ONCE IN A BLUE MOON....FAMILY, FRIENDS AND THE FREEDOM ROCK!

Of one thing (well, maybe two) I am certain: Mrs. Elmer (Grace) Busse, my Junior and Senior years Journalism teacher at good old AHS, would have little or no empathy for the lost time contemplating subject matter, the missed snack times and the furrowed brows that have gone into deciding how to begin this Blog entry. (Way back in 1943, deadlines were met and the presses were timely rolled at C. S. Relyea Printing Company if the 800 plus students enrolled in the combined Junior High and High School, sitting on top of the hill in the most southern part of our quaint village, were to heartily ingest the latest student body news and guffaw over the jokes plagiarized from a nearby community's school newspaper. Time was of the essence, and Grace was one with whom you did no horsing around!) A tough taskmistress, this effort would have been on Mrs. Busse's desk and you would have read it two weeks ago by her honored work standards. So very full of ourselves in those days, just to see our "very own words" in the hands of those preteen and teen readers gave a boost to the combined heart, soul and mind (spelled "ego") of The Needle staff, who, for the most part, would probably not set words to print, ever again, except for the Family Christmas Letter. Today the 1943 issues of our school newspaper are probably yellowed with age and the print faded but... not the memories of beating the deadline, reading the newspaper fresh off the press and, yeah, getting an "A" on the Report Card! (Yes, I still write a Christmas Letter even if they are scorned in some circles!)

"Wool gatherings" ... one of the tenets of "good Journalism" is that the writer should include the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY AND HOW in the first paragraph. That's great for the Los Angeles Times and Politics Daily and was religiously put forth to Cub Reporters by Horace Greeley and those of his ilk, including William Randolph Hearst (Horace of the "Go west, young man (!) and help build a country!") and William who sort of had a crush on the movie honey, beautifully-coiffed Marion Davies, and disliked seeing her name linked with his in any paragraph in any newspaper. (And how did that work for you, William?) Any Blogger worth her "two cents" will flesh out the WWWWWH facts for about as long as it takes to prepare a decent pot roast surrounded by quartered onions, small Russet potatoes, bite-sized carrots covered with a nice brown sauce. And longer if there are Brownies for dessert topped with homemade ice cream. (I live in a dream world and "cook" is a four-letter word I seldom use these days...what does that say about me and Blogging? :)

Enough "wool gathering" ... but I have fractured one time-honored tenet with my opening paragraph...this story AIN'T about Mrs. Elmer (Grace) Busse, the sister-in-law of Henry Busse, the famed orchestra leader of the days prior to World War II. This Memoir is about "My Two Wild Weeks in Des Moines and Atlantic and The People Who Contributed to My Delinquency!" In all fairness, my darling daughter, Mary, (my chaperon for this trip) is to be considered "Innocent" unless proved "Guilty," and I wouldn't be surprised!

High on the list of "contributors" is one Jennie Schwartz of Atlantic and a newly-found Facebook Friend and who, very much in the manner of Grace, posted a message akin to something like: "I thought I would see a post by now!" So, dear Jennie, this one is for you, slightly past my original deadline.....I have found that "Life does have a way of happening!" but hope that you and the people who put such spice into my life while Mary and I spent two very awesome weeks in Ioway in August will read past the First Paragraph! The second tenet?...I can call Jennie "Linda" inadvertently once or twice in person but I had better darn well spell her name correctly when blogging about our unexpected meeting at Hy-Vee a few paragraphs from now. (Am I forgiven now, Jennie?)

(This trying to be a reputable Blogger is taxing! But, if someone was paying me "by the inch" the standard in the newspaper business, I could afford a Starbucks now and again, even if I don't care for the taste.)

I am sure that all of my erudite readers know the meaning of "Once in a blue moon." For the uninitiated, here is what Google says about this quaint phrase that has been around since 1528: The "blue moon" refers to the third full moon in a season with four full moons OR the second full moon of a calendar month. "Blue moons" will occur in 2011, 2014 and 2017. In other words, "blue moons" are rare and occur only every now and then. And here is where another confession is in order: Primarily an "observer of Homo sapiens in their natural habitats" as an innocent kid growing up in a small Iowa town and as an "innocent" old woman living in fast-paced Los Angeles County, I am daily surprised by the "blue moon" aspects of this stage-of-my-life existence. Facebook (for the introduction of endearing friends who have "clicked" their way into my heart) and Blogspot.com for the freedom to express that which has, in the main, been untapped for eight decades plus.

Those words ("blue moon," what else?) pretty much describe the August 16-August 30 time of our lives, and I am here to pretty much tell you all about it. From the moment our Allegiant Airlines plane settled safely down on the Des Moines runway until we packed our bags one more time for the trip back to California, it was "blue moon" time...rare! I have three pages of legal-sized paper filled with names of people we visited, lunched and supped with, gambled and gamboled with, who were cohorts in raiding and down-sizing several antique shops and frenzied bidding at the local auction...Mary purchased four prized Norman Rockwell plates for $15.00 - was she ever jazzed! (In California, one plate could go for $50-$100 and the buyer (yes, Mary) thinks she has struck pay dirt...and perhaps she has.)  I, myself, picked up an old-fashioned washboard, in less-than-mint condition made for "silken undies and hankies," and a solid pewter elephant with the trunk waving in the air, the stance preferred by serious collectors. It stands among a small pile of rocks I purloined from the landscaped area of the Des Moines' Econo-Lodge, Atlantic's Super-Eight and from around the base of Greenfield's The Freedom Rock. A tribute to my thieving Scottish Reivers ancestors! I am looking forward to a box of sparkling black rocks "lifted" at the Des Moines Airport in today's mail: their discovery by airport security may have delayed our trip home for a long, long time...like 60 days!

(Editor's note: People have come to learn that there is a price to be paid when they "slum" with me...names will be mentioned and intimate details shared. Small price to pay for Blogspot.com Immortality, right? So pour yourself another cup of coffee and let's get this Saga on the road....hope you have a pleasant ride!)


The Machine Shed in Des Moines holds great significance for me, besides the good food. It was a favorite haunt of family members while my beloved sister, Trudy, was with us, and it remains so to this day. How very special it was for Mary and me, niece Peggy Kilroy and nephew Mark Crum to break bread with Thomas and Sharon Nielsen and Jane Buck of Facebook fame along with Thomas' Uncle and Aunt, Dale and LaVila Nielsen, at The Machine Shed one more time. Thanks to Thomas' thoughtful generosity, Mary and I enjoyed lemon meringue pie before hitting the hay after the party was over. The ever-clever Jane calls Thomas the "pie-piper!" A simple question put to Thomas several months prior to this occasion..."Do you know a LeRoy Nielsen, a former classmate of mine?"....was answered with a "Yes, he was my Uncle!" (I learned more about the young man I had my eye on in our Buck Town neighborhood and his destiny. You will hear more about LeRoy, too.) More coincidences: Sharon, Dale and LaVila know several Cranston family members through work and friendships. What amazing fun from beginning to end! The Machine Shed was left intact by our group in case anyone wants to know! Thanks, you guys! (Next time, Thomas, we'll use my credit card!) Jane and I have promised each other when next we meet, we will stay up a bit later (at least past 10:30 p.m.) stirring up a bit of "trubble" for the townspeople of Atlantic. And, just like any dedicated Farmville Farmer, I intend to cultivate these Facebook Friendships ... methinks the yields will be bountiful!

More to follow....Stuff 'n such you should learn of only from my fingertips....

"Ditched" featuring family "superman" Alan Cranston, directed by Molly Cranston
"Iowa State Fair" - One Item crossed off My Bucket List
"We Do Restaurants, Too!" by the Women in my family
"Bubba Sorenson's The Freedom Rock or It is Possible to Get Lost Between Greenfield and Atlantic!
"Tattoos and a Tea House" featuring The Ensemble
"Rhoda Derry" - a documentary being made in Illinois as we write, telling the heartbreaking story of Rhoda, a distant aunt of "Doc" Derry, one of the more intelligent beings to have left Wasilla, Alaska. "Doc"...you are a treasure!
"Getting to Know You!" featuring Jennie Schwartz - you won't believe all that went into this dittie!
"Class Reunion" featuring 175 AHS Alumni and food prepared by The Downtowner!
"Jesse" "Prairie Meadow" and "I won! I won!" or "Horsing Around in Altoona!"
"Boy Friends and Girl Friends" spotlighting those "Survivors" whom I love and who love me, unconditionally!
"The Tale of Two Black Butterflies" - worthy of another documentary! Locations: Wiota Cemetery and Atlantic's Super Eight...you are NOT going to believe this!
"Flowers for Our Loved Ones" - again, The Ensemble
"The Hitchcock House" in nearby Lewis. Haunted? or Spirit-filled? Mary's convinced!
"I Live in a 'Dream' World!" - Funding provided by Social Security and Reverse Mortgage (I hold back NOTHING in this Blog...)
"You Are My Sunshine!" and/or "Stormy Weather" as performed/chanted by Ric Hanson of KJAN
Romans 8:28 ... always end a Blog on a "high note!"

There's more but hope one or two of these have caught your attention! Stay tuned!

Continuing...
Those recalcitrant weather gods that have been loitering over the most important terrain in Iowa (that would be from Des Moines to Atlantic and surrounding territory) apparently took heed of the tongue-in-cheek posts that flew fast and furious between one Ric Hanson of Radio Station KJAN in Atlantic, and Moi in the month prior to our take-off date. Recalling, accurately, our clever conversation is past my abilities at this point but would recommend that you scroll back on either of our pages if only to ascertain what "power" Ric wields with those "weather gods" if not with the Weather Bureau. Thanks, Ric, for the "anti-rain dances and chants" and turning what would have been a soggy two-weeks' vacation into one in which every hair on our heads stayed fashionably coiffed for the entire time...only frizzled hair would have dampened our vacation and our spirits. Who wants to get reacquainted with "old boyfriends" with Little Orphan Annie hair? Certainly not my daughter's mother!

My Family members have a certain charm that I have never managed to assimilate into my whole being....they take charge! And what I really don't understand is: how do they know that what they do is exactly what I am hoping for?

Our combined "Bucket List" of things to do when we visit their midst is what I am talking about here. For instance:

Mark and Tom Crum, nephews courtesy of niece Peggy, own a horse called "Jesse", the proverbial "apple of their eyes," stabled and running at Prairie Meadow. Now horses are not my first choice in the "pet world" having been bumped off a nice little white pony owned by school chum, Don Berry, as a ten-year-old in front of Grant School. I was still a "cowgirl-beginner" and did not realize that a real cowgirl would insist upon a saddle...and boots...and to know not to let loose of the reins! That aside, I still wanted to meet "Jesse," now a member of the Family, and scout out Dewy, the jockey.

Mary loves horses and "Jesse" sensed that immediately, showing off by nodding his head when the boys would ask him questions. I swear I saw this same act on the stage of the auditorium of our high school back in 1938! True! And that horse could count up to ten by tapping the floor with his/her hooves! It almost brought me to tears when it came time for "Jesse" to say goodbye to Mary for the last time...the soulful look in her eyes was heart wrenching. "Jesse," subconsciously I'm sure, was thinking of the little filly waiting for him in Oklahoma, his winter home, when the race season ended but Mary fell for that "lost" look... hook, line and sinker! Men! You give them your heart, and they play on your heartstrings! Last time we heard from the boys, "Jesse" had come home a winner, stood in the Winner's Circle and had his picture taken with people he didn't even know..a Celebrity! We have pictures of him on his way to becoming a Celebrity in this Win, Place and Show Business...we can say we knew him when!

If you believe in Guardian Angels, this next story is for you. If you don't believe in Guardian Angels, then this story "isn't for you," but it will give you directions to Greenfield, Iowa, where there is a great big painted rock worthy of a great big "Thank You!" to one Raymond "Bubba" Sorenson, called "The Freedom Rock." Located off the beaten path if you're traveling from Des Moines to Atlantic and points west, "The Freedom Rock" is an inspiring piece of work by a talented and patriotic small town artist and worthy of your Googling for information telling you more about its inception and young Sorenson. (Eventually, there will be pictures posted on my Facebook Page of our entire two-weeks excursion into the bowels of Cass County, Iowa, but first things first!) I would hasten to add directions, but road construction/detour signs out of Greenfield confused us city-dwellers, and we ended up in Fontanelle and Bridgewater, eventually heading back to Greenfield. No townspeople in either town were outside to ask directions, but we did see a curtain or two being pulled back and that could be considered a "minor Adventure"... for them.

Personally, I believe in Guardian Angels and moreso after quietly pondering, somewhat later, an "Adventure" Peggy, Mary and I experienced after we left the green acres surrounding Greenfield, heading for Atlantic's Motel Super Eight on Seventh Street, our home for the next seven days. Peggy, who knew the area and has a 100% track driving record, was behind the wheel of her Saturn, Mary rode "shotgun" and I was safely buckled up in the back seat along with extra food, reading material and the makings for the Class of 1943 Center Piece for display and kudos at the August 29th AHS All-Class Reunion.

Our particular Guardian Angels riding on the hood of the Saturn - described next for the visually-impaired amongst ye - will, henceforth in my mind, be identified thusly: One forever-young female dressed in Croft and Barrow's latest fashion, should be featured on a forthcoming Kohl's mailer (30% coupon attached, of course) - That would be Peggy's Guardian Angel.  Next - Mary's Guardian Angel will be easily recognized as "The Modern Grandmother" type whose all-encompassing love and affection is only over-shadowed by, oftentimes, a mirthful laugh that makes heads "whip around" to see what's so funny... Now, the third Guardian Angel is somewhat more complex to describe. I know for certain she is not a former "Hooters" girl.  More like a "Grandma Moses with a coveting-Erma-Bombeck bent." An old typist...close enough!

Going towards Atlantic on the road leading out of Greenfield, the road comes to a "T" and Peggy dutifully eased the car to a complete stop. This is where our Three Guardian Angels did their best work ever: Out of nowhere, and I do mean nowhere for we all had looked left, right and left, came a semi-rig hauling at break-neck speed, just feet from the front bumper on the Saturn. Our reactions were: "Where did that come from? and "It just wasn't our time!" Scoff is you want, disparage if you will...The fact remains that Peggy still has her 100% record intact and that works for me, and this I will always believe, was aided and abetted by the ever-vigilant Three Guardians Angels, all of whom we kept pretty much busy the entire 24/7 two weeks time span!