Huber

Funeral Home & Cremation Services

952-474-9595

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952-443-9888

Victoria’s Corner Bar.  Nightly Specials and Menus.  952-443-9944

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Call Nan Emmer.  612-702-2020

Weinzierl

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8 First Street in Waconia.  952-442-2885

Preschool and Childcare in Victoria. 

Call 952-443-2121.

MVT Excavating

No job is too small.  952-446-9341

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Located at www.VictoriaGazette.com.

952-443-2808

Specialized assisted living for those

with memory challenges. 

Victoria.  952-908-2215

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The Victoria

GAZETTE

From the Editor

         When I received the call that Germaine died, the sudden and unexpected news cracked me like a whip.  It stung.  It produced an outcry of deep anguish.  Germaine died?  What?  No, not Germaine.

         It’s often said that we are fortunate to have a small handful of real friends in our lifetime.  Germaine was one of those friends for me.  I am very fortunate.  We connected almost immediately, in an unspoken way at first, sort of like with Maureen Bonner and Ancsa in my feature story this month. 

         This may sound crazy to you, but I believe each of us is surrounded by an electrical field which gives energy to others or takes energy from others.  Germaine gave me energy and brightened my days.  It was always good to be in her company.  I will be missing her terribly.

         Germaine brought me laughter, a great gift that cannot be wrapped and placed under the Christmas tree.  Her comments and commentaries seemed to be always striking my funny bone.  Yes, I eventually began to record them and put them in the Gazette -- where they struck many other funny bones -- but that didn’t start until 1995.  By that time I had already been laughing with Germaine for 15 years. 

         You know that if things like that aren’t written down immediately -- a troublesome task for the most part -- they’re usually forgotten or covered over with a new day.  But I was compelled to share this funny friend with others.

         So I collected Germaine’s sayings on the back of my bank deposit slips and the back of empty check blanks and napkins and paper scraps, anything at hand.  I didn’t carry a notebook, and still don’t.  Some kind of journalist I am. 

         At the end of the month I gathered the quotes from various corners of my pockets and purses and sat by the fire with a pen in hand to write my retorts.  More rounds of laughter echoed through my house and bounced off the walls as I envisioned Germaine’s reaction upon publication.  To this day I’m not positive of her affection for the notoriety it brought her, but she retained affection for me, and continually forgave me, so it couldn’t have been too bad.

         Among other things, Germaine and I had Victoria City Government and the St. Victoria Choir in common.  In 1980 Germaine sat at the front desk at city offices and she sat in the front row at choir. 

         Germaine was Clerk for the City of Victoria for 20 years and Recording Secretary at all city council meetings.  Since I also spent some time at city offices and city council meetings, gathering scoop for the Gazette, Germaine and I saw each other often and could talk easily about the same issues and happenings in Victoria -- her old hometown and my new hometown.

         Germaine was a member of the St. Victoria Catholic Church and sang for years in the choir.  Since I also spent time at church and at choir, playing the piano and organ and even directing the choir for several years, Germaine and I saw each other often and could talk easily about the same issues and happenings at St. Victoria -- her old parish and my new parish.

         Something else I saved from Germaine these past 30 years, this in her own handwriting, on a slip of paper now fragile and worn, is a prayer she handed to me one time as she got into my car in front of her house.  We were often coming and going somewhere and traveled much together, sometimes far, mostly wide.

         The prayer is still in my zippered pouch that goes wherever I go.  The paper on which Germaine used her perfect penmanship may be disintegrating, but the prayer remains strong and fresh.

       “We sometimes pray for someone we love who is in need, whom we are not able to help.  In that spirit we can turn to God, put the whole situation into His care and say, ‘Oh, God, who knowest everything and whose love is perfect, take this life into Thine Hand, and do what I long to do but cannot.’”

         I believe that sentiment, that prayer, gave Germaine much solace throughout her life, as she dealt with the human condition, and explains, at least in part, why she could so easily laugh and bring laughter to others.  Germaine had given difficult or impossible situations to God, and that left a large amount of space for joy.

         And besides all of that, she loved me.  It is difficult to lose the people you love and especially when they’ve loved you back.  I will always miss you, Germaine, good friend of mine.

December 2009