Winter Fun

 In the winter we were not outside as much. Mom needed to find things for us to do. Otherwise we would drive her crazy!

We all liked to read so often we were in a comfortable spot with a book. And we all liked to cook. My sister made the best cakes from scratch. My brothers liked cookies. I made bread, sweet rolls, and pies. 

We often played games in the evening. We had a lot of board games and we also played word games and paper games. And of course card games. As you can see we kept busy. 

There were also some special activities. 

Fudge was the most frequent of these. Fudge was made from scratch. After it cooked to a soft ball temperature it had to be stirred vigorously until it hardened, Then it was poured out and cut into squares. We usually had fudge with popcorn.

Divinity was my mother's favorite treat. We called it white fudge but it is a different candy. It is made of corn syrup, sugar, and egg whites. I find it too sweet for my taste. One bite is plenty.

Rock candy is a great treat. You can make one flavor or many. One color or many. I cook the ingredients to a hard boil then pour them out onto a cookie sheet. After it cools hit the candy to make smaller pieces. They are pretty in a bowl for people to snack on.

A taffy pull is a fun activity. Once the candy is cooked we picked it up with hands covered with butter to keep it from sticking to our hands. We had some choices. A small amount could be pulled from one hand to another. A large amount was at least a two-person job.

The candy was pulled back and forth until it firmed. It could be cut into pieces by a pair of scissors. 

It looks like all we did in the winter was eat. It was not all we did but we did enjoy eating.

From TV To Movies

There is a new docudrama about the life of Chistopher Reeve. He is remembered for his Superman movies. However I remember him   as a sniveling little troublemaker on the soap opera One Life To Live. How he got that big strong body I will never know.

Then I got to thinking about the many actors who worked in television before they made movies. It used to be thought that if an actor worked in TV they would never be hired for a movie. How times have changed.

Lee Van Cleef often guest starred as a bad guy on Tv shows. Charles Bronson did the same. Now they are well known for their movies.

Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson began as a wrestler. He was known for his catch phrases. Now he is a famous successful (and very rich) movie actor.

Will Smith was a rapper who starred in his weekly sit-com. Today he is un high demand for movies.

Pierce Brosna played a private detective on his television show. Now he is famous as James Bond in the movies.

Sally Field was The Flying Nun. Then she won an Oscar for Norma Rae.

Johnny Depp played on TV in 21 Jump Street. I wonder if Captain Jack Sparrow would approve.

On TV John Travolta was a Sweat Hog. In the movie he was a T-Bird.

Goldie Hawn was a ditzy character on Laugh In. She was often ditzy in her movies but she always saved the day.

There are so many names. I am not going to name the many I know. I am sure you have some favorites too.

ddie Murphy

Jamie Farr

 Tom Hanks

Leonardo DiCaprio

Wait For It

My mother gave birth to seven children... four boys and three girls. Each of us weighed at least eight pounds.

I am the oldest born in 1947. My youngest brother was born in 1962.

When Mom started having babies it was common practice to put the mother to sleep during delivery. They said it was to spare the mother any pain. I think it was easier for the doctors. Mom was anesthetized for the first six of us.

Before she was awake Daddy had time to hold the baby and then call to let people know the baby was born. Then she would be sick. She did not tolerate anesthesia well.

Mom was thrilled when she learned that she would be allowed to stay awake for baby number7. She told the doctor that she was to be the first non-medical person to see the baby.

She joked and said that if she went into a coma for six months no one could see the baby before her.

Needless to say Mom got to see my little brother first. She got to hold him first. And all before Daddy even knew he was here.

Fathers were still not allowed in the delivery room. He had to wait. Mom was satisfied.

Mon's Family

My mother's family lived on their farm. 

Grandpa and my uncles worked the farm. They raised corn and wheat. They cut hay and baled it for later use. They raised a variety of animals including cows, pigs, donkeys, chickens, geese, and ducks to name a few. And of course there were always horses and a dog. 

Grandma and her daughters cooked and cleaned. They cared for the poultry. They gardened. Their homemade pickles were the best. They canned fruits and vegetables to have in the winter. They made jams and jellies as well as fruit butters. And watched after us.

My youngest uncle is only three years older than me. The twins were not much older. I had a lot of aunts and uncles. We spent a lot of time together so I knew them very well.

At the same time I knew very little about the larger family. Before he married Grandpa was a real honest-to-goodness cowboy. He lived on the range with cattle for months at a time.

Grandpa and Grandma used to play for barn dances. Grandma played the piano. Grandpa could play about five different stringed instruments.

Grandma lost her mother when she was young. That is when she took over household duties.

Still I know little about the extended family.

When I was little I sat so quietly and absorbed the stories the grown-ups told about family. I wish I knew more.

I Did It Again

 I was five years old. I wanted something from the top cabinet. Mom kept things up there that she did not want available to little hands.

Being bare footed was handy then. I used a kitchen chair to help me climb onto the counter. 

Even on the counter I could not reach easily what I wanted. I reached as far as I could. Could not reach. 

I stood on my toes and stretched to reach as far as I could. Almost but not quite there. 

I tried again. I reached as far as I could...  Oooops.. Something fell.

I looked down and immediately knew I was in big trouble. Mom had put a big box of thumbtacks up there. Now there were tacks all over the kitchen floor.

I quickly climbed down to collect and hide the evidence. As I jumped from the chair to the floor I screamed in pain. My bare feet were full of tacks.

Immediately I sat down to pull the tacks out of my feet. Yep. I sat right in the tacks. Now my bottom was full of tacks too.

By this time Mom was there. She picked up her crying little girl and began removing tacks. Fortunately there was no serious damage. 

My poor mother/ She raised seven of us. All of us did some pretty stupid things.

Doggie Days

I cannot remember my family not having a dog. When I was very little until I was moderately little all our dogs were named Suzy.  I have no idea why. But they were.

 Then I started my own family. My children loved dogs. Most of the time my daughter preferred them to humans. Still does.

Now I must explain that I am not a big lover of dogs or any pets. At the same time I do not want to see any animal mistreated. All living things deserve love.

Trixie was a dog we had on a farm we lived on. Trixie had a litter of puppies. Of course they were all named. The only name I remember is Ugly. 

One day my little brother and I in my very best I am innocent of any wrong-doing voice reported that 'somehow' all the puppies were down the toilet hole. (I was about 3 or 4 years old.) They all needed to be rescued and cleaned. Daddy was laughing so hard that he could not stop. It was up to Mom to save all the puppies.

My husband came home one day with a red-haired hound dog. Its name was Redneck. Redneck loved to run; in fact he would run on the sidewalk as cars drove by in the street. He was racing them.

Then my husband brought home a Doberman. She had been hit by a car breaking her leg in several places and shattering her pelvis. The vet said it looked like a broken jigsaw puzzle. We named her Sheba.

Sheba was healing nicely. Then she came into heat. We had somewhere to go that day. Redneck was known for his romantic nature. We could not leave them alone together or we would have a house full of puppies. We left Sheba in the house and locked Redneck in the back porch.

When we got home we were met at the front door by both dogs who had big smiles on their faces. A few weeks later we had cute little puppies

Sheba began to snap at my two youngest children so we had to find her a different home. I allowed the children to keep one of the puppies and the rest were also given new homes.

The puppy they kept was named Atilla. He looked like his mother but was a randy little guy like his father.

Shaggy followed my second son home... with a little coaxing and a rope around her neck. She was probably the filthiest animal I ever saw. We cleaned her up and I said she could stay until we found her owner. I knew we would never find an owner but it was worth a try.

Soon we found out that Shaggy was about to have puppies. As soon as the puppies were weaned Shaggy ran away. We found homes for all the puppies except the one we kept. He was named VaVoom after a cartoon character. VaVoom escaped from our yard and was hit by a truck in front of my whole cub scout pack. We gave him a nice funeral.

I was at a friend's house and saw a cute little puppy tied up in the neighbor's front yard. When I overheard the mother tell the children she was going to take it to the dog pound I offered to take the puppy. I gave her to my son for his birthday. He named her Tillie.

She reminded me of a Southern Belle with her own ideas of proper. She would take the money my son kept on the shelf by his bed and roll in it. But she knew a twenty dollar bill meant pizza was coming. She would not eat any people food so she just liked to bark at the delivery person.

As I said she would not eat people food even if we tried to give it to her. She did like cherry cough drops. We were amused when she stole them and ate them.

One evening we had ordered fast food from Wendy's. Wendy's is known for their Frostys. A Frosty is a sort of shake. We were sitting in the living room talking and I set my Frosty on the floor. My children were all looking at each other and chuckling.

When I reached down for my Frosty I got a handful of dog. Tillie was drinking my Frosty! 

My oldest son was taking care of his father who was dying. After his father's funeral my son would be by himself in a strange place until I could get ready to move here. He wanted a dog for company.

Since he knew no one he had no idea where to begin a search. I told him to check with the veterinarian in the next town. Often they have listings of dogs people can no longer keep. That is where he found Isabella.

She had been abandoned as a puppy and possibly mistreated too. When we went to meet her the woman who was caring for her was so nice. The dog liked the children.

The woman told us her husband did not like the dog so she lived outside. The garage door was open so she could duck out to the weather a bit. The grass in the yard was taller than Bella So we knew the children did not play with her there. I had the feeling that the husband was not kind to her.

It took a long time for Bella to like being cared for by a man. She deeply resented my son for several months. In time though she even wanted to sit in his lap which was not easy. She was a big dog.

After Bella died my son did not want another dog right away. When he finally felt ready he began to search on-line. 

One night he shouted, "I found my dog!" 

He immediately contacted the rescue home. He needed references and the money to adopt her. Once he was proven acceptable, we went and picked her up. They had named her Bene.

They said her mother and all her pups had been found in a ditch in freezing weather. One of the pups had drowned and was frozen in the puddle. The mother and all the puppies needed homes. 

Apparently Bene was a problem child so they first brought a sister in. She was a nice puppy. My son told them he wanted his dog. So we took Bene home with us. My son renamed he as Delilah Bene.

She is now four years old, You have never seen a happier dog. And she is still a problem child.

Birthday Parties

At the time my family consisted of five children and two parents. I believe that is a total of seven. Five of us celebrated birthdays within a two-week period. 

Mom decided that we should each have a birthday party at least once in our lives. Having five children meant five parties to plan. She sensibly chose one year for the boys and another year for the girls.

The first year was my brothers. They were the only two not born in the two weeks. The end of October and beginning of November meant that for eight days each year they were the same age. Irish twins. I actually just found out that the boys and I are Irish triplets.

One brother had a party in which there were two teams. Each team was given a list of items thar could be found around town. The team who collected the most items in the allotted time would win. I no longer remember what the prize was. 

Then there was cake and ice cream for all.

Two elaborate parties within eight days... Mom was exhausted.

The following year was for the girls and our three year old brother. 

My baby brother was easier. Toddlers are only interested in cake and ice cream.

My party was a treasure hunt. Mom had spent the previous day hiding clues all over town. Each clue was a riddle that told us where to find the next clue.

The final clue took us to the park where cake and ice cream was waiting for us.

As you can see Mom did not do things halfway. The first year she made spectacular parties for two boys in one week. The second year she had three parties in a week and a half. 

She was exhausted. She had not planned well. So many parties so close together. She said she would never do it again. We loved them.

Tooth Fairy

Who knew? 

As the oldest of seven children I lost my baby teeth first. The first one was loose for a long time. I rather enjoyed wiggling it with my tongue. Eventually it fell out. I tossed it in the trash.

The next one came out when I was eating a popcorn ball. I did not notice until much later. You know what that means. I had also swallowed my tooth.

Another tooth had come out without fanfare. I tossed it too.

Then my brother lost his first tooth. 

He came home from school with his tooth in his pocket. He asked Mom if he put the tooth under his pillow would the Tooth Fairy come. 

My ears perked up and my eyes opened wide. I had never heard of this Tooth Fairy. If my brother was right placing his tooth under his pillow would bring the Tooth Fairy. She would exchange the tooth for money. Who knew?

The next morning my brother triumphantly showed us the nickel left by the Tooth Fairy. It worked!

In the meantime I had lost three perfectly good teeth and had nothing to show for it. I WAS ROBBED!

My Heart

In 1992 Hurricane Andrew ravaged Florida. My brother one year younger than me lived in Lauderdale at the time.

He had not felt well that day and left work early. By the time he got home his chest hurt. He felt like he should go to the hospital. With the bad weather he decided to wait.

My brother knew that men in my family tended to have heart attacks. Well my brother was no exception. 

His chest pains were becoming unbearable. He called for medical assistance.

I do not know how medical personnel made it through the hurricane to reach my brother but they did. He was unconscious and they did not take any of his personal items with him.

When he awoke he could not remember any phone numbers or contact names. After several days he finally remembered where he worked and the number there.

My sister also lived in Florida and had been trying to contact my brother for several days. She finally called his job.

She explained that she was his sister and was worried about him because of the hurricane. They told her Oh yeah. He had a heart attack and they told her what hospital he was in.

Naturally my sister was furious. She told them that they should have looked at his file. If they had they would have known to call her as soon as they were notified.

Now I am pretty good at giving someone a good dressing down. My sister makes me look like a timid bunny. (We learned from our mother.)

It is also like my brother to want to be left alone. My mother and I each offered to take care of him when he got home. He wanted none of that. 

Mon always said he was a most unsatisfying baby. He did not like being held.

He was fine for years after all that. He moved with his job to New York. That is where he had another heart attack. He died as he lived... alone.

O Sole Mio

I hate shoes.  I hate the way they confine my feet. They always feel heavy too. And I have seldom seen any shoes that I find attractive.

When I was a baby I seldom wore shoes. At that time babies wore booties, socks, or were barefoot. I was probably barefoot.most of the time.

As I got a little older I had very few times that I needed shoes. All children in the area were the same. 

When it came time for me to go to school I had to wear shoes to school. At that time girls and boys wore dress shoes to school. Tennis shoes were only worn in the gym.

When I was grown suddenly I needed shoes for everything. Except home. I did not wear shoes at home. With no shoes I even took the garbage out for the garbage men to pick up.  Even in the winter when there was snow on the ground.

Our little family moved to Tennessee. My husband had a new job there.

Shoes were seldom required there. I was even barefoot when I went to the grocery store,

For a day out I often took my children to the state park. No shoes required.

Because my husband was a truck driver he was usually gone all week. Family time was on the weekend.

I was having another child. There was no hospital near us. When my babies finally decided to be born they were born quickly.

My husband thought it was not a good idea for me to be alone with three very small boys when it was time to go to the hospital. We were going to stay with my parents in Detroit.

We were almost to Ohio before I realized that I forgot my shoes. I had set them by the front door so I would remember them.

Do you have any idea how hard it is to buy shoes in Detroit when you have none to wear into the store?

Ick!

I lived in Nebraska and Iowa. Except for one summer in Washington State that was where I would be.

I love this part of the country. In small towns and on farms you can look up at the night sky and see the stars. 

We often were outside on the porch at night. It was the way families relaxed after a long day.

Parents would talk about the things important to them. The family pet (usually a dog) just laid there enjoying the peace. Children would play little games, sometimes get into little scuffles, and best of all wind down before time to go to bed.

When my children and I were living in Tennessee we also spent evenings on the porch. We would play board games if there was enough light.

Our porch was a simple concrete rectangle up a couple of steps from the yard. I sat on that concrete with the children as we played.

Then came the evening that I leaned back a bit using my arm for support. As I put my hand on the concrete of the porch I felt something soggy. 

I brushed it off the porch thinking it was something one of the children dropped after partially chewing it. Then I saw behind the children that the porch was covered with little creatures.

Because it was getting dark the slugs had come out. Eeewww.

I did not even know what they were. I asked a neighbor the next morning. She told me about them and how they come out at night. They were such a nuisance.

Space Race

It was hardly believable. They announced 7 miliary pilots who were training to go to the moon. They would be called astronauts. It was 1959.

Who would have thought it? It was the stuff of science fiction.

To be fair we had sent up satellites. We even put poor animals in some of them. But people???

Of course Russia wanted to beat us to it as much as we wanted to beat them. I always thought that Russia and the United States were part of the Moon Treaty prohibiting a country from claiming any part of space for themselves. Russia and the United States have not signed. But I digress.

The astronauts trained vigorously. NASA worked to perfect the space ships. It was an exciting time.

 Finally we were ready to send men to outer space. So was Russia.

Then we sent a man to orbit the Earth. Russia did it before us.

On the day they launched John Glen into space our schools gave us the day off to watch it from home. It was spellbinding. It was a proud day for our country.

Since then there have been tragedies. There have been triumphs. We have seen men walk on the moon. What can be more special?

Family Finger

I was astounded. I never saw anything like it.

The first time my boyfriend who would later be my husband took me to his parent's house his mother and father were arguing. I had never seen an argument between a couple.

The whole time my mother-in-law was pointing her finger and shaking it in anger and to punctuate the point she was trying to make. 

I suppose now is the time to let you know that they had a strong marriage. They were married for more than 75 years. Arguing was a form of recreation for them.

As time went by I often chuckled to see other family members point their fingers and shake them when they argue. Even my children could point and shake with the best of them.

We laughingly began to call the action "the family finger".

I believe each family has something everyone does. What is yours?

When To Hit

Timmy is my nephew. He was a child full of energy which also means he was often in trouble.

His parents were not married. A couple of months before he was born his father up and married another woman. We were all shocked.

Because Timmy's father did not want to be in the picture my father (Timmy's grandfather) was happy to be the main male figure in his life.

Timmy got away with things none of us (including grandchildren) would have been allowed to do. Like eat food from Grandpa's plate. 

He adored his grandpa. But Grandpa had a heart attack and died. Timmy was not quite 2 years old.

My husband sort of took over. We all loved Timmy so like all of the children he was welcome at our house any time. My husband (his uncle) did many of the things with Timmy that he did with our children.

My husband left our family. Then my oldest son took over. He has always been especially close to Timmy and his little brother.

Often my mother (Timmy's grandmother) and my sister (Timmy's mother) would call because he was misbehaving and they could not make him mind. My son would go to their house and talk to Timmy. He would explain that there would be harsh consequences if he continued bad behavior. 

My parents raised us not to fight. We lived where children did not fight each other to settle problems. We raised our children the same way.

Unfortunately we moved to and lived in a city where violence was the way many people tried to solve problems. My children learned to fight to defend themselves. Sadly Timmy did not.

My mother and sister did not allow him to fight. My son kept telling them that he needed to defend himself. 

One day Timmy came running into Timmy's own house with a slightly older and quite a bit bigger boy right behind him. That boy was beating on Timmy in his own house in front of Timmy's grandmother!

They called my son. Now they understood why he needed to defend himself. My son told them he would teach Timmy to defend himself. First they would have to let Timmy know it was okay.

My son explained that Timmy should never start a fight but it is okay to defend himself. Then he taught him how to defend himself.

The very next day the other boy was ready to pick on my nephew. My nephew successfully defended himself.

After that the two boys became friends. There was no more fighting.

Can I Go?

My daughter's children did not get outside to play as often as I felt they should,

If they were at my house I took them out to play. That was not often because I also worked. 

Their usual caretaker was their paternal grandfather. He loves them and took good care of them. He did not enjoy being outside.

Once they were spending the afternoon with me. They did not want to go out with me but finally we were in my back yard.  They were playing tentatively. They were getting some sun.

There was a healthy breeze that day. Sometimes the gusts were a bit stronger. 

I noticed that they both seemed a bit afraid. I asked what was wrong. They said they were afraid of being blown away,

Before I could ask who had told them such a ridiculous thing my phone rang. Because my back yard was fenced in I felt comfortable leaving them out while I ran in to answer it. So I did.

I answered the phone. As I did I turned around. There stood my grandchildren right behind me.

The sister of my daughter-in-law lived 3 houses down the street from me. Her daughter is the same age as my granddaughter. She called me 'Grandma-down-the-street'.

When they were a bit olde3r my grandchildren liked playing outside. I went out with them because we lived in the city. It is not always a safe place to be.

 All three children would have a good time. They had toys to play with. On hot days I would turn on the sprinkler so they could run through the water and stay cool.

One day my grandson came to me needing desperately to go to the bathroom. There was not time to gather all three of them and I could not leave the girls outside. So I told him to go in the bushes.

He looked at me like I had lost my mind. I told him to go stand between the house and the bush of his choice. Then he could do what he needed to do in privacy. 

When he was done he was so proud of himself. He bragged about it for the rest of the afternoon.

After thar day whenever he came to my house the first thing he asked to do is go to the bathroom in the bushes.

DNA

My son decided to take a DNA test. From his father he knew there would be Irish, German, and Swedish. I on the other hand am a melting pot of many nationalities. 

It took several weeks for him to receive the results. It was fun looking through the results. It made me want my own.

My son gave me a test for Christmas. It consisted of directions about how to use it, a mailing box, and a sterile test tube with lid.

I put the proper amount of clean saliva in the tube and mailed it. It was hard waiting for the results.

Finally they arrived. I knew one of my grandmothers was 100% Danish. I knew there would be a lot of 

Germanic ancestry.

From my DNA results I am mostly of Northern European descent. It tells me what percentage of what nationality makes me. It is fascinating.

I have also learned that even though we have the same parents my brothers and sisters DNA will probably not match exactly. There may be small differences in traits that we inherited. That is why we have different colors of hair, different eye colors, even baldness. 

Every once in a while the web site for the DNA company re-defines the tests. It might include a specific area of a country and what percentage I have from there.

Since having the test done I have learned from other sources that there were many Mormon ancestors. They traveled through here as they were on their way to Utah. Who knew?

I am glad I did it. It lets me know a bit more of who I am and why I have certain traits.

How I Met My Husband

When I was teen-ager Friday nights were for socializing. If you had a car you would drive what we called the loop.

To drive the loop you drove down Pierce Street to Gordon Drive. From Gordon Drive you went up Nebraska Street to 14th Street. 14th Street over to Pierce Street. 

Unless you went to get something to eat you did this over and over until you decided to go home.

If you had no car you wandered around downtown. You were not confined to the same streets as cars. We thought it was great fun. Why I have no idea/

We would also stop to get something to eat. Once in a while parts of the two groups would meet that way.

As a matter of fact that is how I met my husband. He and his friends came in from their car. I and my friends were having a hamburger and fries when they entered.

They sat near to where we were sitting. We began to talk and get to know each other. 

We were invited to join them the next night. We accepted.

Because my friends and I were on foot we walked home that night.  I lived a long way from downtown. I was late getting home. I was grounded for two weeks.

 I told my parents I had a young man coming the next night to take me out. They were not impressed. I was still grounded.

When he came to pick me up that next night I wanted to be able to go out to let him know I could not go. My parents allowed it. Somehow he talked me into getting in the car and off we went.

We drove the loop that night. When he dropped me off at home Daddy was waiting. I went in to accept my further punishment. My husband-to-be took off before Daddy could get to his car.

I still have no idea why I disobeyed. I did not do things like that.

Round And Round

I lived in a little bitty town. The business area was one block long.

We lived on the highway leading into town. When I climbed my tree I could see everything that was going on downtown. It was my favorite place to be to have some alone time.

I was 14 years old. I went to a small school. We all socialized with each other.

One night my friend knocked on the door. She wanted to know if I could go riding around with a bunch of the kids who were there in the car. I had to get permission from my parents who reluctantly gave it,

I excitedly jumped into the car with my friends. It was my first time to ride around. I was growing up!

We went all over that small town. We did nothing but ride and laugh. We had fun being out.

After about an hour they dropped me off at my house. I felt happy because we had such fun.

When I walked into the house the mood was definitely not happy. My parents were furious.

When I asked to go riding around they thought I meant riding 3 blocks to the other end of town. Then we would turn 'around' and I would be home.

It was a huge misunderstanding. I did not communicate properly and my parents were too literal.

I was severely punished. We all lived through it.  

Good Morning

How do you get up in the morning? Now that I no longer have to go to work I enjoy taking my time. 

I watch birds in the trees. I watch the news and a couple other programs as I get dressed. It is a relaxing way to start my day.

My father had been in the Navy during the war. We learned at early ages to stand back if we had to wake him up. As he awoke he would jump up and stand at attention. Anyone in his way would be knocked down.

My ex-husband would wake up swinging. I do not know why. We always stood away from him too.

The most interesting to me is my little sister. She is normally a sweet soft-spoken person. When she gets up in the morning she wants to be left alone. If you speak to her too soon she growls. She actually sounds like a wild animal. We usually give her about two hours.

I would love to hear any interesting ways people wake up.

Celebrate

 My youngest sister was born on July 5th.

This is what happened. My sister was not due for a week or so. As is normal for most women Mom was tired. Besides the exhaustion that comes near the time for a baby to be born Mom had 5 of us to take care of. Add to that she only recently had stopped having morning sickness. Having a baby was not easy for my mother.

My aunt was staying with Grandma on her yearly duty visit for two weeks. It was decided that there would be a cook-out on July 4th. My aunt and uncle would come as well as their four grown children and spouses and children. 

Daddy manned the grill. The women made everything else. It was a great meal.

When time for clean-up came Grandma announced loudly that Mom could take care of that so "the family" could visit properly! (Grandma was a real sweetheart!)

I was not quite 11 years old so I was no help. Mom was on her own.

When we got home Mom was in tears of exhaustion and immediately called the doctor. She told him she could not take any more. She needed some rest and some quiet.

The doctor told her to go the hospital right away. He kept her there all night so she could sleep. It was a small town and the doctor knew how Grandma could be.

The next day when he came to see her Mom looked much better. He suggested that as long as she was there anyway they could try to induce labor.

My sister was born that afternoon.

Years later before she started school for the first time our house was the last one toward the top of the hill. We could see forever from the very top.

The drive-in theater in town set off fireworks every year for the 4th of July. We went to the top of the hill to watch.

My baby sister thought it was so nice of them to celebrate her birthday. And it was.

Letter From My Brother

My youngest brother was so excited to learn he was going to be an uncle. In his little 5-year-old mind he was about to be a grown-up. 

I lived in Detroit and he was still in Nebraska. Phone calls were still expensive. We could not speak in person very often. We kept in touch by writing letters... often

My little brother could not write yet. I sent him letters with simple words and kept them short. At that age his attention span was short. He loved getting his own mail.

When I got letters from him I knew he had dictated them to our mother. She would write everything word for word. That way I got a letter from my brother.

One letter said, " I'm cleaning the house. Not the kitchen. Not the bathroom. Not my bedroom. The living room.

Not the tables. Not the chairs. Not the floor. I'm just cleaning the couch. Bye."

Is that fun or what?

Smile. It Makes Them Wonder

 I had a job that I really loved. The company I worked for was run by two brothers.

When I began to work there one of the brothers was not physically present. The one I worked with was a nice guy. I was treated so well; perhaps a bit better than others. I got used to it.

The other brother did not come in at all. He was in the midst of divorcing the woman in charge of the rest of us. We all got along with her. She became a friend.

Eventually she stopped working there. She had remarried and was able to stay home with her little girls. Her husband decided to work with us sometimes.

He fell in love with and married a friend of mine who also worked there. It was like a big happy family.

Then the original brother got sick. He could not run the business so the other brother took over. 

Soon I was not the ''golden child". I can live with that. It was still a great place to work.

Eventually I was given all the worst work situations. I was miserable. I thought about quitting. I hated just entering the building.

Then one day my brain kicked in. I loved my customers and the people I worked with. Why was I allowing someone else to make me feel so bad?

Each night before I reached the front door I pasted a big smile on my face. I was ready to enjoy my customers.

It took some time but eventually I really was happy going to work. It drove the people who had been working hard to make me unhappy crazy. I was even happier.

Always smile. You will feel better. Most people around you will feel happier. Those who wish to make you unhappy will be confused and eventually look for another target.

Just Like The Movies

Since I was raised in small towns and on farms I had little 'worldly' experience. My children often teased me about being so naive. 

For instance there were never any fights thar I was aware of in school. I did hear about two girls having a hair-pulling fight over a boy. I was a junior in high school. That is the only one.

So we moved to the big city after we married. We stayed with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law at first.

They had an apartment above a gay bar. I had heard whispers about gay people but never really believed them. I was fascinated. I watched from the window when they were outside. It was unreal to me.

Then we had our own apartment. The woman downstairs was so nice. She was a war bride from Germany. The man upstairs was not normal. He was an admirer of Nazis. He had recordings of Hitler's speeches that he played at the highest level of sound. 

He assumed the woman downstairs felt the same but she did not. One day he caught her and tried to kiss her. When she refused his advances and told him she would call the police he ran outside. He stood in the middle of the street until the police confronted him. We heard he was evaluated for mental problems. We never saw him again.

Our next apartment was across the street from a small hotel. I did know about street-walkers from television. The hotel was used by these women off and on all day. The women from our building would sit on the front steps to watch them. Often we would each choose one to see who took the most men into the hotel that day.

One of the prostitutes had the prettiest yellow dress with matching yellow handbag and shoes. I actually envied that outfit. I love yellow but it is a terrible color for me.

I taught art classes. One of my favorite classes was in a sewing school. I sold the necessary supplies to the women there. They were evening classes so it was dark when I was finished. Everyone knew that I had large amounts of money then.

The women from the classes took good care of me because I was too foolish to be afraid. They walked me to my car and waited until I was safely on my way.

My husband was a truck driver. The truck he drove was owned by a man who owned a bar. I was pregnant and did not drink but we went to the bar on Friday night to pick up his pay.

One Friday my brother-in-law and sister-in-law went with us. My brother-in-law went to use the bathroom. The rest of us were sitting at our table talking. Suddenly a man came running up and over our table. I was shocked. Then another man went over the table right after the first. My husband recognized the second man as his brother and joined in the chase.

My sister-in-law joined others up against the wall. I sat at my table watching. It was like watching a movie. Seeing that I did not have the sense to move to safety my sister-in-law came over and dragged me with her. I am still grateful.

I am less naive than I used to be. I am back where I can be oblivious. The difference is wonderful.

To Know

In elementary school there were three grades to a room. For instance Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades were together. 

You may think that lessened the learning process. Not so. We all learned; every child in town and from the country.

If the teacher called the 2nd grade to the front the rest of us would work on our lessons. Then the 1st grade had their turn. And so on. We took turns all day.

Beginning in Kindergarten the teacher stood in front of the class to lead the pledge of allegiance. Then she turned and read a list of numbers from her list. The numbers were a mixture one, two, and three digits. We added them in our heads as she read them off. Then we raised our hands when she finished to give her the total. We were seldom wrong and not by much.

In 1st grade we learned multiplication and division. The reading book we used was a 3rd grade reader. I know that because I went to a different school and we used the same book in 3rd grade. 

The real point is that these were small town schools. There were not many children. We were all in the grades appropriate to our ages. And we all learned.

Children's minds are open to learning. They are waiting to have their minds filled with information. 

There I Sit Again

In the 1950's when I was a child automobiles were different than the ones today. Almost all cars had bench seats. Today bucket seats are the norm. 

At that time cars did not have seat belts, air bags, or many of the other safety features required today. Often one child would sit between Mom and Dad on the front seat while Mom held the baby. The other children were in the back seat. Often while in the back the children would stand. Sometimes it was to see where they were going and sometimes it was because the seat was full.

One Christmas or Thanksgiving (I cannot remember which) the back seat was full of pumpkin pies. We had to stand.

Unfortunately Daddy had to step on the brakes suddenly. Guess who lost her balance and sat down, Right into a pie. 

Another year Daddy was just too tired to get up and go with us to the farm for Thanksgiving. He had worked a double shift the day before. Mom would go back and pick him up later. 

We had baby chicks in brooders in the house to keep them warm. Mom got home to Daddy snoring in a house full of chicks running everywhere. Dinner was delayed because they had to gather chicks and put them back into brooders,

Then there was the day I had been a pain in the necks of my uncles. I am sure I was driving them crazy.

The cows needed to be milked. All my uncles had to work with Grandpa to do the job. After that all the buckets of milk were taken to the kitchen. The milk would be poured into the separator to separate the cream from the milk. Grandpa sold the milk and the cream. It was one of the ways a farmer could make money.

Milking was done. The buckets of milk were in the kitchen. I went back to teasing my uncles.

I was finished. I think I knew I had pushed too far. I went in to watch the separator. 

Suddenly one of my uncles slammed his way into the kitchen. He was so angry I could almost see smoke coming from his ears. And I knew he was after me.

I began to slowly back up as he came for me in a menacing way. I went back; he advanced. I kept going back as he kept coming at me. Of course I backed into a bucket of milk and sat in it.

It is the only time I can remember Grandpa being mad at me. That milk was ruined and could not be sold. I was no longer allowed near the new buckets of milk.

Clean It Up

I worked at a retail store similar to Walmart. I really liked working there and held some desirable positions. 

I worked the midnight shift. Usually we only had a store manager to oversee us. One cashier would assign tasks, breaks, and troubleshoot.

One night two young-ish men came in. I was putting merchandise into bags for the cashier to save her some work.

 The men bought some trash bags and a vacuum cleaner. It was unusual to be thinking of cleaning at 3:00 in the morning but we were trained not to comment on purchases.

The next day the police came to the store. A young woman had been killed. She was found in garbage bags. Other bags were also there filled with trash from the scene of where she was killed. Inside one bag was the receipt from the purchase of the bags and a vacuum cleaner.

As you have guessed the receipt showed the store, time, and cashier who sold them. She had to testify against the men at their trials.

I will tell more tales of retail another time.

Seven Little Girls

Seven little girls sittin' in the back seat
Huggin and a'kissin with Fred
I said, why don't one of you come up and sit beside me
And this is what the seven girls said

(All together now, one, two, three)
(Keep you mind on your drivin')
(Keep you hands on the wheel)
(Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead)
(We're havin' fun sittin' in the back seat)
(Kissin' and a'huggin with Fred)

                                                                Paul Evans

In 1959 this was one of many popular novelty songs. I call them silly songs because they make me smile. Of course the song is longer than that. You can find it on YouTube if you want the whole thing.

Those were the beginning days of early morning television offering news and entertainment. Dave Garroway was the host. Frank Blair was the newsman.

They had a chimpanzee mascot names J. Fred Muggs. J. Fred Muggs did all manner of amusing skits.  

Once Paul Evans appeared on the entertainment part of the show. He was sitting in a car. The seven little girls were all in the backseat. At the end of the song the camera showed J. Fred Muggs in the middle of the girls.

I wonder why I have such a vivid memory of this. But it does make me smile.

Smoke

 My sister no longer smokes. For a time she smoked heavily. She and her youngest son lived near me. He spent a lot of weekends at my house. I was happy to have him.

My nephew was in middle school. He and my oldest son were out shopping together one day. My nephew had a confession to make.

He was in danger of being expelled from school. One of his teachers had him called to the principal's office. The teacher accused him of smoking.

The thing is that my nephew has never smoked. He did not want to hurt his mother's feelings so he did not tell her.

My sister's smoking was leaving a strong smell of smoke on everything in her house including her son's clothing. That smell made the principal threaten him with expulsion.

My son told me what his cousin had said. I said I would take care of it.

I went to my sister's house. She is a good housekeeper. She loves her sons and is a good mother. However she kept her home closed and no fresh air flowed through. 

I told her what was happening to her son at school. Of course she was horrified. A smoker does not know how the smoke smells or how strong it can be.

So my sister stopped smoking. She aired out her house. She cleaned all the surfaces she could clean. She washed all their clothes.

My nephew had no more problems at school. He still does not smoke.

Military Funeral

 Have you ever been a part of a military funeral? It is one of the most beautiful, most moving, most painful rites to endure.

My brother was killed in Viet Nam. He was only20 years old.

My father was so hurt and so proud. I do not remember seeing him cry before or after but he cried with a broken heart that day. He had been in the Navy during World War II and had seen some of the horrors of war. He never thought it would happen to his son.

In a case of military death an officer knocks on the door to inform the family. Mom was home alone that day. The officer waited with her until Daddy could get home from work. He then answered questions and tried to help them make decisions.

They decided on a military funeral.

My brother had a friend who idolized him. The friend tried to enlist in the Army. He felt that if he was a soldier he would go to Viet Nam and protect my brother.

The problem was that he was extremely overweight. The Army would not take him.

He went home and proceeded to lose about 150 pounds. The Army was then happy to have him. He was still in basic training when my brother died. 

My family wanted him to be with us for the funeral. The officer said he would make the request but the Army hardly ever allowed anyone to interrupt basic training. My brother's friend was made a pallbearer and grieved with us. The funeral service was sad as all funerals are. Then the Army took over

The pallbearers carried my brother with the military guard around them.

After a short service at the grave site the soldiers removed the flag from my brother's coffin. They carefully folded it and presented it to my mother.

Then they began playing Taps. I always thought it was a haunting song. That day Taps just cut into our hearts.

The twenty-one-gun salute was almost like being shot. 

I must tell you that the military funeral is so magnificent. It is so painful. I hope it will never be a piece of your life.

Ka-Boom

Every once in a while my youngest brother would spend the night in the living room on the couch. He was watching television and fell asleep.

In the morning he would wake up and go about his day. My brother was around 10 years old at the time.

One morning he overslept. Mom went in to wake him.

She noticed a hole in the storm window above the couch. It had not been there before.  The window itself was not damaged.

Looking further Mom found a bullet between the windows. It was simply lying on the sill. 

There was an empty apartment building across the street and down the block a ways.  It seemed that the bullet came from there.

Someone was probably playing with a gun. They fired it into the empty outside not thinking it would travel for a distance.   

Luckily a bullet decelerates over a distance. By the time it reached the window of my parents' home it did not have enough speed to enter both panes of glass.

My brother was so fortunate. He could have been seriously hurt.

After that Mom made sure he slept in his bed in his room. 

Grandma's Grandfather's Clock

 Grandfather's Clock

My grandfather's clock was too tall for the shelf

So it stood ninety years on the floor

It was taller by half than the old man himself

But it weighed not a pennyweight more

It was bought on the morn of the day that he was born
It was always his treasure and pride
But it stopped, short, never to go again
When the old man died

Ninety years without slumbering
Tic toc tic toc
His life's seconds numbering
Tic toc tic toc
It stopped, short, never to go again
When the old man died.

In watching its pendulum swing to and fro
Many hours he had spent when a boy
And through childhood and manhood, the clock seemed to know
And to share both his grief and his joy

For it struck 24 when he entered at the door
With a blooming and beautiful bride,
But it stopped, short, never to go again
When the old man died

CHORUS

My grandfather said that of those he could hire
Not a servant so faithful he'd found,
For it kept perfect time and it had one desire
At the close of each day to be wound

At it kept to its place, not a frown upon its face
At its hands never hung by its side
But it stopped, short, never to go again
When the old man died

CHORUS

It rang an alarm in the still of the night,
An alarm that for years had been dumb
And we knew that his spirit was pluming for flight
That his hour of departure had come

Still the clock kept the time
With a soft and muffled chime
As we silently stood by his side
But it stopped, short, never to go again
When the old man died"

                             by Henry Clay Work

I do not know if Grandma's grandfather's clock came from her grandfather. I tend to doubt it but I do not know.

What I do know is that it was beautiful. The wooden frame always shone. The gold toned chains inside always sparkled. The hands on the face always told the correct time. Or course we were not allowed to touch it.

The clock needed to be wound once a week. Grandma opened the glass door in the front.  She pulled on those beautiful chains. Somehow that rewound it for another week. I was mesmerized. 

I am guessing that the clock was sold in the auction when they sold the farm. 

I often think of that magnificent clock. I hope it is still as loved as Grandma loved it.

Lefty/Righty

In high school we studied genetics. My biology teacher was a brilliant teacher. He was also quick to let us know he was always right but that is another story for another day.

We learned about DNA which was a fairly new idea. Humans have strands of 23 traits. One strand inherited from the mother and one strand inherited from the father curve around each other. Those determine eye color, hair color, and whether or not you can curl your tongue.

Some traits are dominant and some are recessive. In other words brown eyes are more likely to be inherited than blue eyes.

One of the most impressive examples is handedness. If a person is left-handed both genes have to be for left-handedness. I am left-handed. For me to be left-handed each of my right-handed parents had to have a hidden left-handed gene. I therefore have two left-handed genes.

I married a right-handed man. He had lefties in his family so the possibility of him having a hidden left-handed gene were strong.

According to my high school biology this is a grid of possibilities that my children would be left-handed.

                                                       LL    LL

                                                RL   LL    LL               

                                                RL   RL    RL

This shows that if I were to have four children two would be left-handed and two would be right-handed with a recessive left gene. 

Well I have four children. Two are left-handed and two are right. Interesting?

Snacks

I am certain you are tired of me telling you that my family did not have much money when I was a child. What I do not mention is that there were few ready to make foods. Those available were too expensive.

We made everything from scratch. Cakes, pies, and cookies we just "whipped up". Sliced bread was available and inexpensive but I enjoyed making it so we had homemade bread and sweet rolls every week.

In the evening we watched TV or played games. Snacks were made for us to nibble.

Popcorn was cheap and easy to make. We heated lard in a pan then put in the corn. The pan had to be shaken or the popcorn would burn. After it popped it went into a big bowl and was salted. Mmmm-mmm.

Add fudge to have an even better treat. Fudge was basically sugar, cocoa, and water. It is cooked to the right consistency. Oh but we are not done yet. It still had to be stirred (constantly) until it began to stiffen. Then it is poured into a dish to set. Cut it into squares. It is a great snack.

One year Daddy bought a bushel of popcorn still on the cob. We were going to save money on popcorn. All we had to do was shell all the popcorn off the cobs. The problem is that popcorn is really hard and really stuck in the cob. We shelled all night and still were not done. I had a blister the size of a marble on my thumb.

Taffee was especially fun. We did not have it often. Mom would cook it up. Then we would cover our hands with butter. Each of us got a piece about the size of a teaspoon. We worked it and pulled it until it hardened.

Sometimes we got lucky and were given a large piece. More than one person was needed to pull the taffee. It was always fun.

A Bit Of Music History

In the 1960's there was a group named Tim Tam and the Turn Ons. Their biggest seller was Wait A Minute.

The group was formed when the six members were in high school. They were all from Lincoln Park, Michigan. That is a suburb of Detroit.  

They made other records of course. I am sure you can find them on YouTube if you wish to hear them.

One day I was driving through Lincoln Park and saw something that amused me. There were two apartment buildings next to each other. Their names were on the front of the buildings right over the entrances.

One was named Tim Tam. The other was Turn Ons.

I used to drive by them often just because the names amused me.

The group had invested some of their earnings into the buildings. It was a smart move.

Many years later they sold the investments. I guess the new owners did not take care of the properties. The tenants were evicted. The buildings were demolished.

City officials made a day of it. They each took a turn with sledgehammers. It was a day they called a reverse ribbon cutting. Each of them got their pictures in the paper.

Emotional Vampires

Do you know someone who is always unhappy and willing to share that unhappiness with everyone? My sister calls them emotional vampires.

These are people who are forever negative about everything. If you are enjoying a song they do not like the lyrics or music. If you are watching a movie they have a running narrative about the plot, acting, and script. They criticize the way other people look, dress, eat... all of it.

It is exhausting to be around an emotional vampire. Any happy or positive thoughts you have are sucked right out of you. Eventually you feel as miserable as they do.

I am normally a very happy person. I have good reason to be. Of course I have unhappy times. Deaths and illnesses come to mind. We grieve and survive.

I have known emotional vampires. I avoid them when I can. 

I am so wretched in their presence. If you are an emotional vampire STOP. If you are near an emotional vampire RUN. We need peace and harmony.

Flibbertigibbet

 My mother called me a flibbertigibbet. She was not being insensitive. I am amused by silly songs and anything else for that matter. 

I love interacting with a two-year-old child. We understand each other. I love it when their imaginations awaken.

I drive to the top of a hill and gasp. The beauty of the scenery takes my breath away.

I will dance anywhere. Not like no one is watching. I do not care who is watching.

From the time they were very small my children and I would go out to dance in the rain. 

Elm trees have seed pods that have sort of a tail to catch the wind to blow them to new locations. We call them helicopters because the tail spins as it falls. One time my granddaughter took a double handful of helicopters to her upstairs bedroom. She tossed them out the window. They caught a little updraft. It separated and lifted them before they spun to the ground. It was glorious!

The man who bought the farm my mother-in-law and father-in-law had owned before they died said he welcomed anyone from the family to walk the hills they had owned. We were overjoyed. Every time anyone comes to visit we climb the hill and roll down.

You have not lived until you bend over to smell a flower. Then you examine every petal and leaf. Enjoy the colors. Watch them close for the night. Or open in the morning. 

As you know I love music. If I hear a song I know I sing along. Of course I cannot carry a tune. Does that stop me? No. My children and grandchildren have on occasion asked me to stop. 

One day I was walking with my son and daughter. I told them I knew it was hard having me for a mother.

They said, "Not really. We thought all mothers were like that."

Poems

 

I enjoy poetry. It is words not quite set to music.

If I am writing poetry it is most often in the form of a limerick. I have no idea why. I suppose that is the rhythm in me.

Of course nursery rhymes are important. They are usually the first poetry children are exposed to. Things like Humpty Dumpty, Little Boy Blue, and Mary Mary quite contrary are only three of the well-known nursery rhymes. There are so many. 

One of my favorites was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

There was a little girl,

            Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

            When she was good,

            She was very very good,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

My daughter taught it to my little niece. When my niece recited it she said, "And when she was bad she was hooo-id. So cute.

A. A, Milne wrote Halfway Down

Halfway down the stairs
Is a stair
Where I sit.
There isn't any
Other stair
Quite like
It.
I'm not at the bottom,
I'm not at the top;
So this is the stair
Where
I always
Stop.

Halfway up the stairs
Isn't up
And isn't down.
It isn't in the nursery,
It isn't in the town.
And all sorts of funny thoughts
Run round my head.
It isn't really
Anywhere!
It's somewhere else
Instead!

And then there is Mom's favorite by Dorothy Aldis called Hiding

I'm hiding, I'm hiding,
And no one knows where;
For all they can see is my
Toes and my hair.

And I just heard my father
Say to my mother —
" But, darling, he must be
Somewhere or other;

" Have you looked in the inkwell? "
And Mother said, " Where? "
" In the inkwell , " said Father. But
I was not there.

Then " Wait! " cried my mother —
" I think that I see
Him under the carpet. " But
It was not me.

" Inside the mirror's
A pretty good place, "
Said Father and looked, but saw
Only his face.

" We've hunted, " sighed Mother,
" As hard as we could
And I am so afraid that we've
Lost him for good. "

Then I laughed out aloud
And I wiggled my toes
And Father said — " Look, dear,
I wonder if those

" Toes could be Benny's?
There are ten of them, see? "
And they were so surprised to find 
Out it was me!

Are those fun? No wonder children love then so.

May Day

 When I started school it opened a whole new world for me. I had new friends. And I learned new traditions.

May Day was a tradition I knew nothing about. 

On the first day in May Mom and I made "May baskets". We filled extra-large paper cupcake cups with various candies. A long and colorful pipe cleaner made a pretty handle for the basket. I think there were other decorations but it has been a long time. 

All the baskets we made were placed side-by-side in a cardboard box and put in the car. Off we went.

Mom told me when I got to a friend's house I was to take a basket and go to their door. When I got there I should knock on the door and run to the car. If my friend caught me he or she had to give me a kiss.

So I knocked on the door and ran like the devil was after me. But Mom had neglected to tell me to leave the basket first! 

She told me to take the basket back and leave it. By this time my friend Susan was running toward me. She took the basket and kissed me on the cheek.

The rest of the baskets were delivered more successfully.

I miss old traditions. I wonder why they stopped.

Feral Cats

 When I first came back to this tiny town to retire it was like a paradise. Almost.

We have undrinkable water. We have to use bottled water for anything we need to put inside our bodies. 

We also had feral cats. Thousands of them. They were all over this little town.

My son told me that they picked on his father's little dog. When they let the dog out the cats would surround him and not let him back into the house. My ex-husband would have to go out to rescue him.

I do not know where they all stayed. Often I saw them strolling through the yard or on the street. They seemed to be coming from the creek at the end of our street.

Several times we saw a man who lived a block away out sweeping his sidewalk. One day my son was on his way to the post office and saw the man running into his house. The cats had become aggressive with him. He had to escape because he could not fend them off.

After about two years I noticed that almost all the cats were gone. I have no idea where they went.

I like to think there was a cat Pied Piper who lured them to a waiting vehicle to be transported to families who would love them. Realistically they probably used some sort of poison.

Every once in a while I see a kitty wandering around town. But not the huge numbers there were.

Who Am I?

I know who I am - good and bad. To learn that all I have to do is take a look at my grandparents, my parents, and my children. 

My father's parents were interesting to say the least. 

My grandfather worked as a brakeman for the railroad. I did not know him because he died several years before I was born. I have never seen a picture of him. He was a drunk who was able to work. I know Daddy loved him and was also angry with him a lot of the time.

When I would show a picture to my children of my grandmother they always asked who was that mean-looking woman. Grandma was a mean-spirited woman. I am not sure she liked children and probably should not have been a mother. But Daddy loved her a lot so there was good in her. I loved her too but I did not like her very much.

My mother's parents were loving hard-working people. When I was a child they had their farm. They also had young children. My youngest uncle is three years older than me. (One of my cousins was older than our uncle.)

Grandpa had been a real-live cowboy in his younger days. I do not know how he learned but he played guitar, banjo, and fiddle. He loved his horses and taught us all to take care of them as well as to ride. He always had his pipe in his mouth... so much that he wore his teeth to where the pipe stem fit right there. He worked hard on the farm and raised 9 children. 

Grandma was the best cook. She had been cooking since her mother died when she was young. She made fresh bread every day on a wood stove. She wore her black hair rolled up all day but night it came down to her knees when she brushed it. She played the piano. They used to provide the music for barn dances. The thing she did that fascinated me the most was that she could wring the neck of a chicken. It took the head off quickly.

My father was the eldest of two late in life brothers.in a family of 9 children. He quit high school to enlist in the Navy during WW II. He was the one to take us to ballgames and dances because Mom was busy with babies. He loved doing it. Daddy could do anything. When we built our house he did most of the work. We all helped but he did it all. Plumbing and electrical included. He was outgoing and never met a person he did not like. People liked him too.

Mom was the smartest person I ever knew.  She was third born in a family of 9 children. We went to college together. If we were writing a paper we called each often to try to get the perfect word. Mom was a good cook too. She made a dessert that we are still trying to get right. It was the only time she was selfish and would not share. She had seven of us. There were also six babies that were not carried to term. She was always busy with babies and we loved it. She was also a loving mother to us.

My children are so much alike and yet so different. Because of them I have become a better person. They inherited both good and not so good from their father and me.

My oldest son has always been interested in computers. We gave him one of the first home computers made. He programmed it to roll the various dice for Dungeons and Dragons. He got none of that from me.

My second son is a go-getter. He wants what he wishes NOW. That he got from me.

Son number three was in a hurry to grow up. He is a good husband, father, and grandfather.

My daughter has been an experience. Did you know that little girls actually cost more than little boys?

I have learned from each of these relatives. I hope I make them all proud. Often I fail to be the person they wished I would be, I am still a work in progress I suppose.

Hello?

I have told you before about my beloved high school. It looks like a castle and sits at the top of a hill. As a matter of fact it is known as The Castle On The Hill. The students were the Lords and Ladies of the castle.

I will not describe the school more than I need to here because I have done that before. And you can do a web search if you are really curious.

There were a lot of 'jobs' that needed to be done. Some did not require a full time employee and there was no money in the budget for them.

 Some offices accepted student volunteers to spend a free hour each day to assist the person in the office. They might run errands to the supply area to replenish for the office. Or maybe do some filing. Or maybe even help grade papers.

There were other jobs too.  All were voluntary and it was considered to be an honor to help the school.

A job that I had was switchboard operator. 

There were a lot of offices that used telephones. When a caller needed to speak to someone specific the operator connected them.

There was one phone number to call the school. The calls had to be routed to the correct phone.

You may have seen the switchboard in old movies. The is a board with holes in it mounted on the wall. On the table in front of the board was a series of connecting wires. Only the connectors were visible. 

The operator wore those old-fashioned headphones. When the phone rang the operator would pull up one of the connecting wires and plug it in to a receiving hole at the bottom of the board.

"Central High School. How may I direct your call?" That is how I would answer. 

Once in a while the caller would have question I could answer like what school were we playing against in football. Usually there was an adult in an office they wished to speak to. 

Then I would pull out the cable of the matching color, plug it into the hole belonging to that office. I pushed a little button in front of me to ring the phone in that office. 

When their call was ended the lights for their colored wire would go out. I would remove them from their holes and they would rewind into their places on the table. 

There were maybe 15 or 20 sets of wires. I seldom used them all. It was fun to be an operator for an hour each day.

Secrets

 I hate secrets. Not secrets about things like a surprise party or Christmas gifts. I am talking about secrets that can affect important things.

I was raised in a time when parents protected their children from anything bad. It is understandable. I tried to protect my children too. However some things need to be known.

When my children were small I wrote letters to grandparents letting them know. how the kids were doing. Most of the time the news was good... learning to walk, getting good grades in school, playing in little league, learning a new dance in dance class. Grandparents deserve to know all those things.

Not all the news was great. Sometimes the kids got the flu. Bones were broken. Cuts needed stitches. Tonsils needed removing. Grandparents deserve to know that.

My oldest son began to talk very early. I wrote to his grandmother and told her all the things he could say. When she came to visit she heard him and said, "My God Emma that kid can talk!"

My youngest son was still in diapers. We lived on a short street with no traffic so the children often played by the side of the road. My son kept bending over and biting into the road and eating the dirt. I thought it was funny until I noticed that his little legs were bowing. A visit to the doctor told us he had rickets. Vitamins fixed him right up.

Those are things grandparents deserve to know.

I had been married for a few months. I had the day off work so I went to visit my family. I visited with my parents for a while. Mom was sewing as we talked. 

I asked if my sister was upstairs. I would go up to see her. It was suddenly abnormally quiet. I asked again. Nothing. I asked more forcefully. and became worried. Still nothing. 

I aggressively planted my feet and aggressively told them I wanted to know where my sister was. Without looking up from her sewing my mother said, "You don't need to know."

I will admit that my sister was a wild child. A picture of her buried under the back porch flashed through my mind. 

Instead I firmly said," Oh yes I do need to know. She is my sister."

They relented and told me my sister was in a home for unwed mothers. No one was going to tell me! I think they thought I would not notice.

I thought my brothers and other sister knew. None of them knew until the precious little girl my sister gave up for adoption found us 20 years later. That is except for my children. I do not keep secrets from them.

Medical conditions are useful to know. Heart conditions, diabetes, cancer, epilepsy, eating disorders, and any other condition you can think of are important for many reasons. Family members need to be able to tell a doctor what things to watch for. Family members need to be able to understand what you need if there is a problem.

As I said I hate secrets. There are things family members have the right to know and a person has no right to make it a secret.