Daddy-Long-Legs

Amy, DeRay, and I watched the musical, "Daddy-Long-Legs" the other night.

Daddy-Long-Legs is a 1912 epistolary novel by the American writer Jean Webster. It follows the protagonist, Jerusha "Judy" Abbott, as she leaves an orphanage and is sent to college by a benefactor whom she has never seen.

Plot summary

     Jerusha Abbott was brought up at the John Grier Home, an old-fashioned orphanage. The children were completely dependent on charity and had to wear other people's cast-off clothes. Jerusha's unusual first name was selected by the matron from a gravestone (she hates it and uses "Judy" instead), while her surname was selected out of the phone book. At the age of 17, she finished her education and is at loose ends, still working in the dormitories at the institution where she was brought up.

     One day, after the asylum's trustees have made their monthly visit, Judy is informed by the asylum's dour matron that one of the trustees has offered to pay her way through college. He has spoken to her former teachers and thinks she has potential to become an excellent writer. He will pay her tuition and also give her a generous monthly allowance. Judy must write him a monthly letter, because he believes that letter-writing is important to the development of a writer. However, she will never know his identity; she must address the letters to Mr. John Smith, and he will never reply.

     Judy catches a glimpse of the shadow of her benefactor from the back, and knows he is a tall long-legged man. Because of this, she jokingly calls him Daddy-Long-Legs. She attends a "girls college" on the East Coast. She illustrates her letters with childlike line drawings, also created by Jean Webster.

     The book chronicles Judy's educational, personal, and social growth. One of the first things she does at college is to change her name to "Judy". She designs a rigorous reading program for herself and struggles to gain the basic cultural knowledge to which she, growing up in the bleak environment of the orphanage, was never exposed.

     During her stay, she befriends Sallie McBride (the most entertaining person in the world) and Julia Rutledge Pendleton (the least so) and sups with them and Leonora Fenton.

     At the end of the book, the identity of Daddy-Long-Legs is revealed as. . . . . . .guess you’ll have to read the book or see the musical  to find out the ending.

      We grew up being proud of Daddy for being Daddy-Long-Legs in that play. Didn't his teacher play the other lead? Can anyone remember her name?

Isn't that Daddy's handwriting?

Enrichment

      Brooke spent about 10 months doing all the paperwork and jumping through the hoops to get Eddy situated where he could enjoy a more fulfilling life.  We didn’t get involved until it was time to choose someone to be his advocate. We interviewed about six people. Brooke followed Eddy to his room to find out which one he wanted. Myself, I wanted the one that lives in Kaysville, in the ward we used to live in so we know many of the same people. She’s a nurse and her husband is a psychiatrist. We need both. Ed told Brooke he wanted Kayla. Kayla it became and she has been marvelous. We all love her. Then we had to interview people to come into the home, we had to visit places that Kayla found to see where he would go for day programs.
     The first day, Brooke and Elizabeth went with us. It was discouraging. We had spent all morning answering questions from the State guy and we were already tired.  (While the state guy was interviewing us, we kept talking about all Brent had done to help Ed while he was here. "Where is this Brent guy?" he wanted to know. "Let's get him out here.") Brooke sort of liked the one in Ogden and it was the best but we decided we hadn’t seen the right one yet. The next field trip we went to one in Layton that we loved because it was so close and then to PARC. Elizabeth chose this one because it was more professional and has both activities and work opportunities. We though maybe he could go to one 3 days and the other one 2 days. Brooke discouraged this because he has such a hard time adjusting. We finally all agreed that PARC would be the best fit for him. Currently it is being run by the Davis School District but that will change in July when it goes private. The government sets the guidelines and provides the funding but all the services are contracted out to private individuals and companies.  Eddy was approved for five days a week. We decided to start with two days to ease him into it.
     Since this is the field Amy got her Master’s Degree in, she has been extremely helpful and supportive all along, even posting about him on Facebook.
     Ed protested from the moment the decision was made even though we thought he helped make it.
     “I’m not going if it snows.”
     “I’m not leaving this neighborhood.”
     “Who will take care of the cats?”
     Brooke came over Sunday to help Dad give him a blessing. He was still insistent he wasn’t going no way no how. I couldn’t sleep all night worrying that we wouldn’t be able to get him to go. The van driver came right at 9:30. It was a cute girl, thank heavens.  Nevertheless, he was still adamant “I’m not leaving this neighborhood,” even as he climbed into the van in a blizzard. Monday November 25, 2019
      Elizabeth wrote: I’m so glad Ed enjoyed his first day!
     This morning Ed told his dad that he told the van driver: “Thank you for picking me up.” DeRay asked him what her name was. “She told you,” Ed reminded him. “I forgot,” Dad admitted. “You’ll find out next Monday,” Ed scolded, “now pay attention.”
     “I didn’t get to greet him at the door but he came in cussing that “They know I don’t like to be lonesome,” and “Now for the bad part” and “I hate it, hate it, hate it,” meaning coming home.
     To Brooke: After that we didn’t get much out of him. I asked him if he would be excited to go back next Monday and he informed me that he is not going back. He’s an enigma. I feel good about it.
     This morning, he chatted with me: “I love this house, Mom. And I also love PARC. It’s a long time until next Monday.” Nov. 26
      Today he came down the stairs chatting: “You know what I like about PARC, Mom?” “What?” “The restrooms and the good staff.”      
     This morning Eddy said, “I got something to look forward to on Sunday and Monday. Especially Monday.” (What? I never thought I’d see the day when anything trumped church.)
     “Know what I like about PARC, Mom? They go out into the community. Good thing I chose PARC, Mom.”
     “Good choice,” I added.
     “Really good choice,” he concluded.  November 29, 2019
     “I love PARC, Mom.”
     “Why do you love PARC?”
     “Because I chose it.”  (Maybe in his heart. Verbally he rejected it until he climbed into the van.)
     “Ed, now today I hope you will participate in the stretching exercises and follow the instructor,” I lecture.
     “She recognized me,” he said.
     Everybody recognizes Eddy. Every single place we visited while looking for a place, at least one person said “hello” to him, calling him by name.

A Quiet Thanksgiving

Ed’s two-bits

“You know what’s good about Thanksgiving, Mom?”

“We’ve got a lot to be grateful for.”

Today, maybe because it's just the four of us,

at home for Thanksgiving.

I’m thinking my favorite Thanksgiving

was the year we went to Orderville

and spent it with Mama,

the first Thanksgiving since her second husband passed away.

We’ve had much more exciting Thanksgivings –

All the years we spent with Grandma and Grandpa Pugh

and their kids and grandkids.

Lori, Jeanette, Clare, Danny, Norman, Karen, Grandpa and Grandpa Pugh, Brent

Or the year all our kids had the mumps so we couldn’t go anywhere.

because the Ogden kids had all had the mumps

they came for Thanksgiving dinner.

Or the year Jerry & Lana came and ReNee and Roland Palmer

with their oldest son Kevin who was just out of a coma

after a terrible car accident coming home after the deer hunt.

Brent, Todd, Lana, Jayson, DeRay, Jerry, Tim, Jeanette holding Jeanne, ReNee, Roland, Kevin

Or the year, we celebrated on Friday

because the doctors didn’t release Mama

from the hospital until Friday morning.

All of her children and most of her grandchildren

enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner at our church.

Plus a mighty fine program.

Back: Jerry, Lynn, DeMoin, Charles M., Charles H., DeRay, DeLoy

Lana, Juanita, Lucy, Carol, Mama, Shirley, Jeanette, Grace

Verla, Parl

Effie, Melissa, Cindy, J. Lynn, Amy Jayne, Nellie holding Devin, Jayson,, Calvin, Karla, Todd, Tim holding Tamber,Stanley, Keenan, Middle: Boyd, Carl, Connie, Jeanne, Grandma holding Travis (Ed), Keri, Tena holding Brooke, Brent, David,  Lee, Bryan, Robert.

Or the years we have enjoyed Verla’s good food and games and laughter.

So why this year does this quiet time with just Mama stand out?

Brooke would turn 1 year old in a month; Jeanne was 6; and Brent was 9.

I was pregnant with Eddy.

Being pregnant was a precious gift to me.

It was a quiet, peaceful, even sacred Thanksgiving day.

We were so happy together.

Written Thanksgiving Day.

Cipher

I’ve been a teenager

and I’ve been old.

I’m sorry to say that

being a teenager is a piece of cake

compared to being old.

And I haven’t even endured to the end.

Maybe if we lived in a culture where

old age is revered

and old people are considered wise,

it wouldn’t be so challenging,

but we don’t.

So why does the Church focus so much attention
on the young people
while virtually ignoring the old?
(except to clean the church and pay alms)

I’ve long admired the way the Church
has added meaning to the lives of older people

with Family History, Missions, and Temple Work.

Unfortunately, even those don’t work for everyone.

Eventually the time comes

when you can’t do them anyway

and you are still alive.

A cipher in the snow,

so to speak.
So where, dear Church, is the program for us?
We once had a Relief Society President
who sponsored a Christmas Social
for all the older sisters.
We found out that we still can talk,
laugh, share, connect, and enjoy. 
We thought the younger sisters
were the only ones who could do that.

...but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matt. 10:22 Mark 13:13

"The Lord clearly declared, 'If you keep my commandments and endure to the end you shall have eternal life, which gift is the greatest of all the gifts of God.' "Therefore, enduring to the end is not just a matter of passively tolerating life's difficult circumstances or 'hanging in there'."  "Enduring to the end is remaining faithful to the laws and ordinances of the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout our life, is a fundamental requirement for salvation in the kingdom of God."--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

H E L P

Halloween

The gym where we swim

had a Halloween Costume Contest.

I went as an old crippled Hawaiian.

I don't know if I won.

Probably not.
 Because that's the way

I go to the gym everyday.

Minus the leis.

We got those at a Hawaiian Party

last weekend.

The Awakening

About three weeks ago

I gradually got the feeling

that I was becoming myself again.

I was sensing normalcy for the first time

since January 2, when the malignant tumor

was found in my uterus,

nothing but bad news from there.

It was like I was living in a blurry dark shadow;

or this was happening to someone else.

I was just observing.

Then I awakened.

I liked being myself.

It felt right.
“Who were you before?”
“I don’t know.
I just know it wasn’t me.”
I made little goals each day

like cleaning the fridge a few shelves

at a time.

It’s been a week since I cleaned the rest of the fridge.

All I had left to do was the door.

What happened to my awakening?

I loved it so.

Fulfilling the Goal

The Goal 

was to get back to normal activity. 

I ride my adult recumbent trike

again;

not as often or as far or as long or as fast

but I ride it.

I swim three days a week

not as far or as long or as fast

but I swim.

I do stretches every morning.

I do the laundry, some dishes,

Am I back to normal activity?

OK, so I've been selective.

I don't do yard work or shovel snow.

I do limited housework.

I cannot get cooking back on the agenda.

I worry that I'm becoming a spoilt brat.

Selfish.

Yet I need some perks,

wouldn't you say?

I hasten to make the goal a reality

while I can

because even I know

it won't last.
Not only because of the cancer
throughout my body,
but also because of my advanced age.
At least, I thought it was advanced
until we helped Sylvia
celebrate her 99th birthday.

Jeanette 83 October 3 - Sylvia 99 October 9

This is the Time of Year

when you see some people walking

with a hat, scarf, warm coat, mittens and boots;

while others are walking

in a short sleeve T-shirt.

Some kids are riding bikes or

skipping to school in shorts.
Riding my trike with a coat on,
I freeze going downhill and
cook peddling back up.
Perfect on the level.

When all in the same day,

clouds fester and darken,

the wind whips up,

a few drops fall.

The next time you look out

the sun is shining brightly.

Of and on all day.

The autumn leaves are in various stages of change

from green to red to yellow.

Sometimes all on one tree.

Some trees are bare.

Note Ed's new car with him inside.

Also note the blackened hills from our BIG SCARY FIRE.

Snow covers the mountain tops.

It’s the time of year when

riding trikes, soaking in the scenery,

fills our souls with warmth for the coming winter.

I love this variegated season.

My Personal Faith

Faith

is spending $2,500

on new hearing aids

(actually one hearing aid and one crossover in the right ear

that transmits the sound to the left ear)

when you have Stage 4 Breast Cancer

in your breast, bones, and cervix.

(She got 95% of the cancer when she did a hysterectomy

but she couldn't get it all.)

These hearing aids have rechargeable batteries;

so you just plug them in every night

with your iPhone, iPad, vacuum.

Trouble is our house was built
 before all these things that need to be charged.

We're outlet shy,

especially when the plugs
 in the bathrooms don't work.

I was Hoodwinked

When I first found the lump on my breast

I went to the University of Utah Hospital

where my primary care doctor was.

Except, of course, I couldn’t get in with her

on short notice,

so I went to the guy who was available.

He thought I needed a biopsy

and since it was Friday afternoon

and a holiday weekend,

he suggested I go to

the Lakeview Hospital in Bountiful.

I still waited until Tuesday.

Why didn’t I just wait for the U?

Without asking,

when I went back to get the results

to find out I had cancer,

they had me lined up with the four or five

different procedures and doctors

in four or five different locations

until I was cured.

They gave me a large loose-leaf

with all my appointments and instructions.

It was an ordeal to change and

get in with the Huntsman Cancer Center.

More waiting and anxiety.

They don’t care.

I specifically went to the Women’s Center

so I would have all women doctors.

Women surgeons, women anesthesiologists,

women oncologists, women gynecologists and obstetricians, women radiologists, technologists.

Women running all the machines:

MRI, CAT scans, X-rays, bone scans.

Women power!

Yesterday,

I got hoodwinked.

When I went in for my regular appointment

with Dr. Catherine Beck,

her name was on the door,

the same nurses came in and out taking vitals.

Eventually in walked a brown young man with an

accent

followed by his nurse.

He explained that he is doing a pre-check.

Since this is a teaching hospital, this was not

unusual.

I still expected Dr. Beck.

Finally I asked: “Isn’t Dr. Beck coming in?”

“No. I’m Dr. Beck.”

And there I was with a new doctor.

He had to use her name

because he’s not cleared to handle Medicare patients.

A man-boy breast cancer doctor!

After all my efforts.

Update Nov. 5, 2019

His name is Christos Vaklavas

Where would a name like that originate?

Iron Blosam Lodge at Snowbird 2019

I accidentally discovered the amazing diet,
the world has been waiting for.
First, you go to a high altitude –

at least 9,000 feet -
so you feel a little woozy.

Then you stay in a bedroom unit by yourself.
Sure, you have a little microwave
and a small fridge.

The only thing in the fridge
Is a clump of fresh ginger.
Rootbeer-flavored hard candy
Is the only other food in the unit.
When you are hungry,
after stretches and a swim,
you go up to 1127,
where DeRay & Eddy are squatting.
They have a full kitchen with
food in the fridge.
That’s it!
The simple diet.
Two nutritious meals a day.
No snacking.
~~~~~~~~~~

To tell the truth,

I didn’t lose any weight in all week,

but I thought I would.

While we’re on the subject of food,

how do you haul two full carts of stuff

to your unit,

Three of you eat all week,

do not eat out once,

do not buy anything,

yet come home with

two full carts of stuff?

The car still loaded to the hilt!

The view from my balcony.

We’ve had Week 38 at Iron Blosam Lodge

for around 32 years now.

I have hiked all over those hills,

either alone, with Amy, on the Handicap Trail with Eddy,

or the guided hikes.

I feel sad when I look up and see all the trails

I have been on

And now need a cane to get to the parking lot.

I’m not alone.

Many have died, of course,

Most are gray-haired and crippled some way.

Iron Blosam has turned into an Old Folks Home.

The sign by all the elevators says it best:

Courtesies Please

(I didn’t know “courtesies” was a word.

I thought courtesy covered all situations.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our elevators are busy and are not toys.

Please do not play in or around them

They are old, fragile, and expensive to repair.

 (Or they talking about elevators or us?),

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please be quiet and respectful of the neighboring rooms,

and in the hallways.

WALK, don’t run.

Please no bikes, scooters, or other recreational activities

In the hallways.

(I wish.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please respect our evening quiet time

In your rooms and other public areas.

(Pretty sure that would be 6 pM on.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please take a moment to remind all your guests

Of Iron Blosam House Rules, Pool and Safety Procedures.

(Can’t Guests read?)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I like the warm sun;

A cool breeze

Snow covered mountain tops.

Autumn leaves,

Evergreens.

Colorful flowers planted

In rusty ore cars.*

Birds flittering around.

Fresh air,

Cool water.

Nature’s Healing Hospital.

*It hasn’t frozen yet this year.

Green Quakie leaves the last of September.

Some of the leaves were just starting to turn RED, DeLoy

Ed was supposed to make his own bed.

DeRay in his natural habitat. We went home a day early because he finished all seven seasons of West Wing.

On Sunday, we walked up to the Snowbird Center to enjoy the Oktoberfest for an hour or so.

Ed & I walked across the parking lot to the stream several days.