After Christmas 2009

This Christmas was very different, wonderful, and beautiful. It was three days of parties, people, and of course gifts. The most important part was the people that came from all over.
The first party was at my son's home where I live now. Of his six children, five were able to come. The first to come was Emma coming from a college in Wisconsin. Then came Ann from Mexico where she will be a senior in Medical school. Later came Nora who is in college in Chicago who will be graduating in June in Theatrics and Speech with honors. Next came Mark all the way from Alaska where he is a High School teacher. Eventually Paul and his family joined us, however they live about ten miles from us. Now this is Christmas Eve, and we all had a wonderful dinner. Then we gathered around the tree and opened presents.
The next day after Mass, we went to my daughter-in-law's family where a large party was planned. There were about twenty adults and six children were gathered, having drinks, and loads of presents around the tree. Now dinner was served, and again a wonderful meal was to be had. After dinner the presents were distributed by name in an orderly fashion with the youngest first. After the presents were all opened, pies with whipped cream were served. All the food was absolutely delicious.
On Saturday, the day after Christmas, the third party was scheduled in the afternoon in the hotel lobby where my son, Jack, was staying. It was more of a buffet style with some food brought in, and it was all very good.
We were a little delayed because there was a snow storm outside which gave us 10 inches of snow to drive in. Now this was a Broz party with about 30 people there, including children, but I finally noticed this party to be different. These are all my progeny. Not only am I the oldest one here, but I am the last one of my generation with the Broz name. There are four generations here with my great grandchildren actually running around. Some of these great-grands I am meeting for the first time. I felt honored that I am able to see my third generation milling around, and there is another due to arrive about Feb. 22nd.
Over all, some came a long way to be here with relatives including me. I know that my wife, Dorothy, who is in Heaven, was with me, and enjoying this new generation as much as I was. In my own mind, I felt that I was the star of our group. I thank our Heavenly Father for my wonderful family, and my good health to be here to witness all of this. What a great gift!
I hope all of you had a beautiful Christmas full of love and happiness, and look forward to a New Year full of God's blessings.

Christmas Story Addition

In my previous Blog, I mentioned about the hectic Christmas Eves we had getting everything ready from scratch, to a completely decorated Christmas tree with all presents wrapped in special paper underneath it.
At this time I was a member of our local Kiwanis Club, and I had a very good friend there named, Frank. When I described the routine we did on Christmas Eve, he said, "I'll come over and help." I answered that it would be great, because I could use all the help I could get. Now Frank was the chief engineer in charge of a division of a very large electronics company. (Nowadays, this company is a global electronics giant.) He said that he would be very happy to do it. Many of the larger toys come in boxes with "some assembly required". He was a great friend and a ton of help, and he was able to come each Christmas Eve for about 5 years until we moved. His engineering skills often were put to the test and ultimately were indispensable!
Ordinarily we would try to get for the kids, the things that they asked Santa for. There was a strong belief in Santa for the smaller children. I also told the older children not to spoil it for the little ones. Now one year my oldest son asked for a gun. I was shocked, and I was not ready for that. I told Dorothy that I didn't want to do that. I told her that when I was young, I never had a two wheel bicycle, and I really wanted one. So perhaps we could surprise him, and we could get a bike for him.
Well Christmas Eve comes, and I am real proud that there is a bright, shinning two wheeler standing by the tree, On Christmas morning all the little ones came down the stairs yelling, " Santa was here, Santa was here." Each one looking for their name on the gift boxes. I turned to my oldest and proudly said, "Look what you got, a two wheel bike." He turned toward me with a sad look on his face said," But I asked for a gun."
He accepted the bike and learned to ride it, as well. However I had a learning experience, that I used the following year. Yes, I got him a BB gun which he really enjoyed. But not only that, he developed a fascination for guns. Later when we were vacationing at the dude ranch, he was able to use the shooting range, and he found a new love. Now he wanted a .22 rifle. There were no problems with the previous gun, so he received one for his birthday. Then much later, I bought myself a BB gun. Chipmunks, fear me!

Christmas in the Early Years

After our marriage, there was several years before we could have a Christmas together and with our children. First I was in the Army, then we were moving. Finally with children, then Christmas had a whole new meaning, and was a lot more fun. Dorothy wanted to have the big surprise on Christmas day. On Christmas eve was when Santa would bring in a beautifully lite tree and all the presents. After the children were all in bed, we started doing everything. All the presents that were hidden had to be wrapped, the tree brought in and decorated with lights, and ornaments, and assemble some of the larger toys.

As our family grew, the job got harder to accomplish, the presents were more numerous, and the assembly work took longer and longer. Eventually, we barely made it to bed, and at most had 2 hours sleep before the kids woke us up!

Was that a big job? It sure was, but it was worth it! The big surprise with eyes and mouths wide open, screeching, "Santa Claus was here."

The Last of Animal Stories

At one point we had a parakeet, and Dorothy said that it will learn to speak. We tried saying a phrase repeatedly like," Pretty bird," over and over again. No luck. It must have been a stupid bird.
Then we brought home, a baby alligator about 6 inches long in a plastic basin. Our children tried feeding it raw ground beef, but it didn't eat it. Then maybe a dead fly. It didn't like that either. I don't think that it ate any thing we gave it. Oh by the way, Dorothy named it Oscar. It didn't live very long. However after it died, one of my boys operated on it to get some alligator skin.
Then,of course, every home with children had to have an aquarium with tropical fish. We got about a 10 gallon tank with all the trimmings including an air pump. I believe that my son, Roger, was the main care taker, and then later Rick took over. Now the usual tropical fish like guppies, sword fish, angel fish, and other exotic names. They were doing a good job, because the fish were thriving, and the aquarium looked nice.
We had this aquarium in our rec room which was the lowest level of our home. Because we were on a hill, this room had patio doors leading to our back yard at ground level. Also in this room was a full size pool table. Well young teen-agers playing pool can get to be a little rough. Yes, a pool ball went into the side of the aquarium and broke it. Can you imagine the mess? Earlier I mention the patio doors leading outside, well I am sure the water had a way out. By the time Dorothy and I returned home, everything was cleaned up.
Another time we had two chameleons, and their names were Cham and Leon. Normally they are unable to drink water, but they get their water through their skin. Again Roger worked out a system to get water to them. He took copper wire which has insulation on it. He then pulled the wire out, leaving the insulation as a hollow tube. Now he worked out siphon system to allow water to drip slowly. Then the chameleons could keep their skin moist.

Another Fishing Story

Again we are in Florida and another charter fishing boat trip off the coast at West Palm Beach. This time we are at our condo in Fort Lauderdale with my youngest son, Jack, and we were invited by his friend, Alex, to come up to West Palm Beach.West Palm Beach is just a short drive North from us. He said he would arrange a fishing trip with a friend of his. So the three of us, my wife Dorothy, Jack who is on his college break, and I drove up and met them. Dorothy stayed on shore with Alex's wife, but the three of us got on board this private fishing boat with a skipper and his mate.
It was a beautiful sunny day with a slight chop, that means small waves, and we went out a short distance for about 10 or 15 minutes. We could still see the shore line and the swimmers on the beach. The boat slowed down, and the skipper began to put out the fishing lines. It wasn't too long before we caught a fish. To my surprise, it was a barracuda with a mouth full of teeth, very vicious looking.
We stayed in the same area, and we each one of us caught fish, but they were all the same kind, barracuda. In my limited knowledge of fish, I was certainly impressed that these are man-eating fish. I looked around, and, sure enough there was the shore with the swimmers... hmmm
A few minutes later, Jack was pulling in a fish, and while reeling it in, he announced that he had lost it. The skipper said to bring his line in anyway. In comes only 1/2 of a fish, the front half still hooked onto the line, and now dripping blood all over the boat. Evidently another barracuda sensed this one struggling and bit the tail end clean off the fish for its lunch.
Shortly after that we returned to our harbor with our catch of the day. Like the other fishing trip before, I asked the skipper to have one of the fishes mounted. When it arrived at our home, we hung it in our rec room where our pool table was. Now the barracuda, with its mouth wide open was the parking place for the 8-ball. I would like to explain that the teeth of the barracuda do not only have a sharp point on top, but the sides of each tooth are sharp as a razor.

Exotic Fishing

After discussing our life with dogs, let me switch to fishing. We bought a condominium years ago while I had my Medical practice in Franklin Park. Having a condo in Fort Lauderdale, FL we made a lot of winter trips for R&R. These were short periods, like five or six days, and our friends knew about them. Once a very good priest friend of ours was down there at the same time. Now Father Bill stopped by the condo,and asked if he and I could go deep sea fishing. He said that he had never had been fishing before, so this would be an adventure. The charter fishing boats work this way. The charter captains take you out for a few hours on a larger boat that holds about 6 or 7 fishermen, and they furnish everything. All the tackle, all the bait, all the set-ups and everything are supplied. So all you have to do is hold the fishing pole that is given to you. The town just North of Fort Lauderdale had a harbor where these charter boats would sail out from. The next morning, Father Bill and I were on boat fishing way offshore, in the Atlantic Ocean. There were a few fishes being caught, but Father did not catch any. Later on the skipper said it was time to return to the harbor, so the skipper turned the boat around and started back. In just a few minutes, Father Bill's pole bent way down, and he started reeling a BIG fish. It jumped out of the water, did the "tail walk" and the skipper announced that it was a sail fish.The skipper then had to turn the boat back out to sea in order to play this BIG fish.

So after about 15 minutes, Father got the fish alongside the boat. Now the skipper said that this fish has to be released or it had to be mounted. I was busy telling Father Bill to say he would have it mounted. He asked, "what would he do with it if it was mounted", he was a priest, afterall, and a trophy sailfish might not go over real well back at the rectory. I felt like I was the devil, tempting the priest keep the trophy. I told him that I could put it on a wall back in my office, and I would pay the expense. This was a large fish, over 7 feet long with a large dorsal fin about 2 feet high. We were able to have a picture taken of us and all the fish caught that day including the sail fish, when we got back to the harbor.

When the mounted fish arrived about a month later, we were really excited! The crate was really large because the mounting board had to be larger than the fish. Fortunately, I had a large wall in the reception area that was the perfect size to display the fish. It looked so impressive! We had the picture taken at the harbor hanging right below the fish. Father Bill was so proud of his first time fishing success that he would bring many people to see it.

Many people came through my offices and could view this mounting. One day the temptation was too great. I got to the office and noticed that father's fish was stolen by some pranksters. I found out about ten years later, what really had happened.

It was a regular day at the office, and I recieved a letter with the return address of a seminary. In the letter was the following story. The writer introduced himself, and said that he was a seminary student, and he had to tell me something. He began confessing that he had stolen the fish years earlier and he had used it to play a trick on someone he knew, that had owned a pool. He stole the fish and threw it into the pool! Imagine waking up to a 7 foot long sailfish in your swimming pool! I laughed out loud and continued reading. He mentioned that he needed to confess his transgressions, as part of his advancement in the seminary. I never answered his letter.

Another fish story next. Stay tuned.

Animals Continued with Dogs

Brozville in Minocqua, Wisconsin, was originally a three season arrangement,and we had to close all the buildings and drain all the water pipes each fall. Then in the spring in late May, we would open everything and hope no water pipes were broken. Then, when summer vacation started, Dorothy and the children with San dog would move from Hillside, to stay there for the summer. San dog enjoyed the area, and she loved drinking the lake water right from the lake.
Later when I retired,and San dog getting older, I noticed a tumor in her abdomen. She was not eating her food, but she was drinking a lot of lake water. At this time our finances were very strained, and our dog seriously ill, going to the Vet was not financially possible. Dorothy told me that her father would put their sick dog to sleep by using the exhaust from the car. She said that he would put a tarp over the tail pipe of the car and the dog, and then he would start the car. So I thought I could that so I got it all set up. Then I started the car and covered San dog with the tarp. I held her there until there was no more movement. Then I started to cry. All the while I was digging her grave, my face was wet with running tears. I told myself that I would not ever want to do that again, and did not want any more dogs.
Not so. A few years later my daughter and her family were visiting when our church was having a chicken cook out, and we were one of the last ones to leave. Somehow a small dog evidently smelling the food got into the basement hall where they were serving the meals and he followed us out. We were thinking that he would head for his home where he belonged, but to our surprise, instead he jumped into our van through the open back door. Trying to get him out, he jumped into the middle seat. The children pleaded not to chase him out, because the other animals would eat him up seeing that we are living in the woods with black bears. So reluctantly I kept him in the car hoping that someone would claim him in a day or two. No one showed up. so we had another dog. This was a male miniature apricot poodle, a rather expensive breed. I named him Jacque Pierre, because one of the girl's name was Jackie.
My experience with poodles was that they like to run away,and that is how I got this one.So whenever we went out, I would put on a leash on Jacque, because by nature,poodles are hunting dogs.After several months of walking him on a leash so that he he would know where he lived. So one day we are out for a walk I let him off the leash. He ran up the hill, I called his name, and he stopped, looked over his shoulder, and then continued running up the hill. I was still outside when I heard the yelping of a dog. I could recognize his voice, and sure enough, he came running back down the road with a clump of fur,1 inch in diameter, missing from his rib cage. I believe that some raccoon got a mouth full of Jacque's fur, pulled right out without tearing the skin.
As years go on,dogs age quicker then men, 7 for 1 year for man, he was showing signs of old age. He developed cataracts in both eyes, and he was losing his hearing. It was time to put him down. Dorothy said she would take him to the Vet. while we were all crying at home. She was the brave one. No more dogs.

Broz Animals Part 2 Dogs Continued

After a few years with San Dog settled in as part of our family, we were on vacation at my brother's place in Spring Lake, Michigan. They told us that their neighbor who had a pure bred miniature apricot French Poodle, just had a litter of pups. They said that they were very pretty. and we could go and see them. Also they were for sale. When we got there, we saw these cute white puppies, and Dorothy said, "I want one." So the owner picked one up, and said that this one had a very pretty face, and she named it, "Angel Face," because it was female. Then Dorothy said that she wanted that one. So now we had two dogs. However this poodle had a temperament that was just the opposite to San Dog. This poodle had quick movements and was always moving around. When we got home, she took over the whole house. She went everywhere,and when we brought San Dog in, they sniffed at each other but Angel Face went on her way.
Our home was multi-level, actually there was four, and no dogs were allowed on the upper level because all the bedrooms were at that level. I shortened the poodle's name to Angel, but she was no angel, just the opposite. She did learn that she was not allowed on the bedroom level, but she evidently was upset when she was home alone. She would leave a bm deposit under our baby grand piano before we would get home. I would scold her and put her nose toward it, and she stopped doing it there. Later I found out she was doing it by the outside door in the basement.
She also had a roaming desire, and she would run away when she got loose. I would go looking for her in the neighborhood calling, " Angel, Angel," until I realized I looked pretty silly walking down the street in my bathrobe, calling for angels. Most often she would come back by her self. With her frequent excursions she met up with a male dog because later she had miscarriage. I saw her shortly after as she was taking care of the remains. The next day she had a fever because her nose was hot. So I figured out a small dose of penicillin , and gave it to her for a few days.She returned to her old habits of running away. When she was gone over night, I called the police to see if they had any knowledge of a stray dog. They said that had her at the station, and I could come and pick her up. When I got there, they said she was in the garage with the fire truck. I found her there, and she had black grease on her from the truck.
During the summer when the nights are warm, I would leave her outside on a leash. One morning when I went to bring her in, she was gone. The leash was broken at a connection, so she had one half of chain attached to her collar. So as before, I called the police, but they had no knowledge of our dog. So I called the neighboring town to see if they had any knowledge of our dog. He hesitated but he said it is not good news. He said the dog is dead. When I got there the chain was still there but her neck was broken. It is my impression that she was chasing some animal and a car ran over the chain.

The most interesting part of the story was that Jack had to take care of her corpse, and it was during the wintertime. The ground was completely frozen, so burial as out of the question. In lieu of a burial, he decided to wrap her up neatly in a cardboard box and put it out on top of the garbage cans outside the back door. He figured that on garbage day, he'd take her box, along with the rest of the trash, out to the street for the weekly pickup. Well, that last part never happened because someone stole the box from off of the trash cans. Imagine their surprise...

Broz Animals Pa rt 2

When our children were young, they started asking why we don't have a dog? I explained that I did not have extra time to take care of a dog, because they need attention and have special needs. That satisfied them so I thought. However on my next birthday they said," Surprise, look what we got for you. A cute little puppy." I sure was surprised as they handed me a puppy which was about 2 months old. I told them that I really did not have time to take care of it. They reassured me that they would take care of the dog if we could keep it. With that understanding, I agreed, but it would have to be an outdoor dog.

That started a flurry of all sorts of planning and shopping for dog needs. I have to admit that I did like the little puppy. So now that this dog is a member of our family, we needed a name for it. I turned to Dorothy and asked her if she would pick a name for our new addition. She came up with, "San Francisco." It wasn't long before it was shortened to, "San Dog." This was a female who was a mixed breed with brown and black coloring. She was very gentle, easily trained, and very careful around children. She was very obedient, and she learned what "no" meant very quickly. She also was basically a quiet dog with just occasionally barking usually for a reason.

Since my birthday is in July, all the children were on summer break,and the next project was to build a dog house. Now the older children were familiar with wood construction.They were able to see how it's done. This was going to be a first class dog house. There was double walls on three sides, a gable roof with green shingles. The wood siding was painted bright red, and a yellow half moon shaped sign was hung over the door with San dog's name on it "San Francisco".The floor was elevated on cement blocks and was carpeted wall to wall. When completed it was work of art. There was a heavy wire strung from the dog house to the house, so the dog leash could ride freely back and forth. San dog loved that dog house, and she stayed in it every night winter or summer. To be continued.

Ponies Concusion

The new colt, Patches, was a very pretty pony. Her coloring was nice and sharp, and her appearance was bright and vivacious. She seamed to always be moving or walking or jumping. One summer afternoon Patches was tethered on the lawn in the back yard while we were having a picnic lunch in the front yard. Our whole family was there, and we had some watermelon for dessert. Now we learned that our ponies liked the rind that is left. So I asked Roger who is about 5 years old to take some rinds over to Patches in the back. He carefully took a paper plate, and piled some rinds on it. He went to the back yard and placed the plate close enough so that the pony could reach it. Then he turned to leave. Patches was watching what he was doing, and when he turned around, she promptly spun around and kicked with her hind legs. She hit Roger perfectly in seat of his pants with both hoofs. Roger turned and in anger yelled, "I hate you, I hate you, I hate you."

Patches was a beautiful pony, but I could imagine that she would have to be tamed and trained. When anyone would come close to her, she would bare her teeth and be ready to bite. Also keeping two ponies fed was a major problem for me. Even getting enough water for both, plus cleaning up. I was not prepared for all the attention and work involved. I felt blessed and relieved that I was able to sell both ponies, because I was in a bad situation of trying to get a nice home for them. I really liked them, especially the little one.

Ponies Continiued

While I was working, I was not able to go to the farm during the week, so I had only the weekend to visit and do all that was needed to be done. Also the children were in school all week as well. So the first weekend after the colt was born we all went to the farm. I believe I might have been the most excited one in the family, but I was very anxious to see the new arrival.

There she was with her mother, Queenie, all bright and alert, full of energy, brown and white, pretty female pony colt called Patches. She was the opposite of her mother, Queenie, who was standing there and not doing anything. Patches was moving all the time, walking, and turning and jumping. I was delighted to see her, but again, the children were standing back, somewhat afraid, not sure what to expect next.

Now I'm realizing that perhaps I'm the only one that seems to be enjoying all of this. Things are changing especially with the new colt arriving. Grandpa and now grandma have a lot of extra work to do with the two animals. Also my obligations
have increased in getting food for the two. For one pony I had to have one bale of clover hay and one bushel of oats available each day. Every weekend I would get 7 bales of hay and 1 bushel of oats from a local farmer. Now it had to be clover hay because the pony would not eat regular hay. Queenie would take regular hay out of the manager and throw it on the floor and walk on it. Now with 2 ponies I had to double the amount each weekend. I did not have a pick up, so I had a problem getting all that in my station wagon.

I decided to sell both ponies. The word went out to others in the family, and in my mother-in-law's relatives a grandfather bought both ponies for his grandchildren.

Animals at the Broz's Part 1 of 3 Parts

There are several different times that we had different animals at the Broz household, so I thought I would prepare you as to what to expect.
Part 1 Ponies
I have to start by giving a short background. When I married Dorothy, her parents became the the most wonderful in-laws anyone could ever have. They accepted me as their son, and I enjoyed being in the family. My aptitude test showed that first I should a doctor, and next I should be a farmer. What a pleasant surprise it was to learn that Dorothy's parents owned 1 acre of land of which 1\2 was not being used. Previously her dad used it as a vegetable garden as well as for raising chickens which included a chicken coop. This was actually well built and could be considered as a small barn.

Now this was shortly after the twins were born, and that gave us 5 children with
the oldest about 8 years old. I asked my father-in-law if I could convert the chicken coop into barn for a pony. Also if he would be willing to take care of it for us as well. He was originally from Oklahoma,and he had some experience with horses when he worked on a ranch. He said he would do that and we could use the little barn for a stable. I was delighted and proceeded to prepare the now stable for a new adventure.

Checking the newspaper, I found an ad selling a carnival pony that was used for riding children while being lead. I thought that was perfect and I was all excited. However they said that the pony was in fold. I pondered about that for awhile but decided that that wouldn't make any difference. So I bought the pony.

They delivered the pony with the instructions that she needs a bale of clover hay every day and a bushel of oats every week. I had a station wagon, so I was able to do that every week end. I also needed a saddle and a bridle and some blankets. Our pony was back, so I bought most of the things in white. Now we needed a name for her, and Dorothy named her Queenie. The next weekend we got Queenie all dressed up, and brought the children.

Now I was surprised, the children were frightened and didn't want to get close.
So I showed our oldest how to put his foot in the stirrup helped him into the saddle. I led Queenie around the yard, and all the other children relaxed.

Several weeks later, Dad called and said you have a little colt. He said the colt was partially showing,and he helped by pulling on the two front hoofs. This was a female, she was white with large patches of brown. So her name became Patches.

To be continued

Marriage Revisited

If you went to church yesterday, you heard about God creating Eve to be a companion for Adam, and he loved her at first sight. It wasn't said that way, but I'm using my own explanation to bring it up to our time. I imagine he could have said, "Wow, you are beautiful." In my opinion that was the first marriage, and he loved her very much.

My thoughts about past marriages, reminds me of my parent"s marriage which lasted almost 70 years. My father died 6 weeks before the date of their wedding. My own wedding. which many of you know, lasted 63 years, because Dorothy died on that exact date. I loved her very much, but Jesus asked for her to come with Him.

When you talk about marriage, you have to talk and understand what love is all about. Love is kind and gentle. Love is patient and warm and cuddling, Love is peaceful and quiet and tender. Love is not rough and gruff or loud and boisterous or violent. Love is peaceful and peace loving. I"m going into detail because, I feel this type of love is being lost in the youth of today. It is my opinion that this type of love is the normal prelude for a great and long lasting marriage,

There is a lot of sadness to many people when there is an abusive marriage. It usually ends up with violence, and even the police are fearful of domestic violence cases. Even their own lives are in danger.Very often the people are irrational and almost impossible to deal with.

So I hope and pray that I would be able to encourage all the young people contemplating marriage to see if true love is there. This sexual love that is so prevalent out there is dangerous and is not love. Sexual intercourse is intended for having babies in a marriage. Then there is happiness all around.

The Fall Of The Year.

To some people, Autumn is a favorite time of the year. The earth is warm, the vegetation is still green, and the sunshine is still warm on your face. As the weeks go by, many of the leaves begin to change color. Many people make tours to the forest areas, just to see the beautiful color of the leaves on the trees. The
leaves that were green and become yellow, and red, and brown, and almost black. This is truly amazing when you visualize this from a road looking at the horizon in the distance. When I was living in the North Woods of Wisconsin, I was thrilled by the color change each year, and I took many pictures. But the colors were not as vivid as in real life.

When I witness this happening year after year, I become very contemplative as to how and why is this all happening? You might remember that, as the earth rotates around the sun, it is tilted a little, and therefore the sun shines at an angle and produces our seasons. Now you might ask how did all this happen?

There are many theories, but the one I like the best is the Big Bang Theory, Now I
would like to go to the Bible and go to the Book of Genesis. It says that at the beginning there was a void, i.e. nothing there. Then God said "BANG", and everything fell in place. It says that God created the heaven and the earth. Now out of all the planets, God chose planet earth, and He put a little tilt on it to produce our seasons. In a way He gave us special treatment.

In the fall every year the leaves and the seeds fall to the earth only to come back next spring and regrow. There is a parable that says that a grain of wheat must die to produce a plant. That also applies to us humans since we are part of the animal system on earth. Our human body will die, but God made humans special by putting a spiritual soul in each of us. He put a little bit of Himself in each one of us which is spiritual like Him. This soul will leave our animal bodies when we die and go to heaven to be with Him if we were good.

My wife, Dorothy, died 15 months ago, and she told me she wanted to be buried in the ground. She was a very good and holy person. I was alarmed when she talked to me 1 month after she died. I heard her voice at two different times. Also about 3 days later, my grandson's wife, Kate, was sleeping, and she saw Dorothy, very radiant,in her dream. Dorothy also spoke to her. This is all happening 1 month after her death.

Recently I read in the paper that there are some people that don't believe in God or follow a specific religion. It is my belief that it is very difficult to deny that there is no human spirituality, or, if they do, not to follow a particular church. A person has to learn the difference between good and evil, and the best place is to go to church. This education has to start early and last a life time.

Nostalgia

As long as I can remember, I have always enjoyed reading the newspaper. This dates back to my school days, and it might be because this was about the only literary material readily available at our home. Regardless my fondness for newspapers exists even today, and my favorite is the USA Today.

So last week the finance section came out with a headline, "Recession appears over." The response to the announcement that the worst might be over was practically unnoticed. With our great American talent and expertise, we are avoiding a serious depression. There is a saying that when America sneezes, the whole world catches a cold. It appears that we have avoided a major depression so far.

Now I was 10 years old during the depression of 1929 that went around the world. I don't recall what really precipitated that depression, but it was
severe and long. People were committing suicide because they lost all their money and lost their homes. There were long bread lines where people were waiting for food. Then when the economy turned around, there was joy and happiness every where. There was also a song that originated called, " Happy Days Are Here Again." It was sung over and over, and it also expressed a sigh of relief that permeated through out the whole country, perhaps the world.

There is still an element of vagueness and slowness to the recovery, and there is a possibility of premature celebrating. However I believe that positive thinking helps and would help to restore better times. I would also like to see the song, "Happy Days," come back.

Speaking of songs, there was a sad article also in last week's paper. Remember the trio Peter Paul and Mary? Well Mary died last week. They were my favorites with songs like, " If I had a Hammer, Leaving on a Jet plane, Puff the Magic Dragon." Beautiful music,

These were in the 60's, and Dorothy and I made a European trip in 1964. It was a trip where we stayed in people's homes. Our last stop was in London. We stayed with a family that had a young boy about 14 years old. He was able to sing very well, and he sang, "If I had a Hammer,"right there in the living room.He did a great job, and that was our gift before departure.



I wish that type of music would return, because our people today are missing a lot. I also read in the paper that a mother, being interviewed, said that her daughter, after watching Dirty Dancing, lost her virginity. How sad !!! I would like to ask the mother who will take care of the baby? Enough said.

A cute Fishing Story

A grandfather was speaking to his 4yr. old grandson and asked if he would like to go fishing. His grandson said, "Yes, grandpa." Grandpa said,"OK but first we have to get ready."He proceeded to explain that first we need to get our fishing poles. Then we need to get the bait. We will also need a bucket for the fish. Now we also need the oars for the boat. We also need to check to see if there is an anchor.

Now after gathering everything, they proceeded to get it all into the boat. After setting the oars, grandpa began to row the boat out into the lake. After a short time grandpa looked around, and he mentioned that this would be a likely spot to start to fish. So he told his grandson,"We need to lower the anchor, so we would not be drifting all over the lake."

Now they were ready, so grandpa said, "Now get your fishing pole, but be careful because there is a sharp hook on the end." After finding it, grandpa asked to have the line end brought toward him. Be careful now because I have to handle the hook, and don't jerk the line. Grandpa said,"I will put the worm on the hook. Now you can put the line over the side and into the water."

It didn't take long,and his grandson very excitedly said, "I got a fish." And grandpa said, "OK, bring it toward me, and I will take it off. Oh boy, look at this fine blue gill,"as he put it in the bucket. Then the boy said,"Can we go back now. I got my fish."

When the Corn is Ripe

Last Sunday, Sept. 7th, was a beautiful warm sunny day, and after Mass, the three of us, my son, his wife, and my self, decided to go out for lunch. We also decided to go to Gurne which was about a 30 minute drive through the country side with corn fields all around us. My son mentioned that the corn silk was changing color.It changes from green to a dark brown. That indicates that the corn is ripe when the silk is brown. That reminded me about my experience with growing corn at Brozville in Wisconsin.

We had an area of ground which was on the border of a marsh which provided water to the soil. The soil was the result of composting of leaves and grass clipping over
the years. This resulted in a good rich black soil instead of fine sand every where else. The combination of soil and water made it ideal for gardening. So I thought I would try planting some corn. Besides I love fresh corn on the cob, and my neighbor up the road was raising corn every year. So one spring I made an area about 12'x12' for my corn planting. I bought one box of corn and planted them carefully in rows. They germinated nicely, and they were growing in rows just like the corn fields.
I watched them growing up to 6' tall with ears of corn on almost every stalk.Then I'm watching the green silk to see it changing color. The box that the seeds came in said that when the silks turn a dark brown,the corn is ripe.

It was happening according to plan, and one day when I came back from the garden, I told Dorothy that the corn about ready to be picked.I told her that tomorrow I will pick the corn. The next morning, when I went to the garden, I was shocked. All the corn stalks were lying criss cross on top of each other. Each ear was peeled back, and the kernels were eaten off the cob. I searched the whole area, and I found one ear of corn that was left behind. I carried it back home, and showed Dorothy that it was all that was left of my crop. She said to me,'How much did you pay for the seed?" I told her $1.00. Then she said," That ear of corn cost you $1.00."

What really happened was raccoons smell the corn when it is ripe, and bring the whole family for the feast. They actually climb up the stalks, and their weight brings the stalks down so they can reach the ears. They peel the ears back the same way we do before we eat corn on the cob.

Tears Of Joy

Over the week end, I was able to visit Brozville in Minocqua, WI for first time after Dorothy died which is about 14 months. My son, Ray and wife, Rita, drove, and my son Jack, came a short time later from Eden Prairie, MN. This was on Friday, but the main reason I'm there is to attend a concert by the Lakeland Babershop Chorus, my chorus that I sang with for over 20 years. We're a nice bunch of fellows, about 20, that meet every week all year round. I'm one of 3 charter members left. The show was on Saturday evening, and I went early to meet my buddies before the show,

That is when it all started. As I walked into the room,and they saw me, they started to sing," You're as welcome as the flowers in May." My eyes got full of tears, and tears are running all over my face while I'm shaking hands and getting hugs.I didn't stop crying until I got up stairs with the audience. Another fiend greeted me, and told me that those are tears of joy. I've seen that happen to others but never to me. What a different experience, and new things are still happening to me in spite of my 90 years.

Locomotive Museum

Before I start my new story, I would like to add to my pond story. I mentioned that I did not have any ducks in our pond. Wrong. Yesterday I saw a mother duck and her 4 little ducklings swimming across the pond. She was there all the time hatching her eggs,and there she was leading her brood. The coloring of mother duck matched the surroundings so well that you had to know where she was to see her.

Now to my title story.

Several years ago while visiting my daughter, Sue, in Denver, she asked if we would like to visit a Locomotive Museum in Golden. I could not believe there could be such a thing. She reassured me that there was, and there was actual engines and cars on display. She warned us that there would be a lot of walking involved, because these were the actual engines and cars.

When we got there, there they were, the great big monsters. You were allowed to climbed in any and all the cars. The old puffer bellies and the diesels, some with cow catchers and some with snow plows, and some with bells, My grandson, Spencer, climbed in one and rang the bell loud and clear. He wasn't the only one. There were others before him and after him. There was a coach and also a sleeping car, similar to the one we used when our whole family went on our vacation at the dude ranch. We also found a diner where we had our breakfast. That trip was pleasant, because we had two adjoining compartments. It was cozy, but we all had a bunk. Now all these cars were on actual railroad tracks.

On the way out, of course, there was a shop selling various items including tee shirts with a message:

The Light at the End of the Tunnel
Could be an Oncoming Train

So be careful!!
God Bless

Garden Report

Yesterday I read in the newspaper that gardening is conducive to a long life. I can attest to that seeing that now I am now over 90 years. Actually when I took an aptitude test earlier when I started college, my highest score was medicine and next highest was farming. So every chance I get, I am out there planting.

This year planting in a new garden, I had my problems and almost disaster. When the plants started to grow, I could tell that the soil had too much nitrogen, because the plants were growing very large leaves and thick stems. So I started to do a lot of watering trying to dilute the nitrogen and wash it out. I don't think it did much, because the plants grew rapidly, and then they started to wilt. Previously I had experience with acid soil, so to the store we went to get a pH tester. The tests did show an acid reaction, now back to the store for some lime product to neutralize the soil. It is a guessing game to determine how much to use, because it is possible to use too much. It did not test very high, therefore a small amount of lime should be adequate. Every time you make changes in the soil, you have to wait about a week to see any changes in the plants. Now the big leaves on the tomato plants are turning yellow and drying up. What else to do? Years ago at this point, I would be hilling my tomato plants, but this soil is not doing very well. So by getting 5 bags of top soil, I was able to do quite a job of hilling the plants. By covering the main stem of the plant with soil, that stem will send out new roots into the new soil. I also found some tomato spikes that contained phosphate which the plants need to produce fruit. That finally did it. The plants started to grow new leaves, and the new blossoms were producing tomatoes. These tomatoes are a little smaller in size, but they get ripe,and they have good flavor.

Next year, if the Lord is willing, and I'm around, there are things that need to be done to the soil before planting, but I'll be ready.

God Bless You
Dr. Ray

Indian Creek Pond

On the North end of my son's property there is a pond which I would like to name the Indian Creek Pond. It contains a plethora of wild life.

Last week our neighbor was carrying a very unusual object in her hand. She said she was in her garage when she found this small garter snake with a socket from a socket wrench set around the middle of its body. She said that she could not remove it. We all tried, but it was firmly in place and would go neither up or down. My granddaughter, Emma, came along, sat down on the grass, and slowly worked on it.
after about 15 minutes, she was able to remove the socket back over the head, but the snake did vomit at the end. This neighbor is on the South end of our pond, and Emma returned the socket to our neighbor. The garter snake just wiggled its way back into the grass.

Our Indian Creek Pond is about 1/4 acre with about 100' by 50' and about 8' deep. It is loaded with wild life, which indicates that it is ecologically sound. It starts early in spring with the peeper frogs making their chatter in the early evening. Then schools of tiny fish, possibly minnows, swirl in circles, and next the bullfrogs with their deep bass voices croaking. Finally the turtles showed up. Very early in spring, there were a pair of ducks came a few times, but they did not stay. Thank goodness they did not stay, because I hear they are messy.

Also around the pond are the usual cattails. Another wildflower showed up with a beautiful purple spike blossom on tall stems. They resemble lupine, but those are much shorter. Along the North shore earlier in spring, there were 3 beautiful blooming crab apple trees that are now full of crab apples. These were planted by nature not by man.

What a beautiful experience watching all these things happening, and I tried to share it with you.

God Bless all of you.

Birthday Party

On July 25th I had a beautiful and wonderful day to celebrate my 90th birthday with about 60 of my relatives and friends at my son Rick's home and large back yard. I live with Rick and his family. The weather was perfect with a light breeze and practically no insects to bother us. We had 2 tents with with enough tables and chairs for everyone. There was a 70lb pig on a spit roasting over charcoal that we started at 10am. It is my son's recipe which includes stuffing the cavity with lemon rinds left over from making lemonade as the only seasoning. No salt or pepper was used. We served a buffet supper of Chinese cuisine and the delicious roast pork. Then came a very large birthday cake with two numeral candles of 90. During this whole time, the background music of the Big Band era was being played. Even the children had a fun time on the trampoline.

I have to thank Rick and his wife, Hedy, and their children for being so gracious and doing all the work that was involved. This was my last hurrah, and I don't believe I need to say more.

Today I'm 90

Yes, today I am 90 years old. Most people say I don't look 90, and also I am able to do most things on my own without assistance. My meneory is good and I was able to learn how to type about 6 months ago. I do it slowly, but I am able to do it. I type letters, email, even blogs like this.

I have to get spiritual at this point, because my whole life has been charmed. It started early when I was about 6 years old, and I developed acute appendicitis. A neighbor told my mother that her son died recently from a ruptured appendix, and I overheard the conversation. Soon after, I developed a pain in my abdomen on my right side,and I was afraid to tell anyone, thinking that it might go away. However it did not and got worse, but it was not really very bad. I didn't move very much, because it made the pain worse. After several days the pain was a little better, but my side was tender for a long time. Eventually the pain disappeared, but I didn't feel too good. It was mostly a loss of appetite and no energy. Then about 2 or 3 years later I urinated a large amount of purulent liquid which I presumed was the abscess from my ruptured appendix.

I have read in an old medical treatment book that abdominal pain could be treated with hot compresses to the abdomen. So perhaps there were some survivors during those times also.

So at any rate, God our Father had other plans for me, and here I am at my 90th birthday and still going strong.

Dr. Ray

At the Dude Ranch

For many years the Broz family spent our summer vacations at a Dude Ranch called Drowsy Water Ranch, in Granby, Colorado. A wonderful place to go. There a bunch of amateurs go horseback riding on trails in the Rocky Mountains. They also go through forests and meadows. One lady guest was riding through a forest when her horse rubbed it's side against a tree and scratching her leg as well. She continued to ride when they reached a meadow. Then the horse decided to roll over with her in the saddle. Over they went, and then stood up with her still in the saddle. After all that, our brave lady rode her horse back to the stables. It's my impression that the horse was trying to get rid of the rider, but she won.

Garden Update

To all you tomato growers out there. I read in the paper that there is a Tomato Mania out there. 90 per cent of gardeners are growing tomatoes. Well I am too, and I have 15 plants that are doing pretty well. They started out doing great, but about several weeks later I noticed we were getting long leaves and branches. That would indicate a possible high nitrogen content and low phosphate. I located some tomato sticks that had a high phosphorus content, and I used them. Now I have tall plants with plenty of blossoms quite a few tomatoes. But now the plants are started to wilt, and I thought it could be acid soil or lack of water. So we bought a pH tester,and it showed acidic soil. Back to the store to get a lime product to sweeten the soil. The next day the plants were still wilted, so now they need water. Now yesterday I spent most of the afternoon watering the plants. We have an elevated planting area,and we are having just light showers which did not penetrate deep enough. There is not much else to do except to pick tomatoes, I hope.

Mark's cycle trip

Earlier I mentioned that my grandson Mark was making a transcontinental cycle trip and it will take 3 months. Well last Friday they were going through Colorado going to Denver. My daughter, Sue, is a rural mail carrier, and she was on the road delivering the mail when she met some cyclists who were in his group. She was able to talk to one of the women riders and found out that Mark was in the next group behind. So they planned a trick. Sue parked her car, and the cyclist placed her bicycle on the shoulder near the car. Then she laid on the grass to make it look like an accident.Mark came by, saw the mess, jumped of his bike, ran over to see what happened. They jumped up to meet him, and they all started to laugh for the next ten minutes. Then Mark took a ride with Sue to finish her route. Then they went out for dinner, and finally Sue drove Mark to a church in Denver where he rejoined his group.

Mark had a little rest and did not have to pedal the last 35 miles to Denver which is mostly uphill. I'm sure that Mark enjoyed the respite after that scare on the road. I'll keep you posted as I get the news.

Dr. Ray

Fantastic Father's Day Gift

This past Saturday I was able to attend a concert in the park at Ravinia. For many years I have read and heard of Ravinia, but I did not believe that I would ever get to go. All I knew was that we were going to have a picnic in a park with music. When we were a few miles, I mentioned that Ravinia was near by, I was told that was the place we were going. And Garrison Keillor was performing. He's famous story teller from Minnesota where:
All the men are strong
All the women are beautiful
And all the children are above average
He and his band were there in person, accompanied by a female vocalist who also played the fiddle. My 2 granddaughters, Nora and Emma, prepared our supper of individually rolled sandwiches, veggies and pop. We had to carry all this, plus chairs, in and out of the park.

As we were eating, a couple from the audience started to do a professional dance
to the music. They were dancing in bare feet on the grass. Later they did another dance to another tune.

The weather was perfect, and overall it was a gorgeous and beautiful event. I believe that this is what Dorothy meant when she told me to go on with the rest of my life.

An unusual Grandson

I have a very adventurous grandson who believes in challenging himself physically and mentally, with different and unusual situations.

While he was in grade school I introduced him to the game of chess, and by the time he got to the 8th grade, he beat all comers. Then in his junior year,after two years of German class, he chose to become an exchange student for his entire junior year. He attended the regular school and passed all his classes, in spite of the fact that they were all taught in German.

In college he graduated with a degree as a teacher. His first choice was to teach in a high school in Alaska, on the far western coast in a village with limited accessibility, mostly by air. He has finished two years teaching there, and plans to return for several more. This year on his summer break he chose to participate in a charitable fundraiser called Bike and Build. People bike across the country from Virginia Beach, Virginia to Portland, Oregon, stopping 9 times to assist the construction of homes for Habitat for Humanity. He's biking nearly every day for 3 months.

God speed and protect them,
Dr.Ray

A Sad Day

Yesterday was a very sad day for me, because, as many of you know, it was on that day one year ago that Dorothy died. She was very sick, and her body was broken. Earlier she knew she was failing, and she asked that I should let her go so I could go on with my life. I am doing that with great difficulty, but I am doing it with God's help. I have studied about grief, but now I have had, and am still living with, grief. As the days go by, there is a gradual change in the severity of my grief, but I believe it will never go away.

On a happier note, I was able to attend the graduation from high school of my granddaughter, Emma, who received 2 scholarships for college. This was this past Sunday, and I so happy to be there. Perhaps I was one of the oldest people there, but I made it. It was wonderful to see all those happy smiling faces of our youth, full of life and energy.

Gardening and Eagles

First, a progress report on the vegetable garden. There are 3 tomato plants that have blossoms on them, and 4 more with blossoms that are not open yet. I started these from seeds in the house so they had a head start before they went out. That is the earliest that I ever had, so now I hope they produce tomatoes.

I do a lot of resting when I'm in the garden, because my back does not like all that bending. Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in my chair resting, and I looked up to the north. There was an eagle soaring very high in the sky. It was very small, because it was far away, but I'm sure it was an eagle. Then a few minutes later right over my head, there came one, two, and three eagles one right after another in a straight line. That was 4 eagles within minutes at once.

I believe Dorothy is reminding me that every thing is alright.

Happy Gardening
Dr. Ray

Gardening

Spring has sprung, and I have been very busy with my favorite hobby, raising tomato plants. Maybe I’m a little late for this advice, but be sure to put the plants in the hole so that the bottom leaf is at ground level. Part of the stem will be buried, and it will get roots also. This will allow the plant to get more water with less sprinkling. If they are already planted you can hill the plants to the bottom leaf. You might need extra soil to do that. If so, get a bag of fertilized soil. I have 15 tomato plants with 3 different varieties planted, and so far they are doing well.

Lots of luck,

Dr. Ray

Raising Twins

When Dorothy and I were discussing the possibility of having twins, she mentioned that there would be additional work in raising two babies at one time instead of just one. I suggested that I would be willing to give the 2am feeding, so she could get a good night’s rest. She said that would help, and she seemed to want to try. So using the rhythm method to tell the fertile time of her cycle, it appeared Dorothy did have two ovulations that month. It was correct, and she was pregnant with our twins, Barb and Bob.

Now the hard part. The babies came home, and the 2am feedings began. Previously I was able to sleep through one baby crying, but with two babies crying, I was awake, and. down the stairs I went to warm the bottles. After about two weeks of this routine, one night I put my head down on the table and fell asleep. When I awoke, the bottles were in a pot of boiling water. Now I have two bottles too hot to handle, and I started to cool them in cold water. I felt that the bottles were cool enough, and I was able to feed the babies. Eventually Dorothy got up, and she asked why is it taking so long? Then she looked at Barbara and said, “Her head is all wet and sweaty.” Well I answered that perhaps the milk was too hot and I told her how the bottles boiled.

Having a Family

Having a Family

I have to begin many years ago, like 70 yrs, I was at Loyola U. taking a course in Medical Ethics. I had a very astute Jesuit professor, Father Kelly, that taught us the way to live the rest of our lives.

He taught us that when God created man, that He also included a sexual appetite and sexual pleasure. God gave instructions to multiply and fill the earth. Father Kelly said that it only seems logical that, when raising children is such a difficult task, that God would include some pleasure in the sexual act. The desire to have sex and the pleasure associated with a sexual performance is built in the human nature. God put it there, therefore it is good. If there was no pleasure, no one would want to have any children. So in God’s plan for the procreation of the human race, having children is essential.

Now with that background, I got married to Dorothy who had similar training. We felt that the Church was guiding us with principles that were necessary in our lives. So birth control had to be part of our lives to show responsibility for our children. The Catholic Church advocates a system called the rhythm method which promotes responsibility and self control. This is not easy but it can work. However it does help if a large family is planned, because errors in the schedule are common which can lead to unplanned pregnancies.

In our marriage we discovered that Dorothy had a variation in her menstrual cycle. It appears that she would have two ovulations every month, Now that could cause twin babies which is common in both of our families. In planning our next pregnancy, we found out that was correct, and we had twins, a girl and a boy.

Two Near-Tragic Occurrences

Over the years in our travels, we would usually fly on longer trips, because it would save time, and it was generally safer. However we had two events that were similar, although they were years apart.

In 1964 on our European trip to Rome, our group chartered an Air France plane to go from New York to Rome non-stop. To make sure not to miss the flight, our group hired a bus to take us to New York the day before. We had a day in New York with reservations at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel for the night. Very nice.

The next day the plane left on schedule with the destination for Rome. Also we were flying at night, and our tour was to begin shortly after our Rome arrival. At 3am the captain announced that we would be landing at Orly Field in Paris. We all had to deplane and go into the terminal to wait. Looking out the window as we approached the runway, I could see fire trucks with flashing lights, also ambulances, and other emergency vehicles. All the airports lights were on making night into day. We all deplaned, and then we were told that the plane blew a tire on take-off. We landed safely, and, then after 1 hour, we were able to board our plane to continue our trip to Rome. Now over an hour late, we were rushed off through the terminal to a waiting bus. Off we went to the St. Stephan’s catacombs without breakfast or comfort stops.

Years later we were on a trip to Hawaii, and we were island hopping by air from one island to the next. Beautiful Hawaii where everyone on the island wants to get to the mainland, and everyone on the mainland wants to go to the Islands. Dorothy and I were alone, and we were very happy to be able to enjoy all that Hawaii had to offer. Now on leaving one island with the plane taxing to take off, there was a loud explosion and a cloud of smoke on one side. Then the plane was aborting the take-off, and we were all jammed into our seats. The plane was able to stop, however, looking out the window, I could see the waves of the ocean. The pilot was able to turn the plane around, and he taxied the plane back to the hanger. The explanation was that we blew a tire on take-off. Then another explanation was added that a piece of rubber had lodged into the engine, and we would have to change planes to continue. Some of the passengers were very pale and frightened. Others were taking some pills, possibly Valium, to relax. We narrowly escaped a serious accident from either the engine exploding and burning, or not having enough runway left to stop.

As I mentioned before, God has His plan for each of us, and our job on earth was not completed yet.

After Easter Message

For all you non church-goers the gospel message was, "As the Father sent Me, I send you." Our priest walked down the stairs from the altar, and with outstretched arms he said, "And I send you." I think he was looking at me. So here is my problem. I have written a manuscript titled, "I Married an Angel,and I Gave God a Saint." I sent this to a publisher 10 days ago, which happened to be Good Friday, and I am waiting for a response. They have 90 days in which to reply. Now I need some prayerful help during this period for a YES answer. I will keep you advised.

Dr. Ray

The Banana Story

This is a medical story.
This gentleman is going to the doctor. He tells the doctor that it has been a long time since I had a physical exam, so I want you to tell me the truth. No matter what it is, I want to know the truth. The doctor says that he could do that. After the exam is finished, the doctor returns to the room. The man reminds the doctor that he wants the whole truth no matter what it is. The doctor pondering and thinking and finally said,"If I were you, I wouldn't buy any green bananas."

Dr.Ray

Caribbean Cruise

Dorothy, I, and another couple decided to take a Caribbean Cruise in January many years ago. We scheduled a flight to arrive in Miami 2 hours before the departure of the ship. I thought that was enough time to get from the airport to the dock. Our flight was on time, leaving Chicago until we got over Orlando. Then the captain announced that there thunderstorms over Miami, and that we would be circling over Orlando for the time being. We asked the stewardess if they could call the dock to wait for us. She thought that they could do that for us. When we finally landed in Miami, we called the dock, and they said the ship just left. However the owner of the cruise line was there, and he wanted to talk to us. We told him that there were 4 in our party, and we had 2 cabins reserved. He said to stay where we were, and he would pay for all expenses in Miami. Then the next day we would be picked up, and we would fly to Kingston, Jamaica. Then we will be driven by limousine to Port Antonio which is the first stop for the ship. We will then board the ship.


Well everyone thought we were special friends of the president, and we got royal treatment. The hotel in Port Antonio had a red carpet leading to the entrance. The next day we were escorted to the ship with men carrying our luggage all the way to our cabins. At our dinner that night, there was a large bouquet of gladiolas in the middle of our table. We were the only people that had flowers on the table.

Now at the end of the cruise, there was scheduled a formal dinner with the captain of the ship. We all needed formal clothing to attend, and we were prepared. An invitation was extended to us to join the captain at his table. After everyone was seated, we walked in with the captain as his party, and we were seated at his long table.

The oddity of the zero

I was in bed thinking this morning, and I suddenly remembered Charles Osgood, who was a radio personality in the days before TV. Some of the older readers might remember him. I recalled one particularly clever topic of his.

I’ll try to tell it now.

The odd part about zero is that it represents nothing. If you look at a ruler, the first number is one, but all the marks for numbers less than one are present, but there is no zero printed there.

It would look funny to have a half of a circle on the ruler, and the other half off in thin air.

Zero is a number, but if you put 6 zeros down in a row, you still have nothing. If you put a one in front of the zeros, you suddenly have a million of nothing. Zero means nothing, but we cannot live without it.

God bless Charles Osgood, wherever he his.

This is Dr. Ray, signing off until later.

Key to a Miracle

Not everyone has the key to a Chevy mounted in a frame. In fact, I think I just might be the only person who would have such a thing, especially because the truck it belongs to doesn't even belong to me. But, I do have such a key. How it came into my possession is a story and a half.

My granddaughter Rachel and her family, including Jan, her mother in law, came to the cabin over the 4th of July weekend in 2007. As the weekend drew to a close, everyone was getting their things packed up and ready for the drive home. Rachel was packing for her kids and Kris, her husband was moving bags and suitcases around. Jan decided to move her truck a bit closer to the cabin to facilitate the packing process.

After a short while, I noticed Rachel, Kris and Jan standing around Jan's truck, peering into the windows and looking hopeless. I came outside to investigate and they shared with me that Jan had inadvertently left her keys in the ignition of the truck, and then locked the doors out of habit and shut the door with the keys hanging in the ignition, and the truck turned off.

We began considering the options. It was nearly 6pm on the last day of a holiday weekend. Our options were severely limited. Locksmiths were closed for the holidays. The nearest car dealership that could fabricate a new key for the car was over 10 miles away, and they were also closed for the holiday weekend. We were running out of time and ideas, short of smashing the car window. Jan had to get back to the Twin Cities for work the next day. No one wanted to break the window.

Kris stood staring at the ground, looking for anything that might trigger the conception of the perfect solution to this dire situation. All of a sudden, his eyes drifted over a spot on the sand and immediately snapped back to where they'd been a second before.

"What's this?" As he pointed to a bright speck on the ground, he was already moving toward it.

On the ground immediately next to the rear left tire of the truck was an unscuffed and completely new-looking car key for a Chevrolet. He picked it up. It was unadorned with key chain or other decoration.

Everyone swore they'd never seen it before, and we'd been standing around looking this way and that for over thirty minutes, trying to find a way into the truck. Jan did not recognize it, it wasn't hers. No one else present drove a Chevy. There wasn't any way for the key to be on the ground, but there it was, now in Kris's hand.

I told him to try it in the door. After all, if it didn't work, we wouldn't be any worse off than we already were. Kris stuck the key in the door lock and surprisingly, it slid right in. But, we were heartbroken to find that it wouldn't turn in the lock. More out of frustration than anything else, I told him to try it on the passenger side door. He looked at me skeptically and walked around the truck to try it, knowing that it wouldn't work. Like the driver door, the key went in, but when Kris gave it a twist, the door unlocked.

We all stood in the yard staring at each other and at the truck, and then at the key. I don't remember who talked first or what they said, but everyone knew that what just happened was beyond rational explanation. I know that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but that day, He gave us a key to a locked car, and everyone was able to return home according to plan. Jan agreed; the key was put there by a higher power.

She gave the key to me as a reminder of what we witnessed that July afternoon, and that's why I have the key to a Chevy mounted in a frame.

Photo and Another Joke

Hi People,

Did you all see my picture? Pretty nice for an old man, eh? Talking about old, there is an older doctor that lost his hearing. He placed his stethoscope on the patient’s chest and said, “I don’t hear anything. I think you’re dead.” Sound familiar?

Dr. Ray

Let Me Call You Sweetheart

One day about 2 months after we met, Dorothy told me she had plans to go visit her grandparents for a whole week. She had to go all the way to Ponca City, Oklahoma, and she was going by bus. I immediately became concerned. Traveling by bus in 1943 was similar to traveling by bus today. It was a bit more popular, but the people on the bus then were as seedy as they can be today, and the trip would have taken about 24 full hours.

Dorothy's grandmother, Nora, had to provide all the care for her bed-ridden grandfather, who had been paralyzed as the result of a beating he received at the hands of a hitchhiker. In those days, hitchhiking was a fairly common thing, but criminals often used it as a method of getting from one place to another.So even though the bus was safer than hitchhiking, or even picking up a hitchhiker, I still felt justified in my concern. I asked her for the address so I could write to her while she was gone. She gave it to me and I felt a little better about the whole affair.

I saw her nearly every day at the hospital, and being apart for a week felt like a lifetime, at that point. I began writing a letter to her, and I realized, I'd only known her a bit more than a month and I didn't have a lot to say. But, I did have one thing I wanted to tell her, that I thought of her as my sweetheart. So I wrote that down. I'd been wanting to say that for a while, but at the hospital it seemed a little out of place, and that was mainly where we saw each other. This was a good opportunity, and I was pretty sure she felt the same way. I closed the letter off by asking her if she thought that was OK.

My instinct was right. She returned home and our romance moved to a higher level. It seems to be true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Savings Plans

To all my friends where ever you are-

With all this turmoil about various funds and markets going up and down, I believe it's time for a little humor. Listen to this.

There is this guy on a bicycle going down the street in his neighborhood, when he sees a for sale sign on a 2 flat building. He turns his bike around and stops to see the owner of the building. He inquires about the price, and he is told it is $100,000.00. He answers that he will buy it, and that he will be right back with the money. He leaves, and a short time later he is back on his bicycle carrying a mattress on his back. He brings the mattress into the house, they start to count the money. The owner says "Hey, there's only $80,ooo.oo in here." The man says,"Shucks, I brought the wrong mattress."

So all of you, remember to bring the right mattress.

So long,
Dr. Ray

Welcome!

Greetings to all from a senior-senior member of humanity.  My life's work was being a Family Medical Doctor in solo practice for over 30 years in the Chicago Suburban area.  I have to emphasize solo practice, because that means 24/7 all year long.  The only break in that schedule was some periodic rest, i.e. vacation.  After I retired from my practice, my wife and I moved to Minocqua, Wisconsin.  I began writing short news items that the local paper was kind enough to print.  Very often, those articles were accompanied by a photo of me, so I made a lot of friends in the Minocqua area.  I also sang in the local Barbershop Chorus for over 21 years.  I've been interested in religion and how it affects people's lives for nearly my whole life.

My life has changed drastically in the past few months.  I had never typed a single letter before deciding to write some certain things for a book, but things have become so unbelievably interesting and exciting that I decided I needed to learn something new.

Doctor Broz

First Post

This is the first post.  This is a test.