And they’re off! I called grandma while they were still figuring out the ship and they were getting lost while we were on the phone.  They got in an elevator and our phone call dropped.  A couple hours later she called back - they had gotten a lot accomplished.  All 6 of them are headed on a whale watching excursion tomorrow that is almost guaranteed to result in multiple whale sightings.  Ally & Ruby signed up for a snorkeling trip.

Last night they had a good time at dinner - the phone conversation cut out during parts of it but I got that they had wonderful appetizers and that Ruby had albicore tuna.  That was all I caught The hotel was nice and just fine for what they needed it for.  Grandma loves Seattle and said the weather is perfect for her, the cost of living is just insane.

As I was on the phone with her they blew the horn three times and the ship started moving.  Family had already visited the buffet for lunch and reported that the food was excellent.  Dinner was planned for the dining room but I didn’t get the details on that.  Grandma was out on her balcony getting a good view of the departure.

Her voice was very happy and full of joy - I can tell they are having a geat time and are going to have great adventures!

Life in Royse City is quiet tonight.  Good friends came over and we played the Wii, introduced them to starch on starch (chicken noodles on mashed potatoes) and they brought Tuxedo Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory which was marvelous! Can’t mask my jealousy of all their fresh seafood, but it was fun to introduce friends to a Britton classic staple meal

Until I hear more…

-Mackenzie

Got our call today to let us know the family arrived safe and sound in Seattle.  Haven’t heard details of the wonderful seafood dinner but I’m sure it was amazing.  Hope they got to see some fireworks over Puget Sound.

Here in Royse City it was nothing but a drama filled 4th.  Across the street from us lives a state trooper.  Sounds like it’d be a really safe nice security, right? Luke and I were watching Independence Day when suddenly the pops and cracks started to sound a little too realistic, even though we do have a nice sound system.  So we went outside and found that the family of the state trooper was shooting off fireworks galore.  In a VERY residential area.  They were placing fireworks right in the 4 way stop but as far away from their house as possible, of course.  Fireworks in the city limits are prohibited and we watched for a few minutes trying to see if we could tolerate it and it was under hand.  Right about that time a blackjack went flying into our side yard that we share with our neighbors and grass caught on fire.  That was the end of the line for me so we called the police and the police showed up right at the correct time - they were doing a huge finale type display of giant aerial fireworks and things that were throwing sparks all over the roofs of the entire neighborhood.  The cop told them to stop.  Well, as soon as he drove away it started again.  Round about that time, our neighbor (whose grass was on fire) got home, so we went and told him what had been happening and naturally he was very upset.  So he called the police again.  A different officer shows up and asks us what the problem has been.  He tells us that if the officers encounter fireworks they either ticket the people or confiscate the fireworks.  In the meantime the first officer that came the first time said he didn’t have time to confiscate the fireworks and we asked if it was because a state trooper lived there and he said “no, if it makes you feel any better, I haven’t confiscated ANY fireworks tonight or given ANY tickets.” That didn’t really make us feel any better.  We explained the situation and finally they went over and found the owner of the house (we had yet to meet these neighbors - they just moved in) and the wife came out saying she and her husband were one neighborhood over at the husbands mothers house.  There were probably 30-40 people at their house shooting off fireworks like crazy, in a totally unsafe way.  I am shocked no one got injured.  Turns out she is a cop as well.  She apologized profusely and said she had no idea it was going on and started sweeping the street to get all the debris out.  She said once her husband (the state trooper) got home he would be livid that the family was shooting fireworks.  So we left in peace telling her we weren’t trying to make enemies but were concerned about a spark landing on our roof and starting our house on fire.  She totally understood and was very sorry.

We came back inside and were just flabbergasted at the whole situation - who leaves their house during a party where there are 30+ guests? Anyway, about 10 minutes later the state trooper arrived at our door and said “I heard you had a problem with our fireworks” and we again explained about the grass on fire, about the sparks on our roofs, etc, etc.  And his only reply (which he repeated over and over again) was that we should have come across the street and asked for him and asked him to stop.  We asked him how we were to do that if he or his wife were not home and he just again kept saying that he did not appreciate us calling the police and wished we would have confronted him directly.  To be perfectly honest neither Luke or I were comfortable walking across the arsenal of fireworks into a group of 30 people to confront them.  Several cars had stopped to tell them it was not allowed and we watched the people shrug and continue as the car drove away.  They would even light fireworks when a car was headed down the street and throw it in the middle of the street.

So, needless to say we are not impressed.  We plan to file a formal complaint against the state trooper with the state troopers.  Hopefully retaliation will not cross his mind but we are being extra careful just in case.  It is really unfortunate to see a officer of the law who is encouraging us to not take the proper chain of action when we see something that is dangerous to us or our property.

News from the house sitter in Kansas is good - they’re enjoying the house and time with Ringo

I will let you know when I know more.  Tomorrow they will board the boat, boy I wish I were there too!

-Mackenzie

I “hear” there are lots of rumblings about town about the cancellation of the activities last Saturday.

From my point of view and from the sound of the complaints, the ones who are complaining are only a handful of people, the same ones who complain about everything and  who never volunteer or work at anything involving civic celebrations such as the one that was to be held Saturday.  If they were ever involved, they would know better.

The people who were most disappointed had to be the celebration committee members who worked their tails off for weeks getting the activities in order.  These are people who are experienced in such matters, have good sense and render good judgments.  Cowtown Days is no small project and takes hours and hours of preparation.  They would not want to cancel something  that they had worked so hard on without very good reason.  They, most of all, understand the liability the city is under to see that nothing happens to jeopardize anyone’s well-being and safety.  They, most of all, were in a position to know all the facts that entered into the decision-making process.  They cared the most.  They, most of all knew what the aftermath might be with canceling, but their best judgment told them they had to anyway.

It’s always easy for by-standers  to “after the fact” second-guess everything and try to come off as the local experts. If you aren’t aware of all the circumstances, it’s easy to be a “know it all”. Jealousy surfaces as well. Complaints are frequently based on personal jealousy. Pettiness.

It could be said if anyone should be disappointed, it would have been Brit and the 45 family members we had assembled to ride with him on a hay rack during the grand marshal phase of the parade.  They came from San Francisco, Dallas, Royse City, Kansas City, Lawrence and Denver just for that, and to visit with each other.  Neither Brit nor one of them complained. They just moved on and had a wonderful weekend making their own entertainment.  But they all had the capacity to understand…they’ve all been in decision-making situations where you have to rely on the best judgment of those in charge to do that right thing.

The committee did the right thing. To the complainers, I suggest they start doing constructive things. Almost every group in town needs volunteers. Find one and help.

A parade was canceled.  Where does that stand in importance to events in the rest of the world? Think about the Free Burma Rangers.

From the way it sounds, I’m the only one packed and ready to shove off.  Packing is better than unpacking, but neither is any fun.  There is always the anticipation of what I’ve forgotten, as surely something I need will be left at home. I’m not taking all that much as they provide laundry and cleaning services. And my tombstone will read, “She was never overdressed” so I’m least concerned about clothes. It’s Alaska afterall. That about says it all.

The house is tidier than it has been in years and will make the house-sitters comfortable. Ringo won’t miss us too much.  Not as much as we’ll miss him.

I’ll have my iPod stuck in a pocket with my earplugs in place listening to classical music from my iTunes collection. My reading material will be Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. They should take me to Seattle first class and without a care.

Tomorrow night we’re Ally and Ruby’s guests for dinner at Salty’s, one of the world’s great view restaurants.  It’s on Alki Beach and gives you a sweeping view of the Seattle skyline across Elliott Bay.  I’ve been perusing their menu that is a seafood lover’s delight.  I’ll order the Dungeness crab-stuffed salmon with preserved lemon relish and bacon-braised winter greens.  That should do it.

Saturday we board Holland America’s Oosterdam for the cruise to Alaska. Brit is “looking forward to seeing the glaciers before they all melt”.  Ally and Ruby hope to dry-suit snorkel and Ally may see about doing a deep dive if there is a place without kelp. Todd and Karen want to explore and Karen wants to shop.  I’d like to take a whale-watching trip if I can find the right vessel for it. Most of the time, we’ll just enjoy the sights and do whatever we feel like doing. We will have wheel chairs available if we need them….and we have plenty of “pushers”. This will be a trip to make lots of wonderful memories and we’re all looking forward to it.

I’ll try to blog along the way. They have lots of computers on board, so if I can access one I’ll work up something on Word, send it to Mackenzie and let her post it.  Pictures will come later.

Thanks for tuning in…

On April 10, 2007, Burma Army troops executed Free Burma Rangers (FBR) relief team member Saw Lee Reh Kyaw after interrogating him at their headquarters. He was tortured for days before his murder.

His crime:   Helping provide humanitarian relief to his people under attack by the Burmese Army in Eastern Burma.

His service is an example unto all who believe in the fundamental rights of people to be free.

Sincerely,

Tim Heinemann
Founder of Worldwide Impact Now
Photo by Free Burma Rangers
Posted by Samantha at 8:59 PM 0 comments

See more posts by Samantha Finke here…Not in Kansas Anymore.

All the breakers that needed replacing have been replaced.  Two full boxes plus one.  That won’t need doing again in my lifetime.  If you need a licensed electrician, you might want to call Greg Nece before he leaves for AK the end of September.  He’s the only one in town and we’re losing him.  He’s brought all our stuff up to code, changed outlets and replaced lots of switches. We’re good to go.

The security people were here and everything is working as it should.  House sitters are set to go.

Mozilla Firefox has a new version to download. It’s nifty.

Thanks for tuning in…

Mackenzie told me during the height of the party Friday night that my refrigerator threw a breaker.  I forgot.  At the time it wasn’t important, but now it is.  Along with other 30 year old stuff in this house, it occurred to me yesterday that they need replacing too. Breakers wear out too. Greg is coming in the morning to replace all the old ones.

And, our security system needs tweaking so Midwest Securities will be here tomorrow to see that it is working properly.  I particularly like the comfort of having it in case of fire or when we are gone.

Kenz and Luke should be about home.  It takes hours to drive but it took John 1 1/2 hours to fly in his twin engine fast whatever it was.

The house is very quiet now.

The tile is getting personal attention from Jeff and Elle.

We like the new look.

They cleaned the grout off the tile, put silicone where it needed to be, spruced up the area and headed back to Salina.  Jeff will be back for other projects and during track season next year, I’ll expect Elle to pop in when she isn’t running some event for Bennington. What a fine young lady she is.

Now I can concentrate on other areas of the house.  The major refurbishing projects are out of the way.  It has taken since last fall to get most of this done, but it has been worth it.  The house is like new again….thanks to a lot of help from a lot of helping hands.

Mackenzie and Luke left early this morning for TX.  I’m sure they’ll be anxious to get home to sleep.  When they come visit, they always end up working on all the family computers to update programs and fix stuff.  They have been up until 3:00 am most “nights”, then struggle to stay awake during the daylight hours when the rest of us what to talk with them.

They don’t mind at all, but they should be going on vacation instead of me.  My computer draws Mackenzie like a magnet so I do appreciate her help. She’s perfectly organized and my haphazard way of treating material on my computer is to her like scratching fingernails on a blackboard. She organized my birthday party pictures.  She fixed entries on my date calendar.  According to it, my friend Rachael’s birthday was everyday of the year and Cindy’s birthday was on three consecutive days.

Most of all, Mackenzie taught me new things.  It’s a struggle, but I know how to load my iPod, charge and use it. And, my new picture frame is great and I can load it. She brought me a new huge back up for my computer and I know how to update it monthly. My camera will be a challenge but I can take pictures and download them on my computer. Using the camera with its myriad possibilities might be a challenge when I’m stuck on an airplane for hours and have time to actually look at the manual. If I have problems, she can talk me through them.  We also made lots of notes for “procedures” that are on my desktop.  I love technology as long as Mackenzie is close at hand.

Thanks Mackenzie….and Luke.  Luke always goes home with less than he had when he arrives here.  This time I needed his ear set for my iPod.  Last time, I needed his mouse. He’s the hardware guy.

Thanks again….Kenz and Luke!

513,462 hits in May, 573,819 hits in April, 755,252 hits in March, 653,860 hits in February…and so it goes.   March was a big month.  After the election, I’m sure my hit count will go down, but right now, it’s still right up there so that when you search for something I’ve written about, the results pop up at or near the top. That’s good.

A friend told me the other day he googled his own name for the first time and his family recipe that I had posted popped up before him.  He said he was really surprised. I guess we’re all relieved if we don’t appear on the FBI’s most wanted list.

Thank you very much for visiting my blog and website.

From the Celebrations Committee chairwoman, Tina Davis:

Two and a half inches of rain equals POSTPONEMENT!!

I want to thank ALL of Ellsworth and the surrounding areas for the interest they have shown in the events we had planned for this past weekend.  We truly appreciate the understanding you have given our committee for the “tough” decision we felt we needed to make.

It was early Friday evening when the Ellsworth Celebrations Committee realized that there was a problem.  As John Ziegler, fireworks coordinator, dried out his rain soaked, 30,000 pound semi truck loaded with an arsenal of fireworks, he realized there may be a problem with placing the trailer for Saturday evening’s event.  Committee members were called to the scene and were surprised to find John vacuuming water from the displays/launching tubes.  While the backdrop for the scene was beautiful, it was a field of UNCUT wheat and lots of standing water.  “Houston, we have a problem!”

Alternate locations were immediately being considered for the event.  These included the Golf Course, Kryzik Park and the Airport just to name a few.  Several local farmers, land owners and lease holders were also contacted, all of whom were willing to work with the committee in an effort to allow the event to go on as scheduled.  The committee was joined by Fire Chief Bob Kepka and Highway Patrolman Murray Marston, who physically walked various locations – all of which were either saturated or surrounded by uncut wheat fields.

Saturday morning at 6:45 a.m., several committee members and volunteers gathered near the Kwik Shop to prepare for the Cowtown parade.  As I opened the hatch to my Jeep to retrieve the metal stakes used for signage, a roar of thunder snapped me to attention.  I quickly joined the rest of the group at the Kwik shop where we found shelter from the lightening and  rain.

At that time, the committee received three separate weather reports — all indicating rain throughout the morning.  By 7:45 a.m., we received calls from several land owners and farmers who had again walked their property in hopes that a moisture free night would have helped our soggy situation, but the added moisture Saturday morning only hampered our efforts and that of the farmers who were still not able to cut.

By approximately 8:00 a.m. it was decision time – move forward with the parade or cancel?  The deciding factors for the parade seemed to be obvious – rain with the potential of lightning mixed with men, women and children walking on the street and people riding on floats or being pulled in a wagon – the elements just didn’t seem to ring true for safety.  Decision – safety now instead of sorry later.  In addition to the decision to cancel the parade, we realized the situation with trying to set off  the fireworks while there was uncut wheat still in the fields was a potential fire hazard for the farmer – a HUGE concern.  We simply could not and would not chance the possibility of a stray spark wiping out someone’s wheat crop.

Then we also faced the fact that the standing water at our parks and in the fields would make the situation just too muddy for event participants to access without making a mess of the land.  At this time the committee unanimously agreed that the risks far outweighed the “fall out” of  postponing the event.

Of course, in hindsight —–

For anyone who has been a volunteer to an event of this size, you can understand and appreciate the hundreds of volunteer hours it takes to coordinate such an undertaking.   Postponing an event of this scale only creates more work for the handful of individuals who step forward and volunteer.  In a nutshell, the decision to postpone the event was not made without thoughtful consideration by all of those involved.

I would like to extend a personal thank you to several individuals who stepped forward and spent most of Friday night trying to search out alternate locations and/or offered options for the event; Murray Marston, Bob Kepka, John Ziegler, Georgina Bates, Dave Kempke, Exie Barber, Clarissa Cunningham, Jonathan Mitchell, Ken Arnhold and Ronnie Tenbrink.

To the dedicated few who helped coordinate the events of the weekend – Lou Boley, Dianne Hochman, Delbert Armbrust, Sandy Urbanek, Clarissa Cunningham, Jonathan Mitchell, Dave Smith, Amy Eck, Morgan Dobrinski and Joe Pruitt – with my sincerest appreciation and gratitude,  THANK YOU – THANK YOU — THANK YOU!!!!

WHAT NEXT???  Our contract with the fireworks vendor allowed for one back up date, which was Sunday, June 29, 2008.  This wouldn’t work as we felt the crops might still be in jeopardy.  Fortunately, we were extended an opportunity to reschedule to July 12, 2008,—-this coincides with Fort Harker Days.  Our committee made contact wih Mayor Cherie Sauers and Event Coordinator, Linnea Beebe regarding the potential of bringing the fireworks display to Kanopolis this year.  What was and is important to us, as a committee, is that we didn’t want to compete with Fort Harker Days —- yet we didn’t have much of a time frame with which to work.

Knowing our dilemma, Kanopolis graciously welcomed us with open arms and offered their support.  Meetings between the two committees will start this evening (Monday, June 30).  So at this point, it appears the Military Salute and Fireworks display will be held in Kanopolis on July 12, 2008.  Exact times and places will be noted after our meetings.

Again, on behalf of the Ellsworth Celebrations Committee, I thank all of you for your interest, understanding and support.

Tina Davis

If his face looks familiar, it should as he laid the hickory floors and the bathroom tile. Jeff picked this tile out for me as he didn’t think I’d be happy with the type I selected.  I did have reservations about keeping it clean and how the bull nose would look.  He solved those issues by finding this tile. We like it.

We’re going to like the new look in the kitchen. Jeff does excellent work so I’m always happy having him around here doing good things. He’s just another of the good-looking men I’ve found to work around the house.

From a reader:

I googled Edith Alden Johns and found your post of 4.23.08 about the “Crystal Queen”. My grandmother also learned painting from Edith Alden Johns and I have two pieces, one by Edith and one by my grandmother, Elsie Louise Hartronft, of Lyons. I’ve enclosed a composite picture of the one by Edith Alden Johns.

I was wondering if you could tell me any more about Edith. What I told you above is the only thing I know about her, and your post is the only resource that the web has divulged. Do you know if she lived in Lyons, Ellsworth, or elsewhere? Do you know any other stories about her?

Thanks.

PS, feel free to post this picture on your site if you feel so inclined.

The item above shows the intricate artwork of Edith Alden Johns. I don’t know much about her except “she” was a household name to my grandmother and all her friends who took painting lessons from her. There are many pieces of china about town with her name on it. I have several as well that developed from the same process, some with Edith’s name and others without. I presume my grandmother painted some of them. If any of you have information I can pass on to the reader, you might comment below or e-mail them to me.

The wires hanging down from the TV that were obvious in all the pictures were annoying my granddaughter. Luke fixed that.

Jeff called tonight and said he could come tomorrow and lay the tile for my back splash. Yay! Mackenzie and Luke stripped the counter top of all the muffins, cookies, cupcakes and general accumulation from the weekend, etc. so that Jeff can start work at sun up. I thought I’d soak the room first with my new spray.

I’m really pleased with my new camera since I was 50 yards away when I shot this. He/she was wandering around in our yard posing for pictures. What a beauty.

Does anyone have some really good yellow squash recipes that don’t include a lot of cheese or heavy cream sauce?

Tomorrow I am going to be immersed in computer/electronic/camera technology. Crash courses are coming my way on how to operate my camera, transfer pictures to my computer (I almost have that one down pat), iPod uploads and downloads and…other assorted things from Mackenzie and Luke. It’s going to be like having Harvard professors explain stuff to a very slow kindergarten student.

Also, really cool Adam, the sky diver/base jumper, son of my second cousin, is a professional window washer and has been for years despite the young age of 26. He does very tall buildings, very big windows or even small ones in Denver. I need my windows washed so he’s going to plan to come to Ellsworth later this summer and spend a week doing window washing for anyone who wants it. He says he’s “good, reasonable and has a 32 foot ladder”. When we decide on a week, I’ll post it so you can call him to make an appointment, should you want to. He’d like a good excuse to come back and spend some time here.

I’m crashing. It has been a long happy weekend, but I need sleep.

Thanks for tuning in….

Eddie is a miner, among other things, and has lived all over the world.  Today he was here on his two and a half week hiatus from Ghana.  He works three months mining gold then has a break from his work.  He’s back to visit family. We had a lot of catching up to do. Eddie and Dane became good friends at Boy Scout camp when they were teenagers. Eddie is family and a book unto himself.  Ghana is another adventure.  He’s in a very remote part of of the country where people are peace-loving and friendly. He’ll be back again in three months with more of his adventures.  We always look forward to that.

By 11:28 this fine Sunday morning the hoopla was over. Each person took turns hugging 44 other people and headed out the door. We never did get a group picture of all of us although our intentions were good. This was the largest number of people we could get together and then only because Brit was sitting outside and the cook (Ally in the plaid shorts) took a break.

The two old people in the picture who reached 80 years were the cause of much celebration this weekend. The guy to the right of me is my cousin, Ted Jury, who turned 80 on July 12. Ted lives in San Francisco. Ted was born in Claflin and there was much todo 80 years ago about us almost having the same birth date. There are lots of old pictures of us as infants splashing around in the same tub of water getting scrubbed. We were never shy after that. After all, the scrubbers were four nurses and a doctor.

Ted’s son John is in the white shirt, Ted’s niece Annie is on the left with her son Adam’s arm wrapped around her. Adam’s g/f Gina is beside him. Krissy in the white top is John’s daughter. Our son Todd is in the red shirt.

I figured Ally churned out food for about 45 people at 5 meals each…225 plates plus lots of side dishes and desserts. She had good help from Karen and the cousins.

Ally and Annie are fixing the last breakfast. Biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs with and without dill pickles (family tradition), ham, fried potatoes with onions, and a wide assortment of muffins, muffin tops, danish, rolls, and juice.

This is half the trash from the weekend. The other half went to Todd’s for early removal tomorrow. There is more. Ally accumulated a lot last night as well.

Let the birthday continue….

I’ve not taken a head count, but everyone I expected appears to be here and accounted for.  We gathered here for breakfast after the parade was canceled…so here were are, all relaxed…the young ones are cousins, Ally, Andrea and Kay. That’s really coffee in those cups.

Handsome dudes and cousins, Drew, Nick and Brock.

Sisters Aimee and Emelie.

Some took advantage of Strella’s shoe sale, some went swimming and others of us went to Ally’s where she took them for rides on her tractor and Harley. Tonight we’re heading back to Ally’s for a little noisy activity.

No rockets red glare. No anything this year. It has rained on our parade.

Tina Davis called early this morning saying all festivities from the parade through the fireworks have been canceled. No one has the heart to tell the guy who has staked out his spot for the parade in front of Lux Interiors.

The main problem is the mud in the rec area so that they can’t get emergency vehicles in should it be necessary. They can’t get the vendors in the area because of the mud. The celebrations committee searched most of the night trying to find an alternate site, but with all the wheat that hasn’t been cut, there weren’t safe places to fire the rockets.

Brit reluctantly agreed to be grand marshal when he learned all the rels would be willing to ride on a hay rack with him. Upon learning the parade had been canceled, his comment was….now what do we do with all the mints and candy we bought to toss during the parade? I donno. Feed the town. Friend Linda called and said she’d sit on her front porch if we all wanted to drive by, wave and throw candy in her yard.

So, they will try to reschedule the events, but that will be difficult with Ft. Harker Days and the Czech Festival consuming their regularly scheduled weekends.

Meantime, our family reunion is going forth and we’re having a spectacular time. We just don’t have any entertainment for our relatives. We do have an abundance of food, drink and conversation.

It is a little ironic. Every year when Dane and the bank crew were in charge of the fireworks, he would talk about how we might not be able to have the fireworks if it rained….and it never did to the point we had to cancel. This year will be a memorable one in many ways for our family.

This is the first picture I’ve taken with my new camera.  Isn’t it a dandy?  It’s a picture of my fave granddaughter and her hubby….that would be Mackenzie and Luke.

My new camera is a Canon Power Shot SD8909S.  I’m ready to go once I figure out how to use it.

The second wave arrived from Denver…my niece and her husband and three childen. You see the back of Greg from Denver. He’s the father of Nicholas, Demi and baby Benjamin, the tyke at the right by the front door.

The “cousins” who previously have had as their common denominator, this house, Ellsworth and me are discovering each other and how they relate. It’s a wonderful thing for them to see each other through new eyes and discovering each other. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand who someone is without actually meeting them. Andrea, the mother of Nicholas, Demi and Benji is tending the kids. Andrea is my brother Bruce’s daughter.

My cousin, Ted Jury at the right, is my age and lives in San Francisco. He grew up in Claflin and was the son of Dr. H.W. Jury who was the town doctor for 60 years. His father and my grandmother were brother and sister. One of his three sons, John, is at his right. Ted flew to Dallas and John, who has a fleet of planes, brought Ted to Ellsworth as a surprise. Ted really was surprised when he landed in Great Bend to learn it was not Great Bend Oklahoma. The people at the end of the table would be children of Ted’s deceased sister, Barbara Jury Drees. John’s wife, Cathy, is at the left. Bernadette “Boonie” Drees Rogers is behind her in pink.

This is my friend, Meredith, on the left, who comes to my rescue when I look bewildered. She brought a delicious broccoli-cauliflower salad and met my family. She also grew up in Claflin several years after mine had left the area. Here she is with Crissy, from Dallas, and Gina, the base jumper girl friend of Adam, from Denver. Gina is one adventuresome person. Adam, my “nephew”, along with being an exceptional base jumper, also writes beautiful poetry.

Ally and Tyler, the Air Force guy. Ally and Karen arranged all the food tonight and it was exceptional. Tyler is doing so well in the Air Force, scoring very high in his tech school tests in respiratory therapy. Recently, he sat in on very extensive surgery and “handled the innards”. It opened his eyes. He might decide to go to med school and become a doctor. Time will tell. We’ll see what happens during the next three years he has remaining in the Air Force. It’s so good to have him home.

Tomorrow the family is going to ride on the hay rack with Brit who is the grand marshal of the Cowtown Days parade. It’s the only way he would agree to do it. He’s really enjoying my relatives. I wish he had some ancestral relatives who were here too. Old age has its benefits too…and this is one of them. Having family nearby is as good as it gets. And, having our young grandchildren and our other youngsters meeting one another for the first time…or renewing old acquaintances…can’t be better than this.