On Sunday May 31, 1964 I graduated from Augustana College (now University) with a BA in history. Six days later on Saturday, June 6, 1964 I married my sweetheart, know known as the Curmudgeonette. On Wednesday June 10, she began a practicum in counseling commuting from Sioux Falls to SDU in Vermillion, SD. It was a course she needed to be licensed as a school counselor in Minnesota and qualify for a job offered by St. Louis Park Senior High School. Rollie Larson was the administrator who offered her the job.
We were ecstatic! Her salary at Agustana as director of Student Activities, Head Resident of Bergsager Hall, and instructor of psychology was $4,800. and she signed at St. Louis Park High for $8,650. Entering seminary, as I was, it was apparent that I'd be supported in the style to which I'd become accustomed. Imagine our delight a few weeks late when a letter informed us that salary negotiations recently concluded added $5,000. to her salary for a total of $9,150. Those were the halcyon days in St. Louis Park Schools plus counselors were paid on administrators not teachers scale.
We settled in an apartment in St. Louis Park and I commuted to seminary it St. Paul. There were some very close friends from seminary but much of our socializing was with the school counselors and their spouses. The curmudgeonette had excellent collegial relationships with the other counselors and Rollie their supervisor. We became very close to them and grieved the separation when we moved to North Dakota to answer my first call.
The Curmudgeonette was in her late 20's and early 30's those years and one of the youngest of the counselors. So, when the survivors gathered from Rollie's funeral,..Jerry, Keith, Dick, Jim, Paul...all of whom are at least 80, frailty was evident. With absences from ages in the 60s to ages in the 80s...the changes caused by aging are striking.
A kind of melancholy settled over me as I was aware of the passage of time, separation and distance from people who were very important to us when we young and leaning into life. These are people with whom we are always happy to reconnect yet seldom do.
Rollie was a person of impeccable integrity, deep compassion, rich faith and lively sense of humor which always kept a twinkle in his eye. Some of his favorite quotes were included in the funeral folder. Some examples......
>Be grateful for life's every moment and for all things great and small.
>Choose to be happy; bring joy and laughter to others.
>Remain optimistic and positive through life's trials. (Which he did even as he buried a son and grandson.)
> Be true to self and others.
>Never lose the child in me.
>Maintain a forgiving attitude.
Rest in peace Rollie, good and faithful servant.
Monday, June 26, 2017
Wednesday, June 14, 2017
Co-op Annual Meeting
Having experienced (endured) 40+ annual congregational annual meetings during my working life the Curmudgeonette is always a bit bemused when I voluntarily attend the Sinai Cooperative Elevator Company's annual meeting. Sinai, the village of 120 people, where we have our 'little house on the prairie' has one of the few independent elevators left. Most have merged into chains, e.g., Prairie Ag Partners of Lake Preston also have the elevators in Arlington, Oldham and maybe more.
Sinai was once served by a Northwestern Railroad spur that ran from Sioux Falls to Watertown on which tracks we used to drive our cars on Sundays when there were no trains. When that line ceased operation many years ago predictions were that that would be the end of the elevator. Trucks, now including the big double bottoms, have kept it alive.
The elevator is one of the anchors of this little town of 120 people, the other anchor being the bank. Many of the people who live here work in Brookings which is about 15 miles away. Our nearest house neighbor is on the faculty of SDSU in Brookings.
So what happened at the annual meeting? Unlike last year I did not win a door prize of a $25. gift certificate at the elevator, which would come in very handy because that is where I buy my tractor fuel and other chemicals. The good news is that my brother won it. The balance sheet showed a profit of $132,785. on sales of $6,602.708. compared to last years profit of $56,356.
Perhaps that seems like a small return but the mission of the company is to proved service to patrons at a reasonable prices. It also distributed $30,454. in patronage dividends and my dividend was large enough to buy a cup of the fanciest coffee at Starbucks. Thee are five full time employees.
What does an elevator do? It buys and dries grain, sells feed, fertilizer, fuel and chemicals. It also provides services like fertilizing and spraying fields and delivers bulk fuel to farmers. Perhaps also importantly the coffee is always on.
Not wanting to disturb the tranquility of the meeting which included reports and elections I didn't ask why there is $1,034,567. cash on hand though that is $300,00. less than last year. Someday when I'm in the elevator I'll ask the manager privately.
Pump gas sales have doubled since the installation of a 24 hour pump. Previous to this pump a customer would pump gas on the north side of the street then go to the office across the street and report the number of gallons pumped. Now I have a numerical code which I enter and it gives me access 24/7 while recording to my account the fuel I received. No credit cards are accepted but I have credit so I receive a monthly statement.
Sinai was once served by a Northwestern Railroad spur that ran from Sioux Falls to Watertown on which tracks we used to drive our cars on Sundays when there were no trains. When that line ceased operation many years ago predictions were that that would be the end of the elevator. Trucks, now including the big double bottoms, have kept it alive.
The elevator is one of the anchors of this little town of 120 people, the other anchor being the bank. Many of the people who live here work in Brookings which is about 15 miles away. Our nearest house neighbor is on the faculty of SDSU in Brookings.
So what happened at the annual meeting? Unlike last year I did not win a door prize of a $25. gift certificate at the elevator, which would come in very handy because that is where I buy my tractor fuel and other chemicals. The good news is that my brother won it. The balance sheet showed a profit of $132,785. on sales of $6,602.708. compared to last years profit of $56,356.
Perhaps that seems like a small return but the mission of the company is to proved service to patrons at a reasonable prices. It also distributed $30,454. in patronage dividends and my dividend was large enough to buy a cup of the fanciest coffee at Starbucks. Thee are five full time employees.
What does an elevator do? It buys and dries grain, sells feed, fertilizer, fuel and chemicals. It also provides services like fertilizing and spraying fields and delivers bulk fuel to farmers. Perhaps also importantly the coffee is always on.
Not wanting to disturb the tranquility of the meeting which included reports and elections I didn't ask why there is $1,034,567. cash on hand though that is $300,00. less than last year. Someday when I'm in the elevator I'll ask the manager privately.
Pump gas sales have doubled since the installation of a 24 hour pump. Previous to this pump a customer would pump gas on the north side of the street then go to the office across the street and report the number of gallons pumped. Now I have a numerical code which I enter and it gives me access 24/7 while recording to my account the fuel I received. No credit cards are accepted but I have credit so I receive a monthly statement.
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| The Little House on the Prairie |
Tuesday, June 13, 2017
Something To Think About
My volunteering with students at Noble Academy has a been a source of deep satisfaction for me. That has been especially true the last years as I have read books with some of the most advanced students. But, could there be a dark side to this en-devour? Re-reading Kao Kalia Yang's marvelous book A Memoir Of My Father: The Song Poet has raised a question in my mind.
"Neither Dwab (Yang's older sister) nor I could talk about the loneliness that grew inside us with every new idea we loved, every new place in the world we wanted to visit. every drink we thirsted for, every dish we yearned to taste beyond our home. We were supposed to become doctors and lawyers and everyone would celebrate in the end; we didn't know that we would have to become those things alone." p. 161 Encouraged by their father to excel through education they found that that education isolated them from their parents who grew up in Laos, survived America's "secret war" and Laotian genocide, escape to a refugee camp in Thailand and eventual settlement in St. Paul.
My question is this; Am I, I with my work with these students, inadvertently driving a wedge between student and parent? Is this inevitable and the necessary con-commitment of education in this context? Certainly this is something I must contemplate. Any wisdom on this subject from any (either :) of my readers?
MJV Wrote this thoughtful response to this post.
"As for June 13. The purpose of public education in a democracy is two-fold: Assuring an educated and thoughtful voting public (and how have we been doing on that?) and equipping children with the skills and understandings (and some would say ethical standards) that allow them to contribute to society and lead satisfying lives. Any educational experience "leads children into new worlds" that they don't experience at home. Certainly that was a theme in "Hillbilly Elegy." That doesn't necessarily mean rejection of the parent's world, or values. It just means they are equipped to function in a society that is different from their parent's. That difference does not necessarily have to be isolating. So de-guilt yourself."
"Neither Dwab (Yang's older sister) nor I could talk about the loneliness that grew inside us with every new idea we loved, every new place in the world we wanted to visit. every drink we thirsted for, every dish we yearned to taste beyond our home. We were supposed to become doctors and lawyers and everyone would celebrate in the end; we didn't know that we would have to become those things alone." p. 161 Encouraged by their father to excel through education they found that that education isolated them from their parents who grew up in Laos, survived America's "secret war" and Laotian genocide, escape to a refugee camp in Thailand and eventual settlement in St. Paul.
My question is this; Am I, I with my work with these students, inadvertently driving a wedge between student and parent? Is this inevitable and the necessary con-commitment of education in this context? Certainly this is something I must contemplate. Any wisdom on this subject from any (either :) of my readers?
MJV Wrote this thoughtful response to this post.
"As for June 13. The purpose of public education in a democracy is two-fold: Assuring an educated and thoughtful voting public (and how have we been doing on that?) and equipping children with the skills and understandings (and some would say ethical standards) that allow them to contribute to society and lead satisfying lives. Any educational experience "leads children into new worlds" that they don't experience at home. Certainly that was a theme in "Hillbilly Elegy." That doesn't necessarily mean rejection of the parent's world, or values. It just means they are equipped to function in a society that is different from their parent's. That difference does not necessarily have to be isolating. So de-guilt yourself."
Tuesday, June 6, 2017
A Faithful Fan and More About My Watch
During my working years I worked weekends. That sometimes kept us from visiting friends. Now that we're retired we've made a practice to make and annual Iowa tour which has three stops; Decorah where the Curmdugeonette's college roommate lives, a farm at Calamus near Davenport where my USMC friend farms and Iowa City where my ministry partner resides.
It's a great time to renew and refresh friendships some of which stretch back to the '50's. Last year E.V., with whom I shared 3 years of military experience in the USMC challenged me about my lack of blogging. He's the number one fan...maybe the only one :)...of my blog, He presented me with printed copies of years of my blog. Rising to his challenge I have attempted to write more regularly.
This year he presented me with printouts of the 2013 blogs. In looking through it I found a blog written on Oct. 15, 2013 about my watches. In the blog I told about buying a Rolex in Hong Kong in 1962 which I wore for years until a worker at Boston Market saw it and said "That's a stainless steel Rolex worth six thousand dollars." I had no idea that the watch I bought for $100. had appreciated that much.
Being a tight wad I put the Rolex away and purchase a digital Casio for $19. which works great. Unfortunately the watch band broke and I was unable to find a replacement, which, if I could have found one, would cost $10. So I bought a second Casio just like the first one.
Knowing that there was a watch band stand on a sidewalk in Bangkok I took both watches with me. To my delight I found the stand got a replacement band for $3. Armed with two functioning Casio's I thought I was prepared for the long haul!
The timing escapes me now, but again, a band broke...I know I'm hard on watches. So on my trip to Thailand this year I brought both watches. However, the watch band stand in Bangkok was nowhere to be found. One morning as I was preparing to leave the house for school the second band broke. Met, seeing my dilemma said "No problem, give to me." Well, I thought, if she can fix one why not two? So I gave her both watches and when I returned from school I was the proud owner of two new bands.
So, you ask, what do I do with two watches? Simple one's a spare, but, I left it on Ayutthaya time so when I return to Asia it will be pre-set!
It's a great time to renew and refresh friendships some of which stretch back to the '50's. Last year E.V., with whom I shared 3 years of military experience in the USMC challenged me about my lack of blogging. He's the number one fan...maybe the only one :)...of my blog, He presented me with printed copies of years of my blog. Rising to his challenge I have attempted to write more regularly.
This year he presented me with printouts of the 2013 blogs. In looking through it I found a blog written on Oct. 15, 2013 about my watches. In the blog I told about buying a Rolex in Hong Kong in 1962 which I wore for years until a worker at Boston Market saw it and said "That's a stainless steel Rolex worth six thousand dollars." I had no idea that the watch I bought for $100. had appreciated that much.
Being a tight wad I put the Rolex away and purchase a digital Casio for $19. which works great. Unfortunately the watch band broke and I was unable to find a replacement, which, if I could have found one, would cost $10. So I bought a second Casio just like the first one.
Knowing that there was a watch band stand on a sidewalk in Bangkok I took both watches with me. To my delight I found the stand got a replacement band for $3. Armed with two functioning Casio's I thought I was prepared for the long haul!
The timing escapes me now, but again, a band broke...I know I'm hard on watches. So on my trip to Thailand this year I brought both watches. However, the watch band stand in Bangkok was nowhere to be found. One morning as I was preparing to leave the house for school the second band broke. Met, seeing my dilemma said "No problem, give to me." Well, I thought, if she can fix one why not two? So I gave her both watches and when I returned from school I was the proud owner of two new bands.
So, you ask, what do I do with two watches? Simple one's a spare, but, I left it on Ayutthaya time so when I return to Asia it will be pre-set!
Wednesday, May 24, 2017
Pie, No Coffee
"I've never had pie." "You've never tasted pie?" "No." That's what started it. It didn't seem right to finish our year of reading books together without introducing Cody to pie. We've been busy. Together we read eight books; Gathering Blue, Children of the River, Jonah, The Whale, Flipped, Crow, The BFG, Witches, and Summer on Wheels.
All of these books have their own merit but two where particularly significant. Children of the River is a novel that explores the challenges of Cambodian refugees fleeting the Pol Pot reign of terror in Cambodia (think Killing Fields) who settle in Oregon. The protagonist is Cambodian refugee navigating an American High School while trying to remain loyal to her family who want to cling to their Asian heritage.
Crow is an historical novel set in South Carolina just as Reconstruction is ending and Jim Crow is taking a hold. Many of the incidents reported in the book are based on historical events. It was a great opportunity to teach about, racism, white supremacy, civil rights movement and other pieces of American history.
So........what about the pie? The adventures with these scholars couldn't conclude without introducing Cody to pie. This being our final time together, I brought an apple pie so Cody could sample and of course we all had to have a piece!
All of these books have their own merit but two where particularly significant. Children of the River is a novel that explores the challenges of Cambodian refugees fleeting the Pol Pot reign of terror in Cambodia (think Killing Fields) who settle in Oregon. The protagonist is Cambodian refugee navigating an American High School while trying to remain loyal to her family who want to cling to their Asian heritage.
Crow is an historical novel set in South Carolina just as Reconstruction is ending and Jim Crow is taking a hold. Many of the incidents reported in the book are based on historical events. It was a great opportunity to teach about, racism, white supremacy, civil rights movement and other pieces of American history.
So........what about the pie? The adventures with these scholars couldn't conclude without introducing Cody to pie. This being our final time together, I brought an apple pie so Cody could sample and of course we all had to have a piece!
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| Left to right: Kyle, Pryn, Mr. Al, Cody and Alexis. |
Monday, May 22, 2017
Recommended Reading...The Last Speakers
"As the last speakers converse, they spin out individual strands of a vast web of knowledge, a noosphere of possibilities that encircles all of us. They tell how their ancestors calculated accurately the passing of the seasons without clocks and calendars, how humans adapted to hostile environments from the Arctic to Amazonia.
"We imagine eureka moments taking place in modern laboratories or in classical civilizations. But key insights of biology, pharmacology, genetics, and navigation arose and persisted solely by word of mouth, in small, unwritten tongues. This web of knowledge contains feats of human ingenuity--epics, myths, rituals--that celebrate and interpret our existence."
So writes K David Harrison in The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the world's Most Endangered Languages, a book given to me at Christmas. I had never thought about the valuable, complex web of wisdom and lore that is lost when a language dies. It is so much more than a collection of words and phrases it is a whole system of thought and understanding of the world which we inhabit.
One of the reviewers on the dust jacket said "This wonderful book is really three books wrapped into one--a world travelogue of languages, a moving personal account of the last speakers of vanishing languages, and a revelation of the knowledge tied to each language." Jared Diamond (who wrote Guns, Germs and Steel.)
It made me think of the terrible injustice done to Native Americans which included the insane pressure on them to give up their languages.
"We imagine eureka moments taking place in modern laboratories or in classical civilizations. But key insights of biology, pharmacology, genetics, and navigation arose and persisted solely by word of mouth, in small, unwritten tongues. This web of knowledge contains feats of human ingenuity--epics, myths, rituals--that celebrate and interpret our existence."
So writes K David Harrison in The Last Speakers: The Quest to Save the world's Most Endangered Languages, a book given to me at Christmas. I had never thought about the valuable, complex web of wisdom and lore that is lost when a language dies. It is so much more than a collection of words and phrases it is a whole system of thought and understanding of the world which we inhabit.
One of the reviewers on the dust jacket said "This wonderful book is really three books wrapped into one--a world travelogue of languages, a moving personal account of the last speakers of vanishing languages, and a revelation of the knowledge tied to each language." Jared Diamond (who wrote Guns, Germs and Steel.)
It made me think of the terrible injustice done to Native Americans which included the insane pressure on them to give up their languages.
Monday, May 15, 2017
"When It Rains It Pours"
Supporting four persons on $300. a month, with one person having and appendectomy and another hospitalized with esophageal problems, is difficult even in Thailand. Gai struggle to support her family after her husband abandoned the family taking the Tuk-Tuk taxi with him. Thailand has no parental child support laws so it's all up to Gai.
Seventeen year old Mai, for whom we've provided financial support to keep her in school, recently had an appendectomy. If there were any silver lining in that experience it is that it happened during seasonal school recess.
Then there is Poy who is also seventeen. Gai's family took her in as an unofficial foster child a few years ago when Poy;s family of origin disintegrated through methamphetamine addiction. Poy is not related to Gai and it's very unusual in Thailand for non-relatives to provide foster care. Poy lived with Gai's family for a couple of years.
Poy's immaturity surfaced when she refused to productively assist Gai in any way. She then decided to make it on her own and moved out but stayed in contact with Gai. When I met Poy earlier this year she was camping with relatives and reported that she hadn't eaten for three days. Obviously her attempt to live on her own was not going well.
Gai later agreed to let her move in again as Poy promised to be a cooperative participant in the family's life. True to her word Poy found a job and was working when she began having difficulties eating. This was a flare up of esophageal problems stemming from a suicide attempt, while living with her family of origin, where she drank drain cleaner. She had a previous hospitalization and surgery in Bangkok for thisproblem, an hour by mini-bus from Gai's home in Ayuthhaya, while she was living with Gai the first time.
So, about the time Mai was having an appendectomy Poy was again unable to eat and was again hospitalized in Bangkok. Gai works seven days a week to earn her $300. a month. Time taken from work to attend to Poy hospitalized in Bangkok.not only reduces her income but jeopardizes her job. Poy will now be released from the hospital but it's doubtful that her job will be waiting for her.
Living the privileged life that I do it's hard to imagine the stress under which Gai lives as she tries to maintain life for the four of them. One bit of hope is that Mai will finish her studies next year and then can begin contributing to the family finances. Hopefully Poy will also recover and again find a job. Let us all be grateful for the life we lead!
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| From left: Gai, Perwaa, Al and Mai. |
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| Gai and Poy. |
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