A lesson in Economics

A lesson in Economics

Last night as I was preparing for what I would wear the day after Christmas. It didn’t take long and I realized it was Friday and I needed to get out my Red. As I looked at my sweater I said to myself, I need a new red sweater this will not last until all the soldiers come home unless Obama calls them home right away. So I started to figure out how much it costs me to wear red daily. Basically, I wear either a red (summery) dress or a (wintery) red sweater. Each cost me about $25 or $26 and the calendar has about 52 Fridays so that is about a $1.00 per Friday. I don’t wear both at the same time because the reds don't go well together.

Then I got to thinking, what is the most expensive thing I wear. Shoes came to mind immediately. It costs me over $150.00 and you add a little shoe polish, and shoe strings besides tax and you soon have $175.00 invested and I usually wear them for dress the first year and the second year they are for every day. Well, since I have my wheels I now can wear a pair for good for 2 years and for every day for 2 years. So I have $350.00 invested in shoes over about 700 days. That would be about 50 cents a day.

Then I got to thinking, what is the oldest thing that I own? And immediately a blanket that I bought when I was in school in California came to mind. It was on sale for around $10.00 but add tax and I had to buy some satin ribbon to mend the top of it. Now we are probably over $12.00 invested and I have used it almost every day for about 30 years. It comes less than a pence per week. I just retired the blanket and plan to use it inside a quilt. I’d say that was a good investment.

Probably the cheapest thing that I wear is panties. I spent $2.50 each for a dozen and that included the tax, shipping and handling. I’m usually, use 6 panties out in one years time. Put that on a day cost and that’s about 4 cents a day to keep me covered.

It depends what kind of stockings I wear. If I wear real support hose that is big bucks. They run $30.00 a pair and I’m lucky if I get 3 months wear out of a pair. So that is easily 40-50 cents a day. If I wear cheap knee socks it runs only about 3 cents a day. Some times you get a pair and they last a long time and other times you put a pair on and they get a run the first day.

I bought 3 long blankets each $35.00 tax, shipping, handling included this past year. So that makes about 30 cents a day for all three and I use all three most days. That is if they only last one year but I expect them to last at least 10 years so that makes it go to 3 cents and if it last 30 years than we are down to only 1 cent a day. The moral of the story it take care of your stuff and you will not find your self in an economic crisis.

I sure didn't get much sleep that night thinking about the price of stuff.

The Republican Convention 08

The Republican Convention

The Maverick John McCain picked his choice for VP. Yes, a pro-life women presently she is Governor of Alaska. Sarah Palin also is the Mother of five children. The oldest still a teen and is 5 months pregnant with her high school sweet heart’s child. They plan to marry. The youngest is a down syndrome boy. Of course the pundits had a hay day with all this. The daughter’s pregnancy was discussed by every one on Monday. Barack Obama told his staff if anyone of them tries to use this in any way to gain in the political race they will be fired because he does not believe children should ever be used in a campaign. Good for you Barack.!

Monday also brought about a large crowd of anti war protesters. The police had to get a little tough and put them in jail.

Day one was more or less scaled down to just the absolute necessities due to the problems in the Golf Region with hurricane Gustav. The program went something like this: a Patriotic song, a prayer, and worked on the Republican platform along with a couple sentence from Cindy McCain and Laura Bush calling the crowd to help out the people in the flood zone. They had a telethon set up to collect money for the flood victims. At one point I heard they collected a couple a million dollars. Nice job!

Laura Bush talked but I did not hear it. The pundits said it was strong defense of her husband George.

Day two a gentleman sang the Star Spangle Banner and a 15 year old wrote an essay about the Pledge of Allegiance and won the contest, a video was made to go with the essay. It was outstanding. The gal then got to lead the convention with the Pledge of Allegiance. This was followed by a Christian Singer. Then they interviewed the youngest Mayor, Mayor of Muskogee Oklahoma only 19 years old, I was interested because my double cousin is a deacon there.

President Bush was brought in via video and he spoke with high praise of John McCain because of his position on oil, life, taxes, the surge, September 11, and most of all Serve to country.

Cindy McCain gave tribute to Ronald Regan and told of the Land mines that are being destroyed.

Fred Thompson said things are wonderful and the VP was a breath of fresh air after all she knew how to dress a moose in the field. He stressed that the McCain family goes back to the Revolutionary War as wonderful military men. All of the McCain children were introduced and all the boys are involved in the military. John McCain was in his own words the leader of the troublemakers during his days in training.
Fred Thompson is a story teller and he did tell the story of the McCain family brilliantly. He also put out some red meat for the Democrats to chew on which I did not like. One example, to protect the unborn or a newly born baby was above Obama’s pay grade. Fred’s delivery was perfect.

Joe Lieberman tried to bring the parties together. We don’t need a Democratic or Republican Party, we need an American Party. Washington does need change. He got a huge applause when he praised Clinton’s administration. He praised Sarah Palin but the pundit and myself wonder why, she and Joe are on opposite side of many important issues. Joe’s final plea was to the Democrats that they think of the person when they vote. Who is best ready now! “I say Obama and You say McCain says Sr. Madonna” Joe Lieberman left Joe Biden alone but he really hit hard on Obama on his inexperience. He surely can’t say Sarah Pelin is experienced.

Dr. Ron Paul has a convention of a different style near the NRC. Also a crowd of protesters came to the fence of the convention hall but did not succeed in climbing it. They created a lot of noise on the outside but it did not interfere with what was going on inside. Very good security thanks to the police department. One pundit said they arrested 10 people another said none. I don’t know whose right.

Day three A white man and a black woman sang “America the Beautiful” nice touch!
A Catholic priest gave the blessing

Meg Whitman former CEO of Proctor & Gamble and Dream Works, presently is the co-chair of the NRC really praised John McCain’s policies of lower taxes, and letting companies keep their money

Curly Florena the chair of NRC and former CEO of Hewitt Packard- She was in the Magazine Most Powerful Women in Business- She stress McCain’s Energy policies regard Nuclear energy, she stressed independence energy wise and a balance budget.

Mitt Romney – commented on getting people from the west rather than the east. Change Washington from a Liberal Washington to a Conservative Washington. From an economic stance opportunity is what makes a nation strong, family values is needed and we must fight dependency. Islam is Evil!! He spoke with strong conviction regard economics. Strong voice. Easy to listen to but I didn’t care for his policies. Nice family of boys behind him.

Mike Huckabee- He gave praise to Obama for becoming a candidate on a major ticket without taking advantage of his race card. Mike is a story teller and he told the story of a teacher in Arkansas who removed all the desks the first day of school and she told the children they had to figure out a way to earn their desk and asked them how they thought they would do that. They came up with different ideas like getting better grades, studying harder, being polite, etc the end of the day came and the teacher said none of you gave me the correct answer to how you could earn your desk back so I will tell you. With that 25 soldiers came in with the 25 desks and she said that they did not need to worry because these men already earned their desk for them. It was a story that the kids will never forget. Mike ends with John McCain has earned his desk at the white house.

Rudy was very hard on the Democrats, he started out being hard and yet not using Obama’s name by have two applications with the name and party crossed off and then described each man. And of course he would hire McCain. That was a nice way of doing it with out using the names of the candidates. After that it was every other negative word available to bring down Obama. Security, 911, and such matters took up the bulk of his talk.

Last but not least was Sarah Pelin, Governor of Alaska spoke. She introduced her nineteen-year-old Son, Track, who is serving and will be going to Iraq this fall. Three daughters, all with very odd names, and the baby boy Trig a special needs child. The oldest girl had her boy friend with her and she is pregnant. Sarah’s husband was also introduced. She claims to be a hockey mom and she describes that as being a pit bull with lipstick. She did a nice job introducing her family but when it came to policies, I’m not with her at all. She was dressed beautifully in a white suit coat and dark skirt, her nice dark hair made her a beauty queen at 44 as well as when she was a teen. She is definitely an oil lady. She says she’ll clean up Washington. Build pipeline to the rest of us. I do believe that all the speakers of this day had the same speechwriter they all had the same attacks on Obama. For some reason they left Joe Biden out of the fray. The attacks dealt with no experience, his vote of present instead of yes or no as a state legislator, the rely on guns and religion comment and that Obama was worried if the captured terrorists were read their rights. I don’t recall that she spoke of gay marriage or abortion.

Yes, Sarah is a good pick for John McCain, she adds the youth, excitement and beauty, pro-life, she seems smart, at least she can read a speech from a tell a prompter and she is so far to the right she will bust the right side of the walls out and let the religious right in to vote, but I haven’t a clue what religion she belongs to.

Day four opened with the 6 flags coming into the convention hall. Then the 8 Olympic, dressed in suits, came in to say the “Pledge of Allegiance” and finally the Arch Bishop of the Eastern Rite came in for the blessing. Just think they get $85 Million Federal Matching funds for their Campaign. Lots of Money if you ask me!!

Gov. Hunstsman, the Governor of Utah gave the next speech and his theme was “We are looking for Sarah” He named her qualifications which went something like this. an Athlete in School, a Hockey mom, a PTA member, a moose hunter, member of the NRA, she can dress a moose in the field, Something to do with Oil, Mayor of a City (the size of Madison SD), Governor of Alaska and a mom of 5 children. She raised hell as a kid. She stands for lower taxes, energy independence, business keeps the money you make. Sounds like Bush and McCain are on the same page.

Senator Marsha Blackburn’s was not shown because the news people wanted to talk.

Senator Lindsey Graham was next, his talk was mostly about Iraq “We are Winning” because of the surge that McCain wanted. He made some charges about Obama and the War that I believe are false. He gave the same praise of Sarah: Moose hunter, Maverick, Lover of outdoors, Basketball, PTA and Hockey Mom. She wants to drill Alaska oil and increase funds for infrastructure. She also took on the ethic issue and got rid of help in the governor’s house.

Gov. Tom Ridge showed a video “America’s Place in the World” And he sang the praises of John McCain and Sarah Pelin

Cindy McCain gave her speech. She was dress in a $300,000 outfit. I liked it and her speech was informative and a little baggy. A video was shown that told of her parents selling everything and barrowed $10,000 to start the beer business which was very profitable. Cindy got a masters in Special Education, She is using her share to help poor children across the world and she hoped her parents would be pleased. I suspect the 9 houses belong to Cindy. Both Cindy and John lied about their age when they first met. She added a few years to her age and he subtracted a few years from his age. It was love at first sight. She introduced their children. I believe they are: Meg, John, Jack, Jim, Andy, Bridget, Cindy. Jack is a 4th generation in the navy. And Jimmy is going to Iraq soon. She got the black girl from Mother Theresa as a baby. She had to have some surgery as a baby and the McCain’s adopted her. Cindy McCain says the her dad use to say “Leave this earth in a better place then when you came” She told of their commitment to each other and their work, they are compassionate, Operation Smile is the name of her operation, she also removes landmines. I really liked her and she would make a very good first lady.

Last speech was John McCain, it was sort of funny that a picture of a school with a big green lawn was the back drop for John’s speech. Bad coloring and not meant to be. They eventually got it changed to blue. His speech was 67 paragraphs long. Some Topic he talked about are as follow: 911, thank Bush for keeping us safe, Laura Bush a module of grace, Cindy my inspiration, She’d be a great first Lady, 96 year old mother Roberta McCain, Respectful of Obama, I work for you, Immigrants, lower taxes, strong defense, rule of law, Don’t legislate from the bench, value of family, he called his war story a blessing, it taught him to serve others not self. One needs something bigger than self to really amount to much. I’m prepared to keep security of America in tack. Confetti, balloons, and firecrackers from the TV turn the convention hall to a party hall.

Delivery was poor according to my evaluation. Content was repeat of regular Republican stuff. Nothing really new.

Read my lipstick is one of the latest pins.

I just hope people don’t vote for Sarah because she is a women and Brack because he is ½ Black. It you want change and peace take Obama and Bedin, If you want more Bush and fight some more take McCain and Pelin.

The Democratic Presidential Convention

Democratic Presidential Convention

This Democratic nomination was destine to be great after all the candidates dropped out of the race except Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, the First black man and the first women. Either one could have won that race and it would change America. Either scenario is the dream of 25% of the nation if not more. To pull unity out of this split party is almost unbelievable. I made my self a convention hat I think I enjoyed it as mush as if I were there.

The convention took place at the Pepsi Center in Denver Colorado for the first 3 days and then the climax took place the fourth day at the mile high stadium, which will hold about 80,000 people.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, who has been under going treatment for brain cancer, was honored by a video introduced by his niece Caroline, the only living member of Jack Kennedy’s family. Edward paid tribute to Barack Obama and his less than 10 minutes speech brought about strong applause. He promises to be at the inauguration the first week of November. He definitely brought the crowd to their feet and prepared the stage for Michelle Obama.

Michelle Obama was introduced by her brother. A video was shown about Barack’s background from being a son of a smart black man from Kenya, here in the states to get an education, and a white gal from Kentucky. She told how her family accepted him in spite of a name they couldn’t pronounce. Her brothers told her he was ok after they had a little basket ball game. Michelle told of their choice to do work of service in the south side of Chicago. The pay was not very good. They had a very run down car and Barack was so proud of his new born daughter. Michelle’s paid tribute to Hillary Rodham Clinton paved the way for our little girls to be able to do what ever they want to do. The best of all pictures was the picture of Barack on the TV After Michelle’s speech was over and the girls said there is daddy. Barack asked the girls if mommy did a good job. They said yes and they asked him what town was he in and where was he staying. Very unrehearsed and so family like.

Tuesday, it was Hillary’s turn to step unto the stage. She wanted her supporters to support Barack. She pointed out some of McCain’s weaknesses and then said, “No way. No How. No McCain. Which will probably become a chant during the next couple months. “ Were you in this campaign just for me?” she questioned her supporters. Hillary emphasized that she brought in 18 million votes, which she called 18 million cracks in the ceiling thus making the climb for the next generation of girls much easier. She told her supporters she was going to support Barack and she said they should too if they didn’t want a third term of Bush. Her Husband Bill Proudly kept whispering from his chair in the audience, “I love you”.

Wednesday, Robert Moore, dress in an native American costume, is a South Dakota Singer and an elected council member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe sang the national anthem. He represented his state well.

Hillary calls for the nomination of the Sen. Barrack Obama by acclamation. This is so important. Just think we finally have a black man nominated for President of the United States on a major ticket.

Former President Bill Clinton was the next prime time speaker. He did not try to out do his wife he compared his administration to George Bush and Dick Cheney's. And no one could do it better than Bill. He talked about the bad war we got brought into by lies, the poor diplomacy policies. He point out the bad economy that we have been dealing with. $4.00 Gas, homes being foreclosed, health care and jobs are not there. He really made Bush’s 8 years a comedy of errors. He said his job was to liven up the audience for Joe Biden who was to come next. And that he did.

Beau Biden the son of Joe introduced Joe Biden. Beau told of the accident that took his mother and sister’s life. Beau and Hunter were badly injured and in the hospital. Joe had just been elected to the senate and not yet sworn in. He contemplated giving up the senate seat, saying Delaware can find another senator but my boys cannot find a new dad. But people like Ted Kennedy and others persuaded him to become a senator. So he was sworn in at the bedside of his son and he road the train 4 hours each day so that he could be home with his sons. Beau said that he and his brother Hunter and his dad Joe married Jill, a schoolteacher. Joe and Jill have a little girl. The children are grown up and the family was present with Joe the leader, Jill beside him and lots of grandkids. It was truly an American family who pulled together in spite of tragedy.
Joe Biden spoke high of John McCain’s person, service and patriotism but he is wrong on the issues. He compared McCain the Senator and McCain the candidate. He wants McCain to decided who he really is. Is he Senator the Maverick McCain or McCain, Bush’s Third term? Joe’s voice was strong, and steady as he made each attack. The crowd cheered. Yes, Joe is a good choice. At the end Jill announced a surprise. And Barack pops out and give him a big huge. And the Biden family come forth.

The Martin Luther King Family gave a tribute to their father on this the 45th anniversary of his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

Friday, I took pizza and root beer to my room and watched what was going on at the convention from my easy chair. They were packing people into the Invesco stadium like sardines. An estimate of 84,000 people got into the Invesco football field. One nice thing John McCain sent Barack an advertisement that was a congratulation in nature. Nice touch John! He said it was a one day advertisement. He plans to hit hard Friday. Some music groups played and a few speeches came forth. The Gold medal Gymnast Miss Shawn Johnson was suppose to lead the Pledge of Allegiance, but I didn’t get to see her because the pundit wanted to talk just as she was beginning to say the Pledge. Barack Obama’s speech came forth. He outlined the failed Policies of George W. Bush. Actually, he pointed out 29 such policies and what he plans to do to change the situation. He vowed to cut taxes for the working-class, end the war in Iraq and break American dependence upon Mideast oil within a decade. Barack also hit hard on the republican plan for health care, education and the economy. He believe any one who works hard deserves a good home, health care, and opportunity to send their kids to college. He pointed out that we have common ground on the abortion issue in that we might be on opposite sides of the issue we all agree there should be fewer abortions. Barack says, I’m not a hunter but I do believe that they should be able to have their guns our common ground is that Gun control needs to keep the guns out of the hands of the criminals. Another issue is the gay marriage, we certainly agree that a friend aught to be able to see his/her friend in the hospital. He talked about the foreign countries with knowledge beyond my imagination.

Barack Obama used technology with ease. The whole convention was as if it was one long speech beginning with introducing the characters, each with a defined role and culmination with a climax hard to beat.

From Politics to Olympics

My devotion to politics has weaken somewhat since John Edward announced his fling so I substituted the Olympics for Politics for my evening TV engagement this past week. I have been rewarded much by the wonderful events starting from the opening ceremony. The Chinese really did show the world the meaning of beauty, technology, precision, and perfection. I love the bird nest idea. I don’t think I will ever forget the tall man and the small child carrying the flag for China nor will I forget the lost boy that became an American and carried our flag. Each has a story to tell.

The three American girls who won all three medals in the fencing competition surprise every one because we didn’t hear much about United States having anyone in this competition. The water cube has the biggest story to tell by surpassing previous wins and doing it more often than ever before. What an example this young man, Michael Phelps is to all youth of the world especially to the United States. Then to think that a 41 year old lady would tell the world “Don’t put an age limit on your dreams” you can still do a lot even if you are past that youth mark. The American Male Gymnasts showed the world that team is important. After loosing two of their best to injuries the team still took bronze. I think the most beautiful event took place on the gymnastic floor. I thought the Chinese ladies were good but they looked like children playing. When the eight Americans women took over they were so mature and so graceful in the individual competition. I do believe I will remember the winning floor routine forever it was so beautiful. This young lady, Naster Liukin coached by her Dad, wasn’t a spectacular beauty queen as she sat and concentrated on what she would be doing next. But when she preformed she became as beautiful a queen as I have ever seen, so graceful and poised as well as self confidant.

In the very final individual gymnastic event for the women another team member the bright eyed little girl from West Des Moines Iowa, named Shawn Johnson, received a gold medal on the beam with a score of 16.225. It made her coach, an immigrant from China, so proud. He recalled how he opened up a training shop over a decade ago and Shawn just a wee one at the time was one of the first to come through his doors into his training shop and now he can show off the fruits of his labor to both the United States and China. Shawn has a smile that reaches across her face. She certainly is a winner.

Johnathan Horton, knew he had to add to his routine if he was to have a chance at a medal and so he practice and preformed on the High Bar a routine that awarded him with a Silver Medal. Dawn Harper won the 100Meter Hurdle because her teammate hit the last hurdle.
Henry Cejudo a Mexican immigrant one of seven children raise by his mother brought home the Gold for his mom is one of the many touching stories.

Yes, the TV time was enjoyed and the politicians are still naming the same names as possible running mates as they continue to batter John Edwards name around. Maybe the Convention will be inspiring come next week. I hope so!!!

My Dream Green House

One of the first moves would be to collect the water from bathtubs, showers, and wash machine in some sort of water tank and reuse the water for flushing toilets. I would have the water heated by the sun and saved in a water tank for showers, dishwashing and washing clothes. Toilets, garbage disposal, and slop sink would empty into the regular sewer system but all the other water would be used twice before going to the city sewer system. Rainwater would be collected from the roof of all buildings on the property and stored in a cistern and used for lawn and garden.
The next big move would be to generate electricity by using either the sun or using the wind. I would light the entire house via this source of electricity. I would have the house wire with commercial electricity for all appliances and one tiny night light in each room in case one has no sun or wind for a long period of time..
The house would be heated by the Sun as much as is possible. Electricity would be the source of alternate or additional heat during winter months. A fireplace would be available to help out with heat and keep the yard cleaned up of branches.
The house would be well insulated. Fans would be part of the lighting system and each room would have a fan. One big fan would be used above the stairwell to pull hot air out. Central air would be used but only used when really needed. A small air lock would be used to cut down on cold air entering the house. Fresh air would come into the house thru the air conditioning system.
I realize that the cost of this house is stiff at the building stage but I do think one could live much cheaper and make up the difference in time. My goal is to be as green as possible and yet keep it a reasonable and comfortable house.

Media Clean Up Time

Today I’m thinking about the way the media is going. Last evening I saw combat taking place in Iraq, I saw several movie adds that were very violent, I saw pictures of two beautiful women found dead both mother of children. I also saw the case of Mr. Peterson brought up again because he has a blog. Oh yes much of the time was spent on Jesse Jackson using the “N Word” and that other inappropriate comment he made. I saw a part of a little comic about a rabbit who stole something so they were going to cut off his hand, later they decided to cut off his ear. My question: Is this the best you can do?
The weather was good reporting, I’m sure it helped people get inside to dodge the rain, wind and possible tornadoes. That is about the only good thing. I do believe the Pope is in Australia with many young people that flew in from all over the world and I heard not a word about it. I’ll bet if this same group of young people decided to land upon some beach in Europe and remove their shirts and blouses and put a flower in their hair we would know about that and they would give many minutes to such a story.
We wonder why the young people get these violent ideas into their sweet little heads. I think that if violence were cut down by 75% and possitive acts of goodness increased by 75% we would find a much better world to live in.

Barack and Michelle on cover of "New Yorker" Magazine

I usually, page to see any comics in a magazine. I appreciate humor but putting Barack Obama in a turban and giving Michelle Obama an afro and a machine gun along with a fireplace burning a flag is over the top. I expect a comic to stretch the truth not give false information. Barack is a Christian not a Muslim is the truth of the matter. This cartoon is offensive to both religions. Michelle is a good American citizen raising two beautiful little girls at the same time as she supports her husband on a campaign. The only truth in the whole picture was the fist bumping.
You could have Michelle pinning a flag unto Barack’s lapel as she hold a brush to sweep the lint away from his suit. You could have a picture of the two girls above the fireplace doing the fist bumping. Instead of burning the flag, burn Michelle’s apron. Have a little white and black dog pulling at Barack’s ankle and maybe you could have Barack trying to put on his worn belt, every thing has truth attached to it and it could be made funny. It would show the Obama family as a regular American family. That is the real truth that needs to be promulgated.

4th of July

Happy Fourth of July

Today we celebrate the 4th of July. It is a special day for our family because my youngest brother was born on the 3rd of July so we make a big day of it and celebrate his birthday along with the birthday of the United States of America but never with firecracker.

This day also bears much sadness because I have a little cousin who died on this day due to his playing with firecrackers. He had a belt of firecrackers wrapped around his waist and when he lit one they all went off. He ran and ran and would not stop with his parents trying to get him to stop so they could wrap him in a blanket to put out the fire. Actually, the smoke that got into his lungs is the cause of his death. He was only 5 years old at the time.

Because of this death we as children were not allowed to have firecrackers and we would rehear about this horrible death. When my brothers married and had children they decided they had given up firecrackers far too long and they would get some and put on a little home fire show for the family. Kids were allowed only sparklers and only one sparkler at a time. We had water, fire extinguisher, and sand available incase something went wrong.

The party usually started in early afternoon, with a picnic supper at about 6 o’clock and then fire works when the sun went down. The grill was on and we had wieners, hamburgers and spare ribs. Lots of potato salad, watermelon, and vegetables and of course ice cream and pop. It was a meal that the kids enjoyed.

Oh yes, denim shorts, red and/or white t-shirts were fashionable. Of course you wore a flag pin if you owned one. Flags were often the only decoration on the table unless you consider the tablecloth made of newspaper. Bug spray and fly swatters were handy accessories.

My father always checked to see if the corn was knee high before the party started, it gave the men folk something to talk about. If it was knee high he had hope of a good crop other wise not so good. Now-a-days corn can be shoulder high on the 4th. I wonder what dad would think of that if he were living today.

As I grow older I usually add going to Mass before doing any celebrating. It seems appropriate to pray for those who serve in the military and keep our country safe. I like the songs that they sing. “America or America the Beautiful or God Bless America” Remember those Old time Golden Song Books we had in school.

It is a good day to get a history lesson or two off the TV. I usually learn something. I now watch the fire works from my window sitting in my big chair. I have a perfect view of the whole thing. I usually have a friend or two join me and we much on popcorn.

My hope and prayer is that all of you enjoy the 4th in what ever way is appropriate for you.

Primaries

Primaries for the year 2008

I was in awe at the number of times the candidates came to the state of South Dakota. It is the first time that the primaries meant so much to our citizens. Usually every thing is decided by the time for our state gets to go to vote. Personally, I think this whole thing of election could be simplified. The candidates could go around to all the states starting in the east and going west. They could have a rally or two in each state. Televised these rallies. Have a few debates in the bigger cities and they too could be televised. Have each state poll their people so that those who have no hope of being nominated could and would drop out. Each candidate finances his or her campaign by people sending money to the candidates. This money could be used for travel and for TV time. No Lobby money involved. Contributions limited to a given amount. I would think a hundred and fifty days would be enough time. Then vote all on the same day. I would suggest that the voting be done on the last Tuesday of June. The winners of that would begin the campaign all over this time going west to east. Then the last Tuesday in October, vote for the president and vice president. I would allow absentee voting for a period of two weeks ahead of time in each case. Do away with the big Convention because it really does take a lot of money to do this type of things and favors get asked at that time. Each Television station would be expected to cooperate and do this service with a small stipend from the government. All the Television Stations could name their times at the beginning of the week that they are assigned to the campaign. No advertisement during these times. I would suggest that these times be given our randomly. Thus the same station is not on prime time. I would encourage stations to allow more time while the candidates are in the state campaigning. This would eliminate delegates and super delegate. Every man and women has two votes, one to name the nominees of their party in June and one to elect the president and vice president in October.

Eyes

For 75 years I have taken for granted my eyesight. I could enjoy the beautiful sky almost any day of the year sometimes it was a beautiful blue, other times it was blue with fluffy white clouds and then there were clouds that warn you of bad weather ahead. The sunsets with the beautiful bright yellows, orange, and reds that made the western sky so beautiful made me pause ever so often. The morning sunrise with the beautiful colorful sky coming over top of the buildings in the east gave me reason to rejoice. The beautiful trees especially in the fall, the beautiful flowers from early spring to late fall gave me great joy. I never once thanked God for this wonderful gift that God gave me as my birth present. I took it so for granted. That was true until February 1, 2008 three quarters of a century later, I happened to cover my right eye with my hand and I realized that I could not see much out of my left eye. Actually, I could only see out of the lower part of my eye. The right eye was doing a good job of giving me my sight.
I went to the doctors and they put me thru many tests and the best they could find was a mini stroke. I was so use to seeing, every thing I did involved seeing, I worked at a computer, of course I used my eyes. I enjoyed TV, another eye activity. I liked to sew, which involved use of my eyes, I enjoyed crocheting, which involved my eyesight. I feel deserted by my own body now that I can’t see out of the left eye and the right eye seems tired and closing in on me. This has all taken place within less than the shortest month of the year.
What lesson do I wish to give to you from this experience? First of all do thank God for your eyesight. By all means do not wait until your sight is gone. I know it is hard to smile when you feel so deserted but it is the best image you can give your neighbor is a smile, remember they just might be able to see. I do pray that God will see fit to restore my sight. Doctors, don’t think that will happen but I still believe in miracles.

Two Campaigns down, forty eight to go

Two campaigns down

I have been taking in the campaign of 2008 via TV and I must say it has provided me with some big surprises. I never would have guessed that Obama and Huckabee would take Iowa and then an even bigger surprise in that Clinton and McCain would take NH. I would like to see John Edwards and Mitt Romney take the next state and then with the three top candidate of each party go at it in some sort of debate.

All six of these candidates have something special to give the nation. Obama, is so youthful and such a good speaker, and to think that the United States is considering this black man to be their president tells the world that our race problems are fading away.

Clinton would be the first women president, that tells me that sexism is fading also. It was not all that long ago that women could not even vote in the United States. Hillary is bright and can give the world a true politician from head to toe along with an x president that is all a politician.

John Edwards knows what it is like to be poor and appreciates the fact that he rose up by his and his parent’s bootstraps. He certainly could do a lot to fight the lobbyist running and ruining our government.

Huckabee has a gift of talk; I do believe he could talk us out of war if he became our president. He too knows a little bit of poverty and rose up by his own bootstraps. He offers to America a conscience and that is good.

McCain offers the wisdom that comes with age. He says what he believes to be true. He has no time or money for poles. He knows what war is about, he has been there and done that.

Mitt Romney has known money most of his life. He has learned from his father, who also was a politician. He has the presidential look and that looks is very promising especially when you see a row of handsome young men stand behind him, namely his sons.

We the people must choose who is best for our time. We'll study hard and pray hard so that we will pick the right man or women.

A Red Dress Day

Why A Red Dress Day

When I was growing up we were poor and we were often given things to wear. My sister and I were very much the same size, she being dark haired looked best in red and I being blond looked best in blue, so I seldom got anything red. However, I did inherit one red outfit during high school. My sister and I took Home Economics. We had to sew something in a wool fabric. My sister worked on a red wool and I had a steel blue wool. My sister took many more stitches out then she put in. She was so tired of the red suit when she finished she only wore it once and that was to be graded. Finally, she gave it to me. I wore it and liked it. The only other red things that I had were a scarf or blouse now and then. That came about when I was cheerleading advisor when I taught school in a school with one of its colors being red. Actually, I didn’t feel all that comfortable in red, I always felt irritated so I just stuck to my blues most of the time. Well, in later years I was tested for allergies and sure enough, yellow was off the chart, green and orange not too good for me either and red also gave me a little problem. So now, I know why I stick to tan, brown, blue and black .

I have a jumper pattern that I like very much and I have made, you guessed it a tan jumper, brown jumper, blue jumper and black jumper from the same pattern with a slight variation over the years. When shopping a couple years ago for another tan piece of material to go with a nice brown jacket, the tan was out of stock. I saw this red, which I just couldn’t live without and bought it on a whim. It laid on the sewing machine for over a year. Finally, I had a reason to sew it. My cousin said a group of ladies were going to wear red on Fridays until all the young men and women were home from the war. I thought perfect, so I sewed my piece of red fabric into a nice jumper. Yes, you guessed it, my favorite jumper pattern. Now every Friday, I wear the red jumper. It never fails that I get some sort of comment such as, “Why the red dress today?” It gives me an opportunity to say I’m wearing red on Fridays in protest of the war. Not a single Friday has gone by that I haven’t gotten some sort of comment. I only wish President Bush could see me wearing a red jumper in a non-violent protest to his war. So gals join me, pull out your red dresses and guys, I bet you have a red shirt some place in the closet, join me in protest.

Fruit Flies

Fruit Flies

I have lots of fruit flies because I love fruit. The flies seem to be the unwanted guests. I have found a way to control them.

Take a clear colored plastic water container that this new generation seems to be filling the landfill with these days. Cut the top off and place a couple grapes, a banana pealing, and a pit or two into the container. Then make a funnel like out of stiff paper with a small hole at the bottom and wide opening at the top. Place the funnel in the container so that it is at least an inch away from the collection of fruit. Then seal the top off so that they can go into the wide opening but cannot get out the under side of the funnel. For some reason, the flies can go down through the little hole but they are not smart enough to come out through that same hole.

I also use a vase instead of plastic water container. My vase has a long neck and I can make a neater looking fly trap.

It is so much fun to watch the flies. I some times get a dozen in one day. Actually, it is as much fun watching them fly around as to watch goldfish swim. I usually take my fly trap out doors and let them go free. It sure helps get rid of them from my room. I am a great fruit eater because I need to eat something before taking some of my many pills before I retire.

Have fun catching flies!

St.Therese Of Lisieux

St.Therese of Lisieux

St. Therese of the Child Jesus or the Little Flower are names that have been given to this saint. St. Therese was born about 1873. She was a very frail child. Her mother was having health problems. Therese was the youngest of 9 children, 2 boys and 2 girls died in infancy leaving five girls. Therese had to be nursed by another mother because her own mother was sickly and could not nurse her. Therese became strong as she grew older and soon was able to be home with her mother. Therese stayed close underfoot to her mom until she was 4 years old. Therese also had a close bond to her father. He called her his little queen. They often went fishing together. Their home was a loving home of upper middle class French style. When her mother died, Therese chose her older Sister Pauline to be her mother.

Therese had a hard time in school, for some reason her classmates teased her and picked on her to the point that she could not go to school any longer. She begged her father to let her be home schooled by her sister Pauline. Her father finally gave in and let her stay home. She disliked mathematics. However, there was great rejoicing when she finally graduated.

Her older sisters Pauline entered Carmel, her sister Marie became Therese’s Mother and it wasn’t long and Marie entered the same convent as Pauline. Her third Sister Leona joined the Visitation Sisters. With her older sister gone it left Therese and Celine home alone with their dad.

Therese became very sick and the family feared she would die. Finally after a long spell of unconsciousness she recovered almost as rapidly as she became sick. Her father prayed to Our Lady and Therese said she saw Our Lady, who smiled at her, come toward her. Therese sat up and said to her dad, “I’m hungry.” From that day forward she became stronger and stronger not only in her physical health but her spiritual and emotional well being.

Therese was determined to enter Carmel at the age of 15. She first went to the superior and she said no you are too young. Then she went to the Bishop and he too said she was too young. Then on a holiday to Rome she went to see the Pope and she requested that she be allowed to enter the convent at the age of 15 in honor of the Jubilee. The Pope said do whatever the superiors tell you. She was heart broken, but not long after the Bishop wrote to her and told her she could enter Carmel at this early age, however she had to wait for a few more months before she could enter.

Shortly after she entered the convent her father became very frail. Celine remained faithful to her dad till he died. Celine entered the same convent as her 3 other sisters. Celine was allowed to take her camera with her to the convent. She had worked as a publisher and took excellent pictures. Thus Carmel has some very nice pictures not only of the nuns but of the convent itself.

Sister Therese had hard times in the convent too. Her novice mistress was rather hard on her. Sister Therese would smile at her and continue on with what ever she was doing. Therese was in charge of some dusting and garden work. She loved the roses. She didn’t care for cobwebs.

Sister Therese took sick and she started to cough up blood. She was confined to her bed. She was asked by her superiors to write her autobiography. The Doctors told Sister Pauline that Therese was going to die due to the fact that she had a bad case of TB. They called it consumption in those days. She died at the age of 24 in 1897. She became a saint in 1997. She became a Doctor of the church. There are only 33 doctors of the church. To be a doctor of the church your teachings have to be accepted by the church and by the laity. When Sister Pauline was in charge at the convent all of Therese’s writings were corrected by Pauline and locked up. Some years later when Celine was in charge of the convent Celine let the public see Therese’s work. The convent also sent the remains of Therese around the world. People came by the thousands to touch the glass case containing her remains. The people were attracted to her simple loving relationship with God and God’s son Jesus and His mother Mary. St. Therese did not believe in a harsh God. She did not support violence. She did not believe that you had to do great things to get to heaven. She believed in doing the little things as best you can with out much fuss and that would take you on the path to heaven. Her vocation was Love!

St. Therese is a saint for our times. Jansenism, which taught that God was harsh. The church supported wars, death penalty, and violence all of which hurt the church and it was St. Therese who said that God is a God of Love. Pope John II agreed fully with St. Therese and he wanted her to become a saint so the people would have a model and treat each other with love and gentleness.

I must admit that I knew very little about St. Therese before the retreat. I knew that she left roses around but that is about all. I apprechiate what I learned and hopefully I will be able to live by her simple prayerful way.

Democrat YouTube Debate

Democrat Youtube Debate

The Democrat debate with the youtube video was outstanding. The questions were so interesting and the variety added so much to the debate. I did not get bored as I often did with some TV newsperson asking the questions. My favorite add of the candidates was the one about hair. I think John Edwards has handled the teasing about the hair with great dignity. My favorite question is the one about taxes. To ask a question with a song is really a novel idea. I enjoyed the bearded man asking if Al Gore was going to run and them the snowman asking about global warming.

Now for the serious questions. I thought Barack Obama did a fine job on the restitution to the blacks when he said to make sure the schools in the black communities are good schools would be proper restitution. I also liked Obama’s response to if he is black enough. He knows he is black when he calls for a Taxi.

I thought Hillary Clinton did a good job on the question about would she be willing to meet with leaders from some of our not so friendly countries when she said she did not want to be their pond and she would send out feelers first to see if they were really wanting to talk. I thought Hillary also did herself well when she said she felt that people would know she was a strong leader, she had no problem presenting herself.

I thought John Edwards did an outstanding job on the health issue when he saw no excuse for a man to have to wait until he was 50 years old to get a cliff palate repaired so that he would be able to talk because he was poor. I think he also pointed out that he would do a good job for women when it came to women’s issues. He had been working for them most of his professional life. I liked John’s honesty with the gay marriage issue. He will protect gay’s rights including civil unions while he personally found it hard to support gay marriages. He would not let his personal belief get in the way of supporting gay’s in civil unions. He would not interfere with churches that wish to or not to honor such unions with a sacrament.

Dennis Kucinish was straight forward on the issue of the war. He would get the military home as fast as possible; he is totally against the Iraq War. He also was straight forward on the gay issue. He had no problem saying that he would support gay marriage. The church can decide if they want to sanction the civil union with a sacrament. He would not raise taxes because he would get the money by saving money when we stop the war.

Dodd speaks his mind fast. He has always been a fast thinker. He seems to remain very Washington.

Bill Richardson did a good job on the immigration situation. I think we need to keep him in politics because he has a sense of what is the right thing to do in the tough situations. Immigration is one such issue. I enjoyed his hand going up and down on the plane question. Finally, he said but I came the night before. It added a little humor.

Mike Gravel is the uncle that comes to feasts and grumbles thru the whole meal. I’m not sure this is the proper place for him. He thinks women should be expected to sign up for military duty when they reach the age of 18. He said, “Why Not”

Joe Biden did make an effort to put some realistic numbers involved in getting the troops home. He did well with the gun issue. The questioner really had too big of a gun.

I like the question about how many sent their children to Public School. Most of the candidates had experienced both Public and Private Schools and had great respect for both.

I have no idea who won the debate. Some say Hillary! She looked strong, smart, and quick witted! Some say that Obama looked inexperience. But remember JFK looked inexperience too when he became president. I think all of them except Mike Gravel could do us proud has president or Vice President. If I had to do the picking I’d make Hillary Clinton President, Barack Obama Vice President, I would put John Edwards in charge of Health Care and Social Security, I would ask Bill Richardson to take care of Immigration along with his Governorship or make him Secretary of State. I would ask Dennis Kucinish to bring the troops home along with his Representative job. I would ask Chris Dodd and Joe Biden to keep their Senate Seats and keep pushing for good legislation.

I don’t believe the word abortion was used even once all night. I would like to have heard more definite plans for health care, education, and social security. I would like to see each candidate’s spouse, and children. I would like to see some sort of plan to rebuild schools houses and improve roads.
I’m so happy to see such a nice group of candidate. God Bless them all.

Meeting Presentation Style

There is a season for everything. April showers bring Mayflowers. This year we might say a May flood brought beautiful June flowers and June brings meetings and celebrations. We call these meetings Community Days. Every one comes to Aberdeen unless they are sick. We usually start with some sort of State of the Community address given by our President and we usually have some sort of financial report. So we know where the money is coming from and where it is going. It is customary to hear from our sponsored ministries. So we hear how things are going at the College and Avera Hospital system, which are long time sponsored ministries. We might hear from Rural ministry or the Hispanic ministry, which are more recent sponsored ministries. Then we hear from the various committees and teams. These committees and/or teams are the product of our Chapter, which is a big meeting of the sisters that takes place every 4 years. The most recent Chapter’s Committees consists of 1. Studying any need for changes in our formation of our leadership. 2. Studying Collaboration with other PBVM communities and 3. Living out our life with an eye on Consistent Ethic of Life. I enjoyed the last report the most. We were asked to voluntarily bring a display of some sort that showed how we were personally taking Consistent Ethic of Life seriously. We called this “Consistent Ethic of Life Fair”. We had 16 takers on that and the displays varied greatly. Sisters were given 3 minutes to tell about their display. Some showed a short video, some put their actions to word of a song, some wrote a poem, some had a power point display, others just told it like it is. It was interesting. We had Nature Awareness, Environment, Recycling, Collection of items for women with little resources, The future Church, Relationships, Reports on Depleted Uranium, Department of Peace, Capital punishment and scrape books of the May flood in Aberdeen. The three-day meeting ended with a missioning ceremony. Each sister was given a card which state what she is expected to do for the year and who she is to pray specially for during the year. Then the next day we celebrate Jubilee’s. This year we had 2 that are celebrating their 70th year. We had 3 that are celebrating their 50’s and the next week end we had 9 that are celebrating their 60’s. So June is basically gone with all this meeting and celebration. These regular yearly meetings help keep us on track and accomplish as much as we do considering our age. Maybe we should give a demonstration to the White house.

Father's Day

My Father

My father was a man of small stature. He was a twin. His twin was a girl and larger than he. He was sickly from the start.

His father died when he was 4 years old and his oldest brother was 13 at the time of their dad’s death. Grandma Anna could not read or write English so she decided that the farm would be the best place to raise her family of four boys and one girl. Dad went to school in the winter months and he finished 4th grade. He was very good with numbers, he was poor speller and he read well for content but mispronounced many words. He educated himself in farming by reading Farm magazines. We could not throw them away.

Dad did not marry until he was 27 years old. In fact, he thought he just might not find the right girl to marry until his mom introduce him to my mother at a church bazaar where Anna and my mother were on Kitchen detail. The courtship was rather short. He liked mom because she was a church going lady who knew how to work. They married in 1931 during the depression. Well, guess what by the end of the next year I was born. Dad once told me he was so proud of me that when he held me he thought he was six feet tall. He never thought he would be so lucky to get such a good wife and now to have a daughter. It made him feel like he was on top of the world! Shortly after my birth he took sick and was a sickly man for the rest of his life.

When he was a young man before marriage he had to have gall stone surgery. His health problems began then, because he was put into a room where the previous patient had scarlet fever. He got the fever and begged not to have the surgery but no one listen to him. The results were that things grew together inside his body. He ended up with six chronic conditions. He needed a new stomach outlet; he had obstructive hepatics due to a closed duck to his liver, poor circulation, congestive heart failure, ulcers in the stomach and intestines. He was so sick that he could not even leave the hospital to go to his own mother’s funeral.

This frail man finally came home and he kept his mind alert as a shark till the hour he died at the ripe old age of 84. He watched TV therefore he knew what was happening politically and regionally. He calmly would tell us kids what he thought should be done next and gave us a few hint on how to do it and he quietly prayed that all would be well. We survived on a rented farm near Garretson.

Some of his sayings that I still remember are: “It is not my will but Thy Will be done”. “You kids, live to eat, I eat to live” he ate very little, we used big spoons to dish up our food, he used a teaspoon. When I drove him out into the country to see the crops he would say, “ I love my Family, I love Farming and I love my Faith and you are going too fast for me to enjoy any of it.” By the way, I was only going 25 miles per the hour. “ I can’t give you much money when you grow up but you can get an education if you are willing to walk (mile and half) to school and an education is worth more then money.” My sister and I took him up on that. My brothers preferred being home and doing farm work.

He loved to get birthday cards and he loved to send them. I still have the one he sent me for my 50’s birthday. The card says, “You have now reached the Nile age,” then you open it up and it says, “You are too old to be a juvenile and too young to be senile.” He loved family gatherings, family reunions, family picnics and especially his birthday.

He had mixed feeling about nuns changing into secular clothes. Every Sunday, Mass was celebrated on TV, various groups sang. Well, this particular Sunday the Nuns sang for the Mass. The singing was beautiful and Dad said, “ What a motley looking crowd, but they sure can sing. ” Mom said, “Dad that is the nuns singing. “

One day Bishop Dudley came to our home. That was a treat for Dad. When I came home on vacation, I planned on a little extra sleep, but he had other plans. He would open the stair door a little and start the rosary right by the stairwell in a strong voice, I knew it was time to get up he wanted my company.

After mom died, I would go home on weekends to check up on things and do the weekly house cleaning. Almost always he would be sitting in his chair going over the picture books and he would say, that was taken on such and such a day or even have the date. My brothers would like to try and trick him but he knew and was always right. He also kept a little account of his life. I typed it with his spelling, he checked it over and corrected any errors. After he died, I gave a copy to each of the kids and grandkids as a Christmas gift and it was one of their favorite gifts.

While still on the farm his job was to bring lunch to my brothers and mow the yard. We had a ten acre farm yard and mom wanted it nice and neatly mowed. He would mow for about an hour each day. He was so happy when I would come home for vacation because then he let me mow.

He was colorblind. The last car he bought he had it all but paid for when he told the salesman I’m going to get the Mrs. to see if she approves. So he goes home to get mom and on the way mom says, “What color is it?” Dad says, “a nice blue.” Mom goes into the shop with all the cars and she is looking for a blue car, and can’t find it. She asks dad where is the car? Dad points to the car that is on display. By the way it is sand color! I learn fast to hang his shirt with his pants and jacket or he might come dressed up in the oddest color combinations.

He did not think women should be in Politics. When we had a women running for Vice President, my sister and I were at home together with my dad. He watched the whole speech and then Dad said, “Not bad for a women.” Wow my sister really got on his case! After that he never ever said a women couldn’t do something out loud.

He lived five years alone after mom died, he said he was never afraid, he never locked his doors, and he had company nearly every day. He kept the house in order. I just had to go over it with a vacuum and dust rag on the weekend. He always rinsed off his dishes and put them in the dishwasher. I would run the dishwasher on the weekend. Wash his sheets and carry out the garbage plus do a little grocery shopping.

I remember him mostly because he was such a gentle man. He was quick witted! He was a big tease, but he knew that I did not enjoy being teased and he did not tease me very much. He was very prayerful. He enjoyed it when the priest came to visit. He would visit with any one. He even wrote to an insurance man with this comment, "It is time for you to stop in and visit; I need one of your calendars." He always found the best in a person. Dad’s living room occasionally became my brother’s place to meet with various men so that dad could be a part of what ever business deal was on the table. Dad said very little at these meetings, but he knew exactly what was going on. After wards he might say, boy that is a lot of money.

Dad was a wonderful man, and I feel that Dad’s gentleness has given me a willingness to accept God the Father as my God image with no gender problem.

Pentecost Sunday

Today, many people wore red because it is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost is an important mystery. We may remember it as the miracle of tongues. The Gospel could now be proclaimed through out the entire world in a fragile human language, which was always changing. We no longer have a sacred language to proclaim the good news. The Spirit has come to the church so that it may assume every human language. With each language comes a culture with it's richness to share. The Church is challenged to constantly translate the gospel into the native speech of every nation upon the earth. Enjoy this gift.

Immigration

Dear Senators

I understand that the immigration situation will be on your agenda this week. The deal seems to be strong on helping those who have degrees and short on helping laborers with families. It favors the rich and shuns the poor. I wonder how many times I have heard some senators say they support strong family life. I don’t see it in this document. The one really good thing is that it is bi-partisan and that is something to be very happy about. Family certainly should include, all children and both sets of parents. The people from south of the boarder have a culture of helping their parents and that should be respected and allowed to continue in the immigration plan. A good labor force is something that we need in America and people south of the boarder fill that bill nicely. We need to respect them, and pay them fairly. The length of time (13 years) seems awful long to me. In a 13 year span the children of today have moved on, and the parents have died so you have just him and her left to become citizens. How can you expect them to be happy campers with the family so torn apart?

I remember Mother

The oldest memory I have of my mother was when she found me in the grove near the house when I was just less than two years of age. I was cold, wet and very glad mom found me because I was lost in the grove.

My mother was a large lady, but not a fat lady. She was beautiful in spite of a scar that she had by her mouth from a horse that bit her when she was a child.

When I was about 4 years old I remember mom sewing me a red gingham dress. I watch her lay the pattern out. She was extremely careful so the pieces were straight with the material. She carefully pinned and cut then sewed. I sat with my chin resting on the sewing machine as she sewed away. I still remember the sleeves; they puffed up and were so cute.

We moved and it was time for me to start school. We lived a mile and half from school. Mom fixed my straight blond hair with a braid tied up in a circle on one side of my head so as not to have my hair in my eyes. She let me wear my nice dress and sent me off to meet my father who had started chores at the neighbors place, a half-mile down the road, and he was going to walk with me the rest of the way to school, which was about a mile. I have a picture that the neighbor lady took of me that day.

I got a carbuncle type boil on my leg and I could not go to school because I had to keep my leg up according to my grandmother. Mom had all she could do to take care of this situation. She would often have grandma look at it and put a mixture of egg and flour to draw the infection out of my leg. I missed a lot of school that year and I still have the scar.

Every night, Mom led the rosary. The rosary hung on the speaker of the telephone during the day. The older children had to kneel, the younger ones could sit. I was the oldest so I had to kneel up straight. I think I was supposed to set an example for the rest.

Mom also saw to it that we learned our catechism. In those days, we memorized the answers to the questions. I was good at memorization, but I couldn’t read so mom read the questions and I recited the answers. I once won a prize for knowing my lesson and my mom framed it. It was a picture of an angel walking with a child over a bridge. That picture moved from house to house as we moved. We had summer school with the Sisters. When the movie “Song of Bernadette” was showing the Sisters arranged for a farmer with a big cattle truck to take us to the Movie. My mother rode in the truck with us kids. Not every mom would do that.

Mom always had a sandwich ready for us to eat when we came home from school. More often than not it was fresh bread with butter and homemade jam. Mom made wonderful plum, apple, and strawberry jam also choke cherry jelly. As we grew older she would give us dried beef on our fresh bread for our after school snack. She always asked us what we learned that day. She did not go to high school; I realized later she was learning from us.

Mom loved flowers and she had a victory garden of flowers in front of the house, enclosed by sidewalk and a short picket fence, from the two entrances of the house. I believe that little V shape garden is still there. At least it was there a decade or so ago when Dad and I went sight seeing. I remember the owner of the house always liked to see mom’s flowers when in full bloom.

I often helped mom rake the leaves and branches in the spring. My siblings didn’t care for that job and I loved it because I got to be with my mom and I had her all to myself. We would make a bond fire after wards.

I also helped pitch hay. That was a job that my brother, mom and I often did together. I can’t say that I liked that job. We all worked far beyond our capacity.

When mom, dad and I were sight seeing we went by the house with the grove and I said I remember when I was lost in that grove. My mom could hardly believe her ears when I said that I remembered that grove.

Mom was the healthy one and we were taken back when she was diagnosed with cancer. The cancer traveled fast. One summer I drove her daily to Sioux Falls for radiation treatments. The treatment cured the cancer in that spot but moved on to another spot. Mom was happiest working and she didn’t want anymore of this laying around sick. She told the doctor to forget about more treatments, just give her pain relief medicine.

I remember the last time we said the rosary together. This time I lead the rosary. She was in McKennan Hospital and I came to be with her. We said a decade and then rested, said the next decade and then rested, this went on until we were done and then she said she was ready to go and hoped I would finish the afghan that she had started for my nephew, she thought my tension would be the most like hers and it would be a nice wedding present for him. Mom never fancied my choice of vocation, but this evening she said she thought I chose the right vocation for me. She also asked me to take good care of Dad, and then she told me to go home and rest. She died shortly afterwards. She always wanted to die alone and she got her way.

The very last time I saw my mom was seven years after she was laid to rest. She came to my room early in the morning, wearing the same clothes she was buried in. Dad was getting weaker and she told me that she was coming after Dad. This was a few days before Christmas, and I remember saying to her please don’t take him before Christmas. Dad perked up for the Christmas celebration, he loved family celebrations, and he died shortly after Christmas.

I have very fond memories of my parents. It is good to recall those wonderful memories even if they bring a tear or two to the eyes. I hope you can remember your mom in a loving way on this Mother’s Day.