MONONUCLEOSIS

MONONUCLEOSIS is a huge word for a infectious happening within our bodies. It has been called the 'kissing disease' because it transmits by droplets and close contact. The word MONONUCLEOSIS is a relatively new word; 1915-1920.

Certainly there were symptoms of fatigue, swollen glands, and a sore throat before then. What did they call it? Gland Fever?

An old doctor diagnosed Old Trunks with Virus of the Lymph Glands in the mid fifties. I can assure you I was young enough not to be kissing anyone! The treatment in those days was simple: Rest. I had it around Easter, Daddy carried me into my grandmother's house to conserve my energy. Dressing for Easter was an energy loss. I was home from school for a couple of weeks. When I went back, I had a pass to not take gym class; I wasn't happy about that because I loved playing softball. I took pictures of my friends playing softball instead. The doctor considered the virus set in following the measles I had earlier in the year.

My brother had mono. I am certain his WAS a kissing disease. It is not certain when he became well. Greg would sleep all day and when evening came, he was off to hang out with his friends. Maybe his wasn't as bad or he simply didn't care.

One of my children had mono in high school. It isn't known just how a flag went up to bring him to the doctor. The doctor was, in my opinion, the best medical person to hire I will ever meet. He stated my child had mono and he needed to rest and be retested in a certain amount of days to see how the illness was progressing.

My child just happened to contract mono during a time when Old Trunks was heavy into vitamins and minerals. From some source I had read that Vitamin C taken in large amounts could cure mono. A staple in our kitchen cabinet was chewable vitamin C which I took and fed to the dog each day. There was no question in my mind but to feed it to my son on an hourly basis. The recheck the next week showed the mono was inactive. My son told the doctor, "Mom fed me enough Vitamin C to grow a third leg."

I told this story to another child of mine who hired a doctor recently and was tested for mono. The child did not have active mono but has had it in the past.

While I have been writing this blog today, I have been thinking about all the books by Adele Davis that we read and all the vitamins and /or minerals we took as a family. I am thinking about the homemade cough syrup we put together and the experiments we had with no sugar one summer, (my birthday cake was a wedge of cheese on top of a wheel of cheese). I am thinking about how one child agreed to let me feed her brain.

Was all of the experimentation successful? Old Trunks likes to think we were doing something forward. Was it a new concept? Heavens no. Was it a new concept to us? Yes. Does that count? Absolutely. I am thinking about Xiao, the dog, and how he would sit up for a chewable vitamin C as soon as he heard the bottle rattle. Right behind him was the youngest child, wanting Vitamin C also. I like to think that the youngest may have been the healthiest all those years.

For now? Where is that bottle of chewables?

High C for Thee.

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WE WERE BORN IN '44

What can we say about 1944?

IN THE NEWS:

General MacArthur said, " I shall return" .

Chinese men were trained in the US as pilots

Mrs. Roosevelt visited the troops in the Caribbean

Wendell Wilke won the popular vote for president

June 6, 1944 D DAY 160,000 Allied troops and 30,000 vehicles land on the beaches of Normandy in France and push inland. Over 9,000 are killed or wounded in the largest ampihibious military operation in history.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt wins fourth term over Thomas A Dewey.

A plane carrying bandleader Glenn Miller disappears over the English Channel.

Smokey the Bear debuts



IN SPORTS
World Series of Baseball:
St. Louis Cardinals win over St. Louis Browns
Tennis matches to benefit the Red Cross played in Madison Square Garden
Green Bay Packers win NFL championship over the New York Giants

ON THE LIGHT SIDE
Dance called, "Hangin' the Cat"
Getting shot out of a cannon.
Beauty queens in one piece bathing suit
Bicycling parking problem, (due to gas rationing)
Campaign to sell bonds in theaters with movie stars making the pitch
Hair styles for Wacs and war workers sleek and easy to care for!
Hats and purses in fashion to where on dates with your beau.
"Loose lips sank ships"
Ozzie and Harriet Show debuts on radio
The bikini was invented by Louis Reard in Paris in 1946 and named for the atomic bomb test site, Bikini Atoll.


MOVIES
Going My Way with Bing Crosby
Maltese Falcon with Humphrey Bogart
Citizen Kane with Orson Wells
The Blue Dehlia with Alan Ladd
Casablanca with Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman

WHO WAS BORN IN 1944?
Gladys Knight
Neil Diamond
Joe Frazier
Diana Ross
Rudy Giuliani

Who was born on August 7?

Judy Lee Anderson, happy birthday, Judy!
Rebecca Ellen Ferber, Happy Birthday, Becky, where ever you are!

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THE SHINY NEW WHISTLE

Doesn't the line, shiny new whistle, sound like a name for a child's book?

My Son Ryen, writes the American Whistle Factory in Columbus, OH is the only remaining metal whistle factory in the United States on my birthday card. The pea whistle, among other things, was part of my birthday gift.

Let's flash back to the mid seventies. Bud, my oldest son, was a kindergartner at Schwegler Elementary School in Lawrence, KS. I worked play ground duty at noon. The two of us would go to school, he would eat lunch and then all of us would go to the play ground. He would run off the excess energy and I, with my made in Japan-bought at a fine sports store downtown, would whistle to brake up mini fights and bullies. Actually, what I learned was if you blew a whistle, everyone stopped what they were doing.

After my days as a play ground supervisor were over, the whistle was attached to my key ring. When I would be on an elevator, people thought I had the whistle for safety!

That made-in-Japan whistle has transferred from one key ring to another over the last 30+ years. It is on the SUV ring. Now, I have a made-in-America whistle to put on the truck ring!

Let's think about whistles for a moment. Did you ever think about the pitch, except of course, a dog whistle? Did you ever think about who uses whistles beyond traffic cops and referees and life guards?

The whistle has its roots dating back to ancient China. Chinese night watchmen used to blow into the tops of acorns in order to alert the towns of invading Mongolians. In ancient Egypt two blades of the papyrus plant along the Nile river were held together in between the palms. By blowing into the palms the papyrus leaves would make a loud vibrant sound.

Ryen probably knew I would never master the acorn OR the blades of grass between my palms. Now, I need to get ready for the day and take the two whistles outside and see if they are the same octave!

Toot, Toot, to you!

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WHAT A DIFFERENCE A LENS MAKES

For those of us who are frustrated with old pictures where people's faces are the size of a pin head, what about our children's children who would look at the second picture and not have a clue as to what it is. Yet, when the group picture of the pelicans on the mat was taken, it SEEMED like they were closer. It always reminds me of my old friend, Jim, who sent me a picture of a whale. On the back of the picture, it said, "Well, it looked bigger."

Last night, I recieved a picture from a friend in New York State. It was a Sphinx moth on her phlox. It is magificient. She was right on top of it! The detail was excellent. Close up.

My son sent me a picture of himself via his phone. It was detailed and the color was true. Yet, when Logan tried to take a picture of a loon with his cell phone, it was, alas, a dot in the water.

Enter digital SLR. No, you can't do movies. No, you can't use the LCD screen to take the picture. Yes, it is like an SLR of old where what you see is what you get. Yes, zoom lens is available.

Tom gave me a SLR for my birthday. I have had it three weeks. I have taken almost 1000 pictures during the experiment. That is how we turned a mat of white into a pelican lifting off. He also gave me the gift of following loons, pelicans, and geese around with the boat for these last three weeks.

So you see, there is a reason to be 64 today!

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NUMBER ONE SONG THE YEAR YOU WERE BORN

1979 Le Freak by Chic was the number one song when Ryen was born, Bud's year it was Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head by BJ Thomas. For Rachel, It was The Sounds of Silence by Simon and Garfunkel.

When I mentioned to my sweet Thomas that Shirley's song was The Tennessee Waltz by Patti Page, he told me that was his favorite song and his sister broke the recond on purpose.

For all of us that were born in 1944; Paper Doll by the Mills Brothers was number one.

1911 Play that Barber Shop Chord Lloyd Anderson
1914 Peg O My Heart Stanley Ranum
1915 Its a long way to Tipperary Ella Rye
1922 Wabash Blues Ella Lundberg

We may not play an instrument but songs are part of our life. Old Trunks wonders if the teenage years are when we learn the most songs.

Where do you begin with popular music and after decades, do you have NEW favorite?

.........did you hear it through the grapevine?

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y Patti Page1950 ... "I Can Dream, Can't I?" by The Andrews SistersTHE 1940s1949 ... "A Little Bird Told Me" by Evelyn Knight1948 ... "Ballerina" by Vaughn Monroe1947 ... "The Old Lamp-Lighter" by Sammy Kaye1946 ... "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Vaughn Monroe1945 ... "Don't Fence Me In" by Bing Crosby & the Andrews Sisters1944 ... "Paper Doll" by The Mills Brothers1943 ... "There Are Such Things" by Tommy Dorsey1942 ... "Chattanooga Choo Choo" by Glenn Miller1941 ... "Frenesi" by Artie Shaw1940 ... "Scatter-Brain" by Frankie MastersTHE 1930s1939 ... "Jeepers Creepers" by Al Donohue1938 ... "Bei Mir Bist Du Schoen" by The Andrews Sisters1937 ... "Pennies from Heaven" by Bing Crosby1936 ... "The Music Goes Round and Round" by Riley-Farley Orchestra1935 ... "The Object of My Affection" by The Boswell Sisters1934 ... "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" by Paul Whiteman1933 ... "Night and Day" by Fred Astaire with Leo Reisman1932 ... "River, Stay 'Way from My Door" by Kate Smith with Guy Lombardo1931 ... "The Peanut Vendor" by Don Azpiazu1930 ... "Chant of the Jungle" by Roy Ingraham
THE 1920s
1929 ... "Sweethearts on Parade" by Guy Lombardo1928 ... "My Blue Heaven" by Gene Austin1927 ... "In a Little Spanish Town" by Paul Whiteman1926 ... "The Prisoner's Song" by Vernon Dalhart1925 ... "All Alone" by Al Jolson1924 ... "Charleston" by Arthur Gibbs1923 ... "Toot Toot Tootsie (Goo'bye)" by Al Jolson1922 ... "Wabash Blues" by Isham Jones1921 ... "Whispering" by Paul Whiteman1920 ... "I've Got My Captain Working for Me Now" by Al Jolson
THE 1910s
1919 ... "O Death, Where Is Thy Sting?" by Bert Williams1918 ... "Send Me Away with a Smile" by John McCormack1917 ... "The Sunshine of Your Smile" by John McCormack1916 ... "There's a Long, Long Trail" by James F. Harrison & James Reed1915 ... "It's a Long, Long Way to Tipperary" by John McCormack1914 ... "Peg O' My Heart" by Charles Harrison1913 ... "Row! Row! Row!" by Ada Jones1912 ... "Down by the Old Mill Stream" by Harry MacDonough1911 ... "Play That Barber-Shop Chord" by Bert Williams1910 ... "Put On Your Old Gray Bonnet" by Haydn Quartet

WHAT IS A LEGEND?

According to the dictionary, a legend may be:

a collection of stories about an admirable person

a person who is the center of such stories: he or she became a legend in his/her own lifetime

We all have historical figures in mind; George Washington and Abraham Lincoln come to mind.

In the sports world, we may think of Babe Ruth and Dale Jr.

In music; Elvis Presley and the Beatles

In motion pictures; John Wayne and Marilyn Monroe

In Politics; John F Kennedy and FD Roosevelt

Old Trunks wonders if each generation has their own worldly like legends mentioned above.

Let's think about a legend as someone you know personally that may have come into legend status in YOUR life. YOUR life, not a celeb or a figure from the movies or newspaper. Think beyond your family if you can and find a figure. For some it may be a teacher or a leader of some sort. We have many, just give it some thought and say KUDOS to them.

This isn't a story about my legend. It is a story how a person named Jake came to make my Sweet Thomas, a legend. Jake was about thirteen when he mentioned to his grandfather at the lake that he would like to learn to fish "like Tom does". At the time, Tom was throwing heavy plugs and a thousand casts to hope to lake a muskie. He would fish for hours on flat water in the hot sun, sometimes only to see one follow the lure to boat side before it would turn away. Even when he could see the boil of the water behind the lure there was no guarantee it would hook up. Jake had heard stories of this fish, often greater than 50" long from his grand father. Tom took Jake muskie hunting many times and thought him how to cast and cast and cast. It began several years ago and lasted until Jake got a job and didn't come to the lake in the summers.

At the time Jake was fishing with Tom, a little boy named Logan was listening to stories about Tom and the great muskie hunts. Tom had stopped fishing for the Esox, it was hard work and the flat water and the heat was a little more than he could tolerate; he had become a bass fisherman and everyone in camp knew it, including Logan.

Logan at thirteen is not a shy child. He is well mannered and stays with his relatives and helps out at the lodge. He was spin casting off the dock catching mini crappies and sunnies. He mentioned to Tom he would like to bass fish.

Tom fit him with a casting rod and some lures to practice casting. A few days later, he asked how it was going? Logan is among other things, honest. He stated it wasn't going very well. Tom spent a couple hours with him and felt he was ready for a boat trip to the slop to cast for bass, then again later in the little boat to a little lake to at least buzz for pike.

Because Tom reached out to teach Jake to cast for muskie, he became a legend to Logan.

We can not declare ourselves to be a legend. It must be declared for us. And when we are, we only did it because we saw a need and made an opportunity to make it happen. It was a natural set of events.

I learned at a funeral about someone who has been affected and encouraged by one of my children. Bud did not reach out for Kudos, he simply saw a need and met it.

Now we know what a legend is. Think about who has affected you and made something happen in your life.

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WHAT COLOR IS AUGUST?

If December is red and green, November is cranberry and turkey, and October is orange and black, just what color is August?



Why is it that as soon as the first of the month rolled around mothers were getting their children ready for school? Why did 'dog days' close down the swimming hole and family vacations were the last hurrah as we stalled for the event called SCHOOL.



In Northern Minnesota, school started the day after Labor Day and ended the day before Memorial Day. For my children, it meant stifling hot days before the Labor Day weekend when all the teachers did was try to keep their make up from running into the shoes. Tablets and pencils, colors and markers are on the shelves now and mothers are trying to keep their children rounded up to pick out supplies. At a recent trip to a box store, there was a little blond headed girl sitting cross legged on the floor, going threw boxes of portfolios, laying the pink ones with kittens to the side. She was too little to need a dozen of them, perhaps it was her way of culling out several before making a decision.



I do remember the color of August one year as a to-be brown checked dress with a smocked bodice, puffed sleeves with a white cuff embroidered in a blanket stitch in wine and a Peter Pan collar to match. The skirt of the dress had a flare to it and the bow tied in the back. It was a dress I would wear a couple of years, and when the hem was taken down, a special stitching was sewn into the old hem line. I was told mother made the dress for me; imagine my surprise to find Marilyn L. had a dress made just the very same way!!!!



As a kindergartner, August was the color of Hanson's old car and the color of the yellow school bus. It was the color of new white anklets and the color of a fresh hair cuts and freckles lost in tans on the cute little boys with missing teeth. It was the color of brick and Big Chief tablets with light aqua lines, and a box of crayons just waiting to be used and red pencils and old tattered Dick and Jane readers and a time for a new beginning in the color of strong chemicals in a building that had freshly waxed floors.



What color is your August?



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