Category: Memories

Posted on in Challenge, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Memories, Music, Obedience, Praise, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust, Yield

Have You Danced With God?

When I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia I came across this poem:

There is no box made by God nor us but that the sides can be flattened out and the top blown off to make a dance floor on which to celebrate life. Kenneth Caraway

The poem encouraged me that even though I could barely walk at times, I could still dance with my beloved Lord and celebrate life with Him.

At what point did you give yourself to intimacy and trust with the Lord? I clearly remember (and am regularly reminded) that my moment in adult life was at a church conference. I have no idea now who the speakers were or who did the music. I do recall it was a Vineyard conference held in a hotel. There I had an intense and intimate moment with the Lord Jesus that changed me forever.

I was leaned against a door frame during a break between sessions when I remember clearly hearing the Lord say to me, “Come!” in the same commanding voice that Yul Brenner used in the King and I. No, I was not thinking about that movie or the song, but that is what I heard. I do not mean to imply that by God is as moody as the King in the movie. Just think of this as an invitation to intimacy with the Risen Christ.

Then it seemed as if I was in the arms of Jesus and dancing around the room. Unseen by others, to music unheard by others, yet just as real as the ballroom we were meeting in. Isn’t that just like our relationship with the Living God? Unseen by others and unheard by others yet real and vibrant and alive in every aspect of the word?

There is a movie clip and the lyrics for “Shall We Dance” from Rodgers and Hammerstein. (Evidently this clip has 7 different versions. I imagine you would find once is enough, though it is interesting to see how the different directors and actors play it out!)

Anna:
We’ve just been introduced,
I do not know you well;
But when the music started,
Something drew me to your side.

So many men and girls
Are in each other’s arms—
It made me think we might be
Similarly occupied.

Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music
Shall we fly?

Shall we dance?
Shall we then say good night
And mean goodbye?

Or perchance
When the last little star
Has left the sky,

Shall we still be together
With our arms around each other
And shall you be my new romance?

On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance?

Shall we dance?

Have you put God in a box? Are you willing to blow off the top, flatten the sides and make a dance floor to meet your God upon? Will you give yourself to this sort of intimacy? How do you respond when the Lord says, “Come!” to you? I pray you will arise and do whatever He asks!

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Marriage and Memories, Memories, Praise, Prayer, Thanks, Trust, Yield

This is Us!

Yes, I would give myself in marriage to Robert Dutina today, even knowing all I know about our life together thus far! Just a wonderful blessing our marriage has been to me!

Today is our big celebration! Married Fifty-four years! Count ’em 54!

There were folks how placed bets it would never last. We never asked Betty Dutina who those betting people were. All I can say is we have lasted thus far!

Live Oak Park, Berkeley, California, 1970

19,723 days. 648 months. 28,401,840minutes. Any way you look at it we have been married a LONG time, but in my eyes not long enough!!

2017 Grand Canyon
Easter on Siesta Drive after Bob had been so ill
My face ached after smiling so much on our wedding day!

And 54 years later I am still smiling!

Happy Anniversary to us! The church prayed over us as we celebrate: “O God, send Your blessing upon these Your servants, that they may so love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their home may be a haven of blessing and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” BCP Page 431

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Humor, Memories, Traveling

Home from the UP

We made it by car all the way to the upper peninsula of Michigan and home again! What an adventure. Some of the things we had hoped to experience were thwarted, but we still had a good time. I find a dose of humor always helps with frustration.

The first afternoon on the road we were both desperate for a bathroom and some coffee as we were skipping our usual afternoon naps. We found a Starbucks location and pulled in. Jumped out of the car, hit the door and said, “First, potty!” To that the employees replied, “We are so sorry. There was a fire in another shop in this strip mall and we have no water.” Not understanding, I asked, “Well, can we at least use your toilets?” Oh, no water to flush either. UGH.

We returned to the car to try find another place, any place that sold coffee and had a toilet. We finally did. That night we stayed in Gaylord Michigan at a Comfort Inn and Suites. It was only 3 years old. Lovely facility and for the first time ever in our experience the room actually had MORE power outlets that we needed!

The next day we got up and headed for Sault St. Marie, Soo Locks where according to https://saultstemarie.com/attractions/soo-locks/

The Soo Locks are a remarkable feat of engineering and human ingenuity that connect Lakes Superior and Huron. The locks operate by raising and lowering boats between the levels of Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes using a series of gates and chambers. Water and boats are moved solely by the force of gravity. The Soo Locks date back to the mid-1800s and are a popular tourist destination, attracting an estimated 500,000 visitors annually.

The Soo Locks, located on the St. Marys River, allow freighters to navigate between Lake Superior and the lower Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and international markets. This essential transportation link moves nearly 86 million tons of cargo annually, including 95% of the United States’ iron ore.

Well, as this adventure would have it, the Locks were closed up tight that day for a disaster drill. The area was swarming with Police and Border Patrol officers. As one commenter on Tripadvisor stated, “When we got there, the park is barricaded with only one entry point with an armed guard.” Even a ship worker we saw at the gate had to wait for special permission to enter. Very disappointing for us. After we watched big ships going along the Saint Lawrence River at our friend Pat’s house we had looked forward to this visit. Here are a few snapshots from outside the fence. To me it looked like a five story building on top of an enormous ship! I could not find the height listed, only the dimensions listed below. 223 meters in length is about 731 feet or 2 football field lengths!

Vessel typeBulk carrier
Operating statusActive
FlagCanada
Gross tonnage23306 tons
Deadweight34752 tons
Length223 m
Breadth23 m
Year of build1987
photo by r m dutina

So though we were disappointed we figured we would go on to Clyde’s drive-in, famous for burgers and shakes. Yes, it was still morning, but we had waited for a famous milkshake for a few weeks and now we were here. Pulled in to the parking lot and there was one guy on a motorcycle. Before we could emerge from the car a woman came out of the place and told us she was sorry, but they had no electricity. “WHAT?!?!” Yep no electric, so no food service or ability to ring up sales. We told her our unfortunate experience at Starbucks and at the Locks. She replied, with a gleam of humor in her eyes, “Well it must be you guys! Every place you go is not functional!” We drove away with no milkshake. There were a few other sightings of Clyde’s in other places in Michigan, but we did not stop.

That night we stayed at the Boarders and Suites by Cobblestone in Munising. It was very nice. We were somewhat mollified by our luck so far. We were finally sleeping and traveling the Upper Peninsula, or as the locals say the “UP” or we were among the Yoopers.

Several of the motels we chose were disappointing and one was downright depressing. However, all of them were quiet and clean so we did not do too badly by doing it all online by ourselves.

Each day we listened to our favorite faith podcasts and music we brought from home on data sticks in the car. We were praising God as we went along!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Memories, Obedience, Trust

Giants and Grapes

In Numbers 13 Moses sends men from each tribe into the land of the Negev to Canaan to explore and bring back a report.

When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) Numbers 13: 17-20 NIV

They brought back a bunch of grapes to show the fruit of the land. It was so enormous, it took two men to carry it, slung over a pole between them. Most of the spies gave a negative, fearful report. (See Numbers 13:28-29, 31-33)

We adopted a woman we called our Jewish Grandmother. Her name was Cloty Gutman. She was born on 16 March 1904, in Germany. She died on 15 May 2002, in Cincinnati, at the age of 98. She was a sweet, sweet lady. Bob adjusted her hallway clock once and she was delighted to have it run and ring again! The set of end tables in our home came from her as did this lovely cluster of grapes.

Yes, they represent the Numbers 13 spies that Moses sent out, but it also represents the ones who gave a positive report. Joshua and Caleb told the people they could do what God asked with His help. The people were fearful and brought trouble upon themselves by refusing to believe the positive report.

6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” Numbers 14:6-9

We, too, have countless opportunities to believe a negative report and not rely upon what God says to us. Joshua and Caleb were eventually rewarded for their faith. Before that, this conversation between the Lord and Moses ensued.

But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” Numbers 14:10-12

The grapes remind me to hold fast to my faith and the things the Lord has said to me. Are we treating the Lord with contempt? Do we refuse to believe in the Holy One in spite of all the signs He has performed among us? Lord, I pray it is not so.

Moses pleaded with the Lord on behalf of the people.

13 Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’

17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”

20 The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, 22 not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”

Caleb had a different spirit. Caleb followed the Lord wholeheartedly. How is your spirit? Have you decided to follow wholeheartedly or halfheartedly? It is worthwhile to examine yourself in the presence of the Lord and answer this question. I pray you will dedicate yourself with every part of your being to the work of God’s call upon your life.

At this point the people who were following Moses were told that they would wander in the wilderness for 40 years, one year for each of the 40 days they explored.

Not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. Numbers 14:23, 30

Convinced and convicted the group decided to then obey the first command of the Lord and though Moses warned them, they were soundly defeated because the Lord did not go with them. Have we heard the voice of commandment and ignored it? Have we presumed we could go back and be obedient to the first instruction even though other instructions have been given?

The path of obedience that says ‘do the last thing you were instructed’ is true. We are to follow and obey each step of the way, in the order things are given. We are not to pick and choose our obedience in our own chosen order.

I believe I am to follow through on “doing something” with the writings from this blog and stories and poetry. I will continue to pursue that in spite of physical challenges and limitations. God help me and guide me, I pray!

May the grapes of faith, the giant cluster from the Valley of Eshkol, lead you in your quest of obedience. May you bring delight to your Father as you walk out your faith.

Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Family, Just do it, Memories, Music, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust

Wesleyan Covenant Prayer

There are many people who shun written prayers and just as many others who rely upon them. I actually do both. Do not even know now where I recently came across this prayer. John Wesley interests me because before I was born my Grandfather Snapp was a Methodist minister. He died before I arrived. It is said that those who knew Allen Ross Snapp (1876 to 1946) loved him. I have also heard he preached hell fire and brimstone. Wish I could find a record of one of his sermons. I would love to have known him.

My mother, Her father, Allen Ross, back row 2 of her 5 brothers, Frank Snapp and Howard Snapp

When I was looking for a church to get baptized in at age 15 I visited quite a few. The Methodist one I visited did not do a lot for my young questing heart. Later, we did join Clough United Methodist where our young baby son was dedicated to the Lord.

This prayer, often used in January services among the Methodists, spoke to my heart. Surely Grandpa Snapp used it in his services, too! I am certain you will hear refrains of Paul’s letters in it. I sincerely hope you can read, pray and recite it with a genuine heart of dedication to Christ.

I am no longer my own by Yours.
Put me to what You will,
rank me with whom You will.
Put me to doing,
put me to suffering.
Let me be employed for You or laid aside for You,
exalted for You or brought low for You.
Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things
to Your pleasure and disposal.
And now, glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
You are mine and I am Yours.
So be it.
And the covenant now made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

And set to music

I pray you can give yourself to the Lord, if not today, then very soon. One church challenged their members to read this daily for 100 days. You might want to try that!

Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Memories, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Three Sieves

"Is it true?"
"Is it kind?"
"Is it necessary?"

These are questions we ought to be asking ourselves in every conversation. I was reminded recently of a situation in my life where someone did not filter her comments in this way. I was deeply wounded by her comments.

As you may know my husband almost died in 2019. In 2021 we began to build a new house, smaller house, no steps. etc.. Prior to the house being finished I was gripped by a fear that went something like, “What if he dies before we move in?” I was involved in a weekly prayer group at our church. I asked my prayer friends to pray for me as I was having difficulty shaking off that fear. Time went on. Bob continued to gain strength and we moved into the house.

A couple months later we held an open house for others to come and see where we live now. One of the women from that prayer group took me aside and said, “See! Nothing happened.” The comment felt demeaning and condescending. Was it true? Yes. Was it kind? Not in my ears. Was it necessary? Not in the least.

Not everything we think needs to be said aloud to others.

With chronic illness you quickly learn that those who do not suffer from a chronic illness likely have no inkling what you go through. With the near death of a spouse you also learn that others who have not experienced it likely have no inkling what you go through.

I thank the Lord everyday that my husband lived through that awful illness and recovered so well. I am so grateful for those who prayed for me to stay strong as I helped nurse him back to a full life and was enabled with the help of their prayers to release my fears to the Lord God Almighty.

This incident marred any fondness in my heart for that lady. She has good points. I benefited some from knowing her. I just cannot bring myself to trust her, at least with my innermost needs.

I believe we need to take care with our words. This applies to me, also. James warns us in Chapter 1

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry James 1:19 NIV

I quoted Amy Carmichael on this very quote in another blog posting https://wordpress.com/post/treasures-in-plain-sight.org/3454

Posted on in Book quotes, Challenge, Faith, Family, Just do it, Memories, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Worship, Yield

The Room Under the Stairs

When I was a child we lived many of my early years in a four-family apartment building. My mother owned it and we rented out the other 3 apartments. Each unit was 2 bedroom, 1 bath. We had a paved driveway to play on. It ran along the side of the building, (a great place to play with a pinky ball or hopscotch) and a lower parking lot where we could ride bikes. The other side of the building had a strip of garden where I could find bugs and honeybees to experiment upon.

One of my favorite places was the closet under the stairs. In the basement, which at times flooded, there was a closet where my parents stored paint for the apartments. Due to the flooding there was a fragrance of dried mud on concrete. This closet had a door that could be locked from the inside and one light bulb. I would often go in there to hide from my family. I would turn over a paint can to use for a stool. Eventually I began swiping birthday cake candles to use in there so I could turn off the light. I had no idea I could have set the place ablaze with candles and paint cans!

Over time I began using thumbtacks to put up pictures of Jesus on the wall studs from various family funerals. The only person I showed the place to was my best friend Dana. Other than that it was private.

Recently during a Soul Collage retreat I was reminded of that secret place. Looking back I realized it was my early place of refuge and inspiration. For this collage, I tried to find a photo of a paint can. The only one I found was silly with polka dots on top of red paint.

The images each represent something to me. Clockwise from 11:00, they represent the Holy Spirit by the figure in the white cowl. The stained glass the church. The paper with words and the pencil, writing to His glory. The stream in the center is the Living Water. The candle for the basement closet with the paint can. The open hand, yielding to the Trinity. In one form or another all these things occurred or began in the secret worship place.

What is the foundation of your faith? Did you have spiritual formation in a secret place?

I once read The Secret Garden by Burnett. This quote sums up these ideas for me.

“Where you tend a rose my lad, a thistle cannot grow.”
― Francis Hodgson Burnett

I do not think Father God waits until the last moment to call and transform us. I believe He begins early in our life and continues until we answer the call to come to Him. Jesus said that in the book of John.

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. John 6:44 NIV

So much of our faith is formed and prospers in private.

Return to the Lord and find your resting place in Him. Surrender to the call upon your soul and spirit.

Posted on in Aging, Collection of Quotes, Family, Humor, Memories

Sayings

Mom had bunches of sayings. Likely Your Mom did, too?

“You know it’s so!” does not even have an image for this day and age!

“Don’t chase the pain.” Take your post-op pain medications on a schedule. Do not wait until the pain overwhelms you.

“Let’s get this show on the road.” The Random House Dictionary of America’s Popular Proverbs and Sayings says this expression originated in the world of traveling theater productions and was in common use by the 1930s, having originated around 1910.

Remember when television shows would admonish you, “Don’t touch that dial!” Now we don’t even have dials any more with all the remote controls and now even voice controls!

“Nothing ever has to be true for people to believe it.” Sadly, America does not “run on Dunkin” as much as this saying.

“She always said you might as well hope for the best as go around fearing the worst.” Hillary Greene

Once I was riding a public bus and asked an older man how he was doing today. His response, “Okay. Can’t complain. Complain’ never did any good any way!”

Hope I made you think about sayings you know and perhaps smile once or twice?

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Memories, Trust

1954 to Now – Part Two

I have no memory of the doctor or a tech taking me out of the cast. I do not remember any kind of physical therapy. I do remember the doctor talking with my mother about fears that one leg would be shorter than the other.

After the hospital I had anxiety about doctors and needles. My parents could not tell me about a doctor’s appointment the night before as I would get almost hysterical. Eventually I outgrew the fear. Though to this day I have to psych myself up a bit when there is a needle involved in medical treatment.

Years later while on a retreat I learned that the nuns serving at Good Samaritan Hospital were from the Sisters of Charity convent in Delhi.  As an adult I thanked them for comforting this child.

About 1954
Current day

My legs grew to the same length. Dr. McMath did a grand job caring for me. Sadly, my father died of heart disease when I was eleven years old. There were no treatments for heart disease in 1961. I never knew him as a man, just Daddy.

I never tried Double Dutch jump rope again. In fact, I have never been inclined to athletic activity. Hated gym class in elementary school. The Double Dutch jump rope incident stole all my confidence. My sister and I were most often unsupervised in our play activities. One day we were playing the garage and found my dad’s ladders for painting.  I developed a fear of heights after a ladder slid down a wall while I was sitting on it. Landed hard on the concrete floor. Amazing now that I did not break my fingers where I was holding on. No one had ever had a need to teach me then that a ladder must be anchored before being used.

I find it amazing how our childhood experiences shape us as people. I married a kind man who became a medical technologist. This is the person in a hospital laboratory who can draw your blood and test any fluid that you can put out. In the beginning of our marriage, we were once sitting in a movie theater, and he was feeling the vein in my elbow. Freaked me out. He explained the need to practice. I calmed down. Now I am faced with needles daily: lancets, insulin needles, wearing a continuous glucose monitor, monthly drug injections.

After playing with the ladders, I still dislike heights. When we took our children to the CN Tower in Toronto we went to the observation deck. It is 113 floors above the ground and has a glass floor. I was holding on to the wall around the elevator as I walked around the observation deck. The children were laughing at me. As I walked, I came upon a woman crawling on the floor. Guess it could have been worse! Nope. Heights are not my thing!

From childhood trauma to needle fears then married to a Lab man, (They don’t call them blood suckers for nothing!). From Christian educated by the babysitter and dropped off at church to a Christ seeker who became the only Episcopalian in the family of origin. From fear of heights to challenging the fear for the sake of the children and a family vacation memory.

Our childhood impacts us, but not always for the good. Imprints formed during childhood are not washed away by time. Seventy years later they can still affect how I think and feel.

Thanks for reading this long blog.

Posted on in Aging, Faith, Family, Illness and Health, medical treatment, Memories

1954 to Now – Part One

I have been asked to explore some other methods of telling my story besides the blog and poetry. So I have attempted to put a few memories down on paper. This will be a 2 part read since it has many more words than most blog posts ever attempt.

At age three I broke my thigh playing with my sister and her older friends in a neighbor’s driveway. They were doing Double Dutch jump rope where they swing two ropes simultaneously in opposite directions and you jump in on the side of one of the rope turners. (See photo above.) The girls let me try. I broke my leg. Obviously, way too complicated a sport for a 3-year-old.  Someone ran to my house and told mom. She came to get me.

We rode to Good Samaritan hospital from Loveland to Clifton in the car. I was in the back seat. I only remember someone lifted me into the back seat. There were no freeways then. No idea how long it took us to get to Good Samaritan. I was taken to that hospital because my Dad was already admitted there with a heart attack. 

The hospital doctors decided to put my leg in traction for six weeks to heal. I suppose they numbed my leg or more likely put me to sleep when they set my leg?  I have no memory of that. When they put me in traction, I do remember being furious that they put me in diapers. I was so insulted. I was certainly fully potty trained! It was hot and there was no air conditioning. My long dark hair was cut off in a short choppy bob. Below is a photo of me in traction, hair cut short and sweating. Once while I was asleep, the staff brought my meal. When I awoke the milk was no longer cold. I loved cold milk. My mother obtained a glass of ice and poured my milk over it. I was so angry. I had never had milk like that. Could be I was a 3-year-old brat? Or simply confused and frustrated at my new situation.

One day during my stay they rolled my bed into the room where my dad was a patient. It was such an unusual situation for a young child. I do remember he talked with me and our hands touching.

Someone came to visit and brought me a white stuffed dog that I named Casey. He had a metal nose (which at age 73 I still have). His ears seemed to be made from real fur, sort of like a curly tanned hide. The rest of him was a stuffed white dog shape. Someone else brought me Brach’s cream filled Royal caramel rolls in a metal can. To this day I use that can for candy. Once I saw the same can used as a prop in a movie!

I do not remember there being a television in my room. I am certain televisions were not standard equipment in 1954. Certainly, no computer tablet to play upon. I might have tried to color, but lying down that would have been difficult! Hopefully someone read me stories.

After six weeks, my leg was put in a cast. I do remember being alone with the Sisters of Charity when they decided it was time to cast my leg. Somewhere to my side, across the room, there was a sink. Men in white coats came towards me with large white steaming sheets. I had no idea what those were. I was so frightened. Those men began to wrap my leg in the warm plaster preparation. The nuns comforted me. I left that hospital wanting to be a nun. I have no idea where my mother was during the casting. Perhaps she was not allowed in the treatment room? Maybe she was with my dad in the cardiac unit? All I do know is that the nuns (in full habits) comforted me. I went home in the cast.

I left the hospital wanting to be a nun. My parents bought me a Nun doll for Christmas. I have her tiny rosary in my keepsake cabinet. When I chose to be baptized my mother forbid me to become a Roman Catholic. She said my grandfather, a Methodist minister, would roll over in his grave. I eventually joined the Episcopal church. They came closest to what I felt was true worship. Also, as close as you can get to being a Catholic but without the Pope and such strong emphasis on Mary.

Doll sized rosary on tiny altar to remind me to make a of sacrifice of praise to the Lord our God

It must have been difficult for my mom to care for me, especially while my dad recovered from yet another heart attack. I do know we had a babysitter named Myrtle. Towards the end of her life, she wanted to see my sister and me one more time. She visited us because she was dying of cancer. She gave my sister and me a tiny white New Testament and signed it “Love, Myrt and Gerald.” My first and at times best New Testament! I still have it and use it occasionally.

I have no memory of the doctor or a tech taking me out of the cast. I do not remember any kind of physical therapy. I do remember the doctor talking with my mother about fears that one leg would be shorter than the other.

Part Two on Wednesday will complete the story!