyes to all the wonderful stuff y’all put out on the curb….