Harris, Carole Benon (Nov 5, 1925 – May 8, 2000) by Kim Wheatley

Benon Wheatley by Kim Wheatley

I think most of us remember Mom's
creativity as evidenced by the writings of Benonymous. However, some of my
earliest and most regular memories of Mom are of her regularly exercising the logical
side of her brain.

I remember sitting on the arm of her
chair and watching her fill pages of numbers as she computed interest
compounding on the family investments. She would patiently explain to me that
the service station generated about $500 per month in income and sometimes the
farm made money too. Then we had to meet the family expenses, but always
keeping some to save for our family's future…and then here is how compound
interest works…

Then there were the crossword
puzzles, always in ink, and the jigsaw puzzles, the tougher the better. When
Nichole and Raegan were growing up, going to grandmas always meant puzzles and
intellectual stimulation.

So now I look back on Mom as having
a mind pretty well balanced between creativity and logic, something she tried
her best to transfer to all of her kids and grandkids.