The rest of the story.

Got a little book in the mail last week, with a picture of the author and her autograph.

Would like the think she read my blog.... but, hey, I'm happy.

"...the rest of the story."

Got a package in the mail last week.
A beautiful little book --"Open Hearts Family"
by Jane Seymour.  And she autographed it!!!
I wonder if she looked at my blog....or was
someone else involved in this?

Anyway, Barnes and Noble, eat your heart out.

Curse you, Barnes and Noble.

Go back to 1980 when this beautiful actress co-starred with Christopher Reeve and Christopher Plumber in the highly romantic "Somewhere In Time." (The photo is a still from that movie.)

I have been enthralled by Jane Seymour for these past 30 plus years since I saw that movie.  I wasn't a regular viewer of  "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman" but I was delighted when she was on last year's Mormon Tabernacle Christmas program and narrated "Good King Wenceslas."  She's sixty years old and still looks the same! Unbelievable.

Okay--so I was looking through the Deseret News last week and ran across a notice that Jane Seymour would be at the Barnes and Noble Book Store Monday, November 26, between 1:30 and 3:30 to sign copies of the book "Good King Wenceslas", which would include a DVD of her narration with the choir.

Barnes and Noble?  Hey --that's just a few blocks from where we live.  I remember attending another book signing I attended at that same store. Wow! A chance to see Jane Seymour IN PERSON.  Be still my heart.

So --Mom and I went to the Barnes and Noble about 1:00.  I was surprised that we could even find a parking spot, but there were plenty of them.   Hmmmmm. Doesn't the rest of the world know Jane Seymour is in town?

Seeing nothing that looked like preparations for a book signing, I asked one of the employees if this was where Jane Seymour would be signing books.  She gave me a blank stare.  I could almost read her lips:
"Who's Jane Seymour?" She knew nothing about any book signing but said she would inquire.  She came back and said, with what I thought was a touch of boredom, that no one knew anything about any book signing.  I began to wonder if I had imagined the whole thing.

Maybe I was mistaken.  Maybe it was at Deseret Book, which would make more sense because they're pushing the choir Christmas program quite heavily. So we started for Deseret Book, not too far away on State Street. Couldn't find the store!!! What's going on?  I know perfectly well there is a Deseret Book Store around here.  (Cue the theme music from "Twilight Zone".)

Not any more ----it's a Seagull Book store and the people there knew nothing about any book signing.
Oh well...might as well buy the book/DVD while we're there, which we did.

Back home I was determined to prove to myself that I wasn't making it all up about Jane Seymour signing books today. I got out the big stack of newspapers waiting to be thrown out (no recycling in this condo complex). Ahah!   Page C9, Friday Nov. 23 DesNews.
                            If you go...
                                 What: Jane Seymour book signing
                                  When: Monday, Nov. 26, 1:30-3:30 p.m.
                                  Where: Barnes and Noble, Sugarhouse, 1104 E. 2100 South

Oh ---THAT Barnes and Noble.

But doggone it, Sugarhouse is not all that far from the Barnes and Noble in Sandy, and if the people at the Sandy store had made the kind of inquiries they should have, we would have had plenty of time to make it.
How can the management of one B&N not have any clue of what's going on at their sister store close by? Especially when it involved Jane Seymour.

So near and yet so far.  Guess I'll just have to settle for a blank page in the book that is just begging for Jane's signature and my fond memories of "Somewhere In Time."

But it's going to be awhile before I let Barnes and Noble off the hook.

In memory of three friends.

     Six years ago this November, when we moved into our condo at Crescent Heights, one of our first challenges was to get to know the people in the complex.  It's a large complex, and, like a large neighborhood, there are some you get to know right away and others you will never meet. It has been an interesting six years.  From knowing none of them, we can now say that we have met over twenty very interesting neighbors, most of whom are also members of our Crescent 11th Ward.
   
     It took us awhile to get the "3Ms" straight -- Laddie and Shirley Martin, Ron and Betty Miller, Ernie and Betty Morgan. This was further complicated with two of the wives having the same name.  But in time we got them all straightened out and now, looking back, we wonder why it seemed so complicated.

     Fast forward to this year.  In the past few months, all three of the husbands have passed away.  Our Crescent Heights family has really felt their loss.  I want to tell you a little about each of them.

     Ernie and Betty Morgan lived just down the hall from us.  Both were in poor health, but every time we would see them in the hall, or on the rare occasions when they were up to going to church, they were both very friendly.  Ernie had a wry, almost pessimistic sense of humor, which I found just different enough to be appealing,  coming from someone you know had been struggling with poor health for several years.  The Morgans had several daughters living close enough to drop in on a regular basis to check on both of them.
Now that Ernie is gone, Betty has, reluctantly, moved to a care center.  Their condo is now empty, and we miss them.
                                                       ---------------------------

     Laddie and Shirley Martin lived on the second floor of our unit.  The first thing we learned when moving in was "Everybody knows Laddie." And that was literally true.  Severely bent over, unable to take one step without his walker, he was, nevertheless, so full of good cheer that everyone was always glad to see him.  He and I would trade jokes from time to time and one of the jokes got to be a standing one between us.  Three years after sharing it, one or the other of us would use the punch line as a way of saying goodbye.

     Laddie had been a long distance truck driver for several years and had been all over the country.  He and Shirley had been tour guides for a travel agency and involved with the Good Sams club.  He had often driven over  the old scenic drive through the Cascades and could tell you all about the water falls.  No wonder we liked him so much.  He served as an LDS Scoutmaster for 32 years, earning the Boy Scout Silver Beaver Award. (Talk about service!)

     He was so friendly and smiling during the years we have known him, I can only imagine what a good friend he must have been to those who knew him in his prime.  Ladddie would have been 97 in January. We hope his wife, Shirley, will be able to stay in her condo.

                                                  ---------------------------------------

     On our first meeting in the Crescent 11th Ward we were greeted at the door by two of the biggest smiles you can imagine: Ron and Betty Miller.  The Millers lived in the building next to ours, but we soon became good friends, particularly after Ron and I became Home Teaching companions.  We were about the same age, had both served in the Navy, and loved the same kind of music. In fact, we would often sing snatches of  some song as we walked from one home teaching family to another.  (Ron sang in the choir; had a very good voice; made me sound better than I was.)

     He and Betty raised a large family --9 children, 38 grandchildren, 43 great-grandchildren. He had served as a bishop, and a temple sealer.  He and Betty served missions in New Zealand and Zimbabwe.  (Talk about service!)

     In the last two or three years Ron had begun to show signs of short-term memory loss. He was well aware of it, but coped with it so well it didn't seem to matter. If he didn't remember who you were, he would always smile and say "Hello, friend."  During our last months as companions we were all aware that Ron had no idea who anyone was, but he liked everybody.  When he would ask where we were going, I would say "We're going to see the Girsbergers" or "We're going to visit the Maxfields".  His reply was always "Oh, they're good people."

     A few months ago it became apparent that Ron would need to be moved to a care center near by.  I visited him three or four times and he became more and more unresponsive.  In a best-of-all-possible endings, Ron did not have to linger long.  He passed away in just two or three months, which is a great blessing for his wife, Betty, who had watched over him so well.

     Here are a few pictures to help you get to know some of them a little better.

                                                                   Laddie Martin

                                             Some of us celebrating Laddie's 96th birthday.

                                                                     Ron Miller

                                       Ron and Betty Miller.  See what I mean about their smiles?

   

Girl Next Door --addendum

Shortly after I posted my blog about my life-long friendship with the girl next door, her daughter sent me a notice about the memorial to her.  On the back was this picture.  Those of you who commented on my previous blog might enjoy seeing how "the girl next door" aged so gracefully.

In Memory of the Girl Next Door

This is the cover of the photo album I had made while I was  in the navy.
The cover is leather; the decorations were burned onto it.
You'll see my name, La Grande High School (in blue and white, now quite faded).
the Navy symbol in the lower right corner.
In the lower left is a reel of movie film; if I could have scanned the whole thing
you would see "Granada" under that.
You'll also note "Blues in the Night."
Then there are all those initials ---each standing for girls I knew.
In the upper left corner note the initials --H J T.
That stands for Hazel Jean Trollinger, the girl I have known all my life.

You might say she was my first "girlfriend" --but at this age it was  more like
a girl who was a friend.
I lived at 1806 Washington; Hazel Jean lived at 1802 Washington
with her mother Carrie and father Al (but everyone called him "Trolly").
The Trollingers, along with all but one other family for blocks around,
were "railroad people" --the fathers all worked for the UP Railroad.

Hazel Jean, her  mom and dad, "Dickie Boy" and his mom.

The Trollingers had a car and Carrie would quite often take my mom and me
and some others out to Cove to go swimming, or to Wallowa Lake.
I don't know what the occasion was here, but the photo was
taken some time in the late 1920s

Back row: Carrie Trollinger, Celestine Cook.
Front row: Loretta Cook, Yours Truly, and Hazel Jean.

The Cooks lived across the street and were also railroaders.
This was taken some time in the 1930s.

Dick, Howard Reeder, Julia Hiatt, Hazel Jean, Howard's little
sister and Mrs. Reeder having a picnic.
around 1936

The caption under this picture in my album says
"The Girl Next Door ---WOW"

Bobby Warner (who lived at 1804 Washington), Hazel  Jean,
Dick, Mary ???, and Richard Miller.
Some time around 1942.

Hazel Jean attended Eastern Oregon College for a year
and starred in Al Kaiser's production of "Bell, Book and Candle"
By that time I was in the navy, so I missed her stage debut.
She then transferred to the University of Oregon (I think.)
Came back to La Grande, married John Ferdinandsen (who died way too early)
and raised a family.

John Ferdinandsen in 1947,
when we all called him "Bud".

Hazel Jean and I would run into each other from time to time over the years,
in Bi-Mart or somewhere on Adams Avenue.
and I noted as time went by how very pretty she still was,
especially when her hair turned white.
In later years, I would call her on her birthday, and we would
talk briefly about how long we had known each other
and what great memories we had of growing up
on the 1800 block of Washington Avenue.
It gives your life a sense of continuity when someone you have known and liked
for as long as you can remember is still around.
That feeling of "all is well" was weakened considerably last week
when I got an email from Hazel Jean's daughter, telling me that her mother
had passed away shortly before Christmas.
I felt as if their had been a death in my family,and, in a broad sense, there has been.
I am now the only survivor of the Washington Avenue family.
It will seem like a different world without Hazel Jean.

A memorial for her will be held in August at the cabin at Wallowa Lke
that Carrie had built and Hazel Jean enjoyed so much with her
children and grandchildren.
I'll be there in spirit.

Note: She was Hazel Ferdinandsen to everyone who knew her,
but she was "Hazel Jean Trollinger" in my memories.

More Wedding Pictures

I have absolutely no idea how this supposedly "improved" blog page works. Why can't they leave things alone? Always trying to re-invent the wheel ---blockheads.
Okay. That's out of my system. (Not really)
If I'm at all successful here are a few more pictures of Russell's and Megan's wedding, to augment the great ones Joe and Denny posted.

Denise, Shirley, Dick

Julie announcing the arrival of the bride and groom
any time now.

Mr. & Mrs. Russell H. Higgins

The groom with his parents and grandparents.
All extremely proud.

Emma joins in on the photo op

Don't know who took this but here's the whole bunch of us.
This is my favorite picture.
Thank you, whoever you are who took it.

It's never too early to start a family.

Emma, the social diplomat in the family, made friends
quickly with one of Megan's nieces.

When and where did Julie learn to stand with her
feet professionally placed?

At the reception in Ephrata.

Grandma Barb stealing Grandma Julie's granddaughter Avery

"Oh, how we danced on the night (afternoon) we were wed...."

That's a might big piece of the wedding cake to freeze for a year.

Claire almost stole the show......

Along with her cousin Avery.

The cars in my life - Part Three

The first new car, a 1976 Plymouth Volaré
(Thanks to my Colorado gurus, I have put the accent mark over the  "e".)
So -
Here's the rest of the story.
This is the car that came back to haunt us.
We had driven it for about a year when our daughter Denise was involved in an accident
she couldn't possibly have avoided.  As she was driving  a friend home one night, a drunk college student,
playing "Ditch 'em" in his pickup came racing out of a one way street, going the wrong way, with
his lights out.  The Volaré hit the pickup, was spun 180 degrees, and was then hit in the rear by another car.
The driver of the pickup crashed into a nearby service station, jumped out of his pickup but was too drunk to run.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
My insurance people said I could elect to have our car repaired or consider it totaled.  I chose "Totaled".
I began a search for an identical car but apparently Chrysler Motors only made one silver Volaré with maroon interior that year and I had to settle on one that was nowhere near as beautiful. (No fair looking ahead.)
A few weeks later the silver Volaré was for sale on the lot where I had first bought it. You would never have known it had
ever been in an accident.  I tried to make a deal with the salesman to buy it back; he wouldn't give me the time of day, probably because I had gone to Portland to buy the car I was driving.
That silver beauty sat on the lot, taunting and teasing me for a few weeks.  Every time I drove by my dislike
for our present car increased.
Then one day I drove by and it was gone.  I asked the dealer who had bought it; he said "Some young couple from
out of state."  Great!  I'd never see it again.
The following summer I drove by Ida Lyman's house, just two blocks down the hill from where we lived.
Parked in front of her house was our beautiful 1976 Plymouth Volaré.
The "young couple from out of state" were Ida's daughter and son-in-law and they came every  summer
to visit.  They drove that car for many, many years and it haunted me every time I saw it.
So it must be true: color is everything when it comes to buying a car.

The silver Volaré was replaced by this blue and white one,
seen here  at  our campground at Jubilee Lake in August, 1977.

Here it is in 1978.
Does this kid look like a future Ph.D?

The deep snow of 1982

Grandma and Grandpa with Ben in 1984.
(The license plate letters stand for "Expensive to Keep Up")

In 1985, as I walked to work each day, I noticed a really sharp  looking car
parked at the court house.  I would stop and admire it, wishing I had a car like that.
Then one day Clark Hiatt (distant relative), a salesman at Goss Motors called me.
"Dick," he said, "I just took in a car you've got to see.  It isn't even on the lot yet.
I wanted you to have first chance at it."  I was at Goss Motors ten minutes later.
He took me out to the shop and there sat the very car I had been admiring for so many weeks.
It was meant to be!!

Here's our 1983 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera in all its splendor.
I was in love again.

1988 - our beautiful tree in full bloom
and the beautiful Oldsmobile in the driveway.

Camping at Donner Lake in 1988

1989
Our family reunion at the Oregon Coast

At Julie's and Tom's house in Vancouver in 1989

1990
In Canmore, Canada, during our trip to Glacier/Watertown

In 1991, after having dinner at the Chuck-a-Rama following  Grandmother  Nan's  funeral,
we came out to get in our car and we couldn't find it.
It's a weird feeling, walking all over a parking lot looking for a car that isn't there.
It takes a while for it to sink in.  The car is gone.
"SOMEONE HAS STOLEN OUR CAR!!!"
We called the police. We called our insurance company.
Nationwide said we had to wait 30 days.  If the car had not been recovered by then
we would be paid top book value.
We gave them Dennis' name and number as a local contact.
Meanwhile, we were given a rental car to get our daughters back to Portland/Vancouver
and for travel back to La Grande.
We counted down the days.  On the 29th day Dennis called;
our Oldsmobile had been found abandoned at a shopping mall parking lot. No major damage.
When I got to SLC to pick it up, the car had been detailed to the Nth degree.
It was immaculate, inside and out.  It  had never looked better.
HOWEVER...
The rental car we had driven from SLC to Portland was a brand new 1991 Ford Taurus.
We had had an 800-mile test drive and we were spoiled.
A few weeks later we drove to Portland and traded in the Oldsmobile.
  

Our 1991 Ford  Taurus
The color is not tan, it's "Mocha Frost".

August, 1991
At the beach house we rented for our family reunion.

1992
In Leavenworth, Washington
A town well worth the visit.

1994
At Julie's and Tom's new house

1995 in Vancouver
Can Claire's mother still do this?

We drove the Taurus for ten years and it never needed any major repairs.
It took us to to the coast several time, to Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons,
 Angie's wedding, Karen's funeral, Cove, Oregon Trail Historical Sites,
Julie's Kochanski recital, to and from Shirley's hip surgery,
to a "Big River" production, Silver Falls, Denny's wedding,
Astoria, Fort Clatsop, Tony's wedding, Andrew's wedding,
Julia's Junior Miss recitals, Wallowa Lake, Ben's  high school graduation......

In 2001, during one of our visits to Julie and family in Vancouver, I went tire kicking,
mostly because I like looking at new cars where the salesman doesn't know you.
I took a test drive in a car that caught my eye.
The salesman really wanted to make a sale, but I decided to think it over.
Back in La Grande, talking to the owner of  Lynch Motors,
I told him about the car I had driven in Vancouver, the model, the color, how it was equipped,
right down to which sound system it had.
He said "I can have a car just like it here in four days."  Which he did.
(Found out later he had made a trade with the Vancouver dealership and had picked up
the very car we had test driven.)
So......

Our 2001 Buick Century Limited Edition
It's not red, it's "Burgandy".

We almost always parked it in the garage
but doesn't it look nice under our flowering tree?

Between 2001 and 2006 we drove this car to such special occasions as
Our 50th wedding anniversary dinner in Vancouver
Our 50th wedding anniversary reunion in SLC.
(But we rode in a limo to the Grand America)
Julia's Washington Junior Miss recital in Connell, Wash.
Amy's wedding
Julia's high school graduation
Russell rowing (and winning) with the Vancouver Lake Crew
Ben's graduation from the Univ. of Wash.
Julia's wedding in the Portland Temple

Then came the stent....

We now have a much bigger garage.
Since November 2006, we have driven to such exotic locales as
Harmon's, Walmart, Smith's, Albertson's, Fresh Market,
various doctors' offices, several different barbers,
Barb's, Denny's, Tony's, and eight blocks to church once a week.

Our car is 12 years old.
The current odometer reading is 41,753 miles.

So, there you have it.
12cars in 66 years
3 Studebakers
2 Fords
1 Pontiac
1 Chevrolet
1 Dodge
2 Plymouths
1 Oldsmobile
1 Buick

This will probably be our last car.
However---
Even at my age, nothing beats the smell of new car interior.
And there's this older fellow in our ward who drives a fire-engine red  Camaro.....