Mourning Deb Hunter, waredrobe changes, shopping stories, and the birds
By Chuck Wiser, I write the words to share what my eyes see and my heart feels
As I manage to get older and continue on my journey around the Sun on a daily basis, altogether too many friends these days aren’t going with me. One more old friend, Deborah (Deb) Hunter has left us physically but her memory still lingers on.
Deborah K. Hunter, 77, of Rushford Lake, died peacefully at home on Friday, August 15, 2025, surrounded by her family. She was born December 10, 1947, in Cuba, NY, the daughter of the late Donald and Doris (Perkins) Washburn. On February 14, 1970, she married Robert B. Hunter, who predeceased her on November 17, 2002.
Friends may call at J.W. Embser Sons Funeral Home of Belmont, 17 Schuyler Street, on Thursday, August 21, 2025, from 2:00 – 4:00 and 6:00 – 8:00 PM and on Friday, August 22, 2025, from 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM, with a memorial service following at 1:00 PM. Rev. Carol Stewart will officiate. Private burial will be in Forest Hills Cemetery, Belmont. Memorials may be made to Caneadea Dam at Rushford Lake Fund. To leave your condolences online please visit www.embserfuneralhome.com .
In the 60’s the Cuba “girls” seemed more glamorous to us than did the Friendship girls. Perhaps it was that “extreme” distance of about 10 miles that enhanced our “minds eye” beauty of them. Deb grew up in Cuba and certainly was one of them. Most recently Deb and former Friendship resident Bill Hamilton had reconnected via her home on Rushford Lake and shared many memorious days together.
Deb had also been a fellow member of the Genesee Valley Chorus and added her sweet voice to the blend of music shared with so many over the years of her membership.
RIP Deb💕
At the risk of continuing too far on the “morbid,” I am blessed to put my feet on the floor upon awakening each of these precious days. Way too many of my childhood friends have not been so fortunate. Don’t get me wrong. If they were suffering or in pain, then they likely welcomed the escape. I have written previously about the passing of my more recent “adult life” best friends, and I honor their memory. I count my blessings daily, and among which are their memories.
The rest of today’s Wramblings will consist of notes taken from my traveling notebook and recalled events. I continue to have correspondence with my three most recent friend acquisitions via golf tournaments, emails and Facebook messages. My sign off invitation to contact me pays rewards that are meaningful and appreciated.
My self indulged “Hide and Seek” adventures continue, primarily, with searching for my glasses. Fortunate I would be if they were in fact pushed up on my forehead. They are seldom there.
Most often they are in a pocket somewhere, and even as I write this while wearing my “reading only” glasses, I reached into my housecoat pocket and there was my other “all purpose” pair.
Through the course of a day I often go through two or three “apparel” switches. Outdoor garden and lawn work gets one wardrobe; Going out and about on an Olean/Walmart shopping trip gets another; and just lounging around inside the house gets another. At any one time, any one of those three might hide my glasses. On a somewhat related note, men’s clothing “pants” these days are made with a “handy-dandy” side leg, narrow, “deep” pocket just right for a cell phone or glasses case. All of this could have been avoided if I wasn’t “so damned cheap!” As I’ve mentioned previously, when I had Cataract surgery (more on that in a bit) I was given the options of; a) correcting one vision impairment for reading, b) one vision correction for distance vision, or a third which corrected all of the above but which had a price tag of nearly $4000. Some say frugal and some say cheap, but I didn’t feel like I could afford the full spread so settled for having far vision correction thinking that I could put glasses on to read. Big mistake!
Cataract surgery, supposedly, is a one-time cure all. I contest that, as my vision has deteriorated somewhat and I’m finding that I need glasses also for long distance viewing, especially if my “eyes are tired.” I had read that the vision correction made via lens insertion could be re-done if needed, but my eye surgeon would not even consider that. I guess “four eyes” is the way I will remain. Actually, my wife told me that I looked better with my glasses on than off. I must admit…she too looks better when I have my glasses on 💕.
Given the threat (or reality) of memory loss I continue to exercise my brain as I travel the roads between Scio and Olean on my frequent visits. Walmart isn’t the only attraction, as Olean also features a Home Depot, Harbor Freight, Applebee’s, and many more that draw my purchasing power. On my last road trip following the old Hinsdale/Maplehurst Road into Cuba and then Friendship I passed the near right angle corner that used to pass by Happy’s Inn, and then continuing onward toward Friendship it passed by what was once the Weblew Inn. I still name or recall various other features on the road like the Steenrod Road off County Rte. 20. My high school buddy Jim Bliss, from whom I learned a lot about hunting, fishing and “stalking game,” lived on the upper end of that road and, not yet driving, I would go to see him by walking all the way up it. I was usually able to catch a ride from Nile into Friendship but the trek up Steenrod was still quite a jaunt.
In my later teen years when driving was possible, I would use my mother’s car, a ’63 Corvair, and drive around many of those rural, or remote, roads, often stupidly trying the off-road racing tricks of power drifting around the corners. I had some near misses but was fortunate. Since racing was in our family as my Stepdad Paul Miles was a stock car driver piloting the 8Jr car it only seemed natural to try the same antics albeit with my mother’s road car. Again, as previously mentioned I cannot travel Rte.31 between Friendship and Nile without thinking about the former Stop Sign at the top of East Hill, as what is now 31A must have been the primary road at that time.
Having just finished a “recall attempt” and reminding my wife that she suggested; “You ought to write about that” we finally did recall that it involved the current Tops store eCoupon trend.
Tops has some pretty good produce sales and fairly recently have implemented the use of “eCoupons.” On my most recent Tops visit I wanted to try and use the eCoupon to make a purchase. But, although having used it once a year or so ago, I couldn’t remember how to do it. The self checkouts weren’t terribly busy at that time so I asked the Manager nearby to explain it to me. I wish I could remember her name but she is recognizable by her pretty blonde hair and charming smile. Anyway, she explained that you scanned the coupon with your “Smartphone” and saved it and you could then enter your bonus card number and the eCoupon would be added to your card for use at the checkout. These days it seems that everyone has or uses, a Smartphone. I do have one, but its primary use is only as a phone, and more recently as my mobile camera. I find that it is very useful if I see something (while driving) that I would like to share and it is very useful given that it can be a direct link to internet access.
My Grammar Grin or Groan for the day came to mind the other day as I saw the words humerus bone noted in an article. My initial thought was that it didn’t describe anything humorous in that: “The humerus is the long bone in the upper arm, extending from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects with the scapula (shoulder blade) at the shoulder joint and with the radius and ulna (forearm bones) at the elbow joint. The humerus plays a crucial role in arm movement and provides attachment points for muscles and tendons.” No humor in that.
And the “Humer” word then elicits thoughts about the “hummers” that are very active on the juice feeders these days. The hummingbirds are the only migratory birds still in our area with the exception of a few “hanging on” female Grosbeaks. We did see one male Grosbeaks last week but other than that, the only Grosbeaks remaining seem to be a few adults and several 1st year fledglings. The very young Grosbeak males very closely resemble the looks of a female Grosbeak so at first are difficult to differentiate. As they mature the breast begins to turn a golden color then gradually progresses into the frontal Necktie looking breast.
August 13th has come and gone again this year, reminding me of my military enlistment in 1963. Fresh out of high school at 17 years old I followed the pattern of my cousin Richard (Dick) Searl and enlisted in the US Navy. The reason I mention that again is my recall of one of my more memorable “Boot Camp” adventures. As the chosen Recruit Petty Officer in Charge of our bootcamp company I did something that “ticked off” our Company Commander. He admonished me to “hit the deck and give me 50.” (50 Pushups was the norm). As I commenced to do that, I said something more to irritate him even further and he said, “Straighten up Wiser or I’ll put this size 8-1/2 right “up your ass.”” Not yet smart enough to quit while I was ahead, I looked up at him and said, “Is that your shoe size or your hat size sir ?”
The push ups were increased and made a little harder to do as he rested his foot (size 8-1/2 I guess) in the middle of my back pushing down as I tried to push up.
We had a fine relationship after that, and I was a little more respectful (or fearful maybe).
As I reach the end of this Wrambling I again offer the invite for you to contact me at im.wiserdad@gmail.com with any questions, comments or concerns. Thanks very much to those folks that did so as I mentioned earlier. We now have established continued communications.
