Old? Who? Me?

All Good Things Must Come to an End...

2011-10-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

I know that the title of my Grandma Bernie's post is a big cliché, but at certain times old people say exactly what everybody is feeling and thinking. I didn’t know what I thought I was going to write about when I asked to write my Grandma’s last blog; if I was going to tell a story about our relationship or if I was just going to reiterate her obituary. I have struggled to get started, and have seemingly developed writers block about the topic.

Is it even possible to put your love and affection into words about someone you have known and relied on your entire life? How can I even show how great she was to her friends and her family? It was a struggle, but this is what I have put forth.

Most relationships are built on a common interest. For my grandma and me, it was the Green Bay Packers. I still remember the days she would take me and my brothers to training camp when we would visit her in Green Bay. I, the youngest of three brothers, would be timid and didn’t like to approach the players to get their autographs. Grandma Bernie was always there pushing me forward and whispering in my ear what to say to the players. Making me ask for their autographs myself and showing me that I shouldn’t be nervous. Because of her, my brothers and I through the years would run all over Lambeau’s parking lot getting as many autographs as possible.

I credit her for my borderline obsession with the team and its players. For the past couple years I would call her before, at halftime, and after every Packers game. We would talk about our predictions and the outcomes of the game. It was always our topic of choice and we would never get exhausted talking about it.

Those calls brought us closer together even though we lived a thousand miles away. So, it was only fitting that she would have passed watching the Packers game; the first game in a long time, where we hadn’t talked about it beforehand because she was too ill. I was in Alabama watching the game with my friends when I got the call that she had passed. I shut myself in my room, not able to watch the game.

Through the rest of my life I look forward to thinking about her every time the Pack is on TV, and every time the opposing team scores a touchdown, I will yell, “Oh, shit” for my Grandma Bernie, cause that was what she always said.

I feel a little selfish just talking about our relationship, but I am using it as an example to show the love she had for her family. I feel when you read her obituary that was posted in the previous post, you only see her accomplishments and a little of the fun outgoing personality that she possessed. It does not show how she was a grandparent that every child would want; a loving and caring women that wasn’t afraid to kick your ass if she needed to.

Rules were more guidelines to her that could be bent any which way. She was always accepting of everyone and always gave them a chance until you crossed her. Then you needed to earn your way back into her good graces. (And you wanted to be in them) The quirky personality that she had was hard not to love. She had a personal relationship with everybody in the family and was not afraid to tell her opinion on what everyone should do.

I will miss the hunts for a USA Today so she could have her daily crossword puzzle. The “sss” that she did unknowingly when she was concentrating on something. The infamous Kleenex tissues that littered the ground everywhere she went. The orange juice and water that she only took two sips of, but had to have every night before she went to bed.

Her love for the lake and the calm that would come over her when she would swim. The “dive” that everyone knows she would do while she would swim. The card games we wouldn’t want to play at first, then realized how fun they were. The world famous “Bill and Bernice Show” that everyone in the family loved to see on mornings when we thought we wanted to sleep in.

All of these things are the things I am going to miss most. I didn’t know that I would, but given the fact that I won’t see or hear them anymore and won’t ever again is disheartening. She was a wonderful woman and I will miss her a lot. She will always be in me and my families’ thoughts for as long as we shall live.

She really enjoyed writing this blog, and loved it when you guys would comment and show your thoughts about her topic of choice. It brought her much joy, and I hope it brought you guys the same. This is the last blog post that will appear and I want to extend a sincere thank you to all of her readers. I hope I did an adequate job. She is a hard act to follow.

Ian

A New Adventure

2011-10-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

"And in the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds it morning and is refreshed."

From the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

Bernice Madeline Maria Sucha, 85, passed away Sept. 25, 2011 in Rochester, Minnesota. She was born in Chicago Nov. 16, 1925, to the Rev. Axel and Frida Eklund. The youngest of five children, Bernie began an early lifelong love for lakes while at her family cottage on Big Lake, Wisconsin.

At 16, she graduated from high school in Ironwood, Michigan. Bernie then embarked on a college adventure she referred to as the happiest time of her life. Accompanied by a spirited attitude and several expulsions, she graduated from North Park Junior College (Chicago) and Winona State Teachers College, (Winona, Minnesota)

On Sept. 29, 1950, she married Bill Sucha. They honeymooned at the Deluxe Motel in Rochester, Minnesota. During 59 years of marriage, they traveled throughout much of the US, England and Scotland. They lived in Austin, Minnesota, Denver, Colorado., Muskegon and Kalamazoo, Michigan, and the last 31 years in Green Bay. Bernie and Bill had four children, Jon, Julie, Jim, and Jordan.

Although most of her working life was spent teaching high school English, she also sold real estate in Michigan and worked as a secretary, mail clerk and waitress while putting herself through college. She was a substitute teacher in the Green Bay school system until age 80 and is past president of the Substitute Teacher’s Union.

A two-time breast cancer survivor, Bernie reveled in learning and remained active in the Learning In Retirement program at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. An avid reader, she loved to paint, play the piano, work crosswords puzzles, watch Jeopardy, dally at golf and bridge, fish and write poetry. She relished The Student Prince and Les Miserables. She completed one mile of the Bellin Run in 2007 and in 2010. Bernie adored golden retrievers, growing blue ribbon flowers--especially gladiolus, and the Green Bay Packers.

Her blog “Old? Who?Me?” has 669 followers and more than 23,846 visitors.

Rowing her boat on Lily Lake brought her much peace, but she preferred speed. She never turned down a motorcycle ride or let up on her lead-foot driving. This past May, she drove a speedboat at top speed down the middle of the lake.

Preceded in death by her husband, William D. Sucha, Bernice is survived by Jonathan Sucha (Frank Fredericks) Denver, Colo., Julianne Anderson (Bob) Austin, Texas, James Sucha, Green Bay, Jordan Sucha (Lori) Sheboygan Falls, Wis.

Bernie enjoyed great love from her grandchildren Jacob Anderson (Chelsea), Jordan Anderson, Ian Anderson, and little Miranda Sucha, who loves catsup and pickles just like her grandma.

Visitation will be noon Friday, Sept. 30, followed at 1 p.m. by service at Grace Lutheran Church, Green Bay, Wis. Burial will be at Woodlawn Cemetery, Allouez, Wis. Champagne, Those Golden Days, Drink, Drink, and Stars and Stripes Forever with fireworks on tap.

HAPPY NEW FALL!!

2011-09-17T12:21:00.000-07:00

I have always thought that the fall of the year was really the more beginning of things than New Year's which falls in the dead of winter after all the activities of Christmas and nothing to look forward to but January, February and March and Income Tax time.

Ah fall with its bright blue skies, lovely moderate temps, the leaves on the trees beginning to turn eleven different colors with the blue spruces and other fir trees behind them or in the midst of them accenting their beauty. Everything starts up again. The most obvious being school which takes on many meanings for different people. Teacher's best three things about teaching--June, July, and August are now over for another year. Some young mother's are sending their first born away from home for the first time. Mothers with older children are breathing a sigh of relief that summer is over.

Churches start up their Sunday Schools and other programs. And of course, FOOTBALL is back and the Green Bay Packers are filling our daily newspapers with trivea on all the injuries and predictions of future wins. High school football is just as important and comcert series and all kinds of things! Can't you feel the excitement of a new fall?

Out come the heavier clothes that are kinder to the human form and can cover a lot of deficiencies. You can hit your ball farther on the golf course because the ground is harder and they roll baby roll. I'm sure you all can think of other things that fall brings. It is my favorite time of the year.

Just a note in closing. I have found out this summer that Old? Who? Me? has now occurred and I am glad this summer when I was in sick bay most of it is now over. I have seen so many doctors and ERs and they can't find the source of my problem so I am leaving for the Mayo Clinic Sunday. As usual, I pray for strength and courage.

CHANGE AFFECTS US ALL

2011-08-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

Change is a word which can include many meanings. If there is one thing certain in our lives it is the fact that there will be changes--some good, some bad. To paraphrase Portia from the Merchant of Venice in her lovely speech about how the quality of mercy is not strained, but drops like the gentle rain on everyone, one could easily insert the word change as having the same quality.

People have different reactions to change. Some crave variety and change while others prefer the status quo. It all depends on what you are talking about. I immediately think of changing one's place of residence. We have had to do this many times in our lives. It is no surprise that all of my children settled in one spot and were determined to stay there the rest of their lives. One said she wanted to have her children graduate from high school with the same kids they started with in kindergarten. And they did. The others are determined to stay where they are too. Except one. Don 't know about him yet

Politicians bombard us with the idea that a change is necessary for this or that office and perhaps I would say that is a good thing. Some enjoy a change of the seasons. Where I live we have an extra season--NFL football season. Others brag about the warmth most of the year around. (They don't talk about the 100 degree summers) We all enjoy a change of scene to go on vacation, new clothes, and some variety in our lives, but we pretty much want the basics to stay the way they are. That is, if your basics are good and not if you are out of a job or homeless. Some have changes in marital status. Kids have to go through mom and dad's divorce or the death of one of the parents or a sibling.

When you start thinking about change, the list grows exponentially (spellcheck doesn't work). I just thought it was an interesting subject. Each of you will think of your own experiences. How did change affect you? Do you wish it could have been different? You can't change it now, but can you turn it into a plus? Or was it a plus to begin with?

A BIT OF HEAVEN ON EARTH

2011-08-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

First. I have to tell you all that I won or check-mated a game of chess against the computer last night. Holy Baloney, was I thrilled. I have only played over 700 games heretofore. Takes tenacity or stupidity--I don't know which.

My son, Jim, and I just returned from a week at my favorite lake in Minnesota-Green Lake at Spicer. We had a great time even though we didn't have all the rest of the family there as usual nor my boat. But the lake still has the velvety silky quality about it and is lovely to swim in and we did have a boat at our disposal. It was an old-fashioned aluminum rowboat with a 6 and 1/2 horse motor and you would be amazed at how fast it seemed to go and how well it took the waves and swells even when you are used to going 30 or so miles an hour in the Bayliner.

I've sent along some of the pictures of the resort which I have been going to for over 52 years. (We missed some when we lived in Denver and Michigan but not more than 5 or 6 I would say.) The first time we went, my daughter, Julie, now 54, was 2. So figure.

This is our cabin 9 where Julie's family used to stay all the time. Years ago 9 of us stayed there until cabin #8 opened up and then we got more room.

Cabins 8 and 9 are still advertised in the resort brochure as being the new cabins. We stayed in them in 1958! It is Deja Vu as they have not changed in all these years.

When our family gathered, my oldest son stayed in Cabin 5 with his family and my youngest son in in Cabin 3 with his family. Most fun to have them all there all those years.

Here we are in front of the Spicer Castle, bed and breakfast, and then here is a close up of the enchanted Spicer Castle.

For our 50th wedding anniversary, the kids had a dinnerparty here at the castle for my husband, Bill and I. They brought in my Bill's best man and other lovely friends that had attended our wedding so long ago. Our good friend the judge had us repeat our vows.

Wanted to share a bit of the piece of heaven we find there each year.

AN OLD MEMORY

2011-07-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

For lack of a topic for this post, I found this tidbit which I had jotted down years ago. So I m going to print it just as I wrote it then.

It is an unfinished poem I was composing as I drove the car on a trip and Bill tried to write it down. I know words are missing and we haven't refined it or got it right, but I have been carrying it in my purse for so long on an old envelope that I did copy it down to preserve it for future work.

It is about the time we were in Estes Park, Colorado and just as we were leaving I saw a car stoppd by the side of the road. I looked and a glorious herd of elk were coming down from the woods into the town. I didn't have a camera. Many more people stopped and took pictures. I almost gave one of them some money and my address and asked them to send me a shot of the scene, but I never did and have regretted it ever since.

Apparently it is quite common for there is a preserve nearby and I understand it occurs every rutting season. One lady told me in the grocery store that the elk had gathered outside their church one Sunday and they were bugeling so loudly they had to cancel the service.

That day also I saw my first white Mountain Goat high up on a sort of shelf as we went by. He stood out in the sunshine like a white god and I was thrilled at the sight of him. It was a miraculous day.

Here is my description of the Elks:

And there they emerged from the wood

Materializing where before there had been nothing.

Yet the wild things were surely and slowly

Softly picking their way down the hill

God's gorgeous four-legged creatures.

But wait! Here comes their King! Who with every movement displays

Royalty and the mantle of command;

His rack is large and has many branches

His head heavy with its weight.

No matter he is old and infirm

Deference and honor belong to him

And he knows it and glories in it

Because he knows that his strength

Lies in past victories of wars won.

This is all she wrote folks. Can you see what I saw that day?

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?

2011-07-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the fourth of July--a celebration of our Declaration of Independence where among many other rights we were given was the pursuit of happiness. Some of our Middle Eastern countries are now beginning their revolutions against the tyranny of dictators and seeking the same rights as we enjoy.

So just what is happiness. Happiness is different for a lot of people. Some are happy just to have something to eat and a place to sleep. Others have to have houses with all the amenities, the supposed disappearing middle class. And still others are not happy unless they own big and multiple houses built like castles. A lot of us today would be happy to just have a job!

That is just one phase or example of what makes some people happy. We could list many more. Healthy children. Being loved by someone, having numerous friends, traveling wherever we like, being healthy which is probably foremost as none of the others matter if you are not well. Having a lifework that one enjoys and supports one's family. Certain foods one loves to eat. Losing weight. There are so many things one can think of that make us happy.

So why are so many of us unhappy? Are we getting too greedy? Do we try too hard to keep up with the Joneses? Do we forget to count our blessings instead of the bad things that happen to us? Do we take our measure of health for granted? Have material things taken over what really matters in life? The loss of a loved one. Do we forget that there is a mystery here that we cannot know.

What makes you happy? Little things like someone I know--a cold glass of beer. Being able to get up when you feel like it. Being able to even walk. The feel of the water around your body while swimming in a beautiful lake. A piece of lemon meringe pie. A surprise visit from a friend. A warm Spring rain or a lovely floaty snowfall. A dog who adores you for no reason at all.

Take a minute or two and comment on what makes you happy.

It's Called a Lifetime, Stupid

2011-06-19T22:18:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mehmeh Oz

"The reason so many otherwise rational people don’t screen themselves for disease is not that they don’t understand the risks—they do. And it’s not even that they believe they’re somehow immune from disease or death. We all grasp that in a primal way from the time we’re very small. But even as we age, death still seems somehow remote—something that will happen at some vaguely later time and that we’ll deal with it in some hard-to-fathom way. It’s that distance that helps us cope with the idea of our mortality."

When I found this gem of philosophy I latched on to it and felt that here was a real explanation of how I had felt for a long time. Actually I have been feeling rather stupid because of my lack of realizing that there would one day be an end to our lives as we knew it. Oh, I cared for my mom when I was 23 when she suffered so and died of cancer . My dad died when I was in my 30's and my sister died when I was 56 but somehow in my mind I guess I thought Bill and I would go on forever.

He had Alzheimer's maybe (they never knew for sure) but his folks had all lived into their 90's and Bill was in good health until near the end. And we who had been one for so long were ripped apart with great pain and a lot of you know how that feels. So I just thought I would share this quotation with you because some of you might have the same problem I had. I have come to the realization that everyone has a lifetime--even stupid me. I know this sounds crazy and perhaps I haven't explained it well. But I tried. I guess you could call it an acceptance I can tolerate.

On a happier note I have included some beautiful pictures I have taken. The first two is of a garden in Shawano, Wisconsin. I have visited that garden many times in the past. Mrs. Riley says they have been there building this huge garden with every kind of flower for over 50 years. Her hands were encrusted almost with soil. No gardening gloves for her!!

These are the two mannequins Mrs. Riley has added to the garden. They are up on the porch that overlooks the garden. The mannequins really add to the ambiance of the garden.

This is my backyard flower garden with my dog Dodger blending in so well with the green grass. My son, Jim, has put out 4 bird feeders in the back yard and the other day he came home and I told him to look out and all feeders were full of cardinals a
and those redheaded redbibbed sparrows or
whatever they are called and underneath were 4
squirrels, two bunnies, and two two mourning doves. Jim said he felt like Francis of Assisi.

This is the front of my house. Jim has planted and planted, though I did the pots.

Here's Dodger on his 2nd birthday. He is a fine dog.

I leave you with the sunset over the bay. Green Bay that is.

MY KINGDOM FOR A NAIL

2011-06-02T13:10:00.000-07:00

I am sure you all have been bombarded with return address stickers, notepads, cards, even talking wristwatches from zillions of worthy organizations and causes. If you open them and read them, some of them will break your heart and others not so much. Which makes it difficult to choose which causes you want to support.

Which exacerbates the problem more often is trying to decide which one is the legitimate representative of that particular disease or cause. There are many for my most obvious choices--cancer and Alzheimer's and the ones that help children like Boys Town, the children born with cleft palates (yup, they got me on this one too) and the blind children (talking wristwatch).

I understand that their expenses are ongoing and if you do donate to their cause, they are right back at you for more. I finally realized the Paralyzed Veterans were sending me something almost weekly and the included "gifts" were increasing. But I guess it is up to us to figure out things like that and act accordingly.

My favorite charity though is Habitat for Humanity. Here in my town, a few years ago, only women could work on the house they built. I was enraptured at this and wished to pound a few nails myself but they were working mainly on this steep roof and the things I could do had been done. But they did have a problem. The guy next door would not let them use his hose for water. Talk about a selfish old bastard. After watching and kibitzing for a while, I left after putting my name in for the next house women built and went to the drug store (my second home) and they had this tremendous sale on bottled water! Like almost giving it away. I bought up all they had left about 16 crates and brought them back to the building site. That was a fun fun thing. I know, just a blip in the radar, if that. Since then I have kept up with the organization.

Where they have helped all over the world is amazing. In addition to building new homes, they have a Microbuild Fund which they offer to those who have started a home, but lacked funds to finish it. In places that have been hit by disasters such as Japan, Sri Lanka, India, Ethiopia, Haiti, Bosnia, and here in America, they offer help with clean-up and rebuilding. The figures are astonishing. Since their beginning, they have served more than 2 million people! This is a world wide effort by many nations helping other nations.

You can sign up for more info here habitat.org.gov or Habitat.org.getinv if you are interested. As I said starting out, you all probably have your own favorite charities. Tell us what they are!

TEXAS SPRING BREAK

2011-05-14T11:18:00.000-07:00

We left from this Spring storm which left us with 16 inches of snow in one day with thunder and lighting mixed in.

We arrived to this delightful view from the lake house toward the setting sun over the mountain, well, sort of a mountain. It reminds me of the one in Phoenix. 80 degrees and lovely. Guests visit by boat every now and then.

We went out to eat and of course we started out with the ubiquitous Margarita pictured here and it was delicious!

Here we all are at dinner--my sons and daughter and grandsons and wives and husbands--all except the two Jordans and Jim and Bill. We had wonderful food and fun.

We met these two newlyweds (well, one year anniversary really) out for a spin while I was out driving the boat around
on my last day. My grandson Jacob and his wife Chelsea.

We had a couple of cold rainy days--most unusual for Texas this time of year, so I taught some of my grandchildren how to play hand and foot. They liked it and we played for several hours.
It was fun as the boys were always trying to cheat!

And sometimes we just hung out on the balcony.

We had a visit from this Great Blue Heron. You can see how big he is by comparing him to the pots. He was a 747 when he finally flew away.

And we had this darling baby goose with his parents and fed them every day.

Jim and I taking a swim

Happiest driving the big boat!

Going really fast! It is so much fun!

Julie was supposed to take a video of when I went past, but she didn't know how to use my camera to do that so we just have the stills.

Great boat!

The end of a perfect day.

GOIN' ON A JET PLANE

2011-04-21T20:25:00.000-07:00

We're flying! We're flying! Oh how my heart aches for all you guys that have to face all this snow and sleet and wind as I fly down to the sunny beaches of Texas to bask in the sun! It almost makes me want to stay home because I feel so bad about that. And if you believe that, I have this land down in Florida..........

By the way, I'm riding with these guys!

Really tho, I am feeling so fortunate to be able to get out of this April Christmas weather. Julie tells me it is 90 down there. That can get a mite uncomfortable so I guess I'll be living in the water for 17 days. I s'pose I have to get out sometime or my skin will get more puckery that it already is.

Well, I just had to tell all you people my good fortune. And by the way, this is my 100th post. I started in 2009 in August and I feel that I have made so many new friends. When Bill died, your comments were the ones I cherished and Julie mentioned that she noticed all the wonderful support you gave. Thank you again for that.

So I get to drive Bob's boat. No speeding tickets on the lake! By the way, the one car speeding ticket is off in May and so now I just have the one left. I think it runs another year. That was a three year one. So I have 8 points left. A lot better than the five I was going with. I've been so good driving right at the speed limit.

Got the invite to the Bellin Run today for the one mile walk. Would like to do it just one more year. Like the t-shirts.

Wonder where I will get 100 more topics to write about? Who was it? YaYa, who said she could not imagine anyone having trouble finding something to write about? Well, I do. So here's to another 100. Maybe.

IT'S ALL ABOUT SHARING

2011-04-12T10:34:00.000-07:00

Last night I went to the symphony. Bill and I used to go to the symphony and it is rather difficult to go alone now. It was brought so poignantly to my attention last night as the senior (and I use the word senior to show that they were not what I consider old) couple I was sitting next to were holding hands to share the feelings that the music was sending to their souls. Bill and I used to do that. I almost grabbed this guy’s other hand to see if it would help my lost feeling. A tiny example of the things that bind people together.

It is called sharing. The sharing of life’s experiences over a long period of time cements a couple together that man cannot break asunder. As I look back more and more these past few months, I am remembering events, problems, joys---all becoming more vivid as time goes on.

The early years where we had a long honeymoon as Bill was teaching 100 miles away and came to me only on weekends. The time I told him of my becoming pregnant with our first child. Those early months with the first child when we were up all night trying to feed him. We were so woefully inexperienced taking one and one-half hours to get 3 oz. down him with a nipple hole so small the poor kid was sucking and sucking and not getting much. By the time he finished one feeding, soon it was time for another and we thought it had to be warm and Bill kept running to the kitchen to heat it up and I kept feeding it to him. Finally I burnt a needle and made a bigger hole and that problem was solved. Sounds so simple now but we were so afraid to make a mistake then. The book (Dr. Spock) said not to feed him too fast because then he would get colic.

All of the four children’s triumphs and failures. The decisions for running for election and the triumphant run for the Clerk of Court. The decision to go for the Judicial Administrator’s degree and the move to Denver. The loss of a job in Michigan later and his departure for Iowa for two years while we stayed in Michigan. Back to weekends again. The triumphant landing of the position in Wisconsin with his choice of three cities. Feast and famine.

The physical trials of all three boys with hernia surgeries at 7 weeks, 9 weeks and 12 weeks. The first, misdiagnosed and just being saved by calling in a new surgeon and only a few minutes. The teenage trials with scoliosis, one wearing a brace, and one having spinal surgery. Me with breast cancer and nose cancer and lung biopsy and another breast cancer and Bill with hiatal hernia surgery a few weeks after a move to Wisconsin where the doc I just met told me he had a 10% chance of living through it. Then this surgery having to be done over at the Mayo Clinic when the stitches all started to come out. And a lot more but all blessed with full recoveries. We went through it all. Sharing.

Hang in there, folks, through the good and the bad. It will be worth it in the end. Though he is gone, I have great memories and lots of them from a long life together. How I wish he were still here, but well and himself again!

Invasion of the Privacy Law

2011-04-03T20:16:00.000-07:00

If you have been watching any TV lately, you may have been seeing some strange commercials. Some do not make any sense at all. Some border on the line between what is acceptable and what is not. I have been taking note of the ones that are what I consider some of the biggest offenders.

The one that got me started was the one with the wife holding onto a package of toilet paper. She is saying that it has made such a difference in her life and that her husband is using it right now. Just then he opens the door (obviously the bathroom) and saying something like I feel great and we are going out dancing tonight. What kind of picture does that place in your mind?

Absolutely stupid is the 5 Hr. Energy drink. Guy wakes up to his ALARM CLOCK which he obviously set the night before and looks at it and says, Geez, I have to be at the office in only 20 minutes. No time for coffee. So he swigs down this little bottle of caffeine (tho if fact be known, it contains less than coffee) and thus hurried on to work saying “No hassle wait to get to work.” Now why would he SET the alarm so that he would only have 20 min to get to work?

We all have been bombarded with all the sex dysfunctional remedies available If you don’t mind having one of your bodily parts expand for too long or go blind or deaf, this is the product for you. And what’s with the two bathtubs in the middle of the woods? I looked it up on Bing and there were many comments on the why of the two bathtubs. And some are pretty funny but I dasn’t quote them here.

Charmin has come out with new ads too. Woman shown caressing a package of toilet paper, the ending line being “Enjoy the go”.

And TV isn’t the only offender. Why, for instance, did they name the family in the movie THE LITTLE FOCKERS ? Which reminds me of when I was teaching, I had several students with the German name Fochs and every time I had to call roll, I would pronounce the first name loudly and practically swallow the last because I didn’t want to say it.

Why is there such a need to be so explicit nowadays and why do we have to hear about what used to be considered private matters? And so often are they shown. Am I showing my age by finding these ads irritating? Don’t answer that!

NEIGHBORS

2011-03-19T18:25:00.000-07:00

Most all of us can recall some neighbors that we have had that became very close to us, almost part of our family, but we also can think of the ones that were a bit different and interesting to watch and live near.

I can think of many in the many cities in which we have lived, but I think I will only tell you about our house on 18th street in Minnesota in the early years of our marriage. It was on a street with all those post-war G.I. houses with 2 bedrooms down, a living room and a kitchen and a large room with eaves upstairs. Janet next to us lived in one that was very different as she was always renovating and adding this and that and her house was always perfect in every way as was her yard. She had married this husband after her divorce and felt she had come up in the world, as his dad was a bigshot at Hormel's. She always thought that Tessie across the street was beneath her and her kids as well.

Tessie and Joe had three little girls. The seven year old daughter was crazy about horses so they did own a horse named Big Red. They kept him a block or so away on a vacant lot as we lived on the outskirts of town. All the kids in the neighborhood were fascinated with Big Red and sometimes when Terry rode him to their house they gave rides to the kids.

Of course, as horses do, he would sometimes leave horse apples in the street. My neighbor Janet, who was an immaculate housekeeper, complained to Tessie about the crap in the street and told her that she should clean it up. So one day soon after, Tessie, who was a very unconventional outspoken individual, scooped up the poop in a pail and went to Janet's back door, opened it up, and holding the pail aready to heave ho, she yelled "I cleaned this sh--t up, so what do you want me to do with it?” Tessie stood there laughing at the expression of horror on Janet’s face. She turned; shut the door, laughing all the way home!

All of us were young and had small children and babies. We had morning coffees together most every day. This was in the 50's when women stayed at home with their little ones and daddy made enough to support a family by himself. However we were a little competitive in some ways. They always made fun of my being the last to get my washing on the line on Monday mornings. (I always have been a night person.) I still had a wringer type washer, a good ole Maytag. So one Sunday night I decided to beat them at their game.

I washed my sheets and hung them out on the line around midnight in the dark and then with a smug smile I went to bed. It didn't take them long to figure out what I had done, but it was fun while they were still trying. When I ambled over to Lorraine's for coffee that morning, they were all waiting for me and laughingly accused me of my deception. Then they each told me of their individual thoughts when they first came out to hang their clothes on their lines. I got most of them for a few minutes and then they all thought that no way did she get up early and get those out there.

Neighbors you don’t forget.

Gorgeous Music Soothes this Savage Beast

2011-03-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

I have just been blissfully entertained by this on my public TV station. It was a 25th celebration of Les Miserables in concert, and though I have seen it before many years ago, it was fantastic tonight. It was staged in London and they ended up with an encore including many of the former Jean Valjean portrayers singing some of the songs, especially the Bring Him Home number. It was so spectacular and done so beautifully! What lovely voices they had and how all four sang it in sinc and just as beautifully as the next guy.

I can't remember when I have enjoyed a concert so much. I was so moved by it often. That is not easy to do to a television listener where there are so many distractions in one's home, but they did it! Jim took Dodger (my dog) and went down to Sheboygan to Jordan's and so I was lucky to be home without any distractions at all. I'm eager to hear if Helena was there. I looked for you in the audience, but that arena must hold thousands. :) I hope many of you listened to this feast of beautiful music with me.

I kept wanting to contribute tonight over and over, but I have a video of a performance somewhere which I bought the last time I watched it. Bill and I saw the play in Chicago many years ago too, but we had terrible seats and were not able to even follow it until the second half when we moved down to a closer balcony. (Got those tickets over the phone and she assured me they were in the balcony just above the orchestra!)

Public TV I support and it is one of the best things I give to. I think Phantom of the Opera just was supplanted by Les Miz as my very favorite. At least for tonight.

SLEEPLESS IN GREEN BAY

2011-02-24T03:33:00.000-08:00

Went to bed early with nausea and a terrible headache. Amazng all the things you think of lying awake all night. First, I say my prayers and end up with the Lord's Prayer which I share with Bill whenever I visit his grave. Then I usually think of an incident or something about Bill. Tonight I focused on his hands. I loved his hands and that was the last thing I clung to. Where is he and why does it have to be such a secret!

Then I thought of Jim and how happy he was tonight. This morning he even got a haircut. He had his first bona fide good interview with a very good company and was in such high spirits hoping for the job. I prayed that he would get it, but then I took back my prayer, cognizant of all he people dying in Libya, Egypt and the whole Arab Rim and the four people killed by pirates in Somalia and I figured it was not important enough to bother God with.

My last post came to mind and I figured not too many people liked my views of the people rallying for collective bargaining rights. It was not a political view. I am not a Republican nor a Democrat--I have voted for both through the years trying to pick the one who best represented my views. This right extends to people who belong to both parties and to all people. If the governor wins (and he just happens to be a Republican) how long do you think it will be before unions in the private sector will lose their rights? This is like the first Amendment. It is worth fighting for. The public employees have agreed to pay the additional monies and if this is just a budget bill then how come collective bargaining is even a part of it. According to the gov the purpose is to save the state from economic collapse. He has the money. Why not compromise as the governors in other states have done?

In my misery, I watched parts of American Idol. I have watched it very few times. I used to like the sarcasm of the guy from England . Tonight they were supposed to sing like the Beatles. My goodness, what an assignment! Tough! Anyhow I was just wondering if the judges really felt so terrible after they cut someone, crying and feeling so bad, or is that just theatrics? I didn't think any of them came anywhere close to being like the Beatles and that was brought home very clearly when the last cuts came and in the background they played the lovely "Hey Jude" by the Beatles.

Well, the dawn is coming up and I do feel better. I hope you all had a better night.

BEWARE! RANT! WISCONSIN LOOKS LIKE EGYPT!

2011-02-18T12:13:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin, where in 1959 was the first state to introduce collective bargaining for public employees, and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees, has again become the battleground for labor versus capital. And I could spell that Capitol for that is where over 70,000 firemen, policemen, teachers, paramedics, and all other supporters of labor and our long fought battle for collective bargaining are rallying to protest our new Republican governor's budget bill that smacks of at best union busting and at worst arrogant dictatorship.

Rallies are also being held all over the state and schools are closing and one parent is objecting for her favorite baby sitters are not there for her today. That public employees need to pay for some of their pensions and health care, I have no argument. But to take away the right of teachers, firemen, and other public workers the right to collective bargaining is downright wrong. I am a former teacher and we fought hard for smaller size classes, for a preparation time during the school day so that we could help students that needed extra help or make-up tests, for sick days and comp time, for lunch time away from supervising students-- not only money matters--through collective bargaining. That battle was fought long ago and won as one of our basic freedoms in this country. How can the governor take it away in one fell swoop of ill use of power! Then he says if they will not accept this, he will cut 10,000 public service jobs--policemen, firemen, teachers, paramedics, ambulances etc.

The rush to push it through in five days gave no time for adequate debate or discussion. Telephone calls and e-mails have flooded the state house. That the Democrats had to leave the state to delay the vote was a last resort. Don't the Republicans hear their constituents outside their doors and windows? On the one hand, the governor tells the Democrats to come back and they will discuss the bill. The bill was to be voted on yesterday! The next interview he says he will not retract any phase of the bill. He speaks with a forked tongue. Or, as some have ventured to say, this is pay back time to all the big corporations who put him in office--to bust the unions.

He is targeting the middle class and that is the strength of America. They have already been hit in many directions already so we will have essentially only the very rich and the very poor.

The state is in debt and out of money. We know that. But does this one group have to take the brunt of the economic downturn? Have them pay for some of their pensions, and for some of their health insurance, but leave the right to collective bargaining alone.

RANDOM THOUGHTS

2011-02-11T09:08:00.000-08:00

Jim has been making these Swedish Tea Rings since Christmas. It is a specialty of his. He brought some to various Christmas events at his Church and now everyone wants one!

And now for that yearly task of gathering all my files together to get the data for my income tax ready. It is sort of interesting to go through each months files of receipts and checks --a sort of review of the past year. My bank does not send the checks back anymore---it just makes a copy of them and I must say I have found out I have to improve my writing because sometimes I cannot tell to whom it was written. Usually the ones written to various charities with strange names. Course I guess it really doesn't matter as it would go under contributions==a jumble of letters. If they ever audit me --let them figure it out!

It is still cold here in Wisconsin--below zero at night. I woke up the other night and my face felt frozen. Warm everywhere else though. Have you ever thought how we cover our bodies like when we go outside and in bed and our poor faces are bare and right out there? And women from time immemorial have lavished lotions and creams on their faces to keep them soft and smooth and here they are subject to the toughest test. Course some have gobs of make-up on--maybe that protects them some! My one grandson always takes the pillow and puts it over his head. Maybe he has something there though I have often wondered what he does for oxygen.

Speaking of my grandson, it is soon about time to think of another visit to Texas. About March I think. Though they have had a cold winter there too for them.

I have been reading some blogs lately and seeing some wonderful pictures and paintings. My, we do have some talented people out there. I have one friend from Scotland who paints miniatures and she always has a penny faintly somewhere to illustrate how tiny the painting is. I wrote her that it is easy to see as she enlarges them for her blog, but what do the originals look like? And she does wonderful work. So why miniatures? If I could paint that well I would paint big so everyone c ould see how great it was. I guess I am just uninformed because they have miniature painting societies and everything so there are a lot of them and it is a valid medium.Her blog?"WatercolourArtist Diary" Just poke on it and you will get her blog.

Back to my files and the income tax preparation. Wish some of these big corporations with their millions owed in back taxes would pay up. And the loop holes the others use to avoid paying. It always irks me when I read about them. Oh well, and so it goes.

TRAINS NOT PLANES

2011-01-28T09:01:00.000-08:00

Hey, trains and streetcars are coming back. If you lived in a family like mine where your father-in-law and his father were engineers on the railroad and my husband wanted to be, and loved trains and passed that on to all his sons, you would be elated. My husband even proposed to me beside a railroad track and on our engagement night he went to pick up his dad and his crew as they were deadheading back to town!

The way the airlines are treating us these days, causes one to think back on the comfort and the amenities of a good old train ride. It also reminds me of the first time I took a train ride. It was during WW2 and I was at school in Chicago during the Christmas Holidays as I had no money to go home. I, along with other students from California and Massachusetts, was working at the Chicago Post offices as part time Christmas rush help. When I arrived home from work one day on the EL (elevated train in Chicago) and the streetcar, I had a message to see the President of our college. He asked me if I wanted to go home for Christmas. He told me the person who had given me my scholarship had given him money to give to me to go home. I was thrilled.

I also was a little nervous about taking a train for the first time, so I went down to Union Station the day before I was to leave and took a sort of 'dry run'. In 1943, Union Station looked almost like an army and navy base for it was fraught with soldiers and sailors. They were mostly a serious lot, anxious to get home on a long awaited leave before being shipped overseas they knew not where. Once you were sent over, you didn't come back except in a body bag or injured. Not until the war was over. I bought my ticket and found the proper gate and watched the very train I was to take leave at 6 P.M. sharp. My brother Paul always thought this dry run was so funny and frequently told the story and laughed.

The next day the train was loaded with military personnel. It was so crowded I did not think I would be able to get on, but some of them hoisted my suitcase up the steps and me also and there I sat for part of the journey---on my suitcase. As we continued on our trip, some of the congestion was relieved and eventually I ended up in the aisle on my suitcase. Later a soldier got me a seat. It was on an old car as they had scared up all the old cars for use during the war. The seats were stiff and straight and were actually benches that faced each other.

As the night progressed, I ended up sleeping on the bench with some soldier's heavy overcoat over me. He was so nervous and paced the aisle smoking one cigarette after another. The train plowed through snow and we were diverted to a side track also and we did not reach Ironwood, Michigan (in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan) until 12 noon the next day. Reunions with family were a sight to see. There were no social divisions here as everyone, rich and poor alike, had someone in the service. We had two stars in our window for my two brothers . We were glad that they were blue and not gold.

As for streetcars, how much fun we had jumping on the Kedzie Avenue streetcar in Chicago near our college hanging on to the rear platform bar and sometimes extending way out into the street! I just read where they are going to put some l950's streetcars into use in Milwaukee. And they are in great shape--albeit l950's shape. They use them in some cities in Europe and the strange thing is that though bus companies are competing sometimes on the same route, when the people have a choice, they pick the streetcar to ride.

It is a freer more open kind of transportation. Easy on and easy off with more room to move. In Portland and New Orleans here in the U.S. they have put the streetcars back and the people love it. And according to this report, more cities are looking into it. Man, how I loved to hear the clang of the bell in the Spring from our dorm from Kedzie Avenue. It is the same when I hear a train whistle in the night.

Trains and streetcars--some of my most favorite things in this world.

My World Today

2011-01-17T13:28:00.000-08:00

Today is a snowy day and the first thing that my Golden Retriever did was go out and make another of his angels in the snow. I did get a picture of it this time and I hope you can see it O.K.

He makes one just about each time we let him out .

I do love a day like today when you feel so warm and cozy in the house and have enough goodies stored to keep you happy and a good book to read. I am reading Anna Quindlen's Every Last One for one of my LIR (Learning in Retirement) classes which begin up at the University this week. My watercolor class starts on Wednesday. It is the only one which is held in the morning , she offers wryly, as those who know I only am ready to get going in the afternoon. It is hard to get up when one has just turned out the light at 1:30 or 2:00 the night before.

I am also taking a class called The Circadian Novel (books whose stories are contained within a single day). James Joyce's Ulysses is probably the best known example and we all know how we feel about that one. But we are to start with Saturday by Ian McEwan. Haven't obtained that one yet and with this snowstorm will probably not get it today. I do remember reading A Day in the Life of Ivan Ivanovich for Russian history. All I remember is how hungry he was and how he chewed up the fishbones in the soup and ate them too.

Green Bay is riding high these days after the Packers beat the Falcons last Saturday night. It will be quite a tradition to see the Chicago Bears and the Packers in the NFC championship game---long time rivals and they hate each other. Every coach that comes here hears first of all that he must beat the Bears. I hope Aaron, our fantastic quarterback, doesn't get hurt. Chicago plays

tough.

Though it is a long time away yet, I have decided to go back to Green Lake in Minnesota this year. It is way too expensive and impractical, but I have decided how long do I have to be practical and why should I be? I am happy with my decision. None of my family will be there but the lake still is and I hope to get a hitch on my car and take my Bayliner with me. It is about 400 miles from here and all of my family are laughing to think I would try such a stunt, but we'll get there somehow come hell or high water.

I hope you all are safe from all the terrible weather some parts of the world is experiencing. You in Australia and you who live out East and you in California and other spots that have problems. Do you really think it is Global Warming or just the 20 or 30 year cycle that some claim it to be?

COLD,COLD WINTER DIVERSIONS IN JANUARY

2011-01-08T11:45:00.000-08:00

I have discovered that I have chess on my computer. Not good. I get so frustrated and I always lose and I haven't the slightest idea of how to set my men up to get his men and when I think I have got them, they have an ace up their sleeve and plop me and get my queen or my knight or any of my biggies right off the bat. And when they get me so I cannot move without giving one of my biggies away, I get right upset.

I learned the game from my young grandsons years ago. Once in a while then I could even beat them. But, hey, even the world champion can't beat the computer, can he? I don't remember whether he was going to have a match or if he did.

So it is a good diversion for when the weather outside is 10 degrees or so. We have had such a cold winter and it is a hassle to go out. You can get the car warmed up, but then if you want to go shopping or something, you have to get out of the car, right?

I get to the library and the grocery store and the docs and that is about all I attempt. We have had a dusting of snow the last few days but snow is not a problem.

I have been reading some of the blogs lately and note that the people in warmer climes are anticipating Spring already. Gee, I had not even thought about it yet. Here in Wisconsin, Spring is so far off and hard to contemplate.

Of course, we have the Green Bay Packer play-off game to anticipate and that is what keeps this town going. Can you imagine that when it was as cold as 10 degrees the stadium here was sold out. People in this town live for the Packers and so for now, winter is O.K. with them.

And then we have the ice fishermen. For sure, the Bay is covered with ice and all the inland lakes so they are also happy. Not too many have shacks as well furnished and supplied as shown in the movie Grumpy Old Men. Many are just open to the elements. We also have seen a four-wheeler pulling a kid on skis. It is fascinating to watch. I used to walk out to where they were fishing but not lately.

And of course, we have regular cross country skiers but not so much downhill. Oh there is a little hill nearby they use but mostly people go to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan to all the hills there. We, who have lived in Colorado think they are little hills too. But they have fun on these too.

I'm beginning to sound like Sarah Palin and her Alaska series. I did enjoy seeing Alaska but as a critic wrote, the whole thing was a photo op for Sarah and things tourists might do if they visited Alaska, not the way most Alaskans live. And Sarah really didn't do much without guides, her father and others to help her and even do them.

Hope you all are faring well during this winter season. January is followed by February and then there is March--sometimes Spring shows its head in March.

The Cool Side of the Pillow

2010-12-30T17:25:00.000-08:00

The other night as I was passing through the family room I heard Frank Gifford say " like the cool side of the pillow." I am not sure it was he (it was a football game) nor under what circumstances he said it, but it has been on my mind ever since. My first thought was that it was such a great example of the universality of the human condition that most authors strive for.

Since then I have been thinking of all other kinds of things that reflect the same recognizable tie to mankind everywhere. Little things that make our lives better--things that we take for granted. Like the ray of sunshine that I get dressed under (when it is sunny) every morning. Its warmth comes down so far--all the way from the heavens and is so welcome and so warm. (I's retired so I can get up after the sun comes up)

Some of the other things I thought of are sort of the same thing but not as good an example as Frank's remark. Maybe you can think of some other ones that are better.

Marveling at the beauty of a full moon as it shines on the lake or on the new fallen snow.

Loving the aroma of bread baking in the oven.

Holding our breath at the heavenly show put on by the Plieads August 12th. (I saw these as I went for a walk the night Julie was born and I thought it meant that she would become famous some day. She might--you never know!!!!)

Feeling content with the first gulp of coffee in the morning.

Enjoying the warmth that comes from a fire place after being outside on a cold day.

Loving a dog who loves you back without reservations.

Surprised and pleased by the first soft breeze of Spring.

Lulled by the sound of the waves hitting the shore of our favorite lake. This love of water is surely universal and evidenced by the high prices of lake property and the scarcity of same

Scenes from my favorite lake in Minnesota.

I'm sure you will think of many of your own universal truths. Share them with us!!!! Best of all this is all free to everyone and a host of happy thoughts.

A CHRISTMAS STORY

2010-12-19T15:00:00.000-08:00

As I look out my upstairs window at the still cold twilight, I can see the many dog angels that Dodger has made in our back yard. You didn't know dogs made angels in the snow? Dodger does. He must have about 8 or 9 of them out there right now. He rolls on his back and swishs around and joyfully makes his version often.

Then I look around the neighborhood and see the Christmas lights displayed. People are getting better at it every year. Some are beginning to realize that less is more. Others not so much. But they are all colorful and beautiful to brighten up the night.(The angel on the tree above is one Julie made in Sunday School when she was very little and we have had it on the tree for every year since.)

Then I look up into the sky and see the stars come up. Some are one of the newer ones. The lately- get- to- heaven ones. And finally I feel a little glimmer of the Christmas Spirit awaken in me and I hear in the background of my mind the wonderful Mormon Tabernacle Choir that was on the TV the other night singing "For Unto Us A Child Is Born" and ending with "Angels we have heard on high with the Glor-ee-a chorus reiterated over and over at the end and I find myself singing along with them. The Christmas story is also read and my heart finally opens up wider to receive the blessings of Christmas.

I know one family where the mother is fighting an upcoming battle with double breast cancer; another where they recently lost their father; another where they are fighting for the the life of a man with a quadruple bypass who had a heart attack and some who have been without a job for over a year; and all the children in Africa dying every day from cholera. But in spite of all these and more bad things, I wish for you to take some time to let the Spirit of Christmas in your heart. Let it gladden your lives for just a moment. It surpasses all our troubles for they will pass, but Christmas and what it stands for will never go away.

Don't Forget Your Passions

2010-12-11T18:30:00.000-08:00

As you look back on your life, what things do you remember? Other than the usual biggies like your wedding and perhaps your births of your children and stuff like that, what are some of the highlights of your life?

Years ago Bill and I drove to Chicago to see THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and we enjoyed it so much and I have never forgotten it. In fact, I can't stand to listen to a rendition of some of its most famous songs because then it lodges in my head for two weeks constantly playing over and over. And then we saw CATS and LES MISERABLES and they stand out in my memory too.

Bill took his mother to see OKLAHOMA once before we met and she never forgot that and would mention it with such fondness and I am sure it was one of the highlights of her life. We took Jewel to THE NUTCRACKER SUITE in Minneapolis once and Jon and Julie to hear the Golden Strings at the Radisson when they were too small to get in the lounge. But the orchestra director saw how they loved it so much and there was hardly anyone there so they let them in the foyer and left the doors open. They play the CD to this day.

Bill was always one to pass by special attractions as we traveled saying we would catch it later. Most times later never came. But once or twice we did catch something like the Field of Dreams in Iowa and also a genuine horse farm in Lexington, plus Churchill Downs. We also did go to the Washington D. C. area and there we did hit all the points of interest. I remember particularly seeing the capsule John Glenn rode into space and the Hope Diamond. At that time, you could still tour a goodly portion of the WHITE HOUSE . It is fun to see a TV reporter standing outside and think "I have been there" as I can at 10 Downing Street in London also.

You may all be wondering where this is going and my point is to stop and do the sometimes too expensive things. Though the cost at the time seems high, the value to the quality of your lives more than makes up for that. I feel my life has been so much richer because of these memories.
Perhaps the things that enrich your lives are entirely different. A camping trip, a ballgame, a ballet, a trip to someplace you always wanted to go, a concert --whatever.

But some time in your life while you still can, be extravagant, be impulsive, do something you really have a passion for and you will not have any regrets--nothing but joy that you did it. Don't wait for retirement or when you get too old to really enjoy the walking and sightseeing you want to do. Do it now while you are young. You will never rue the day.

This Old Bat

2010-11-30T18:00:00.000-08:00

Recently I had another birthday so I guess maybe I should change my post title to something like THIS Old CROAN or Old? Me. My youngest son, Jordan and his wife, Lori, hosted the event. Julie came all the way from Texas and Jim, son no. 2, was there as well. Of course we cannot forget to name the biggest attraction--Miranda who just turned 3. I call her Matilda. She likes it. She is a very active child. If only she didn't have such hard knees and elbows when she climbs on to you not caring where she plants them! But as you can imagine, I love to have her come to me so I endure the torture gladly.

While in Texas for Thanksgiving, Jacob, my recently married grandson, and I went swimming. It wasn't too cold but the Texans hadn't been in the water for weeks. The wimps!

And I end this family type epistle with a picture of me with my Texas grandchildren. We gained another girl when Jacob married Chelsea.

Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and now on to Christmas. I always loved Christmas but I must confess I heaved a sigh of relief when Christmas dinner was over, thanking God that I wouldn't have to do it again until next year.

SHIPWRECKED IN TEXAS

2010-11-21T17:00:00.000-08:00

Well, not exactly. But we were becalmed, shut down, unable to move as we were on a boat ride about 13 miles from the lakehouse. In the wavy sea the boat was finally tossed to the sea wall and there we stayed. We had had an offer from four men in a boat to help us, but Bob did not want to impose on them to bring us all the way home as they were headed in the opposite direction so he told them that his neighbor was on the way to tow us home.

Great neighbors, they, for true to their word they came and towed us slowly home. I was happy that I had already driven the boat. I have a Bayliner of my own but for various reasons have not been able to use it for two years so that was a real treat for me. Here is a picture of our triumphant return!

It is lovely returning to summer from the North . The trees here are just beginning to turn and of course with the background of the Live Oaks it is even more impressive. Haven't tried swimming yet but we have only been here a day. Got my worms all ready to go and even bought Julie a scaler so she can clean any fish I catch. Yeah, you read that right. Isn't she the greatest tho? (Now that I have said that she will be compelled to do so, won't she?)

Actually we did some fishing this afternoon. Julie caught a lovely bass and then I caught a bluegill and an ugly catfish which she got off my hook. I also had a carp hit my line and he broke it. And she did clean the bass and the bluegill and we already ate them.

Here are some pictures of Julie's Bougainvillea on the pier. They really are spectacular and she has some on the porch as well.

By the way, Wanda, I noticed this at Julie's house in town the other day--another heart!

We couldn't get the Packer game on Texas television so watching the Packers/Vikings game on the computer. Ain't technology grand?

Having a wonderful time. Wish you were here!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

THE REAL DEPRESSION OF THE 30's

2010-11-04T21:19:00.000-07:00

At a dinner with a program series that I belong to at our local museum the other night, the theme was The Great Depresssion of the the 1930's. After a dinner of delicious tho very unpretentious stew and jello, we assembled in the small auditorium for a program by the Heritage Singers with songs and little vignettes about the Great Depression.

They had dialogue and songs like, "Brother, can you spare a dime," the Veteran's March on Washington because they never got paid and run out of town by General MacArthur and his troops no less. The poor lives they lived at home and school, the Hooverville "towns," the election of FDR and pretty much covered the whole period showing that they endured. But the people who lived through it had some fun doing it singing songs and dancing and in the coming of radio shows like Amos and Andy and some movies if they could scrape up the nickel to go.

Many of you have stated in your comments that you like hearing about the "old days" from someone who was there and that is why I am telling you about a little of what I remember of the depression years.

I really could enjoy relating to some of these things as I remembered living through some of them. I remember my dad hated FDR with a passion as all good Republicans did and how he laughed at Amos and Andy. I remember how he would polish our shoes every Saturday night and glue on those rubber soles and heels to keep us going another week.

This is a picture of either my kindergarten class or my first grade. From the left side front row, I am the girl (circle on left) with the flimsy skirt and an old sweater at the end of the front row. It might interest some of you to know that actress Barbara Hale was also in that class down the row from me with the envied Shirley Temple curls (on the right in other object). She later was Della Street on all the Perry Mason shows.

I remember in second grade, when we all went to the lavatory at one time--girls and boys separately, of course. There were no doors on the individual booths. Why, I don't know but I had come to school that day wearing an old pair of panties with the elastic all stretched out and I had apparently taken a safety pin and pinned it together to stay on. Well, it broke. I didn't know what to do. I had a man teacher and so I just stayed in the bathroom after everyone else left. A couple of kids were sent in to tell me to come back to the room but I was too embarrassed to tell them my problem. Finally, a woman teacher came in, saw the problem, got me another safety pin and I could go back to class.

I remember my dad going down to the relief center to get a basket of food for people in the congregation who were too proud to go get it themselves and he delivered it to them and kept many a member from starving.

Later on when times got a little better, I am including a picture of my best friend and I with our new Shirley Temple hats which we got for Easter. Everyone had one and we prized them highly. I'm the one on the left. I was probably about 9.

Many of you may have members of your family out of work or be out of work yourself, but you can be glad things are not as bad as they were then. Unemployment insurance helps and so do so many agencies that give food and clothing and yet the number of people who are homeless is large and many children go to bed hungry. So maybe we don't have it so bad.

WORRY----WHO ME?

2010-10-25T21:28:00.000-07:00

Click on link to see the Ink Spots sing "Do I Worry?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p0A87WKhRoM

I have always read and heard that the things you worry about almost never happen. So I figured early on in life that yep that seems the way to go and so I took up worrying. I am about the best worrier you will ever find in this life. Like having my tooth pulled recently, for instance. I worried and worried and it was postponed so many times and then the day finally came . I went in and bravely stood at the counter and said “I am here to have my wisdom tooth pulled.”

It was a piece of cake. He put in the IV and I was talking to him and then while I am looking at him he says,” You’re done. The tooth is out.” At least that is the way it seemed to me. I could not believe that any time had elapsed, that I was not conscious, and did not see or feel anything. But I’ll take it. Believe me. What a load off my shoulders! I really am a wimp. So many of us worry about things beginning when we are very young and all through life.

I remember when son No. 2 was a little boy and was so obsessed with the idea that there were elephants under his bed. We had been planning a trip to visit my brother in Kansas City . They have a great zoo and we thought it might be a good idea to show Jimmy what an elephant looked like and that it could not possibly get under his bed. I shall never forget the look on Jimmy’s face when he saw these huge monsters of the wild. A rare moment.

When we are young we worry about such little things as a zit on the end of our nose before the big dance. Or that Shirley has bigger boobs than I have and the boys will like her and not me. We worry about tests we have to take and we used to worry about those new-fangled home permanents that they would turn our hair green or make it all fall out or something. (Bet most of you don't even know about those!)

Do you think these jeans fit my butt tight enough? Do you think I will get a bid to the Prom? Will my dinner turn out right and will my guests like it?

I don’t know if anyone ever beats the habit. There is always this little nag that if I don’t worry, it will happen. I think we all worry ---some more than others. Is it worth it? Causes a lot of wear and tear on the psyche. But if it prevents catastrophes from happening I’m all for it.

{Be sure to listen to the Inkspots ----from the 40's I think. My brother loved them.
Click back to the post after you are done listening.)

DENTISTS--HATE 'EM BUT NEED 'EM

2010-10-03T21:25:00.000-07:00

Only five days left before the thing I have been dreading for so long will transpire. I have to have a big ole wisdom tooth pulled! About 57 years ago, Bill had a mavelous dentist that he had gone to almost his whole life. He even had his office on one side of his house in Bill's neighborhood. He filled this tooth for me then and it has lasted this long.

I had always hated dentists from the time when I was a teenager and went to a dentist that should not even have had a license. In those days, most dentist's offices were on the second floor above a store in the downtown area. I shall never forget whenever I had an appointment, I would have to stop at the gas station john and then at the grocery store john and then at the library john before I reached that long stairway that went up to hell. He would call you in and sit you in the chair and start drilling. Yeah, you read right. I think he was the firstproponent of the phrase,"drill Baby drill" and a relative of Sarah Palin. No novocaine, nothing. and he would drill first one and then another and if you made a noise in pain he merely turned the radio up louder. You were done in 15 minutes. I guess he was the only dentist my parents could afford.

After Bill and I were married and I met his dentist. I was always so nervous and one day this man stopped and stood in front of me and said, "I will try my best not to hurt you. I worry about hurting my patient so instead of worrying coming here, just remember I am afraid of hurting you." And he was so gentle and kept asking if I was doing all right and alleviated my fears.

Getting back to this wisdom tooth, this wonderful dentist was drilling a cavity in this wisdom tooth and it was deep and he wondered if the filling he put in would last even a day or a week or just how long. Well, as I mentioned, that was a long time ago and it has been fine ever since. But I was eating something one day last Spring and the tooth broke in half. My present dentist said it would not be feasible to put a crown on it and that it should be pulled.

This is my third attempt to get it done. I think the first time was postponed because I could not sit when I broke my tailbone. The second was postponed for it was scheduled the day Bill died. And so the time has come to face it finally and I am not looking forward to it at all. Although it has not pained me, it has worn down even more and I know I have to do it.

I AM A BIG SISSY AND I KNOW IT AND I WISH FRIDAY WERE OVER. HOPE I DON'T GET A DRY SOCKET OR SOMETHING ELSE.

GERIATRIC MAIL

2010-09-29T08:07:00.000-07:00

Apparently a lot of people read the Obituary Column in the paper. I am getting mail that I never thought I would ever receive. Course my children say that I live in a constant state of denial--the" of course, this stuff will never happen to me", sort of thing.

People are sending me material on hearing aids of all kinds. "Do your children think you have the TV on too loud?" and "do you miss part of the conversations going on around you when you are out?"Come in for a free examination or be a part of a study we are doing on just a select number of people" Well, I like to hear a concert or watch a movie with beautiful classical music loud enough to feel like I am in the audience.

Like tonight when I watched a movie called THE TURNING POINT, a lovely ballet movie made in l977, and starring Baryshnikov and Shirley MacLaine and Anne Bancroft. It was just like being there in person and from my easy chair at that. And my children do think I have the TV on much too loud. I don't understand why. Just fine for me. Thank goodness I was home alone.

Wouldn't you love a chair lift up those stairs like Laura "because Laura loves this house? And, no, because climbing the stairs is the best exercise I get every day.

Wigs I don't need and I do think it is a little too late to buy into an annuity that will pay out great sums in 20 years. And heaven knows I don't need any sexual disfunction helpers. Viagara can keep their coupons for the right sex at least!!!!

But the ones that really interest me are the ads for the mechanized scooters. I saw some people with those at the rest home Bill was in. I wonder how fast they can go and do you suppose they give speeding tickets to drivers of those? I can't risk getting anymore tickets.

THOSE WERE THE DAYS, MY FRIENDS

2010-09-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Next to the bestest thing in my life, which was going away to college, was going to Church Camp, Once a year this great event occurred in my life when I was but a wee teenager. It lasted for a whole week and was the most fun. I even had my first boyfriend there. He was a missionary doctor's son and had lived in China most of his life. Kind of cute. huh?

We stayed in a sort of dormitory, usually with your own group from your own church and sometimes others, as there were four two decker double beds in each room. At eight every morning we got up and gathered at the back balcony to brush our teeth and spit over the railing. (Not a pretty picture, huh?) After washing and dressing, we met by the flagpole for morning devotions (which were very short) and then to the dining hall for breakfast.

Then we had some time to go back and make up our beds and then we went to our first Bible lesson of the day. That usually lasted until 11 and we were free until the evening service. We could go swimming, boating-one boat for all-(this is important as you will see later) or try out our dating skills with the opposite sex, Lunch at 12. Afternoons were spent with baseball games, swimming and boating, and just hanging out. Then we had dinner and the evening service.

The Ironwood group was always noted for being trouble makers and we usually got into trouble in the dorm for short sheeting other groups , putting dead animals in their beds, talking and not going to sleep when we were supposed to. One night the pastor who was the head executive of the camp that year came to our room and reamed us out royally And the room got very quiet. Then, as an afterthought, he left with a mighty “AND MAY THE LORD BLESS YOU!” This engendered a torrent of giggles throughout the whole dorm which irritated the poor man even more. He added a few choice words and then left helpless to stop the pandemonium.

The boat was always in demand and so one day I pretended I had a headache and asked my mother (yes, she was there that year with my dad) who stayed in the executive house if I could stay in her room during the morning session and have Donna, my friend stay with me so I wouldn’t be all alone. I forgot to mention that the oars were always kept in the executive house in the front office. Do you see where this is going? We hid the oars under my mom and dad’s bed and when it was time for lunch we went to the dining hall as usual and took our time eating. We had two guys lined up to go with us. Many hurried through the meal to get to the oars first for the boat and we ate very leisurely listening to them looking all over hell and gone for them knowing they were safe and sound right under my mother’s bed.

Well, we crept down to the lake after the to-do had subsided and got into the boat and took off. We were enjoying our boat ride very much when it seemed that all of a sudden a big wind came up and a big storm was brewing. The boat was small and not suited to be on a big lake in bad weather. Both of the two guys rowed and decided to head for the island as we were closer to it than back to camp. After a lot of strenuous rowing with we girls praying and scared to death, we made it to the island. We were stranded there all day. There was a transient camp on the lake and some men came and wanted to help us but we were afraid of them and stayed away from them.

Finally, a large sheriff’s boat came with my father in it and we were rescued and brought back to camp. The whole camp was on the dock waiting for us and my mom cried she had been so worried. , Strangely enough, we were not punished in any way. They figured the scare we had of almost drowning and being stranded on the island all day was enough punishment, I guess.

The night we had baked beans for supper, teens made the usual jokes about the flatulescence which occurs and this old grizzled white haired guest preacher took offense at it. At the service that night he held his big old Bible over his heart as he always did and castigated all of us for acting that way at dinner. He said he could not preach to people who had sinned so terribly and that we had to come up to the front and apologize to all the directors of the camp one by one. My mom had to go up there for goodness sake and when I came to my dad (who was one of the directors) he could not look at me nor I at him because we both knew we would burst out laughing.

Church camp was a lot of fun. Those were the days, my friends.

TRUST ME

2010-09-10T16:00:00.000-07:00

Trust me.

Yeah, right. Whenever anyone says that to me I run the other way. And I bet most of you do too. It is a fact of life that trust is something precious to all of us and affects us in almost all aspects of our lives.

The idea of trust was brought home to me vividly by the many wild birds in our backyard. Jim was out of town for a week and filled up the feeder as much as he could before he left, but it didn't last and it was empty after the fourth day. I could not reach it to fill it up. The beautiful cardinal mom and pop and the red-polled sparrows and the chickadees and all the beautiful birds that came every day disappeared. After three days Jim returned and filled the feeder up to the top and do you know---none have as of yet returned and it has been almost a week.Their trust that the food that sustained them would be there every day was gone.

Trust is a big topic because it is so universal. Whom do you trust? I trusted my husband implicitly and was not betrayed. Marriage is one of the most important areas of our life where we hope to put our trust.

We trust our dentists to numb up the spot to fix our cavities and the doctor to give the right diagnosis to make us well. We trust the food we eat to be healthful (not always so) and that the morning will follow the night. We trust the mechanic to fix our car, tho whenever they rotate the tires I worry about whether they have tightened the lugs enough so the wheel will not come off in the middle of my streaking down the highway. (that's right, I no longer streak until my tickets are over).lol But the point is we do trust them to fix our car so it is safe to drive.

We have to trust some things whether we want to or not. You can't go through life expecting to get screwed all the time. (Just some of the time:}) And it is important to be trustworthy. To teach one's children that you can trust them and the dog so he won't poop in the house.

And most of all, it is important to have a higher being that you can trust who will never fail you.
Trust or faith will carry you through anything. And that is the hardest trust of all for some of us to maintain--the biggest sin--to not have enough trust.

OUTDOOR FUN

2010-08-30T10:05:00.000-07:00

I was just working my crossword puzzle and one of the clues was” a game kids used to play.” It turned out to be Kick the Can and it got me to thinking about all the wonderful fun we had when we were kids and why don’t the kids play like that anymore?

Remember the simple Hide and Seek and the variations and more complicated Follow the Arrow, Run Sheep Run. But Kick the Can seems to be the one everyone played. Every night after supper we would play until our parents whistled us home when it grew dark.

When we moved to Denver I taught some of the neighborhood kids to play a few of the games and they loved it. I also remember once when I was on an elevator in the Mayo Clinic, I believe, and three giggling girls got on and faced the wall in the back. I looked at them for a minute and then without thinking said “I will draw the frying pan and who will put the wiener in?” All on the elevator joined in the laughter and remembered the old game. Cancer and procedures were forgotten for a moment.

Our children used to run loose more than they can nowadays I guess and that is one reason, but if a parent were nearby {probably need a grandparent to remember the rules) it seems to me that more kids could get the fun and exercise before they went to bed.. We are in a campaign to make our kids less obese and this is a fun way to get exercise. Seems they all go to structured soccer or baseball programs for their exercise nowadays. Ends up today’s children do not know how to play spontaneously. I understand playing these games is on a comeback. And they have been expanded to phrases George Herbert Bush made famous like kick ass. Which has nothing at all to do with my post here . :)

Where are the sandlot baseball games of yesteryear? And the pick-up basketball games? Do any of your children engage in these fun things? And how about hopscotch and marbles and jacks? Why is everything tied to building up your abs? Makes it more like work than fun.

BEACH SHENANAGINS

2010-08-17T20:32:00.000-07:00

These are some pictures we took the day after Bill died. It was a good call as everyone needed some fun.

Boy, did that Johnson guy ever get screwed at that golf tournament on Sunday! We who live in Wisconsin know that there are sandy spots all over especially near Lake Michigan. The judges live here too, I presume, but what a travesty of justice that decision was. For those of you who are not golfers or did not watch the game, they ruled that he grounded his club when he shot that hole where he was surrounded by fans so that he could barely shoot out of there in the first place, much less see that he was near the edge of a sand trap. He will win out in the end though for the public is now empathetic to his plight and he will probably be more remembered for it that if he had won.

To all of you who expressed your sympathy and condolences I wish to thank you so much. I cannot tell you how your comments meant more to me than a lot of the cards I got. I feel closer to you folks and know that you taking the time to send me a message was far more meaningful than some of those cards.

That said, on the lighter side, it was fun to have all of the sons and daughters at home. We did have one problem however. There were six men, all over 6 feet (except one who shall remain nameless in honor of his feelings) They have trouble hitting the hole as it were and some I swear tried to write their name every morning. One had to examine the seat closely before you even began to sit down every time! And of course they all denied it was they.

Dodger got petted all day long and expected it to continue after they left. I told him that it was over, baby, and that I had other things to attend to. We did have a lot of fun as we always do when we get together. If you think my daughter has a good sense of humor, you should hear the brothers and her go at it. It is a shame that we all live so far from one another.

Jim will be leaving me soon, I think. He has some job prospects back in Denver and has had nothing here. I shall hate to have him go. But LIR (Learning in Retirement) classes start up soon and so that will be good .

Enjoy the rest of the summer. Hopefully it will be cooler than it has been. Isn’t that strange to say?

LAUGHTER AMID SORROW

2010-08-10T21:44:00.000-07:00

I have lost my dancing partner for life last Friday. I shall miss him, I know, but I shall go on grateful for all the 60 years (minus two months) we shared both good and bad with all the ups and downs one experiences in that time. Some of you have already shared that experience and some of you will some day. Cherish each day and celebrate your lives together often. It goes by so fast. It has been a long long goodbye.

I have been so busy taking care of the many business details and the decisions one has to make, that I don’t really know how I feel about it all yet. But we have had a lot of fun too. All of the children are home and my house has become a homeless like shelter with people sleeping on the floor, on the davenports and on the Lazy Boys until my son-in-law decided enough was enough and engaged two hotel rooms nearby.

Old friends came from Minneapolis and as always when we get together with them, the house was filled with laughter. We met them years ago at Green Lake where we used to go every summer and have become very close. The wife and my daughter are close friends as are her husband and my sons and they are nice enough to love Bill and me too.

I don’t want this to be a sad post. He was 88 and his quality of life was nil so it was a blessing. We are filled with happy memories and funny tales of things he said and did and we have had a lot of fun telling these over and over to each other.

I am including a picture of his honor guard at his resting place. It was such a lovely ceremony. Taps will hit you in the gut every time.

Guest Post: What I've Learned

2010-08-06T11:20:00.000-07:00

While Bernie is away with her husband and family, I, Fragrant Liar, have been asked to guest post. And I thought, hey, Bernie may have a few years on me, but I've learned some things about life, too! Like . . .

I'm thinking . . . I'm thinking . . .

Well, take my word for it. I have learned a bunch of stuff. And I fully expect to continue being educated the hard way on plenty more things by the time I get to toast the full century mark. Here are seven things I have learned so far (and no, that is not the sum total):

Men may come and go, as will some dear friends, but children are forever. Better to treat them well so they'll want to come visit you in the old folks home.
While your beloved pets won't come visit you in the old folks home, they will frequently give you more love and attention than your own kids, and maybe that's a good enough reason to leave everything in your will to the four-paws. Take that!
Your children are indeed watching and learning from you, so don't be surprised when they pick up your worst behavior and model it right back atchya.
Sometimes I spend too much time dreaming of what could be, rather than enjoying what already is in the present. Hey, with the daily 9-to-5 grind, can you blame me?
Fear is a bigger obstacle to accomplishing your goals than you realize. So is apathy, but I really don't care about that.
Writing fiction is an excellent use of my time, as it feeds my soul the way nothing else in life really can. Except maybe a man, but he has to be a really special—no, wait. Scratch that last sentence.
Good friends come from all walks of life and all ages, and I am a very fortunate woman to enjoy beautiful friendships with so many fine people. I have no regrets about the not-so-fine friends I've dumped along the way.

I raise my wine glass in tribute to Bernie and her husband Bill, and the rest of their family as they endure a very difficult time. My thoughts are with you. ~ Kimber

RANDOM THOUGHTS

2010-07-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

The other day I got a flyer in the mail about bundling my phone together with my TV and my cell and my computer. All I can say is that AT&T must be the most inefficient corporation on the block because it took me one and one-half hours on the phone. Mostly on hold. Jeez, I could kill the guy that invented that! Anyhow I ended up with Choice Extra for my TV with 210 channels and I find that the same thing happens now as it did whenever we stayed in a motel with that many channels. I just keep flipping the dang channels and never get to watch anything! But tonight I did watch something that was worth it---Paul McCartney at the White House and I heard “Hey Jude” and “Yesterday” and it was lovely. A local station, of course.

Four goldfinches did a lovely aerial ballet for me around the feeder this afternoon. I have never seen them sort of pedal in midair and then swoop around like that before in and out amongst each other.

Jim’s gladiolas are coming into bloom. He has planted over 100 of them and so I have a constant bouquet in my house. They are just starting so I hope they keep staggering their bloom so I can have them for a long time and not too many at once. They make good gifts.

My granddaddy of a willow is monstrous with all the rain and hot weather it has filled out and its canopy covers almost the whole back yard. It meets the sugar maple and my counterpart, the sugar maple and so the back yard is completely like walking in a vault of tree branches. I love it.

Dodger is the funniest dog. He plays by himself with his balls (his rubber balls) and makes them go into tight spots in the patio door, for instance, and then digs them out only to do it again and again. Then he tosses them in the air and chases them. Self entertainment.

One of the benefits of growing older is that I put myself in the other person’s shoes more often than I did. If a motorcyclist revs his motor up beside me at a stop sign I don’t mind. I would do it too if I had one. And if someone cuts in front of me or seems angry about something, I think that maybe he has a good reason like maybe he just lost his job, or his girlfriend or maybe he doesn’t feel well or someone he loves is ill or worse.

I feel more of a kinship with my fellowmen. When I was young I thought only I could feel such pain when things happened, or only I felt some things like no one else. We are all in the same boat and when they ask " for whom the bell tolls-it tolls for thee", I get it now.

So these are just some of my random thoughts today. I will end by saying, “Never, never ask a man for directions! They are never specific enough. A woman will give you great directions every time.”

LOVE OF A DOG

2010-07-24T10:20:00.000-07:00

Some of you have been asking how my new dog, the Artful Dodger, is working out so I thought I thought I would tell you just how wonderful he is.

These have not been easy weeks for us lately. My husband Bill who has had Altzeimer’s for about 9 years has been sick lately and we have had to bring him to the ER three times with no success until this last time. Believe me, one has to have the right doctor to get anywhere.

He was admitted to the hospital and yesterday as I was sitting in my chair listening on the phone for the results of his tests (he was being discharged at the time and transported to the rest home), I heard that he has entered the end stage and has multiple things going on that are not good. I, who never cry, began crying as I listened and Dodger pricked up his ears and came over to my chair and raised himself into a position where he was virtually hugging me with his paws around my neck and pressing his head against mine and licking my face. Now, there’s a dog who is a pal in need. He didn’t need thumbs. I am so thankful for him. I have seen dogs do this in movies as in Lassie but I have never had this experience before

I knew this would be coming, but not so suddenly nor so soon. Because Bill has been so good for so many years, I guess I was lulled into forgetting about this fact. And so it goes.

Summertime in Door County Wisconsin!

2010-07-18T19:32:00.000-07:00

Last fall, we shared some pictures of beautiful Door County. Here are some pics of a day last week when we went up again in the good ole summer time.

Except it still is rather early for Lake Michigan to warm up. This day the weather was in the 80's but at Whitefish Bay Beach the winds were stirring up the lake to three foot or more waves and the water temperature was 62 degrees. But never let it be said that I am a wimp and I have learned how to deal with this. You go in several times, a little bit at a time. You get your feet up to your knees wet and paining like crazy and then you run out and wait a bit.

You keep doing this for 5 or 6 times and then dunk. Water soon becomes quite tolerable. And with the lovely sand bottom and with the waves trying to knock you over, a lot of fun. Jim comes running in freezing one more time.

After our invigorating swim, we looked for a place to eat. My son, Jim, had never had a genuine Door County Fish Boil so we found a place in Bailey's Harbor just about ready to serve up the last batch. It is a spectacular show and the dinner is delicious. They cook it over an open fire in a big kettle and at the last minute they throw keosene on the fire to make it boil over. That is supposed to get all the fat out of the dinner. Then they serve it with cups of drawn butter poured all over it!!!!!

A Blog With Substance

2010-07-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

I've received an award and I'm most happy about it. I've been recognized as a Blog with Substance by Scrubby Brush. I thank Cheryl, my Australian friend.

I am to pick 10 people who I think have blogs of substance. Wow, was that hard to narrow down. I know there are many more I could have mentioned, but these are the ones I came up with.

First, Catbird Scout, for I regard her as one of the finest writers out there. I know she already has one but I just had to put her down from me too.

Moments of Mine who always posts a beautiful quiet time showing us with her camera and her comments stories about her walks and her grandchildren .

At the Farm if you enjoy hearing about beautiful horses and farm life in general. She brings you there.

Weaver of Grass always has a great topic for discussion and thoughtful comments. I have always loved the way she calls her husband “the farmer”

Midlife Jobhunter shares her family, travel, views of life using a very fine sense of humor. Very Erma Bombeck like. Can be both hilarious at times and sardonic at others. Great writer. She will go somewhere in the writing field someday.

Sixtyfivewhatnow writes about many different topics but is always an interesting read. She tells about her views using the lake as a metaphor and about her trips.

Beyond the Diapers and Spills writes on a variety of subjects that inspire great discussions. Her latest on marriage is great.

A Walk in My Shoes gives a lot of information on how to get published as she is a published author. I have always loved her opening picture of all the beautiful shoes and it is such an apt title.

Wander to the Wayside has shared her life experiences as an adopted child with all of us in a marvelous detailed way. She made us feel.

Can't forget On My Own for she is a loyal friend to many. She offers valuable friendship and in her posts she tells of her happiness in everyday living. She is an inspiration to us all to live in the moment the best that we can.

I hope you will visit some of my choices and Cheryl at Scrubby Brush. You won't be disappointed.

WISH I WERE HERE!!!!!!!!!

2010-07-04T20:38:00.000-07:00

For 51 years with few exceptions I have been blessed to spend the Fourth of July at a resort in Minnesota called Park Lane. It is located west of Minneapolis about 80 some miles and the lake is named Green Lake. It is the purest cleanest lake in the world we have been told. There was one in Switzerland that was supposed to be first but they had an avalanche and thus ours became the best.

This is back in time quite a bit. One of the grandchildren was very small. Jim and Bob and Ian.

Whether this is true or not, it is a fantastic lake where the water feels like silk on your skin. You have such a feeling of exhilaration after a swim like nowhere else.

Neighbors had a '50, a small motorcycle which Jacob helped me learn how to ride one day. It is one of my favorite pictures. You can see the lovely resort too.

Needless to say, how I wish I were there today driving my Bayliner around that lake which is 12 miles around, swimming in that lovely velvet water, and being with all my family all day long for two weeks. Here I am driving the boat.

.

Just a few memories to share with you all.

This is Ian swimming at the end of the pier.

That's all, folks. Glad you could come along.

THE ARTFUL DODGER

2010-06-23T20:33:00.000-07:00

Meet the new love of my life---The Artful Dodger---my new wonderful Golden Retriever!!!! Talk about that line "Good things happen to those who wait." This could not be truer than if it had been staged.

He is a little over one year old and tho he is a male and I wanted a female, he is such a softie and a lover that I love him anyway. He is all trained in all ways, beautifully behaved and beautiful to look at and all he wants is to love you. We have had him only three days and he is like we have had him forever. He is the darling of the resthome. My husband with Alzheimer's loves him.

There were many things against my getting a dog at this stage of my life and I don't know how long Jim will be with me to take care of him. I do not anticipate any problem with that, however. Dodger is a puppy from the owner's dog. His father lives there still and an older brother from previous litter. That he was brought up with love and gentle discipline transfers to make him into a fantastic member of this household.

I figured that it was important to my quality of life to have a dog that I could love now. I have been worrying and taking care of my husband's problems to improve his quality of life and so I decided the other night while talking to my neighbor--What about mine? And then almost the next day this deal falls into our lap. How about that?

TRIBUTE TO FATHERS

2010-06-16T11:57:00.000-07:00

Tis Father's Day Me Hearties and

We Must Give Him His Due.

So Lift a Glass of Spirits Now

And Toast Thy Sire Anew.

Yeah. go Dad! Father's Day is a fairly recent designation which was invented purely in response to Mother's Day. Of that, I am certain. You know men. We can't even be pregnant by ourselves anymore. I read the other day that they have now discovered that men who learn they are about to become fathers go through some of the same symtoms as the women. Now give me a break!

Well, let's face it. Dads are important. Many families are without dads and thrive O.K. but not as lucky as the nuclear family. For some of us, our dads had a terrific impact on our lives. For many, especially daughters, dads are the favorite parent. For others, not so much.

If you were born to parents from Sweden, the father was the ruler and big man of the house and his wife was there to serve him and his children. I was raised in such a house. Not only was he the father and man of the house, but a priest as well. {They call them that in Sweden instead of pastors) Someone asked me once if I loved my father. Yes, I did, but I respected and admired him more. What he did in his lifetime as an immigrant coming from Sweden in 1901 is truly amazing . Not speaking English to becoming a public speaker ( and very good at it too), holding positions of consequence in the communities he lived in, being a loved and respected pastor leaves me in awe of him. I cherish his memory.

As for my own children's father, I don't have to wonder what they think of him at all. I believe they all loved him with all their hearts. I picked a good man for them. I believe he is the favorite parent. They always talk about how they could come to him with their problems and he always had help for them. Me, they talk about my cooking!!!!

They all came home for his 75th birthday. Here are a few pictures of the before going-out-to-dinner activities with Julie and her dad. And one picture of the Michigan State basketball game down in San Antonio just a few years ago. That is little Jordan with him in the stands.

So Bless Them All the Blackards
Bless the Strong Bravehearts too
Tis Deep In Our Hearts They lie
Blimey. hand me another brew.

CRAWLING TO THE FINISH LINE

2010-06-13T09:35:00.000-07:00

After just three days of training I decided to walk in the 10K Bellin Race. Heretofore I had walked only as far as the corner of my street. I broke my tailbone in Texas and was rather constricted as to my activities. So on Saturday morning at 6:30 I got up. It was dark, cold, and rainy out. I sent a quick e-mail to my kids and asked them whose idea was this anyway? And then I left to join the 17,000 other participants.

The run is like the third largest in the nation I think and it is for cancer. At $25 bucks apiece that is quite a large chunk of change for breast cancer. I think they include leukemia and other cancers too now. Such a teeming mass of humanity is gathered there together with all the onlookers who encourage the runners on. A Kenyan wins every year lately. I guess it has been l4 years since an American has won it. Shucks, he was back and done before many of the rest of us had started! Sort of broke my hopes of winning right there.:)

No, I must confess that I only entered the one mile event for those who had had therapy of one kind or another for knee surgery, hip surgery, heart problems etc. And I barely made it. I had to rest often and almost had to crawl to the finish line. This time I didn't have the police watching over me--I had two physical therapists from the hospital. I don't know how I picked them up but they must have spotted me resting - - -often leaning on the temporary barrier.

And I got mixed up with another group again but regained my straggling group soon enough. Only they weren't straggling. Only I was. Heck, they were not nearly as old either. Anyhow it was fun and very satisfying to finish and not quit. Here are a few more pictures.

Thought I was near the finish line but the lady said, "Oh No, you have to go around this next corner and go several blocks before you get there!" I thought that mile went awfully fast. But after we turned the corner and got to the other street I hadn't counted on such a far far destination. It looked like it was to hell and gone. But we toiled on.

Look kind of beat here and the therapist is right beside me. Kind of cool to have them watch you that well. The last 40 feet my head kept telling my feet to put one in front of the other and I made it!!!!!

LOST PEOPLE AND PLACES

2010-06-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

We tell ourselves we must go to see Mary or we must write to Paul or we must call John on the phone. Our intentions are good, but many times we get busy with our own lives and never get around to contacting our old friends or relatives. Time flies by and one day you realize it is too late to talk to them anymore. You missed it. You missed days, months, even years of enjoyment interacting with these people. Why is this? Why do we choose to live with regret and a sense of loss and rue the fact that we didn't keep close to those loved ones?

I'm sure all of you can relate to this feeling, whether young or old. Some folks we would just as soon not see anymore, but then there are the precious ones that we enjoyed but thought we had forever to see. I miss Paul, my brother who could make the fun out of anything. He lived near Chicago. Not that far from us. But visits were few and far between. When I was young and romping through college, I had such a hard time to just go home to visit with my mom even on Mother's Day! She died when I was 23. We take people for granted and do not cultivate our gardens of loved ones.

Whenever we went on a road trip somewhere, there would always be places of special attraction such as a horse farm in Kentucky or the Grand Canyon in Arizona or the Chicoteaque horses in Virginia. These are just a few of the places that we were close to, or right there but Bill who had a penchant for "making time" would pass up and say that we would go there when we came back some day. Well, some day never came and we never went back except to the horse farm. We were as close as Lexington, Flagstaff, and (I need a map) for the island. So my daughter learned from this and when she takes a road trip, she looks up all the points of interest and takes detours to find them and experience them.

So this post is about gathering rosebuds while ye may or making hay while the sun shines. I hope you all will pay attention and write to that old friend today and don't skip the special things there are to see as you travel. The motel will be there when you get there and maybe the light will even be on for you!

GRANDDAUGHTERS ARE DIFFERENT

2010-06-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Jim and I went down to surprise Lori, my daughter-in-law, on her birthday. We did indeed surprise them and had a great time. Matilda (Miranda) continues to display loads of affection for me which puzzles me no end because she hardly ever sees me. (Maybe this is why she does) I have only experienced grandsons before so maybe this is how granddaughters work. At any rate it is most cherished and enjoyed. She is a sweetheart.

Here are some pictures of the occasion.

This is when we first arrived and she was anticipating her first kiss.

Cute little button nose.

Her beautiful Mom with the cake that Jim made.

Mmmm. Tastes pretty good!

Miranda doesn't like sweets, but she got a few crumbs off of the spatula and I think she may change her mind soon.

I also thought you might like to see my garden this year. I think it is beautiful.

FASCINATING BLOGS

2010-05-29T14:21:00.000-07:00

OH THE PLACES YOU'LL GO

With my new computer I am writing to bloggers that I have neglected for so long. I hope I can reach most of you that have written me soon. What a wonderful world it is! Now it is so much easier. Before it always took me forever to go to each one. I had to wait for it to come on and then I would get this "windows not responding" thing. Now it is zip and it is there. It is great. Only thing is I get so interested I go on and read previous posts too.

I have been amazed anew at the places we can go without Dr. Seuss, and the things we can learn through this medium. People are fantastic and so much talent is out there. Talk about authors writing about the human condition, in blogging, we have the epitome of that. I have learned all about kangaroos from one. I have one blogger with so much talent and such a love for words that she can almost make my heart melt just like the violin solo in Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake does. Her writing is gorgeous and she writes sentences that are like poetry in and of themselves. She writes of a walk in which she encounters a fledgling owl. "We stood in each other's company for a very long time. Long enough that I could see his eyes glowing ebony in liquid gold. Those eyes recalled to me that light will always be offered in the darkness, even when my heart is too hurt to search. " I hope Deb of Cactus Scout does not mind my quoting her but I admire her so much.

And then there are the really funny ones like the hilarious story of this goony soon to be mother-in-law shopping with her friends for a wedding dress. We who are women can relate so well to her references to her trials with a mammogram whether blessed with a little or a lot.

There are a lot of grandmas out there that care for and love their grandchildren and love to show pictures of them. They are fun to look at and hear about. One of my bloggers always refers to her husband as "the farmer", never his name. I love to go to the people who live on farms. I am entranced with farm life and I love cows and horses. Pigs not so much.

Younger readers find tales of my youth an interesting insight into history! And one's feels the pain when you read stories about a nephew dying of leukemia who asks for prayers. Curiosity is stirred when you read about this gal in Australia who is really into nature and saving animals that are endangered. Did you know that a gorilla is required to make your cell phone? She advises not to throw them away--recycle. Saves more gorillas. I always find it fascinating that those folks in Australia and the Philippines are talking about summer when it is winter here and visa versa.

Yes, blogging is a most wonderful thing. It means a great deal to me. If I ever have to go to a rest home you can bet my computer will be under my arm--to heck with clothes and such.

BITCHING DAY--WARNING

2010-05-24T09:39:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things that disappoint me on the political scene but I won't go into that. I would like to express my opinion about the Supreme Court which is (supposed to be) apolitical. I am in complete disagreement with the make-up of the court today. They all are from the Eastern part of the country and they have no idea what goes on in the Midwest, the South, or the West, and I think they should also be represented on the highest court in the land. I also think that a lot of universities besides Yale and Harvard can produce judges just as well as they can. Everyone is a graduate of Yale or Harvard. Ridiculous! And if one wants to go there, they are leaving out representation from the largest religious group in America. How did this court end up being so undiverse? Have we been so into making sure we have racial and sexual representation that we have forgotten these other factors which are very important also? I have nothing against the current candidate but she is of the same mold also. I think it is time for a change in the way our judges are chosen. Certainly the criteria should change. And politics should not enter into in any way.

Well, that is the important thing I wanted to get off my chest this morning.

I also wanted you to know that I have bought a new computer and a printer as well . Jim and I went to get it at Office Max . We got it home and Jim set it up and it didn't work. The something wasn't talking to the hard drive. Some of you might know what I am talking about because I sure don't. Anyhow we packed it up and Jim brought it back. We had decided to get another brand and Office Max did not carry that brand and so they would not take it back without charging us 15% of the total bill, a charge for restocking it, and it amounted to quite a bit. We refused to pay it and took the computer back and brought it to another Office Max on the other side of town and he was most sympathetic and gave us a new one even without the receipt! All of which proves different owners have better customer relations. And don't take this crap about paying to return a defective computer.

This is a bad post. But I did want to see if anyone out there agrees with me about the Supreme Court and I did want to let you know I am up and running with a new and fast computer. It is heaven not to have to wait 30 minutes for it to boot up in the morning and also to constantly not get "windows not responding" every two minutes whenever I tried to do something.

And I hope you all have a good day today even after reading my gripes.

JUST STUFF

2010-05-18T10:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever sat and marveled at the orderly precision automobiles and trucks maneuver at a four way three lane stop sign? I have and though I am not a person to admire strict obedience to rules and regulations, having recently become the recipient of another speeding ticket, this does impress me. It is like a well-performed ballet. A perfect performance. And I have become a paragon of virtue following the speed limits to a tee. My dad and the neighbor across the street taught me how to drive and one of the things my dad stressed was to keep up with the traffic. That I have done all my life, but now I guess it is not working so well. You would be surprised at the looks I get, the angry yelling, the finger, all the time. Most of the time I grit my teeth and let it go, but once in a while I thumb my nose back at them. Shakes some of them up. They have never seen that before. Teenagers laugh and others just shake their head. Wonder what they think?

I am coming along with my recovery quite well. I can walk fairly well but sitting and getting up is a trial. In fact, I have signed up for the Bellin Run (Walk) on June 12 and I hope to be ready for the one mile walk then. Oh Ho! You thought I was going to walk the whole 10 K? If I can do the mile, I shall be happy.

Summer has finally arrived and Jim has planted over 100 glads already and cleaned up the garden and I will plant the pots one of these days. I get my geraniums from East High School each year. Those kids have a green thumb and their plants are very healthy and cheap. I like to have an eclectic group of flowers in each pot but I use the geraniums as a base as they always are in bloom.

The birds have taken over the back yard with Jim's three feeders. The squirrels are a problem but Jim puts some in the big willow for them. He figures they will leave his feeders alone if they have their own stash. I don't know. That one squirrel is almost as big as a dog now.

Here is a picture of my fishing results down in Texas. This was the result of only a few minutes. As you can see they are not big, but my they were tasty. I shared them with a couple of people there for the wedding who had never eaten bluegills or crappies. They actually are my favorite eating fish! And I don't have that big a pot belly. I just carry everything I own in my pockets!

MOM LOVED YOU BEST!!!!!!

2010-05-12T10:40:00.000-07:00

MOM LOVED YOU BEST!!!!!

It is interesting to think about how one feels about our siblings now and how we felt when we were growing up. Did you read an article in the USA TODAY about how children feel about their mother on Mother’s Day and how all mothers say they love their children equally, but they really do not. Mothers love each child differently would perhaps put it more truly.

How many of you feel that you were your mother’s favorite? Or how many of you feel that your mom loved one of you more than the others. In my birth family, we all knew my mom loved my oldest brother the best but it didn’t seem to bother us. She seemed to have enough love left for the rest of us. There were five. Three boys and two girls. I was the baby and came long after what was supposed to be the last. I only remember being spanked just once on my bottom. When I was four I had run away from home across 13 railroad tracks and my dad felt he should make it memorable and so I got my spanks and then was placed in the corner behind the door. The furnace controls were there (the old chain ones) and I broke 'em.

If you knew your mom loved one of you the most, did it bother you? Or did it bother you when you were growing up and does not now. Or does it still rankle you even yet.

Did you feel perhaps that you were loved by your dad more than your mom? If there were two of you, did you feel that one was loved by mom and the other by dad?

It seems the problem does not arise so much in large families as it does in small ones. And of course in a one child household, there was no problem at all.

Think about your present family. Do you prefer one child over another? Do you really feel that you give more attention to one than another? Do you prefer boys to girls or visa versa. Are you still remembering what it was like to be the less loved one and trying to overcompensate with your own children to make sure one does not feel the same way? .Or is history repeating itself and whatever went on in your growing-up years is still going on. Does anyone honestly believe anyone can be completely even in their distribution of affection so that things were really quite perfect in your household ?

What about single parent families? Now that is a whole new balliwick. With only one parent the rivalry for her attention is even greater. And her ability to be fair with each one is even harder. If one seems to be the easiest to raise and get along with, she may very well favor him or her.

And what about all the blended families--his kids, my kids, and our kids? Now there must be a lot of interesting ways that this could go.

I thought this was a human condition that is something all of us have experienced. It is an intriguing subject and can evoke a lot of thought.

KUDOS TO ALL WORKMEN OF THE WORLD!!!

2010-05-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Before my visit to Texas came to an end, I had to go and have an self –incurred accident. Never one to heed good advice as you have seen in previous posts, I used a bathroom shower that I was not supposed to. The previous owner of the lake house, and living in Marble Shoals made it inevitable that he would have a bathtub raised up on three marble steps. It was a really cool bathtub and the shower head was just right for me. Well, after using it several times, there came a time of reckoning and as I exited being extremely careful, I fell ass over teakettle in quite a spectacular fall. I tested. My hips were intact. But I broke or bruised my tail bone and hurt my back and tore my left arm up into what Julie described as a hamburger. After a visit to the hospital where I had the usual x-rays and l9 stitches in my arm, I survived quite blessedly I think.

Forced to be immobile, I have been sitting here watching the men next to the lake house put in a new pier . I have been admiring the precision with which they work. They work together like a well-oiled machine knowing what to do next and which man will do what to accomplish their goal. They both carry out the long pieces of wood , one on each end and lay it carefully in a predetermined order on the part that is finished. One does the welding and the other holds the framing piece upright and checks that it is straight.

Long have we extolled the artists, the musicians, the writers, even architects but I do not know of any museums dedicated to workmen. And where would we be if we did not have skilled workmen in many fields? The knowledge that they possess and the skills they have honed and passed on to future generations is unfathomable. In our everyday lives, the skill of the electrician, the desperate help of the plumber, the carpenters that build and add on to our homes all bring to mind the value of these people. The mechanics, the repairmen for every appliance, the roofers—all make the world go around and we just accept it as an everyday thing when it is really a great thing.

So I say, HAIL TO THR WORKMEN OF THE WORLD and God bless ‘em for being.

Texas Glory

2010-04-29T14:35:00.000-07:00

In my last post I wrote about my trip to Texas to visit my daughter and see my firstborn grandson married. Rather than go over every party and aspect of this grand occasion, I thought I would just tell about some of my impressions.

Above is a picture of the wedding couple. The wedding was distinctly a reflection of Chelsea ‘s unique tastes and it made for a very interesting and varied experience. Chelsea was a dream in her mermaid like dress—one that very few women could get by with. A perfect figure wrapped tightly with the ruffles below her derrier (I think). The bridesmaids wore short skirts with cowboy boots and Chelsea herself is said to have changed into her boots under her dress for the dancing. Food and drink were wonderful and plentiful and the setting at the ranch was beautiful.

I learned to love the Texas Aggie’s fight song and it is ringing in my head all the time. There were a lot of the grads there and they get in a circle and sing it and then lock their legs and sway and whoop at the end. They first did this on the ship we were on for the rehearsal dinner and I thought it sort of interesting, but the second time at the reception for the wedding, I decided I really liked it.

By the way, on this ship we were supposed to see millions of bats flying out from under one of the bridges. We sat and waited but this was not their night. If Texans were this hard up for entertainment I felt sorry for them. And of course, they aren’t , but people were lined up on the streets above and all the ships were sitting there waiting. I guess it is sort of like the swallows coming back to Capastrano, but then this is supposed to happen every night!

But the really beautiful wild life I saw were the two white swans on the lake guarding their young. And deer were around too at night.

Roadside Texas Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrushes and some little white things and some pink cup like wild flowers were abundant along the roadsides all over. Sometimes there were fields of bluebonnets—a lovely sight. And the trees and shrubs were at least 10 shades of green all the way from almost black to a light chartreuse. I never became a great painter, but I did learn to see the world in a whole more vivid way!

But my most favorite sight are the cows out to pasture not in fields , but in groves of live oaks. I love this scene more than any other in this hill country. It is one of the first things I ever noticed about the Texas countryside.

Learned that when Texans say “It is only down the road a piece” could mean anywhere from 15 to 100 miles.

A plethora of friends and family attended—260 of them found their way through curvy, hilly LBJ country even fording streams to get to this wedding. In the car I was riding in we were using one of those new-fangled direction things they have on the cell phones and finally even the machine gal gave up and got lost in the wilderness we were in!

So many of these people have such interesting family histories that go way back to Poncho Via I think. I believe they all fought at the Alamo along with Davy Crockett. I jest. But Chelsea goes back to Robert E. Lee and her grandfather and great grandfather were all professors at Texas A and M.

When it rains it is as if someone is up there tipping over the clouds it comes down so hard and fast. And the thunder scared the bejesus out of Dave from San Diego.

The lake house is heaven on earth. People we knew from all over the United States were there—good friends that one wishes one could see every day . There were people from Minnesota, Wisconsin, New York, San Diego, Dallas, Phoenix, Flagstaff, Colorado. Old friends who mostly all knew one another met for dinner and two or three good evenings of catch-up conversation and fun. It was a very special time.

Chelsea and Jake are somewhere in Italy now enjoying their honeymoon. They had an auspicious beginning. Let us hope and pray that their lives will continue to be filled with happiness and joy.

Good Times A Comin'

2010-04-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Texas is supposed to be in the South and the South is supposed be warm and even hot, right? Somebody didn’t give the right order then because it is cold, cloudy, and damp. But my spirits aren’t ! It is beautiful here at the lake.

I had a great flight down here. I saw the most majestic thunderheads while on the plane that I have ever seen as we approached Austin and the pilot managed to miss most of them. The peanuts were delicious as well!

I am here for my first-born grandson’s wedding. From all I have heard so far it is going to be a very busy week. Julie and her husband have been working cleaning everything in sight—the kayaks (I couldn’t get my butt down in one and worse I could never get out again if I did), the boat, every nook and cranny of the lake house—even the motorcycle if one of the guests choose to ride it.

The rehearsal dinner is going to be on a cruise ship on a different lake located in the city and the wedding will take place outside of a barn on a ranch and the reception held in aforementioned barn. I guess this is la rigeur for dreamworks weddings here.

People will start coming in on Wednesday and from then on it is go go go. I don’t know if this ole gal can take all this excitement!!!!

Julie is out planting flowers in pots on the pier. Everyone has big elaborate piers down here as they don’t have to take them down for the winter. Some even have second stories!

It’s going to be a great ride and we will send some pictures of the big event. And I hope to get to answer some of your comments sometime soon. I want to thank you for all your kind responses to my last post. This is not my computer. I think I will have to get a new one. The last one has served me well.

Don't Give Up on Me

2010-04-11T17:00:00.000-07:00

You haven’t heard from me because I’m having some computer issues. My daughter is posting this for me from her computer. Please don’t forget me until I get mine fixed or get to a computer that works. That may not be until next weekend.

My son, Jim, put up several bird feeders around my yard and cardinals, chickadees, red-polls, golden finches, and nut hatchers have visited. What a pleasure also to watch my willow tree leaf out – first of my trees in the spring – last to lose its leaves in the fall. The squirrels have begun their usual romp and tag-playing round and round the willow's big trunk. They've entertained me for the past hour.

Prior to that I watched the Masters golf tournament with Phil Mickelson winning again. I’m happy for him and for his wife and family. He seems like such a neat guy and his wife has been very sick this past year.

I'll catch up as soon as my computer is up and running. In the meantime, don't give up on me.

Happy Easter

2010-04-04T09:20:00.000-07:00

This morning is Easter morning and I am not sitting in church. I instead have read the news of more killings in Baghdad, armed robberies a block from my house, more problems in South Africa, and violence in many parts of the world. This is supposed to be a day when we celebrate victory over death and peace among men.

Why am I so sad? We have always had wars and violence so what makes today any different? It just seems like we have more of it than we ever did except when we were at war. Or perhaps we hear more about the violence in Africa and in Iraq and Afghanistan than we ever did before and more instantaneously. Celebration seems like a mockery.

However, as someone once said to me, there have always have been enough good people to keep the world going and doing the right thing. I hope I am among the good people who are trying to lead the world in the right direction. And I know that there are a lot of you out there who are trying to do the same thing.
I didn’t go to church today. But I still share the hope of Easter in my heart and a wish for all of you for peace and love. HAPPY EASTER!! !HAPPY PASSOVER!!!

Scared? Who? Me?

2010-03-31T21:00:00.000-07:00

When I grew up I was not acquainted with carnivals or county fairs. Carnivals were sin and as to why I don’t know but it was a no-no. When I left home at 17 to go to Chicago to college it was among the many things I had never been allowed to do or see. North Park was a life changer for me in that I was able to do things I had never been able to do before and threw off the bondage that had held me all my life in many areas.

Chicago, of course, had many sights and places, museums and such that had to be seen and we freshmen were introduced to a world we had never envisioned before. One of the places was the Riverview Amusement Park which had been a popular spot for Chicagoans since 1904 and was billed as the “The World’s Largest Amusement Park." Therefore, one of the requirements when one came to college in Chicago in 1943 was to spend a wild time at the famous park. For some people a trip to Riverview was a rite of passage; for others it became a significant memory and I belong to the latter group.

When the group of students was planning this excursion, I immediately joined in the planning, as I had with all the other rules I had broken. I thought this might be one more notch in my belt of individualism and rebellion. The night finally arrived when we hopped the Foster Avenue bus to go to the corner of Western and Belmont avenues to the exciting brightly lit den of iniquity.

The rest of the group knew that I had never been on any rides before, not even a merry-go-round, so after we had bought our tickets, they all clustered around me and agreed that we all should go on the roller coaster first and then after that none of the rides would faze me at all. I thought that sounded logical and fun so we all went over to the “the Bobs” and were all seated two by two on the ride. I was still so innocently unaware of what I was in for and laughed and joked as we waited for the ride to begin.

It started out going up an incline first and was going rather slowly when it suddenly almost stopped and I took a look and I said, “Oh my God” and I wasn’t taking the Lord's name in vain. We suddenly swooped downward at 100 miles an hour I swear and my stomach was left up on the top of the hill and I was hanging on for dear life. The sound was deafening and I kept telling myself that thousands rode this thing every day and nothing happened but the other voice kept intruding, the one that yelled in my ear, “there is something wrong with this thing now and it must be broken and running out of control and we are all going to die.” The world as I knew it had disappeared and my head was spinning in a wide kaleidoscope of color and I knew I was dying.

Then we hit a low place and we slowed and it looked straight for a while ahead and I thought that I might just live. It must be ending. All of a sudden it started going faster again, almost straight perpendicularly up, and we were upside down and up again and down again and up again and I knew I was in hell.

The ride did finally end and my friends all got off the train and I sat there in my seat not moving. They all said, “Come on, Bernie. Get up.” And when I didn’t they came and helped me off the train and stood me up on the platform and I crumpled to the ground. I did not ride any other rides at the famed Riverview Amusement Park that night. Nor any other night.

Memories

2010-03-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

The other day at the Health Center where my husband is living, they had a beautiful concert for the inmates. There was a violinist there from the Symphony Orchestra accompanied by a pianist and she was very good. I wheeled my husband into the activity room and stood behind his chair with my hands on his shoulders. He was holding my hands tightly. How I wish he could stand so I could get closer to him and lay my head upon his shoulder and feel his big 6ft. 2" frame again.

He loves classical music of all kinds and when he was young he had Public Radio on in his car all the time. We belonged to the Symphony and enjoyed some of the many wonderful concerts that came over Public TV. Football and basketball were his other favorites. Good thing I liked them too.

She began to play Memory from Cats and all of sudden my mind began whirling with a lot of memories of when we were young and different things that had happened in our 59 years together. I kept biting my lip so the tears would not spill. They were so vivid. And the feeling of loss was overwhelming. You see, my husband has Alzheimer's and all that is gone from his life now. But we have been blessed in that he is in his 7th year and still has not had some of the really bad things this disease can bring.

I remembered particularly when he used to come home from work. When he walked into the house, the whole building lit up. He always came in smiling and laughing and full of fun and the dog and the children loved it, as did I. He always smelled so good. The aftershave which he always put on so lavishly in the morning had worn off so that, combined with the faint cigar smoke and the outdoors, it was just right.

I remembered the bend of his head as he lit his pipe, the hand he put under his chin when he lay on the sofa or in bed on his back, how often he practiced making smoke rings when smoking his cigar. He never could get the second one to get inside the first one.

He was adept at throwing his voice and loved to use this talent whenever we were near a restroom somewhere. "Help! Help! Get me out of here". He had people scurrying around looking everywhere. He would confuse a salesperson or even a person at a cocktail party. He was so good at it, even his friends would never catch on at first.

I remembered his infatuation with trains. His dad was an engineer and so was his uncle and his grandfather. He would have been one too, but his father insisted he go to college. But we visited the train yards often, in the early years , to get Jon a ride into the station. Later he could hear the whistle of any train coming in and tell if it was his dad or his Uncle Art or some of the other engineers he knew so well. If we ever got lost while traveling he would find the nearest railroad tracks and follow them into town. Trains magazine was always by the throne in the bathroom --completely necessary he would say.

The music stopped and she went on to other themes but I had been on a trip-- to the past.

CHIMPS AND MUSIC

2010-03-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Bill Moyers again tonight provided me with a wonderful conversation with Jane Goodall, you know the woman who lived with the chimpanzees in Tanzania, Africa and studied them and intrigued the world with the knowledge that these animals have a great deal in common with us humans. What a wonderful lady she is. She now devotes her time to going around the world talking to young people about the environment and what they can do to preserve it. They treat her like a rock star and really honor her where ever she goes.

She talked about the extinction of her beloved Chimpanzees and elephants as well and admits there have been extinctions like the dinosaurs and many other species that have gradually disappeared. But she maintains that the industrial revolution and our human impact on the planet has had a tremendously damaging effect. Many people say that it is just a trend and that it is just happening. But she believes each and every one of us can do something to stem the tide. And that these young people can do whatever they set their minds to just as she did. She was a girl - wrong sex--but her mother fostered her interest in animals and in science. Makes you wonder what each one of us can do as well.

Afterward, Wisconsin Public Television showed The Great American Songbook. It told our history during the middle of the century--the 30's. the 40's, and the 50's with examples of the music America produced then. Music started in this time with sheet music that was passed from one to another with singers like Nelson Eddy and Jeanette MacDonald. And then Edison invented the phonograph and a way of spreading the music to everyone. Soon we imported some writers from Europe and we had George M. Cohan, Irving Berlin, Jerome Kern and others writing musicals and music we all were humming like As Time Goes By, Night and Day, In the Mood---many many great songs. We were in WW II with all the big bands and singers and big productions out of Hollywood and the sad songs like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas and White Cliffs of Dover, and Sentimental Journey. And Bill's and my favorite song, I Only Have Eyes For You.

When the local station came on with its spiel about donations to the station etc. this one volunteer said how much she had been enthralled by this music even though she had not been born yet. It gave me a new feeling that I have never felt before. I felt grateful for the fact that I had been there. That I had lived during all those times. Except for the 30's music, I could sing along and knew all the words to all of them. And I thought that so many times when we are older, we don't appreciate the fact that we lived through that history. We were there. And it was a privilege to have been there. We may envy the young, but we have something they will never have . Memories of a part of the history of this country.

Golden Memories

2010-03-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

Whether it was when I was growing up or with my own family, we have always had a dog. A dog was an integral part of my life, until now. I am dogless. And I miss it.

In my growing up family, we had a dog named Spot. Original, yes? Spot was a mutt but she was attractive enough to get a thoroughbred Boston Bull Terrier as her mate and had thirteen little ones that looked just like him. But what I remember most was my mom feeding that dog like you wouldn't believe. I can still see her filling up her dish with everything she could find, piled high and mumbling in Swedish under her breath about the poor thing having to feed all those pups. Didn't buy dog food in those days. At least, we didn't. (Remember this was during or just after the depression.) Just table scraps tho I saw Mom give her lots of her homemade bread to fill her up with leftover gravy over all.

I kept one of the pups and called him Pepper. He died of distemper. You see, we didn't have all the shots and stuff like that in those days either. I wrote what I think was my first poem in my grief over his death.

In almost 60 years of marriage, we've had numerous dogs. I remember Flicka, a sort of black golden retriever looking dog who was a renegade and always running away from home. I would be teaching school at St. Edward's Catholic School about two blocks from our house and I would see Flicka running by. I was in my midlife years then--famous for running to the window and opening them to pant and the kids would all yell," Mrs. S is having a hot flash again." That's where I would yell out the window for Flicka to go home also.

When we lived in Denver we finally bought our"Lassie," only she was a tricolor fullblooded collie. Our children were still young enough to really bond with MaryAnn. Yes, her name was MaryAnn. There had been a collie across the street in Minnesota named MaryAnn and they would settle for nothing else. I can still see her chasing a neighbor's rabbit with the over six footer owner chasing her round and round. It was hilarious. When we moved to Michigan, she survived her first and only airplane ride. She too was a part of our family for about 10 or 11 years. A very beautiful dog.

Shyre was our first Golden. We had her for 12 years and loved her so much. Never saw my youngest son cry like he did after he took her to be put down. He wanted her to be looking at him with her last breath. Tough on him.

Then we got another Golden named Kate, because she was the ruler of the litter and spunky like Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew. We had her for about 10 years when one day when she was visiting some people in the country, she was hit by a truck and killed. She was such a pretty girl. I used to tell her that all the time. I miss her.

And then there was George. I tried to have another Golden Retriever puppy while I was still taking care of my husband, but I could not handle it. George had to be given to another home. He was a blonde Golden and loved to pee all over the house and I could not devote the time to train him properly. The guy that took him told me he just peed in their house once. I figure either I was on the cusp of getting him trained or this guy had a better method than I.

But I want to get another dog--another Golden, and I may one of these days. My children say not to for they fear I cannot chase it if it should take off, and they are right. This may be reality but sometimes reality is hard to take. Especially if it interferes with one's dreams. A smaller dog or an older dog would not do it for me. There is nothing cuter than a Golden Retriever puppy. And when they grow up, there is no dog so easy to live with.

I just might get it yet!

Welcome To My World

2010-03-06T20:53:00.000-08:00

I guess that it is about time for me to write another post. Heaven knows there has been such an explosion from the last one that I haven't really had time to soak it all in. I cannot understand who or why anyone would choose me for this Google Blog of Note recognition. I have read so many beautiful ones with gorgeous pictures and art work and great discussions that I was very surprised. I think my age intrigued them as it did a lot of you. But I thank whoever the powers that be who did pick me. It has been a great ride.

I'd like to give a warm welcome to all you newbies that have read my last post and some of you who have read further into my blog. Your comments have all been appreciated . I thought it was interesting that some of the first responses commented on the books and they each picked different ones! A lot of you share my love of Susan Boyle's story and many of you had read some of the books as well. Some expressed the wish that their mothers and fathers or grandparents would blog. I second that idea. It has been a great blessing to me. I shall try to get back with as many of you as I can. I am interested in reading your blogs as well.

I received this lovely award from Truestarr at Prospero's Cellphone and though I don't usually do these sorts of things, I thought I would just do one. Thank you again, pal. Please visit Prospero's blog - she writes from Greece and I enjoy reading her.

Ten Things that Make Me Happy:

The feel of a gladiola petal

Seeing fishermen out on the bay for the first time this Spring

A good cup of tea

Seeing Susan Boyle launch the socks off someone

One of my children coming home to visit

Going swimming in Green Lake, Minnesota

Driving my Bayliner all over the Green Lake

Seeing my husband smile when he sees Matilda

Hugs from my grandchildren - even the big ones

When a procedure at the hospital is over.

My friend, Cindy tagged me with a list of questions I could answer, and I don't have them anymore. Sorry, Cindy. But please go visit her. Thank you so much again.

My son Jim took his dad out of the resthome for ride yesterday and Bill was so appreciative to be sprung as we say when we take him. We have had beautiful weather for several days now. Snow is still on the ground but it is melting each day very rapidly. Course we here in Wisconsin know we will see more snow and cold before summer arrives, but it does give us hope that it is coming! Nice to go out and not worry about falling on your butt.

And I shall end by thanking Midlife Jobhunter for all her help. I could not have even started without her. Now there's an entertaining blog to visit, believe me. She rocks.

Winter 's Passage

2010-02-24T15:38:00.000-08:00

I am listening as I type to my favorite CD. It is Susan Boyle’s singing like an angel. I love her voice and her choice of songs is varied and done well. When I first heard her on U Tube, I cried for her success and for the beauty of her rendition of “I Dreamed a Dream”. And the reaction of the judges and the audience thrilled me. I’ll bet I played that spot from U Tube over 100 times.

Not only do I love the story of her success, but the fact that here was this gal staying at home taking care of her mother all of her life and the emerging like a butterfly from its chrysalis to becoming the most beautiful songstress of all. You go, gal. And she has went!!!! I know my grammar!

I recently read several books. I have read Julie and Julia by Julie Powell and seen the movie. Any resemblance of one to the other is purely coincidental. The movie was all about Julia Childs and the book had very little about her and was about the life of the writer. I do not recommend it.

I have also read again for the umpteenth time The Day before Winter which is about the Bennett families who live on this island near Nova Scotia and are lobster fishermen. I love these books for Elizabeth Ogilvie has written about the same families in a trilogy and then about other citizens of the island in other books but I feel as if I have lived there and that I know all of them personally. And I am a fisherman and I love the water.

Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg is a great novel. She brings her life as a teacher of creative writing to people who never have even thought of writing a word (even in a blog) and finds that each have unique strengths and insight.

For Christmas from my Republican son, I got a copy of Going Rogue by Sarah Palin and I read it. “But Mom, she’s a Babe!” That she is, but her book did surprise me somewhat. I did enjoy the look into Alaska and the things I learned about that state. I also thought it was interesting to see the backside of a political campaign and what life on the campaign trail was like. She has done and been a lot more things than just a mayor and governor of a little populated state. According to her account, she has traveled to Iraq and Afghanistan and Europe as a private citizen, of course, and served on a lot of committees and boards in the United States. Other than that I realize a lot of the book is self serving and perhaps not too accurate as to the differences she has had with various reports of her life. I find it difficult to believe her explanations. It is written in a defensive style throwing in digs now and then at her detractors. Let’s just say that she and Katy Couric will never be close, nor do I think she and John McCain will either. She is a master mud-slinger

I also received a copy of Dave Barry’s “The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Miracle Dog” . (I don’t know where my underlining icon went) This was written in his usual hilarious fashion and one could not put it down. I read it in one sitting. Lots of LOL’s in this one.

And last, I received “The story of The Other Wise Man” by Henry Van Dyke. This is about a man who was to join the other three Magi to view Christ’s birth in Bethlehem. He sold everything he had to buy three jewels to present to the new-born King. However on the way he had to use these to help others and so had nothing left to give Him when he arrived. All based on the Scripture which goes “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, thou hast done it to me.” A very moving book.

Winter is soon over. Tho last night we had a snow squall that laid 7 inches down in about an hour. I am hating winter this year, but last night was so beautiful with all the branches and everything clothed in sparkling white that I could not help but be stirred by its beauty.

Seat Belts

2010-02-19T08:27:00.000-08:00

I have always hated seat belts and if it were not mandatory to have to put one on now, I would never wear one. Oh, I can hear the outcries of my children and all the rest of you now. It has been proven that they keep you safe, that they save lives, that they are so crucial to your well-being that it is against the law not to wear one.

What they don’t tell you is that if they don’t choke you to death they surely do a good job of trying. Like all us older Americans, I drive a big ole Buick Le Sabre. Have you ever noticed that a young person wouldn’t be caught dead driving one? Buicks are noted for having safety belts that go around a person’s body so that they practically strangle one. My neighbor told me that the other day when I was discussing this with him. Other brands do not go around like that so do not pose such a problem...

Have you ever tried to reach for a Kleenex in your pocket because you felt a sneeze coming on? If you have you can just forgidaboudit. You can’t get into your pocket because of the strap. Have you ever tried to get your mail out of the mailbox from your car in inclement weather? Forgidaboudit! You can’t move enough to reach it. Do you have an itch somewhere that is driving you nuts. You can’t move enough to reach it so forgidaboudit. And God forbid that you should drop your sunglasses on the floor or that they should slide far forward on the shelf under the windshield---you can’t do anything about it.

Yes, I have just read the Michigan State Police Report on the effectiveness of seatbelts and how they have cut down on the death rate from accidents. They don’t tell you about the one that didn’t wear a seatbelt and was the only one to survive because he was thrown free from the car while the others died hanging upside down with their seatbelts still secure and the rescue squads unable to cut them free.

I know that by now you all think I am nuts and senile. I am neither. I just don’t like seatbelts and I have a right to dislike them all I want, but I will wear them simply because I have to and statistics don’t lie. I think they are a simply a pain in the butt .

Just Stuff and Nonsense and a Smile

2010-02-09T08:26:00.000-08:00

My mom always said that doing dishes together made for a great time of good conversation and general fellowship and sociability.
This was when she was trying to get one of us to volunteer to do the dishes after a big meal, preferably a Holiday Meal. Most all of our Sunday dinners were essentially a holiday meal. We always had parishioners of some sort invited over, with tons of dishes and our “good china” always—the sort with which you had to be extra careful .

Let me hasten to say that I am a strong proponent of dishwashers, the electric kind, but even they entail “doing the dishes “ and especially the pots and pans. I hate putting away the food and as my children will tell you, I save quantities of containers for this purpose. When Julie was last home she threw out maybe 50 butter containers ready for my leftovers. "When are you going to ever need 50 at one time" she asked.

I came across this picture of Jacob, my grandson when he was but a wee child doing the dishes at the cottage at Green Lake. Just think, he is getting married in April! Now doesn’t that give you a jolt as to how fast time flies in this life.

And then we have a picture of my husband Bill doing the dishes. I must have been dying because he never did them that I can recall.

This next picture is an early morning-after a Saturday night dinner dance. Mismatched pj’s and Julie loves this shot.

And this is one of Julie herself washing wine glasses I think with Jon looking on.

Isn’t this a fascinating post tho? Sorry. It was all I could think of this week.

WHAT IS JOY?

2010-02-01T20:18:00.000-08:00

WHAT IS JOY?

Today I had a great time of joy in my life. My two-year old granddaughter and her daddy came to visit and Matilda (Miranda) spent most of the time with her ever present smile on her face, exploring my house, the piano, all the doors and where they led , throwing every pillow on the floor, etc.

She finally came to sit on my lap and watch a little TV. What a joy to play with my fingers through her golden hair and to write on her back. She sat so still. She loved it. My son smiled as he remembered I always used to do that to him when he was little. What utter joy as I felt her weight on my lap and her straight little back in front of me.

Pure joy. What is it and where do we find it? How often do we truly experience joy? If one thinks about it, one can find certain occasions when we have felt really joyous. I can think of a few offhand. When the family is on the way to the lake in the summer and you can hardly wait for that first glimpse of the water as you round the curve and then you are there and you run down to the dock and say hello to the lake and feel pure joy at being there.

When Julie had to wear her scoliosis brace all through jr. hi and high school, it was so painful at first and she had to wear it 23 out of 24 hours. And I talked to her and told her to keep going and doing things as much as she could. That I had had a student that just let the kids carry her books for her and all she did was sit and get whiter and whiter. We went to a Christmas program at the junior high one night and she was in a skit. There was a pause for the longest time when it was over. She came running into the gym from the hall, noticed the awkward silence, smiled widely and to everyone’s delight yelled “Merry Christmas” all the way to her seat in the band. They had to wait for her trombone! I knew then she would make it and she had made up her mind and did it all herself. That was joy..

When I was young and madly in love with my college sweetheart who had gone back to New York for the summer and returned in September—that night when he came to my house I was living in where I was teaching—that was joy.

When Bill finally got a position here in Green Bay after a two year separation, he in Iowa and the two youngest boys and me in Michigan—that was joy. You should hear my son tell about his reaction!

There is a difference in being happy generally speaking and having certain events stand out as being joyous. The first year we were married, Bill taught 100 miles away from me and came home every week-end. That was happiness. Honeymoon prolonged into a whole school year.

So what is your joy? Do you think of joyous moments when you are down? Do you find that you can think of a lot of them –small and big moments that you had forgotten?

Hold them close to your heart.

FANCIFUL BALLET DANCER

2010-01-28T17:37:00.000-08:00

I have a dancer all dressed in red in my backyard. No matter that it is 5 degrees out not counting wind-chill, she merrily twirls and kicks and dances her heart away. It is fun to watch her and she never tires; tho she takes breaks now and then.

She is a big red bow which my son attached to the big willow for a Christmas decoration. I have left it there and it is a source of enjoyment to see my imaginative little girl dancing away in the breeze. It is amazing that one’s eye can transform an inanimate object to a real live person – a ballet dancer full of grace and beauty.

Some of you might think this is about as entertaining as watching the grass grow. But this has been a long cold snowy hard winter and it doesn’t take much for some of us to find something of interest.

I must share with you the funniest thing I have read today. I was reading Ladybirdworld about comments and her discussion of long versus short howdoyoudos. One person said that he thought of copying the Bible and pasting it as a comment if what she wanted was length. (With tongue in cheek, of course)

It was a great discussion of this topic. Do you write for yourself or for others? Do you enjoy comments or not? Do you leave comments or not and are they relevant to the post you are commenting on

Well, I was on my way somewhere today and even had gone so far that the car was warmed up but when I got out walking to my destination, my COPD kicked in and I turned around and came home. I fully planned on just stopping for a second and go to my next destination but the house felt so warm and cozy after that blast of arctic air that I haven’t moved in that direction yet. But I am going. I am. I have to go down to see my husband today!!!! Just 30 miles back and forth. I can do that. I’m going.

BLOGGING! WHY DO WE DO THAT?

2010-01-21T12:42:00.000-08:00

Rather than go out and haul the recyclables back in ( must be the wrong week as they pick it up every other) I decided to write a post. I got up this morning and as is my habit, I checked in on the computer to see if anyone had written me. Julie did but all other was either delete material or spam. I didn't get downstairs to eat my breakfast until one o'clock.

Which speaks to what I wanted to say today. I decided to spend some time reading and commenting on other blogs. I always get bogged down doing this as I find such fascinating blogs out there.

There are artists with fantastic paintings on display, people who have found really wonderful poets and quote some of their poetry, and people who live in other countries who show how and where they live. Hey, there is a whole world out there and one could spend all one's time on the computer in the blog world!

Not to mention all the other avenues there are. I have been following the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Art Museum in Chicago and the one in London and in the Netherlands for a long time. But I love to hear from those who live close to the animals on the farm with pictures of their young and the beauty of them as well. And how the meadow looked in the mist. And read about people's feelings and thoughts.

Just wanted to tell everyone how much blogging means to me.

YOUNG AT HEART CHORUS

2010-01-16T22:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I happened upon a program on PBS after Bill Moyer which featured a chorus of “Old Geezers” calling themselves the “ Young at Heart Chorus”. The members of this chorus began from an Old People’s Rest Home from somewhere in Massachusetts back in the 1980’s and have become famous and sought after entertainment all over the world. In this program, all members were over 80 years old. One lady who began the program was 91. You want to know what they sing?Elevator music? Old folk songs? Opera? Nope, they sang famous rock and roll songs with a lively kick and beat. Beatle songs, Jim Croce songs, and of course “May you always be young at heart.” And they were good. If one came to hear them expecting weak and wavering voices, they were greeted with whoops and a marvelous rendition of intricate passages of these old famous favorite songs.

The program followed them along a year of rehearsal until the final concert on stage with the huge auditorium filled with old and young—all delighted at what they saw and heard. Most all of it were fun songs but there was one was sad one. This gentleman had promised this one man who had a lead part in one song to sing it for him if he died as he was in his fourth bout of chemo. He did die and this man—very obese with a breathing tube attached to his nose and hardly able to walk to the chair sat and sang a lovely song in his memory with such emotion and such a beautiful bass voice ending with “I will fix you” The audience stood up and gave him such an ovation crying right along with him.

The interviews with various members in between were revealing. All thought singing kept them alive longer than many of them were expected to. Several had had last rites and they joked about not seeing the white light. Their main purpose in life had become getting to the rehearsals and the joy they experienced when the audience loved them. They loved to perform.

My message here is not only to tell you about this wonderful chorus, but to emphasize their message which is to live each day and have a purpose to live for up until the very end. Be active and engaged in life. Don't just wait to die. For me, it was a very powerful message, but I think it should be for all no matter how old. It is a good lesson.

If you want to learn more about this group, google Young at Heart Chorus.

FOOTBALL HEART ATTACK

2010-01-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

In Arizona men are laughing and little children shout;
But there is not joy in Green Bay for the mighty Packers lost out.

Yeah, the town is kind of silent here today with people sighing and shaking their heads in disbelief. We should have been the winners of that wonderful game. At least they are saying it was probably the best play off game in history and it was so nerve wracking seesawing back and forth. I knew it would be the team who had the ball last but I thought it was going to be us when their kicker missed the field goal. That was unbelievable! And then to have it end so quickly one could hardly take it in. Arizona played well and their quarterback could score at will so I guess our defense wasn't so hot. Why did they keep to the zone? Oh well, what do I know?

We finally got out of the really cold stuff today but even 25 felt cold. It was sort of damp and that made it feel really colder than it was. It is supposed to get up to 30 something by Wednesday. Hooray. I am sick of winter already.

Talk to you all later. After all, it is just a game, a season, a hope, and for this town a raison d'etre.

GRADUATION BUT AT WHAT COST

2010-01-02T14:44:00.000-08:00

“Felix, Felix, get up! Get up!

After working six years to get through college, my last quarter almost turned into a nightmare. Some of you who read my post about when I was kicked out of college at the end of my junior year will remember that I was denied going to summer school. That had more repercussions later.

Very close to the end of the school year, the registrar suddenly discovered that in order to graduate, I was one credit short. The only class that I hadn’t taken that was available to me was a lifesaving swimming class for one credit. Great, I thought. I can do that.

This class was being held at the YMCA because our college did not have a swimming pool .I didn’t have a swim suit and could not afford to buy one. My sister in Chicago sent me hers and it was a bikini. Bikinis were not in general use at the time and it was pink and orange and black (Sis never did have good taste in clothes;) ) and the top was not very secure but it was all I had to use.

Too late, I found out that I was going to be the only female in the class. The day came for our first class and I walked down to the Y and went alone into the ladies room to change into my suit. I stayed in that room for 45 minutes pacing the floor not wanting to walk into that den of wolves in a bikini. A whole football team made up of mostly beefy linebackers!

But you gotta do what you gotta do and I had to graduate. So I finally entered the swimming pool area. There were a few whistles and grins but I sauntered in with the most poise I could muster. And the class went on.

The first lesson involved learning to float. We had been divided into partners and we were supposed to float to one another. Of course, I drew Felix P. , middle offensive lineman, who was at least 360 pounds. Well, I floated to Felix all right and he drew me up out of the water when I reached him just fine. Then Felix floated to me –and I tugged and I tugged and I could not budge him and that is when I kept hitting him on the shoulder and yelling, “Felix, Felix, get up!”

The class progressed and it became more of a class in elemental swimming as most of us were not proficient enough to work with lifesaving techniques. Moe floated right to the bottom no matter how hard he tried to stay afloat. I knew how to dog paddle and the old side stroke, but I was really good at the butterfly stroke. How come, I don’t know but the coach would ask me to demonstrate it for the class. Now, why do you suppose he did that?

We did have to learn how to dive off the high board. Or should I say we all had to try to dive off the high board. When it came my turn, I was terrified but all the guys were very supportive and were encouraging me to “come on, just do it” and so I put my arms and head down and hit the water below with my head and was nearly knocked out cold. They had to pull me out. I served the food in the dining hall that night feeling really woozy!.

I hated that class and I would tell the coach every two weeks or so I had my period and thus would be excused for that day. (This was before the age of tampons, folks. At least those of us who thought we would lose the string and that thing up there forever.) He was a rather timid soul and did not argue with me. (Course he had turned beet red when I came up one time from under the water and the bra top hadn’t held)

When the class came to an end we had to do all the stuff we had learned including diving off the high board ----me with the same result.

I passed with a C and was graduated . Finally!

Not with a bang, but a whimper.

NEW YEAR THOUGHTS

2009-12-28T13:00:00.000-08:00

Whenever a new year approaches, I think everyone starts thinking about what the next year might bring. 2009 was not a particularly good year for a lot of people and so we all might be approaching the New Year with high hopes for an improvement. Some may have a feeling of apprehension because they are out of work, out of funds, illness may have struck and they are worried they may not make out very well. Others may not have been affected that much and so are just hanging in there thinking that maybe they will be spared the lay-off or other bad things.

I was just reading a short synopsis of Rene Descartes dissertation on his famous statement, often quoted, “I think therefore I am”. Have you ever thought of the word “think” all by itself? It is one that sets us apart from the animals “with which we share this planet”. Descartes comes to the conclusion that he came by this theory by realizing he couldn’t think the thoughts that he does without having received the ability from someone greater than himself. That it is a gift of the highest caliber. Just sit and ponder what the word "think" really means in our lives.

Sometime we may think that it is not so great. Some of us think too much and worry about things we should not. Remember the song “Queue Sera Sera”—whatever will be, will be. The future’s not ours to see. Queue sera sera. “ The most important things we have are love, family and friends and of course, faith.

This is my message to all of you. Don’t worry. Don’t think too much. Just trust and do your best with whatever cards you are dealt in the New Year. And I hope I can not only talk the talk, but walk the walk as well, for I am a born worrier. My best to you.

Impressions while ringing bells for Salvation Army

2009-12-16T20:13:00.000-08:00

I just thought I'd send this out without any editorializing at all. It is sort of a slice of the Christmas scene that we all see.

So many different kinds of people. So interesting to watch. So many who have bad legs and have trouble walking. I asked one man who had legs that seemed to splay out all over the place and had a cane if the cold weather made them feel worse, and he replies with a smile that he can’t even feel one of them which I took to mean he had a wooden leg. He forked out $5 to put in the kettle.

The bus stopped in front of the door. He left it running and the door open while he came in the store to use the bathroom. The desire to take the bus and take off was overpowering and when he came out I told him I almost took your bus and took off, he said cheerfully Well, here you go and I’ll ring the bell for you.

Mothers with new babies all covered up against the cold. Little children, many with their grandparents, toddlers. One grandfather wasn’t so nice. You could tell he wasn’t too happy taking care of his grandchild. The child did not want to let go of his hand when they went through the door and he was very irritated with him. The child wanted his grandma on one side and his granddad on the other.

The people who quickly walk by and put in a dime or a quarter are few. Most give a dollar or a lot of change. Some walk by so guiltily not giving. I figure they gave to another charity or maybe sent a big check to the Army and feel no bad vibes for them.

I never realized there are so many people with bad legs, crooked backs, and yet they are trying to shop for their loved ones. I even had a woman in a wheelchair with a beautiful seeing eye dog. It was a golden retriever. I admired the dog and asked if it was permissible to pet it knowing that sometimes you are not supposed to. She said the dog was working now and therefore I should not.

Big burly men with wild hair, sometimes long, would always stop and give some bucks and two very poorly dressed men each gave a dollar or two. One guy happened to come in when a whole bunch of ladies and such were coming and he stayed at the door and opened it and held it for all of them! Such a gentleman. Not many do that anymore these days.

The old ladies on pensions would put in a quarter or two. The young women would give a host of change out of their purses which amount to two or three dollars. So many surprised me by making such an effort. Their arms were filled with packages and they would either put them down and get the money out of their tight jeans or fish it out with great difficulty still holding on to their packages.

There was the little old lady from Denmark, WI who was Danish and stood and talked with me for a while, my being a fellow Scandihoovian. She said she was probably the last of the old Danish settlers in that town.

The people would sometimes come in droves and stand around waiting for their turn to put money in. The men would peel off a dollar. Some came prepared. A foreign lady and her husband, I think they must have been the Russian immigrants they have been talking about, made a great contribution and wished me a very Merry Christmas—so happy they were it seemed to me to make the contribution.

I wish I had had a pad and pencil as they came in so I could remember all of the different people who came in. I get such a kick out of the older men who treat me as if I were a young lady. It makes me feel warm all over.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

2009-12-10T08:49:00.000-08:00

"So all night long the storm roared on:

The morning broke without a sun:

In tiny spherule traced with lines

Of Nature's geometric signs,

In starry flake, and pellicle,

All day the hoary meteor fell,

And, when the second morning shone,

We looked upon a world unknown....."

SNOWBOUND John Greenleaf Whittier

Many of you probably lived through the same storm, but I took a few pictures of my back yard and I thought I would send them out to those of you who live in warmer climes to see. I also included a picture of the geraniums which I rescued prior to the storm and saved a touch of summer.

GIVE THREE CHEERS

2009-12-05T10:02:00.001-08:00

I don't know about the rest of you but when the first snow hit us on Friday, even if it didn't stay, I was not happy to see it. I used to love the first snow. Got down to 18 in the night. Wrote to my daughter in Texas that she can expect a visitor after Christmas, if I am welcome, that is. Course they haven't been having such great weather either. Too cold for dipping into the lake like I did one Christmas. Winter is upon us and I wish I lived where Goosebreeder lives down in Australia where she is looking forward to Spring and Summer. (I mixed up names/places in my previous edition of this post. Please visit Bernie in Alberta. She has a most beautiful post up right now.)

Not much doing on the blog scene either. Everyone is busy this time of year getting ready for Christmas. Jim has decorated the outside and that looks nice and will be prettier when the snow stays. So many people go all out and really decorate more than they used to. The whole city is aglow at night with all the different lights and it gets dark around 3:30 here now.

Have just about finished reading Julie & Julia. It really took until the near middle of the book for me to really enjoy it. I loved her wrestling with killing the lobster. I remember my mom saying they screamed when you threw them in the boiling water. Jordan, my other son, goes to a Christmas party where they each buy their own lobster, and he brings his big outdoor pot, but he won't throw them in. He splits when that part comes. He always was an animal lover and a softy.

Yesterday, I got the urge to hear my eldest son's favorite record that he played over and over when he was a kid. H. M. S. PINAFORE and I went around the kitchen yelling "Then give three cheers and one cheer morrrre forrr the Captain of the Pinafore. " Was sort of an inspiring and happy memory.

Well I have Christmas presents to wrap that I shopped for the other day, so this is all she wrote.

LAST OF THANKSGIVING MEMORIES

2009-11-29T21:44:00.000-08:00

I thought I would share with all of you some of the bits of our Thanksgiving . Jim and I were invited down to my son's house in a city about 75 miles away. Here are some of the scenes of our day.

Such a vividly beautiful Thanksgiving table setting!

Miranda showed off her Halloween Bunny

Costume

Another view of Matilda

The day ended with a quick return to catch a visit with Bill and we got him just as they were putting him to bed.

Below is something Jim ,my son who is visiting, wrote that I think holds a real thanksgiving message...

------------------------------------

It is his only contact with the God that has sustained him for all these years through toil, war, illness, rejoicing, tears, sweat and now Alzheimer's. He was eager to be there by 10 am, in the activity room where church is held for the residents by a WELS Lutheran pastor who accepts all Lutherans.

Dad rolled his wheelchair down the long halls to the activity room with the altar in the corner. About 13 Lutherans in wheelchairs came where two or three are gathered in His name will have Christ in their midst as we are told by our Lord.

They handed out the red LCMS hymnbooks of yesteryear. Hands that once were confident and strong are shaky, deformed from years of arthritis could barely hold on to hymnals. Eyes weary from age needed help finding the hymns while the pastor said the words, line by line so they would understand them. Feeble voices filled the air when the hymns were sung with a piano, and every stanza was sung to the end.

The lesson was on Psalm 118 of thanksgiving that mentions "O give thanks unto the Lord for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever!" (I remember singing that in the liturgy during my childhood in the red old Lutheran Service Book & Hymnal)

The sermon was on how unthankful many of us are during this time of economic downturn, job loss, and aged and broken bodies that long to be 20 years old again. However, we were reassured that God still cares and that his mercy will endure in our lives and we need to be thankful.

Then it came time for the Lord's Prayer. Dad at 87, whose Alzheimer's has taken away his speech patterns and physical mobility, started talking and reciting from deep within. I looked at him and watched, as the prayer is something that the demonic Alzheimer's has not taken away yet.

I felt a tear in my eye as it was beautiful hearing my Dad recite with confidence, a prayer, which has been instilled in him from the time of childhood. I gave him a hug. I thought of my family then who I wished were there to see the lovely moment that I had just been given.

The Lord's mercy endured today and I was able to see a glimpse of my father like he used to be. Perhaps that is what God wanted me to see today to help me be reassured that my Dad is still there despite his fading away from us

MY FIRST CAR

2009-11-22T20:03:00.000-08:00

MY FIRST CAR

When we lived in Denver several years ago (a whole lot of years ago, I guess) I had Grandpa’s old green Plymouth Fury with the big fins for my personal use. That car had been many places and did even make the trip from Minnesota, tho it was not in the best of shape .

One day I was going to play golf over on Federal Blvd way and as I went down 104th to the six lane corner, I put on the brakes for the stop light and it decided it wanted to go right on through. I escaped unscathed only because the blue language yelled at me by the entire cross traffic covered me with a fog so that miraculously I was not hit. If you believe that, well, I have a piece of land down in……. No, I don’t know how I escaped being hit. All I know was that I was mad and I made a U turn and drove back to 104th.

Those of you who know Denver know that l04th is car sales alley and so I drove into the first one I came to which happened to be a VW garage. I was met by John who was fascinated by my red striped top. No mastectomies yet! I saw this pale yellow vokes bug which I loved immediately and began to haggle for price and allowance for my great big Plymouth. I got the allowance I wanted and I wrote a check for the rest and drove my first car home that I had bought on my own... Sure, I had been consulted about the previous cars, but this one only I made the decision, signed, sealed and delivered.

My eldest 16 year old son would take the car up in the mountains and he and his friends would ride on Jeep trails with it as far as they could. When they came to a place where there could go no further, they simply lifted the car and turned her around.

Everyone in the family seemed to love Griselda and my husband, tho he complained when he had to fit his 6 foot 2 inches frame into it, went along with it too. When we moved to Michigan, the car came along. Actually, my daughter used it often when she attended Michigan State. They had a lot of fun with that car. One day when she came out of class a gang of guys had lifted the car up umpteen steps and there it sat in front of the doors in all its glory looking down on everybody.

I loved my little yellow VW but one day Bill started sounding the ominous note that the ball joints were going and therefore it was no longer safe to drive. Knowing nothing about that sort of thing, I agreed and Bill turned her in for a Nova. I later found out that VWs do not have ball joints. Men—got balls, but such liars!!!!

My first car was fun. I shall never forget it.

Old? Who me? Of course

2009-11-21T13:21:00.000-08:00

"The advantage of being eighty years old is that one has had many people to love" Jean Renoir

Hey, everyone, I just had another birthday! I am 85 years old or at least working on it. How can that be, you ask. You were just 83 the last time we looked. This is my way of looking at it.

Years ago, I read somewhere that the Chinese way of looking at age is that when you are born you are not counted to be one year old until you have completed that year. Therefore your birthday is always behind by one year. You follow? So when you get to your birthday, you have been working on that year all the time before and therefore you have finished that year and are starting a new one. So this next year I shall tell everyone I am 85 and then when my birthday comes again I won’t feel so bad because I have been that age for a whole year already. Is that nuts? My kids think so.

There seems to be also something in my memory bank about how they also count the 9 months in the womb some way. Some of you won’t like that. You are already older than you think. Bad. Well, age isn’t such a bad thing. You cannot stop time and although I would like to go back, as does everyone I think, one cannot. So you accept it and enjoy each day you can.

There are a lot of misconceptions about old agers. One that I always debunked when I was teaching school was to tell the kids that just because someone is old does not mean they are wiser. If they were stupid when they were young, they are just as stupid when they get old. Harsh? Perhaps, but wisdom does not come automatically with experience and long life.

This post came out of the blue. I did think of a topic yesterday as my son and I were driving home from Appleton after a brief shopping trip. But I forgot what it was and he can’t remember it either, so there you go. It probably will come back to me sometime. So for now, this is it.

In Your Face Laughter

2009-11-15T22:28:00.000-08:00

“Laughter is the sun that drives the winter from the human face “

Mark Twain

Have you ever gone back in your life and thought about the things that really can still make you laugh? I, of course, have a huge advantage here as I have lived longer, but then again I have forgotten more.

One of the funniest memories that can really make me haw haw laugh is the following. Bill and I were attending one of our daughter’s friend's wedding and were staying in this cool hotel along with the other guests. At the reception which followed, Bill had a great time dancing like a mad fool and drinking probably too much.

The party broke up and we got to our hotel and as we were going to get ready for bed, Bill in slurred speech said that he wanted “one more drink with his daughter and that husband of hers” and took off out of the room. I tried to stop him. Apparently my daughter didn’t enjoy his drunken self either for he came back to the room fairly soon. I was already in bed and he was trying to get undressed in the near dark as quietly as possible.

I lay there listening to his efforts and his blistering comments under his breath as he got tangled up in his clothes. Finally he made it. He turned toward the bed and I heard him take a deep breath and throwing his arms in the air made a flying leap toward what he thought was the bed. He landed Kerplunk right beside it on the floor!

I turned on the light and looked at him sprawled out on the carpet and I could not stop laughing. He wasn’t hurt, just mad. My mom used to say that God takes care of drunks and babies. And I guess that was the case that night. But I can still see his big 6 foot 2 inches frame flying through the air and landing –thump. And I have to start laughing all over again.

And then there was the time we were on a trip to Canada in my son Jon’s new Regal Buick. . We were staying in this hotel and I had gone into the bathroom. The fire alarm sounded and Bill and the boys all ran out of the motel (Jon to move his precious new car away from the building) and without a thought for their mother and wife left me in the john. The fan must have drowned out the sound of the fire alarm and when I finally came out and heard it, I grabbed some suitcases and struggled down the hall. When I reached my gang outside they took one look and laughed and laughed. Especially Bill. He said he could just see the headlines of the morning newspaper WOMAN DIES IN BATHROOM WHILE SITTING ON THE THRONE and laughed and laughed again. Oh, by the way, it was a false alarm.

Then there’s the story of my new vacuum cleaner. Lorraine my best friend and neighbor came over and we were reading the instructions on how you put the dustbag on. It was a good old Hoover with the plastic hose sticking out upon which you were supposed to put the rubber thingy which was attached to the bag. As we struggled to pull the rubber like attachment onto the hose, all of sudden we both thought the same thing- and we rolled over in laughter on the floor. I think of it every time I change the bag on my present vacuum (still a Hoover) and laugh and laugh again.

I’ll bet every one of you could think of funny events that occurred in your life to make you laugh. How about sharing some of them?

Hail to the Veterans today

2009-11-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Today is Veteran’s Day and I wish to add my tribute to all who have fought for our country. These soldiers and sailors and marines and air force men and women have earned our respect and gratitude. Two of my brothers served during that war, one in the South Pacific for four years. My husband is also a veteran of that war and served for four years in England, France and Germany. So Veteran’s Day is important to me. However….

The first Veteran’s Day I remember was when we lived in Ironwood, Michigan. We had just moved there from Illinois and it was my first day in the new school in the new town. The observance was for veterans of WW1 and the war seemed long ago as this was 1935. I had just turned 10 years old. I was in the Seventh Grade (skipped a couple) and I can still feel the churning in my stomach as we walked single file into the auditorium. A tall girl named Carol had been assigned to be my buddy and of course we were directed to the front row. I was so nervous and so upset already but when the trumpets sounded right in front of me, I lost it and threw up all over me and Carol. Needless to say, Carol didn’t like me much after that.

Today we are engaged in two other wars. They are a little unlike the first and the second World Wars and the wars in Korea. Guerilla warfare make our superiority in nuclear power useless and the wars seem to not get anywhere. I hope that soon we can have peace again and the men and women can come home again soon.

I hope those of you who have close ones in the service come home safely.

What have we done to the first Americans?

2009-11-07T08:59:00.000-08:00

The hard rains from the hills are our father
The soft gentle rains are our mother

Paraphrased : Navajo belief

What kind of thoughts does the words “global warming” conjure up in your minds? We used to hear a great deal about it every day, but now we hear about our two wars, health insurance reform, immigration, education and killings at Fort Hood in Texas and again in Orlando.

Tonight I watched Bill Moyer’s Journal as usual, and the topic was a movie about the Hopi and Navajo Indians in Arizona whose land has been ravaged by a coal mine that has polluted all their water for energy to light up Los Angeles and San Diego and other southwestern cities. They fought that hard and long in court and finally the mine was shut down. First small victory. But they were left with ruined land, loss of jobs, and no way to climb out of their depression.

They have formed a coalition to fight to supply these areas with energy with the use of windmills and solar energy. They have the most sun and lots of wind there to use. They feel they are owed help on this project from California and some of the other states who used their coal. And Arnold Schwarzenegger has signed a bill that they will not let new mines come back to the reservation. Second small victory.

Denmark gets all its energy from windmills and even sells some to other countries. And Germany has done a lot toward using solar energy and mills with some success and they don’t even have a lot of sun or wind. The Federal Government was into using windmills during Carter’s administration, but since Reagan, all presidents who followed have been advocating “clean coal”, oil, and nuclear power. These Indians, even tho the lines crisscrossed their land and the slurry water pipe ran under their land, never had any electricity themselves. Oh, they were paid $20,000 a year but what is that to a whole
Tribe?

But the saddest thing of all is the land being ruined for all future generations of these Indians in addition to their not having anything to live on nowl Some Indians in North Dakota and other states are going ahead with building the solar energy thingies and windmills. Did you know that it only takes 1 or 2 days to put up one mill and you get immediate energy from it and it takes 5 years to put up a coal station?

Seems to me there is no doubt about the proper answer to the problem here. I know many people do not believe in global warming. Even my son often says in the winter,” I just shoveled 12 inches of global warming off my driveway.” But I do. And I am for windmills and solar energy.

Just NIMBY.

Beautiful Door County, Wisconsin

2009-11-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

One beautiful day, my son Jim and I drove up to Door County. Door County is renown for being like a mid-west New England. It was a little late in the season, however, for pics of the boats and the beaches and such but the colors were beautiful. So I am going to take you on the trip with us.

All trips to Door County must include a

visit to Al Johnson's Swedish Restaurant in

Sister Bay where you must order the traditional

Swedish Pancakes and Swedish Meatballs.

With these you must have lots of

Lingonberries, a delicacy grown only

in Sweden. (They are sort of like cranberries

only they are sweeter) And they have a

thatched roof with live goats living there.

The Boutique has all these wonderfully

expensive Norwegian sweaters and Swedish

woolens and clothes for about $300 a pop.

I always buy the 10 cent matchbooks!

These are the pancakes with lingonberries spread liberally on top. Jim likes his lingonberries almost more than the pancakes.

Church Hijinks

2009-10-27T10:16:00.000-07:00

Church Hi-Jinks

I didn’t go to church this week, but have gone most Sundays of my life and observed some very funny things there. For instance, I once read an article in a magazine that said that most married couples have sex on Saturday night. I thought it was very interesting to look around the congregation and pick out the couples that obviously did have sex the night before. You could always tell by the exchanged glances, the closeness with which they sat, the little rubbing of their partner’s shoulder.

My husband belonged to an irreverent group of men when I first married. They consisted of the local high school football coach, the owner of the local dance hall, (a person who the minister considered was going to hell in a bread basket) and Grandpa (who one time walked right into church smoking his pipe) and a few others. They sat in the back of the church and talked football or whatever right during the service. One time, the pastor pointed them out and asked them if they wanted to come up to the front and carry on the service inasmuch as they had so much to say.

Some of these men also served as ushers from time to time, and as soon as the service started, they went across the street to have coffee! It so happened that we had an influx of late comers and when the pastor called for the ushers to get more chairs there wasn’t an usher to be found. Next Sunday was spent stating new rules for the ushers; they were to remain at their posts during the whole church service.

As I said before, my husband was extremely irreverent and one time we went to a neighboring church. There the minister, who resembled Colonel Klink, gave the announcements, read the epistle and then crossed the nave to read the gospel. Did he sit down? No, then he got up and directed the choir. At that, my husband leaned over and whispered (in a voice that carried) “All he needs is a broom up his butt and he can sweep the floor while he is at it!”

Just last Sunday my son took me to a Lutheran church I have never been to before. My COPD was acting up so I sat during the “Lutheran Aerobics” as my son likes to call them. (They do stand up and sit down a lot) But, the guy in front of me had his jeans hanging down low (if you get my drift) and every time he stood up, I had this crack staring at me in the face.

I had a neighbor once who was not a swearing person ordinarily, but she did have a favorite expression for when she was frustrated. Trying her best to do whatever the task was at hand, she would finally throw her hands up in defeat and say. “Oh, piss on it.” Somehow this transferred itself to the Christmas carol, “It Came upon the Midnight Clear”, and it ruined the lovely carol for me forever. Whenever it came to the part where it says, “Peace on the earth good will toward men” she and I would break up every time.

I leave you with the story of the time we went to church for the first time in Denver. We had just moved from Minnesota and things had not been easy. Jordan at 3 had almost died of food poisoning and we almost lost the house we had bought from a crooked contractor. We came to church to find some solace. When the pastor announced the special music for this Sunday, two ladies stood up, patted their hair, cleared their throats and proceeded to sing “Whispering Hope” in the most off-key voices Jon and I had ever heard. “Wheesp-er-ing hoooope!” We broke into that kind of helpless laughter that you try to quell but cannot control with the whole pew shaking further and further. To our frazzled minds and psyches it let loose a lot of the angst and the pain we had experienced the past week and we continued successfully with our lives in Denver. Did find another church, however.

How many funny things have you witnessed in church? Or elsewhere?