Something About Mary…
Mary actually appeared on the St. Germain scene in 1997 as
a special gift from Gail and Bob to Dave and Jude.
This was the second time she had made the trip between the two households.
Originally, Gail wrapped her up and presented her to Dave and Jude as a
“just because” gift. “Just
because” Gail didn’t like the truly unique one-of-a-kind recycled paper maché reindeer that she and Bob received from Dave and Jude as a
house warming gift!
Well, Mary spent several years on a shelf in Dave and Jude’s garage, watching
over the riding lawn mower and making sure the snow blower started.
Just waiting for the right occasion to return to Drexel Avenue.
So in January 1997, Dave and Jude bid Mary a fond farewell and gave her
back to Gail for her 30th birthday.
They were relieved… they knew she belonged in the more loving and
religious environment of Gail and Bob’s home.
They truly believed they had seen the last of her.
They were fools! In a brilliant and cunning move, Gail sent Mary along
with Bob to St. Germain that summer, brightly gift wrapped for Dave and Jude’s
wedding anniversary.
Dave and Jude were stunned. What to
do! If Mary stayed in their
cottage, could she keep the Jiffy Pop from burning?
Not likely, as that always seemed to be a direct result of operator
error. Could she keep the water
flowing in the shower? Well, she
tried, but she kept plugging the drain after falling head first off the top
ledge of the shower stall.
What to do about Mary? It was
decided she couldn’t stay; she needed peace and serenity and there was
certainly none of that to be found in Cottage No. 2!
So Jude brought her down to the beach.
She seemed happier there looking out over the water and watching the
swimmers. Jude was smarter than she
had been in the shower and duck taped Mary to the railing on top of the
boathouse. Mary didn’t seem to
mind, she seemed quite happy in fact. She
smiled down with sunshine on the swimmers all week.
Only once did a frown appear. She
didn’t seem to care much for the Boys Of Summer’s rendition of
“Margaritaville” and sent some clouds scurrying across the horizon.
Not a drop of rain though!
As the week ended the vacationers wanted to leave Mary in her place of honor on
top of the boathouse to watch over things until the following summer.
Unfortunately, the resort owners had other ideas.
Those Jackson’s have no sense of humor!
So that last afternoon on the beach much discussion ensued… what to do
about Mary. There was something
about her… the vacationers just couldn’t bring themselves to abandon her.
It was agreed that while she had kept the sun shining and the breezes warm, she
hadn’t done much to prevent a number of vacationers from making complete fools
of themselves. That got the beach
buzzing. What if there was a group
vote in the lodge the last night of vacation to single out the biggest jackass
of the week and make that person responsible for taking care of Mary until the
following summer. The winner (if
you would call it that) would also have the responsibility of returning Mary to
her perch on top of the boathouse on the first day of next year’s vacation
week. And so because there was just
something about Mary… a tradition was born.
