Posts

Posted on

Home

3,300 miles later, we are home.

As Dorothy said, there’s no place like home.

Over the next few days, I’ll share tales about our journey along with things that made the trip so much easier.

A valuable part of any road trip for us is our dog car seats, Fido Ridos. Whenever we travel with our dogs, Bud, Duffy and Ruby, these seats are the first things that go into our back seat. As you can see, they boost the dogs up so they can see out the windows, secure them so they are safe from any sudden stops, and keeps each dog in their own space. Bud, our oldest Lhasa Apso, struggled with car sickness until we discovered these car seats. Now, no more rapid stops due to a sick dog or worrying about quick stops when we travel during busy traffic times. You can check these dog seats out at fidorido.com.

I leave you tonight with a request to keep Texas in your prayers. There are thousands of people struggling due to Hurricane Harvey. From what I hear, this storm is not done with the Gulf yet. Every meteorologist says they have never seen anything like this!. I did not know this much rain was possible. Please God, protect those amazing volunteers who have responded to help.

You make me proud to be a Texan.

I am…

B…simply being… 

I am very happy to be back at my desk.

As you go bed tonight, join me in prayer for those in need due to this storm.

Love and Peace.

 

 

Posted on

August

I love August.

As a kid, once the Fourth of July fireworks ended, I knew summer was only a breath away from being history. This was also the time when my internal clock would chime away, telling me it was time to prepare for the new school year while prodding me to give some serious thought to my own future.

Even though it has been many years since this month signaled my return to school, I still hear that message.

It has become one of the more comfortable constants in my life.

In honor of that tradition, I’ll be stepping away from my computer so I can recharge my batteries and search for old and new stories to share.

Why not join me?

I am…

B…simply being…

I love Y’all.

Peace

 

 

Posted on

God Winks

One of the great benefits of writing is I have a reason to go through old stuff. My husband and I have downsized our lives at least three times over the past two years. In light of these moves, I’ve been shocked with some of the little things that have survived.

Today, the clipping and the pictures fell together in what I would call a God wink. What’s a God wink, you ask? I think most people would call it a coincidence. SQuire Rushnell describes it as an experience where you’d ask yourself, what are the odds of that? It’s like when you were a kid and sitting across the table from someone you love when they’d wink at you. You knew what that wink meant–they were thinking about you. God does the same–a God wink is His way of letting you know He is thinking of you and all will be okay.

For me, one of the greatest gifts of aging has been the ability to look back on my life. To see how certain people came into my life–or re-entered my life–at the moment when I needed them the most.

My family moved from Traer, Iowa, to Waterloo, Iowa the summer before my freshman year. That move was tough and made for a very hard summer. I worried every day about how I was going to handle being the new kid in a new school. I wouldn’t know anyone.

My Dad remembered another family who had moved from Traer to Waterloo. He found a way to contact them and gave them our home phone number. Within a few days, JoLyn contacted me, asking me where I was going to go to school. I told her West Junior. She quickly told me that she would also be going to West Junior.

Oh my God–the answer to my prayers. I would not be all alone.

What made her special was what she did next. It was a few days before school started and she knew the building was open. We set up a time to meet and she took me to the main office so I could turn in paperwork, showed me around the building, and gave me the tour of the other buildings on campus. That year we did not have any classes together but she checked on me often and made sure I was doing okay. In a big school, I always knew she was there if I needed her.

Debby Small was my neighbor and a year ahead of me in school. It was Debby’s house where I would go whenever I needed to get away. I loved going to the Smalls because their family was busy, loud, and loving. At least that is how I saw them. Debby had two brothers and two sisters and there was always something happening. I loved being in the mix because it felt real to me. They were the first family I saw being normal–if I came over and there was a fight in progress, the fight continued. There was no stopping because the neighbor kid was there.

At my house–things like that happened behind closed doors.

What my family didn’t seem to realize was, even though the doors were closed, the windows were still wide open. It was Tom and Karen Sink who clued me in about that.

Tom and Karen moved next door shortly after we moved in. They were a young couple with a toddler who needed a babysitter. After a few months of babysitting, they shared with me that they could hear some of the things happening at our house.

Our house was a house in constant turmoil. My Dad had remarried. There were problems. Tom and Karen knew. Tom and Karen took my sisters and me under their wings. I am not sure where any of us would be today without them.

These four people came into my life when I needed them the most.

I am still amazed and forever grateful.

I am…

B…simply being… 

Have a great weekend.

I love you.

Peace

Posted on

Happy Birthday, Bethie

Today my sister, Beth, would have been 62 years old.

She absolutely loved her birthday. Looking back, I think she liked it because my other sister and I have birthdays in September. Her August birthday gave her something that was all her own. I think a middle kid needs something that is uniquely theirs–and she definitely made the most of her day.

For weeks, she’d tell anyone who’d listen what was on her list for gifts along with the type of cake and flavor of ice cream she wanted for her party.

 

I miss her today–as I do every day.

Even after ten years I still catch myself thinking that I need to call her…

She was one of the bravest people I’ve ever known, forging her own way, fighting her own fight, showing me her way of dying with dignity.

I love you, Beth Ann Burton.

I am…

B…simply being…

Peace

Posted on

Scary Stuff

It was an early morning in Hibdonville.

Michael was getting ready to go help his friend, Dayne, out at the lease and I was off to water aerobics. The best thing was–this is a very big deal–we woke up to rain. It has not rained here for weeks with temperatures in the 100s. We were celebrating every falling rain drop. Please Lord, I prayed, send us more.

To get the forecast, I turned on the news. Wait a minute…

What?

My world went a tad bit off kilter as I listened to the reporter saying the US had fired a long-range missile from a launch site in California as a warning to North Korea.

 

For a few minutes, I found myself transported back in time to Mrs. Kvidera’s sixth-grade classroom, listening as she taught us about Communism, propaganda,  and what it would mean if Russia attacked us using a nuclear bomb.  She called it The Cold War.

I was also reminded of that dangerous game of chicken where two cars raced rapidly toward each other until one driver ‘chickens” out, turning sharply to get out-of-the-way.

My adult, logical self, searches for something positive to focus on about our world today.

My sixth-grader self is pretty uncomfortable with the whole situation.

Scary stuff.

This has weighed on my mind today, crowding out all my other more creative thoughts.

Take a minute with me to say a prayer for those people who hold our world in their hands. May God give them the wisdom to call the game of chicken off before a knee-jerk, reflexive reaction creates a world sized disaster.

I am…

B…simply being…

I love you.

Join me in prayers for peace.

 

 

 

Posted on

Pieces of the Puzzle

A few years ago, one of the doctors I worked for told me his wife had video taped her Dad while he told family stories. What a great idea!

So many times, I wish I had made notes while I had such great family historians around me. I had heard the stories so many times, I never thought I would forget them.

I did.

The picture today is probably one of the first ones of my Mom. Unfortunately, this picture is a copy of copy–so the detail is poor, at best. My Mom is the infant in my Grandpa Jim’s arms. My Aunt Charlotte is squatting at Great Grandma Dora’s feet. I think this is taken at the McDonald homestead in Duncombe, Iowa.

The scattering of photos I have are like puzzle pieces I shuffle around in hopes of re-creating that one big family picture that pulls it all together. What I would give to have just a few scribbled note cards.

My lesson for today is an easy one–listen to those family stories carefully. Make notes so you have them as a reference. Or, make a video recording of the stories being told by the original storyteller. A good storyteller is a rare, precious gift–treasure them.

I am…

B…simply being…

I love you and wish you peace.

 

 

 

 

Posted on

Gram’s Favorite Story

My Grandma was a great story-teller and I was her best audience. She told me many things, but her favorite story was a murder mystery. Oh…for a kid it just doesn’t get any better than that. And, to make it even better, she told me she was on the jury for this murder–just like Perry Mason! How cool was that?

This trial went on forever, she said. I was not very old so she did not tell me a lot but what she told me was bad enough. So much so, I remember wondering if it was all true or if she was trying to keep me still and occupied. This murder happened when she was very young–before she married my Grandpa. A whole family and two kids that were staying the night with them were killed with an axe. The Mom, Dad, four kids, and the two neighbor kids died.

I had forgotten all about her story until this morning when I saw a little blurb on Facebook. Because I follow other Iowa Facebook pages, the page, Unsolved Iowa Murders: Historic Cases, was suggested to me as a page I might be of interest. The highlighted case of discussion, Vallisca Axe Murders.

Oh my gosh.

If unsolved murders are of interest to you, this is one you should check out. As I read I soon discovered there was a LOT of the story that my Gram did not tell me.

Here is what I found today. Most of what I’m sharing comes from an article written by Nancy Bowers featured on Unsolved Iowa Murders” Historic Cases.

Early in the morning, June 10, 1912, Josiah (Joe) B. Moore, his wife Sara, their 4 children and 2 neighbor children, Lena and Ina Stillinges, were bludgeoned to death. This horrible crime changed the little town of Villisca forever. One author states: “…a fascinating study of ordinary people dealing with an extraordinary event.”

That Monday morning the town Marshal, Hank Horton, was told by someone to get the Joe and Sara’s house because something was wrong. He went to the home and discovered, as he supposedly told the coroners, there’s someone dead in every bed.

The crime scene was not secured and was soon contaminated with curious onlookers. Nancy Bowers sited the following observations in her article:

The victims faces were covered by bed-clothes and other clothing.

Kerosene lamps were found a the foot of the beds with the chimneys removed and the wicks turned back.

Mirrors and other reflective surfaces were covered with clothing. 

A plate of partially eaten food was found at the kitchen table next to a bowl of bloody water. 

The axe used for the murders was propped up against the sewing room wall. 

Two pounds of bacon was placed next to the axe. 

 

The eight caskets were held in the town firehouse as the funeral was held in the town square. The funeral procession was huge, with 50 rigs and horse-drawn hearses. The National Guard was called in to keep the 5-7 thousand people in attendance in order.

For weeks, bloodhounds roamed the streets tracking for any trace of a scent. Rumors and suspicions ran high with the entire town on edge. Families stayed with each other so someone could be on watch at  night.

There were many suspects. The list is impressive:

Many suspected  state senator, F.F. Jones, of hiring someone to murder Joe Moore because Joe was supposedly having an affair with his daughter-in-law.

Some claimed a moccasin print was found by the front porch, indicating the murderer was Native American.

One very interesting rumor was detectives obtained a photograph of the murderer from the retina of Lena Stillinges’ eye because she had woken up and saw him.

They searched for and found the mentally ill minister, Lyn George Jacklin Kelly. He was obsessed with the phrase “slay utterly” from Ezekiel 9:6. Five years after the murder, Preacher Kelly confessed. After two trials, he was found not guilty–just as my Gram had told me.

Now, I know the rest of the story.

I am…

B…simply being…

Stay safe and know I love you.

Peace

 

Posted on

Marilyn and Other Things

Before the weekend, I have to share more about what happened in 1953.

Did you know that the first issue of Playboy magazine was published in 1953? And, did you know that Marilyn Monroe was on the cover? This first issue cover was interesting for one other reason–it was not dated. Hugh Hefner was not sure the magazine would be popular enough to warrant a second issue. I have to say, I didn’t think Hugh Hefner was unsure of anything!

Queen Elizabeth II was crowed Queen of England.

Also in the United Kingdom, Ian Fleming published his first James Bond novel, Casino Royal.

Some of the films you would have seen in theatres were: Shane, The War of the Worlds, From Here to Eternity, and another tip of the hat to Ms. Monroe, her now classic film, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. This was, indeed, a very busy year for Marilyn!

The Corvette made its first appearance on Chevrolet showroom floor.

Texas Instruments was credited with the invention of the transistor radio.

Smoking cigarettes was reported for the first time as causing cancer.

Albert Schweitzer was awarded the Noble Peace Prize. Winston Churchill was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

The top three songs on the Billboard top 100 for 1953 were: The Song from Moulin Rouge by Percy Faith, Vaya con Dios by Les Paul and Mary Ford, and How Much is That Doggie in the Window by Patti Page.

The three top TV shows for that year were: I Love Lucy, Dragnet, and a tie between Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts and You Bet Your Life.

The New York Yankees won the World Series for the fifth year in a row.

The Detroit Lions were the NFL champions.

The Minneapolis Lakers were the NBA champions.

The Stanley Cup was won by the Montreal Canadians.

Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine. In 1952, the number of polio cases in the United States was 57,628, over 21,000 of those cases were paralytic. Those statistics shocked me.

James D. Watson and Francis H.C. Creck announced the discovery of the double helix structure of DNA.

The Korean War ended after President Eisenhower warned China he would not be afraid to use nuclear weapons. This war was costly one. 33,629 US troops, 3,000 UN troops, 50,000 South Korean troops, and 1.5 million Communist troops from China and North Korea died. I had no idea the casualties were so high.

On a much lighter note, I found this interesting little tidbit. I’ve always been intrigued by teen fads–most likely goes back to the days when I was tagging behind my cousin, Donna. This year girls wore dog collars over their white ankle socks as ankles. If the collar was worn on the left ankle, the girl was single. On the right ankle, she was going steady–another word you do not hear anymore–going steady. In the Chicago area, according to this online source and the Chicago Tribune, girls added nail heads and bells to their collars. The girls from the Windy City also stepped up the messaging system by adding colored collars. A red collar on the left meant the wearer was in love and going steady. A green collar on the left meant the girl was “willing”. (Hmmmm…) A tan collar on the left meant the wearer did not care if  she had a date or not. A black collar on the left meant their relationship was over–they were in mourning.

As I wrote that last paragraph, I had to smile. Our world has changed in so many ways but our basic human needs and desires are the same. I am saddened by one thought that came to me. In 1953, in order to communicate with their peers, the young ladies had to get out and socialize. They had to take a risk and be visiable–personally announce their social status.

I smile again, wondering what the conversation would be like talking with the young lady wearing that green collar anklet?

I’m thinking I’d really like her spunk and spirit!

Have a great weekend, my friends.

Stay well, cool, and hydrated.

I am…

B…simply being…

I love you and wish you peace.