Month: October 2024

Gifts from God are many, but lots of the time, they aren’t recognized.  And there truly is a Holy Spirit that still speaks to us, guides us, helps us make decisions.  I’m certain that little voice that kept saying “just do it” in my head when I wanted to back out of getting married at age 19 was that very Holy Spirit.

Because that guy, my husband, was truly a gift from God.  He provided for me so many opportunities to grow and learn, I will always appreciate and love him and take care of him in our declining years.  He was a good father, good husband, good at business, good at everything and is probably “neurodivergent” because it had to come from somewhere in this family!  He’s always been ADHD with a touch of OCD, but who needs labels?  He was a worker, always busy, and a builder.  A builder of family, of the house, of a business, of computers, of a good life!

And love of my life!  Thank you, Richard, and thank you, Holy Spirit of God, to have made me do it at such a tender age against my judgement.

Found this picture in an album after we got into the house we are renting now in AZ.  I had another picture of it, but not a good one.  Hoping to find a few more going through this million or so pictures we have loose in  boxes that need to be put in albums or something.

Anyway, a story goes with this.  Back when I was an art student, seems like so long ago now, I had some really amusing incidents.  Putting this one together was a real hoot.  In the sculpture department workshop at NVCC back then there were several retired military guys doing their projects, and having a great time.  We had a great instructor, and lots of latitude as far as what we could make, what machinery we could use, and we had a critique at the end of each quarter.

This time, I had already explored welded steel and done a small trag (my name for it) in steel, which my daughter now has.  I liked it lots, and decided that I’d try it much larger, in simple materials I could easily get.  Plywood.  Oh, and the points I planned to be sitting on dirt ground and would get wet often, I made from welded steel.

I got all five sections built, and had devised a way to connect them, and an order of which segments went together first to facilitate quick installation.

On the day it was ready, our instructor, Duncan Tebow, (great teacher and great guy) said lets get this thing outside, in front of the building and put it together!  And the guys all agreed and helped carry it out.

But, as men sometimes do, especially military types, they took charge.  And after half hour or so of trying, they got frustrated, and said it wouldn’t work.  Duncan was chuckling, because he knew.  And I finally spoke up, in my quiet way, and said, “Well, I did have a plan for this.  Let’s try it my way, ok?” 🤭

!! I found pictures from that day!! 

 

 

And it was done in about 15 minutes.  I had to appreciate all the help, and was very vocal in thanks for the guys who all wanted so desperately to help the little lady.  Inside, though, I had to appreciate the chuckle Duncan was struggling with, and I had to appreciate the loud laugh I had going home that day!  Gentlemen, all!  How sweet they were!

Later, that plywood sculpture was accepted in a local show that was juried by none other than the wife of the Vice President!  Joan Mondale.

Then, on the day the sculptures were to be shown, on campus, the best place on the campus plaza was there for my Trag.  And my daughter had come up from Richmond where she was studying art to help me put it together.  Took the two of us females about 15 minutes to get it together and upright.  It stayed there for about six weeks, then we took it home and assembled it again in my backyard.

After a bit, I heard from the homeowners association that while they always appreciated art endeavors, of course, I needed to move it back where it wasn’t so obvious from the road.  Sigh.  So, we moved it six feet back.  It stayed there for years.  But eventually, plywood exposed to rain, snow, etc., will rot.  Ultimately, we dismantled it and took it to the dump.

Still, a fond and funny memory for me.

I was doing fine, until I upped the dose one drop!  But I’m pretty sure that was a good thing, because I learned in the chat group on Telegram that any implants of any kind you might have in your body would be at risk to the oxidation process.  Nice to know, because I had cataract surgery years ago and have interocular lenses.  So, I had to quit long before I got too far into the process, and they were attacked!

That would be a plain disaster.  My eyes are more important than wishful thinking that I could solve arthritis and restless legs.  Ugh.  So, I guess I’ll have to take blasted prescription drugs forever.

But at least, I learned lots!  And read thousands of testimonials that MMS helped folks and saved lives.  And I learned about DMSO and all the good it can do as well.

DMSO was recently written about by my favorite substack genius, AMD, or A Midwest Doctor in his writing about The Forgotten Side of Medicine.  All good to know.  The folks in the Telegram group had lots to say about it, too.  So I had already begun rubbing my husbands back and my knees with a lovely cream with DMSO and wow, that stuff really, really helps!

Always get good information, keep looking for information, and read, read, read.