Thursday, November 27, 2008

822 and Counting!

Their wedding was the day after Thanksgiving. So they have always considered that day their anniversary even though it is not the same date every year. That day was chosen because it was the day after football season was over. The actual day was 41 years ago this past Monday or tomorrow if you are into traditions. They take advantage of both days.
For their wedding flowers they had one yellow rose on the altar. Except for one year (that's another story) Clay has presented Carol with a rose for every year that they have been married. According to Carol that is 822 yellow roses. Do you know how many dried rose petals that is? In one of her down sizing modes Carol finally threw all but the original ones away. "They took up too much space."
Monday morning, the 24th, before sunrise Clay headed downtown to his favorite wholesaler. When he returned with 41 long stem yellow roses Carol acted surprised. That's one of the tricks to making a marriage last. Treat the traditions as if it were the first time each time.
Tomorrow, the day after Thanksgiving, the couple will head downtown and stay at a hotel to celebrate their marriage and watch the lighting of the Riverwalk for their 41st Christmas season together.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Morning View












Hello, neighbor! A quiet morning in the backyard shared with a friend. I was able to get my camera and snap two shots sans tripod before it flew off in silence. CJJ
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Miriam Makeba Remembered















In 1962 I was a freshman at Ottawa University, a small liberal arts college in eastern Kansas. I had gone there from my New England home with my collection of folk music albums - Pete Seeger, Joan Baez, Peter, Paul and Mary. That year OU had a cultural concert series and brought to campus a folk singer I had not heard of, Miriam Makeba. The university was quite proud of bringing this international star to our campus in our small Kansas town. There was quite a crowd who flowed in to hear this woman who would later sing at JFK's birthday, star with Harry Belafonte, protest apartheid, travel with Paul Simon's Graceland tour, marry Stokely Carmichael and be banned from her homeland for three decades.

I didn't know much about her music before the concert, but the events that night have stayed with me a long time. You see, in Ottawa, Kansas in 1962 black women were not welcome at motels. Miriam Makeba, international music star and activist, was not allowed to spend the night and had to travel back to Kansas City with her crew after the concert. As a New England Yankee I had heard of such segregationist attitudes, but my first college semester was the first time I had personally witnessed such. My first week in Ottawa a small group of dorm mates went shopping "uptown". It was a hot afternoon and we charged into a soda shoppe for some cold drinks. Once inside we realized that one girl had stayed outside. We went out to see why and she pointed to a sign in the window "whites only". Many of the black students at Ottawa that year were from back east and for them, too, these were new, if not unexpected, occurrences. The black students were denied other types of services too - a haircut required traveling over an hour to Kansas City. There must have been so many other instances that as a nonblack I would have been oblivious to, so many prejudices without foundation, so many injustices that should forever be relegated to the past. CJJ


BBC bio of Makeba.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Volunteer For Trails

Through our membership with the Appalachian Mountain Club we volunteered to participate in a "seniors" week in early September working on trails. Our week was in Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island. For a small fee we were provided room and board for 6 days and our promise to work four days. We stayed at Echo Lake Camp which is a seasonal family camp with lots of recreational equipment available for our use. Breakfast and dinner were served in a large dining room and we prepared lunch to eat at the work site. Every meal was a feast. After dinner we either sat around a fire in the dining room or in the library. We went to sleep in our platform tents listening the the loons out on Echo Lake.
The work was more challenging than I had expected for a "seniors" week. But, I now know, that just describes the workers not the work. There were 11 of us in this together. We were greeted by a very qualified 28 year old leader who was planner, supervisor, cook and van driver. She was quite expert at all tasks and especially talented in the kitchen.
Our major task was to build about 300 feet of new trail. This trail will be part of several miles of ADA (America Disabilities Act) approved trails in and around Acadia National Park. The area was staked out but we had to grub it out and put in gravel to make it ready for wheel chairs.
A secondary job was to high line boulders down a mountain so step builders could make steps on a mountain trail. (see video)
Friday we were on our own until dinner time to do what ever we wanted. Some went hiking, kayaking, biking, shopping in Bar Harbor, or other coastal towns.
It was a good week of hard rewarding work, making new friends and enjoying one of the wonders of our great country, Acadia National Park.

Friday, November 7, 2008

Adventures with Evan & Chase

"Why do grandparents and grandchildren get along so well? They have the same enemy-the mother" Chloette Colbert

We are so lucky to be able to spend some wonderful times with our grandsons. This past summer we shared the following adventures and many more.
Hiking in New Hampshire and Maine
Kayaking
Play Dough
Bed Time Reading
Learning to Swim
Cooking with Grandma
Learning to Throw a Spiral
Just Hanging Out with PaPa & Grandma

We give a special thank you to their parents for sharing them with us.
We hope you all enjoy the video as much as we enjoyed the real adventures.

Chase, Age 3 , Son of Nolan & Katie
Evan , Age 9 , Son of Doug and Erica