Your Community Builder
Your Community Builder
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 86
Everything has a life expectancy, from vegetation to animals, humans included, to mechanical devices. Two of our electrical appliances reached the end of their lives. The first was our dishwasher. It died last fall, and our daughter told us to replace it before Thanksgiving. We did; we just never had it installed. It sat in our shop and Brice washed dishes every morning; in a little over an hour everything was sparkling. If we host a holiday meal, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve, or Easter, our daughter and her hu...
As a very little girl, I remember my mom listening to baseball games on the radio. She would be doing the dishes while the radio sat on the refrigerator. Didn’t everyone’s radio reside on the refrigerator? I only started following baseball after our move to Ekalaka and my meeting Dave Williams and Marshall Shelden. During baseball season they always had small wagers on the fate of the Chicago Cubs; Williams backed the Cubs, Shelden backed their opposition. Marshall Sheldon won more often, but once a Cubs fan always a Cub...
I have not submitted articles to The Ekalaka Eagle for a couple of weeks. What’s that old saying? “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” That’s my excuse. I just had nothing to say. Last week was our first use of the Carter Charter. Brice had checked it out to see that the wheelchair could load easily. And it did. In addition, the driver helped guide and secure the wheelchair in the van. We traveled to Miles City for my 12:30 p.m. appointment. The visit took 45 minutes, then we picked up two Subway sand...
I’m not accustomed to making excuses, but the dog didn’t exactly eat my homework. I was busy wrestling with jaw pain. I did learn how to work through pain, but it wasn’t fun. My meals were liquid or soft, taken only on the left side of my mouth. If my husband weren’t such a marvelous chef, we might have opened more cans of Campbell’s Soup. As it was, we only opened one and added fresh mushroom slices to it: cream of mushroom soup. We had smooth cream of tomato bisque made with ripe, homegrown tomatoes. There was cream of...
I like to sleep with the window open in our bedroom. Fresh air, right? It can also bring in cold air. And our bedroom window opens just behind my head. If my husband slept on my side of the bed, he’d need a bed cap to protect his bald head! I have thick hair on one side of my head and thinner hair on the other side, so I like to pull the quilt over my head and keep it warm all night. Unlike cities with all their paved streets and tall buildings, our outdoor temperature can get very cool, even in summer. I remember many y...
I heard it on the news, “People who play tennis live nine years longer.” I tried playing tennis once with three Australian women who claimed these outings were just to “hit and giggle.” First, I made myself a white tennis outfit, and we bought a cheap tennis racket. It didn’t take long to realize my poor playing was dragging down the levity of the outings, and I threatened to be depressed by the experience. I excused myself and abandoned the sport. But I enjoy watching the sport. My mother-in-law also enjoyed watching...
It comes as no surprise to local residents that my husband enjoys his vegetable garden. It is fenced to protect from hungry deer, although we haven’t seen many deer this year. His rows are straight, and rain keeps the plants watered, or we have a well when rain needs to be supplemented. While seed catalogs arrive in January and February, Brice forgot to order seeds this year; he was forced to use seeds left over for a year or two. They all produced in spite of age. We have been enjoying the tastes of garden plants, the f...
I have just completed a three week medically imposed restriction from my wheelchair and days in my bed. I had two problems: A return of jaw pain and an open pressure sore on my bottom. Let’s tackle the jaw pain first. I had slowly been reducing pain medicine since the May 11 radiological treatment of jaw pain. One pain reliever requires abstinence from alcohol. In my case, that means wine. The last Monday of every month during the school year is book club where conversations about books are accompanied with snacks and w...
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.” — Emma Lazarus These words were written in 1883 by 34-year-old Emma Lazarus. She only lived until 1887, 38 years, but she managed to write volumes of poetry and attract the attention of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Her words appear on the base of the Statue of Liberty, the destination immigrants from Europe, including Irela...
Those are the first words of a song from the movie “Cabaret,” starring Liza Minnelli. The song goes on to say, “Money makes the world go around.” I must have believed that. Never having any excess money, I bought two Powerball lottery tickets every week. I had selected numbers for tickets, based on Ekalaka’s zip code. I wanted to pave Ekalaka’s streets. I had not thought that problem through. I would need much more than the paving cost to cover maintenance and repair. And costs would go on and on. What is the town’s tota...
My article didn’t get written in time to be included in the 4th of July holiday paper. My husband explains his refusal to hurry, saying he had rushed to beat deadlines for nearly 30 years. He refuses to do that in retirement. Well, that is his reason; I just didn’t nail down my choice of subject until too late to beat the deadline. My final choice of subject was the shooting of journalists at a Maryland newspaper. Carter County folks probably carry more guns than Maryland residents. But we were taught as children not to poi...
My hometown had some 8,000 residents, situated midway between Kansas City and St. Louis, on the Missouri River. James A. Michener mentioned the town without using its name in the book “Centennial.” By Missouri standards, we were a small town. A reformatory for boys, ages 10-18, was located on the edge of town, complete with a dairy. Every 4th of July they put on a free fireworks display. When we lived in town, my dad would drive the car to the prescribed parking lot and we’d settle in for the evening. Mom always made lots...
Years ago, when I lived in Billings, I’d walk to the bus stop downtown and get on the bus headed to Rimrock Mall. I just had to be careful not to buy more than I could carry. Not many people were on the bus; just mentally and physically handicapped youngsters headed for their jobs at the handicapped workshop. There was plenty of room for me. Later I’d catch the bus headed back downtown, making sure not to miss the last bus. We had a friend who didn’t own a car. A divorced mother of four with an ex-husband who only spora...
If you read this on Thursday, I’ll be making my least favorite trip to Billings. If I have my new wheelchair, the trip will be more comfortable. The trip is to have the treatment for jaw pain. That treatment had been scheduled originally for the first week in January, rescheduled for the first week in February, rescheduled again for the first week in April, and finally the second week in May. All that rescheduling was the result of snow. Are we safe now? All medical trips should be scheduled in spring and fall. This t...
Robins returned before I thought the ground was thawed. Were there any worms near the surface for which robins could peck? What else do robins eat? Brice is seeing more cottontails when he looks through the windows. We used to have a cottontail nursery under our front ramp; close enough to watch through our front window when youngsters tentatively ventured outside. A cat may have discovered the den, or some other predator who dragged the dead babies out to the street. No more life has emerged from under the ramp. I had never...
Did you get your taxes filed by April 15 or 16 or 17? Brice filed ours over the computer and the feds and state accepted both. It’s an easy enough project for Brice, but he tends to put it off. If we owed either, it would make sense to keep your money as long as you could, but if the government owes you, why not get it as soon as you can? When I was single, the wife of one of the graduate students worked for a CPA. In tax season they needed extra help to type finished tax returns. It was part time work and the pay would be n...
That’s right, it happened again; snow, wind and hazardous driving conditions postponed the medical appointment to deal with my trygeminal nerve pain in the lower right jaw. That happened in January, February, but we mistakenly thought April would be safe. We should have remembered the year Katie tried to come home from Billings on spring break; we followed her all the way from Miles City to be sure she made it safely. Driving conditions were questionable in Ekalaka, on April 5, but got worse the farther west you went. We w...
I was mentally prepared to compose a series of articles about the weather starting with the day fog settled over Ekalaka most of the day. Then came WIND! That’s right, all caps; the wind deserved them. At 4:00 am, Brice got up to unplug the computer, but it was too late. The computer was dead, or in a coma from which we could not awaken it. When power goes off and quickly comes back five times in a row, problems result. The power company is strong, but it can’t control the wind. Brice took our computer to the Best Buy whe...
My Mother remembered birthdays of siblings, parents and cousins. Their birthdays may have been written on the calendar. My Mom remembered my Dad’s siblings’ and parents’ birthdays, and cousins of course. I don’t remember lots of cards being sent, but telephone calls were made. They often were invited for afternoon cake and ice cream, Mom made lots of cakes, box cakes with fudge or caramel icing. Dad and I didn’t care much for cake, but I’d peal off big chunks of fudge or caramel. I was probably more greedy than Dad. Like Mom,...
The morning of February 10, it was -23.2 degrees at the official weather station in Ekalaka, in our back yard. Luckily, Brice doesn’t need to go outside to read temperatures, he or I can just read the numbers on the little screen on the computer counter. The only outside activities associated with the weather are bringing in the large container where snow or rain might have accumulated. Two days in the first part of one week dropped 10 inches of snow which melted down to 1/2 inch of moisture. I haven’t been outside in mon...
For several years Brice has worked as my primary Home Care Aide, bringing home $16 an hour. That’s after everything is taken out. That took the home income up to $1800 a month. Added to my $595 in Social Security, that gave me a healthy income to buy generously. The Home Care Company called earlier this month, telling us the Governor had signed budget cuts that take away salary for family members acting as care givers. I realize the state is trying to balance the budget and everyone has to pitch in; this will be our $1800 c...
I took off the month of January to deal with health issues, but they weren’t touched in January! On the scheduled date to aim radiation at the nerve in my right jaw, there was horizontal snow and ice to fight through. The bad roads extended all the way to Billings! We stayed home. My jaw pain made a return attack, but medication seemed the only solution. Now I’m scheduled for next Friday and we are scheduled for Arctic cold. Of course. Early settlers were smart enough to stay tucked inside during the winter, only ven...
I know my husband worked until he was 69; I am only 67 but I have health issues. Bright Ideas will disappear for a while or forever. I’m not sure which. I have medical issues I haven’t mentioned. Are they the result of MS or just bad luck? I’ll have two appointments in January with Doctors in Billings to end jaw pain, and in Miles City to slow the progression of MS. If Bright Ideas disappears forever, I will miss all of you. If this is just a medical leave, I’ll be back. Even I don’t know if this is good bye, I hope you...
Every year we open gifts for kids and gifts from kids, Katie and Clayton, on Christmas Eve. We did that when I was a kid. We’d go to Grandma and Grandpa’s house, have a meal, and open presents. One year my uncle Donnie had gotten a present for the girl he was going to marry. It disappeared. Grandma probably threw it away. Her sons never made good choices of wives; Grandma never liked them for at least for 15 years. The same was not true of her mother. Mom wanted to stay with her and her husband, my Great Grandparents, until t...
Monday was my 67th birthday. I remember my 7th birthday. The dining room table was surrounded by friends: Kaye, my age, her brother Gary, I always had a crush on Gary; he was two years older than we, another Gary (Cassidy), his younger brother, Steve something, he lived in the house next to ours, a girl who lived up the hill, Sue Biggerstaff, and my uncle Donnie! Gary Cassidy’s father was CEO of the $.05 and $.10 store. That’s where the kids bought Christmas presents. I remember one year my brother bought me the largest bot...
