As mom and I were waiting in the lounge area while uncle
Denny and Grama B were in with the doctor, a lady walked
by, stopped right in front of me and said, “Stay there, don’t
move!” in a nice but determined manner. I looked at mom
and asked if I looked sick …. What was going on, why would
a lady I didn’t know, suddenly stop, look directly at me and
demand I not leave??
After a few minutes she returned, stood in front of me and
said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” ….. then after a
few seconds I replied, “Jackie?!” Yes she said, and after
giving her a hug we became reacquainted. Jackie was the
day care office manager I had hired; and by far the best office
manager I’ve ever known! Jackie and her husband
Glenn had become great friends of Sherry & I, as we worshiped
together in the same church the day care was a part of.
After exchanging pleasantries and inquiring about her sons
Jason & Caleb, I told her that earlier, in the fall, I had seen her
cooking entries at the county fair. She said to be sure and tell
Sherry hi, and left. I am so glad she recognized me, for I would
have smiled and not spoken to her. She said I looked so much
like my dad, to which mom said after she left, “I don’t think
you look like your father, do you?” “Well mom, I replied,
just about everyone else, including Sherry says that I do!”
Perhaps mom doesn’t wish me to look like my father? Though
I sincerely doubt there is an ounce of jealousy, with dad and my
sister gone, looking like my father is too close to her feeling
alone? Mom often times says, ‘she feels alone’ or ‘if grandma
were to die she’d be alone’ and I must remind her I’m still here,
and so are two of her brothers and younger sister, a tribe of
grandchildren and many friends. However I’m slowly realizing
what mom may really be talking about is the intimacy of her
relationships … especially with a memory that continues to rob
her not only of what used to be, but perhaps what never was??
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Stqy there - don't move
As mom and I were waiting in the lounge area while uncle
Denny and Grama B were in with the doctor, a lady walked
by, stopped right in front of me and said, “Stay there, don’t
move!” in a nice but determined manner. I looked at mom
and asked if I looked sick …. What was going on, why would
a lady I didn’t know, suddenly stop, look directly at me and
demand I not leave??
After a few minutes she returned, stood in front of me and
said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” ….. then after a
few seconds I replied, “Jackie?!” Yes she said, and after
giving her a hug we became reacquainted. Jackie was the
day care office manager I had hired; and by far the best office
manager I’ve ever known! Jackie and her husband
Glenn had become great friends of Sherry & I, as we worshiped
together in the same church the day care was a part of.
After exchanging pleasantries and inquiring about her sons
Jason & Caleb, I told her that earlier, in the fall, I had seen her
cooking entries at the county fair. She said to be sure and tell
Sherry hi, and left. I am so glad she recognized me, for I would
have smiled and not spoken to her. She said I looked so much
like my dad, to which mom said after she left, “I don’t think
you look like your father, do you?” “Well mom, I replied,
just about everyone else, including Sherry says that I do!”
Perhaps mom doesn’t wish me to look like my father? Though
I sincerely doubt there is an ounce of jealousy, with dad and my
sister gone, looking like my father is too close to her feeling
alone? Mom often times says, ‘she feels alone’ or ‘if grandma
were to die she’d be alone’ and I must remind her I’m still here,
and so are two of her brothers and younger sister, a tribe of
grandchildren and many friends. However I’m slowly realizing
what mom may really be talking about is the intimacy of her
relationships … especially with a memory that continues to rob
her not only of what used to be, but perhaps what never was??
Denny and Grama B were in with the doctor, a lady walked
by, stopped right in front of me and said, “Stay there, don’t
move!” in a nice but determined manner. I looked at mom
and asked if I looked sick …. What was going on, why would
a lady I didn’t know, suddenly stop, look directly at me and
demand I not leave??
After a few minutes she returned, stood in front of me and
said, “You don’t recognize me, do you?” ….. then after a
few seconds I replied, “Jackie?!” Yes she said, and after
giving her a hug we became reacquainted. Jackie was the
day care office manager I had hired; and by far the best office
manager I’ve ever known! Jackie and her husband
Glenn had become great friends of Sherry & I, as we worshiped
together in the same church the day care was a part of.
After exchanging pleasantries and inquiring about her sons
Jason & Caleb, I told her that earlier, in the fall, I had seen her
cooking entries at the county fair. She said to be sure and tell
Sherry hi, and left. I am so glad she recognized me, for I would
have smiled and not spoken to her. She said I looked so much
like my dad, to which mom said after she left, “I don’t think
you look like your father, do you?” “Well mom, I replied,
just about everyone else, including Sherry says that I do!”
Perhaps mom doesn’t wish me to look like my father? Though
I sincerely doubt there is an ounce of jealousy, with dad and my
sister gone, looking like my father is too close to her feeling
alone? Mom often times says, ‘she feels alone’ or ‘if grandma
were to die she’d be alone’ and I must remind her I’m still here,
and so are two of her brothers and younger sister, a tribe of
grandchildren and many friends. However I’m slowly realizing
what mom may really be talking about is the intimacy of her
relationships … especially with a memory that continues to rob
her not only of what used to be, but perhaps what never was??
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
"PRAYERS FOR SALE" ... a review
“Prayers for Sale”
How many of us, at difficult times in our lives, would have given everything we owned to have someone pray for us with full confidence their prayer[s] were always answered? What in the beginning chapters of this book appears to be just a hoax turns out to be one of the most important ingredients of this book. The author presents us with a story where prayers are that subtle subject that in many ways controls the outward circumstances. Though I am not one for ‘feel good’ endings,in this novel those endings seem like they might never come about, and are genuinely welcome in the end; for they have been earned.
For the ‘first’ time I can recall I read this book one chapter every night,wanting to savor not the action but each character’s plight. When I was about four chapters from the conclusion I couldn’t hold back my interest a day longer and finished it. This is definitely an amazing book that talks about building relationships in a hostile atmosphere, and forgiving others when it’s the last thing you ever plan on doing. I look forward to reading the author’s other books.
ENJOY!
DALLAS, Sandra. “Prayers for Sale” New York, New York.
St.Martins Press. 2009 ISBN: 978031238518-7
How many of us, at difficult times in our lives, would have given everything we owned to have someone pray for us with full confidence their prayer[s] were always answered? What in the beginning chapters of this book appears to be just a hoax turns out to be one of the most important ingredients of this book. The author presents us with a story where prayers are that subtle subject that in many ways controls the outward circumstances. Though I am not one for ‘feel good’ endings,in this novel those endings seem like they might never come about, and are genuinely welcome in the end; for they have been earned.
For the ‘first’ time I can recall I read this book one chapter every night,wanting to savor not the action but each character’s plight. When I was about four chapters from the conclusion I couldn’t hold back my interest a day longer and finished it. This is definitely an amazing book that talks about building relationships in a hostile atmosphere, and forgiving others when it’s the last thing you ever plan on doing. I look forward to reading the author’s other books.
ENJOY!
DALLAS, Sandra. “Prayers for Sale” New York, New York.
St.Martins Press. 2009 ISBN: 978031238518-7
Monday, January 16, 2012
Meaner than a Snake!!
“He’s Meaner Than A Snake”
That’s what great aunt Alice used to say about him!
I’m going to call him Herman, not because I don’t like the name, but simply because I don’t feel free to use his real name, was the father of a good friend of mine and one of the nastiest neighbors I’ve ever known.
Herman was a very dark figure and had moved to our town from a nearby
larger town. Herman’s first wife had died under mysterious circumstances
as it was well known that he had beat her often.
His second wife was a lot younger than he was, only a few years older
than his son who had been born by his first wife. One day Herman found
out that his son was having an affair with his young wife and threw his wife
out even though she was pregnant, with her the young child they had had
while he was married to his first wife. Now here’s another mystery, I never
had any idea there was an older son than the friend I grew up with, for he
and his sister never mentioned an older brother; unless my friend was the
son? Herman then had a third wife, and it too became rather common
knowledge that he frequently would beat her; and was suspected in her
death but never formally accused. There were many who thought that
Herman’s wealth and vast property holdings were the result of his inheritance from his wives??. He was very frugal and ended up paying
The government for eleven years of shorting the government w/ a devise
he had rigged up in his garage that keep the voltage meter less than it
should have been. Herman was tight, he was cruel and he worked at the
factory where my uncle was a foreman and for a while my mother worked
at. My uncle said that Herman had no friends because he alientated himself
by his cruelty.
What initiated this discussion was that while visiting my grandma at the
nursing home, his daughter stopped by and said hi. It was good to see her
after so many years. Later my uncle told me that she was the only one he
knew that Herman was half-decent to – and now she would ultimately
make the decision where he would live …. Gram said most of the nurses
at the home hoped he’d go home or somewhere!
Here is another mystery; my uncle Sammy [bro. of earlier uncle, and a
fictious name] became a good friend to Herman. Uncle Sam lived in the
old house where I grown up most of school years [we had moved to the
other end of the street by then], across street from Herman.
So Herman now resides a couple doors down, on the same side of the hall
as gram …. She has already begun to accumulate some stories!
That’s what great aunt Alice used to say about him!
I’m going to call him Herman, not because I don’t like the name, but simply because I don’t feel free to use his real name, was the father of a good friend of mine and one of the nastiest neighbors I’ve ever known.
Herman was a very dark figure and had moved to our town from a nearby
larger town. Herman’s first wife had died under mysterious circumstances
as it was well known that he had beat her often.
His second wife was a lot younger than he was, only a few years older
than his son who had been born by his first wife. One day Herman found
out that his son was having an affair with his young wife and threw his wife
out even though she was pregnant, with her the young child they had had
while he was married to his first wife. Now here’s another mystery, I never
had any idea there was an older son than the friend I grew up with, for he
and his sister never mentioned an older brother; unless my friend was the
son? Herman then had a third wife, and it too became rather common
knowledge that he frequently would beat her; and was suspected in her
death but never formally accused. There were many who thought that
Herman’s wealth and vast property holdings were the result of his inheritance from his wives??. He was very frugal and ended up paying
The government for eleven years of shorting the government w/ a devise
he had rigged up in his garage that keep the voltage meter less than it
should have been. Herman was tight, he was cruel and he worked at the
factory where my uncle was a foreman and for a while my mother worked
at. My uncle said that Herman had no friends because he alientated himself
by his cruelty.
What initiated this discussion was that while visiting my grandma at the
nursing home, his daughter stopped by and said hi. It was good to see her
after so many years. Later my uncle told me that she was the only one he
knew that Herman was half-decent to – and now she would ultimately
make the decision where he would live …. Gram said most of the nurses
at the home hoped he’d go home or somewhere!
Here is another mystery; my uncle Sammy [bro. of earlier uncle, and a
fictious name] became a good friend to Herman. Uncle Sam lived in the
old house where I grown up most of school years [we had moved to the
other end of the street by then], across street from Herman.
So Herman now resides a couple doors down, on the same side of the hall
as gram …. She has already begun to accumulate some stories!
"The Kommandant's Girl"
A book review
“the Kommandant’s Girl” by Pam Jenoff
In the early 70’s as I began my journey into the study of Psychology,
Thinking that I might become a Christan Psychologist, I remember that
one of the hot button topics was ‘situation ethics.’ What might we do in
desperate times for our own, or a family/friends survival that in normal
times we would consider unethical and/or immoral?
I think that this book centers around that question as the author introduces
us to a Polish Jewess Emma Bau. Though Emma is a fictional character
there were undoubtedly many Jews in occupied Nazi territory who faced
the same survival choices. How could she work for the very government
that was enslaving and murdering her people in concentration camps?
Didn’t the fact that she was able to supply the Resistance with information
justify her sleeping with the Nazi kommandant? Didn’t her close relationship with the commandant keep a young boy, the son of a famous
rabbi, safe? Wouldn’t her husband, Jacob, a member of the Resistance want
her to make this difficult decision to keep herself alive, so that if they
should both survive the holocaust, they could be together again?
Was it sheer coincidence that before I read this book, I had watched a
series on ‘Nazi Collaborators’ on the history channel; and that one French
collaborator justified his turning over many jews to the Nazi on the basis
that he was able to keep from fulfilling the numbers demanded by Hitler
and thus safe at least a few. Although towards the end of the war the continued discrepancy between what was demanded and what was handed
over became almost non existent, and he was finally corrupted by the need
to survive himself.
I think this book challenges us to be extra sensitive to how we view
history, and those caught up in radical circumstances, in the end to
evaluate our own daily lives …. And are there exceptions we make for
ourselves that we would condemn others for? I thoroughly enjoyed the book
and even though it has a ‘hollywoodish’ ending, it still leaves you with the
challenges and Emma Bau with an uncertain future. Oh, did I mention that
in the process Emma Bau gets pregnant – whose baby was it, the kommandant’s or Jacobs, when he had been able to sneak a couple days
visit with her at his aunt’s house where she lived??? I guess that depends
on we evaluate the book …………….. ah, hah, the author got us in the end!
JENOFF, Pam. “the Kommandant’s Girl” Ontario, Canda. MIRA Publ. 2007 ISBN: 13:978-0-7783-2342-6
“the Kommandant’s Girl” by Pam Jenoff
In the early 70’s as I began my journey into the study of Psychology,
Thinking that I might become a Christan Psychologist, I remember that
one of the hot button topics was ‘situation ethics.’ What might we do in
desperate times for our own, or a family/friends survival that in normal
times we would consider unethical and/or immoral?
I think that this book centers around that question as the author introduces
us to a Polish Jewess Emma Bau. Though Emma is a fictional character
there were undoubtedly many Jews in occupied Nazi territory who faced
the same survival choices. How could she work for the very government
that was enslaving and murdering her people in concentration camps?
Didn’t the fact that she was able to supply the Resistance with information
justify her sleeping with the Nazi kommandant? Didn’t her close relationship with the commandant keep a young boy, the son of a famous
rabbi, safe? Wouldn’t her husband, Jacob, a member of the Resistance want
her to make this difficult decision to keep herself alive, so that if they
should both survive the holocaust, they could be together again?
Was it sheer coincidence that before I read this book, I had watched a
series on ‘Nazi Collaborators’ on the history channel; and that one French
collaborator justified his turning over many jews to the Nazi on the basis
that he was able to keep from fulfilling the numbers demanded by Hitler
and thus safe at least a few. Although towards the end of the war the continued discrepancy between what was demanded and what was handed
over became almost non existent, and he was finally corrupted by the need
to survive himself.
I think this book challenges us to be extra sensitive to how we view
history, and those caught up in radical circumstances, in the end to
evaluate our own daily lives …. And are there exceptions we make for
ourselves that we would condemn others for? I thoroughly enjoyed the book
and even though it has a ‘hollywoodish’ ending, it still leaves you with the
challenges and Emma Bau with an uncertain future. Oh, did I mention that
in the process Emma Bau gets pregnant – whose baby was it, the kommandant’s or Jacobs, when he had been able to sneak a couple days
visit with her at his aunt’s house where she lived??? I guess that depends
on we evaluate the book …………….. ah, hah, the author got us in the end!
JENOFF, Pam. “the Kommandant’s Girl” Ontario, Canda. MIRA Publ. 2007 ISBN: 13:978-0-7783-2342-6
Ohio's Civil War Generals
Ohio’s Unknown Generals.
The Willaims County Historical Society was holding its Annual Banquet
and Meeting. The featured speaker was a Mr. Mark Holbrook, who is a
rather famous Ohio Historian and Civil War Re-enactor. Being a Society
member and spending the month’s sabbatical with my mother in my hometown I decided to attend. Though the meal was a little less than
desirous, I was grateful for it, but to my delight the Speaker was great.
I learned many things, both about men from Ohio who fought in the
Civil War and their lives stories, which were both great and sorrowful. But
perhaps the thing that intrigued me the most was a man named William
Burnham Woods. William also had a brother Charles, who fought in the
Civil War on the Union side and became a general also.
Now William fought alongside General Sherman in his march to the sea, and
enjoyed the South so much that when the Civil War was over he returned to
settle in Alabama. The precise location was Bentonville, now known as the
hometown of Walmarts. William also married the daughter of Senator Warner from Alabama. Gen. Wm. turned out to be the first post civil war
U.S. Supreme Court Justice from the South.
The interesting thing about Gen. Woods is that my oldest daughter’s husband’s last name is Woods, and he, and his relatives hail from Alabama;
So one of my genealogical searches is going to be to see if my son-in-law
Is related to the Northern General……………….wouldn’t that take the cake;
A proud old southern family - descendants of a northern yankee!
The Willaims County Historical Society was holding its Annual Banquet
and Meeting. The featured speaker was a Mr. Mark Holbrook, who is a
rather famous Ohio Historian and Civil War Re-enactor. Being a Society
member and spending the month’s sabbatical with my mother in my hometown I decided to attend. Though the meal was a little less than
desirous, I was grateful for it, but to my delight the Speaker was great.
I learned many things, both about men from Ohio who fought in the
Civil War and their lives stories, which were both great and sorrowful. But
perhaps the thing that intrigued me the most was a man named William
Burnham Woods. William also had a brother Charles, who fought in the
Civil War on the Union side and became a general also.
Now William fought alongside General Sherman in his march to the sea, and
enjoyed the South so much that when the Civil War was over he returned to
settle in Alabama. The precise location was Bentonville, now known as the
hometown of Walmarts. William also married the daughter of Senator Warner from Alabama. Gen. Wm. turned out to be the first post civil war
U.S. Supreme Court Justice from the South.
The interesting thing about Gen. Woods is that my oldest daughter’s husband’s last name is Woods, and he, and his relatives hail from Alabama;
So one of my genealogical searches is going to be to see if my son-in-law
Is related to the Northern General……………….wouldn’t that take the cake;
A proud old southern family - descendants of a northern yankee!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)