May 11th, One Year Later

May 11th is a day that always will have lots of memories attached to it.   It has been one year since our friend Henry passed away.  And this year Mother’s Day is also May11th.  One part of me is glad the forecasters are calling for cloudy and dreary weather, while the other part of me knows that I am stronger, wiser, and more resilient than I was a year ago.  If I were able to give up the sad feelings today, I would then also have to give up all the love and smiles that proceeded the sadness.  I would never trade away the former to escape the latter.  To miss someone means they had to be special in the first place.  That is not only life, but the only way to live life completely.

I am quite certain that the tributes we make to those who go before us are not supposed to be stained with tears.  That in no way means that there are not sad times with crying, but instead means that we best honor those now departed in the way we live our lives based on how they impacted us.  For the past year I have often asked how one says ‘thank you’ to ones now gone.  The answer has come slowly, but surely.

Henry used to say to James and me that even in the lean times we never forgot friends on their birthdays or holidays.  Even when the cash would have been nice it was not uncommon for James to give a language lesson for free, and to even throw in a quick lunch for a lonely old student.  Our home was always a place that another plate could be set, and another face welcomed at the table.  That was also very much how Henry had lived.  His drawer for chocolates and cookies was never bare, and his teapot was always ready for a neighbor to drop in. 

In the past months it has become clear to me that saying ‘thanks’ is best done by continuing to live as good friends to those in our lives.  Often I have found that I end letters or emails with the words ‘the teapot is always on’ and invite folks over to our home.  It is just a natural reaction as it reflects how we live, and who we are, but it also is a real way we honor Henry. 

In addition to the memories of Henry on May 11th, is the fact that it is also Mother’s Day.  

My mom loved flowers, and so in past years this weekend would be the time that I tried to find the special blooms and colors that would be added to her gardens.  She would get flowers from all the kids (and some grandkids) and they would be lined up in the backyard on Mother’s Day.  At some point that afternoon my dad would pull the hose to them and give them all a drink.  In a few days my mom would place all of them in the spots where they would get just the right amount of sun and attention.  As the summer would give way to fall she would comment to visitors that this one came from such and such, and that one was from such and such.  They were more than flowers; they each contained a memory for her.

This year I will still buy pretty flowers, but make a pot and give it to an unsuspecting person who will enjoy them.  Mom would want flowers to brighten a yard somewhere.

Over the past months James has asked me how we did not ‘go crackers’ with all that happened last year.  Hanging together, and not forgetting that we are never given more than we can handle is part of the answer.  Never forgetting the faith and values that others saw in us is the other part.

Thanks Mom.  Thanks Henry.

Technorati Tags: Madison, HenryDudek, GenevaHumphrey 

Take Me Back To Ozone, Arkansas

It has been a long week.   We had an eight-day re-construction project started and completed, and while everything is cleaned up and back to normal, these things are never fun.  During one of the more frustrating days when either the lawyer was here, or the insurance adjuster, or an 82-year-old woman beeping her horn in our driveway for kicks, I turned to James and reminded him that it was 7 years ago this week that we were preparing to depart for Ozone, Arkansas.  Gas prices were not yet $2.00 a gallon.  The mention of the trip brought a smile and fond memories.

Many of us had our ‘walking sticks’ for the trek on the old Ozone farmstead above.  In Pelsor, I bought an awesome varnished stick (not the one pictured) at Nellie’s Crafts for $5.49.  It sits alongside my desk as a reminder of Ozone and all that it represents.

Ozone is a small dot on the map, a place where more memories than people live, a mountainous region where my mom’s family farmed and lived before departing the rocky soil for the sand of Waushara County in the 1940’s.   In early May 2001 all seven of the kids that my grandparents raised traveled back to Ozone, along with some of their own children and grandchildren, to again walk the fields and re-tell the stories of their youths that were as fresh to them as if they had happened only the year before.  For a long wonderful once-in-a-lifetime family reunion weekend the siblings had a real trip back in time.  For the rest of us it was a real connection to our past.  At the time I wrote….

Despite intermittent rain showers the seven children, along with their children and grandchildren, walked the former land once farmed by the family in the 1930’s and 1940’s.  The present owners, Gen Nelson and Brian and Rhea Rylee, were most hospitable as the Schwarz’s retraced their steps where they had once combined hard farm work with memorable smiles and times of family togetherness. 

The boundary of the farmstead is still bordered by a rock fence that delighted the family members.  Herman’s parents, Jacob and Bertha Schwarz bought the 160-acre farm in 1908. Construction of the fence started soon after.  Waist high in most places, and still sturdy enough to allow an adult to walk on top of it in some places, the fence remains a testament to hard work and perseverance. 

A picnic lunch followed the walk at the Old School house in Ozone where Anna Schwarz had once worked in the kitchen.  Local Ozone residents, Jewell Walker Best and Lois Yates proudly showed the family the latest quilt that local women are sewing that will be sold for the continued up-keep of the school.

On Sunday as clouds gave way to bright sunshine the Schwarz family drove up the mountain to attend worship service at the Ozone Baptist Church where Anna and Herman had once attended.

With a rock or two from the fence and a sense of serenity provided by the beauty of the Ozarks and the kindness afforded by local residents, the family left the mountain.

Across the road from the old school house there lived a small boy named Justin (below) who was attracted to all the bustle and cars that normally were not around his small world.  He ventured over and soon was striking up conversations, and it was clear he was interested in staying for lunch with us.  We had all brought our own sandwiches, and as James and I had plenty, we invited him to share our food.  Talking with him I soon learned that Ozone was more remote than I had previously understood.  He had never seen a camera or an umbrella before and was giggling every time we took a picture of him and flash would go off.  Opening the umbrella was something that had to be done over and over.  After returning to Madison we framed a couple of pictures and sent them to his home in the Ozarks.

 

Technorati Tags: OzoneArkansas, FamilyReunion,  

 

John King And CNN Add Visual Spice With Election Night Touch Screen

Any of my readers, who were watching election nights in the 1960’s, or even in the winning days of Ronald Reagan during the 1980’s, understand there is a vast difference in the way we watch the polling returns on television.  It seems that the old black and white films of Walter Cronkite reporting the news of John Kennedy’s victory in 1960 are almost from a prehistoric age given the advances that have been made with computer technology and media maturity.  Don’t get me wrong, I think those old videos, and the reporters along with the politicians of that age were often incredible individuals.  But the contrasts with Election Nights during this primary season make for such a difference that many are making note of it. 

Starting with the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary it has been fun to see how the all-news networks that seem to thrive and specialize on election coverage have used technology to enhance their broadcasts.  And none seems to have achieved that goal better than CNN.  If you have watched John King do his ‘thing’ on CNN then you know what I am referring to.  If not, well be glad that this is one very long election year, as you will have plenty of time to see the visual spice.

If the white memo board Mr. Russert used on election night in 2000 were to get an extreme, high-tech makeover, it would probably emerge looking like the map Mr. King has been piloting on CNN. Measuring nearly seven and a half feet diagonally, the screen, along with its database, seems more suited to a commander moving troops around a battlefield, which is no accident. David Bohrman, who oversees CNN’s political coverage, fell in love with the monitor after seeing it at a military intelligence trade show last year. (Mr. Bohrmanrefused to say how much CNN had paid for the device, which is made by a company called Perceptive Pixel.)

Asked about his new toy on a recent morning at CNN’s New York City headquarters as his fingers darted from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh to Erie in a dry run of the Pennsylvania primary on Tuesday night, Mr. King said the technology enabled him to turn back the clock as much as move it forward. For more than a decade before joining CNN in 1997, Mr. King was a reporter for The Associated Press, and election nights usually found him systematically telephoning precincts to collect their tallies.

“I’m in TV 10 years, but in my head and heart, I’m still an old wire guy, a grunt,” Mr. King said. “You can use this new technology to look at politics the old-fashioned way, which is: who’s finding their people and turning them out?”

And yet Mr. King said that his touch screen allows him to present data in ways far more dazzling and compelling than in his days tapping out election results in A.P. bureaus in Providence, R.I., and later Washington, or even in his early years at CNN. The technology has also helped him solve a problem with which he has occasionally wrestled in his career at CNN: adapting his just-the-facts-ma’am approach to a visual medium.

“Nothing against white guys, but I’m a white guy talking in a box,” he said, stripping his broadcast performance to its essence. “If all I’m doing is saying, ‘6 percent, 8 percent, 10 percent, 12 percent,’ there’s that glaze-over factor at home. You’ve lost them.”

“The wonder of this,” he said a moment later, gesturing toward what is essentially a giant Etch-a-Sketch, “is that you can show it. You can make the math accessible.”

Technorati Tags: CNN, JohnKing, NewYorkTimes, ElectionNight,

 

Helen Thomas Still Seeking Truth In White House

I have admired and respected Helen Thomas all my life. She has demonstrated what a tenacious and credible White House reporter is all about.   Thomas again proved her mettle when taking on White House Press Secretary Dana Perino yesterday over the issue of torture.

Technorati Tags: HelenThomas, DanaPerino, Torture, WarOnTerror, PresidentBush, WhiteHouse

 

The Capital Times: When Is A Newspaper No Longer A Newspaper?

The news was not unexpected, and yet it was sad.  We all knew this day would come since afternoon papers are a rarity in the nation, and the newspaper world faces economic hardships.  Fewer readers and less ad buys have forced newspapers all over to adjust or fold.  Madison has witnessed the long slow readership decline of the afternoon progressive paper, and yet when we read the headline Thursday that The Capital Times would not be published six days a week, it was hard to take.  I think there was a collective pang inside our city after reading the top of the fold story with the fateful announcement.  We have all had conversations with friends and politicos about the future of the newspaper, but I think many felt our great city was supposed to be somehow immune to the same difficulties felt in newsrooms in other places.   Somehow I think we felt the paper would always be there to hold in our hands each afternoon.

A friend asked rhetorically upon learning the news that ‘daily’ publications would cease, “when is a newspaper no longer a newspaper?”  I think we have the answer upon reading the story.  There is something about the smell of the printed page, the ink that rubs off on your fingers, the sound of the pages as you fold them to better position it for reading while on the porch swing, or sitting on the sofa.  You can start the paper and then take it with you to read on the bus or at work.  You can leave it near the TV so to know when a show is about to be broadcast.  Some might even do the crosswords while soaking in the tub.  Not to mention that there is a tremendous value to having two points of view from two separate newspapers over the issues that shape our nation and community.  So it is easy to see that a real slice of America disappears when a newspaper morphs into something else.  At some point it stops being a real newspaper.

While the Capital Times will try to be relevant in the computer age, and stresses that their content and vocal opinion on national issues and local concerns will still be a mainstay of the efforts William Evjue started in 1917, we all know that this is not so much the start of something new, as it is the end of something grand.  Come April a great mainstay of the city is about to end, as we know it.  That is worth a moment of reflection, along with a sincere thanks on the part of a grateful city for all that the printed papers have meant to so many.

No matter your political point of view we can all agree that the downsizing of a newspaper in the fashion that the Capital Times will take is sad.  A vibrant and competitive afternoon newspaper made Madison special, and even with a more robust internet web site there is still a great hole that will never be replaced. 

Many an afternoon this past summer and fall I would be outside either cutting the grass, tending the flowers, or washing the car when the man delivering The Capital Times rounded the corner and landed my copy with precision on the porch.  (How he drives and throws with accuracy always amazed me.)  I would then take some time and read the paper out front.  The grass and flowers could wait.  This summer will be different and I know that many in the city will find a part of their day incomplete with the absence of the ‘daily’ progressive afternoon newspaper.

Technorati Tags: TheCapitalTimes, Madison, Wisconsin, Newspapers, Media,

Geneva Schwarz Humphrey Obituary

 

 At the center of Geneva Schwarz Humphrey’s home was her kitchen; at the center of her heart was her family.  During the toughest and final fight of her life, Geneva refused efforts to comfort herself, courageously insisting on remaining strong for her loved ones.  Late in the evening of August 11, 2007, God lifted her from the hands of her loving family who surrounded her to carry her Home.  He caressed their grieving hearts as she passed, and elevated Geneva, now at peace with Him.

 Born December 31, 1928 to Herman and Annabelle (Ross) Schwarz of Ozone, Arkansas, Geneva learned from her ‘Little Gramma’ the love of Christ and the power of generosity.  From her father, she learned to work hard, and from her mom, the gift of carrying a song on her lips and in her heart.  She instilled in her children the appreciation of doing ‘indoor things’ during the warm rains of summer evenings, and the brisk snows of winter when her home was the coziest.  In 1944, Geneva and the rest of the Schwarz family removed to Hancock, Wisconsin to start a new farming life, and Geneva finished high school there.

 On December 3, 1947, Geneva commenced a lifelong journey with husband, Royce R. Humphrey of Hancock.  Together, they raised a garden, planted the flowers she adored and traveled often.  Geneva’s plans were meticulously thought out well before they crossed the culvert and hit the pavement.  She reflected on everything before leaving, even gathering family photos in her purse so that her children’s faces were never far away.   Their last adventure was an early sixtieth anniversary honeymoon which took them to Niagara Falls, New York.

 Geneva had worked before marriage at the Sentry Insurance Company.  After her wedding, Geneva dedicated herself fully to being a good mother and housewife, maintaining a fine home, full of love.  She was known for her bread and butter pickles, summer squash casserole, and her much anticipated holiday angel cookies.  For everyone’s birthday, she made her chocolate fudge.  Geneva was also passionate about her own genealogy, and enjoyed knowing that of others as well. 

Geneva leaves to mourn a closely united family:  Gary (Pat) Humphrey, Ginger (Darvin) Pfaff, and Gregory Humphrey with life-partner, James Wilson; grandchildren Troy (Jennifer) Humphrey, Tricia (Jim) Lietz, Katrina, Darrin and Quincy Pfaff; great-grandchildren, Curtis Humphrey, Paige and Hannah Lietz.  She also leaves behind her siblings, Alene (Dale) Losey, Karl (Marcy) Schwarz, Lois (Richard) Klein, Lorene (Dale) Allen, Evelyn (Robert) Beggs, and Donald (Theresa) Schwarz; and many nieces and nephews.  She was preceded in death by her parents and grandson Trevor Humphrey.

Thank you, Geneva, for being such a loyal and thoughtful wife, mother and sister, for it is all of our lives which are richer for having known you.

–Written by James R. Wilson

Technorati Tags: GenevaSchwarzHumphrey

The Best Iraq War Paragraphs In Today’s Newspaper

They are at it again.  This time the ‘they’ is the Bush Administration.  The ‘it’ is more fear-mongering that has become a staple of this White House every time their back is pushed to the wall.

As the United States Senate engages in debate on the Iraq War, this morning’s lead editorial in The New York Times hits the mark in several ways.

Yesterday, the director of national intelligence released a report with the politically helpful title of “The Terrorist Threat to the U.S. Homeland,” and Fran Townsend, the president’s homeland security adviser, held a news conference to trumpet its findings. The message, as always: Be very afraid. And don’t question the president.

The Times continues with thoughts echoed continuously on this blog.

If the report is given an honest reading, it is a powerful rebuke to Mr. Bush’s approach to the war on terror. It vindicates those who say that the Iraq war is a distraction from the real fight against terrorism — a fight that is not going at all well.

Everyone without a GOP ax to grind knows we should have stayed targeted on the events that created 9/11.

The administration, however, seized on the report and, through bald political timing, tried to use it to dampen calls for an end to Mr. Bush’s catastrophic war. That required some particularly twisted logic. Ms. Townsend, for example, dismissed a reporter who asked whether the fact that Al Qaeda has regrouped in the area from which it planned the 9/11 attacks suggested that it was a mistake to divert American forces to Iraq. She said Al Qaeda headed by Osama bin Laden and the terrorists in Iraq that use the name Al Qaeda are the same.

In fact, we’ve seen no evidence of that, and none was in the intelligence report, at least the page and a half of conclusions released to the public.

Making the events on the ground in Iraq part of the fear factor also means that the White House needs to play with the facts.  Nothing new here…in fact they excel at this.

Was there a link before the war between Osama bin Laden and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the terrorist leader in Iraq? Ms. Townsend refused to answer. “This is ground long covered,” she snapped.

Indeed it is. The answer is, “No.” In fact, Mr. Bush’s bungled invasion spawned a new terrorist army and gave it a home base. Now, the report said, those terrorists are the only ones affiliated with Al Qaeda that are “known to have expressed a desire to attack the” United States.

Even Republicans are now starting to search for an exit from Bush’s war in Iraq.  But the Bush White House will keep up the rhetoric for those Americans too easily swayed by fear and lies.

This administration has never hesitated to play on fear for political gain, starting with the first homeland security secretary, Tom Ridge, and his Popsicle-coded threat charts. It is a breathtakingly cynical ploy, but in the past it has worked to cow Democrats into silence, if not always submission, and herd Republicans back onto the party line.

That must not happen this time. By now, Congress surely can see through the president’s fear-mongering and show Mr. Bush the exit from Iraq that he refuses to find for himself.

Technorati Tags: NewYorkTimes, IraqWar, Congress, PresidentBush

Thank God For Painters’ Tape

This blogger is going to stay away from the computer until July 5th.  I am in the midst of lots of house improvement work and find the paint fumes do not mesh with clear thinking for blogging.  Then there is that lack of time element that also comes into play.   The painting results are looking fantastic, as is the staining of our deck.  But today we conceded that we must hire a guy to paint the ceilings.  Some things even painters’ tape will not allow for……since the ceilings are 9-10 feet high.

Could This Be One Reason We Are Hated In Iraq?

A friend sent this video to me tonight, and it is telling about the attitude that American troops take with them when they invade a country. 

Humvee Traffic Driving in Baghdad