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Southern Oregon Journal: Celebrating chocolate mint and Uncle Dick Sunday Feb 19, 2017 at 12:01 AM By Peggy Dover for the Mail Tribune I may as well confide that 2017 hasn’t exactly set a high-water mark for me thus far. I’d just begun stowing the Christmas decor alongside the emotions connected with a quiet house, when I received an email saying that I’d lost my agent. This happened about the time my back laid me low again — too many hours trying to work from a seated position, is my best guess. Then another birthday tweaked my nose while I was down. But those letdowns pale in comparison with the recent passing of my Uncle Dick (Larry Dover). He was a wonderful man and ready to move on after a long and meaningful life. I’m happy for him and a little envious of his new freedom, but you can bet I’ll miss him and his ready wit in the times to come. Uncle Dick left me with a virtual encyclopedia of examples on how to handle disappointment and tragedy. His last few years with us, the ones where his body but not his spirit was chair-bound, and when he literally woke up singing, may have been the most heroic of his life. So, among the storehouse of wisdom from which I can now draw forever, one principle he embodied was to live on the bright side. Now it’s time to try to celebrate something. Just a small reason to move out from under the shadows and expect the sun. Since Valentine’s Day is for lovers and is past anyway, I consulted a reliable online source for a reason to celebrate Feb. 19. Turns out today is Chocolate Mint Day — ho-hum enough for you? I knew I was in trouble, spree-wise, when the corresponding recipe of the day was arugula with nutmeg. I’m not making this up. What’s sad is, I’m going to try it. Enjoying a heaping helping of spiced arugula for dinner leaves practically unlimited calories open for all things chocolate minty. What is there besides thin mints and ice cream? If chocolate mint doesn’t light your burner, never fear. Tomorrow promises gaiety unconfined. Northern Hemisphere Hoodie-Hoo Day comes around every 20th of February. Be sure to use a good antiperspirant, because NHHH Day is the one day of the year when you go outdoors at noon, raise your arms over your head, and shake them about while chanting, “Hoodie-Hoo.” This action is designed to clear the winter blahs and bring on spring. It’s also sure to clear a fairly wide swath of family and co-workers from your immediate vicinity. Whoever devised this exercise had been a little too long tucked inside, smoking strange leaves and hunkering away from sunlight, I suspect. Anyway, what have you got to lose but self-respect? Two or three naive vultures have already returned to Big Piney, their warm-weather roost. Their appearance, and outcroppings of lavender croci, prompted me to rise from my ice pack and toss out the browning, previously festive wreath. I unwound false greenery from the porch railings since the real stuff is staging a comeback. I’ve resumed walking, while listening to and being bullied by the wind, when it grabbed my cap and made me sprint after it. A few cold drops penetrated my sweater. I am alive, and that is worth a day’s celebration. I do plan to see my book published, regardless of the lack of foresight exhibited by the big daddy publishers who had their noses turned upward in advance. Look for a summer release. I believe in the story and so did my agent. My characters, Eunice in particular, demand an audience. Besides, it’s not in the family DNA to quit before the job is finished. Thank you, Uncle Dick, for living life with a song in your heart and for showing us how to press on. — Peggy Dover is a freelance writer living in Eagle Point. Email her at [email protected].