Many years ago we had lived in south Texas and since have been more than a little prejudiced that Texas citrus was better tasting than Florida's. This time we were happily surprised to find that tree ripened Florida grapefruit and oranges were every bit as good as what we remember buying in the Rio Grande Valley.

Unfortunately we only purchased a couple of small sacks of fruit, due to weight limitations of our aircraft. Sadly our ultra fresh fruit hasn't lasted near long enough now that we have returned home. We are again back to eating store-bought green picked commercial fruit and thankful for it too.

Oranges trigger wonderful child hood memories. Growing up on a farm where good neighbors are treasured, we had some of the best. A favorite for me were "Mom and Pop" Fitch, also known as Hazel and Carol. The Fitches traveled some winters spending several months in Florida as I remember.

For this preteen neighbor it was always a great occasion when they arrived back in Nebraska because they brought back the largest navel oranges that I had ever seen.

Generous, as any typical grandparents, they seemed to relish sharing those oranges with my brother and me. Early spring fresh fruit of any description was a treat in those post war years but these treasured oranges, so sweet and good, were way better than any mom ever purchased in a store.

I grew up in a somewhat different world than what we experience today in that I had no grandparents. Well yes I remember a great grandmother, Pricilla Hoyt who died when I was about six years old. In my young mind she was ancient and I now realize that she was also probably in poor health by that time in her life. She was after all a pioneer homesteading in Hitchcock County when she was the new bride of a Civil War Veteran. All my memories of her are of a respected but not a "fun" person for a child to enjoy. All my other grandparents were gone before I was able to forge any memories of them.

I suppose that it was natural then that I found Carol and Hazel Fitch, by then well retired. For me they were everything that grandparents should be. I loved spending time with them for a lot of reasons. For one the Fitches lived in a neat two story house that Pop's dad had built. It was reportedly the first frame house in Red Willow County. In the early settled years it served double duty not only as a home but as a post office and country store or "trading post."

Pop even said local Indians were sometimes the customers. Stories of those years were writ large because Pop Fitch also told us that Buffalo Bill had been a visitor many times in the very room where I was hearing those stories. The house was located in a large grove of mature trees, a part of the original homestead timber claim.

The Fitches drove a pristine gray 1935 Ford Coupe. I was always impressed because they kept it in a garage made of sod, walls about two foot thick, and topped with a tin roof. That garage was always pleasantly cool in the summer time. Just north of the sod garage Pop maintained an absolutely smooth open air dirt floor croquet court. It was a special treat when Pop let us play croquet on his court and the rules required that we treat the surface with respect, no scratching or marking the perfect surface was allowed.

Mom and Pop Fitch raised at least one litter of squirrels that they confined to a pleasant screened-in porch on the north side of their home. Half grown and older squirrels really don't make good pets as they don't housebreak well, love to chew on anything plus climb everything in sight. They are also not careful about pushing pictures, small vases and other knickknacks off onto the floor. Later when the squirrels grew old enough to live outside on their own, Pop made a screened in shelf inside the screened-in porch where the squirrels could come inside to get the treats Mom set out for them.

If we stood quietly we could observe them come inside their private dining room to eat, yet they couldn't get loose to ransack the house. Some of those hand-raised squirrels seemed to stick around their house for years, raising squirrel families in the trees close to the house and freeloading every chance they got.

All kids need grandparent influence and the Fitches more than filled the bill for me. Together we created many great memories.

Earlier this week I received a phone call from my Omaha daughter who had stopped here for the night. Departing McCook she and her husband drove past Norris Park and noticed the new absence of trees. "Call dad to find out what happened." I informed her that they had age rot and were cut down because it was "easy." I also mentioned recommending that the city drill for oil there on the newly cleared ground.

She had an even neater idea; why not install one of those really tall wind powered generators right there in the middle of the park? Just think of how that wind turbine could sit up high and turn out "green" electrical power to enrich the coffers of the city's budget.

The generator could operate for years, at least until the new planted replacement trees grow tall enough to bother. By that time the generator would be worn out and the problem of a new City Council.

Never mind the little details about the big high windmill being ugly and the constant "whish" of each turning blade but that would only bother the neighbors close to the park so "no problem"!

That is the way I see it.