Fun Momday

Roger of A Screed in Time, our Fun Monday host for the month of May, has assigned an timely task for the day after Mother's Day. Roger is asking us to " share some memories of good ol' mom." 


My mother, born Laura Gray in 1917 to John Milton Gray, a newspaper editor and Methodist minister, and Orpha Jane Gray, a former teacher.  She was the youngest child of bright, aging, educated parents. When Laura was born, the Gray family lived in the little town of Allerton, Illinois. Laura's older sister, Ida, taught Laura to read before she entered the school of Allerton. 


Always a bright student, Laura excelled in school.  However, like many women of her age she graduated from high school, but she married soon after high school graduation, and did not attend college immediately. Nonetheless, Laura, a self-made and self-educated woman, was knowledgeable about a wide range of topics and specifically well-versed in literature and was a capable writer. Eventually, Laura was able to attend college and received both a bachelor's and a master's degree in English at Purdue University in the 1970's. 


Although I do not remember Mom mentioning women's rights. she definitely was a feminist. She demonstrated her support of the rights of women with her positive life-style.  My mom worked at a variety of jobs including nurse's aide, editor of a department store newsletter, and claims agent for the Lincoln Life Insurance Company. She was involved in a number of organizations and frequently would quickly assume a leadership position within each organization.


In addition to being intelligent and influential, Mom was kind and compassionate. She would have baby showers for unwed mothers, feed prisoners, visit the physically ill as well as the emotionally ill. After World War II, she sent clothes and other presents to a family in Holland until they regained economic independence.


Yes, my mother was a bright, gifted, charitable, woman, but she was a bit of a character too with a ribald sense of humor. This is evidenced in one of her favorite sayings, "You can lead a whore to culture, but you can't make her think. 


Of course, this is merely a glimpse at the life of a woman whose life impacted many. You can read about other moms by checking the Fun Monday list at Roger's blog, A Screed in Time.

Fun Monday - Up, Up, Up and Away

Now that we have survived the twenty year isolation on land or sea,  our two-month Fun Monday host, Roger of A Screed in Time  is asking us where are we going next. Although it would be very nice, I am not going to Disney World. Instead my husband and I are traveling to Wales.

My husband and I are not experienced world travelers. I have not been west of Fort Scott, Kansas, and the only the country that I have visited is Canada. However, we are going an adventure to Wales with my sister and my niece. We will be visiting a number of places in the country including, Conwy Castle, Swallow Falls, Bodnant Gardens, Pentre Farm, Cathedral of St. Davids, Cardiff Castle, Tintern Abbey to name a few of the many stops.

The trip should be great fun, educational, and informative although I do have some concerns about this trip.  I hope that we can navigate the airport and get on the plane without any problems. Also, hopefully the U.S. Customs agent will not look at our photos and surmise that we are Ma and Pa terrorists or drug smugglers because unfortunately our passport photos make us look like beady-eyed convicts. My other worry is bed bugs, the scourge of modern-day traveling.

Do you have travel plans for the summer or do plan to stay close to home? Share with the Fun Monday bunch by signing up at Roger's place, A Screed in Time .

Fun Monday in a Post-Apocalyptic World

Roger of a Screed in Time is the Fun Monday host for the month of April. For this last Monday in April, Roger has asked us where we would like to spend our lives in a  post-apocalyptic world. Would we rather spend our days in a cave with a fresh water supply and food for twenty years? Or, would we choose to spend our next twenty years on a fifty foot boat equipped with a plentiful supply of food and a desalination device?

As I ponder my choice, considering the options, I may not choose to be among the survivors. In favor of the cave, there would be solid ground for your footing. However, living in a cave offers no natural light. Living in darkness for twenty years seems difficult. A boat has limitations as well. Never being on land seems impossible too. However, I choose living on the boat intending to catch some of our food from the ocean's store. On my boat, we have brought fruit and nut trees to provide other essential nutrients. Additionally, we will grow some other plants in a special greenhouse.

Actually if our Earth is polluted with dangerous radiation and the atmosphere with toxic chemicals, I suppose that food from the ocean may not be a option. Then, I guess my ship would need to be like the Space Station or floating artificial Biosphere, a place that replicates the natural ecological systems of the Earth. Therefore my ship will be designed as a closed system, a structure sealed from the outside atmosphere. Developing and maintaining the correct balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide needs to be addressed as well as providing food and water for the inhabitants. Thus, in addition to our desalination device, we would need to include some animals such as chickens to provide eggs and some mammals to provide milk. Furthermore, the ship will should be equipped to grow some plants to provide required nutrition for the inhabitants. Other issues also need to be addressed such as how is human and animal waste eliminated from the system. Since our floating world is self-sufficient, some mechanism of recycling waste needs to be developed.

In any event, as the twenty years come to a close, my floating modern day ark will come to land and greet you as the cave-dwellers venture out into daylight. Together, we will build a new world. Hopefully, we have learned much from our past, and more importantly we can put these lessons to use.

Fun Monday - "It is Written"

Roger, of  A Screed in Time, is the creative Fun Monday host  for April. Roger has presented the Fun Monday participants with a schedule of intriguing topics for the fourth month of year. For Holy Week, Roger has asked us to share our favorite book of the Bible. Selecting one favorite book out of many profound writings is difficult. In the Old Testament, there is the book of steadfast Job, the adventure of Jonah, the bravery of David, and the love story of Ruth. However, my favorite books of the good book are the gospels, the books that tell us of the words and works of Jesus. My favorite passage from the gospels is Luke, the second chapter. I love hearing the imagery of the story of Jesus's birth, and for the Christmas story I love the old English words from the King James version. In addition to hearing the text in church for many Christmases, I remember a cherished moment of my mother reading Luke's version of the Christmas story on a Christmas Eve long ago.


Luke 2

 ¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

 ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

 ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

 ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

 ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

 ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

 ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 ⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

 ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

 ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

 ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

 ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

 ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

 ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

 ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds.

 ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.

 ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

 Although difficult to follow, another favorite gospel passage is from Matthew 5:43-48. 

Love for Enemies
    ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor^[a] and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶ If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? ⁴⁷ And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? ⁴⁸ Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

As you visit other Fun Monday participants, I hope that this Biblical reflection helps prepare your hearts for a meaningful Holy Week and a blessed Easter. 

Fun Monday - Dinner Party

Our hostesses for the month of March, the Georgia Girls at In Good Company ask, "If you could invite 5 other people for dinner and conversation, who would be on the guest list?  A famous person, a favorite author, someone who shares one of your hobbies or passions, etc.  Do you have a question for them?  (If you want to include the obvious people, that's okay, but maybe there are some other individuals who might enjoy a night out." 


My mother, Laura Gray, loved to throw dinner parties. Although during the week, we might eat tasty but  routine meals (cooked by my father). On party days, my mother became the chef extraordinaire creating feasts of gastronomic renown. She cooked for friends frequently. Additionally, she was a grand hostess and a capable conversationalist making her all of her guests feel at home and included in the conversation. One time she prepared a feast for thieves and murderers, who were giving a presentation to the youth at our church. 


Unfortunately, I did not inherit my mother's flair for throwing parties. Thus, my dinner party would need to be a catered event. Now, who would be on my guest list? In honor of Women's History Month, I will invite five women, Eleanor Roosevelt, Sojourner Truth, Gladys Alyward, Mary Ann Evans (George Elliot) , and Madame Curie. I will pose this question to my honored dinner guests. "How were you able to overcome the bias against women still achieve greatness?" (These women are representative of women, who achieved success in times or in areas of male supremacy . Of course, a number of others throughout history could speak at length about the topic.)

Fun Monday - A Dilemma

During the month of March, the Georgia Girls at In Good Company are the lovely hostesses of Fun Monday. Today our task is "to list 5 things you are willing to spend your hard earned cash on and five things you would rather steal (hypothetically) than waste your money on." 

When I first read the assignment, I was not sure that I wanted to participate. What me steal? My overactive conscience does let me steal. When I was about 8 years old, my older sister and I were at the local movie theatre. She gave me a dime and sent me out for a pack of gum. Unfortunately, when at the counter, I dropped the dime. Afraid that my sister would yell at me for being careless, I stole one pack of Wrigley's Doublemint gum off the counter. Returning to my seat, I gave my sister the stolen goods. Gum at that time cost five cents, so of course, my sister wanted the change. I had no change to give her so she scolded me for losing the change. Anyway, my crime weighted heavy on my soul for weeks. As penance, I returned more than one nickel secretly to the theatre counter. Nonetheless, I was sure that the pack of gum was my one way ticket to HELL. On the other hand, I am really not so self-righteous to claim that I do no wrong. My 64 year old self came up with these two lists.

Items to spend hard earned cash.

1. Necessities like food, shelter, transportation, clothes
2. Charity
3. Presents for family and friends 
4. Entertainment
5. Leisure

Things that I might have taken

1. Good ideas
2. Lilacs - When I was a senior in high school, a good friend and I cut some lilacs from a bush in an alley. We took the bouquet to her mom, who was in the hospital.
3. Songs - Although I would never, ever dream of copying an album and selling it for personal gain or profit, I have purchased music and copied a song for another format for my own use. Technically even though you paid for the original, this is stealing.
4. Words - Plagiarism is defined as "Whenever you use more than three words in a row that occurred exactly in the same order in your source material, put the words into quotation marks and use a parenthetical note or footnote or endnote to give credit to your source." (From http://www.mnstate.edu , "Plagiarism: what it is and how to avoid it") The limitation of three words seems harsh to me.
5. Time - If time is not used productively, it is gone, vanished and never can be returned. In my lifetime, I have wasted more than a few moments by worrying about what might have been or about what is yet to come. Those moments are gone forever as if they have been stolen.

Final February Fun Monday

For our last Fun Monday in February on the last day of the month, I would like to hear about an early childhood memory. If you would like to participate in this event, please sign-up using the Mr. Linky widget. Georgia Girls of In Good Company have graciously volunteered to be our hostesses for the month March. Also, the list of participants is below my memory. 

My very earliest memory is of an incident that occurred when I was about 18 months old. I have been told that I fell down the basement stairs at that age. Although I do not remember the actual fall, I do remember opening the basement door and closing it. For a moment, my little feet stood on the ledge or doorsill. I remember being delighted and amazed at being clever enough to enter the forbidden passage; and then, I remember loosing my footing. However, I do not remember the fall or any pain. Nor, do I remember from my own recollection the rest of the story.

But, this was the family tale. My mother was working as a nurse's aide when I fell. She called to ask my dad how things were going while she was at work. My father reported about my mishap. When my mother asked if I was badly injured, my father replied, "She must be all right as she is eating several pancakes." The story goes that my mother was more upset about her baby eating pancakes than the actual fall.

Note: In the picture are my grandparents and my father.