Music of the 1930's

John Korsgaard presented a program this afternoon at 2:30 in the Independent Dining room on "Memories and Melodies of 1933". John played phonographic records and showed the record covers of popular musicians that brought Swing music to the public in the 1930's. He inherited much home his music from his father and had a couple picture postcards from California that came from his Grandfather. The Depression of the 1930's in the United States had a direct effect on the music of that era. Country Music reached a new high with musicians like Roy Acoff. The period reached a peak with the talents of Elvis Presley. I regretted having to miss part of his presentation  for visits from a Nurse and a Therapist. I am reaching the end of my Theropy treatments and the meetings were necessary. One of my memories that his presentation brought out involved Glen Gray and his Casa Loma Orchestra. There was a time back in the '30's when "The Hit Parade" was a regular Saturday night radio program of the "top 10" popular songs. I kept track of them for some time and remembered the Glen Gray Orchestra.

A Canine Crown Replaced

This picture of our Dentist, Dr. Matt Kunasek was taken a couple years ago but the scene was partially repeated today. I lost the crown off my upper, left Canine on Valentine's Day while eating supper. Fortunately, we were able to retrieve it while still in my mouth. Unfortunately, it was the next morning when I was flown from the Seward Hospital to Bryan in Lincoln with a "collapsed lung". The tooth was of relatively little concern with the second trip back to Bryan and therapy two or three times per week since. I finally got in to see Dr. Matt  who was able to replace the old crown. It wasn't until after his explaining that there was some decay in the remaining stub that should be drilled out and if near the nerve, do a root canal and possibly even install a rod before putting on a new crown. He knows me well enough that it was no surprise that I was reluctant to schedule the procedure. I told him that I was still under therapy and would be willing to see how this simple repair may hold up. There is really little to lose by playing the gamble to see how long I can get by with it.

Elaine in Red Blazer

Elaine enjoys wearing her Red Blazer to the Dining Room for meals on Special Days, like Sundays. She always receives many compliments on her appearance when so attired. I even received some comments today on my "good judgment" in choosing Elaine as my wife. The truth being that the fellow who made those comments knows very little of the actual story. Like most parents, Elaine's folks were well aware of several young men in their church whose families owned land and could have provided a good livelihood. They knew very little about me, who in reality had very little to impress concerned parents. Following HS graduation from Garland, I farmed with my parents. WWII ended just weeks before my farm deferment ended and so did the draft. Elaine worked for the County Extension Agent after HS graduation and was in a position to help me obtain a temporary job with the local Soil Conservation Service Office in USDA. My boss encouraged me to take a Civil Service exam to gain eligibility for a full-time job. I was successful at each and received my probationary appointment as a GS-3 Soil Conservation Aid in the Seward Office during the late summer of 1948. Though Elaine and I had known each other since the fall of '48, my Federal Civil Service appointment made me a much more attractive suitor for the beautiful daughter of very pratical parents. They gave their consent to our becoming engaged at Christmas time in 1948 and signed for Elaine's marriage on June 5, 1949. The rest is History.

Saturday Evening Post

We had signed-up for a Brookdale "joyride" to Garland this afternoon but it was cancelled. I had planned to use the Garland story for my blog page but will use the May-June issue of "The Saturday Evening Post" which we received today. Needless to say, I had plenty  of time for reading. The first article I read was by Seamus O'Mahony who asked the question, "Are we Living Too Long?" and ends with the Editor asking for reader opinion on the statement that "The way medicine is practiced in America today favors longevity over quality of life?"

 I had intended to also write about a couple other articles on D-Day (June 6, 1944) but had trouble with getting it added. The bottom line is that General Eisenhower deserves a lot of credit for the invasion. I have also been upset with some 6 or 7 phone calls tonight wanting to help us get some refund money for something we supposedly spent on a computer. I would hope that the telephone company could trace such calls and people like me could report when they get several calls over a few hours on the same subject which is likely a scam.

Chris from the Four Corners Health Department in York, NE brought an "exercise program" to some 18 residents of Brookdale this afternoon. She showed visuals of healthy body parts as well as examples how they are  diminished in effectiveness from lack of use or exercise. She demonstrated many simple standing exercises to promote balance. She handed out a 20 page "Go4Life" pamphlet with demonstrations of various exercises. Her presentation was well received, and I had the impression that several of the attendees participate in the Brookdale programs. We need to get started in the 9:15 am exercise program here. We are spoiled by sleeping till 7:30, enjoying a leisure breakfast and reading both the Lincoln and Omaha papers before showering and dressing. With just a little bit of effort, I could make the 9:15 time. I did do a lot of exercise on my own today; having walked (with walker) to the far end of the east hall this morning and the far end on the west hall during the afternoon. I also spent several minutes on "sitting" exercises as well as a few minutes on the balance ones.

Britney Promoted

This picture was taken yesterday afternoon at a reception in the Dining Room where Terry announced the promotion of Britney to the position of "Food Service Manager". We have become well acquainted with Britney as a "server" in our Dining room. I'm not sure what all this new position includes but am satisfied that she will serve it well. 

I had a good session with Josh this early afternoon. He checked my vitals and put me through a series of exercises while setting in my chair. His stress today was in pulling my shoulders back, pushing my chest out and head back to enable me to breath easier though my nose and chest. He reminded me of how these exercises can be done even while setting at the table in the Dining Room so I did a bit of it this evening. I got in a good walk too after he left by walking the full length of our east hallway followed by a trip to the NuStep after a short break. I did 8 minutes in 3 phases of 3,2 and 3 minutes generating 544 watts. Elaine had her hair done today and came home "looking pretty" as Josh was leaving and complimented her on her appearance.  I got an extra milk shake out of it all.

My Walker

When Carolyn and I were out and about yesterday evening, I had some problems with the front, left wheel of the walker staying in place. It seems that when Carolyn brought it home from Walmart and assembled it some weeks ago, she mistook some of the vital parts for packaging. While I have gotten along perfectly O.K. with it in the hallways within the Building, using it out on rougher terrain can cause problems. She and Ben came down with Duct tape this afternoon and "fixed it". Ben had it all figured out and we agreed that having a bit of tape showing is a symbol for the care and maintenance of anything that is important to you. I used it today on the entire length of our east hallway and down to the Recreation Room in the Assistant living area. I will have more confidence in using it to get out to the garage now that it's "FIX'D" Thanks Ben

Out and About

This was a busy day that got underway with Aleaha's 10:00am visit, Nurse Blake was waiting for me when we finished Dinner a few minutes after noon, and Carolyn was here to pick me up for an appointment with Dr. Mansure at 1:00pm at the Hospital Specialty Clinic. I was somewhat disappointed to hear Aleaha say this may be her last visit because of my progress. She did give me a good work-out and "wrote-out"more standing exercises that I can do on my own. Nurse Blake took my vitals and confirmed the ending of scheduled therapy. Carolyn picked me up for the Dr. Mansure appointment where she gave me good reports and scheduled our next appointment for September. It was all very encouraging. We picked up a few things from Walmart and got me back home. She joined Julie on a project and then took this picture as I met her at Brookdale's Front Door when she dropped off my camera. This is the view of the East Wing of the Independent Living area of Brookdale looking at the blooming Bradford Pears and the City North Water Tower across 4th Street.

Julie visit with Kids

Julie brought Sadie  and Jack over to visit this afternoon and they brought along their Easter Gifts. Sadie had a box of Beads which enabled her to make several necklaces and other items of jewelry.  Jack brought a bucket of 100 blocks from China that were of various color, shape and size. They both had a great time and worked nicely together with the blocks. They insisted that Great Grandma get right down on the floor to work with them. Jack also pulled out his trucks to build a garage and driveway for them with the blocks. Sadie's jewelry provided an opportunity to build ear rings, ankle bracelets, etc. in addition to necklaces which were her favorites. It will be interesting to see how some of these "creative toys" will affect the kids as they progress through  school.

Josh was out this morning for a Therapy session. I had already done most of the exercises before he got here so the doubling up tired me out.

Easter Dinner at Hughes

We enjoyed a very quiet Easter Dinner this noon when Carolyn picked us up after her Church service and took us to their house where Ben was finishing slicing the ham and getting dinner dished up. It was topped-off with Carolyn's Coconut Cream Pie. The Notre Dame fire prompted us to pull-out our scrapbook of the  Globus 1997 tour of 10 European countries with Carolyn and Julie. Carolyn put together our Scrapbook and also made up a special one for them which we went through after eating. It was most refreshing which helped us to realized the excellent timing of the trip. We got home in time to have a good telephone visit with Jon and so far played telephone tag with Verlon. We visited with Tim yesterday evening. Our evening meal at Brookdale included the fewest participants we've ever seen for a meal here.

"The Last Supper"

We didn't get to the Seward United Methodist Church for The living dramatization of Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper" this year but understand it only gets better over time. While Carolyn and I were waiting for Elaine to get out of the Beauty Shop the other day, we stopped to look at the pictures of the Cast as displayed in Fellowship Hall. We were hoping to see one in the mid-80's when son Jon was one of the actors, but this one from the year 2000 was the oldest on display. It is interesting that the current cast includes at least 4 that are in this picture. There may be more but I remember: Rod Barth, Greg Zabka, Jack Broderick and Rod Lyon. They all do a fantastic job.

Car Ride

I got my HS Student Driver Permit at the time of my 15th birthday in June of 1940. I had learned to drive our Model A Ford earlier and the folks had traded for a '37 Chevrolet by the time I got my permit. During the past 70+ years, I have no idea of when I may have gone for any significant time with-out driving a vehicle. We have owned something between 15 and 20 vehicles of our own during these years, plus the privledge of having driven USDA Pickup trucks and Sedans, as well as State of Nebraska cars. This afternoon Elaine and I got the idea of driving down to the Post Office to buy stamps. We both used our "walkers" to get out to the garage where we got in the car, fastened our seat belts, and were on our way. Elaine was able to use the handrails for support at the PO, and we went on a little "car ride" past the Hughes House and the Northeast part of town. In checking, I found that the last time I had driven was on February 12th when I went to an appointment with Dr. Summa. There is something liberating about knowing that you have transportation available to you with the ability to drive it if necessary. Or, even just to show that you can.

Nice Spring Day

I rode along when Carolyn took Elaine down to Shear Reflections for her 1:00pm appointment today. We went on down to Walmart where I was able to use an electric cart to do our shopping. We didn't have a long list so made record time. With some time to kill, we went past where my folks lived on North 5th Street and took a picture of the Japanese Magnolia in full bloom in the front yard. We continued on up into the NE corner of town near the Junior High. There are several areas up there where new houses are being built. We must have driven past at least 15 Japanese Magnolias in full bloom. None were as large as the one I planted for the Folks over 30 years ago. After the Folks passed on, we sold the house to Ryan Seaman and his wife. During the several years they lived there, he had the Japanese Magnolia moved from near the house where I planted it, to an ideal location near the south-east corner of the house. 

 To my knowledge, at the time I planted the tree those 30 + years ago, it was the only Magnolia of this kind here in Seward. I became aquainted with this variety when we lived back in South Arlington, Va and drove past one every spring on our way to work. Merle's Nursery has stocked them for several years here in Seward, but with the number that we saw blooming today, I couldn't help but wonder of the number that may have been planted after having seen this original one in town. Credit also goes to Ryne Seaman for it's ideal location.

Alenah

Alenah was back this morning to check out my vitals and lead me through more exercises. After a few "sit-down exercises, we put on jackets and walked out to the garage with my cane. It was a bit of a test to see how much time I could stand on my feet with only the cane support. I was able to put the garage door remote in my pocket and got it put back on the visor. After spending nearly 20 minutes and back inside, she put weights on my ankles and led me through further exercises. We even went into the kitchen where I could hold on to the sink and counter and did more standing-up leg ones with the weights sill on; that wore me out pretty fast. This afternoon I logged a few minutes on the Nu-step. I was again able to do the first 4 minutes without a break followed by another set of 3 minutes. I had hoped to do more but there was Easter Egg Hunt going on in the area which somewhat interferred. Elaine and I both took part in the "Hunt" and ended up with little treats. I was able to do more work on our Asset Summary and have brought it up to date. I'm looking forward to early May when Jon thinks he may be able to spend a bit of time helping with some computer problems.

Catheral of Notre Dame

The Historic Cathedral of Notre Dame suffered unrepairable fire damage today in Paris. It was in the process of renovation with wooden scaffolds set up within  the building. While no cause has been announced for the tragic loss, it appears to be related to the renovation. The French President has pledged to rebuild. My June 11, 1997, Journal entry included the following information of our visiting the Cathedral during a ten Country Globus tour of Europe with Carolyn and Julie. " We left the hotel at 8:00am with our Paris guide and it took an hour to get to the 

Cathedral.  A funeral was is process which limited our viewing. The Rose Windows were very impressive. We bought a set of cards" and got this picture of one of the entries from the Album that Carolyn and Julie put together of our trip. We went from the Cathedral to Eiffel tower and rode the elevator up to the first viewing area which must have been a couple hundred feet up. We went on a tour of the Palace of Versailles where the 2,000 acre area with gardens was great. We drove past many of the Paris landmarks. The next day we went down to the Louve and enjoyed many well known paintings. It was a great trip and an ideal time to have taken it. We enjoyed the companionship of the girls and their encouragement to do more that we might have on our own. 

This was a busy day here in Seward; Josh came a bit after 10:00am and gave me a good "sitting down group of exercises". I assured him that I would spend time on the Nu-Step which I did in the afternoon. I did the first 4 minutes without stopping, then 3 and 2 and the 10th minute with the resistance moved up to 7. It was a good workout.

Tiger Woods Wins the Masters

Tiger Woods did it; He won the Master Golf Tournament at Augusta, GA today for the 6th time with has last win coming in 2005. He was competitive in some meets last year after several years of surgeries and recooperation. Molinari led through much of the meet with several others including Tiger, keeping him hustling but eventually he ran into a few problems which enabled Tiger to take over at the end. And, that's what counts. It was fortunate that he had a 2-stroke lead that let him make the short "tap-in".

I didn't get a picture of his daughter as she joined his Mother, son and Ladyfriend but she was there with the family. It made for some very interesting TV watching this afternoon. I later switched over and watched the Kansas City Royals beat the Cleveland Indians 9-8 and sweep the 3-game series. Alex Gordon got 2 base hits to continue his hitting better this year than last.

Domino's

Julie brought Sadie and Jack down for Brookdale Easter Egg Hunt this morning at 10:00am. It was still pretty chilly at that hour and by the time we got our jackets on and out there, it was pretty well over. They were both able to get a few eggs and received very nice little stuffed animals. The came inside and played with Domino's and trucks as well. Jack had me help him get a tire back on one of his truck rims. They were able to get pretty creative in playing with the Domino's. I didn't get my morning nap and hoped to get several things done today but it just didn't work out. Nebraska had their Red-White game to a full house at 1:00pm but I spent more time watching Tiger Woods and others at the Master's down in Georgia. Tiger did great today so tomorrow should be very interesting. The Royals are up 3-0 over Cleveland with one out in the top of the 9th and went on to win.

Good Milk Shake

This 8:00pm Milk Shake Elaine made for me is the first food I've had today that I enjoyed. I ate a respectable breakfast, dinner and supper but wasn't hungry for any of it. Hopefully, I can regain my appetite. 

I went through my setting exercises this morning and did a few of my standing ones which I do holding on to the kitchen sink. At dinner it was announced that the Brookdale set down exercises would be held at 3:00pm this afternoon. I decided to go and was not disappointed. There were 7 of us with only one lady and me as new participants. We sat on chrome kitchen chairs with our leader in front facing us. We were each given 2, 1-lb weights and a strip of red plastic elasticity. She had alerted us that we would be doing 15 repetitions of most exercises but not to hesitate to stop if it became too difficult. I have been doing many of the same moves with the people from Home Health, but this was a real "work-out".  The session lasted for 30 minutes and for the most part, moved from one set right into the next. I did at least twice as much as with my regular therapist.

Nebraska Weather and Baseball

Just a few minutes ago our Seattle-Kansas City baseball game was interrupted with a warning of heavy rains and high winds in part of the area of South eastern Nebraska colored in orange. This is not the area forecast earlier as the most vulnerable but has moved up in a low pressure area. We really don't know what to expect here in Seward but can anticipate some overnight rain and wind. It appears that the heaviest snow is moving up into South Dakota.  Whit Merrifield just failed for the 3rd time tonight in his attempt to break George Brett's Kansas City record of consecutive games with a base hit. Joe DiMaggio has the Major League record of 56.

Therapy Helping

Josh was here about 3:00pm to top-off my physical therapy for the day. It began with Anenah coming at 10:00 and giving me a good workout. Since the weather was so nice, she suggested we go for a walk including "outdoors". I put on my Windbreaker, cap and used my walker to go out to the garage. She wanted to see how well I could get around in the garage after folding the walker as well and getting in and out of the car. I passed the test. After getting back to our living room, she strapped ankle weights on me and we did the standard sitting and standing exercises. While the weights were not very heavy, they made a noticeable difference after 15 repetitions. Nurse Blake came about 2:30 to do vitals and for discussion. We continue to work on my lack of appetite but believe it is picking up a bit. The milk shakes that Elaine fixes for me once a day is a great treat. Josh checked my blood pressure at 125/68 at about 3:00. My oxygen content readings continue high which is good. I again used my walker to go to the recreation room where I rode the Nu Ride bike for 2, 3minute stretches  without breaks. He suggested that I try moving the level from the 6 to the 7 for part of the ride. We also continued a good long walk over into the Assisted Living component of the building and even went out doors for a while.

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Billing Problems

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We had an 80 degree day today in eastern Nebraska but would you believe the possibility of seeing some snow within the next couple, three days. It is not to be very significant in our part of the state but could be out further west. We received a billing from a Lincoln Optical company for having replaced the left lens of my current glasses last August. I had remembered their going to send a bill but had no idea that it would take so long. Now I have some questions on the amount and think there may be a problem there. Our Opthamologist, Dr. Mousolf has retired and we have been thinking about seeing someone here is Seward. We will try to catch a ride with Carolyn to get down to the Optical Store to get our debt settled. I also got into our I Bond file to clarify some of the changes that have occurred in it during the past few weeks. I will be routing for Virginia at the final NCAA Basketball Game.

Final Four

PeeWee Schulz brought some excitement to the Dining Room at Brookdale this noon when he brought a $1,000.00 check to George Downing as the winner of the Beaver Crossing, American Legion lottery drawing last evening. PeeWee had sold several of the lottery tickets at Brookdale, including the winning one to George, so it was only appropriate for him to make the cash presentation. George wasn't at supper this evening so we assumed that he was out celebrating. It was a beautiful day weather-wise with the temperature pushing 80 degrees. Carolyn was down to visit this afternoon and opened our glass patio door to let in some fresh air through the screen. It stayed open until we returned from supper. Elaine and I walked down to the exercise room where I rode a NuRide bike for 6 minutes. I protected my right shoulder by not pulling back the lever with my right arm except for only a few times. I had completely overdone it a few days ago when I rode for 9 minutes and used my right arm through it all. It took our "Ice cube bag" to bring it back to normal. 

We are between games in watching the Final Four of March Madness with Virginia the winner of the game against Auburn. Much of our excitement for these games was reduced when Duke and Zion Williamson were beat by Michigan St. in the "Elite 8".

Full Day

We had a busy day, received a call during our Dinner time from Dr. Summa's office with the message that yesterday's CT Abdominal scan didn't show any problems. She will call back tomorrow morning for further discussion.

Carolyn took us downtown this morning where Elaine and I were able to get a 5-year, 3%, CD with POD to our 4 kids. It looks like a pretty good investment. We also picked up our 2018 Federal and State Income tax papers from Ken Morgan's office. We actually had to pay a bit more in 2018 than in '17. Both of those required an amount of record keeping which helped keep us busy.

Chris, Occupational Therapist from Angle's Home was here at 5:30. She checked vitals and worked with me on finger exercises to improve my hand writing and other exercises with coins, writing pen and rubber ribbon.

The Nebraska Husker Baseball team just beat Purdue here in Lincoln 17-0 at Haymarket Park.

My CT Scan

This is a continuation of my last evening's blog page. I can report that I did all the preparation, drank all the barium sulfate that I was supposed to and had the scan at 10:00 am this morning. Carolyn took me down to the Specialty Section of the Seward Hospital where it was done. Word is that, it will be read by specialist in Lincoln who will report findings and recommendations to Dr. Summa tomorrow who will get in touch with me. I did eat a pretty good dinner but didn't do too well at supper. I am anticipating a milk shake later this evening. I napped some during the afternoon and decided to not attend the Seward Magazine Club meeting as previously planned.

Abdomen/Pelvis CT scan

I had an appointment with Dr. Summa this PM to discuss my weakness and lack of appetite. After checking vitals, discussion and his listening to my stomach area, he decided to do an Abdomen/Pelvis CT scan tomorrow morning at 10:00am at the Clinic. My preparation for the scan begins this evening when I drink half a 450ml bottle of (barium sulfate). I'm not to eat anything after that and then drink the 2nd full bottle 1 hour before examination time. I am to drink water up to appointment time and can take my morning pills. I understand that this barium sulfate will provide the Contrast in the CT scan.

Charles H. Morrill

Here is the front page of the B-section of the Advantage, a publication of the York News-times that came today. It tells the story of Charles H. Morrill, namesake of the Nebraska community of Morrill, Morrill County, Nebraska and Morrill Hall. He was a world traveler, Union Civil War veteran, University of Nebraska regent, doggedly determined pioneer and Stromsburg homesteader. Morrill arrived in Nebraska in the early 1870's, finally settling into a frame dwelling near Stromsburg where he raised cattle. He knew the value of hard work which led to a prosperous life for Morrill. As he became more involved in public service he moved his family to Lincoln. In 1899 he decided he needed a summer home. A Stromsburg Newspaper in August 23, 1900, carried the following story. "One evening last week, we were permitted, through the courtesy of Mr. C.H. Morrill, to take a look at his new summer home, the log house, which has recently been completed. It is situated on the Morrill homestead but a short distance from the old residence, and while it is truly a log house, it differs quite materially from the log cabin which was the abode of those who braved the wilderness and helped to carve out thousands of the homes in this nation. The log house is two stories high with a wide veranda extending along the front. While the exterior is picturesque, the interior of the log house is the attractive spot. Morrill died in his beloved cabin on December 11, 1928. While their are additional excerpts from news articles over-the years, the place was sold to Cindy and John Schofield in the 1990's. It is apparently still available to visit.

Jon: Could C. H. be the son of the Morrill you represented?

Jerry Bush and Jimmy Kubacki

Today's Omaha World Herald carried a story on Nebraska Basketball telling of “Bush's team avenged big loss to Wilt, KU.” It refers to Kansas beating Nebraska in Allen Fieldhouse 102-46 on February 8, 1958 and Nebraska hosting Kansas with Wilt Chamberlain on February 22. The subheadline in The World-Herald on Feb. 22 read: “No contest expected following KU 102-46 win on Lawrence Court. Nebraska played a “slow-down game” with no “shot clock in those days” and it was 41-41 with about 6 minutes left when Nebraska Captain Gary Reimers left the game with leg cramps. Kubacki, in street clothes on the bench with an injured knee lobbied to go in but Bush said no. Kubacki argued back that he was 21 and could make that decision so Bush said “fine”. He entered the game with 2:46 left. Nebraska continued to stall and KU grew tight as time wound down. Kubacki cut to the free-throw line off a pick with two seconds left, caught a pass and threw up a shot. “The ball went high over Wilt and came down in the basket. The place went nuts. My vision of the story as recorded in my 1958-1962, 5-year diary is: “Tim, Elaine and I went to Lincoln and saw Nebr. beat K.U. 43-41. 8,000 thousand people there and the game was televised, it was a big upset.” I remember it very well. Great Win for Nebraska and Jerry Bush.