Sometimes, yesterday comes rolling into my today.

Memories, sweet or not, color the tapestry that is my life.

Last night, I was remembering trips to Bervig’s True Value in search of items related to our local mascot, the moose.

A true Maroon supporter, the mayor had a section devoted to our Mean Moose. I bought a cookie jar.

The new puppy destroyed the cookie jar and I never bought another.

Money is tight sometimes – it’s most of the time for me – but the memory of that cookie jar lives on.

So it is with people who are in one’s world and then make the trip to the hereafter.

I have been remembering Farris Bervig, who escorted Alamosa into a brighter future with fairness and justice and just a tap of his mayoral gavel.

He had a great sense of humor, one that didn’t need to venture into the risqué to get a laugh. Even after leaving office, I think he expected me to call him “Mr. Mayor” and ask him if he’d run again.

The mayor never really answered yea or nay, but flashed that incomparable grin of his. Let the questioner draw his or her own conclusions.

I concluded there were three chances: Fat, slim and none.

As time passed, we bought a washer and dryer from the mayor and he registered a 10-year warranty. They have outlasted the guarantee of service.

When he added Radio Shack to his store, it held a wealth of gizmos for someone who was venturing into the high-tech world. The boys bought things and used them.

My oldest son remembers the days when the mayor was managing the JC Penney store and ordered some T-shirts supporting the Mean Moose. They didn’t hit the shelves right away and teen folk legend had it they came with a slight misprint, supporting the “Mean Mouse” in traditional maroon and white, so they were returned for corrections.

I never saw one, but it makes for a great Alamosa anecdote.

Alamosa anecdotes. Hometown hyperbole, hurting no one and exciting the imagination.

All three of my sons are in their 50s and remember “the Bervigs,” since there was one of the mayor’s children in each of their classes or just ahead of them or a year behind.

Mrs. Mayor, Shirley Bervig, was ever supportive of Alamosa High School, thus strongly behind each of her children.

I remember running into the couple numerous times and having happy conversations about that day, the days before it and the days to come.

So long, Mr. Mayor, the entire community has received your love and I, for one, send you off with thanks.