When the little pond across the street from The Little House has whitecaps it's obviously windy. At least it's not snowing! There are still some snowbanks visible on the northwest shore of Lake Sinai. These banks are in full sun and spotted from a distance of a mile and a half. Weather app claims the current wind speed to be 30mph with gusts higher. Yes, I'm tired of wind!
Takk for alt,
Al
Farmers are stirring in the fields now. Some of it appears to be recreational tillage, but what do I know? Thinking I'd begin tillage with plowing today a cold north wind dissuaded me. With warmer weather forecasted for next week riding a cab-less tractor in the cold seemed foolish.
Three options for activities are always available. Those three are picking rocks, cutting cedar trees out of the grasslands or hunting gophers. Hunting gophers was today's activity, which like the other options, feature walking in the grass.
This was much to the delight of Kaia. She can hardly contain herself in the truck ride in anticipation of running free. She remains in eye contact with me while running. When I walk she runs. If I'm stopped for any length of time she comes to me. Walking toward the truck she precedes me and when the door is opened she jumps in. Most days she flushes some pheasants but not today.
Takk for alt,
Al
In 1977 Kenny Rogers released a hit song "You Picked A Fine Time Leave Me Lucille." Several years later the Balgaard Brothers released a parody of Rogers' song You Picked A Fine Time To Leave Me Loose Wheel. The later song came to mind when a wheel on my tractor came loose. Fortunately it didn't 'leave me' it just slid several inches on the axle and. again fortunately, it slid in and not and off. 😀
The rear wheels are designed to be adjustable for variable width tread. Over the years, though not for many years, I've adjusted such wheels. So the process is familiar and simple. However, the accomplishment requires some heavy physical labor. I'd guess the wheel weighs about a thousand pounds. It's held in place by four bolts, all of which were rusted tight. Two of those bolts, on the inside of the hub. are obscured by a fender. Once the bolts are loosened the wheel needs to be slid, uphill becasue that side of the tractor is jacked up, back into its proper place.
A real farmer once told me that each spring he needed to work himself back into good physical condition. Imagine my physical condition after lying about all winter in the OFH. Yes, I got the job done and got a good physical workout moving myself toward better physical shape. All the tools needed were in my shop and that provided a good place to work. Now the tractor is prepared to pull the plow.
Takk for alt,
Al
After chopping the stalks on a cornfield yesterday I reported that no corn kernels were spotted. Moving on to the second field I assumed that too would be devoid of corn. Given the long snowy winter the deer and pheasants might have eaten it all. That was not the case. There was enough corn left so the ground was yellow with kernels and whole ears. Deer and pheasants in proximity should have been well fed all winter. The corn on the ground is a banquet for seed eaters. It's too bad the geese migration is long over or they could have had a feast. Grazing cattle, of which I have none, could quickly consume the ear corn. The amount of corn left surprises me.
Takk for alt,
Al
Soon time to plow.
It's a good day when my 73 year old tractor starts as does my 50 year old tractor that's stood unstarted for six months and my 30 year old truck! Chopped the corn stalks on one field. I didn't spot a single kernel of corn on the ground. The deer, pheasants, squirrels and other wildlife ate it all. That. of course, is the point, to feed the wildlife. That field is dry enough to plow.
There are still snow banks in various places. Most impressively, some are in full sunlight. They much have been very deep to last until almost the end of April. Even with all the snow that was in the yard there has been no moisture on the floor in the basement.
Takk for alt,
Al
No field work yet! Machinery parked in farmyards ready to go but the fields are too wet. There is still standing water but not nearly as much as there was Thursday. Pelicans and egrets are back, can summer be far behind? 😀 Putting the rain gauge up last week was a mistake...it froze and broke. 😒 It's a very pleasant four hour drive from the OFH to TLHOTP.
Takk for alt,
Al
Books are often a subject addressed in this blog. In that context I thought the following was interesting.
"The Library of Congress was established on this date in 1800. President John Adams signed legislation to move the United States capital from Philadelphia to Washington; included in that legislation was an order to establish a library that would contain “such books as may be necessary for the use of Congress — and for putting up a suitable apartment for containing them therein.” The first catalog listed 964 books and nine maps.
The
library was originally housed in the Capitol Building, but was destroyed, along
with the Capitol, by British soldiers in 1814. Former president Thomas Jefferson
offered to sell his extensive and eclectic library to the government, and they
took him up on it. They paid him about $24,000 for his collection of nearly
6,500 books, which he had been building for half a century: “putting by
everything which related to America, and indeed whatever was rare and valuable
in every science.”
In 1870,
Librarian of Congress Ainsworth Rand Spofford established the copyright law,
requiring that every copyright applicant send the library two copies of their
work. It’s no wonder that the Library quickly outgrew its original home in the
Capitol. In 1886, Congress approved the construction of a new building
dedicated solely to housing the collection. The Main Building was joined by the
Art Deco-style John Adams Building (1939), named to honor the president who
established the library. Then came the James Madison Memorial Building in 1980;
that same year, the Main Building was renamed the Thomas Jefferson Building.
The
library receives about 15,000 new items every workday. Its collection includes
17 million books, and millions of maps, photographs, films, recordings, and
drawings, in 470 languages. The Law Library alone — which supplies Congress
with information on laws from all over the world — contains 2.8 million
volumes. "Today's Writer's Almanac
Takk for alt,
Al
Some people have multiple books that they read simultaneously. That's not been my usual practice. typically I like to finish a book before starting another. Currently I've started two books and that fact is a commentary on the one that was started first. It's interesting but not compelling so when another came via mail I started reading it. It's more engaging so I tend to read it more often. It's a vote via being more often selected.
That such trivia, as which book to read, engages me is indicative of tranquility of my life. I really do have it made, and I'm grateful.
Takk for alt,
Al
I came across this quote from Maggie Smith, "When you lose someone you love, you start to look for new ways to understand the world." When I read this I thought "Yes, that describes my experience at Joanne's death." Suddenly I occupied a world in which Joanne was past and the future world would be lived and experienced without her physical presence. These five years since her death have been a learning curve about living as a single, but a single much changed from the one who lived 24 years before her. She changed me for the better in myriad ways. Those changes have served me well since her death. She feared for my future without her. She need not have because life with her give me skills, understanding and capabilities to navigate the land of grief in her absence. Yes, I have new understanding of the world.
Takk for alt,
Al
The poem below is the one that made Maggie Smith famous.
In several of the last posts mention has been made of wetland restoration. One way I like to think about those projects is "doing my bit for the Gulf Of Mexico." Nitrogen fertilizer applied to crops leaches away via rainwater run off . Water from my land is carried by a creek to the Big Sioux River, the BSR empties in to the Missouri River at Sioux City, IA. The Missouri River reaches the Mississippi River at St. Louis, MO. From there it flows to the Gulf which now has a huge dead zone, much of which is caused by farm runoff. Retaining water on my land captures nitrogen so it doesn't reach the watershed.
Only once has a neighbor given approval of the conservation practices I've instituted. He was immediately downstream from the property where the dam was just now restored. He recognized the value of capturing water on the land. The native grasses are also a part of that water capture.
Takk for alt,
Al
Seldom were the windshield wipers turned off on the drive from The Little House. Never have I seen so much water in the fields and it became increasingly wet the father east travelled. There are snowbanks remaining in ditches and especially in the trees. Field work looks a long way off.
A bit of silver lining in the completion of the wetland restoration prior to the rainfall. The rain is ideal for the seeding of the bare soil in the restoration area. While the work was too late to capture the runoff from the snow melt perhaps the rain will start some ponding below the dams.
Return to the OFH was prompted by a granddaughter's birthday on Monday. With the inclement weather there wasn't much for me to do there so may as well enjoy some time here. There are family and friends to see, mail to sort, etc. It's a blessing to have both places.
Takk for alt,
Al
Fact: South Dakota has 3,800,000 head of cattle...nearly 4.3 for every state resident. 😀
All of last summer was spent waiting for a contractor to do the wetland restoration. At every contact his message was "I'll be there in two weeks." He never came. A different contractor was engaged last fall and his crew came as soon as the snow had gone. Now, two days of work by a crew of two, all the work is completed. It would have been nice to capture the snow melt this spring but that was not to be.
Last done was the repair of the dam tunneled by muskrats and subsequently washed out. There is water flowing into that pond from a neighbor's land which has been tiled. That tile extends fifty feet onto my land and is flowing. The fifty feet is to avoid the tile ending at my fence line which would have made the ground too wet for me to traverse. I'm keen to see how much that pond raises in the next days. The area that is flooded is quite expansive, several acres, so the water in it will rise slowly. Last fall it was dry with the exception of an old dugout. When wetlands dry down that allows vegetation to emerge that is beneficial to wildlife.
The state wildlife biologist seeded the fresh soil of the restoration projects with 'brood cover'. That is a mixture of plants that provide food for young, wild bird broods. That, too, will be interesting to observe.
Takk for alt,
Al
"Playing in the dirt" but don't call it 'dirt' because it is 'soil.'
Draining the land via tile, ditches and culverts is very popular. It's done in pursuit of increasing production. While my neighbors drain I build dams to retain water. Four new ones are now being constructed to re-create wetlands that were drained decades ago. These will compliment five that were built on another property 30 years ago. The largest of those needs repair. Muskrats tunneled through the dam and allowed water to flow through it. Eventually that flow eroded the dam with a major wash-out, so it holds much less water. That will now be repaired.
Why wetlands? "Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems in the world, comparable to rain forests and coral reefs. An immense variety of species of microbes, plants, insects, amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish and mammals can be part of a wetland ecosystem. Climate, landscape shape (topology), geology and the movement and abundance of water help to determine the plants and animals that inhabit each wetland. The complex, dynamic relationships among the organisms inhabiting the wetland environment are called food webs. This is why wetlands in Texas, North Carolina and Alaska differ from one another.
Wetlands can be thought of as "biological supermarkets." They provide great volumes of food that attract many animal species. These animals use wetlands for part of or all of their life-cycle. Dead plant leaves and stems break down in the water to form small particles of organic material called "detritus." This enriched material feeds many small aquatic insects, shellfish and small fish that are food for larger predatory fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals.
The functions of a wetland and the values of these functions to humans depend on a complex set of relationships between the wetland and the other ecosystems in the watershed. A watershed is a geographic area in which water, sediments and dissolved materials drain from higher elevations to a common low-lying outlet or basin a point on a larger stream, lake, underlying aquifer or estuary." Environmental Protection Agency
Takk for alt,
al
Wetland restoration.
Cedar trees are very hardy and well adapted to prairie life. Deer do not graze on cedars as they do on spruce. Growing in the proper location they are good for wildlife. During the winter deer and pheasants shelter from the wind and snow in their cover. Pheasants roost in them at night, snug out of the wind and safe out of reach of coyotes and fox. During spring and summer cedars provide excellent habitat for nesting songbirds.
Over the years I've planted many rows of cedar trees for wildlife habitat. These rows are adjacent to grasslands. That brings the unintended consequence. Birds eat cedar berries and defecate the seeds in the grass. Cedars sprout from these droppings and in a few years can infest grasslands. The result is neither "fish nor fowl', or, more accurately, neither "grassland nor woodland." Wildlife that require open grasslands are eliminated. Many acres of grassland in western states have been rendered non-productive by invasive cedars.
Why wasn't this an issue prior to settlement by Europeans? Two factors kept the cedars at bay. Prairie fires were common. Some were ignited by lightning strikes and other deliberately started by Native Americans. Fires are fatal to cedar trees.
Bison also control cedars. M.S., my high school classmate, raised bison for a number of years. He reported that when bison were put in grassland with cedar trees the bison destroyed the trees with their horns. Bison could be observed with the remnants of cedar trees stuck in their horns. Within a short period of their being loosed in a grassland containing cedars they had destroyed them all.
This bison behavior raises the question of "Why?" Why would they do this? It would have been to their benefit, preserving the grass on which they depended. But it's a fascinating, rather abstract, cause and effect. Perhaps I should raise bison so I don't have to hand cut the trees in the grass. 😀
Takk for alt,
Al
Fourteen deer ran out of the grove. I thought that they'd be dispersed by now.
A 30 mph wind, mostly north, a little west, has whipped up whitecaps on the little pond across the road from The Little House. Don't remember seeing that before. Leaving the OFH in the warmth Monday I neglected to bring my top coat. There is a house full of cold weather clothes but not Sunday go-to-meeting types. So, a bit of shivering between inside and car, etc. Not fatal of course but would have been mighty miserable in the case of car trouble. Car trouble is very infrequent these days with modern autos. My father always advocating leaving early in case of a flat tire. He began driving in 1914 when flats were frequent. Now "leave early in case of traffic jams" but they're not an issue here on the prairie.
Snowbanks are still visible where they were deep by trees with a few still in road ditches. Yesterday's snow didn't amount to much and quickly disappeared. Those snowbanks are a reminder of the winter that was. Still haven't found anyone who'd admit to enjoying the winter. 😄
Life is good on the prairie.
Takk for alt,
Al
After the brief summer, fall is in the air. In fact it is snowing and the ground is white. Perhaps that's appropriate, the S.D. family last gathered on Dec. 17, and it was snowing then, too. Today seven have signed up for dinner at Craft, a nice, relatively quiet restaurant in Brookings. Likely my nephew, the tax man, is too busy. I've been asking "did you enjoy the winter?" All replies thus far have been negative. It reminds of life in tropical Thailand where the Thai regularly complain about the heat. With three more nesting boxes to hang, Kaia and I ventured out into the cold wind. Kaia loved it, me? not so much, but taking a clue from the Norwegians, I dressed for it.
The Little House is cozy and easy to heat. Remember 2020? Living here all winter worked well and fortunately there wasn't a lot of snow. Living here this winter would have necessitated much shoveling.
Takk for alt,
Al
The Little House this winter.
In the fall of 2021 I put up three bluebird nesting boxes for use in the spring of 2022. These three were quickly adopted by tree swallows and all three had nests. When the birds moved on I opened the boxes, cleaned them and left them open for the winter. Now, when I returned to close them, there were swallows on the fence next to the box as if they were waiting to use it. As I mounted four more boxes that were given to me for Christmas swallows were circling just above my head seemingly anxious for a place to nest. On a trip to Brookings today I picked up three more boxes which I will place tomorrow. There is no shortage of posts on which to place them.
Takk for alt,
Al
Hand painted nesting boxes, not Kaia in the background. 😀
The book I've been reading deliberately is finished. It's the 4th book in Norwegian author, Roy Jacobsen's Ingrid series. On my last trip to Norway, Berger who once lived on an island near the setting of these books, gave me The Unseen, the first of the series. In that book, Ingrid was a young girl. In the second White Shadows, she's mostly alone during the German occupation of Norway in WW II. The third book's, Eyes Of The Rigel, setting is immediately post war.
Just a Mother, the current volume, recounts life on the island of Barroy. Ingrid, the owner of the Island lives with several others including her aunt, children she's raised, her own daughter and various other family remembers. Jacobsen's spare prose intimates much that is left unsaid. The late Knut Hamsun, 1859-1952, was a Norwegian author who pioneered novelistic writing that emphasized a character's inner state (see his Hunger for example.) Jacobsen is much in that tradition and much of the appeal of his writing is insight into Ingrid's inner state.
Likely much of the appeal of these books for me is the harmony between characters who think and act like the people with whom I grew up. A minor example is how guests are always offered coffee and when they are not it is noted. I've found all four books pure delight and, given the open ending of Mother, I'm hopeful another book will follow,
Five of five starts for all four books.
Takk for alt,
Al
"Today is the birthday of Clara
Beyer, born in Middletown, California (1892). She was an
American labor lawyer and contemporary of Eleanor Roosevelt who campaigned
against child labor and for minimum wage.
Beyer
served as an adviser to Secretary of Labor Frances Perkins during the Roosevelt
administration, and together with Perkins — and another colleague, Molly Dewson
— helped to establish the Social Security Act (1935).
Beyer was
an outspoken proponent of women’s issues, and she surrounded herself with
influential women, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, in a social circle
that one columnist called the “Ladies Brain Trust.”
At one
point, Beyer was embedded in Washington, D.C., as a researcher studying the
wages offered to working women in the area. She discovered that women in the
city were consistently receiving less than $16 a week, and sometimes less than
$9. She helped to establish a new $16.50 weekly minimum pay, which at that
point was the highest minimum wage in the country. In today’s wages, $9 weekly
would be equivalent to around $4/hour, and $16.50 around $7.50 an hour.
She
remained a foremost expert in World War I-era labor law until her death in
1990, just two years shy of 100." Today's Writer's Almanac
Five years ago today Joanne died. She went from alert at 6:00 a.m to death at 9:00 a.m. In her dying days she had the gift of lucidity. That gift allowed her to appreciate and absorb the tremendous outpouring of affection and gratitude directed to her. It made clear the significance of her impact on the world. She was loved and appreciated by very many persons. She was fortunate to be able to hear, see and read the tributes. It was after seeing the video of our congregation, Grace University Lutheran, singing happy birthday to her on her Easter birthday that she remarked "I never knew dying could be so glorious."
Today I visited her grave again. The large snowbank covering it yesterday melted overnight. Her choice to be buried in Sinai makes such visits convenient when I am residing at The Little House. The sun was out, the air warm and the birds were singing. Kaia was outside the cemetery prospecting for pheasants. It was lovely.
Often I've mentioned to the recently bereaved that, with time, those random things that trigger paroxysms of grief become less frequent. They also lose some intensity. Yet, the ache of absence continues.
Five years on, life continues to be full and meaningful. Blessed with relationships: family, friends and now, even new ones given my residence in the OFH, provide the hope that carried me through the depths of initial grief into meaningful daily life. Blessed, as I am, with strength, health and adequate means life is good..sooooooooooo much for which to be grateful.
Takk for alt,
Al
Joanne Elizabeth (Hanson) Negstad, April 1, 1936-April 12, 2018.
The mail stuffing the post office box was mostly magazines, especially the weekly Economist. The post office stops forwarding magazines after a few weeks when "temporarily away." Also one South Dakota Conservation Digest, which features a picture of me, was there. Ten unread books line the couch and there are four more in a stand near the recliner. The current read is so good I'm reading only a few chapters a day to prolong the pleasure. Antique Power magazine, I'm antique but perhaps not power 😀, informs my old tractor habit (yesterday's blog mentioned that a tractor started but didn't say that the tractor is 73 years old.) Yes, and there was also a copy of Christian Century. Leaving Easter/birthday dinner Sunday L. gave me bag full of New Yorker, magazines and multiple copies of the New York Times and London book reviews. Certainly there is no shortage of reading material.
Turned loose in the cemetery Kaia knew exactly where to run. Flushing a rooster pheasant added spark to her morning. With the sudden onset of winter snows last December I left for the OFH rather quickly. There was hunting gear to store both in the house and from the truck, Now the truck has its farming supplies.
So is life on the prairie.
Takk for alt,
Al
Soon the prairie will be green again.
Here is The Little House on the Prairie. Stopped at the vet in Brookings so Kaia could get her annual shots. Next, she was groomed by the world's quickest groomer...20 minutes. She was dropping puffs of hair around the OFH apartment and she's much more comfortable now. Two large motorcycles and a BMW convertible exited my garage...in, in the fall out in the spring. Two '65 Mustangs and a '54 Ford pickup still in storage, not mine. Both the truck and tractor started.
There is more standing water in the fields than I've ever seen...likely the frost isn't out yet. Varying amounts of snow remaining. Some place still much in the fields, here only drifts, though many of them, remain. Some good Samaritan had shoveled The Little House sidewalk 😀. All's well in the house. The bankers invited me to dinner (lunch) Wednesday, so all's good with the world. Saw several large flocks of swans on their migration north. Three weeks of mail in the p. o. box.
A change of scene is welcome. How long will I stay? Eleven days at the longest, less if the weather turns uncooperative. The OHF was certainly a good venue to ride out the winter. Time to convene the family for a dinner. It's 68 degrees at this typing with 78 predicted for tomorrow. Time to complain about the heat 😁.
Takk for alt,
Al
"On this
day in 1865, General
Robert E. Lee surrendered his 28,000 Confederate troops to Union General
Ulysses S. Grant, effectively ending the American Civil War.
That
morning, the two sides fought a battle at Appomattox Courthouse in Virginia. As
Lee crested the hill with his troops, he realized that they were severely
outnumbered by Union soldiers. His General confirmed his fears of imminent
defeat in a letter to Lee to which he responded, “Then there is nothing left
for me to do but to go and see General Grant, and I would rather die a thousand
deaths.”
Lee and
Grant then exchanged their own letters arranging the terms for surrender. Grant
generously allowed Lee to choose the location for discussion, and Confederate
troops went looking for a suitable place. They happened upon the homestead of
Wilmer McLean, who showed them to a run-down, unfurnished house on his
property. The soldiers refused the lackluster building for such a momentous
occasion, so McLean offered his own house up.
When the
generals met, the contrast in appearance was stark. Lee, standing a full six
feet tall and 16 years Grant’s senior, donned a new uniform, silk-stitched
boots, a felt hat, and a jewel-studded sword. Grant arrived in a mud-splattered
uniform and boots, with tarnished shoulder straps. The two men had fought
alongside each other in the Mexican-American war two decades prior, and Grant
noted, “I have always remembered your appearance, and I think I should have
recognized you anywhere.” To which Lee replied, “I know I met you on that
occasion, and I have often thought of it and tried to recollect how you looked,
but I have never been able to recall a single feature.”
Rather
than imprison the Confederate men in their defeat, Grant acted magnanimously
for the good of a newly reunited Union. He allowed the men to return home,
sparing their pride by allowing them to keep their arms and their horses for
their upcoming spring planting. He also offered 25,000 rations to the soldiers,
who had been starving without rations for several days. When Grant’s men began
celebrating, Grant ordered them to stop. “The Confederates were now our
countrymen,” he said, “and we did not want to exult over their downfall.” From
that day forward, Lee would never allow another man to speak unkindly of Grant
in his presence." Today's Writer's Almanac
On this day in 1945, Pastor and Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed by the Nazis for participating in the plot on Hitler's life.
On this day my son was born in the Renville Bottineau Memorial Hospital, Mohall, ND. 😀
Takk for alt,
Al
Living on the 4th floor of the OFH as I do my sump pump rarely runs. The OFH isn't far from the Mississippi River but it's all uphill. The sudden warmth does threaten flooding as the near record snow pack melts. Fortunately there is little frost in the ground so much will soak into the dry soil. It's 61 degrees as this is typed with even higher temps predicted next week. Perhaps by the end of next week the only snow remaining will be the large piles in parking lots. Yes, I'm ready for warm weather.
HAPPY EASTER!
Al
Holy week is certainly a different experience post retirement. Now 15 years since retirement memories remain but I certainly do not miss the pressure. Let some one else do the preparation, work and worry. Happy to attend and participate. Here's hoping it's a blessed time for all of you.
Takk for alt,
Al
Cousin Oliver in front of his church, Smizu, Japan.
When did I start scanning obituary pages? Other geezers have confessed that they too peruse the obituaries. In today's paper was an obituary for Nancy Lee, Were she alive I would have told Joanne because Nancy and Joanne were college classmates and friends. Unable to tell Joanne I did the next best thing, I called Jenine, Joanne's college roommate. Jenine lives in Decorah, IA., out of reach o the Minneapolis paper. While not a happy item, some news needs to be shared. Jenine thanked me for allowing her to make a response to the family.
A reality of life in the land of grief is the news that I cannot share with Joanne. It's a stark reminder of the presence of absence.
The current book is so good I'm reading it slowly to savor it like a rick dessert. I just don't want it to end. Stay tuned.
Takk for alt,
Al
When we first came to visit the OFH in October 2021, the apartment I occupy was one of two left unoccupied. When I did the paperwork to reserve this apartment I checked the box indicating interest in up-sizing. Yesterday the housing director invited me to view a two bedroom unit that's available, which is also on the 4th floor.
It is a two bedroom, two bathroom apartment with three upgrades. The kitchen floor has real hardwood, there's a gas fireplace in the living room and one of the showers has sliding glass doors. The total square footage is slightly over 1100 compared to my 886. Consequently the bedrooms are significantly smaller than mine which is 300 sq. ft. Because I live alone there is no need for separate bedrooms, or even a den, because I have no one from whom to hide.
It was easy to say "no thanks." Why? The current situation well meets my needs, I have zero need to move and the view from that apartment is over the parking lot and toward a hill. Why give up the view over the Mississippi River Valley?
Touring that offering was helpful in reminding me of how satisfied I am.
Takk for alt.
Al
"It’s the
birthday of American pediatrician and microbiologist Hattie Alexander was
born in Baltimore (1901). Alexander would go on to develop a new serum to
effectively treat the deadly childhood illness influenzal meningitis, also
known as Hib.
Alexander
attended medical school at Johns Hopkins University in her hometown. In 1932,
she was appointed as lifelong instructor and researcher in pediatrics at
Columbia University in New York.
Her work
focused on developing a better serum for curing influenzal meningitis, which
killed virtually all the infants and young children that it infected. She
experimented with rabbit-based serums to great success, and by the mid-1940s
she had virtually erased infant mortality from the disease. She was also one of
the first microbiologists to study antibiotic resistance, which remains a major
problem today. In 1964, she became one of the first women selected to lead a
national medical organization as president of the American Pediatric Society.
Her
Columbia colleagues characterized her as a brilliant scientist who always
demanded high standard of proof from her students and residents, constantly
challenging, “How do you know that?” “What makes you think so?” and “Where is
your evidence?”
Alexander
died in 1968 of breast cancer, at 67 years old. After her death, scientists
developed a Hib vaccine — bringing cases of influenzal meningitis down to only
two in every 100,000 children." Today's Writer's Almanac
While waiting for the next book of The First Edition Book Club, I downloaded an Ann Patchett memoir to Kindle. Truth & Beauty is the 2004 paean to the late Lucy Grealy, 6/3/63-12/18/2002.
" Lucinda Margaret Grealy was an Irish-American poet and memoirist who wrote Autobiography of a Face in 1994. This critically acclaimed book describes her childhood and early adolescent experience with cancer of the jaw, which left her with some facial disfigurement.". Wikipedia
"Autobiography of a Face is a memoir by Lucy Grealy in which she narrates her life before and after being diagnosed with Ewing's sarcoma. The memoir describes her life from the age of nine to adulthood." Wikipedia
Grealy was an insecure, troubled genius who was a "people collector." Patchett and Grealy were students together at Sarah Lawrence College. They became bonded in friendship when they roomed together at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, Iowa City, IA. Their lives intertwined until Grealy's death of a heroin overdose. Patchett's poignant, and also self-revelatory, memoir is written deep love, compassion and her customary eloquence.
Takk fir alt,
Al
Visiting about Joanne over breakfast with her brother I once again said "grief has morphed from a knife in the ribs to a dull ache." Of course there are triggers that bring the painful grief to the fore. However, there are fewer of them, they come less frequently and tend not to be as interse. She was such a gift to me and to so many.
Takk for alt,
Al
In the OFH there are posters announcing the events of the day and coming attractions. Yesterday there was a very professionally done flier. It announced all events for the month were cancelled. The reason? The staff would be away for the month attending a training event in Belize. 😀
My question? Was anyone fooled by this announcement posted on April 1? If so I have some property in the everglades to sell that person. 😀
Yes, life here is certainly a challenge!
Takk for alt,
Al
Joanne and friends at a lutefisk dinner.
Had she lived Joanne would have been 87 on this day. On April 13, 2018, the day after she died, Minneapolis had a blizzard. Last night, like in her honor, there was 8" of snow. She would not have minded this winter, cold did not bother her. Heat? that was another matter.
Her mother used to play April Fool's Day tricks on her when she was a child...chocolate covered cotton balls anyone? That was not a part of our relationship. It did take me a bit of time to appreciate how important birthdays were to her. and the significance of celebrating ON THE DAY, thank you very much. Her last birthday we celebrated was also Easter Sunday and it was the final time she joined the family at the table for a meal. Twelve days later she died.
Perhaps it was appropriate that I marked her birthday by attending a funeral. Gordon Christopher Folke's, October 17, 1962-March 19, 2023, funeral was at Grace University Lutheran Church. In the days when I was convening a history book club Gordon was active in it. He tracked the books club members suggested we read and what we had read. Sometimes it was a challenge to find a book that Gordon hadn't read.
Rest is peace Joanne and Gordon.
Takk for alt,
Al
Joanne's birthday dinner, April 1, 2018, on Easter Sunday.
