WOKE

     Today you woke up, opened your eyes, and started a new day.  You live in the USA which aims to provide liberty and justice for all.

      Now, we need to wake up and realize that men and women, straight and LGBTQ, and every race needs to have equal justice, to be treated fairly by the community, the workplace, and the government and its representatives.  We need to open our eyes, become aware, extend our sympathy to those not treated fairly, and gain empathy for everyone, especially those that are different than we are. 

     Wake up.  See the world and all its people.  Start a new day.  Make it better than yesterday for everyone.

                                                                                                                                                                                       

Karl

   

     A good man, husband, father, and grandfather.  Karl's German/Swedish family was Lutheran for many generations.  He learned responsibility from a young age and continued to take charge of his own life.

     As a young teenager, he worked at a grocery store saving his money so he could go to college.   Although he was interested in sports, this job kept him from participating on school teams.  During his years at Indiana University, he worked on construction in the summers with his grandfather.  Unfortunately, he injured his hand on the job which disqualified him from military service.

     At college, he worked as a dishwasher to pay for the cost of his fraternity, where he enjoyed lots of parties with his college sweetheart.  They married after graduation, and in a few years had three daughters who went on to graduate from LSU.  He was so proud of his girls, and when they married, they gave him seven grandchildren.
     During his professional career, he was first in the corporate world then went into business for himself as an advisor to small businesses.  He learned to play golf which became his favorite pastime.  Every Sunday, he took his family to Lutheran Church.  His great-grandfather had been a Lutheran pastor.  We had many happy years together, and on our 55th Wedding Anniversary, July 20, he took his final breath.

Hard to Let Go

     If you are male, what would be hard to let go?  Historically having more rights, privileges, and power than females, given toys that stimulate math and science interests, being encouraged to develop talents and careers and go out into the world, free from monthly cycles, being able to have children without being pregnant, having females take the primary responsibilities caring for offspring and the household which allows males more freedom to pursue a career without interruption, having your family name as your children's last name, more likely to become high ranking political officials or CEOs, making more money.  

     If you are white, what would be hard to let go? Historically having more rights, privileges, and power  than non-whites, having a skin tone that isn't seen as being a member of "another" group, being in the majority group, having no ancestors who were enslaved, receiving proper treatment and justice, less likely to go to prison. 

     The white male is finding it very hard to let go of their position.  They are used to being treated better, being paid more, and having higher positions of power.  This power, however, is a result of the female and non-white populations having less power and lower status in society. Females and non-white races must continually struggle to obtain equality and justice. 

David

                                                                                                                                                                                              

                                                    

     

     Born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, David married his high school sweetheart.  He worked hard and provided a good life for his wife and child.

     

     Outdoors was his favorite place.  He and his dad would go fishing in a stocked gravel pit fed by a little creek in the back acres of the farm.  That night his mom would fry up the blue gills for supper.  The father and son would also go hunting in the woods and bring back rabbits and squirrels.

      

     Everyplace he lived, he always planted a big garden of sweet corn, tomatoes, green beans, and strawberries.  He would put on a pot of water to boil, then pick and shuck the corn and cook right away.  When the crops were very plentiful, he canned those vegetables for use in the winter months.  With such a sweet and loving nature, he shared whatever he had.

     

     Besides providing food for his family and friends, he was always ready to give his time and a helping hand to many life-long friends.  His parents called him David, his wife Dave, his co-workers Brownie, and later in life his grandchildren called him Grandpa. I called him Dad.  

      

Virginia

     

                                                   

     Most women of her generation were what we now call stay-at-home moms.  Virginia followed this pattern until her child was old enough to be safe at home for a few hours after school.   She then started to work outside the home.

     As a young woman, she lived with her widowed mother.  They lived a modest life, and a few years later she married her high school sweetheart.  They had a child and remained a happy family of three.  She kept a ledger of the family finances, bought Savings Bonds, and set aside money in a bank savings account.

     In a few years, they built their dream house and added beautiful furnishings.  She appreciated this higher standard of living and made sure everything was well cared for, neat and clean - a place for everything and everything in its place.

     When their child was thirteen, she obtained employment at the local bank as secretary to the president.  By living within their means and saving their money, she and her husband were able to provide a college education for their daughter.

     They became life-long friends to another couple.  When the man went off to war, they were loyal friends to his wife and baby girl.  The couples remained close friends, having fun together.

     Virginia took loving care of her home and family and was a loyal friend her entire life.

     I love you, Mom.

                                                                                                                                                                                           

Stubborn

     You have made up your mind and don't want to budge.  You have confidence that your beliefs are correct, and you feel you have good reasons to think and behave the way you do.  You stick to your guns.  Perhaps you are set in your ways and like things just the way they are.  No one is going to push you around.  Being stubborn can be seen as an asset.
     However, if you turn off your ears, eyes, and mind to change, you may continually go down a wrong or dangerous path, not realizing or admitting better choices exist.  Mental and physical health may deteriorate.  Relationships may suffer if you can't compromise.
     On a lighter note, being stubborn may stop you from enjoying something new, from expanding your horizons and making your life more interesting and rewarding.  If you keep your eyes, ears, and mind open, you enable yourself to change.
     Change may involve taking a risk you don't want to take.  Fear may be involved.  Emotions may cause you to want to just stay in your familiar situation.  Don't be so stubborn that you become your own worst enemy.
   

Little Fires Everywhere

     "The firemen said there were little fires everywhere.  Multiple points of origin.  Possible use of accelerant.  Not an accident."  The Richardson house caught fire in 1998.
     "The Shakers had indeed left the land that would  become Shaker Heights" an affluent suburb of Cleveland, Ohio that "had been founded, if not on Shaker principles, with the same idea of creating a utopia."  Elena Richardson grew up with this sense of order and regulation being the "key to harmony."  She planned her life of marriage and motherhood "with a propensity to overachieve and a deep intolerance for flaws."
     Mia Warren grew up in a middle-class home and left for New York to attend art school.  She believed that "anything had the potential to transform, and this to her, seemed the true meaning art."  Living in a variety of cities, she created her art and moved on.  She and her daughter Pearl came to Shaker Heights and rented an apartment from Elena.
     Mia's daughter Pearl made friends with the four Richardson teenagers and began to admire their lifestyle, seeing all the material things she had missed out on.  Elena's youngest daughter Izzy felt out of place in her own family and began to admire Mia, her choice of lifestyle, her personality, and her art.  "Something inside Izzy reached out to something in her and caught fire."
     Other families, other mothers in Shaker Heights, tried to make the right decisions, but often made their own mistakes.  "What made someone a mother?  Was it biology alone or was it love?"
     Mia said to Izzy that "sometimes you have to scorch everything to the ground and start over."  "Sometimes you need to start over from scratch."  She was referring to why she and Pearl had to move away.  Izzy took her words to heart.
     The novel and the TV series differ in some respects, but both tell a compelling story.  I recommend both.