Last night we picked up Tom and drove to Sammamish, an eastern suburb, for dinner with my cousin Steve and his family. What a wonderful evening!
My mother was close to her sister Arlene and our families spent a lot of time together when we were young. My cousins Don and Steve are six and ten years younger than I respectively which is a fairly large gap when you are young, so it has been fun to re-connect with both of them in recent years. My cousins lived in St. Louis during much of their childhood and eventually all of them ended up in California. A job with Microsoft eventually brought Steve to Seattle.
The fun last night was getting to know their son, Scott, who is a high school senior. It was fun looking at old pictures and sharing remembrances of our grandparents and other relatives. It was fun figuring out all the relationships.....if Tom is the son of Steve's cousin, they must be first cousins once removed....and so forth. It was fun seeing the family genes in action - there is a strong, strong strain of people who like to write and read, people who like photography, people who like scientific "stuff", people who are musical. Fascinating!
What I want to write about today, however, is my Uncle Herb. Herb is Steve's dad who will soon turn 90. Aside from some difficulty with his feet, he is in wonderful shape physically and mentally. On the way back to Seattle Tom wondered aloud what Herb had done throughout his life to bring him to such a healthy old age. I commented that Herb is the consummate calm person. He had a horrible work history through no fault of his own. His wife, my aunt Arlene, was the absolute love of his life but had a manic-depressive streak and things could be somewhat dramatic at times. Herb just calmly said "How about that!" to just about anything that happened and was sort of in the background of my childhood memories.
Since my aunt died two years ago, I have been in sporadic contact with Herb and have come to appreciate some incredible gifts Herb has....gifts I never knew about.
1. His truly romantic love for Arlene Looking at Steve's computer monitor last night, we saw many pictures of Arlene posing in rather sexy (for the 40's) poses on the beach, on vacations, on their front porch. With each picture Herb commented, "She was so beautiful.", "Look how happy she looks", "I sure miss her", and so forth. After 57 years of marriage and two years of widowhood, he still talks like a newlywed. That's inspiring.
2. The war As I child I didn't even know Herb had been in the service. Like so many other men of his age whom I have known, he never talked about war experiences, just returned home and resumed life. Until earlier this year, I didn't know that Herb was administrative assistant to Paul Tibbets, the pilot of the Enola Gay. Herb said good-bye to Tibbets and stayed in the office on a Pacific island while Tibbets went off to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. They reconnected at a fifty year reunion a few years ago. That's amazing!
3. His talent From my father's point of view as a very steady worker for the same company for his entire career, Herb's many accounting type jobs were always somewhat dismissed by my family. Little did I know that Herb worked those jobs to feed his family, but is an artist at heart. I never knew he had taken classes at the Art Institute. I never knew how he could draw. Last night he brought his drawings to show - some old and some new ones of people he has met at his assisted-living residence. Incredible likenesses. As I observe Kevin begin a career as a musician and Nancy and Tom develop their writing talents, it is humbling to think of people such as Herb who--because of the economic realities of the times in which they lived---could not follow their dreams and develop their real talents. That's sad!
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Getting Old Is.....
Wierd
Last night we went to see my nephew's band play at a bar/pizzeria in an very nice, sort of funky neighborhood of Seattle. As we approached the establishment at about 9:30 there was a group of 20-somethings being carded at the door. The bouncer just looked at us and signaled for us to just walk in - darn! We sat, ordered drinks and dinner. Our young server was very pleasant and attentive, but as we sat and sat, ordered second drinks and enjoyed the music, she obviously was very confused. It made some sense for these old people to come in early-ish and order dinner...but why on earth were they hanging around so long? She came by about every ten minutes clearly expecting us to ask for the check. About 11:45 the band took a break, we had a chance to talk with Tom, and finally paid our check.....and the relieved server could go back to the normal young crowd.
On a good "note", we enjoyed Tom's music. It's modern but mellow and they have some excellent video footage that fits the music perfectly. So we may have looked like old farts to the people in the establishment but we didn't feel like old farts.....except when people looked at us with that strange "why are you here?" look.
Sad
My friend Gail called yesterday to report that her mother had died. We were expecting this call and, as Gail said, "at age 97 this wasn't a tragedy", but it's still sad. Gert has been an adopted parent for the 27 years we have known her. Our family has spent a lot of happy weekends up at "the lake" in Wisconsin where Gert lived until a few years ago. Gert has been part of our Christmas Eve gathering for years and years. We will miss her.
Lonely
We are not lonely, but my mom is. She called at 6:30 this morning upset about her laundry not being returned and that they hadn't cleaned her room. It's Sunday, the nursing home's regular staff is not there on Sunday, she hasn't had a visitor for two days, and the issue is not really the laundry or the cleaning. She just needs attention. Getting really old is just plain sad. Losing control of everything in your life is just plain sad. I talked with her nurse later and she's understanding and will give Mom some extra TLC today. The wonderful people who work at places like Rosewood don't have a prestigious job, but everyone should be shouting thank yous from the rooftops in appreciation of their dedicated service.
Fun
Yesterday we went to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Dale Chihuly, the great glass artist from Tacoma, is just a few years older than I. Later we went to the Tacoma Art Museum because they had a special show about David McCauley, the author of Cathedral and The Way Things Work. McCauley is exactly my age. Pretty cool that people my age are have displays IN MUSEUMS!
Comforting
After our museum visits we ate at a funky restaurant recommended by our travel book. This huge bar/restaurant abuts the university campus and attracted a crowd of students and wanna-be students. Our order was taken by a young man with huge studs in his lips, spiked hair, and ear lobes that had been distended into big circles as you see in National Geographic Magazine articles about native tribes deep in the Amazon. I must admit it is comforting to know who I am and, in spite of sagging body parts, be comfortable in my own skin.
Last night we went to see my nephew's band play at a bar/pizzeria in an very nice, sort of funky neighborhood of Seattle. As we approached the establishment at about 9:30 there was a group of 20-somethings being carded at the door. The bouncer just looked at us and signaled for us to just walk in - darn! We sat, ordered drinks and dinner. Our young server was very pleasant and attentive, but as we sat and sat, ordered second drinks and enjoyed the music, she obviously was very confused. It made some sense for these old people to come in early-ish and order dinner...but why on earth were they hanging around so long? She came by about every ten minutes clearly expecting us to ask for the check. About 11:45 the band took a break, we had a chance to talk with Tom, and finally paid our check.....and the relieved server could go back to the normal young crowd.
On a good "note", we enjoyed Tom's music. It's modern but mellow and they have some excellent video footage that fits the music perfectly. So we may have looked like old farts to the people in the establishment but we didn't feel like old farts.....except when people looked at us with that strange "why are you here?" look.
Sad
My friend Gail called yesterday to report that her mother had died. We were expecting this call and, as Gail said, "at age 97 this wasn't a tragedy", but it's still sad. Gert has been an adopted parent for the 27 years we have known her. Our family has spent a lot of happy weekends up at "the lake" in Wisconsin where Gert lived until a few years ago. Gert has been part of our Christmas Eve gathering for years and years. We will miss her.
Lonely
We are not lonely, but my mom is. She called at 6:30 this morning upset about her laundry not being returned and that they hadn't cleaned her room. It's Sunday, the nursing home's regular staff is not there on Sunday, she hasn't had a visitor for two days, and the issue is not really the laundry or the cleaning. She just needs attention. Getting really old is just plain sad. Losing control of everything in your life is just plain sad. I talked with her nurse later and she's understanding and will give Mom some extra TLC today. The wonderful people who work at places like Rosewood don't have a prestigious job, but everyone should be shouting thank yous from the rooftops in appreciation of their dedicated service.
Fun
Yesterday we went to the Museum of Glass in Tacoma. Dale Chihuly, the great glass artist from Tacoma, is just a few years older than I. Later we went to the Tacoma Art Museum because they had a special show about David McCauley, the author of Cathedral and The Way Things Work. McCauley is exactly my age. Pretty cool that people my age are have displays IN MUSEUMS!
Comforting
After our museum visits we ate at a funky restaurant recommended by our travel book. This huge bar/restaurant abuts the university campus and attracted a crowd of students and wanna-be students. Our order was taken by a young man with huge studs in his lips, spiked hair, and ear lobes that had been distended into big circles as you see in National Geographic Magazine articles about native tribes deep in the Amazon. I must admit it is comforting to know who I am and, in spite of sagging body parts, be comfortable in my own skin.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Splendid in Seattle
BER - day 4
Read yesterday's blog and you have today! My supervisor, Boyce, was observing and HE got tired of hearing the questions by today's person who "didn't get it". Today's cranky person was unhappy that one example on the power point was different from the example in the handbook. Today's two hearing impaired ASL teachers were absolutely delightful. And, yes, one person complained that the room was too cold.
Actually it was a splendid day. It started with "Fernando". Those of you who read my nephew Tom's blog know that he names many of the breakfasts he cooks at his restaurant job. Today I ate breakfast at that restaurant. Yes, I ate "Fernando"! (As an unbelievable coincidence, the seminar hotel is where Tom works!) And, yes, I got to hug the cook!
Following the seminar Boyce took me out to eat. We got a glass of wine, he spent an hour telling me how wonderful my seminar was, then we ate a delicious Greek dinner. Back in my room, I'm now hanging out awaiting Ken's arrival and a few days of vacation. Pretty splendid day!
Read yesterday's blog and you have today! My supervisor, Boyce, was observing and HE got tired of hearing the questions by today's person who "didn't get it". Today's cranky person was unhappy that one example on the power point was different from the example in the handbook. Today's two hearing impaired ASL teachers were absolutely delightful. And, yes, one person complained that the room was too cold.
Actually it was a splendid day. It started with "Fernando". Those of you who read my nephew Tom's blog know that he names many of the breakfasts he cooks at his restaurant job. Today I ate breakfast at that restaurant. Yes, I ate "Fernando"! (As an unbelievable coincidence, the seminar hotel is where Tom works!) And, yes, I got to hug the cook!
Following the seminar Boyce took me out to eat. We got a glass of wine, he spent an hour telling me how wonderful my seminar was, then we ate a delicious Greek dinner. Back in my room, I'm now hanging out awaiting Ken's arrival and a few days of vacation. Pretty splendid day!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
BER Musings
Day three of this BER road trip. I'm at the point where I never look at my notes and sometimes forget that I haven't told this group something important - just like I used to do with period 5 when I taught the same thing 5 times a day. "Did I forget to tell you guys about this?"
I've now been pretty much all over the country making presentations and it's fascinating! Some observations:
1. Within 5 seconds of meeting another foreign language teacher I feel at home. No matter what, who, or where we teach there is an immediate common ground.
2. Someone in every single group writes on their evaluation that the room was too cold.
3. In every single group there is at least one teacher that is extraordinary. Today it was the young woman who is teaching Japanese 1,2 and 3 in the same class, also teaches ESL, and had a long coversation with me after the seminar to brainstorm ways she can help a very struggling student in Japanese 2. In Tulsa it was the Spanish teacher who left her job in Missouri and moved back home to help her sick grandmother. Grandma is doing better but she, meanwhile, is adjusting to a new teaching job gotten mid-year, is a newlywed, works part time at another job, and is taking night classes at college. In Lansing it was the teacher who has two very short flipper type arms but was such an engaging, upbeat personality that I totally did not see her disability. Tomorrow I'm told there will be two people with hearing losses who will be accompanied by a sign language interpreter. Every group has a number of heroes - women who are juggling a career with several little children at home. It's very humbling!
4. In every single group there is someone who simply doesn't get it. In Phoenix I had a wonderful conversation with a woman prior to the seminar. Seems she grew up in Northbrook and went to GBN. We "bonded." She later asked a couple of questions during the seminar that made me think she wasn't getting it and, when I saw her evaluation, I knew for sure that she hadn't gotten it. She rated me low because I used English for everything, that I seemed to "teach Spanish through English". What she didn't get was that my examples are in English so that the teachers of many different languges can all understand the activities - but of course everything is all done in the target language in the classroom. Duh!
5. There is always a "nitpicker". Today a French teacher was upset that I had an incorrect accent on a French poem. I acknowledged that I knew it was incorrect and would fix it for next year....but she couldn't let it go!
6. I'm embarrased to admit the next thing, but there is always a native speaking Spanish teacher who engages me in an involved conversation about methodology or something in Spanish. After years of teaching level 1 and having little opportunity for travel, I admit that I'm not as fluent as I was 20 years ago. Fortunately, I usually manage to fake it pretty well with these españoles.
7. The more expensive the hotel, the more annoying it is. Tonight I'm in a Holiday Inn - not expensive - BUT the internet is free, there is an adequate desk, there is plenty of lighting and a nice easy chair in the room. The fancy Wyndham in Phoenix had extremely uncomfortable Asian style furniture, wall sconces that gave almost no light, NO desk, and charged $10 a day for the internet.
8. This final observation is nice. Every group laughs at the appropriate times in my presentation. No one has yet laughed at something that was not funny. Every group claps when I am finished. Yeah!
Tomorrow my supervisor is attending my seminar. He is a delightful, extremely supportive man and much like my first "boss", Dorothy Bishop, who had the uncanny ability to suggest an improvement while making me feel like a million bucks. Nonetheless, I still feel like an non-tenured new teacher when someone is in the back of the room taking notes! Some day maybe I'll feel "grown up" and get over such insecurities :-)
I've now been pretty much all over the country making presentations and it's fascinating! Some observations:
1. Within 5 seconds of meeting another foreign language teacher I feel at home. No matter what, who, or where we teach there is an immediate common ground.
2. Someone in every single group writes on their evaluation that the room was too cold.
3. In every single group there is at least one teacher that is extraordinary. Today it was the young woman who is teaching Japanese 1,2 and 3 in the same class, also teaches ESL, and had a long coversation with me after the seminar to brainstorm ways she can help a very struggling student in Japanese 2. In Tulsa it was the Spanish teacher who left her job in Missouri and moved back home to help her sick grandmother. Grandma is doing better but she, meanwhile, is adjusting to a new teaching job gotten mid-year, is a newlywed, works part time at another job, and is taking night classes at college. In Lansing it was the teacher who has two very short flipper type arms but was such an engaging, upbeat personality that I totally did not see her disability. Tomorrow I'm told there will be two people with hearing losses who will be accompanied by a sign language interpreter. Every group has a number of heroes - women who are juggling a career with several little children at home. It's very humbling!
4. In every single group there is someone who simply doesn't get it. In Phoenix I had a wonderful conversation with a woman prior to the seminar. Seems she grew up in Northbrook and went to GBN. We "bonded." She later asked a couple of questions during the seminar that made me think she wasn't getting it and, when I saw her evaluation, I knew for sure that she hadn't gotten it. She rated me low because I used English for everything, that I seemed to "teach Spanish through English". What she didn't get was that my examples are in English so that the teachers of many different languges can all understand the activities - but of course everything is all done in the target language in the classroom. Duh!
5. There is always a "nitpicker". Today a French teacher was upset that I had an incorrect accent on a French poem. I acknowledged that I knew it was incorrect and would fix it for next year....but she couldn't let it go!
6. I'm embarrased to admit the next thing, but there is always a native speaking Spanish teacher who engages me in an involved conversation about methodology or something in Spanish. After years of teaching level 1 and having little opportunity for travel, I admit that I'm not as fluent as I was 20 years ago. Fortunately, I usually manage to fake it pretty well with these españoles.
7. The more expensive the hotel, the more annoying it is. Tonight I'm in a Holiday Inn - not expensive - BUT the internet is free, there is an adequate desk, there is plenty of lighting and a nice easy chair in the room. The fancy Wyndham in Phoenix had extremely uncomfortable Asian style furniture, wall sconces that gave almost no light, NO desk, and charged $10 a day for the internet.
8. This final observation is nice. Every group laughs at the appropriate times in my presentation. No one has yet laughed at something that was not funny. Every group claps when I am finished. Yeah!
Tomorrow my supervisor is attending my seminar. He is a delightful, extremely supportive man and much like my first "boss", Dorothy Bishop, who had the uncanny ability to suggest an improvement while making me feel like a million bucks. Nonetheless, I still feel like an non-tenured new teacher when someone is in the back of the room taking notes! Some day maybe I'll feel "grown up" and get over such insecurities :-)
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Sunsets
I've spent more time than I care to think about in airplanes the last few days, but have been given some incredible gifts.
On Monday as I rode into Tulsa from the airport I saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. The ten or so tall buildings of downtown Tulsa were silhouetted by a clear, bright, deep blood color sky---a color that never, ever appears in Chicago sunsets. It only lasted about five minutes.....but what a beautiful five minutes.
Tuesday I was treated to yet another beautiful sunset. As we approached Phoenix I saw a layer of gray clouds in the upper sky and another layer of clouds near the ground. In between the cloud layers, however, peeked the sun - not the red of Oklahoma but a bright, bright yellow-orange. As I watched through the little airplane window more and more of the orange sun appeared to the point where it really hurt to look at it....but I kept on watching until it finally sunk into the lower layer of clouds. How exciting to see a sunset sandwich!
Today, my sunset experience was different but no less exciting. We flew north from Phoenix passing over Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon before heading northwest to Portland. What an incredible treat to not see the sun but to see the sparkly reflection of the sun on the already orange hills of Sedona,,,,then a few minutes later see that same reflection of the sunset on the Grand Canyon. I remember how odd it is to approach the Grand Canyon by car - you drive along flat land for a long time and then, all of a sudden, you are at the edge of the canyon. From the air it is even more amazing. Gray flat land and suddenly there is this huge, huge hole and, from the air, you see ALL of it at once. Totally unbelievable!
Tomorrow we are driving to Seattle. It will be wonderful to not have to go through security, drag suitcases miles through concourses, eat lousy airport food, and be crammed in a airplane with hundreds of other people......but I surely have been gifted with wonderful reminders of the glories of creation in the midst of all the human hassles of airplane travel. And what a needed reminder! Thanks God!
On Monday as I rode into Tulsa from the airport I saw the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen. The ten or so tall buildings of downtown Tulsa were silhouetted by a clear, bright, deep blood color sky---a color that never, ever appears in Chicago sunsets. It only lasted about five minutes.....but what a beautiful five minutes.
Tuesday I was treated to yet another beautiful sunset. As we approached Phoenix I saw a layer of gray clouds in the upper sky and another layer of clouds near the ground. In between the cloud layers, however, peeked the sun - not the red of Oklahoma but a bright, bright yellow-orange. As I watched through the little airplane window more and more of the orange sun appeared to the point where it really hurt to look at it....but I kept on watching until it finally sunk into the lower layer of clouds. How exciting to see a sunset sandwich!
Today, my sunset experience was different but no less exciting. We flew north from Phoenix passing over Sedona, Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon before heading northwest to Portland. What an incredible treat to not see the sun but to see the sparkly reflection of the sun on the already orange hills of Sedona,,,,then a few minutes later see that same reflection of the sunset on the Grand Canyon. I remember how odd it is to approach the Grand Canyon by car - you drive along flat land for a long time and then, all of a sudden, you are at the edge of the canyon. From the air it is even more amazing. Gray flat land and suddenly there is this huge, huge hole and, from the air, you see ALL of it at once. Totally unbelievable!
Tomorrow we are driving to Seattle. It will be wonderful to not have to go through security, drag suitcases miles through concourses, eat lousy airport food, and be crammed in a airplane with hundreds of other people......but I surely have been gifted with wonderful reminders of the glories of creation in the midst of all the human hassles of airplane travel. And what a needed reminder! Thanks God!
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Yeah Geography!
When I was a little girl my family often took driving vacations. I never understood how they magically found our destinations until I was about nine years old and started understanding maps. It was thrilling to sit in the back seat, map in hand, and know what town we were approaching or what river we were crossing!
Fast forward to adulthood. I married another map-aholic. When we make driving trips we engage in the dorkiest geographical behavior possible. We can't make a car trip of more than 3 hours without keeping a list of license plates - hoping to find a car from each state before returning home. We regularly circle hotel or tourist attraction parking lots to see if there are any "cool" states represented. The biggest thrill of Ken's and my trip to Mendocino, California last June was seeing (and photographing) a car with a Guam license plate! We've also been known to pass hours in the car naming all the state capitals, or naming the states in alphabetical order, or naming state capitals in alphabetical order.
Fast forward to parenthood. Most parents bring crayons or little toys for the small children to play with while waiting for food in restaurants when "on the road". Not the Kosniks! We would turn over the paper placemat and proceed to draw freehand maps of the United States.....for fun...over and over again!
So, now the kids are adults and the apples didn't fall far from the trees. Both love to travel. David is on a quest to visit and do a little dance on the steps of every state capital. Kevin once drove to California and back with some buddies on a college Spring break - 8 days on the road for 2 days in Monterrey. What could be better!?
Mapquest is helpful and so is a GPS....but I'll continue getting my jollies studying maps. Why else would I sit with an airline magazine map on my lap when I fly and spend every unclouded moment trying to identify whatever river, mountain, or town we're flying over.
A week traveling for BER is a fun professional gig - but it's really made great when I get to get an air born geography fix!
Fast forward to adulthood. I married another map-aholic. When we make driving trips we engage in the dorkiest geographical behavior possible. We can't make a car trip of more than 3 hours without keeping a list of license plates - hoping to find a car from each state before returning home. We regularly circle hotel or tourist attraction parking lots to see if there are any "cool" states represented. The biggest thrill of Ken's and my trip to Mendocino, California last June was seeing (and photographing) a car with a Guam license plate! We've also been known to pass hours in the car naming all the state capitals, or naming the states in alphabetical order, or naming state capitals in alphabetical order.
Fast forward to parenthood. Most parents bring crayons or little toys for the small children to play with while waiting for food in restaurants when "on the road". Not the Kosniks! We would turn over the paper placemat and proceed to draw freehand maps of the United States.....for fun...over and over again!
So, now the kids are adults and the apples didn't fall far from the trees. Both love to travel. David is on a quest to visit and do a little dance on the steps of every state capital. Kevin once drove to California and back with some buddies on a college Spring break - 8 days on the road for 2 days in Monterrey. What could be better!?
Mapquest is helpful and so is a GPS....but I'll continue getting my jollies studying maps. Why else would I sit with an airline magazine map on my lap when I fly and spend every unclouded moment trying to identify whatever river, mountain, or town we're flying over.
A week traveling for BER is a fun professional gig - but it's really made great when I get to get an air born geography fix!
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Sunday Snippets
A variety of un-related thoughts for a Sunday.
1. Our church is having a blood drive in a couple of weeks. This morning Marilyn told the congregation that she had never thought about the importance of giving blood until two years ago when she began needing 2-3 pints of blood and a couple pints of platelets EVERY month. I've given blood regularly for years and years, but her story put a face on the need. What a reminder!
2. Ken is type O so his blood is always very much needed. I'm AB which is pretty rare, so they need less from people like me. Both of us volunteered for a study on "Chagas Disease" the last time we gave blood. We were warned that there were a lot of false positives. A few weeks later Ken found out he is one of those false positives and, until they discover a test to weed out the false positives, he can no longer give blood. What a shame!
3. My mom doesn't need blood, but she needs Gatorade. She doesn't drink water but will drink the ubiquitous sports beverage so, in the interest of keeping her hydrated, I make frequent Costco runs. Usually I hit Costco on a weekday morning and it's bearable. Yesterday (a Saturday) I went at 2:00 p.m. You wouldn't know we are in the midst of a recession from our Costco. Every register was open, every line at least ten people deep, every cart overflowing. Yes, there were the necessities - the tp, the tissues, the cereal, the meat - but there sure were a LOT of non-essentials. What waste!
4. Tomorrow I go to Tulsa! I've never been in Oklahoma! All that's left on my list of states I've never visited are Idaho, Nevada, and Hawaii! Think BER will send me to Hawaii next year?
What a wild dream!
5. Today it's snowing a bit, windy and cold in Chicago. In Tulsa it will be 60º Tuesday, in Phoenix it will be close to 80º on Wednesday, in Portland and Seattle it will be rainy and maybe hit 40º. How strange it will be to experience all that different weather in just 4 days. What a strange assortment of clothes to bring on this BER jaunt!
6. David is now an approved Forest Preserve Chain Saw user! Having taken the training yesterday morning, he is no longer limited to removing the evil "Buck Thorn" growth by hand when he does his monthly Forest Preserve volunteer gig. David's "certifications" now include welding, bridge inspection and chain saw usage. What a hoot!
What can possibly follow the revelation that my son is a chain-saw buck thorn massacre-er????
Happy Sunday!
1. Our church is having a blood drive in a couple of weeks. This morning Marilyn told the congregation that she had never thought about the importance of giving blood until two years ago when she began needing 2-3 pints of blood and a couple pints of platelets EVERY month. I've given blood regularly for years and years, but her story put a face on the need. What a reminder!
2. Ken is type O so his blood is always very much needed. I'm AB which is pretty rare, so they need less from people like me. Both of us volunteered for a study on "Chagas Disease" the last time we gave blood. We were warned that there were a lot of false positives. A few weeks later Ken found out he is one of those false positives and, until they discover a test to weed out the false positives, he can no longer give blood. What a shame!
3. My mom doesn't need blood, but she needs Gatorade. She doesn't drink water but will drink the ubiquitous sports beverage so, in the interest of keeping her hydrated, I make frequent Costco runs. Usually I hit Costco on a weekday morning and it's bearable. Yesterday (a Saturday) I went at 2:00 p.m. You wouldn't know we are in the midst of a recession from our Costco. Every register was open, every line at least ten people deep, every cart overflowing. Yes, there were the necessities - the tp, the tissues, the cereal, the meat - but there sure were a LOT of non-essentials. What waste!
4. Tomorrow I go to Tulsa! I've never been in Oklahoma! All that's left on my list of states I've never visited are Idaho, Nevada, and Hawaii! Think BER will send me to Hawaii next year?
What a wild dream!
5. Today it's snowing a bit, windy and cold in Chicago. In Tulsa it will be 60º Tuesday, in Phoenix it will be close to 80º on Wednesday, in Portland and Seattle it will be rainy and maybe hit 40º. How strange it will be to experience all that different weather in just 4 days. What a strange assortment of clothes to bring on this BER jaunt!
6. David is now an approved Forest Preserve Chain Saw user! Having taken the training yesterday morning, he is no longer limited to removing the evil "Buck Thorn" growth by hand when he does his monthly Forest Preserve volunteer gig. David's "certifications" now include welding, bridge inspection and chain saw usage. What a hoot!
What can possibly follow the revelation that my son is a chain-saw buck thorn massacre-er????
Happy Sunday!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)