Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt #5

Well, this picture is pretty blurry, but it will just have to do until I can get another camera.  We only have this installment and then one more and we will be done with the Pueblo AIDS Memorial Quilt. 

In the upper left corner we have

Robert Coghill

8/21/1954-7/19/2003

As I recall Robert served in the USMC.

Martha "Marty"Rayble

8/22/1953-4/9/2005

Marty was a very good friend of mine and spent a lot of time at my house.  The coins you see on the panel are AA tokens representing 13 years of sobriety.  Each one says "To thine own self be true."  Marty was good at that! She came one day to my house and we were in the front yard.  The neighbors had an old red turkey that ranged free.  This old tom turkey decided he wanted to set on Marty's lap!  We laughed so hard that day!  But that was Marty! Rather then being afraid or offended she could find humor in most situations!  

 Her biggest mistake in her life was being a good wife.  Like so many women I meet, and men too for that matter, love is a killer.   

At the bottom on the red panel we have

 Dennis Klovstad.

3/10/1956-7/17/2003

I do not know how tall Dennis was but I am sure it was about 6'5".  When I would turn around and find myself eye level with a belt buckle I knew Dennis had arrived!  He was a pretty solitary soul and kept to himself, but if I worked it just right, I could get a smile out of him.  This part is very sad; one year he came in and handed me a small envelope right before Christmas.  I opened it and inside found a note card with a teddy bear.  Dennis had written; "Thank you for being my friend" and enclosed a $1.00 bill!  He did not have much, but he would share what he had.  That card made my Christmas that year!  I still have that card and someday when  I am no longer alive, someone will find that card and I sincerely hope it brings a tear to their eye also.

                                            

Here, among the dancing Indians, we find my friend  Shirley .

Shirley Rezendes

7/9/1983-3/?/2002

Shirley loved Indians and may actually have been part Indian.  Another case of a woman loving a man.

Brent Hanna

7/31/1968-8/7/2003

Brent was a southern gentleman in the truest sense of the words.  Very genteel and very easy to talk to.  Miss that boy a lot!

John

2004

Sometimes this is all I allowed to put on a pane, but when I see it, I remember and so does his mother.

P M

2004

Another one.  This belongs to a teacher and the first thing he had to teach me was how to pronounce his first name.  First we had to spell it so I could visualize how to pronounce it.  Whole process took almost 15 minutes and I will say this, I remember to this day and will probably never forget!  A wonderful man who loved a wonderful woman.

There you have this one!  This has stirred up a lot of memories, but they are mostly good.  Of course part of all memories is sad, but the good is there also.  So I bid this batch of my friends a good night and a fond farewell.  It was a very trying year.

John Clay's Proud Indian Chief who lives at the Beulah Inn.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      . 
This majestic wooden Indian stands proud and tall in the Beulah Inn, which is located in the quaint little town of Beulah, Colorado. Now, this Indian is the work of the local Artisan, John Clay. You will remember he is the man who carved the Dragon Tree on Pine Drive for Catherine Halcomb. I had been meaning to get back up to Beulah and meet with him again, but procrastination reigns supreme in my life and I had not gotten around to it.  I did make it up there to take this picture and have a little supper while I was
there, sort of the killing of two birds with one stone sort of thing.

                                                                                  I do not remember exactly what I ate, but I do seem to remember that it was pretty good fare and there was a really lot of it.  Course Bret and Amanda were with me and Bret especially liked the "lot of it" part.  He is 18 and eating is a very big part of his life.  I would say eating is to him what breathing is to you and I.  So back to the Indian fellow here.  We measured him and he stands  5'5" tall.  I'm a thinking that the black mask he wears tends to make him look a little mean, but course if he is only 5'5" tall he needs to look mean!           

John Clay goes to a lot of work to make his creations look real and this Indian is no exception.  I do not remember what the hours are at the Beulah Inn, but I  will look them up and post them on her.  Hey ! I  could like call the place.

See when I took this picture I was in hopes that I could read the hours and days and would not have to actually take note.  To make a long story short, in these hot old days, a little spin up to Beulah is just the ticket for getting in a power vacation and killing a couple hour.  We need to kind of support our neighbors West of here so they will remain there so we can go see the.  i know some singer bought a house up them .  Michael Martin Murphy or John Michael Murphy.  Something like that.  Hey, I just report the parts I remember and you are probably figuring out that there is not a whole lot of facts in any of my reporting.  If I wanted to actually work at this and do it right, I would be working for the New York Time or somebody like that for a big wage and not setting up nights for nothing but the glory!

Ah, Once more I have digressed, but I have got something to hit the publish button for, and after all, that is the name of the game!

Final update for the Cuban Caravan

 Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 02:02:03 +0000
 To: friends@ifconews.org
 Subject: 21st Pastors for Peace Friendshipment Successfully Returns from Cuba

From: info@ifconews.org

IFCO / Pastors for Peace

 MEDIA ADVISORY

 August 3, 2010 -- for immediate release

 CONTACT: IFCO/Pastors for Peace:

On the road: Ellen Bernstein 646/319-5902, Alison Bodine 303/638-9799

in New York: Lucia Bruno 212/926-5757; 347/423-4330

21st PASTORS FOR PEACE FRIENDSHIPMENT

SUCCESSFULLY RETURNS FROM CUBA
 REV. LUCIUS WALKER CHALLENGING BLOCKADE ON HIS 80TH BIRTHDAY

This afternoon the 21st US/Cuba Friendshipment Caravan organized by
IFCO/Pastors for Peace successfully crossed back into the US, after a nine-day
educational visit to Cuba. "This was a perfect way to celebrate the birthday of
our founder and leader, Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr.," said Rev. Luis Barrios, member
of the board of directors of IFCO/Pastors for Peace. "Really he is not just a
leader; he is also a prophet in this struggle for peace with justice."

The caravan, made up of 85 caravanistas from the US, Canada, Europe and Mexico,
traveled to Cuba without a US Treasury Department license, in a direct challenge
of the US trade and travel blockade against Cuba.

In visits to 120 communities across the US and Canada, the caravan collected
more than 100 tons of humanitarian aid for delivery to Cuba, including 9 school
buses that will be used by Cuban churches, hospitals, and schools.

"With this caravan, we broke the blockade one more time. But the blockade still
 persists in full force -- and as long as it exists, we must continue to
challenge it," stated Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr., executive director of
IFCO/Pastors for Peace. “This cruel and immoral blockade still prevents
lifesaving medicines from reaching Cuban children. It blocks US citizens from
being able to be good neighbors to our Cuban brothers and sisters. We call on
President Obama and the Congress to do everything possible to end this cruelty
against our neighbors."

Members of the caravan celebrate today's news that Gerardo Hernandez, one of
the Cuban Five who have been unjustly imprisoned in the US for more than 12
years, has been released from solitary confinement as of this morning.

Caravanistas are returning to their home communities committed to share what
they learned in their time in Cuba, and to continue building support for an end
to the blockade. The caravanistas leave this year's caravan with the resolve to
continue organizing and committing civil disobedience until:

 ◍ the blockade is lifted
 ◍ the Cuban Five are freed
 ◍ the ban on travel to Cuba is lifted
 ◍ Cuba is taken off the US State Department's ‘terrorist list'
 ◍ US/Cuba relations are normalized.
 Pastors for Peace is a project of the Interreligious Foundation for Community
 Organization (IFCO), a national ecumenical agency which has been working for
 racial, social, and economic justice since 1967. Photos, video, blog, and more
 information are available at www.pastorsforpeace.org [1].
 #30#

 If this message has been forwarded to you and you would like to subscribe to

 the IFCO / Pastors for Peace mailing list, please visit www.ifconews.org and

 follow the instructions provided, or send a blank message to

friends-subscribe@ifconews.org



 http://www.pastorsforpeace.org/

Elymay, Table Rock Lake,Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and a really good time.

Well, hopefully I have got these pictures where they go  and they will stay there, or not. Seems to have a mind of it's own, but that shall not change my story.  This is day 5 of our vacation and we have arrived in a little town just up out of Arkansas.  "Up out" sounds so very cool.  This is yours truly with a very wonderful lady I had the good fortune of meeting through the Internet.  I shall call her Elymay.  She lives about 7 inches from Table Rock Lake, and that is getting close to Arkansas as you can get and not fall in the place.  My hair was doing it's usual thing which is poke out in 40 directions, hence the camera bag over the head.

And here we have Lyn and Ely!  Ely has more critters hanging around her house then you can shake a stick at. There are a couple dogs, I forget how many cats, birds flitting by, a fox that pops in on occasion and I am willing to bet other creatures come out at night.

Lyn and Ely

 
 Ok, I guess these pictures are just going to stay where ever they want to and be what ever size they would like to be, so I am just going to tell you what they are.  These were taken out of the front window of Ely's car and as you can see her windshield is a whole lot cleaner than mine!

They are all just street shots except the big hotel there, but you will learn more about that later.  This town is reminiscent of Manitou Springs, Colorado, just up the road from here.  The front door of the house may be on one street and the back door is around the corner and down about 40 feet. I could see a lot of walking in one of these places.  If you ever think you would like to just get away and kill some time, hop in the car and head that way. If you check with me first, I will alert Ely and she can give you the grand tour.  Great lady!

Now, see that Cresent Hotel there?  I am going to do a blog on that because it is fascinating, but I got to do that darn research part before I write.  So give me some time. I am pretty busy right now.  That and it is canning season! I love canning season.  Well, of course I do, I love to eat!!   And I forgot to tell you I am now a vegetarian, but I am the kind that can eat fish, so I guess I am a like semi-vegetarian.  We shall see how that plays out!

Cuba Caravan Update and Prayers are needed on this date!

 Date: Mon, 2 Aug 2010 22:03:28 +0000

 To: nycandemergency@ifconews.org

 Subject: Alert - Cuba Caravan Challenges Travel Ban Tues. Aug 3rd

 From: info@ifconews.org



 IFCO / Pastors for Peace


 August 2, 2010


 Dear Friends and Supporters,


 The IFCO/Pastors for Peace Caravan will challenge the US ban on travel to Cuba

tomorrow, August 3rd when we return from Cuba after delivering more than 100

 tons of medicine, medical and school supplies.


 We are asking you to be on alert just in case we encounter difficulties when we

 re-enter the US from Mexico. As you know, the caravan met with opposition from

 US border officials during the border crossing on July 21st, when US customs

 agents seized five computers donated by residents of Vancouver, Canada.


 We will be updating our website throughout the day.


 As always, we thank you for your continued love and support.

We are home!!!

There you see the trip meter.  Realize that it does not show the first 1,000 miles.  So we went 1,784.9 miles in 6 days.  Pretty good for an old lady and a wiccan, you think!  Got lots of pictures, but those will need to be sorted through and some tossed.  Lot of X rated, some blurry, and a lot that are completely irrelevant to life, not to mention a vacation.  Actually took 184 pictures.  Glad those were not on film to be developed.

Here is me about 80 miles from home.  Needless to say I was getting pretty bored by this time.  It is rather hard to get a good picture of one's self when one is riding in the front seat of a Ford Focus going into the sun, but as you can see I am my usual jovial self.   It was a 10 hour drive from Kansas City and I was starting to get a little hungry and a little bit testy.

Here is my buddy, Lyn.  She is not really a wiccan, but I like to call her that.  Can't call her anything else.  I know this is not a good picture of her because it looks like she is missing her chin.  She does have a chin and we did have a very good time despite the fact that this trip crossed 4 states and there is not a bed in the world that feels like your own bed.  All our friends and family were most kind and gracious and fed us very, very well, but still there is no place like home.

Now throughout the whole vacation  I was very mellow and was never rushed, did not give the Hawaiian Good Luck signal to anyone, mostly just set around and let life happen.  I did,  however, tell this woman that I would let her post her side of the story on this blog.  You might want to watch for that little fabrication, if it actually happens.  I have a trip planned for next Spring which will cover Kansas, Missouri, Florida, Illinois, Niagara Falls and Ohio.  I plan on taking 10 days for that one and guess who will be waving her arm wanting to go?  Must not have been too bad, huh?

Off to Wichita and sister Mary, or the Yellow Brick Road

Yesterday was Monday.  Skaets Steak Shop is closed on Monday so this was the perfect opportunity to  venture off to Wichita to see sister Mary.  Now, as you will recall I can not post pictures since this computer is the most alien thing I have come across in quite some time. But none the less, with Lyn at the wheel and sister Donna ensconced in the passenger seat we headed out to Wichita, Kansas.  I was in the back seat, because I could see a very good nap in the offing!

We arrived at Mary's house at 1:00 which meant it was time for lunch.  So off we went to PF Chang's. First order of business was to decide what to eat, then order it, then eat it.  That is a very good place to eat and I would highly recommend it. 

Sister Mary has a beautiful home and she showed me every bit of it right down to the cedar lined closet.  Now that is an ingenious idea.  Her house is rather an English Tudor, which to me means there is tons of storage upstairs.

Leave taking was a sad business because I do not get to see or talk to Mary very often.  Wish we were closer.

Now today I had breakfast with the two boy cousins and then  lunch with Cousin Sandy and State Representative Joe Siewert.  Might have spelled that wrong, but the important part of this is he is a Republican!!  There is no way I can give you all the details of this lunch, but I will tell you this, I am a Democrat and a Bleeding Heart Liberal and I had more fun with that man then I did when the pigs ate my cousin Lenny!  If all the Republicans and Democrats could set down and spend two fun filled hours as we did today, there would be a lot more action taken in the State House!  I will go into further detail when I am safely back in Colorado.

See this different color?  That means I added this later.  On the left is my sister Mary and my wiccan companion.  On the right is Mary and me in her sewing room.  It either has a very low ceiling or I am a lot taller than I remember being.  You can always tell Mary, she is the pretty one!  All my sisters are pretty, but I am still the Matriarch and they have to respect me!  Her and her friend will be coming the end of August for a few days.  I am very excited!

Now, tomorrow I will be heading East.  Our laptop does not get the Internet and I am afraid that I will not be able to send another missive until I get back home.  Just know I am thinking of you and I am having more damn fun than you can imagine. If I have the opportunity I will slip you a line, but don't bet on it!!