by jphilo | Nov 16, 2015 | Out and About
One of my earliest memories is of sitting with my big sister on our bed, the kitchen radio between us, waiting for Dad to read the market report for our hometown radio station. Our bedroom door was tightly shut to avoid feedback from the dining room, which was HQ for Dad’s broadcast.
The glamour of hearing Ole Oleson announce–”And here’s Harlan Stratton with the morning market report for K-L-E-M, 1410 KLEM.”–sent shivers of delight down my spine. Listening to Dad’s voice come through the radio was magical.
Dad’s radio career was cut short by the progression of his multiple sclerosis, which soon left him unable to read. But KLEM’s magical aura lingered clear through numerous high school treks to the station to promote the theater productions that were my lifeblood in those days.
This week I’m in my hometown again to speak at 4 northwest Iowa libraries, the Le Mars Public Library included, about caregiving. Monday morning, at 11:45, I’ll join the city librarian at K-L-E-M KLEM to talk up the Le Mars event. Thanks to the magic of the internet, you can listen to 1410 KLEM live from wherever you may be–in the next room or in the next continent.
Dad’s been gone 17 years now, and his last radio broadcast was 50+ years ago. But if his name comes up during the broadcast and my voice wavers, you will know that the magic of hearing Dad’s voice still lingers. No longer on the radio for the morning market report, but forever in my heart.
by jphilo | Oct 30, 2015 | Out and About
This Fantastic Friday post is all about my favorite fall sport. Marching band. This post from October of 2011 pays homage to UNI Panther marching band and shows proper sympathy for the li’l ol’ football team that never gets to be the main attraction. At least not for me. How about you?
Feeling Sorry for the Football Players
Saturday, I went to Cedar Falls with my brother and his wife to watch the University of Northern Iowa marching band perform at the Uni-Dome. For some reason, two halves of a football game were scheduled on either side of their performance. Must have been a scheduling snafu somewhere.
Wasn’t it nice of the band to share their afternoon with the football team?
Not just share it, but agree to perform when the football players needed a little rest. Of course, that meant the team didn’t get to watch the main event. In fact, the marching band felt so sorry for the football players, they went onto the field and treated the team members to a song when they entered the stadium. Then, they lugged their instruments into the stands played some nifty ditties whenever there was a lull in the action. In my opinion, they could have played more often.
But what do I know about football games?
The halftime show was magnificent. We could see really well because, the people in front of us went to the concession stand or the bathrooms when halftime began. I guess nobody told them the band was the main attraction of the afternoon. Too bad, ‘cause they were the big losers. They missed a really unique show – half Star Wars, half Cabana music. Sounds strange, but it worked. Probably because my niece – she’s the blond right in front with the silver trumpet – was always in the right place at the right time. She was so good, they brought out a baton twirler and a precision flag and drum team to honor her efforts.
I am not making this up.
After wowing the crowd, the band considerately sat in the stands and watched the football game. They once again entertained the crowd when the opportunity arose. And, they played more songs after the game, not quitting until the crowd was out of the stadium. Unfortunately, the football players weren’t anywhere to be found. It made me feel kind of sorry for the football team. All afternoon at the Uni-Dome, and they weren’t allowed to enjoy the main event. Maybe that’s why everyone cheered when they won their little game.
The poor fellas need to feel good about something.
by jphilo | Oct 19, 2015 | Out and About
Thanks to my recent–ehem–kitchen accident, which means I’m typing one-handed, this week’s posts may be most memorable because of their brevity.
For today enjoy this TED-type talk filmed at Norfolk, Virginia’s Faith Inclusion Network (FIN) Spring 2015 conference (where the above photo was taken at sunrise), which explains why I do what I do.
[youtube]https://youtu.be/U9_0Popuem8[/youtube]
For talks from other special needs ministry leaders from around the country, they are available at the Faith Inclusion Network’s YouTube channel. Or if you’d like to leave a message for Russel, he visits this blog now and then and would love to hear from you.
by jphilo | Sep 4, 2015 | Out and About
Camp Dorothy’s very own Thelma and Louise are home, dog-tired and sweaty, after a hot weekend on the road. And I mean hot. Really hot. How hot was it?
I’m glad you asked.
If you remember, the purpose of our trip was to attend the 67th high school reunion for Camp Dorothy’s namesake. The reunion supper was held in Pipestone, Minnesota’s historic hotel, the Calumet Inn. The Calumet was restored some years back, and just got a second facelift, courtesy of the folks at Hotel Hell.
I’m not making this up.
The weather turned hot, hot, hot on Saturday with heat and humidity both in the upper 90s. So the camp director made a recognizance run before the festivities, to scope out parking spots and the quickest, most stairless route for Dorothy. That done, the clueless camp director returned to the overnight digs so she and Dorothy could get all gussied up for a hot night on the town. Which turned out to be a whole lot hotter than anticipated.
Because the air conditioning was out at the Inn.
Though the staff had fans to keep the air moving, kept the ice water flowing, and even handed out damp, chilled washcloths, it was still hot. So hot my dress stuck to the varnish on the back of the wooden chair every time I leaned forward. So hot condensation puddles formed instantly beneath cold glasses. (BTW, it’s possible to surreptitiously wet one’s hand in the puddle and trickle water down one’s leg, arms, and cleavage without being detected. Don’t ask how I know this.) So hot the establishment treated everyone to a free round of drinks.
Why we didn’t pack up and move to an air conditioned venue?
Because once octogenarions get where they’re going they tend to stay put. Two members used walkers and three used canes, and though the remainder of the group was surprisingly spry and ambulatory, they were also sympathetic to the limitations of their former classmates.
So there we were, two hot babes out on the town.
One with her dress stuck to the back of the chair. The other swapping stories with former classmates. Both of them enjoying the music provided by a male quartet (with one member who graduated in 1942) whose only nod to the the heat was to sit on tall stools as they sang. Sure, we were hot. But, we were also alive.
What more could two hot babes out on the town wish for?
by jphilo | Aug 10, 2015 | Out and About
The last two weeks have been painful. First, my stay with my daughter and her husband ended, which meant I had to say good-bye to our beautiful grandson. Next, I spent two days figuring out what I’d been doing before my month of play (long July 4th weekend in the Twin Cities, a week in Idaho, and a week with my daughter’s family), getting the house in order, and keeping appointments.
Then it was time to visit Mom, who was more than a little miffed because I had missed 2 Wednesday visits in a row. (Never mind that the Man of Steel came in my stead both weeks.) And because her new jeans–the ones I’d spent two weeks and 3 return trips to the store until I found ones that fit her–don’t fit just like her old jeans did.
At which point I trounced her playing Rummikub.
On the drive home from that visit, I said to myself, “Now you’ll be home for several days. You’ll get caught up on your writing. You’ll have time to think and recuperate.”
At which point God laughed.
And I walked into our house where the Man of Steel was on the phone with CenturyLink, our internet provider. He was on the phone a long time and finally hung up, a bit disgusted. Which for him means saying something unpleasant in a kind way. “We won’t have internet for a week.”
At which point I began to cry.
And to pack my briefcase with all the writing materials necessary for a week’s worth of writing. The briefcase was heavy. Heavy enough that I considered cramming everything into plastic garbage bags and steeling a grocery cart from the store down the road.
At which point I realized my sister is right. I am a drama queen.
So I ditched the garbage bag/grocery cart idea. But I did spend the week as an internet homeless author, wandering the streets in search of free public free access to the worldwide web. It wasn’t fun. And I got really, really behind on my work. Frustratingly so.
At which point my daughter, the literature major, sent her edits for Run, Jane, Run via email.
That cheered me up immensely as she really liked the book, and her suggestions for improving it were wonderful. Her ideas will require several more days, maybe even a couple weeks, of revising. But it was something I could do stay home and do without internet access.
At which point the repairman came and our internet service was restored.
Which just goes to show timing is everything. And God is still laughing.
by jphilo | Apr 21, 2015 | Out and About, Top Ten Tuesday
Last weekend’s trip to the Accessibility Summit conference was wonderful, as always. But this trip included a bonus perk: the flights too and from the conference were wonderful, too. In fact they were so wonderful, I feel compelled to list Southwest’s top ten wonderfulnesses since previous posts on this blog have bemoaned travel travails associated with this airline.
10. No flight delays. Not one. Most of the time we got to the gate early.
9. The early Sunday morning flight from DC to Chicago Midway had only about 3 dozen passengers. So my flying buddy and I sat in the front row. With extra legroom. The perfect opportunity to pretend we were flying first class. And I was the first person off the plane for the first time in my whole life.
8. 2 bags free. Which for an author carrying books to sell is money in the bank.
7. Southwest now has free gate-to-gate WiFi. Which, if I had enough tech savvy to figure out how to make it work, would have been a real perk. My flying buddy got it running on her phone, but she didn’t know how it happened, so she couldn’t teach me.
6. They still serve free snacks. Pretzels and peanuts.
5. Southwest has Goldilocks layovers. Not to long, not to short, but just right.
4. Their magazine is about more than travel. A few years ago, it had an article about Harvard Medical School’s Brazelton Institute, dedicated to healthy development of infants and young children. It was a boon to the research for Does My Child Have PTSD?
3. Some of their employees must moonlight as stand up comedians. More than one of them have jazzed up the safety instructions at the beginning of their flights so people actually pay attention. And maybe even laugh.
2. Those same employees can also use the perfect combination of humor and steely determination to keep 40 eighth graders–on their way to DC for a class trip–from running amok on a crowded plane.
1. Southwest flies out of Des Moines, so after a long day of air travel home is only a 45 minute drive away.
What’s your favorite airline? What makes it your favorite? Leave a comment.
