Lorna Doone is a historical romance novel that was written by R.D. Blackmore, and was first published in 1869. To be perfectly honest, that’s about all I really know about it. I do have, however, some very fond memories of a different Lorna Doone, and its place in my past, and present. Back in the days of growing up at 92 Bowen St. in Jamestown, Saturday mornings were planned out for us, before we could plan anything else. On some Saturdays, my brother Lou and I had Altar Server (Knights of the Altar) meetings at St. James Church, and after coming home we each found a note from mom (more a list, than a note), not of all the things she loved us for, though she did love us a lot, but a “to do” list of chores we had to finish before we could go out, or turn on the TV, or whatever we chose to do for the rest of our Saturday.

Sandy, Cathy, and Aunt Rosalie got to start on their chores before Lou and I got home, but as was the routine on Saturdays, we had had to complete our assigned tasks before doing anything else.

Sometimes after our tasks were done, we’d go out and do things with friends, and if the weather was lousy or we didn’t have any plans with friends, we turned on the television and caught up on some of our favorite Saturday programs.

Usually, cartoons were on in the early part of Saturday morning.

There was the Bugs Bunny Hour, the Huckleberry Hound and Friends Show, Johnny Quest, The Beatles Cartoon Show, Alvin and the Chipmunks (with scientist Clyde Crashcup), and a few others we enjoyed watching. Around 11:00 am, the live people/animal shows came on, programs like Fury, Flipper, My Friend Flicka, and my favorite, Sky King.

The cartoon programs of Saturday mornings were usually accompanied by commercials involving breakfast cereals, both cold (Snap, Crackle, Pop!, They’re Grrrreat!+”) and warm (“Nothing is better for thee, than me.”, and “I want my Maypo!”) or milk additions that would change the flavor of milk to chocolate or strawberry (Remember Farfel’s, “N-E-S-T-L-E-S, Nestle’s makes the very best…Chocolate”). The later in the day shows with real people and smart animals, were usually sponsored by Nabisco, and advertised mostly store bought cookies, one of those being Lorna Doone.

Mom really didn’t go much for store bought cookies, but if she did, it was usually Oreos. Mom was a baker, so much of our cookie, cake, and other dessert selections came from the oven at 92 Bowen St. Every so often she would come home with a package of Lorna Doones, and that’s where I first tasted them. It was definitely, “love at first bite.” There was something about not only the taste, but the texture and sweetness of the shortbread type cookies, and though we didn’t have them often, it was one of my favorite non-homemade cookies. Mom sometimes supported family or neighborhood kids selling Girl Scout Cookies, and she sometimes bought a box of the Shortbread cookies they sold, and though they were good, they weren’t quite equal to a Nabisco Lorna Doone.

Fast forward to my eighteenth birthday, when I became eligible to donate Blood at the Red Cross, and though I recollect more, the beginning of my donations being after I turned twenty, I do remember my first donation and the 15 minute period following the filling of my pint bottle (with blood, not a sample), as I sat in the snack room with a selection of juices and cookie-type snacks to choose from, making sure we weren’t going to get light-headed before driving away from the Red Cross. As I dug through the cookie selection, lo and behold, I found a package of Lorna Doone cookies among the Oreos, Nutter-Butters, Chips Ahoy, and a variety of Cheese and Cracker packs in the bowl. The choice was an easy one, and every time I donated after that, over a hundred ten times before having to stop, because of heart stent implantation, I searched the snack bowl vigorously looking for the Lorna Doones. My love affair with Lorna continued.

About five years ago, after my yearly visit to my eye doctor at Spectrum, Dr. Anna W. (she’s great by the way) said I had the beginning of cataracts, but at the time, she didn’t think it needed to be addressed. For the next four visits after that, I was still okay enough to avoid any type of fixing my eyes. Last April, Dr. Anna said it was time to take care of the cataracts, and she sent me to Dr. Matthew Zimm in Erie, as Spectrum didn’t do cataract surgery. (BTW, I highly recommend all involved with my cataract experience from all the tests by staff, and my diagnosis by Dr. Anna at Spectrum, to my consultations with staff and Dr. Zimm himself, at his practice, to the entire staff (from registration to those who walked me out the door and helped me get in the car, where my faithful and beautiful driver, Sally awaited) at Premier Surgery Center in Erie, where my two procedures, each two weeks apart, were easy, comfortable, painless and successful. Following, and in between, each eye procedure, I had follow-up appointments back at Dr. Zimm’s practice, where the staff there was as professional and cordial as could be, as was everyone, from Jamestown to Erie during my cataract experience. (Thanks to all of you so very much!)

All this being said, before each procedure, I could not eat or drink anything from midnight the night before each procedure, and my first appointment wasn’t until 10:30 am. And by the time it was over, it was nearing the noon hour, and I was ready for a little nosh, and especially something to drink. They told me I could have a snack, and ran down the list of choices, and I stopped her after she read the second one, which happened to be Lorna Doones. Hall of Famer, Tom Hamilton, radio Play-by-Play announcer for the Cleveland Indians/Guardians for the past 35 years, often exclaims when something extraordinary happens during a game, “How about that!” I could, and often do, echo Hammy’s words every time a package of Lorna Doones shows up unexpectedly to tease my taste buds once more.

So, with all due respect to Richard Doddridge Blackmore and his story of the beautiful, Lorna Doone, one of the main characters in his most remembered work, and even though I never read the novel, and probably never will, I am very happy with every one of my own memorable encounters with the many Lorna Doones in my life, which always put a smile on my face.