loumercerwordsofwisdom.blogspot.com

Monday, August 1, 2011

Nostalgia? Damn good thing!

I happened to think back on 1959 when Buddy Holly, Richie Valens, and the Big Bopper were all killed in a plane crash.  I have to look up the date (February 3, 1959) but I know where I was when I heard the news.  Some things just work that way.  That was back in the day when Dick Clark held sway on the American Bandstand.  We had the sock hop every Saturday night at the Convention Hall and dreamed of going to to American Bandstand.  Talk about American Graffiti...we WERE American Graffiti!  I was "hanging out" with a guy named Johnny at the time.  See, I did not "date", but I loved to dance and for that I needed a regular partner and he filled the bill to a "t".  My kids would never believe some of the gyrations that went on at those dances, and most of them by their mother!
Johnny and I won more than one dance contest.  He occasionally dated and the girls were always jealous cause he always came back to me on dance nights.  They just could not understand that we were in sync and that was how that was.  I must pause here for a  moment to send Johnny on his way.  I do not know because I never saw him after high school, but I heard many years later that he was gay and had moved to California.  And then many years later, that he was one of the first to fall to the AIDS epidemic.  I think that info is accurate.  Course his name was not Johnny, but there are people out there who may remember.
But back to the three stars.  News was not instantaneous back then like it is now.  I was dating a kid from Medicine Lodge and when he picked me up that night he told me about the plane crash.  Of course it was several days before the news was confirmed to my satisfaction in a newspaper because the printed word (at that time) was gospel. Then the Three Stars song hit the charts.  Can you believe we used to actually stop by the record shop and pick up a list of the "Top Ten Songs"?  I think it was put out by Billboard?  Getting a little fuzzy here on some of the details.  I do remember Hayes Record Shop on Main Street. That was the place to go when the new 45's came out cause they had them!
When the kids were in band I rented instruments for them from Hayes.  45 RPM records were quickly becoming a thing of the past and 33 1/3 LP were the preferred product.  I had a little case of 45's that I left with my sister after I married and started my travels.  I never saw them again.  They were eventually swallowed up in her estate and probably wound up at the city dump.  Funny how that stuff happens.
Anyway, Elvis had hit the scene, but he went off to the service in 1958 leaving the stage clear for these three.  Besides, Elvis was different and these guys were "comfortable".  They were guys we could have gone to school with; and Elvis was a wiggle worm.
I guess what I am trying to say here is that I was out and about in one of the richest periods of Rock and Roll, Rhythm and Blues, Rockabilly, Gospel, Folk, Country and what ever went on at that time.  My daughter, Debbie, called the other day to express her surprise that I knew who Peter, Paul and Mary were!  Poor child!  The tales I could tell her.  One of the main reasons I married her dad was because he danced the same style I did, sort of a hip hop, stroll, exhibitionist dance to a different drummer.
So once more I will put the Big Bopper, Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, Gene Vincent, Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis, and a plethora of names that I must stop here because I do not want to miss anyone to rest.  Sometimes when I can't sleep at night I walk the halls of Nickerson High and visit the Convention Center and I am young again.  That is the great part about Nostalgia, as long as I can remember I am young.  And when I begin to forget, well I guess I will cross that bridge when I get to it.  If I am really lucky when I lay my head down for that final nap the Big Bopper will sing me a rousing rendition of Chantilly Lace and Johnny will flip me across his back like in the good old days!

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Icarus and her little habits are driving me nuts!


Here is the Icarus cat.  As you can see she is helping me write my blog.  She knows I do not need these notes.  I am going to write about her and she is right there in all her glory.  I lay back in my recliner to meditate on life and rest my eyes for a brief moment and she comes out of no where and lands on my chest with her paws on my face.  Then she "kneads" my chest.  I wake up in the night with her perched on my shoulder.  That is a very weird sensation!
Right now I am setting her gripped with terror because I do not know where she is.  I do, however, strongly suspect that she is off hunting.  Soon the doggie door will snap and she will bound in with (hopefully) a dead bird.  Such is not always the case.  Sometimes it is a centipede flailing around in her jaws.  Sometimes a live bird which she lets go and then tries to catch again.  Once it was a snake.  I have had a gopher, grasshoppers, mice, something I can only hope was a mole.  Not as good as Boots who was an avid hunter and once brought me a Hawk!  Do not know whose eyes were bigger that day, mine, Boots' or the Hawk!  I do know the cats hunt for my food because they love me and feel they must take care of me.  I, in turn, furnish this feline with a place to live, a continual supply of cat food, fresh water, dogs to play with and a pillow in the office window so she can watch the birds at play.
Icarus thinks she is a dog and that is good.  She goes out with me to do chores and works in the garden.  She wrestles with Elvira and some times Daisy.  She runs across the yard and lands on Elvira to get a free ride into the house.  Ok, enough about the cat.  I am off to do something that I am sure will be in contrary to what she wants me to do, but such is life.

Friday, July 29, 2011

For sale: A vacation home in Longton, Kansas!

Here is something that might interest you.  I know it interests me.  This is Longton, Kansas kind of down in the Southeast corner of Kansas.  Sort of a little Garden of Eden.  The first shots are just that.  A couple show Longton Main Street with a tree growing out of a roof, the general store and a big red barn.  One is of a vacant house grown up in underbrush that is just for the sake of art.
But the rest of them are of a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with a 3 car garage and a workshop located on 5 lots two blocks off Main Street.  My daughter Patty, went to an auction and in true Seeger fashion, lost control and bought a  house.  She lives in Western Kansas.  The house is in Eastern Kansas.  The words logical and prudent never were used much in our family.  So here it sets and is used only when someone needs a place to stay while visiting .....nowhere. 
Patty did say she wanted to sell this.  I am sure it could be had for uner $25,000 and would make a very nice retirement home.  Not a lot of jobs in the Longton area so I would not recommend it for a working family.  But I could see me moving there and having a little shop out in that big garage.  But I love Colorado.  But we will see.  If you are at all interested give me a shout out!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Please meet my third daughter, Dona Marie Seeger.

Let me see if I can keep up with this slide show.  Doubt that I can.  But here is a little tip for you; in the lower left corner of the slide show is a white square.  If you click on that it will turn on the captions and you can read who they are.  That Google is so smart!  The first picture will hopefully be my lovely daughter Dona Marie. I think she is the only one of the original 5 that actually stayed a blonde because she is a blonde.  Dona was born on our anniversary, October 30, 1964.  That was the only anniversary Earl ever took me out for.  I was married on October 30, 1960.  (I think)  The plot thickens.  My brother was killed on October 30, 1965, so I missed her first birthday.  And when she turned one year old, she had a new brother who was one month old.  Busy little girl that year, I was!
Patty and Dona were always very close and not just because they were one year apart, but because they just were.  In typical middle child fashion, she was neither a leader, nor a follower.  She always had the sweetest smile of any of my kids.  Just like a little angel.  Since she had to give Sam the bottle when he was born, she was my little thumb sucker.  She would hold a half slip that was some kind of slick material in one hand as she sucked her other thumb.  And the first word she spoke was "lip".  My sister in law thought her mouth was sore until I explained that it was "slip" and not "lip".
Dona was always a little small since she was born about three weeks early. We were living in Garden City, Kansas at the time.  Dona lived with her dad  more than me after we were divorced. But that was alright.
She went to Center Beauty College here in Pueblo and got her license in Cosmetology.  Her dad had been a very good friend of Frank Shultz who founded the school.  When her dad passed she went back to Lakin, Kansas and opened a Beauty Salon that she named Scissorhands.   At that time she had one son, Jason.  Jason is married to Chelsea and they have two little blondies, Jalin and Jaycee.   That makes Dona a grandmother and me a great grandmother.  Her daughter in law, Chelsea works with her and they seem to have a pretty good clientele.       
She remarried and had a second son, Joey.  That husband passed while Joey was quite young.  Joey is still at home and still single and I am very glad of that since he is barely out of puberty.  Soon enough he will be bringing home a little girl and it will be downhill from there.  Or not. 
Dona is named after Duane's sister, Dona, with one "n".  I have a sister named Donna that is spelled with 2 "n's".  Dona enjoys things in life much as her father did.  Fishing, hunting, gardening, and just about anything to do with the
great out doors.  She loves animals and has a plethora of cats.
She and Patty live on ten acres outside Lakin that they inherited from their father.  They have seperate homes, but remain connected by the land.  Lakin is a small town in Western Kansas.
And this is about all I can write about Dona without giving all the secrets away.  I know she is a very good grandmother and has the two girls for the night at least once a week.  She remains friends with her first husband who is Grandpa to the little girls.  I am very proud of the way she has carved out a niche in life and made herself fit right into it.  Very independent and as you can see by this picture, a very lovely young lady and who would guess she is a grandma!
 

Dona Marie Seeger

Monday, July 25, 2011

Eleanor Burns slide show

The slide show for Eleanor Burns is located at the top left of what ever page you are reading.  Please do not ask me how I did that and I bet I could not do it again, but that is where you will find it.  And I bet when I post a new slide show Eleanor will be history.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Peace Pilgrim link.

http://www.peacepilgrim.com/steps1.htm#4prep

Daughter called a bit ago to tell me I had forgotten to put the Peace Pilgrim up as promised.  So rather then write my opionions of this I will let you read and come to your own conclusions.

Let me know what you think!

Friday, July 22, 2011

Eleanor Burns and the Quilters Retreat here in our fair city!


 I am hoping to get a slide show up and running here, but I am not having much luck right now.  So here is the deal, Bret works for Sprinkles Sewing Center.  And so does his girlfriend, Amanda.  It is just one big happy family over there as near as I can tell.  Now Sprinkles is a very successful business and Jerry and Kathy know how to make it pay.  They put the customer first, which is always a good thing.  They have a beautiful store on Eagleridge on the North side of town.  They recently opened a store in Canon City.  Along with the machines they offer personal service and lots of classes.  I have attended the classes and they are great.  Always knowledgeable staff.
   So now they decided to put on a 3 day extravaganza and call it the "Eleanor Burns Quilt Retreat."  Three full days of Eleanor Burns and quilt classes up the wazoo.  An event like this does not throw itself together without a lot of planning.  First arrangements had to be made for the Convention Center.  And that costs a pretty penny to lease that thing for 4 days.  The Convention Center is one of Pueblo's jewels.  In the slide show you will see several shots of the wall of heroes and the statues out front.  Pueblo is the "Home of Heroes" because it has four Congressional Medal of Honor recipients in  its population. http://www.pueblomohfoundation.com/
   Back to the event.  Eleanor Burns has/had a quilting show on PBS for many years and I used to tape her shows back when I had a VCR.  She would pop in every Tuesday afternoon  at 2:00 and teach me how to make a quilt.  She made it look so easy.  And I did actually make a quilt or two from the show.  Wonderful teacher. But I did not sign up for this event because I am just not that into quilting anymore.  I weave now.  But since the kids were on me about just stopping in I thought I might as well.  They have a mini store set up there on the floor and quite a reduction in price on lots of notions, so I thought, why not.

   Well, I must say I was most impressed.  First with Bret and Amanda and the professional manner in which they conducted themselves.  See, I am used to the slobs that live here, not the well mannered, helpful couple I encountered at the event.  There were people everywhere and I took the opportunity to check out the classrooms.  Seems there were three of them.  I did not take time to count the machines, but there must have been 100 machines in those 3 rooms.  And there was some learning going on.  When Amanda asked if I would like to meet Eleanor Burns I jumped all over that!  And I must say, she was as lovely in real life as when I watched her on television.  First thing I told Amanda to take our picture and Eleanor decided to share her pink boa with me.  I just thought that was right neighbourly of her!
   Of course when I told her I was Bret's mom she was most impressed and had to tell me how much she liked him and what a fine boy he was.  And how handsome.  And how much she liked Amanda and "oh, they are a couple!  How nice."
   Well, by then I had pretty well shot my wad so I wandered on outside.  What had started off as a fairly normal day had sure turned into a bright spot for me. Little story I can share with my grand kids.  Like they will have any idea who Eleanor Burns is.  Maybe I will dig out my VCR tapes.  Can I play those on a DVD player?
   Any way, I met a lovely lady today and shared her boa.  Had lunch with my friend, Tim.  Visited briefly with my friend Andy.  Pulled a few weeds.  Watched the geese swim in the new stock tank and made a batch of soap. Touched bases with my friend back East.  And now I am ready for bed.  Kind of makes me think I might have happy dreams tonight.

  

Peter, Paul and Mary

Well, I got up this morning with Peter, Paul and Mary on my mind.  Do you remember them?  Some women might dream about Fabio or some such nonsense, but here is what happened.  I was given a link for Peace Pilgrim and I started reading that.  This is/was a very wise woman who gave up everything to search for inner peace.  I will give you the link at the end of this, so watch for it.  It is well worth a little more then a cursory glance.  I am going to try to follow some of her teachings, but I can not foresee giving up my home and car and all that and walking off across the country hoping some one will feed me and give me a bed for the night. But the basic truths look very promising.
  Back to Peter, Paul and Mary.  These three people came to prominence in a coffee shop in Greenwich Village way back in the early 60's.  Remember the 60's?  Sure you do!  I recall like it was yesterday.  I was newly married and hopelessly in love with life.  Hubby was a tree trimmer and moved around a lot, but there were dreams and hopes.  And pretty soon there were babies.  That slowed the moving around down to a crawl.  We were in Garden City, Kansas when I realized that Viet Nam was more than the government was telling us.  How long had it been going on and what was it?  Did we ever really know the depth of that era?  How much was covered up and for how many years?  I talk to old timers now who still know and refuse to talk about Cambodia and wht went on there.  Peter, Paul and Mary knew.  They sang about it and we marched about it.  Civil Rights?  They were there.  So was I.
  Where were you when Oswald shot Kennedy?  When Ruby shot Oswald?  Did you hear Martin Luther King, Jr's I have a dream speech?  Did you see him fall?  Tommy Cash sings a song that covers that era.  If you can listen to this  and not reflect, you are probably one of my very young readers.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uGc62RWIkc
   But through it all Peter, Paul and Mary were singing the folk songs.  I did not know at the time that they were folk songs, only that they expressed what I was feeling along with a whole nation.  And I think they really believed in what they sang about.  If I  Had a Hammer!  This Land is My Land!  Where Have all the Flowers Gone? Blowin' in the Wind.
  After Mary was gone Peter and Paul still continued to fight for what they had believed in  for so long.  In 2010 they sent a letter to the National Organization for Marriage (who campaigns to stop gay marriage and civil unions) telling them to stop using their song This Land is My Land in their rallies because it was " directly contrary to our advocacy position. "  Principled people, especially in the entertainment industry are sometimes hard to find.
   But what really makes me sad is that there will never be an era like that and there are not words in my vocabulary to describe how we felt.  Music is the one medium that comes closest and Peter, Paul and Mary were the icons of the time.  But Mary is gone and while we get out the old guitar and sing the old songs at the Peace Flotilla and in the coffee shop, it is pure nostalgia.  Sort of the Don Quixote and the whole tilting at windmills thing.  The dragons have all been slain.   We now our government would never lie to us and that the printed word is the one we can believe.  Oh, wait.  Seems I see some Senator hanging his head and saying "Sorry.  I lied."  And I see a crumbling Newspaper Empire because someone hacked the phones and got caught.
   But it is still different.  In this day and age information is instantly at our fingertips.  We do not have to wait for a trio to pick up a guitar and tell us about the wrongs in the world.  And I am going to save Peace Pilgrim for another day.  Today I am going to listen to Peter, Paul and Mary and relive my lost youth.
 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Well, if this is any thing like hell, I am going to straighten myself up and live right.

  Oh, it was 100 degrees yesterday and going to do it again today.  I forgot how many days this has been.  Course there is no rain in sight, just more sun.  Best we can hope for is that the wind will blow and plaster us with dust like happened down south of here.  So I got to thinking about that really hot place I might go to if I do not be a good little girl and I decided I do not under any conditions want to go there.  So I will be very good.  Of course, even I have my breaking point.  So let me see if I actually know what being good entails.
1.  You shall have no other gods before me. Well that is an easy one.  Why would I want to put anyone else first?
2.  You shall not make any idols or graven images.  I am cool on that one. I am not one bit artistic.
3.  You shall not misuse the name of the Lord they God.  Ok, now does that mean cussing with the Lord's name?  If it does, I may be in trouble on this one.  If it means being disrespectful, I don't do that.  I may need a lawyer on this one.
4.  Remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy.  Work six days and rest on the seventh.  Pretty clear there and I have no problem with this one.  I am so good with this one that some times I even do it three or four times a week. ;)
5.  Honor your Father and Mother.  I did this one really well.  Yes, I did.
6.  I did not commit murder.
7.  I did not commit adultery.
8.  You shall not steal. This is another of the kind of gray areas.  I seem to recall liberating a case of Pecan Pie from the Red Carpet Resturant which was supposed to be delivered to the Red Carpet Bakery.  Then there was that one incident...but I did all that stuff before I decided I wanted to go to heaven and as I understand a lot of this stuff is closed book.  Man, I sure hope so!
9.  You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.  Now how close does one need to live to be considered a neighbor?  And it was not false, just told a secret out of school a time or two.  Better talk to the big guy again.
10. You shall not covet your neighbors wife, or his manservant, or maidservant, his ox or donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.  Well, he is just pretty clear on this one now isn't he?  I am pretty safe on this one right up to the part that comes after donkey!
  Alright, I may not be perfect.  As a matter of fact, I am far from perfect.  Let's just call a spade a spade here!  I am in deep dodo. See, it is not only the 10 Commandments I need to worry about, it is a lot of other stuff that is sprinkled around here and there in the Bible.  I know about the Golden Rule "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  Just for many years I remembered it a little bit differently. "Do unto others as they would do unto you, but do it first."  Now there is a technicality that the lawyer is not going to get around.
  And I had a lot of trouble with that turn the other cheek one.   I will never be a pious person.  I know very well, that I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God in many areas of my life.  There are people out there who can be pious and can point my faults out to me, and I can safely say that they are going to have to be pretty quick to spot it before I do.   I am not perfect.  The one thing I have learned in this life is not to beat myself up over past transgressions, because there are plenty of other people that will do that for me.  Lots of people take delight in pointing out my faults and shortcomings.  Do I care?  Hell no!  I think I am a pretty good person when all the good points are added.  So, where were we?
  Oh, yeah.  It is hotter than Hell.  Not really.  Hell is very, very hot and I refuse to go there.  I do like summer, so I am going to enjoy this heat because I know Winter is going to come sooner or later and I will miss the shorts and tee shirts and sandals.  Tomorrow I am going to have a picture of the baby geese in the stock tank if I have to catch them and throw them in it myself.  But right now I have to go talk to God for a bit and explain some of those things that I am not sure he is real clear on my intentions, just in case!

Friday, July 15, 2011

Road Rage!!! You bet!!!

Oh, I just get the biggest knot in my stomach when I have to go on Pueblo Boulevard to catch 50 West.  The crews have been working on that since the Pony Express passed through this area.  They are putting a very pretty median in which just amazes me, since I thought we were broke.  But therein lies my misconception of the situation.  It is the Federal Government and they have an unlimited money supply because they own the mint and all the printers therein.  Silly me.
But back to this road rage I must encounter.  Do not tell me to ignore it because it is going on right there in my car with the driver.  Oh, that would be ME!  Now I remember why I quit carrying my gun.  See, being a silly, addle brained woman, I forget things.  I think just because I am on a road, in the proper lane, driving the speed limit, on my way to a given destination that I have an actual right to be there.  I paid my fees on the car, and they gouged me for this road, but I do not belong there.  This road is for that idiot passing on the shoulder and honking at me and 289 of my closest friends.  Or the  SUV in the other lane that is cutting me off before she hits the lane merge barricade, the same one I saw 4 miles back and was repeated every 7 feet, yet managed to catch that chickadee by surprise.  I know she is unhappy because I can see her on her cell phone with her lips flapping like a rabid dog!
I have driven in Denver and Dallas both at the height of the rush hour and had less stress on my poor brain than what I encounter any time I venture forth in this fair city.  I have driven blind drunk in Hutchinson, Kansas and Colorado Springs is a piece of cake, but Pueblo is a whole new ball game.  Yesterday I traversed the Pueblo Boulevard area and today I am making a new set of rules.  Well, not really.  I have always had these in the back of my mind; I am just  going to put them in black and white so I can look at them.
1.  Never at any time, ever, do I have the right of way.  No exceptions to this rule.
2.  I paid as much for the tags on my new Ford as the Chevy with the flapping fenders who is trying to run me in the ditch and therefore I must let him in front of me and hope I do not get gassed by his smokey exhaust.
3.  I have insurance up the wahzoo and I am sure I will pay for his car when I swerve to miss him and he still manage to slam on his breaks in front of me. 
4.  I am suffering whiplash just looking at his driving.
5.  My time is as valuable as your time.  I maybe old but I  am not expendable.
6.  I am the world's most defensive driver and I can out maneuver you  so back off.
7.  I am putting the gun back under the seat until the work on Pueblo Boulevard is finished.
8.  I am pretty sure that any cell phone calls ringing on my phone can wait until I am parked and so can yours.  Unless, of course you are God, and he has better ways of communicating than with a cell phone.

So, if you are hassling me just because I am doing what I am old and driving prudently and cautiously and you see my head go below the dash for a brief moment, you better get right back there behind me and follow my lead, because I am about to suffer one of those head aches that come on suddenly and will lead to a stroke if I do not relieve the pressure.  And if shooting you is what it takes I can only say "It sucks to be you!"

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

July 12, update for Scot and the Cuban Caravan.

From: kriskross****@****.com
Subj: Caravan, July 12th

Scot called from Clinton, Iowa yesterday.  It had been a good day with 6 Caravanistas now riding the bus.  On Sunday they were in Chicago and attended 2 church services.  Events have been uplifting.  Scot's remarks at one of them were very well received, ( and we all thought he was the quiet type ).  Today they are making the long drive to St. Louis, MO.  Godspeed and good weather!
Kris

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Do online acquaintences count like real ones?

As you may have guessed, I have several  "online friends".  Most of them I call friends because I do not want to be bothered spelling out the word acquaintance.   Since AOL automatically adds any one who emails me to  my address book, I have a very full address book.  I also have a category that is marked "If I croak" and Bret has instructions that if I do suddenly cease to exist, he is to notify these 2 people.  Only two.  The first one will no doubt tell anyone who will listen and she knows which chat rooms I go to so that aspect will be covered.  The other one will get his "flushing finger" warmed up since I want to be buried at sea and that is the shortest, most direct route I know.  Just having a little trouble getting him to wait until after I am "gone."  And this, my friends, brings me to the crux of my missive today.
As you know, I sell on eBay.  eBay has chat rooms and a year or so I went to visit for the simple reason that on every post I make there is a link to my listings.  Good business sense, I thought.  Of course after a period of time I got to know people.  Some more than others.  One little gal in Florida and I were working on our html skills and the room we were in got very upset with us so we moved to another more liberal room.  The point here is we started emailing outside the chat room and are very good friends to this day.  I send her cookies and she eats them.  She in turn sends me little tokens.  I am as close to her as if she lived next door.  But I have never met her. 
A couple of months back I noticed that one of the regulars was not popping in at all.  So I mentioned it.  No response.  I mentioned it several more times and then let it go.  Then someone else mentioned it.  Two months!  Then came the announcement.  Seems the guy had "passed".  How sad that no one noticed he was gone for two months!  Had this group been here in my circle of friends, his absence would have no doubt been noticed right away, but the Internet is a very big, fickle place.  Friendships are made easily and just as quickly dissipate.  Yesterday's news, so to speak.  Had he been in my "real" world I would no doubt have at  the very least sent a card. 
There are many in my online address book that I hear from or contact on rare occasions.  Only these two hold special meaning for me. Now, I can not help but feel these friendships are as meaningful as if they were right here beside me.  Am I wrong?  Do we need flesh and blood contact to connect with people?  This Internet is a wonderful place if we use it correctly.  Am I doing that?  I have several friends who think I spend too much time on the computer, but it is what I do. 
I think that I am as close to Amy as any of my kids.  I would like to bring her to Colorado and take care of her.  Teach her things she needs to know to get by in this life, like proper nutrition.  ;) And my other friend and confidante knows me as well as anyone and way better than most.  He can see past my facade to the real me and point out my faulty thinking.  How he does that I will never know, but he is the first man I have ever "not met" that can do that.
I guess what I am really asking here is why we call it "passed" or "gone" when it is really "died"?  And if someone dies that I have never really known, do I still "know" them?  I realize that I was never close to Dan, but I still feel a twinge of sadness.  And I know if anything happened to my Amy or Oscar  I would be inconsolable.  Does that make me abnormal?  I think not.  Life is full of relationships on every level and in every degree.  My online friends are just as important to me as my real world friends.  So, maybe I am abnormal and maybe I am not.  Time will tell.
In the meantime I will hold on to the online connections and trust that they will be holding on to me.  And some day, I am sure, I will see them.  And when that day comes I can toss the computer, but for the moment it is my connection and it is here to stay, as real and vibrant as the friends in town.  So to one I sign off "Mountain Momma"  and the other, "Bella".  I love you both.  Just never get to say it often enough.
And all you others out there reading this,  I love you, too.  Love is a well that never runs dry and the more you give away the more you get.  So start spreading it around!

Saturday, July 9, 2011

Is this a bucket list item or just an I want?

The Good Lord and I sort of have an agreement.   It works this way, when I want or need something I just tell him and then he sort of shows me a way to get what I need.  It has worked for a whole lot of years, even when he gave me something different than what I was hoping to receive.  Many times he just sends me down the right street or manuvers me in front of the answer.  So the last couple of days there is one young girl in particular that I have been thinking about.  I want to know where she ever went and how she and her sisters are today.  I can not tell you her name, but I will outline the story and she or some one who knows may contact me.  Sure hope so.
I worked at the Red Carpet Resturant in Hutchinson, Kansas for a couple named Bob and Thelma Bailey.  It was shortly after I divorced my first husband so it must have been about 1969-1972.  Maybe later.  Lot of foggy parts there in that period.  There was a lady that worked as my helper.  She had 3 lovely daughters.  She lived North of town with her husband.  He was a very handsome man and to all intents and purposes they seemed to have a wonderful marriage, but I do not think that was actually the case.  I am not one to judge and that is not why I am here.  She came to work several times with injuries she explained as "falling off a tractor",  "slipping in the bathtub" and I am not sure just how she broke her arm that time, but I do know it was "all her own fault."
The day finally came when she fell off the porch (as I recall) and wound up a parapalegic and had to be cared for at home.  Her husband hired a woman to take care of her and when she died he married her.  These are enough facts that if you know who I am looking for you can contact me.  I am especially interested in the oldest daughter.  She lived with me for a brief period after her mom died.  I have said lots of prayers for these girls and would dearly love to see them.  The oldest is the one that may remember me.
So there it is, out there for the Universe and God to deal with.  Please know that any information I receive will be held in the strictest confidence and nothing will appear on this blog about what happens after today.  OK,  Big Guy, do your thing!

Report on the Cuban Caravan and Scot's whereabouts.

In a message dated 7/8/2011 10:28:59 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, kriskross******.com writes:


Scot is in Milwaukee tonight. Sounds like the bus is behaving with a little help from Scot and assorted others. It is getting filled up with aid and a few caravanistas. Scot also participated in a radio interview about the caravan.

More later!

Thursday, July 7, 2011

I will make dessert, no problemo!

 

Bret had a little friend pop over last night that we had not seen in years.  So I wondered just what I could throw together for dessert and I quickly took stock and knew Cream Puffs were the answer.  Butter, water, flour, and eggs.  Milk, eggs and sugar for the filling.  No chocolate for the decoration but that was because chocolate is endangered around here with Amanda on the loose!  Oh, and I am currently waiting for the next batch of Vanilla to finish whatever it is it does in there with that Vodka!  Now I am completely out of Vanilla.
If there is one thing I like to do, it is cook.  Kind of wish I had a cooks helper to clean up after me.  That was the fun part of owning my own restaurant.  I could just make the biggest messes and Carolyn or Esther or someone would clean them up for me.  Only one rule every dishwasher has is "Never put a knife in the sink!"  Lady named Edith taught me that one and instilled in me a deep rooted fear of knives in the sink and big tall women named Edith!
You know, I look around at this mess that eBay selling makes of my house and I really miss the restaurant business.  The Red Carpet was the most fun because it was really big and classy.  Someone actually called me a "Chef" when I worked there.  The best part was the big bakery in the back.  I baked when I finished my morning shift.  Not the rolls and stuff because we had a baker for that, but fancy stuff.  I have a whole album full of beautiful wedding cakes.  That was really fun.  I loved making Roses.  It is a real joy to take a plain old cake and slather on the frosting, the flowers, garlands and leaves and end up with a four feet tall masterpiece.  My biggest challenge was a family who had brought their own cake across country , only to drop the second layer.  I managed to match the colors, design and all that so closely that no one knew!
When I had my little "Lou's Kitchen" down town it was all home cooking and the only baking was the Cinnamon rolls and Dinner rolls.  Oh, and the pies.  The lady who had the State Sales Tax job and came to see me on a regular basis loved the Cherry Pie.  Course she also loved the Pecan Pie, Chocolate and  anything that would hold still on the plate.  The biggest problem I had with her is she wore these half glasses that set on the end of her nose and she looked out over them and just made my blood run cold!  See I have this guilt complex and that woman could make me squirm like no one else.  Something about being closely scrutinized through spectacles on the end of someones nose that make me want to confess every wrong thing I had ever done and inflate my sales so I could pay more tax!
But she was a lovely lady and I enjoyed visiting with her, just that she had the power and  I knew that.  My customers were the best.  See, this little restaurant only held about 50 people and set right across the street from McDonald's.  There was a bakery on the street behind and I got all those guys three times a day since it had 3 shifts.  I really miss that place!  
But back to reality.  I got to go do the chore thing and get ready for the day.  Just know those were really good Cream Puffs and if you pop by unexpectedly, I just might make you some! 



Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Update on Scot for July 4, 2011

As promised.

From: kriskross******.com




Dear All,

On Sunday, Scot got to go to church at his "born into" church, Plymouth Congregational in Minneapolis. Today he worked with artists who painted the bus. I hope to get pictures to share. If you happen to be on Facebook, look for IFCO, Pastors for Peace for more info.

Kris

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Lucky you! I will keep you abreast of Scot and his travels!

Well, it is Cuban Caravan time again and today I got this from Kris.  None of the Pueblo Churches were involved this year for some odd reason.  Could it be that Max, Maureen and Faye are no longer prodding them? But my friends, Scot and Kris remain true to the cause. 

Today's missive:  In a message dated 7/2/2011 12:54:13 P.M. Mountain Daylight Time, kriskross*********com writes:


Dear All,


Scot took off yesterday to, once again, drive a bus for the Cuba Caravan. I can't remember if this is the 20th year, or what, that the caravan has brought donated humanitarian aid to Cuba. Anyway, Scot flew to Branson, Missouri where he picked up the bus and got started on the route. A really nice lady named "Akeejee" ( can't spell her name correctly ) gave him some snacks and goodies for the road. There are no riders on the bus with him yet, except for a hitch-hiker.



Today Scot got through DesMoines where he refuled himself and his laptop batteries at the Catholic Workers House. He is headed north and will send updates frequently.



Prayers for safe travel and dependable vehicle much appreciated!

Kris

Friday, July 1, 2011

Koury Truck Stop really is a thing of the past.

I went to Colorado Springs last week to spend the day with Pastor Faye which is always a rare treat for me.  Since I had another engagement in the morning, I was later leaving so it was after lunch when I got there.  We visited a while and I was surprised to learn that they have had less rain then us which is very unusual as they are higher altitude and the mountains usually get more moisture.  But that is a bit of useless information that I just threw in for you.
Then we decided we should venture down the street to the Country Buffet because that is what we always do.  Women are such creatures of habit!  By this time it was getting to be mid afternoon and I decided I should perhaps head back down the highway to home, so I departed.
Soon after I got on the Interstate I found myself behind an 18 wheeler which is nothing new in itself.  I drive with the cruise control set on 72 MPH so I notice if traffic is erratic, and this guy was  just that.  I passed him, but watched in my rear view mirror as he sped up and around me.  I decided to just stay back where I was and watched as he sped away, then slowed, then sped and I knew immediately that the fellow was having trouble staying awake.  So for about 10 miles I kept him on the road with prayers and positive thoughts.  Then I remembered that the Rest Area was coming up so I decided that I would get in front of him and wave him into the Rest Area  and I actually started to put that plan into action.  Then I played that scenario out in my head!  Here we have an old lady trying to flag a trucker over into a Rest Area.  Now, I have never done that, and in my younger days I might have pulled a few shenanigans in my time, but flagging down truckers was never one of them. 
I knew that the next stopping place was Koury's Truck Stop, but I also knew it was closed after being there like forever.  I had intended to tell him that, but I watched as the rest area exit shot by.  Then I watched as he slowed for the exit to the truck stop and watched as he slowly drove down the ramp into the parking lot to join 5 other rigs that were there.  No doubt there were 5 guys catching some much needed sleep in that parking lot as I drove past.
The sight made me very sad as Koury had been there for so many years.  When we first started our excavation business it was one of our first jobs.  A truck had driven into the parking lot and straight into the fuel storage tank.  The fire could be seen clear into town and when it was done there was nothing.  Our job was to clear the area and excavate for the new truck stop.  And when the new truck stop opened it was a mecca for the lonely truckers on I 25.  A southwest adobe design with a restaurant, gift shop, shower area for travellers, a small motel, a tire shop and fuel area and a very high berm around the fuel storage area.  Fred Koury held sway and what a wonderful place it was. 
But, as with all things, time marches on and things change.  Fred Koury's kids grew to adulthood and Fred got tired of working, kind of like you and I.  I think a couple of the kids took over the Truck Stop, but it was not a passion like it had been with Fred and I remember seeing that it had closed and I was a little sad,  but seeing the emptiness when I drove past last week sure brought it home to me.  For so many years it had been a regular stop for the big rigs that travel our highways and now it stands as a grim reminder that time and tide wait for no man.
That night I was very sad as I recalled Frank letting a coyote out of a trap when we were working there.  I remembered Kenny almost stepping on a Rattle Snake when getting out of the truck.  We had gone there for lunch a couple times and it was a real family restaurant  that just happened to be a truck stop.  No greasy spoon there!  Then I remembered something that made me smile.  If you were southbound on I25 you were alright.  Northbound was a different story.  Northbound traffic exited and had to make a left turn under I25.  The opening under the highway to the parking lot was exactly the height to allow a tractor/trailer through  and not one inch higher.  There were several scratch marks on the top from trailers with over inflated tires!  Now if you think I am exaggerating, you do not know me very well, do you?  I will go take a picture the next time I am in that area and post it on here.  Of course to get back on the North bound one had to reverse the procedure.
  So there you have it.  Another milestone in my rear view mirror.  But I figure there are going to be a lot more  of those then there are the images  in front of me.  So, as long as the old gray matter keeps perking along we will have lots to talk about.  See you next time something strikes my fancy!

Sunday, June 26, 2011

What is going on in my little pointy head today?

     Well, usually not much since I stay on "auto pilot" most of the time, but today my thoughts are a jumble.  First, I am glad they passed the "Gay Marriage Bill" in New York.  New York has always been on the cutting edge of the Gay Rights Movement, more so than even California in my humble opinion.  I have always been rather on the fence about the word "marriage" in connection with same sex couples, but they never gave me a choice in the matter so of course I supported it all the way.  I could have been satisfied with a different word, but that is just me.  I am very happy that my gay friends are making strides in that area and I celebrate this victory!  Now as long as they are given the same rights as hetrosexual couples it will be a good thing, but there is still that federal government to contend with, isn't there?
    As I look back on my life, I almost cringe at the inhumanity to man that I have seen.  I realize I did not actually "see" slavery, but I did see the Blacks treated as less than second class citizens.  I seen the riots because people of a different color wanted their children to have an education equal to the people they served.  Blacks were chattle which, if you remove the "h" becomes cattle.  Americans went to Africa and kidnapped them and brought them over here and then when they were freed, screamed at them to "Go back to Africa!"  They did not want to come here in the first place, but I am not going to go there this morning.  You are all aware of the Civil Rights struggle.
     Now, is that worse than what was done to women?  How many years or centuries were women deemed to be the property of some man and had no rights what so ever?  Ever study up on how women were treated since the beginning of time?  They could serve the husband, but if he died they were flat out of luck.  Where would I be today if I lived in those times?  Not here on a computer sharing my views with the world, that is for sure. 
     I think the homosexual population is going to be our last vista as far as equality is concerned.  I realize we still have the politically correct things we need to observe and they are more than even I can keep up with sometimes.  Like in our church, we must refer to God in the neutral sense, meaning he is neither  male nor female.  Sorry, I was raised that God is male.  God is God.  Years ago I had a tee shirt that said "When God made man, she was only kidding!"  But I never believed that for even a minute.  I know there are people reading this who will scoff at me, but who cares.  I scoff right back at them because I am a free, white woman and that is what I do.
    Back to the man's inhumanity to man thing for a bit.  I can recall way back when I lived in Nickerson. Kansas and dad would talk about a family of "niggras" that lived on the edge of town.  It was alright if they came to town to buy stuff in the daylight,  but they better not ever try to come to town after the sun went down.  In all honesty, I could not imagine why they would want to go to town in the dark because everything was closed!  I always thought my dad would have made a great KKK member and the only reason I think he wasn't was because mom could not spare the sheet!  I never laid eyes on this elusive family, nor did I ever see the "Gypsy's"  that were camped over to the West of the McQueen place.  And those are the ones I needed to watch because they were the ones that would steal me and go sell me some where if I was not a good little girl.
     Nickerson was a very white community.  Oh, we had our share of odd balls, but we were odd balls ourselves.  Darn good thing that was not illegal or they would have hung us all.  There was Hank Windiate, who was crippled on one side and went to town in a buckboard with a sad looking old horse.  Never married.  Across from him was Jerry and Ora Ayres.  She had a bit of brain damage from an accident when they were first married. He grew enough produce and peanuts to feed the county.  Jake Smith used to be a deputy and sat in a chair all day long cleaning his gun.  Rudolph Reinke lost his wife with the birth of his last daughter.  He raised his last 4 girls alone, was a handyman and did his work while singing at the top of his lungs in German.  We were the first house on that block.  Now this is just one block, and it is only a sampling.  This does not include Whittlin' Joe and Johnny Carson, or the family in the boxcar. 
     My point here is simply that I am not one to throw stones.  My childhood was typical, I feel, as was yours for your time and area.  Did God make anyone of us better than the other?  Is it my job to be judge and jury for mankind?  I rather think not.  I am going to set right here in my little corner of the world and continue to dispense my words of wisdom as they occur to me.  No doubt I will die a lonely old woman, but that is alright too.  When I get to heaven I am going to put on my dancing shoes and dance all over heaven.  Maybe God will let me set on his lap and help judge a few of the hypocrites that come knocking on the door.  Hey, maybe he will let me judge that one guy that told me just last year that I was going to rot in hell and should be burned at the stake for what I believe.  Know what?  I would probably let him in cause I bet he is sorry.  He just grew up on a different street than I did! 

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Let's just give some thought to this circle of life thing here>



It is a stretch to see how that tiny little happy baby over there on left, turned into this old woman here on the right.  No one is more stunned by that transformation then I  am.  That little baby there is pure and innocent and knows nothing at all about the causes this woman holds dear.  But if you stop and think, my mother was once a tiny baby like that.  All I remember was when I was little life was so easy. I never had to worry about a place to live or food to eat or being warm or anything.  All my decisions were made for me.  I did not even have to wear shoes and clothes were just something we put on because we were supposed to do that.
Then my sister got married and then my brother joined the Army and I started high school and I figured out there were boys.  But the most fun was finding cigarettes!  Thanks for that LaVeta!  Oh, and the Home Brew.  You kids today missed all the good stuff! 
"I belong to the Beat Generation.  Ain't nothin' troublin' my mind.  I belong to the Beat Generation, and everything's goin' just fine!"
Do not remember what that was about, but it rears it's little head sometimes in my memory.  I knew there were drugs out there and I knew the names of them at the time, but alcohol was my drug of choice along with Pall Mall cigarettes.  And can only thank God that he kept me away from the drug scene.  Sure was not any good sense on my part, I just was not interested.  This was all at Nickerson High School.  We later moved to Hutchinson in my senior year and that was the end of my formal schooling.  Take a lonely little country girl and throw her into the mainstream of a big city school and you will lose her every time.  And so it happened with Louella Bartholomew.
And so life went on pretty much without me.  I fell in love, I got married, I had 4 babies in 4 years, I took a 4 year break and had another one.  I divorced, I married, I worked, divorced, married until that one sounded like a broken record.  And then one day I realized that my kids that had been the whole reason for living and working were now marrying, leaving and having babies of their own.  I was a grandma.
And now those babies are having babies and I am a great grandmother.  There is a very good chance that I will be a great, great grandmother before I get out of this mess.  There was a point in my life that I dreaded growing old.  A time when I thought it could not happen to me.  You know what I mean?  Well, I have to be honest here and tell it like it is.  Vini, Vidi, Vici!  I did that!  I can not think of anything in this world that I wanted to do that I did not do.  
I ran away, and I came back.  I have ridden motorcycles,  and drag raced after midnight.  I have ridden horses that no one knew about.  I have fished and hunted, hiked and boated.  I have loved and laughed and had my heart broken more then once, but I got what I gave.  I have been rich and I have been poor.  I have held a newborn baby kitten and held people as they died.  I have heard angel wings when a soul leaves the body, but only once. 
When I was young, I had the fire in my belly, but now I have the fire in my soul.  And I guess that is how the circle of life goes.  Someday I will need to set by the fire and nod as the kids take care of me.  I was once the carefree little girl and then my children were and now it is their children.  And that dear people is the circle of life as I know it.  When I was that tiny baby up there, my great grandmother was the Matriarch of the family, and now, alas, it is me.  I always thought the Matriarch was to be revered and respected, but now I find myself in the postition of being Matriarch and I find it is just a word I am not sure I spell correctly.  I am the same person I was before someone died and left me in charge.  I am still confused by the events of my life and am in no way able to advise anyone else.
So here is the deal; we are born, we grow up.  Some of us have kids some of us don't.  Some of us are happy, some are not.  Some of us are rich and succesful and some of us are not.  It all boils down to this, we all put our britches on one leg at a time. We all love some body at some point and when it is all said and done we are a light that gets put out.  I like to think that I am important and that I have made a difference.  This is what I know; when my light goes out, some will mourn for a time, but life goes on as it will.  Some one else will look in the mirror and say, "Oh dear, this leaves me as the Matriarch!"
That, my friends, is the Circle of Life!

Friday, June 17, 2011

Well, let's start up a community garden. Want to?



I have often heard of Community Gardens and when SCAP was located on 4th and Glendale right next door to the Liquor Store and the Porn shop before the police took the building for their substation, we had one.  It was really nice.  Some one tilled the area and one of the places, Lowe's I think, donated a bunch of plants. The clients would come by and water and weed and then later pick the harvest.  We all got a kick out of it and it kept them in touch with nature.  But now we are located in the Corona building and all we have is concrete and asphalt.  Enter a stranger on a Suzuki motorcycle who stands 6'7" and a Community Garden appears on the horizon.
Meet Richard.  We have a mutual friend and I found him one Sunday morning digging around in the dirt.  Well, you know me.  Nobody gets away with anything on my watch and it just looked suspicious to see this big tall guy digging in my friends yard. Nobody ever comes and digs in my yard.  So I asked my friend, "What is going on over there?"  And he told me.  So I got his number and set out on my quest for knowledge.  Soon you will know all that I know.
Richard is new to this business, but he knows what he wants to do.  He has this garden and another at his house.  His vision is to grow organic food and produce enough to feed 400 people.  And here is where it gets a little hairy.  A community garden is a community effort.  We all know that.  This is his first venture into this and this first year will entail putting a lot of ground work into place.  He has made a wish list and it seems fairly simple. So we will lay it out and look at it and see if this is feasible.
1.  He needs manure preferably Rabbit, Poultry, Cow or Horse.  Now he knows that most people raising animals give them antibotics.  These should leech out in a year or so.  He will check to see how that plays out with the people who certify the stuff to be organic.
2.  Compost.  Any chance you have a pile of that laying around that you do not use and do not need?
3.  He is going to need a tiller.  He would prefer to do this with a horse and plow, but he has no harness for the horse.  Got any of that laying around?
4.  Now hauling is going to be a problem unless he has a pick up.  He is willing to trade his bike for a small pickup preferably a Toyota or Nissan.  At least I think that is what he said.  So, if you happen to have one of those setting in the drive, let me know.

I do not know Richard very well, but from the two brief visits I had with him I found him to be very personable and very caring about the environment.  That carries a lot of weight with me.  We discussed politics briefly and I am not sure which of us is the more radical, but I do not know what that has to do with growing a watermelon, which I will depend on him to grow because I done lost my package of seeds!

So if any of you out there have any of the items he needs, suggestions that could possibly help Richard, or an idea on how to proceed with this venture,  please leave a comment or email me and I will see that he gets the information.  He is just kind of between computers at the present time.


Off to Beulah today all by my tiny little self!





Well enjoy that little slide show up there. It shows the trip to Beulah, to the coffee shop, next door to Kris Allen's house , the book exchange/library, around back of John Clay's studio and then back home again. I will hit the high spots later.


See the two signs there! That is a really big event coming up July 16 and if any of you old Hippies want to go with me, just give me a holler. There are a few little tiny rules Jan said us rowdy old souls need to obey, but I already forgot what they were so they could not have been too important. I think this might be more fun than this old heart can take.

So, back to my trip up this morning. Since I had to go water plants on that side of town, I thought "What the Hey!" and I just headed on out the highway and up the road. I left the camera in the back seat since I was all alone and thought it best if I kept eyes forward. But silly me. This is the entrance to the Beulah Valley which is the whole reason for life in Colorado. I stopped on the way back and took this and it does not do it justice at all. You can not see the depth and vastness that always make my heart leap into my throat when I see this.
(Sorry that image is not there, but google is jacking with me today.Maybe later)
I had just come past an empty field and seen a lone antelope. How sad a sight is that to see one antelope in the middle of all this vastness. I know the herd was nearby, or at least I thought so. There is just something about this part of the drive that makes me feel so very small and insignificant. I guess it is just the majesty of the mighty Rockie Mountains. They have been here since time began, I think, and I am just passing through. It is always a humbling experience.

And I am always so happy to see the little Stompin' Grounds sign and to know that Jan will be very glad to see me. I do not remember when I was up there last, but it had been a while. And she did not disappoint me.

She fixed me an egg sandwich and a cup of coffee, both great. She showed me that she was about out of products that I sell up there so I made a solemn vow to do better. I told her the latest John Lennon jokes I knew and showed her snippets I had on the camera of an upcoming blog I am working on.

Then Tom came in and I was happy to see him! See in this small little world, Tom and I go back a very long ways. He was a sailor at Hutchinson Naval Air Station in Kansas when I was in high school in Nickerson. Now we are both pretty sure we never dated, but we do not know for sure, and have no idea who to ask so we just b....s... everytime we cross paths. Now I could pop his balloon, but I am not going to. See we are both free spirited liberals and those guys are hard to find, but the truth of the matter is I never dated anyone from the base when I was in high school. I never dated anyone period. The first man I dated I married and it was down hill from there. But Tom is happy thinking we are the same age so I am not going to tell him any different.
Then a lady named Janet came in and was all excited to meet me cause she was one of those needing lotion. I will get up there next week cause why take a chance on losing a devoted customer? I wandered outside and heard Kris Allen out on her porch with her mom and Scott, so I popped over for a short visit. I will see them again at the Nature Center on Sunday.

By this time I had received 2 phone calls reminding me of obligations I had at home, so I reluctantly left the coffee shop, but I had one more stop to make. John Clay's studio. You remember he is the wood carver who also carves stone. I had not warned him that I was coming so I was not surprised to find him gone. I did wander around the yard and see some things he was working on. I was especially happy to see that he has not given up on the Dragon's Nest. He will get it done someday, I am sure. (Sorry I missed you John!)

So home to Pueblo and stop at Grocery Warehouse for yeast for an order of gluten free bread. Life does go on and it does get tedious. But I did make a vow to myself that I will be sure that I make it up to Beulah at least twice a month this summer. Jan is such a lovely person and when you stop in there you damn well better tell her Lou sent you! She is going to paint me a purple flower around the light in the ceiling right before you go down the hall to that infamous refrigerator of hers! I love that girl!













Tuesday, June 14, 2011

The featured artist today is my good friend Robert.


I want you to enjoy the slide show of just a few pictures that I took at the Nature Center today.  I also snapped pictures of a few memorials out there of people I knew.  Karen Straight, Jay Battle and my very good friend Craig Harmon.  I think that is so neat the way they have worked those into the wild flower gardens out there.  
But here, I want you to take a good look at these to pictures.  They were commissioned by Anna Lee and drawn by Robert.  Robert has been drawing and painting for several years now.  Anna Lee usually tries to snatch them up before anyone else has a chance to even bid.  The other one she has is a picture of his cat Beau, or Bo or Bow.  I guess I do not know how he spells it.  I wanted to put a picture of Robert with his paintings, but for reasons known only to me, I did not.  I guess Robert is some one I do not want spoiled by the trappings of the spotlight of fame.  He is just simply, my Robert and I hope to keep him that way.


One of these he calls the running duck, but I am not sure which one.  Probably the one with the blue back ground.  It just kind of looks like a running duck to me!
Well, I guess that is about it.  I just wanted to share some of this with you.  The river is up very high. Usually lower, but I guess we are letting our snow melt out to the people who actually own it.  I am not sure I understand, but who am I?  I do know this, there is a beautiful moon out there tonight and I am tired so I am going to call it an early night and put the tired little body to bed and dream some big dreams.  Sweet dreams to you!

Monday, June 13, 2011

This is just a heads up!

This is just to alert you to a blog I will be posting sometime in the next week.  I have met a most interesting fellow.  Two things you should know.  He is running a couple community gardens that are completly organic.  That is one.

The other is he is 6' 7" tall.  I told him, "You are really tall!"  and he told me "Lou, I am not really tall, you are just really, really good at being short!"

This is going to be one interesting fellow, I can almost tell.  Organic has always been a passion of mine.  Now if he can give me an organic way to remove Icarus's friend, the mouse, from my kitchen I think we may end up very best friends! 

So, stay alert, but give me about a week on this.  He is a busy man and I am a busy woman and we must remember he is up there where the oxygen is thinner!

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Migrant Bags and the Migrant Education Program.

 
 
Know what those pictures right above here are?  This is the foyer of the First Baptist Church, 405 W. 9th Street,  here in Pueblo, Colorado.  These were taken Friday, June 3, 2011 in the foyer.  Now, I know it looks like a lot of trash bags there, but it is not.  This represents a labor of love by the Church Women United here in this fair city.  What is it?  It is growing season and the migrant workers are back!  With the migrant workers comes the migrant families which includes children.
These are what are called "hygiene bags".  Each one of these bags has been sewn to specifications by some one and then filled with a towel, wash cloth, bar of soap, comb, toothbrush and toothpaste.  Way back in 1967 it seems our country ran short of workers for our fields so our federal government, in their infinite wisdom,  made a deal with Mexico.  Send your families to work our fields and we will educate your children.  I will give you a link at the end so you can read up on this.
See, I thought our church did this just cause we were kind, but I finally actually listened this time.  This education program is funded by the federal government under the "No Child Left Behind Act" and is administered under the auspices of BOCES which is the acronym for Boards of Cooperative Educational Services.  This covers children ages 3-21 who are not graduated from high school.  They must be temporary or seasonal and changed districts in the last 3 years.
That is background that you can pursue, what I am here to tell you is that pile of bags up there represents 497 acts of love by 14 churches here in Pueblo.  Our women's group is the only one in Colorado that participates.  When the migrants show up at BOCES, the first question is "Where are the bags from the church ladies?"  Our reputation precedes us! BOCES runs the educational part of the program and Sister (Nameless) runs the social aspect of the migrant population.  It is at her center that the doctors volunteer their time, the bags of beans, rice and flour are passed out.  Their are diapers for the babies, computers for research and communication.  Clothes are donated and dispersed to those in need.  No money changes hands, it is all voluntary and is the one oasis in a sea of need.
I do have to tell you a little story here.  In 1978 (?) when I was newly divorced and on my own out here, my daughter came home from North Carolina with her hubby and her son.  My daughters, Patty and Dona, came up from Lakin.  Harvest on the Mesa was in full swing and this looked like an easy way to make money quick.  So Patty and Tex hopped in the old '67 Chevy which was my sole means of transportation at the time and headed for the Mesa.  8 hours later they made it back home.  They were filthy, Patty's eye was blood shot and Tex was 3 inches shorter than when they left.  Seemed their job was to pick peas.  This entailed bending over and picking peas and pulling weeds as they came to them.  Tex threw his weeds over his shoulder into Patty's eye.  Hmm.  Wages for the day was $7.20 for the two of them.  Good thing I had bought the gas for the car.
The next week they decided that they would do this again.  It was onion topping time.  This time Debbie, Patty, Dona and Tex ventured to the onion fields.  First day was a total loss as I had to buy the "onion topper cutter things" for all 4 of them.  The next day would bring me a return on my investment, so I thought.  The next day dawned and when they came home, the side of the '67
Chevy was caved in, two of the girls had black eyes and it seems that they were not to return to the fields as they were trouble makers.  I, of course, got a different story, but suffice it to say, I decided all by my tiny little self that my children were not cut out to be migrant workers.
I do however, take my hat off in a big salute to those people who do work our fields.  I would not be able to stand in one of those fields under the blazing sun for any length of time, not to mention a full day bent over up and down the rows.  There just is not that much money in the bank if you get my drift.
Well, I did a definite digression from the main topic.  So let me just get some links on here and you can educate yourself.  I was amazed at the rich history the "farm workers" have in this country.  And, yes, I did read " The Grapes of Wrath."

http://www.scboces.k12.co.us/english/Migrant/index.htm


http://coloradoboces.org/modules/cms/pages.phtml?pageid=144069&sessionid=67a54164cc99a94667d6381b97409394

Friday, June 10, 2011

Clothing optional?

Granted I have been married 5 or 6 times, depending on whether I choose to  count that one guy twice, but that does not make me a woman of the world.  To be real honest with you here, I am just more than a little bit naive.  I tend to take life as it comes at me and I am unaware of the subtleties  that are sometimes quite apparent to other more wizened members of society.  Such was my experience of a couple weeks ago which is now earning me lots of teasing  and sly remarks that I think are entirely uncalled for in my humble opinion.
Now, how this chain of events occured is going to remain a mystery to some of you as I do not want to compromise the actual participants.  It could be just a bit embarrassing to people other than myself, so just deal with this as best you can.
You all know that I am always one to lend a helping hand when it is needed.  Enter an acquaintance who was having car trouble and he needed a ride up the road a ways to keep his appointment at the mineral spa.  In hindsight, I can see where there should have been a warning flag pop up about then, but naive little Lou, did not even batt an eyelash on that.  So off we went in my little car, headed  West.  Very soon we arrived at the spa.  Funny, I always pictured a "spa" as a kind of fancy place as opposed to this which seemed to be a pool inside a privacy fence, but since I had never seen one, it was not my  judgement call.
We entered a sort of rustic looking building and he signed in.  There were chairs kind of off to one side so I assumed that was the waiting area.  So I set myself down and took stock of my situation.  I seemed to be the only person in this area although I could hear voices and it sounded like water splashing.  I decided there definitely was a pool behind the fence.  So that made sense.  I picked up a brochure and started reading about the pool and how warm the water was all year long and how beneficial the minerals were.  And way back in the recesses of my mind, a wee tiny memory started to tug at my subconscious.  What was it?  Something.
Like a lamb to slaughter, I  stood and walked to the front door and gazed across the yard at the pool area.  Of course the waiting area I was in was higher than the fence that screened the people in the pool from view.  Of course they were protected from anyone on ground level, but I was not on ground level. Then the little memory that was tugging gave a big jerk and I glanced at the brochure in my hand.  "Clothing Optional".  Of course it was!  How else would you explain that big naked guy that had just crossed my field of vision?  The one thing I was sure was that it was a man and I certainly hoped it was not the one I had just hauled up there.  But if it was, I would never know it and if it became necessary, I would fix his car myself, so this would not be a repeat trip up here.
I did survive that trip and if I had the common sense God gave a goose, I would not have told anyone about that little experience, but I don't and I did and now it is one of the little slings and arrows I must survive.  "Guess where Lou hangs out now days?"  " I can not believe you did not know that was a nudist thing!"  "Where are going today?"
So here it is in black and white for you all to read.  Now you know and you can snicker all you want.  I do have to go on record with this statement; "Been there, done that, cross that one off my bucket list even before I knew it was there."  I really believe this could be beneficial to some people and I did make a mental note that on Tuesday's everyone has to wear clothes.  If I go, it will be on Tuesday!
And one more thing, if I am going to parade around in my birthday suit, I do beleive I will need to iron it.  Failing in that I will just gain about 10 more pounds and that should pull those extra wrinkles out of the thing!  LOL

Another year down the tubes!

Counting today, there are only 5 days left in this year.    Momma nailed it when she said "When you are over the hill you pick up speed...