I Remember

Back in 1962 I was assigned as a Field Engineer to a Navy fighter squadron aboard the then brand new USS Enterprise. In that role I spent several months at sea in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. When we got back we almot immediately went to sea again to participate in the Cuban blockade.

Carrier life is unique and you find yourself becoming part of a family. Navy flyers are a great group and I can remember a number of pilots and Radar Intercept Officers. People like Ensign Brian Homer who got all kinds of odd jobs - like being movie officer. (One time he forget to connect the film to the take-up reel and ended up with a hundred or more feet of film coiled around his feet before he caught the error of his ways. Bruce McCandless who later became an astronaught. Gerry O'Roarke (commanding officer) who wrote at least one good book on F-4 Phantom aircraft history. And there was Tom Sitek, pictured above. Tom was from North Tonawanda, New York and he played all kinds of music on the accordian. He always had a smile for people around him and was one of God's good guys/


Tom was shot down over Viet-Nam - probably never knew the missile was coming. He spent many years as Missing in Action (MIA) but finally around the year 2001 they found his remains in the wreckage of his plane. His name is on the Viet-Nam wall and I got the chance to make a rubbing of his name on the Moving Wall (pictured above)which was in Oscoda in 2005. I sent the rubbing and a bunch of pictures to his daughter who worked so hard to get information about Tom.


Then there is a grave in Holland - one of Joyce's brothers who was killed during World War Two. A few years ago we visited William's grave and if you have never been in one of our National Cemeteries make a point to spend some time there. Even
of you haven't lost ssomeone close, keep in mind that these people died for you and me - and for the freedom of our country and in the service of our nation. Memorial Day is for memories of ultimate sacrifice. We should care.

At the Side of the Road

A couple of years ago I thought seriously of doing a photo spread for a magazine published by the Bay City news paper. I really enjoyed the magazine because it reflected the area of Michigan in which we live. Unfortunately, the economics of the time laid the magazine to rest but my interest in the potential of a photo spread has not disappeared.


I saw a lot of roadside residence signs in Florida and I see it a lot here in Michigan. When we drive along the shores of Lake Huron many of the homes have signs out front indicating who lives there. But not all signs have names - many of them are symbolic and I've been left wondering about what kind of a family lives there. One sign says 'Changing Latitude' and I've asked myself, 'Where did they live before they changed latitude?'. (We live at an interesting latitude here - almost exactly half way between the Equator and the North Pole And there is sign specifying that alongside the road between here and Alpena to the north.)


There's another sign a little south of town. It's a very large letter 'C'. I know about that house - it's the home of a former pastor in Oscoda (his wife is a local school teacher) and the C represents the first letter of their last name. Another aign along highway 23 says "Fishbones." I know about that one too - the sign is in front of my friendly car salesman's house. Sadly, it used to have a fish skeleton under it but twice the skelton has disappeared. Why would someone rip off a fish skeleton?


Yet another sign is half way south between Oscoda and East Tawas. Heading north it reads 'HA HA'. If you are heading south it reads 'Ah Ah. I don't know why but I always seem to look for that sign on the way home. And I wonder what the sign is really saying.


Then there are signs for resorts all the way along highway 23. This is one of Michigan's treasures - lakeshore fun and frolic and is a great place to be especially if you come from downstate - Bay City, Saginaw, Flint and Detroit. Somes times even Lansing or Midland. And it is a great place to be year round even in winter when there are lot of activities like cross-country skiing and snowmobiling. My wife does not share my feelings about winter - she does not like cold and wind even when our lakeshore temperatures are not as bad as cen parts of Mchigan.

Finally, look closely at the illustration. It's a work of art which adds to the scenic value of our highway traveling. It opens up questions of who lives there, where they came from, what the family is like, and things like that. Maybe I'm just nosy, but nevertheless, the signs along the road make the trip more pleasant. Now that I think of it, I miss the Burma Shave signs from the thirties
and forties. Anybody remember them?

Use It Or Lose It

Every so often I'll see someone on television or in the paper who has been able to use their gifts far longer than one would expect. I've never stopped marveling at people who, despite old age, continue to run in marathon races, or take to the ski slopes in their seventies and even eighties (and maybe beyond). Former President George H.W. Bush (the elder one who flew a Navy plane in World War Two) was in the news a while back because he took a parachute jump on his birthday and he has a lot of years behind him. If I were to take a parachute jump at my age I would probably not do well -- admittedly I'm well past my physical prime. However, I don't want to dwell on that - but at 82 and a half years of age, there are things I can't do any more. For instance, I don't hit the stairs at two or three steps at a time. I hung up my skis quite a while ago - but that wasn't to be accused of mental instability there are a lot of older people who don't want to be considered over the hill. At the same time, I must admit that in my case it is not a lack of interest but a lack of hills to ski on and the physical stamina and training to use them. I don't run much any more - but I DO like to walk. There's an old fitness trail not far from our condo and Joyce and I walk that when the weather allows (which has not been as much as I'd like this spring). We use the stairs most of the time even if there is a nice elevator at the end of the hall. And I use exercise equipment in the condo fitness room fairly often. I guess I can say I use my physical abilities as best I can.


But I also have tried to use my mind as best I can. I read a lot. I enjoy creating arts and crafts especially embroidery and crewel. Before some one says that sewing is girly stuff, I want to remind you that 'Rosie' Grier, a big hulking football player turned personal guard for President Kennedy was known to do embroidry I also really enjoy crossword puzzles. I/m not a champ at that but I hold my own - probably falling in the intermediate category. I'm not one to do the New York Times hard puzzles - but I don't enjoy the easy easy ones either.


I think that there is something to the old saying, 'use it or lose it'. If you don't continue to use a physical gift, chances are you'll lose it. Same thing with your brain - use it or lose it. That's why I enjoy artsy-craftsy stuff and why I enjoy writing. It keeps me mentally alert and keeps things like demensia and alzheimers disease at bay for as long as possible. I'd like to think that keeping the brain alive and well is one of the most important tasks we have in life. I've seen a lot of people who suffered physical limitations and still had a productive and enjoyable life because they continued to nurture and use their brain. So let me leave this blog with a reminder - that in life one needs to "use it - the brain - or lose it" Life is too short not to.



well, I don't want to be considered over the hill

Something Amazing

One of the things I like most about the condo we live in is all the opportunities we have to do things we like to do. There's an exercise/fitness room where I go to use machines like a treadmill or a stationary bicycle, or a machine to toughen up my abs. I go there while I wait for the mail to be delivered each morning. There's a wonderful kitchen where one of the ladies bakes cookies. There's no way to hide the smell of fresh cookies so I provide an element of assistance to the residents by following my nose to perform quality control of the cookies. (I was pastoral "quality control manager" at a church one time when they made peanut brittle and would not sell any until I had put my stanp of approval on the latest batch.) (Is that what opened my life door to diabetes?) This week I have to go to the computer room to edit and make a dvd or cd of a video I took last week. There is a theater - complete with surround sound - where we show movies from time to time. There is a library where I help with sorting and stacking a good size variety of reading material. And there's a arts and crafts room as well. (The ladies are making a quilt.)


One of my favorite places is the men's workshop complete with all kinds of power tools and workspace. The picture above came out of the workshop and I never cease to marvel at some of the things Howard Hatch comes up with. It's really hard to sense the size of the cross - probably not more than two feet tall. In it is cut
an abbreviated life of Christ from birth to ascension. He uses tiny drills and saw blades that hardly seem larger than a medium embroidery needle. I'm sure you'll agree with me that Howard has a profound gift. I asked him if he'd make one for me but he said I'd have to wait in line until he does a couple more for their children. At the moment he's not working on crosses - he just finished a combination lock - made out of wood - even to the tumblers in the lock.


One of the tragedies of life is when people retire and then have no idea or interest in creating something. Maybe creating a hole-in-one or breaking a hundred on the golf course would be great. But what I like about Howard's projects is that when he finishes one it's a tangible thing to look at and treasure for a long time to come.
For me it may be video, or art, or writing, or crewel. And the best part is that when one thing is done there's another project down the road. For instance, Howard showed me a whole series of wooden locks he'll be making in the immediate future. People like Howard give the inspiration to do more than just sit around - and that's a good thing.

Earth Day

As this is written I'm looking out over a sunlit skyline of Chicago. But it was rainy (or cloudy at best) in Indianapolis over the weekend. As I have mentioned earlier, we rode a train from Michigan to Chicago, and Friday we drove to Indianapolis for a semi-family reunion and to visit the annual Earth Day celebration in downtown Indy. In past years there were thousands who attended and it was in a major downtown park area. We walked around and enjoyed the beautiful downtown Indianapolis area and then joined the crowd for displays and music.


A high point of the celebration (at least for us) took place in an immense children and youth tent. All kinds of displays but for us the high point was a presentation by the Earth Drummers which includes Seth Utter, one of our grandchildren (middle left in the below picture). He's been in the group for about five years and really enjoys playing percussion instruments.


Our first contact with percussion groups was on the beach in Venice, Florida several years ago and we really enjoyed it. We were in a motel and heard drums and we walked out on the beach and there was a large group performing on the beach. Every kind o drum or percussion instrument you could think of and it was great. So when Seth got involved in his group we were really enthusiastic. It's not a big group but they love what they are doing and they have a lot of variety in instruments. They enter into a performance with a lot of enjoyment and their sense of rhythm and technique is great. I can see Seth continuing with this in years to come because it is not simply some kids having a nice time - it is a music outreach that is really popular with a lot of adults today - adults from all walks of life. And it really takes commitment, talent, and a gift for music.


So if I may aim this at a particular person, I want to say to Seth that the performance was great and I hope you/he will keep performing for years to come. It was worth every second of our trip. And if a person asks, "What's so great about a bunch of drums?," don't knock it until you've heard one of these groups. It'll really get your toes tapping and there's nothing boring about it.

Life: a bunch of ups and downs

As this written we're sitting in the 37th story condo of our middle daughter Amy. It's in Chicago and there are a lot of ups and downs here in the windy (and at the moment - cold) city. At least the sun is out and flowers are beginning to bloom along Michigan Avenue and Wacker Drive. I haven't seen that much on State Street where she lives - but then, I don't think State Street is noted for its flower beds.

We rode the train from Michigan yesterday - it took five hours but it's a really pleasant way to go - even if you end up in the darkness of Union Station's dungeon platforms. And there are subways even darker - but you end up in the sunlight on an elevated railroad towering over the streets.

Then there are places like Amy and Vic's condo. It's a long way up. But there's more - you can ride an elevator up to the roof - the sixtieth floor. We went up on the roof a year or so ago to watch an air show - it was outstanding. Exhilarating. And a great opportunity to experience vertigo - which I get anywhere over three stories up. You can imagine what it is like for me to go out on the balcony and look down from 37 stories on the Chicago Theater (near Macy's across the river) and on tour boats cruising up and down the Chicago River. Then look up at skyscrapers like the Sears Tower to the south of Amy and Vic's building. By the way, her building is one of two condo towers that make up the Marina City complex (which also has the House of Blues music facility) It also is called by some "the corncob condos" because they look like ears of corn. So for a short time we are living high on the hog, so to speak. A real change from our second floor senior condo where you don't hear sirens and fire engines 24 hours a day.


I got to reflecting this morning: it's just like life. Sometimes we live in the depths of darkness when it seems as if everything is wrapped up in darkness. Sometimes we find ourselves emerging into the brightness of an encouraging day. Sometimes we find ourselves down low
in the pits of discouragement and darkness and frustration. Then there are the highs of life - the days when we ride high on the sixtieth floor of life - or like the Sears Tower, or Hancock building and the world is spread our before us revealing the best things of life. Or maybe hiding the dismal side of life. I have a hunch we all have moments when we fall into ruts and we find a need to break away to get a different view of life. I know I do. At any rate, even if I don't like heights it's great to get a new and expanded view of life. So, I'm glad for this moment of life - for family - for a great view on life - and for tomorrow when we drive to Indianapolis to see another segment of our family. The sun is shining and I like to think it's God smiling on us this morning.

Blame it on the Trailers

We frequently dig out old pictures - especially those of children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. And then the numbers start to add up and I think to myself, "we sure have a lot of family. After all we only started with one - and another, and another, and another, and then, finally, a fifth. How come? Well, I guess we all know about the laws of nature but beyond that,
I blame it on the trailer(s).





When we were first married we lived in a one room apartment with a fridge in the corner and a hotplate in the closet and a bed that tended to collapse. Cost: $25 a month. Oh, and we shared a bath with five other couples. Then we graduated to a big one-room apartment with a shared kitchen. $30 a month. Next it was a remodeled railroad refrigerator car where I worked out my rent by refurbishing and painting other units. Finally we graduated into the trailer world.





First it was a 27 foot one-bedroom rental and then we bought a 33 foot one bedroom New Moon trailer just like Luci and Desi had in the movie "The Long Long Trailer." Our family grew and with two children we went to the pictured one, a brand new 38-foot Elcar than we hauled eight thousand miles behind a 1954 Olds 88 (one way) and a 55 Buick Special (the other way).

Another child and we upped to a 5o foot Buddy with two bedrooms (one with bunkbeds on one side and a small bed on top of a dresser. Another child came along (our Hallowe'en son - trick or treat) and we moved into a three bedroom Contempori fifty-five foot ten wide. Wouldn't you know - another child came along. This set us to thinking and we finally decided to buy a house in North Carolina. What do you know --- no more children. Thus it becomes obvious -- the reason for five children was trailer life. Blame it on the trailers!





We've lived in a lot of houses since then. Most were smaller homes - one or two were mansions that were provided as parsonages.





The point I want to make today is that condo living didn't become all that difficult. After all, we spent a lot of years in trailers. And now we're too old for children. Except for grandchildren and great grandchildren/ And that's a different story.