Saturday Odds and Ends

This morning I took the car to get the oil changed and while I was waiting I picked up yesterday’s newspaper. A couple -three articles caught my eye.
The first one was really cool. I can say now that I know a hero! Michael Brooks played baseball for Bruce in Little League, a really nice kid. He and a friend saved a man from being burned to death after his car collided with a tree.
The second one was a “Letter to the editor”. Jeanne Johnson congratulated the state police for giving a man a citation for driving while unable to speak English! It struck me SO funny! How did this man get his driver’s license let alone a CDL! Are they giving those tests in Spanish too these days?
Things have sure changed from when I first came here. I understand about accommodating to help meet people’s needs but when people decide to stay somewhere where people don’t speak their maternal language, it is their responsibility to learn to speak it not the other way around. I don’t think our state police is prejudiced but this reaction was totally unexpected…

I just finished polishing the translation of a 1854 letter for Belgian Laces and wonder how different things might have been if this is how things had been done back then.
This particular group of emigrants – the Belgians from Wisconsin - is unique in itself in that they managed to preserve the language (Walloon) they spoke for a long time.
It is just now dying and there are efforts made by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay http://www.uwgb.edu/library/spc/local/belgian_oral.asp
and http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/WI/subcollections/BelgAmrColAbout.html
to preserve as much of it as humanly possible. So the comparison is a close one.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/99999999/GPG0101/709240469/1978
(another good comparison)
They helped each other and worked with each other but there was no special treatment for them. If they were to mingle with the English, they had to either learn or find a translator to help them understand English not the other way around. I’m sure its’ the same way for everyone who emigrates so I was really taken back by this letter to the editor… Can’t imagine people having to be told to learn the language of the country where they move to. That’s surreal… I believe in preserving heritage and language but there is also such a thing as adapting. The melting pot should still melt...

The last article to catch my eye was Dr Gott’s column. I still chuckle as I think about it now… Back when I worked at Busta’s Bakery. Jim Busta, our boss, the baker,- and a good one at that! - had read something in the paper that day that an average person farted about 12 times a day. Ensued an hilarious conversation in the back of the bakery over this topic of course!
I must admit my kids are “well above average” in this department and this has also occasioned some memorable moments that found us rolling on the floor, from more than just laughter… To make a long story short, this is why I started to read Dr Gott’s column this morning: someone was writing to find out what he could do about his own gaseous problem.
Dr Gott’s advice had to remain very generalized as no personal details were given… He mentioned the expected: “avoid beans” of course… as well as a variety of other foods well known for their effect: broccoli, cauliflower, soda,…
The problem with our family is that odd things give us gas too, like oranges, chestnuts, so we have just learned to live with it. At times it’s obviously more difficult than others but what can we do, stop eating? Actually he did say one thing I think we could try… he mentioned that diluting baking soda into a glass of water could help, otherwise
He also mentioned aging as one of the causes for increased gas. I can vouch for that… I sometimes remind myself of that little old lady on tv, walking down the streets tooting away with every step she took… Luckily I don’t leave nauseous smells all the time.
Well enough for now… just wanted to share some thoughts outloud… Hope I didn't gross out anyone... (=

Cold, cold, go away...

I am so tired of the snow and the cold… I know, everyone else is too so what am I ranting for?
You would think that after spending my last 29 winters in Indiana I would have gotten used to this by now. Nope… Don’t think I ever will either… Here it gets so cold during the winter (and I wasn’t even here for the coldest spell this year) that it’s impossible to think it’ll ever be warm again, but then it gets so hot in the summer that you can’t imagine it was ever cold at all.
This year is typical of Indiana weather, my husband tells me… After 29 winters here you might think I would have noticed… Actually he meant how the weather used to be when he grew up, so a good 10 years or more before I came here…
Ok, I wasn’t there then so I won’t argue but cold is cold and this winter has been particularly long. Bruce said he saw robins back in January… Wherever did they go?!
There are plenty of Canadian geese however… When the river was frozen a few weeks back – might be again – there were flocks of them gathered on the ice. Some would go into the water when there were holes in the ice. There were so many! As he rightly pointed out that is one thing people would not commonly see in Florida… Lucky me! Seriously, I do think the scenery is absolutely beautiful. I just would like to be immune to temperature changes. Then I would be more comfortable and would most certainly enjoy things much more.

We took a trip to Middlebury, Indiana a couple of weeks ago, just so we could go eat at the Dutchman Essenhaus. That was so enjoyable! Except for the cold… )=

We saw a lot of Amish buggies on the road.

They have no heat in those things... It was beautiful and I am not complaining, I promise… I’m just so cold… I don’t think I’ll ever warm up again… (Ask me again in August)

So… I am grateful BonPapa didn’t move to Canada like he had planned years ago. His reasons were he didn’t want to leave his family behind for so long until they could come too, so he remained in Belgium. Many other Belgians braved the weather and settled in Canada. Brrr… Forgive me Perry (Richardson)… you did make me dream of living in Canada. You and our friend Loren Later from Alaska… Your descriptions of where you lived made me dream. The beauty of the place was seen from inside a warm house. Life makes you step outside…

Springtime, don’t delay… Come warm up my old bones…

Why I do the things I do... for free!

Yesterday THE coolest thing happened to me!
Some times last November, I climbed in our attic only to find a huge mess left by the roofers the year before.
Part of their work included cleaning up… or so I thought… They had already dragged their feet to come in and do the job and although they were quick at tearing down the 10 layers - yes, 10 layers of tiles! - that made up the roof, we had to call them back because they had left a mess in our lawn: strips of nails especially strewn all over our backyard and outside lawn.
I had never thought they would have left a mess in the attic which is only accessible through a square hole in the ceiling of our walk-in closet, above a ladder attached straight to the closet wall.
Not to mention the dust and pieces of woods etc.
Armed with a broom, a shovel, garbage bags and dust pan I climbed up the ladder and began cleaning the mess. There were old boxes we had left there years ago, most of which could now be thrown away.
There was also a stack of old newspapers the previous owner must have left there.
Since I am a sucker for old things, I picked them up carefully and placed them in a garbage bag of their own until I could get them down.
The more I cleaned the more upset I got as I had no idea how I was going to be able to get the trash down. I stopped soon after leaving this for Spring. The newspapers came downstairs where we were able to look at them better.
It is a series of Peru Daily Tribune dating back to 1939. The papers are for the most part March 1939 issues, with a few January 1939. I had first thought I would extract the obituaries and weddings and post them to the Miami county Rootsweb group. But life happened and it is not until this past week that I was able to make time to do this.
As I got into the pages, I realized there was much more there than obituaries. Back then newspapers contained the comings and goings of local people.
It’s hard to believe today that a 25 miles trip to visit friends and family could ever be worth mentioning in a newspaper. If that was the case, the newspapers would be much thicker – at least the Tribune…
But back then it was a big thing and so the pages were full of local tidbits with names of people entertaining friends, family, attending meetings, funerals, weddings, returning from the hospital, college etc…
At first my postings upset someone who didn’t think they belonged on the forum but I stuck to my guns as other people piped up in favor of my continuing.
I assured them all that I don’t have an endless supply, only about 10-12 issues, but would be glad to continue.
Yesterday I found one more page in the 16 March 1939 issue, that still needed to be typed. I hesitated. It was about Miami, Indiana: a small place at the southern end of the county.
But I sat down and sent the new postings to the group.
Then a few hours later, I received a response to the posting.
An 87y old lady had recognized HERSELF in one of the one-liners!
She had forgotten about this particular meeting but she had been taken back in time for a few moments…
To all those who wonder why I make time to retype an old newspaper, or to index cemeteries, or to help others find their roots without asking anything in return…
The feeling I felt when receiving this small email from a lady I will most likely never meet… That feeling is priceless… She made my day. She gave me the resolve to continue more than anything could have.
Some people think those of us who do these crazy things do it for recognition…
Not so… We do it to serve others, quietly, in the background, without expecting anything in return.
Once in a while we have these wonderful moments when our work helps someone who says thank you.
Those Thank You’s go a long way in showing us that our work is appreciated.
I shared this with Bruce because he has not always grasped what I was doing but this really hit home with him too.
I am grateful for moments like these. Few people let us know when our work helps them and it’s ok as it is not expected. There is so much joy to be felt from doing good things for people without being asked or being assigned the task!
I value the following words greatly:
“For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant; wherefore he receiveth no reward.
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves. And inasmuch as men do good they shall in nowise lose their reward.
But he that doeth not anything until he is commanded, and receiveth a commandment with doubtful heart, and keepeth it with slothfulness, the same is damned.”
(Doctrine and Covenants 58: 26-29 - http://scriptures.lds.org/en/dc/58/26#26 )
The reward comes whether we want it or not.
Recognition is not the reward. The feeling of satisfaction in helping others is enough.
Whatever motives people have assigned to what I do is irrelevant. How I feel is not. The joy felt is real and it is good.
I was on cloud nine after getting the lady’s email! So I will definitely finish typing the news bits and maybe even look for more to continue on the same line.