Although this issue arrives on the newsstand near Valentine’s Day, I have a different holiday on my mind. A long-ago mystery was solved this week—a May Day mystery.
For several years now, as May 1st rolled around I have wondered about the identity of the person who quietly left a May Day basket on my door— in 2004.
After finding the cute little May basket on my basement door, I wrote a column about the mystery, thinking the person who left it would feel compelled to confess. Theydid not.
I listed a number of people, including my daughter-inlaw Michele who actually found the May Basket. But she seemed as surprised as I was so I ruled her out.
I questioned other friends and they all seemed innocent. They all had fond memories of delivering May baskets, though. I think they were jealous that I had received one.
As weeks went by and then months, I forgot about the mysterious May Basket. Until May 1st drew near. Every year, it made me wonder who had secretly placed the pretty little May basket on my door. And every year it made me smile.
No one ever came forward to confess—until today.
I received a call from a neighbor on County Road 7. Her son and I rode the school bus together. She called to let me know that he now lives in the city and that he misses the stars. She said she clipped a copy of my recent “starry, starry, night” column and sent it to him because she thought he would enjoy it.
Then she said she had just found another column of mine that she had saved for several years. It was in a box of Red Hatter Club things that she was packing up. Sadly, I learned that the Cook County Red Hatter Club has decided to no longer meet. We talked about the end of the Red Hatters for awhile.
And then, she started to chuckle. She said the column she found tucked away in her Red Hatter box was about my May Day mystery. She laughed and said it was about time to
fess up. She was the one who had delivered the May Day basket to my door!
May Baskets were a Red Hatter Club project in 2004. The Red Hatters had gathered with their fancy paper and scissors and appliqués and Red Hatter stickers and crafted lovely little baskets to share with friends and neighbors. As she was heading home from the event, my neighbor decided to brighten my day with one of her creations.
Now that I finally know who dropped off the fun little goodie basket, I can say a proper thank you. Thanks, Gloria, you made my May Day.
Happy Valentine’s Day to you!
Theexcellence of a gift lies in its
appropriateness rather than in
its value.
Charles Dudley Warner
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