tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37595695352519544692024-03-08T14:38:21.302-06:00TANGENTSHorst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.comBlogger223125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-6247741184848128752012-12-15T12:06:00.001-06:002012-12-15T12:06:34.557-06:00Ed Stetzer - Three Ways Christians Should Respond to the Horror of a Broken WorldA response to the shootings in Conneticut.<br />
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<a href="http://www.edstetzer.com/2012/12/how-should-we-respond-to-such.html">Ed Stetzer - Three Ways Christians Should Respond to the Horror of a Broken World</a>Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-14252797371013886982012-12-10T00:30:00.000-06:002012-12-10T00:46:56.177-06:00Are you ready for Christmas?Are you ready for Christmas?<br />
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I've lost count of the number of times I've been asked that question, and Christmas is still 15 days away. The question seems to have replaced the weather as the opening (sometimes only) topic of conversation.<br />
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My mind kept going back to this seasonal question as I watched the Sunday afternoon football games yesterday. I was stuck on trying to figure out why the question is so popular and dominant at this time of year.<br />
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The quick answer is obvious - a lot of time and energy is focused on preparing for the Christmas celebration. But my ruminations went deeper.<br />
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Are people asking me if I've finished spending my money? Are they asking me if I've finished decorating everything? Have I wrapped everything? Have I written seasonally appropriate cards to everyone I know, especially the people that I only communicate with at Christmas time? Have all the family gatherings been planned down to the last details? Have I got all my Christmas music playlists prepared? Has all the Christmas baking been done?<br />
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My answer to the above questions is no!<br />
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Have I gotten into the Christmas spirit?<br />
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What do they mean by that?<br />
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Are they asking if I've immersed myself in the Advent season, a time of anticipation and preparation for the celebration of Christ's birth?<br />
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Not enough.<br />
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I wonder, how often are we asking superficial questions like how are you; are you ready for Christmas; or is it cold enough for you? Are we looking for more than a fluffy, no-substance response?<br />
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How often do I do that? Why do I do that?<br />
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Maybe I need to pay more attention to what I'm saying and asking.<br />
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-4788505685974027952012-11-30T16:26:00.004-06:002012-11-30T16:26:28.563-06:00Random Stuff<u>A Headscratcher:</u><br />
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ml1Yqby5BQ/ULkxgDrN9lI/AAAAAAAAAaE/n9uavwCVkx8/s1600/2012+Family+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8Ml1Yqby5BQ/ULkxgDrN9lI/AAAAAAAAAaE/n9uavwCVkx8/s400/2012+Family+collage.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<li>I spent a fair bit of time preparing a birthday gift for Heidi - a poster-sized collage of photos from our recent photo-shoot. I prepared it carefully, including putting in a border so that none of the images got cut off by the inside edge of the frame. I took it to be printed and when I unrolled the poster at home I found that the photo place reduced the border to a sliver resulting in a couple of heads missing their tops. I went back to my computer, opened the file and widened the border, checked to make sure it was precisely even and went back to let the photo shop try again. This time the poster was so poorly cut that the top border is about a third of the width of the bottom border and the side borders were cut at an angle so that the images lean to the right. How can the staff person that did the work be so sloppy that they are unable to set up a paper cutter to cut a right angle? Do I go back and let them try a third time?</li>
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<u>A Surprise Bonus:</u></div>
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<ul>
<li>Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a seminar titled, <i>Blogging for Business. </i>When I first received the invitation to attend I wasn't sure the content would be anything I could use since I don't have a business nor do I plan to. I was pleasantly surprised. The seminar was very interesting, extremely well presented and offered many practical suggestions that I might use in the future. At the end of the day the presenter gave away two door prizes. I had not expected that. I was even more surprised when my name was drawn for one of the prizes - 2 tickets to the musical <i>Rock of Ages</i>. Looks like Heidi and I are going on a date again.</li>
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<u>A Busy Weekend Ahead</u>:</div>
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<li>Heidi has taken 3 days off at the beginning of next week so it'll be an extra long weekend.</li>
<li>My daughter and son-in-law are moving on Saturday. My job is easy - I get to drive the moving truck they've rented and supervise the loading, trying to ensure that the space on the truck is maximized and the load is secure. My back and my lungs should be able to handle that. </li>
<li>In the evening we've been invited to attend a choral concert by some dear friends we haven't connected with for far too long. We are looking forward to a wonderful evening.</li>
<li>Sunday morning we're off to church - a time that always blesses us with a great time with God, challenges, inspiration, encouragement, and the opportunity to see the many friends we've found in that community.</li>
<li>Sunday afternoon and evening are family time. The boys are coming over to watch football and rest of the family will show up later for a dinner to celebrate Heidi's birthday. I still have to figure out what the menu will be. I look forward to seeing Heidi's reaction to her gift. It's already hanging on the wall above the dining room table but covered with a towel that she's not allowed to remove until the birthday cake comes out. (She's not allowed to read this blog either or she'll spoil her surprise). </li>
<li>On Monday we're meeting Heidi's parents for lunch followed by an afternoon of playing cards. We haven't done that for several months now (which is much too long) and I'm looking forward to it. My in-laws are wonderful people and we always have an enjoyable visit over several hours of playing cards.</li>
<li>Tuesday morning we're meeting a friend from church for coffee. In the evening we have guests coming for dinner and a visit. </li>
<li>After that the schedule is open - I think. I can't remember the last time I've had such a structured schedule in front of me. How will I cope with so much structure?</li>
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<i style="background-color: white;"><span class="huge bqQuoteLink" style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I have no regular schedule. I get up whenever I can.</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<i style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">~~~ Jimmy Wales</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></i></div>
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Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-24198780695849810122012-11-22T12:17:00.000-06:002012-11-22T12:17:15.615-06:00The Big SecretTwo months ago I received a telephone call from one of my daughters.<br />
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"We're going to give Mama a new family photo as a birthday and Christmas gift. We've arranged to have pictures taken on November 17. It's to be a surprise. There's only one thing you need to do - take Mama shopping for a new dress."<br />
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Heidi and I have been married for almost 11 1/2 years, and in that time we have never had photos taken of us and our family by a professional photographer. In fact, we haven't had a family picture taken in the past two years. Heidi has been telling me we should get a family picture taken again on more than one occasion in the past few months so a family photo-shoot was a very timely idea.<br />
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Getting Heidi to agree to spend a significant amount of money on clothes was going to be tricky..Heidi needs new clothes. She has lost more than 80 lbs since the beginning of February and her clothes are all much too big. She has been sitting at her sewing machine quite often, taking in her clothes so they didn't look like sacks on her. She is very reluctant to spend money on new clothes because she's still losing weight and as she says, her body is going to continue to change shape.<br />
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How I was going to get her cooperation in completing my assignment? My solution? I picked a date (first weekend of November) and told her I was going to take her shopping to buy her a new dress as a birthday gift. (Her birthday is early in December). Heidi agreed - she even told our girls about it. I figured all was set.<br />
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Somewhere in there I also told Heidi that we were going out on November 17th and she shouldn't book anything else that day. Heidi wanted to know where we were going and I told her she'd find out on November 17.<br />
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I thought the secret plans were safe but it didn't take long for the conspiracy to be in danger of being exposed. On the first weekend of October we, along with my son Neil and daughter Lora, went to my youngest brother's home to celebrate my nephew's 4th birthday. Afterward, we had all our kids to come to our home for Thanksgiving dinner. We gave Neil a ride and when we got out of the car Neil turned to me and said, "I thought we're getting pictures taken today?"<br />
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Heidi, who had gone ahead of us a bit overheard me shush Neil and asked, "What are you whispering about?"<br />
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"Nothing."<br />
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Heidi persisted. "What's going on?"<br />
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I told her that I had to address something with Neil that she didn't need to concern herself about. The questions stopped but I knew Heidi' suspicions had been raised. When Heidi was out of earshot I told Neil that the family picture was supposed to be a surprise and reminded him of the correct date.<br />
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The day to go dress shopping came closer and Heidi repeatedly said she didn't need a new dress. Then on the day I had planned to take her shopping an urgent matter came up and the shopping never happened. Several days later we got a call from friends who invited us to their home on November 17. I had to remind Heidi that we already had plans for that day.<br />
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When I raised the subject of dress shopping again I got the same result. When my daughter called to give me the details of time and place I told her that Heidi was uncooperative as far as dress shopping was concerned.<br />
Two days before the pictures were to be taken my daughter called back and suggested that the girls take Heidi out shopping.<br />
<br />
When Heidi got home from work I told her the girls were taking her shopping the next evening, and it was not optional. A new dress was purchased, but now Heidi really began to raise questions. "Where are we going?" "Are we getting a family picture done?" "Why are we getting dressed up to go out on a Saturday afternoon?" "Are we going to meet the kids somewhere?" "We must be getting pictures done - I thought I heard Neil say something about pictures." I was as evasive as I possibly could be, deflecting the questions as best I could be. Heidi had even tried worming the story out while on the shopping trip, but the secret stayed safe.<br />
<br />
The surprise worked. Heidi had no idea what was happening until we walked around the corner of a building at the University of Manitoba and she saw the kids. The secret was revealed!<br />
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We had a wonderful, fun afternoon with the kids and we got some great pictures!<br />
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-6622226902484395502012-11-20T14:43:00.000-06:002012-11-20T14:43:55.641-06:00The Value of Memories<h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>Time and memory are true artists; </i></span></div>
<i><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">they remould reality nearer to the heart's desire.</span></div>
</span><span style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">~~~ John Dewey</span><br />
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Memories; stories about remembered times, people, places, and events have a prominent place in the material I'm collecting and organizing as I prepare to write my family history. But how much weight do I give to these remembered stories as accurate information. This is an important question for me.</div>
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Am I writing a history book - accurately documented and thoroughly researched, or am I writing a collection of family memories - memories shaped by personal interpretations and perceptions? </div>
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My inclination at this point is to write a collection of family stories, stories I heard from my parents, my grandparents, aunts and uncles, liberally sprinkled with references to recorded historical events that intersect with these family stories.</div>
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I've had to come to grips with this because I did some research on a story my mother told me and the information I found was different (in some minor details) than what my mother had related to me. </div>
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It is no secret that our memories are not the most reliable source of information. Our law enforcement and justice systems cope with inconsistent and conflicting eye-witness accounts every day. Years ago I witnessed a traffic accident and gave my contact information to the driver that had been hit by another vehicle running a red light. Several years later I got a telephone call asking for my testimony. My initial response placed the responsibility for the accident on the wrong driver. It wasn't until I simply related what I remember seeing without identifying make, model, and colour of the vehicles that my information was of any use.</div>
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My former wife had a great-uncle (Dietriech Toews) who had been a translator with the intelligence branch of the Canadian Armed Forces in the Second World War. One of his friends had been at the Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp after it had been liberated and he sent Dietrich some pictures of what was found at the Camp. Dietrich shared the story to friends when he got home, including showing the pictures, but his story was dismissed as incorrect - a fraudulent effort using manufactured photos and documents to demonize the German people. Dietrich hid the pictures away and never said a word about it for many years. My former mother-in-law told me that Dietrich had these pictures so on my next visit to him I began asking questions. Dietrich opened up and told me the story. Several years later I overheard my former mother-in-law telling the story but she placed Dietrich at Bergen-Belsen. I interjected and corrected the story, but it was a reminder to me of how quickly and easily memories can distort facts. </div>
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Given this reality, I know that I will write the family stories including acknowledging the quirkiness of memory. Memories are coloured by our perceptions, beliefs, personal values, and the decay of time. We no longer have the strong oral tradition that was present many centuries ago but that does not diminish the value of these memories.</div>
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These imperfect memories still allow us to paint a picture of what things were like, what the people were like, and how we have been shaped by the heritage and legacies passed down to us by our ancestors.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>The reality of life is that your perceptions </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>-- right or wrong -- influence everything else you do. </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>When you get a proper perspective of your perceptions, </i></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>you may be surprised </i></span></span><i style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit; text-align: justify;">how many other things fall into place. </i></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i> - Roger Birkman </i></span></span></div>
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-6222955656857496682012-11-19T10:51:00.002-06:002012-11-19T12:50:08.078-06:00Strange; The Things We RememberThe sorting of files, examination of photos, documents, and stories continues.<br />
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I have come across a few interesting and confusing details that have captured my attention and curiosity. I noticed that my aunt's <i>Ahnenpaβ </i>had two entries of the same couple 6 generations removed from me. My initial reaction was that my aunt had made a mistake. Then I checked the family tree documents that my father's cousin, Willi Janβen, had put together. Willi had collected more details than my aunt but his records showed the same information as my aunt's. I decided to go with the assumption that this information was correct.<br />
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After a rather cursory review, I thought this couple (Nikolaus Janzen and ? Schmidt) showed up in both of my paternal grandparents' ancestral lines. I was wrong. Upon closer examination I realized that this couple showed up twice in my paternal grandmother's ancestors. Furthermore, this couple's son, Johann Janzen and his wife Catharina (nee Lammert) also showed up twice (5 generations removed from me). Two of Johann and Catharina<i>'</i>s grandchildren married and these two were my paternal grandmother's parents. I'm a little surprised that the marriage of first cousins was condoned in what I had always assumed was a religiously strict Mennonite community.<br />
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Confused? So am I. I'm still wondering if <i>I've</i> got this correctly sorted.<br />
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As I organized these details of my father's line in my head and on paper, I remembered a story my mother had told me about some of her mother's family that also involved the marriage of first cousins. It seems my maternal grandmother had an uncle who had married his first cousin. This was a family where there had been a multi-generational history of inbreeding (an effort to keep the family estate from passing outside the family). One of this uncle's granddaughters named Grete Meemken spent much of her life in a psychiatric institution. <br />
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Related to this, I have a vague recollection of a comment my grandfather made when my sister and I were in Germany in 1969. My grandfather and a great-uncle were touring us around the area my mother's family comes from, stopping in various villages and towns and introducing us to relatives and friends of my grandparents. (It actually felt like we were being displayed to all these people - strangers to my sister and me.) Late in the day, my grandfather pointed to house in a village we were passing through and said something to the effect of, " We have relatives that live in that house but we don't go there. They have a crazy person in their back room." I didn't remember this incident until years later when I personally had to deal with the stigma of having a mental illness.<br />
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In the chats I've had with my mother about our family history she's often remarked, "<i>Komisch, was man an sich errinert</i>" (strange; the things one remembers). <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">I regard memory not as
a phenomenon preserving one thing </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">and losing another merely by chance,
but as a power </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">that deliberately places events in order or wisely omits
them. </span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">Everything we forget about our own lives </span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">was really condemned to
oblivion by an inner instinct long ago.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial;">~~~ STEFAN ZWEIG, <u>The World of Yesterday</u></span></i></div>
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-29896171455222917502012-11-16T11:51:00.002-06:002012-11-16T13:49:23.494-06:00Anxiety and Panic Clean-upI can't seem to get past the residue of so many years of living with a mental illness.<br />
<br />
As I continue to work on my family history project, in particular wading through 100 years of photographs, I've become increasingly aware of how quickly my computer and external storage devices are filling up with scans of photos and documents. I decided it was time to sift through my files and organize them better as well as deleting stuff I no longer need or want.<br />
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In addition to the memory on the hard disk of my computer I also have 3 external storage devices and at least 6 flash drives. Looking through all these devices I found an incredible, poorly organized mess and a daunting number of duplicate files. These are the result of the years of anxiety and OCD tendencies I lived with. Since the change in my diagnosis to Bi-Polar disorder and accompanying change in medications the anxiety has been greatly reduced to a level where I hardly notice it.<br />
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Now I have to clean up years of backing up files and backing up backups which then also got backed up. (Electronic hoarding?) Over the years I've scanned a lot of photos; a lot of them for two PowerPoint shows - one for my parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary nine years ago and another for my mom's 80th birthday two years ago. The PowerPoint shows each had hundreds of slides (1 photo per slide) - the first one had just under 400 photos and the second had around 600 photos.<br />
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My anxiety about losing data files resulted in up to 4 or 5 duplications of these files, often in 2 or 3 different image sizes. I would scan the images at high resolutions so I had the flexibility to do whatever I wanted with them and then I would save smaller versions for specific purposes.<br />
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Now I'm finding hundreds of these photos in huge data files; mostly in a format that uses a ridiculous amount of space on the computer drives. Going through these files, eliminating duplication while insuring I keep one smaller, more workable copy of each is a task that is going to take me several days, if not more.<br />
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My biggest challenge is not giving in to the old messages that I need to make sure I have a least one backup copy of each file, and then ending up with multiple copies again. <br />
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I wonder how many GB of storage space I'll free up in this exercise.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>“All living things contain a measure of madness </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>that moves them in strange, sometimes inexplicable ways.”
<br /> ―
Yann Martel,
<u>Life of Pi</u></i></div>
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Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-15845310237550218462012-11-15T01:00:00.000-06:002012-11-15T01:00:11.011-06:00Fun with PhotosWorking with old photos is fun, at least for me.<br />
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But it does come with some challenges.<br />
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Some of the photos are bent and torn; some are stained and discoloured; on some the images have faded so badly that the original shades can only be guessed at and even content can be hard to make out. Sometimes the colours on the old photopaper run and puddle into uneven patches leaving images covered with dark spots and blotches. I have found many photos that were printed so small they almost resemble postage stamps. The images are often not square; some of them have writing on their backs that has begun to leak through the image on the front. Occasionally the photos have been mounted on cardboard or glued into albums where the glue or chemicals damage the pictures, and having to scan pictures in heavy, bulky albums can be troublesome too. <br />
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I'm glad I have Photoshop.<br />
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Using Photoshop, I have been able to scan the small photos at a very high resolution thereby allowing me to enlarge them to a size where I can identify details of the subject without pixelating the image. I've been pleasantly surprised by some of the useful and enlightening images I have found this way.<br />
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Photoshop also allows me to restore the damaged and faded images.<br />
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Below is a before and after of a picture taken of my maternal grandmother in 1919 when she was 13 years old. The picture was mounted on stiff cardboard and was only lightly damaged; a little faded, some scratches and other little defects, and the edges were not even and square.<br />
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Using the magic of Photoshop and several hours of time I now have a photo that, while not perfect, is certainly a much improved portrait of my teenaged grandmother. </div>
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Today, I found a very faded picture in another album; an album that I put together of photos that I had collected and scavenged when I was in Germany in 1984. I have no idea who the woman in the photo is, but I'm hoping that my mother might be able to recognize the person; if not I'll paste the image into a letter and send it to my aunt (my father's youngest sister). Maybe she can identify this mystery person.<br />
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But first of all, I have do do some restoration work. It'll be a much bigger challenge than the above photo.<br />
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Check it out; it's small, discoloured, and when I enlarged it I found it to be very spotted and blotchy.<br />
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This will keep me busy for a while.<br />
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<i><span class="sqq">“So-called art restoration is at least as tricky as brain surgery. </span></i></div>
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<i><span class="sqq">Most pictures expire under scalpel and sponge.”</span></i></div>
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<i>~~~ Alexander Eliot </i></div>
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-71712794447988380402012-11-14T09:36:00.002-06:002012-11-14T09:36:56.064-06:00Look what I found!Researching my family history - digging through documents, paging through old photo albums, surfing the 'Net, and recording my mother's stories is a long, sometimes tedious process. But it has its rewards.<br />
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I have found new information, clarified and expanded old stories, found photos that I knew existed somewhere but hadn't seen in many years, and have learned details related to many photos that I was unaware of prior to beginning this process.<br />
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Some of the information describes circumstances and activities that my children and I only know of through museum displays and history books. It describes a way of living that we can no longer relate to; and yet it was lived by my parents.<br />
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My mother has photos of every house that she lived in except for where she was born. Her father was moved around many times because of his work, which took his family from East Frisia to Upper Silesia to Bohemia, back to Upper Silesia then to Austria and then back to East Frisia. They lived in 3 different houses in one village in East Frisia. As I scanned these photos my mother would reminisce, relating details faster than I could record them. (I've now taken my mom's photo album to my desk where I'm scanning the photos I want and when I'm done I'll go back to her and get the related stories).<br />
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The other day I was sitting at her dining room table, scanning more photos when I came across a picture of my sister and I playing a duet at the Pantages Playhouse Theatre in 1965. We were playing at an annual recital of music students from the music school where we were taking violin lessons. My sister was 9 and I was 11 at the time. It was the first public performance for either of us - one of countless more. I never knew this picture existed until I saw it in my paternal grandmother's photo album when I was in Hanover, Germany in 1984. Apparently the only two copies of this photo were sent to each set of my grandparents in Germany. Now I found it in an album my maternal grandmother had put together for my mother.<br />
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After scanning the photo I emailed it to my sister, but when I talked to her about it several days later I had to explain to her when and where the photo was taken, and an unforgettable (for me) incident at the recital.<br />
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The Music School had invited the very young band <i>The Guess Who</i> to appear as guest performers, which enraged my extremely anti-rock n' roll father. He went storming backstage and had he found my sister and me, he would have pulled us out of there before we even had a chance to play. At our next violin lesson my dad pulled us out of that music school and signed us up with a different violin teacher. <i>(When I think about it now, the whole thing was so ridiculous that I can only shake my head and laugh. At the time is was embarrassing.)</i><br />
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My sister usually remembers more people, details and events than I do so I was surprised she didn't remember anything of this event. Interesting what we remember and what we forget.<br />
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I like to put together photo collages so I sifted through my image files and found 2 other pictures; 1 of me playing at a friend's wedding in 1977 and a fragment of a picture of me playing at a family Christmas gathering in 1991. We always sang a lot when we got together as a family and here we were singing Christmas carols. My son was about 13 months old at the time and he climbed up onto my lap and sat there while I played. He did that whenever I played my violin or viola. When I played in the worship band at church he would toddle up to the front of the gathering, climb on my lap, put his hand on the bow, and quietly sit there while the music went on. I enjoyed this activity with my son and only stopped doing it when he decided he wanted to operate the bow himself.<br />
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I wonder what other memorable gems I'll find as I dig through these old family photos.<br />
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<i><span class="huge bqQuoteLink">Of all of our inventions for mass communication, </span></i></div>
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<i><span class="huge bqQuoteLink">pictures still speak the most universally understood language.</span>
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~~~ Walt Disney
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-81172496568771240802012-11-02T11:31:00.003-05:002012-11-02T16:17:37.603-05:00Ahnenpaβ II<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"What's the point of studying history?"</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many people I went to school
with had absolutely no use for it. They thought it was a boring, tedious
subject that had no practical application. Even today I encounter people who
find it boring and useless.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have always found history
to be fascinating; no need for a practical application. Perhaps it stemmed from
when I was a child and my mother spent many hours going through family photo
albums, telling me about the grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins pictured
there who lived an ocean away from us. Or maybe I was just interested and
entertained by the stories; stories that ignited my imagination.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">When I did my apprenticeship
as a piano technician, I found a book about pianos that included the history
(including the technical & structural development) of the instrument. As I
read the book I realized the connection between the advancements of technology
and the evolution of musical forms and instruments. I discovered the complexity
of history - it was far more than entertaining stories. History is the weaving
together of the threads of culture, politics, power, technology, the arts,
religion, social constructs and more culminating in a tapestry that continues
to grow.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
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<![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The description of how the story of the piano fit into the larger historical picture gave me more than the details of "how"; it painted an illuminating picture of "why".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Working through my collection of family documents, photos, and anecdotal stories is adding a new dimension of understanding and awareness of historical events that whirled around my family and how those events shaped a lot of who I am today.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The study of history, the complex interaction of political, religious, social, technical and scientific developments has been a very interesting intellectual exercise for me. But I was personally detached from these stories.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Reading through my aunt's <i>Ahnenpaβ</i> has added an increased awareness, perception and understanding of how world events (from local to global) impacted on my parents and grandparents lives. Those impacts also shaped me and I imagine they have been part of the moulding of my children.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">What new revelations will I find as I continue to research these stories?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The intrigue and anticipation keeps my interest from flagging but the growing body of information is making my task of writing increasingly daunting.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have some ideas of how to manage that; I'll see how it all works out.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>We have more information now than we can use, </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>and less knowledge and
understanding than we need. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Indeed, we seem to collect information
because we have the ability </i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>to do so, but we are so busy collecting it </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>that we haven't devised a means of using it. </i></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i> ~~~ Warren G. Benni) </i></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-47678388152431636272012-10-24T00:30:00.000-05:002012-10-24T00:30:04.238-05:00Too Much of a Good Thing?It's Autumn. Winter is approaching. With that comes shorter days and less daylight - not a good thing for someone like myself that lives with a mood disorder. On top of that it seems like the weather has been wet, dark and dreary for too many days to suit me. Sunshine helps the mood. Gloomy dark cloudy days do not!<br />
<br />
We own a lamp to address that issue. I can give myself my own light therapy treatment. Yesterday I had the lamp sitting on a table beside my desk and I had it on while I worked at the computer. Four hours of full spectrum light!<br />
<br />
Did I ever get energized.<br />
<br />
When Heidi got home she commented on my exuberant mood, speeding thoughts, and rapid speech. Apparently I overdosed on light. Seems I should only use it for 20 to 30 minutes a day.<br />
<br />
That is unfortunate. The extra light gave me energy to offset the exhaustion I'm experiencing due to the lack of sleep thanks to the bronchitis/asthma thing I have going on. I was more productive yesterday than I had been in a long time. I was able to stay focussed as I continued to work on the <i>Ahnenpaβ.</i><br />
<br />
I wonder if I can get away with a whole hour of light therapy. Maybe 2?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="sqq">“Too much of a good thing can be wonderful.”</span></i> </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~~~ <i>Mae West</i></div>
<i> </i><br />
<i> </i>Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-17284305711909739062012-10-23T12:36:00.001-05:002012-10-23T12:39:48.835-05:00Ahnenpaβ<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
The coughing
and hacking continues. It had eased up a fair bit and a week ago I went to the
gym and worked out for an hour. Since then the coughing has gotten
progressively worse again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Asthma?
Bronchitis? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I don't
know. At this point I don't think the doctors have figured it out either. So I
continue to hack and cough, lose sleep, and get increasingly tired and
frustrated. I'm going to ask my doc to refer me to a lung specialist when I see
him next.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
In the
meantime, I continue to work through the stack of family history documents that
I have. It's slow going because I find myself going down side trails,
researching the backgrounds and significance of various papers, circumstances,
and situations that I find while scanning the documents and photos into my
computer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Over the
past several months I have predominantly been working on a document (it's
actually a booklet) that had belonged to one of my aunts. It's called an <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ahnenpaβ</i>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Ahnenpaβ</i>
literally translates as Ancestral Passport and it was an official genealogical
record to be researched and recorded by individuals in Nazi Germany. I went
on-line to see if I could learn more about it and found a variety of these
booklets in different formats and covers. The booklet covers varied in colour,
construction and Font and Images. All the material I found on-line described the
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ahnenpaβ</i> as a 48 page booklet. My
aunt`s <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ahnenpaβ</i> has 80 pages. More on
the purpose and content in a future blog post.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Because of the age of the document the colour of the cover has faded and the pages have yellowed. The handwritten entries and the seals stamped on the various pages have also faded. I`ve been using Photoshopto revive the faded colour and sharpness as much as possible. As well as improving the appearance of the booklet, the Photoshopping results t help me to read the contents of the booklet.</div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Booklet Cover </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uetb0hhgq-s/UIbQPpyr9YI/AAAAAAAAAXA/xKeNI_gN3FA/s1600/unrestored+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uetb0hhgq-s/UIbQPpyr9YI/AAAAAAAAAXA/xKeNI_gN3FA/s320/unrestored+cover.jpg" width="227" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vbpg_rEhd8E/UIbQOGPZOmI/AAAAAAAAAWo/YiKEc7dZPm8/s1600/restored+cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Vbpg_rEhd8E/UIbQOGPZOmI/AAAAAAAAAWo/YiKEc7dZPm8/s320/restored+cover.jpg" width="227" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif";">Title Page</span></span></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_3e8h1qzLJI/UIbQQvxIYJI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/ADCGPT8iE-s/s1600/unrestored+title+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_3e8h1qzLJI/UIbQQvxIYJI/AAAAAAAAAXQ/ADCGPT8iE-s/s320/unrestored+title+page.jpg" width="232" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yfpAMiBbmw/UIbQPcrc_8I/AAAAAAAAAW4/W-bjNyiE7g8/s1600/restoredTitle+page.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2yfpAMiBbmw/UIbQPcrc_8I/AAAAAAAAAW4/W-bjNyiE7g8/s320/restoredTitle+page.jpg" width="230" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
First Page of Genealogical Record</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VIwi3OPQYKw/UIbQQFBpoLI/AAAAAAAAAXI/TNc6FWvmi_Y/s1600/unrestored+p+14-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="276" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VIwi3OPQYKw/UIbQQFBpoLI/AAAAAAAAAXI/TNc6FWvmi_Y/s400/unrestored+p+14-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EBBDzjgVaJE/UIbQOnClcKI/AAAAAAAAAWw/MKY0pgV6OQg/s1600/restored+p+14-15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EBBDzjgVaJE/UIbQOnClcKI/AAAAAAAAAWw/MKY0pgV6OQg/s400/restored+p+14-15.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>This packrat has learned that what the next generation will </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>value most is not
what we owned, but the evidence of who we were </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>and the tales of how we loved. In
the end, it's the family stories </i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>that are worth the storage.</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
~ <i>Ellen Goodman,</i></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>The Boston Globe </i></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-48320653867132910782012-10-12T12:38:00.002-05:002012-10-12T12:38:44.100-05:00Life Goes OnTwo weeks have flown by again.<br />
<br />
In that time we have gone from seeing trees dressed in the splendour of fall colours to denuded branches; nakedly silent for the long, cold winter ahead. Our weather has changed from bright sunshine, blue skies, and summer-like temperatures in the high 20 degrees Celsius to grey skies, crisp winds, temperatures hovering around freezing and occasional swirling snow flurries.<br />
<br />
The bronchitis I have been fighting since the middle of July has slowly been easing up. My last visit to the Doctor resulted in the conclusion that I have asthma, triggered by environmental allergies that has become exacerbated by the bronchitis. Now I have a total of 3 different inhalers that I use on a daily basis.<br />
<br />
I have returned to the gym again - not as frequently as I was going prior to the bronchitis, and my workouts are at most an hour long as opposed to the 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours I was logging before breathing became so difficult. My emergency inhaler is in my pocket as I'm exercising now, and without the occasional puff I can't last for much more than 15 minutes. But I am exercising again! That's progress.<br />
<br />
I continue to work through the materials I've collected for my writing, and the ideas of how to structure this family history record continue to spin and evolve. I recently read the book, <i>Patient Number 7</i> by Kurt Palka. Palka worked through a collection of documents pertaining to his family history, and presented a fictionalized telling of some of that history. An interesting idea, but I am increasingly leaning towards creating material to post on a website that I would develop. I like the idea of a website because it allows the opportunity to post material and add to it as I complete it, update information as new facts come to life, and display digital copies of the documentation that has accumulated over the past several decades.<br />
<br />
Life moves on and God keeps working in our lives. The blessings He pours out on us continue to enrich our lives and He provides us with numerous opportunities to bless others.<br />
<br />
The most significant blessings for us are seeing our kids doing well. Last weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving and our time together as a family was one good food (too much, actually), great conversation, and lots of laughter. Each of our kids has good stuff happening in their lives. Only God knows what the future will bring for them.<br />
<br />
A few days ago my daughter Lora informed us she was moving to South Africa in January, for a two year term as a support staff person at the Youth With A Mission campus in Worcester where she spent 5 months this past spring and summer. Another desire granted!<br />
<br />
God is good! Life is good!<br />
<br />
<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-55175881820736716642012-10-03T07:59:00.001-05:002012-10-03T07:59:19.634-05:00MedicineMet the guys for coffee and Bible study again at 6 this morning.<br />
<br />
Had to leave early because I started hacking and coughing again. The coughing continued all the way home (I probably shouldn't have been driving) and for at least another 10 minutes once I got home.<br />
<br />
As I was driving home a song I had never heard before came on the radio. Between my coughing fits I caught a few of the words and I began laughing to myself. The words that caught my attention? "Crazy Mennonites". Given my Mennonite roots It's understandable that these two words piqued my curiosity. <br />
<br />
The song?<br />
<br />
<i>Amish Paradise</i> by 'Weird' Al Yankovic.<br />
<br />
The song was apparently recorded in 1996 - not sure why I had never heard of it before. <br />
<br />
Between meeting with my friends for coffee and Bible study and laughing at 'Weird; Al I had a great start to my day - despite the ongoing bronchitis.<br />
<br />
God, friends, and laughter - great medicine!<br />
<br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>As I walk through the valley where I harvest my grain<br />
I take a look at my wife and realize she's very plain<br />
But that's just perfect for an Amish like me<br />
You know, I shun fancy things like electricity<br />
At 4:30 in the morning, I'm milkin' cows<br />
Jebediah feeds the chickens and Jacob plows, fool<br />
And I've been milkin' and plowin' so long that<br />
Even Ezekiel thinks that my mind is gone<br />
I'm a man of the land, I'm into discipline<br />
Got a Bible in my hand and a beard on my chin<br />
But if I finish all of my chores and you finish thine<br />
Then tonight we're gonna party like it's 1699<br /><br />
We been spending most our lives</i>
<i><br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
I've churned butter once or twice<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
It's hard work and sacrifice<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
We sell quilts at discount price<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br /><br />
A local boy kicked me in the butt last week</i>
<i><br />
I just smiled at him and I turned the other cheek<br />
I really don't care, in fact I wish him well<br />
'Cause I'll be laughing my head off when he's burning in Hell<br />
But I ain't never punched a tourist even if he deserved it<br />
An Amish with a 'tude? You know that's unheard of<br />
I never wear buttons but I got a cool hat<br />
And my homies agree I really look good in black... fool<br />
If you come to visit, you'll be bored to tears<br />
We haven't even paid the phone bill in 300 years<br />
But we ain't really quaint, so please don't point and stare<br />
We're just technologically impaired<br /><br />
There's no phone, no lights, no motorcar</i>
<i><br />
Not a single luxury<br />
Like Robinson Crusoe<br />
It's as primitive as can be<br /><br />
We been spending most our lives</i>
<i><br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
We're just plain and simple guys<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
There's no time for sin and vice<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
We don't fight, we all play nice<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br /><br />
Hitchin' up the buggy, churnin' lots of butter</i>
<i><br />
Raised a barn on Monday, soon I'll raise a nudder<br />
Think you're really righteous? Think you're pure in heart?<br />
Well, I know I'm a million times as humble as thou art<br />
I'm the pious guy the little Amlettes wanna be like<br />
On my knees day and night, scorin' points for the afterlife<br />
So don't be vain and don't be whiny<br />
Or else, my brother, I might just have to get medieval on your heinie<br /><br />
We been spending most our lives</i>
<i><br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
We're all crazy Mennonites<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
There's no cops or traffic lights<br />
Living in an Amish paradise<br />
But you'd probably think it bites<br />
Living in an Amish paradise</i></span></div>
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Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-75318804800469303032012-09-27T14:22:00.003-05:002012-09-27T14:25:17.672-05:0010 Weeks and Counting I'm now ten weeks into this bout of bronchitis and it doesn't want to go away.<br />
<br />
This is very frustrating!<br />
<br />
<br />
I've been to see my doctor once (he's been away since the end of last month) and I've gone to Urgent Care twice. After two or rounds of antibiotics and one round of steroids the bronchitis keeps bouncing back. On my last visit to Urgent Care I was prescribed two very strong inhalers. There is some concern that I may develop COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder), formerly referred to as emphysema. I'd like to avoid that if I can.<br />
<br />
I have several immediate challenges:<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li>I have to find a way of overcoming the bronchitis. I'm at a loss as to how that can be done at this point - I suppose another trip to the doc at Urgent Care is necessary.</li>
<li>I have to come up with an exercise routine that won't over tax my lungs, but still help me lose weight.</li>
<li>I have to overcome my exhaustion so that I can refocus on my writing and research. The only way I can get a good enough sleep at night is to stop coughing. That, unfortunately, is not a matter of will; I'll need some help with that.</li>
<li>I need sleep, exercise, lots of light, and a good diet to stave off the encroaching depression.</li>
</ol>
<div>
I need prayer for God's healing; some help from medical professionals; and some self-discipline and perseverance to push through my exhaustion and depression to do all I can to exercise, and get my prayer, meditation, reading, research and writing activities back on track.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="text Ps-121-1" id="en-NIV-16083">Psalm 121</span></i></h3>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b><i><span class="text Ps-121-1">A song of ascents.</span></i></b></div>
<div class="poetry" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="line">
<i><span class="text Ps-121-1"><sup class="versenum">1 </sup>I lift up my eyes to the mountains—</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-1">where does my help come from?</span></span><br /><span class="text Ps-121-2" id="en-NIV-16084"><sup class="versenum">2 </sup>My help comes from the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-2">the Maker of heaven and earth.</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="poetry top-05" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="line">
<i><span class="text Ps-121-3" id="en-NIV-16085"><sup class="versenum">3 </sup>He will not let your foot slip—</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-3">he who watches over you will not slumber;</span></span><br /><span class="text Ps-121-4" id="en-NIV-16086"><sup class="versenum">4 </sup>indeed, he who watches over Israel</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-4">will neither slumber nor sleep.</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div class="poetry top-05" style="text-align: center;">
<div class="line">
<i><span class="text Ps-121-5" id="en-NIV-16087"><sup class="versenum">5 </sup>The <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> watches over you—</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-5">the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> is your shade at your right hand;</span></span><br /><span class="text Ps-121-6" id="en-NIV-16088"><sup class="versenum">6 </sup>the sun will not harm you by day,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-6">nor the moon by night.</span></span></i></div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i><span class="text Ps-121-7" id="en-NIV-16089"><sup class="versenum">7 </sup>The <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> will keep you from all harm—</span></i><br />
<i><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-7">he will watch over your life;</span></span></i><br />
<i><span class="text Ps-121-8" id="en-NIV-16090"><sup class="versenum">8 </sup>the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span> will watch over your coming and going</span></i><br />
<i><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Ps-121-8">both now and forevermore.</span></span></i></div>
</div>
Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-80540468662008396722012-09-06T10:28:00.001-05:002012-09-06T10:30:38.874-05:0023 1/2 HoursToday was a tough day to get out of bed. I've been starting my day by going to the gym and the exertions of exercising seem to be rekindling the bronchitis I was battling for 6+ weeks over the summer. This morning I had to quit after only thirty minutes because the coughing started up again.<br />
<br />
The 30 minute session reminded me of a video I saw about 3 months ago. I can accept that the limited workout is sufficient for today when I keep the video in mind.<br />
<br />
Check it out.<br />
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/3F5Sly9JQao" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Tomorrow is another day and I'll see how long I can go then. The lungs have to clear up at some point. Hopefully sooner, rather than later.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"You're not obligated to win. </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>You're obligated to do the best you can</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>every day."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>~ Marian Wright Edelman </i> </div>
Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-66489258385559516702012-09-05T13:03:00.003-05:002012-09-05T13:03:49.120-05:00Priority and DirectionI'm back to sifting through family history documents.<br />
<br />
The challenge I face is there are so many of them. Heidi recently told me I need to select the ones I will use in my writings and set the other ones aside for now.<br />
<br />
That is easier than it sounds. I know that there are details that I find intriguing and interesting but I also know that others find those same details of no more use than for a trivia game. <br />
<br />
Personal letters, diaries, poetry collections, invoices, shipping documents, report cards, certificates, post cards, newspaper clippings, photos of very distant relatives, old passports; they're all fascinating because they are all windows to a family and societal culture that are part of my roots.<br />
<br />
How do I pick and choose? How do I prioritize these items?<br />
<br />
The documents are all in German. Do I translate them all? If not, how do I choose which ones to translate?<br />
<br />
Where will I find the time?<br />
<br />
When it comes to putting the family history together, what do I write about? Should I write a lineal narrative that can't possibly include all the available information? Or should I put a collection of stories together? I prefer to write a collection of stories, and have already begun to do so, but how do I organize them?<br />
<br />
I could put them in some kind of chronological order but I'm actually considering a collection of stories organized around the primary character in the story. To me that makes sense because it offers the opportunity of describing the person more than just recording what happened. It opens the door for anecdotal information, personal impressions, and recollections.<br />
<br />
I enjoy reading narrative history books. Will writing a narrative history be as enjoyable? Will the readers care?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"Why is it that our memory is good enough</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i> to retain the least triviality that happens to us, </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>and yet not good enough to </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>recollect how often we have told it to the same person?"</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>~ Francois de La Rochefoucauld </i></div>
Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-23920665210370493542012-09-04T12:14:00.002-05:002012-09-04T12:14:49.969-05:00A New RoutineLabour Day has come and gone - now the fall routine (such as it is) begins. My activity calendar will look a little different from here on in.<br />
<br />
Over the past weeks I've heard my 82 year old mother complaining about how bad the streets and sidewalks are in our city. Despite her mobility challenges she likes to get out every day to walk for an hour or so. The horrid conditions of our streets and sidewalks make it extremely difficult and unsafe for her to go for her walks. There were a couple of instances where she thought she was going to fall because the wheels of her walker got caught in cracks and holes.<br />
<br />
Last Friday I suggested to Heidi that we invite my mother to join us as our guest at the fitness center we use. So Saturday morning we took her along and she went for an hour long walk around the track. She loved it! The track is level and cushioned making it so much easier for her. She was very enthusiastic when she talked about her experience with my siblings the rest of the weekend.<br />
<br />
I contacted all my siblings and asked them what they thought about giving her a one-year membership as a birthday/early Christmas gift. Everyone agreed to pitch in. On the suggestion of one of my siblings I extended an invitation to our kids and our adult nieces and nephew to participate in this gift giving and I received many immediate and enthusiastic responses.<br />
<br />
This morning I signed my mom up at the gym. Now I have an extra push to get to the gym and work out because I've committed myself to taking her there every morning. I'm glad of the push because I need to catch up to my wife in losing weight and getting in better shape. Heidi has lost over 60 lbs since the beginning of Feb, 2012. I've got a lot of work to do.<br />
<br />
So the focus this fall and winter is to exercise more, lose weight, get healthier, and also continue to work on my writing projects. That, and my other daily activities (Bible reading,
meditation, prayer, household chores) should keep me from getting bored. Somewhere in there I need to find time for all the reading I like to do too.<br />
<br />
The exercise will also help stave off my usual seasonal descent into
depression. I also have to be aware that too much stimulation puts me at risk of slipping towards the manic side of my Bi-Polar Disorder affliction.<br />
<br />
Keeping a balance - not one of my strengths. We'll see how it goes.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"There comes a time in the affairs of man </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>when he must take the bull by the tail </i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>and face the situation."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>~ W. C. Fields</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-57372080787776331312012-09-01T14:22:00.000-05:002012-09-01T17:05:47.966-05:00British History with a TwistLora knows I like to read and that my reading interests lie in many genres. She purchased a book for me (while she was in the UK) that she knew I would like.<br />
<br />
It combines history and satire. I love it!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WXrqeXgdn0s/UEJS2iVJ6NI/AAAAAAAAAWI/LqZDr73tS_4/s1600/Impartial+History.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WXrqeXgdn0s/UEJS2iVJ6NI/AAAAAAAAAWI/LqZDr73tS_4/s640/Impartial+History.jpg" width="406" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Here's a short excerpt:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>"As a piece of engineering, Stonehenge is an incredible achievement and there is something rather symmetrical about Microsoft providing a photo of Stonehenge as a standard wallpaper for the twenty-first-century computer screen. No one knows quite why it was built, but it seems sensible to presume that some ancient ceremony took place there every year, hopefully slightly more meaningful than today's annual beating up of New Age travelers by the local riot police. The sheer scale of the monument and the logistics that must have been involved in constructing it tell us something of the society that built it. We know that they followed the movement of the stars and the planets, the presumption being that they worshiped the sun, which as religions go, seems a bit "first base", but then it was a long time ago. In fact the site was of religious significance for far longer than Christianity or Islam have existed. It is the temple of a civilization about which we know very little and so tend to presume was very simplistic, but they must have had a fairly advanced social structure; in addition to a good number of labourers or slaves they would have needed managers, engineers, surveyors and designers. Basically they must have had a middle class. How Stonehenge managed to get planning permission with all those objections from the "friends of Salisbury Plain" is just another of its ancient mysteries.</i>"</div>
<br />
It's going to be a challenge for me to be productive until I finish reading this tome. I'm making very slow progress because I find myself reading bits and pieces of the book over and over again. The most amusing parts of this book for me are the frequent pokes at today's western culture and society. <br />
<br />
I wonder if I can locate other books by John O'Farrell?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>"History is the sum total</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>of things that could have been avoided."</i></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<i>~ Konrad Adenauer </i></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-19500191054334665382012-08-31T09:05:00.001-05:002012-09-01T13:21:01.511-05:00She's Back ... But For How Long? Pt.4Two hours until Lora's plane is due to arrive. Time for Starbucks, newspaper, and more people watching.<br />
<br />
I wonder if our vehicle is large enough to haul Lora and all her stuff. She took an awful lot with her when she left 5 months ago and I know she's accumulated more stuff while she was away. I saw a couple of pictures of her posted on Facebook while she and her fellow students did their outreach in the UK at the end of July and early August. She was loaded down.<br />
<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRb2F9SrCJY/UEC8sk2NTRI/AAAAAAAAAVk/672jl_tMupc/s1600/traveller.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CRb2F9SrCJY/UEC8sk2NTRI/AAAAAAAAAVk/672jl_tMupc/s640/traveller.jpg" width="476" /> </a></div>
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I know she didn't take everything she took to South Africa along when she went to the UK. Just how much baggage is she going to have? Should I have brought a truck?</div>
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How long is she going to be home before she leaves on another adventure? Two months ago she talked about extending her stay in South Africa until Christmas. She's also told me she envisions herself being abroad more than she is at home in the coming years. </div>
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Of course, whenever she raises that possibility she begins the conversation with, "Now don't freak out dad. I'm thinking of..." I'm not sure how to convince her that I'm not going to "freak out". I'm happy that she has opportunities to travel and do things like this experience at Youth With a Mission (YWAM) in South Africa. If that's what she wants to do and she has the resources, the opportunity, and the calling - GREAT! I was overseas in my late teens and now I wish I had done more of that when I had the chance. If this is what Lora wants to do; I'm completely in support of that.</div>
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According to the "Arrivals" board Lora's plane has been on the ground for almost 30 minutes by the time it indicates that her plane has arrived at the gate. How much longer will this take? I seem to be even more excited about seeing my first-born again than I thought I would be. </div>
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Finally, there she is! Nuts! The digital camera won't start up fast enough to capture this moment. Doesn't matter - Lora's here! Safe. Healthy. With a big smile. A huge, long, teary hug. My daughter is back; pink stripes in her hair, a couple of new tattoos, and less luggage than I had anticipated.</div>
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After the hello's and a few other words I can't remember, I hear, "Dad, don't freak out now, but I've been invited to go back in January and join the staff team (at YWAM Worcester, South Africa). For two years."</div>
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She's back ... and now I know for how long!</div>
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<i>" Blessed is the man </i></div>
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<i>who hears many gentle voices</i></div>
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<i>call him father."</i></div>
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<i>~ Lydia M. Child</i></div>
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Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-57923062007570966422012-08-30T00:30:00.000-05:002012-08-30T09:29:28.170-05:00She's Back ... But For How Long? Pt.3Sunday morning... Lora arrives this afternoon!<br />
<br />
We woke up knowing that we could take our time getting started - we didn't have to check out of our room until 11 a.m. As we walked to the pool area where breakfast was served we greeted everyone we encountered with a bright, "Good Morning". It was interesting to note the different reactions. Some people responded in kind with a smile. Others seemed quite startled before returning the greeting. Some of the people we greeted reacted as if they were genuinely surprised to be greeted by us, almost as if being greeted by people of a different race than themselves was completely foreign to them.<br />
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Breakfast was a time of more people watching and a pleasant conversation with a woman from Regina, Saskatchewan. Then it was time to check out of the hotel and fill the hours until Lora's plane was due. We had decided to do that at IKEA. With all the fuss about an IKEA store opening in Winnipeg in a few months, this was a chance for us to get an idea of what the hype was all about.<br />
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Our walk through IKEA was thankfully a considerably lower assault on the senses than our time at the Mall of America had been. If Heidi and I were a young couple starting out on our journey together, building a home and providing for a young family, IKEA would have a lot of options to offer us. As it is, our kids are grown and embarking on their own lives, we've sold our house and are not intending to accumulate more stuff. Nevertheless, we enjoyed our tour of the big blue box store.<br />
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Then it was off to the airport - only 2 more hours until Lora's arrival. The excitement and anticipation was building.<br />
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To be continued...<br />
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<i>"Humans are the only creatures on earth</i></div>
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<i>that allow their children to come back home." </i> </div>
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<i>~ Bill Cosby</i></div>
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<br />Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-2161530874622654952012-08-29T15:00:00.000-05:002012-08-29T15:00:23.569-05:00She's Back ... But For How Long? Pt.2After completing our memorable drive to Minneapolis to pick up my daughter Lora at the airport, Heidi and I had a whole afternoon and evening to do stuff.<br />
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Neither of us had ever been at the Mall of America and I thought it would be worth seeing what all the hoopla was about. We don`t usually wander through shopping malls just for something to do, but we had the time and it showed up as a point of interest on the GPS unit. Since we had arrived 2 hours earlier than we could check into our hotel, we headed off to the Mall which was less than 10 minutes away from our hotel.<br />
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Neither of us enjoy the madness of large crowds or driving in circles trying to find a parking spot but we went for it anyway. Afterwards we both felt the visit to the emblem of North American Excess had been worthwhile. The spectacle of out of control consumerism was a stunning counterpoint to the health and poverty struggles we were familiar with in our work in the mental health field. We spent almost 3 hours walking around the mall observing the crush of people looking to spend money on things they quite likely could do without. I have to confess, we made 3 small purchases; one a video I had been looking for for almost a year, a table game that we know would be fun to play by ourselves or with guests to our home, and a couple of 'devious' Sudoku books for Heidi.<br />
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We walked into several shops just to look at merchandise offered there and were astonished at how much money people were willing to spend on stuff; prices that were far beyond anything we would consider spending. We even stopped at one of the food courts, grabbed something to eat, and sat down to watch the craziness unfolding in the amusement park area of the mall. Finally, we took a quick peek into the Legoland shop, saw how jammed full the store was, and decided we had seen enough.<br />
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On our drive back to our hotel we went past IKEA, where we also had never been and decided to take a look at what the fuss was all about the next day before going to the airport. After checking in we went to an Australian restaurant next door to the hotel, jumped the 30 minute queue when the restaurant staff mistakenly called us before all the people waiting in front of us, had dinner and went back to our room for the night.<br />
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The night previous had been very short, and it had been a long day so it did not take long to fall asleep. Even the excitement of Lora`s return the next day could not keep our eyes open.<br />
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To be continued...<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"We can tell our values by looking at our checkbook stubs."</span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">- Gloria Steinem </span> </div>
Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-86861072480721815812012-08-28T13:59:00.000-05:002012-08-28T13:59:28.346-05:00She's Back ... But For How Long?This past weekend Heidi and I drove to Minneapolis to pick up my daughter, Lora, who has spent the past 5 months in Worcester, South Africa at a Youth with a Mission Troubadour Discipleship Training School. During those 5 months her class group spent 5 or 6 weeks on the UK (Coventry & London) doing a variety of outreach activities.<br />
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It was an interesting trip highlighted by seeing Lora again and a few other wrinkles and experiences. We left early (5 a.m.) Saturday morning with the intention of having some time to do more than just settle for the night in our hotel in Minneapolis. Arriving at the border at 6 a.m. we were surprised when the US customs officer told us to drive into the garage where they proceeded to go through our vehicle. I've never had that happen before.<br />
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The inspection didn't take long because we didn't have more than what we needed for a one-night stay and some snacks to eat on the 8 hr drive. We continued heading south, making good time when we came to a sign informing us that we would be dealing with road construction, for the next 128 miles. I think I groaned out loud at the prospect of having to drive at reduced speed for that distance - that was going to mess up the timing of our itinerary. Thankfully, we didn't have to slow down very much and the roadwork sections were only occasional, fairly short stretches.<br />
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South of Grand Forks we encountered some lightening, heavy rain showers and foggy patches which continued all the way to Minneapolis. The rain was so heavy at times that it was hard for the windshield wipers to keep up. I don't think I've ever driven 80 miles/hour in heavy rain before. It added some excitement and kept me awake.<br />
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We had borrowed a GPS unit from my brother and were rolling along, comfortable in the knowledge that we would have help finding our hotel in Minneapolis. All of a sudden we got a low-battery signal from the GPS unit which didn't make sense because we had it plugged into the cigarette lighter. We tested the lighter for power and confirmed that there was none. Wracking my brain for a solution I remembered that our son-in-law had disconnected the cigarette lighter so his mother couldn't smoke in the car. Heidi then worked at reconnecting the wiring while I continued driving in 4 lanes of busy interstate traffic, speeding along in the rain.<br />
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Heidi got the power to the GPS working in time for us to get directions to our hotel. The GPS responded by taking us to an intersection in the middle of a residential area and told us we had arrived at our destination. Another puzzler. When I looked for the correct destination that I had saved into the unit, it was no longer there. Good thing I remembered to bring the hotel name and address along. I re-entered the correct information and less than 10 minutes later we arrived at our hotel.<br />
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To be continued...<br />
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<span style="font-style: italic;">"The problem is not that there are problems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-style: italic;">The problem is expecting otherwise </span><i>and thinking</i></div>
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<i>that having problems is a problem."</i></div>
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<i>~~~ Theodore Rubin </i></div>
Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-33292244184155697262012-08-27T09:42:00.000-05:002012-08-27T09:42:18.808-05:00It's Time!It's time to write again.<br />
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Taking some time off from blogging was a nice break, but summer is almost over and it's time to get back into a productive routine.<br />
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This past summer had its highlights and not-so-highlights. With the hot and sunny weather I spent a lot of time out doors. Heidi and I got out of town a few times; I was cycling up to 2 1/2 hours a day and working out at the gym for another 1 - 2 hours at least 4 days a week. My energy levels increased and my mental health was very good.<br />
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Halfway through July I began coughing and it got progressively worse. At first I thought it was just a response to allergies and ignored it as much as possible. The cough got worse and severely interfered with my sleep at night. Heidi asked me several times when I was going to get it checked out by our doctorbut I expected the coughing and congestion to get better on its own and just made do. One day I noticed I was coughing up a few little flecks of blood. Now I was starting to get concerned. I was only getting 3 hours of interrupted sleep each night, my chest felt congested all the time, the least bit of physical exertion had me wheezing, I had less and less energy, and my mood began to slide down. With the downward slide in my mood my ability to concentrate also deteriorated and I got very little work done on my family history project and did next to no writing. Time to visit the doc.<br />
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Apparently, I had (have) bronchitis. I've gone through a round of antibiotics and the coughing has diminished significantly. Last night I actually had about 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep. I still have fits of coughing but they are considerably less frequent and severe. Hopefully the cough and congestion will soon be completely gone.<br />
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So it's time! Labour Day is a week away, back to school specials are rampant (so many of them are a joke - some of the goods and services being promoted as back to school specials have absolutely nothing to do with getting ready for school), and signs of fresh starts on structured activities can be seen all around. I too need to get back to a more productive routine. I've got to get back to regular daily routines such as spending time with God (meditation, reading & prayer), exercise, writing (including blogging), research, domestic chores, etc. (I haven't been to my "office" since early June - will they still recognize me?)<br />
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Blogging today is a start. I'll also work on putting together a daily schedule today and get back at the stuff I haven't done in far too long.<br />
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Time to get busy!<br />
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<i>"Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of time that God has given us each day.</i>"</div>
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~~~ Billy Graham</div>
Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3759569535251954469.post-90744573552113866632012-07-18T07:56:00.001-05:002012-07-18T07:56:16.801-05:00Too Funny!A friend posted this on their Facebook page.<br />
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Started my day off with a good chuckle.<br />
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Have a great day!Horst Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02142000632139540658noreply@blogger.com1