Thursday Gee Time

When I told CeCe that I lost my job she thought that was pretty cool because now we could spend some more time together. Yes, I suppose that's one way of looking at the bright side of it. So today was our first day to spend some quality time together with the stipulation that it didn't involve money. Manny called it a scavenger hunt for lighthouses. The first one that we visited was Wind Point in Racine. This one is pretty cool as it's 108 feet tall and is the tallest and oldest lighthouse still operating on the Great Lakes. We weren't able to climb the tower (it's only open on Sundays) but the kids still found the history quite interesting and got to blow the flog horn. They ventured into the lake and decided that it would be best to keep their flip flops on but soon learned how difficult it was to walk in them.

The next one that we visited was the Racine North Breakwater. It took a bit of navigating to figure out how to get to this one but once we did it was sure worth it. This one is no longer active but the locals consider it a landmark. We didn't see any 'no tresspassing' signs so Manny decided to figure out how to climb it. I didn't want to do my freakoid Grandma thing so I just said a couple of prayers that he'd be safe and watched him figure out the best way to straddle the beams and inch his way over to the staircase which was about 6 feet from the ground, surrounded by a prickly bush.

He felt so proud of himself for combating his fears and walked with a bit more confidence after that. He's decided that he'll wear tennies next time as flip flops just aren't the best for boy stuff.

The kids spent the rest of the afternoon at the sandy beach near this light so no more worries about floating flip flops. One could build a sand castle in the back seat of my car now and I think I'll leave it that way for a bit to relish the memory of a wonderful afternoon with the kids.

Afterward we met up with Christie and went to a performance of the ACROCATS -- it was a hilarious show put on by trained cats. Yes, TRAINED cats!! The performer has trained these cats using a clicker and whistle - of course the kids are now going to try and train their cat, Tansy as they're sure that my cats are beyond hope. The cats even played in a band!

Next week we're going to try and see the other two lights in Racine and I promised Carrie not to subject her children to danger again. Freakoid mom!

Relay for Life -- what an event!!

My friend, Jack Stratmeyer, warned me about this event -- he told me that it will be a most moving experience -- only that I believe he was underestimating sappy old me. When Carrie walked past me on the survivors' lap I cried like a baby. How different my life would be without her in it!! Thank you God for gracing us with her for a bit longer.


We decorated our 'campsite' with ribbons of hope . . . my friends Joyce and Bob Hillmer constructed the flags based on my brainy idea and I think it turned out quite nice.


We also made some small pins with the colors of cancer. My niece Tena, Manny and CeCe staked out a table near the track to sell them and once they felt that the sales weren't going strong enough, they ventured out onto the track and ended up selling $60 worth of them!!!

It started to storm around 7:30 so they announced that we all had to go into the cafeteria until the storm passed. They opened a part of the gym so we could continue walking. We were all quite happy when they announced that we could once again go back out. They quickly placed the luminarias around the track, turned off all the lights and lite them. The scene was enormously moving and I felt my Mother's spirit right there with me.

Unfortunately it started to rain once more but with my soul refreshed I donned my rain gear and Ipod and together with Krista Tippett (NPR-Speaking of Faith) I walked through the night until I was freezing. I went back to the campsite but found that all three of the tents were soaked so I decided cuddle up by the campfire in the only dry blanket I could find. I can imagine the sight I must of looked like when Ron May came to claim me the next morning for breakfast!!

So far our team raised over $1500. A special thank you to Gregg, Carrie & Ben, Manny & CeCe, Christie & Kent, Jerry, Bob & Joyce Hillmer, Jan Kohlmann, Anne Weiland, Ron & Karen May, Meg Watson and all our friends and family who supported us through the night.

Jack was right; this event was so moving -- it's been a long time since I felt close enough to 'talk' to my Mother and let her know that I love her and that I miss her.

Fraud Fighter 101

Years ago a friend of Christie's was the innocent victim of an identity theft. Someone had phoned him and said that he felt guilty that he'd been using his name to purchase cell phones (must of had a 'come to Jesus moment'). It sounded so strange that we paid a visit to my brother-in-law, Rick, who is a retired policeman; he told us the ugly truth that identify theft was just beginning and that they didn't know quite how to stop it and worse yet, the usual victims are the elderly. Yuk.

Today we are equipped with more tools to identify fraud but the predators are one step ahead of us. Advances in technology make it even more easier for them to steal our identity armed with only a cell phone that takes pictures!

AARP has developed an awesome program to Recognize, Resist, and Report frauds and scams so that no one will lose their life savings to crooks. The Fraud Fighter program trains volunteers like myself to get this message out to the community so that the predators learn that we're on to them. In a half-an-hour or less I have been trained to educate the public in how to identify fraud, protect themselves against fraud, and where to report any fraudulent activities to the proper authorities.

In addition, AARP advocates lobby to pass legislation to protect the innocent such as putting a ceiling on Payday loan interest rates. The more information that we can provide to the advocates the better they'll be able to advocate on our behalf. I'm feeling REAL good about this mission and the benefit that I can offer to my community.

Let me know if your group would be interested in hearing about this program -- it's free!

http://www.aarpfraudfighters.org/

The Postcards

Years ago my father gave me a box containing his father’s postcard collection which spanned the years of 1908 to 1929. I placed each card in photo album and recently realized that they are fading into infinity. I pursued this project to preserve one of the few remaining links to Hugo’s past. The cards depict events frozen in time such as one sent to Hugo by my Grandmother Elsie, writing about the ‘dress’; I can only wonder if that dress was the one she planned to wear on her wedding day? There is also one from Aunt Mamie from the Seattle World’s Fair, cousin Helmut’s new Chevrolet, and various photos made into postcards. My favorite one has Hugo sitting on the manure spreader in his Sunday best! What an event it must have been to have your photo taken back then.

A Brief Postcard History

The first American government postal cards date back to 1872 when the United States Congress authorized the 1 cent postcard. Businesses had these postcards printed with advertisements, greetings, or illustrations. In 1898, Congress put privately printed postcards, which had cost two cents (to send) on an equal footing with government-issued cards by cutting their price in half. It was the establishment of rural free delivery around the same time that made sending postcards a way of life.

Free mail delivery in cities began in 1863, and home delivery was made to residents of towns with populations of at least ten thousand, but it was not until sometime between 1896, when RFD began, and 1906, when RFD was fairly well established that farmers no longer had to travel considerable distances to the nearest post office to send or receive mail. Many had made this trip only once a week. The mail arrived every day, in cities sometimes two or three times a day, so people used the mail more often. You could send a card in the morning saying you expected someone for dinner at seven, certain in the knowledge that the dinner guest would receive the card well before seven o’clock. A penny postcard was a bargain. It was half the price of a letter and required less effort on the sender’s part. The price of the penny postcard only went up to three cents in 1958!

I've been on a quest to visit the sites pictured and capture what they look like today. Some of the places are no longer there but others haven't changed much such the Lake Park one:

I do need to get another shot showing the road and what little that you can see of the overhead bridge -- always looking for that perfect picture . . .

Mother Nature (and Aunt Bessie's) Gifts

On our way back to the Falls from Albright Church on Saturday I convinced my friends to stop at Aunt Bessie and Uncle Harold's house to see Aunt Bessie's garden in bloom. As soon as we pulled up both Jan and Anne were in awe. The Iris were in bloom as well as many other parts of her garden. It was a butterfly and bee's paradise. Every once in awhile the wind would sent us the scent of these wonderful plants. Aunt Bessie's garden is an act of love and I think a bit of her therapy. For as long as I can remember she's been involved in at least two or three projects at once that brought her immense pride whether it be a gift she's making for her children, grandchildren or great grandchildren; working in her glorious garden; baking; or just sitting and being with me and my multiple problems and stories. I have been so gifted to have her in my life and hope that what I've learned from her will keep me in my mature age so that I too can be as spry and positive as she is.

My garden -- it's a start.

It takes a village . . .

While I'm not a strong Hillary fan I do like the title that she (or was it her editor?) chose for one of her books. I learned the strength of the village when managing my staff at Foremost; I was fortunate to have three of the most interesting people under my supervision to pull together in support of my mission. My 'village' now has various locales and I find that I'm now fortunate to view and participate in others' villages. The learning continues . . .

On Saturday morning I met with Jan, Anne, and Jenny to work on our Technology Mission Partnership project with Albright Church. We all carry a strong passion for this project and bring different viewpoints to the table -- Jan from the business sense, Anne organization, Jenny culture, and me? I'm not sure exactly where I fit in but perhaps I offer the insight and empathy of those women struggling to change their circumstances as a former single mother. I never thought that would be an asset but I have learned that in order for one to succeed one must undergo some type of a transformation. It's like Christie's favorite children's book, The Hungry Caterpillar . . . am I in the crystalis stage now? Anyhow, we did alot of brainstorming and came up with some really wonderful ideas and plans on how we can take our program out to the community. Here we come!

Sunday I spent the most wonderful quality bonding time with Christie -- we volunteered for the Channel 10 fund drive. We had never done anything like that before and I was elated to watch Christie interact with the other volunteers and do her very best at her 'job'. Not only had either of us ever volunteered for a Channel 10 event, but neither had we volunteered at anything together (other than walking in the Menomonee Falls Christmas Parade with her beloved Pudgie but I don't think that counts)! I am certainly blessed to have a daughter with such a community-minded vision as my Christie. I'd love to take credit for that but those of you who know my Christie know that's all her -- the pure wonderment of it all. The fund drive was an orchestrated event where everyone had their marks and were 'live' at a second's notice. I was quite impressed with the level of organization that pulling something like this together required. Yes, they've done it a couple of (hundred) times but WOW! We'll certainly do this again. Here we come!

New Directions

Yesterday I decided to pull back on my exhaustive job search a bit and spend time doing stuff that will feed my muse such as spending more time with my family and friends, gardening, photography, writing, sewing, genealogy, music, etc. I know that with ample prayer that perfect job and I will connect. So yesterday I grabbed my Ipod and camera and headed out to Lime Kiln Park to do research for my next project, The Friends of Lime Kiln Park Forum or something like that, I haven't quite settled on the title yet . . . any suggestions?

The Real Menonomonee Falls

Wildflower Identification . . . learn what their names are . . . the adventure's on . . .

Steps:

1. Pull out books from library . . . National Audubon's First Field Guide to Wildflowers, Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, and Peterson's Wildflowers.

2. What do I know? Colors of Blue and White, 4 Regular Petals, Long Stem, Long Leaves, Blooms Early June, Wooded Habitat.

3. Is it a Bluet? Nope, the center isn't yellow enough.

4. Common Flax? Nope, flax has 5 petals.

5. AHA I found it -- Dame's Rocket. It is often confused with Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata), and, at first glance, it is easily understood. They are similar in habit with showy clusters of white, pink and purple flowers atop erect 2’ to 4’ stems. However, dame’s rocket is a member of the mustard family or Cruciferae, and aside from arugula, her relatives include radish, wintercress, cabbage and broccoli. They all share the distinction of having flowers with 4 petals that form the shape of a cross. (Garden Phlox blooms much later in the summer and its flower has five petals.) Seeds are produced in long slender fruits called siliques; some growing as long as four inches, making for copious seed production. I've also seen it identified as Sweet Rocket, Dame's Violet, Wild Phlox, or Mother of the Evening. So, what should I call it?

OK, so now I'm more stumped . . . gotta connect up with some experts.

AARP -- Not just for old foggies!

Yesterday I had the opportunity to meet with a most remarkable woman, Mariann Muzzi -- the Associate State Director, Community Outreach for AARP Wisconsin. It took some simple family networking to put this together ... cousin Lori asked what I was doing with all my spare time, asked what I liked best about being in the work force ... put in a plug for me with her AARP connections and wala, I'm alive again.

It didn't take long for Mariann and me to recognize that we have an extreme amount in common. We talked of our glorious grandchildren ... two for her also; animals ... she mourned the loss of her's and gave me advice on my Vinnie's awful biting habit; books ... she reads all the Pulizer Prize winners, saw 'The Long Engagement' movie and wanted so much to tell me about Edgar Sawtoole; NPR ... was excited about learning my experiences with 'Speaking of Faith'; social networking and on and on. Two hours into our meeting we realized that we were really getting together to learn about the AARP opportunities available to me! Oh how she made me feel good about where I'm at in my journey!!

As an AARP volunteer I will be able to:
- Share the benefits of your life experience
- Help achieve the goals AARP Wisconsin members care most about - health and financial security, independent living, protection from consumer and investment fraud
- Benefit from high quality training and education
- Enjoy stimulating new challenges
- Partner with others who share my commitment to improving the quality of life
- Have fun
- Know that I truly can make a difference

There are multiple ways I can get involved:
- Grassroots Advocate: influence important legislative issues the impact AARP's mission
- Fraud Fighter: educate the community about the dangers of financial and consumer fraud
- Virtual Volunteer: web-based research, data entry and e-advocacy
- Faith in Action: volunteer care-giving services to individuals who are homebound
- Long Term Care Ombudsman: protect and support nursing home residents
- Driver Safety Program: improve and maintain elder driving skills
- Tax Aide: free tax preparation
- Office Support: data entry, web research, copy collating

So, I've decided to become a FRAUD FIGHTER. In this role I'll be educating Wisconsinites about the dangers of financial and consumer fraud. Fraud Fighters are trained by AARP; the Wisconsin Department of Financial Instituions and the Office of Privacy Protection to give ducational presentations to clubs, faith-based organizations and other civic groups. Just imagine where this might lead??

I am so excited to be involved in this organization . . . Enhancing the quality of life for all as we age. Yes, that'll be me.