Winter Park Library

 

This morning my friend, Christie, and I had breakfast at our new First Watch restaurant in Winter Park.  Afterwards we toured the fabulous new Winter Park Library and Civic Center. It has been a long time coming, with much hand wringing, from all parties involved.  Just like most projects in Winter Park.  

Besides the convention center, the library has many features that were not in the original plans.  Whether it is your cup of tea or not, it is stunning, and massive.  

The structure is at the edge of Martin Luther King, Jr. park.  In the early 90s my husband, Ken, and I were part of a group formed to build a park that would serve both the black and white communities which, at that time, were still sharply divided.  It was to be a bridge, so to speak.  It took a few years but finally the park came together and was dedicated in 1996. 

In the park was a small bridge called "Unity Bridge" to signify what this project was all about.   During this time Ken and I received news that he had a terminal illness.  It was devastating.  After both of us shed tears and voiced our fears we looked toward the future.  

What would be our next step?  We decided it would cheer us up to buy "unity bricks" for the bridge, dedicated to our large and growing family.  In the photo you can see a couple of the Crossman bricks.  They're all still there.  Over the years I have shared about the joy of placing these bricks in other blog postings but, to me,  the significance of what we did all those years ago still holds. 

Much has change between 1996 and today.  To me, to the park, to the community, to my family and friends; but the bricks are still there. 

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Tony Bennett

 

I love Tony Bennett.  Almost every day I listen to one of his Youtube videos. In his later years he did duets with some of the finest singers in the world.  And they're all on Youtube. 

This morning I watched, again, Anderson Cooper's 60 Minutes interview with Tony.  The interview took place both before and after Tony's sold out farewell concert at Carnegie Hall, with Lady Gaga, celebrating his 95th birthday.  

Tony has Alzheimer's disease and is barely able to speak.  At the time of the interview he still recognized his wife and children but almost no-one else.  But when the pianist began, he was fully able to burst into song.  And his voice was still the Tony Bennett voice we remember from 50 years ago.  Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia are not only tragic but confounding in how our minds respond to memory triggers.

Anderson Cooper spoke with Lady Gaga, who has been his duet partner for years, about the farewell concert.  She said that Tony had not spoken her name in a very long time, but when she appeared on stage he said "Lady Gaga!" And she was so moved it was difficult to carry on. 

My husband,  Ken, was on dialysis for eight years prior to his death.  During that time he developed dementia.  While I tried to take him out to lunch or to shop (which was his favorite thing to do) most days, he became very upset with me because I would not take him from our home in Florida to his high school reunion in Ohio.  Finally my son John said he would do it. 

It was a nightmare.  Dealing with a person who has an astonishingly high I. Q. along with dementia can only (sarcastically) be described as "Good Times!"  Good time in the airport where he wondered off, and in the hotel room where they shared a bed so Ken couldn't escape out into the hall.  

But here is the totally exasperating part.  The first gathering for the reunion was held in the lobby of  the hotel where they were staying.  John had difficulty getting Ken dressed in suit and tie and then bundling him into the elevator. 

But when they stepped out into the reunion, the light turned on!  Ken was charming.  He was handsome.  As the former president of the graduating class of 1955 he gave a little speech.  Women were saying to John, "Why isn't your mother here?  Is she still living?"  So John had to fend off these women who were turned on by his charming, articulate dad. 

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If you'd like to see the Anderson Cooper, 60 Minutes interview, it's on Youtube.

The Earring Crisis is Over

 

About ten days ago I put on an old pair of earrings and, at the end of the day, was unable to get one of them off.  

At first I thought if I just applied lotion and tugged enough it would open.   After a few days I realized it would not.  

I'm big fan of Youtube videos but they were no help.  There were plenty of Youtube demonstrations but not for this kind of earring.  One young woman had her earring stuck for four years! That was alarming. 

 Next I looked for places to go to have an expert remove the earring.  The most popular places for the Youtube videos were tattoo/piercing establishments.  I have a couple of granddaughters who have tattoos so thought maybe one of them could hook me up. 

Next I thought about friends or relatives I would trust to cut the earring off with a wire cutter.  The only people I could think of, that I would entrust my ear to are my grandson and his wife, but they are having a super busy week  

I was kind of sad about all this yesterday because I always wear my favorite earrings my daughter gave me for special occasions, like church on Mother's Day. 

This morning I was back at it.  I ransacked my tool box trying to find my needle nosed pliers but to no avail.  David used them often to pull the plastic back on  his favorite TV dinners so I knew they existed but no dice finding them.    I finally settled for this extremely dirty, big, scary looking pair.  

So, after cleaning up the pliers, and while pulling my earlobe and half  the earring one direction, I pulled on the other half with the pliers.  This took only about a dozen tries - but then BINGO!

I think I'll make a Youtube video. 

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Following is a blog posting I did for Mother's Day, 2014.  

 When I was a young minister's wife I dreaded Mother's Day.  In our church, as in most churches, we honored the oldest mothers, the youngest mothers and the mothers with the most kids.  Because, apparently, this was something to be proud of. 

Every Mother's Day we started with the process of elimination.  And the same two ladies would stand up and argue about who was the oldest.  Everybody knew they were born in the same year - two months apart.

Then the same process was started for the youngest mom.  Occasionally, when the winner was 17, or younger, I would quietly go berserk. 

Of course, since it was my busy season of popping out babies from time to time, I would sometimes win the prize for the MOST children.  Beyond humiliating!

Times have changed.  We no longer measure motherhood in this inane way.  There are good moms and terrible moms and everything in between.  I was sometimes all of these on the same day. 

This morning, in my church, my minister, Jayne, did a different take on Proverbs "Ideal Wife."  It was great.  But prior to that she asked every female in the congregation to stand up.  She mentioned girls and women, married and single, moms or not.  Then she let us know how much God values us.  Just like we are. 

It's not a contest.

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