Hi Everyone,
Things have slowed down a little and I've managed to get a few things done in the house. The biggest job was cleaning all my cupboards. It hadn't been done last year so really needed attention. Did that on Monday.
Monday I also went up to the ballroom for coffee and hear what was happening for the week. Stopped at the Garden room to see Marland's cousin's ex-wife. (Wayne Schneeberger) She was there for a morning dance.
Tuesday I was invited to the Terrace Green restaurant in the afternoon for beer and chicken wings with the softball team. That was a little hard for me!!
Wednesday an old friend, Pat Blomquist, from Minnesota stopped by for a visit.
Thursday I went to a Diablos game and Mick & Harriett invited me for a cocktail and dinner. That was fun.
Friday I went to a concert in the ballroom. Gary Lewis and the Playboys. Yes, he is Jerry Lewis' son and had a real rock and roll concert. They played 60's music and it was great to hear all the old tunes. He is now 61 years old but he danced around and sang like he was 20. Really good.
Saturday, Pat took me shopping for a few groceries. I will make some cookies one of these day!! I spent the evening alone and that was tough. I went up to the ballpark to watch the Diablos play in their tournament but kept watching for Marland in the field and waited for him to come up to bat so will not do that again for awhile.
Today a friend from out of the park took me to church and we went out for breakfast. I picked a dozen oranges off my tree and sent with her. The oranges are starting to get ripe and I've squeezed a few for myself for orange juice in the morning.
No more news for this week.
Love to all, LaVerne
Monday, January 29, 2007
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Weekly Update from mom January 21
Hi Everyone,
It's Sunday afternoon and time to tell all of you what I've been doing.
Sunday morning I went to church with Ed & Joan, then Bill & Donna Adams picked me up to go to Arden & Doris Caldwells for lunch. If any of you know Doria, it was a smorgasbord! We had a nice visit and came home just in time for me to join Ed & Norine to go to Jerry & Betty Klocke's for dinner. That too, was delicious. We played a card game that would allow 5 people to play--it was called thief. Kinda fun.
Monday noon Ralph & Joanne Soeltzer took Shirley and I to lunch at a chinese restaurant. Enough food to last me for 2 more meals but when to have time to eat it!!! That evening I was invited to Ron & Pat Poole's for meat loaf dinner with all the trimmings-even ice cream pie!
Tuesday, Gary & Aline Kranz took me to lunch for buffalo wings-and enough for another meal but when to eat it again!! Larry & Sarah Walters were with us. I ate some of the leftover chinese for dinner that night!
Wednesday Margaret Gruetzner took me shopping to get a printer cord. After checking at Best Buy, they told us I had just tried to plug it into the wrong outlet!!(It was hidden by a little door) !!! Ate the leftover wings for dinner that night. Threw out the rest of the chinese. Marland's good bachelor friend from Nicollet, Mn. called me to see how I was doing.
Thursday I actually cooked my second meal since getting down here. I fixed a pork chop and broccoli and a salad. That evening I attended a Concert by the Marlins( a family of 4 brothers) who sang and played lots of the tunes we used to dance to. I broke down and cried but friends assured me that I should not be embarrassed. Marland was part of the group that set up chairs for concerts so I helped take them down after the concert.
Friday Arelene Martin took me to get my hair fixed. That afternoon, Phyllis came into town(they are dog sitting out at Gold Canyon with Bud's niece's dog) and I went out to the beautiful home that his niece lives in and stayed overnight. They had fixed a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. It was an 18# turkey so they will be eating from that for quite a long time.
Saturday was our 11th street block party and I was on the committee so had to help serve it. Spent the evening watching "Sea Biscuit" on TV. I had seen it before but it was good to watch again.
Sunday morning I went to church with Ed & Joan and had brunch at "The Feed Bag" restaurant.
Doesn't this sound just like a letter that Grandma Edna would write? Maybe I'm getting like her! She was great for detail.
This week looks a little more quiet and that is good cause I'm running out of steam!!
It is cold and raining here. 48 degrees. It has only been really nice and warm for 2 days since I got here. It is still better than shoveling snow off my deck!!
Love to all, LaVerne
It's Sunday afternoon and time to tell all of you what I've been doing.
Sunday morning I went to church with Ed & Joan, then Bill & Donna Adams picked me up to go to Arden & Doris Caldwells for lunch. If any of you know Doria, it was a smorgasbord! We had a nice visit and came home just in time for me to join Ed & Norine to go to Jerry & Betty Klocke's for dinner. That too, was delicious. We played a card game that would allow 5 people to play--it was called thief. Kinda fun.
Monday noon Ralph & Joanne Soeltzer took Shirley and I to lunch at a chinese restaurant. Enough food to last me for 2 more meals but when to have time to eat it!!! That evening I was invited to Ron & Pat Poole's for meat loaf dinner with all the trimmings-even ice cream pie!
Tuesday, Gary & Aline Kranz took me to lunch for buffalo wings-and enough for another meal but when to eat it again!! Larry & Sarah Walters were with us. I ate some of the leftover chinese for dinner that night!
Wednesday Margaret Gruetzner took me shopping to get a printer cord. After checking at Best Buy, they told us I had just tried to plug it into the wrong outlet!!(It was hidden by a little door) !!! Ate the leftover wings for dinner that night. Threw out the rest of the chinese. Marland's good bachelor friend from Nicollet, Mn. called me to see how I was doing.
Thursday I actually cooked my second meal since getting down here. I fixed a pork chop and broccoli and a salad. That evening I attended a Concert by the Marlins( a family of 4 brothers) who sang and played lots of the tunes we used to dance to. I broke down and cried but friends assured me that I should not be embarrassed. Marland was part of the group that set up chairs for concerts so I helped take them down after the concert.
Friday Arelene Martin took me to get my hair fixed. That afternoon, Phyllis came into town(they are dog sitting out at Gold Canyon with Bud's niece's dog) and I went out to the beautiful home that his niece lives in and stayed overnight. They had fixed a turkey dinner with all the trimmings. It was an 18# turkey so they will be eating from that for quite a long time.
Saturday was our 11th street block party and I was on the committee so had to help serve it. Spent the evening watching "Sea Biscuit" on TV. I had seen it before but it was good to watch again.
Sunday morning I went to church with Ed & Joan and had brunch at "The Feed Bag" restaurant.
Doesn't this sound just like a letter that Grandma Edna would write? Maybe I'm getting like her! She was great for detail.
This week looks a little more quiet and that is good cause I'm running out of steam!!
It is cold and raining here. 48 degrees. It has only been really nice and warm for 2 days since I got here. It is still better than shoveling snow off my deck!!
Love to all, LaVerne
Monday, January 15, 2007
More News from Mom Jan 15
Here's my weekly letter to the blog. Sue suggested I do a daily letter but I agreed to once a week.
It's been a busy time for me since I arrived a week ago. Friends stopping by have kept me busy and although it is emotional I guess after the first time, seeing them will be easier.
Ed & Norine picked me up at the airport and had me come to dinner. The next evening, Phyllis & Bud had me for dinner. Wednesday Phyllis & Bud took me to buy groceries. I actually cooked a meal for myself and it's the only one I've cooked so far. Thursday I actually got some unpacking done in between visitors. I went to the Diablos ball game in the afternoon and that was a little tough but I survived. Friday evening I attended the Cancer fundraiser here in the park. I think they had a marvelous turnout and received a huge amount of money. I haven't heard the final count yet.
Saturday morning the Diablos team invited me to breakfast up at the ballroom. (They've made me an honorary member of the spouses) After the breakfast, my friend, Areline, took me to visit my former neighbor who is now in a nursing home. She is so dear to me and we had a great visit. She is getting very forgetful but she remembered me right away and I haven't seen her since the year before last. That evening Shirley Knowlton (she lost her husband one month before Marland died) had me, along with 6 other friends for dinner.
Sunday morning I went to church with Ed & Joan(another Ed). Pastor Scott saw me in the audience and gave me a smile. After the service, he talked with me and told me if I ever needed anything I should call the church. He knew from Phyllis that I don't have a car down here this year. I hadn't seen him since last March when we went to church just one Sunday when we were down here to get our car. I was pleased that he remembered. Arden & Doris Caldwell had me for lunch at noon and now this evening I'm invited to Jerry & Betty's for dinner. If I keep this up, I'll gain back all the weight I've lost and I don't want that to happen.
Tomorrow Ralph & Joanne are taking me out to lunch. See what I mean!!! Too much eating.
Anyway, you can know that I am being taken care of and I'll feel better after I've seen all the friends for the first time. The calendar so far this week is empty except for Saturday when we have a block party.
I'm glad I bought the golf cart. At first , I thought it was unnecessary but now that I have it, I'm glad.
The weather turned cool on Thursday and this morning at 6 a.m. the temperature was 24 degrees!! I hope it didn't freeze the fruit cause my orange tree is full of oranges and they will be ripe very soon. I'm hoping that I can keep some on the tree until the kids come down the first week in March.
That's all for this week. Stay tuned for the next installment.
Love, LaVerne
It's been a busy time for me since I arrived a week ago. Friends stopping by have kept me busy and although it is emotional I guess after the first time, seeing them will be easier.
Ed & Norine picked me up at the airport and had me come to dinner. The next evening, Phyllis & Bud had me for dinner. Wednesday Phyllis & Bud took me to buy groceries. I actually cooked a meal for myself and it's the only one I've cooked so far. Thursday I actually got some unpacking done in between visitors. I went to the Diablos ball game in the afternoon and that was a little tough but I survived. Friday evening I attended the Cancer fundraiser here in the park. I think they had a marvelous turnout and received a huge amount of money. I haven't heard the final count yet.
Saturday morning the Diablos team invited me to breakfast up at the ballroom. (They've made me an honorary member of the spouses) After the breakfast, my friend, Areline, took me to visit my former neighbor who is now in a nursing home. She is so dear to me and we had a great visit. She is getting very forgetful but she remembered me right away and I haven't seen her since the year before last. That evening Shirley Knowlton (she lost her husband one month before Marland died) had me, along with 6 other friends for dinner.
Sunday morning I went to church with Ed & Joan(another Ed). Pastor Scott saw me in the audience and gave me a smile. After the service, he talked with me and told me if I ever needed anything I should call the church. He knew from Phyllis that I don't have a car down here this year. I hadn't seen him since last March when we went to church just one Sunday when we were down here to get our car. I was pleased that he remembered. Arden & Doris Caldwell had me for lunch at noon and now this evening I'm invited to Jerry & Betty's for dinner. If I keep this up, I'll gain back all the weight I've lost and I don't want that to happen.
Tomorrow Ralph & Joanne are taking me out to lunch. See what I mean!!! Too much eating.
Anyway, you can know that I am being taken care of and I'll feel better after I've seen all the friends for the first time. The calendar so far this week is empty except for Saturday when we have a block party.
I'm glad I bought the golf cart. At first , I thought it was unnecessary but now that I have it, I'm glad.
The weather turned cool on Thursday and this morning at 6 a.m. the temperature was 24 degrees!! I hope it didn't freeze the fruit cause my orange tree is full of oranges and they will be ripe very soon. I'm hoping that I can keep some on the tree until the kids come down the first week in March.
That's all for this week. Stay tuned for the next installment.
Love, LaVerne
Thursday, January 11, 2007
News from Mom
Hi!
I arrived in Phoenix 25 minutes earlier than scheduled and because I checked in at the Mpls airport early , they had put my luggage on a different plane so spent almost 30 minutes hunting for the luggage. Ed & Norine picked me up and took me to their home for supper. Got home and the phone started ringing and people stopping in. That was good but emotional. Friends have been coming by at a steady rate so I'm not getting much done but that's okay, too. My calendar is filling up already and I'm overwhelmed at all the attention I"m getting. I'm invited to have breakfast with the ball players and spouses at the ballroom this Saturday morning and Sunday I have an invitation to lunch with Caldwells and dinner with Klockes. People are bringing food by--guess they want to express their appreciation of Marland. I'm crying all the time!! Maybe when this week is over, things will settle down a bit.
Phyllis and Bud took me grocery shopping yesterday and everyone that stops by urges me to call them when I need anything. Guess I'll survive.
I bought a golf cart to have wheels but I still intend to walk the park every morning and sometimes in the evening -- if the invitations stop coming. Again I'm saying, I'm overwhelmed and so emotional. Marland was liked by all. Ed sent Sue a picture of the cart so hope she sends it to all of you.
The weather has been in the high 70's both days but today it is to cool down. I haven't been to the pool yet but hope to check it out soon.
Love to all of you, Mom
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Pastor Everson's Eulogy
Bonnie transcribed a tape of Duane's eulogy from dad's funeral. Below is a copy.
Funeral message for Marland from Rev. Duane Everson
Nov. 14, 2006
Here’s the verse that I underscore:
“I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live. Moreover, it is God’s gift to all that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in their toil. I know that whatever God does endures forever, nothing can be added to it or anything taken from it. God has done this so that all can stand before Him.”
Family and friends of Marland, who have gathered in this place, this territory right here now where we know that there is plenty love, and there’s plenty joy, and there’s plenty hope and there’s plenty power to wipe away all gloom. That doesn’t mean we don’t have tears on a day like this. But we’re talking about joy that wipes away gloom. And we’re here today not because somebody has died, but because somebody has lived. That’s already evident from the testimony of the grandkids. Somebody has touched our lives. Somebody has loved us and we have loved in return. Somebody has walked with us and talked with us…a husband of 57 years and a father of 4 precious kids. .a father-in-law… a brother, a grandfather, and a great grandfather… and for many of us a dear old friend. And to say that we are here because somebody has lived is not to deny the reality of death. For death is real. I often say that we sorry and grieve when people die because that’s the price we pay for loving. So, pay the price. Family and friends, pay the price.. and pay it up well. For having loved and had a family member and friend like Marland. We pay the price when we lose loved ones. The Ecclesiastes writer reminds us that there’s a time for every purpose under heaven, so you can’t get born without dying and that statements applies to all of us in this special place, this afternoon. A time for everything under heaven, so it’s reasonable to assume that life is seasonal. It keeps coming and keeps going. It keeps moving forward. But the focus is always on life. Not on death. Edna Melay said “I shall die, but that’s all I’m going to do for death. For I am not on death’s payroll.”
Life……that’s why we’re here today. We remember somebody who lived life, who expressed life in many ways, in a unique way, as only he could do. He knew he was one of God’s kids…not a perfect one, of course. He knew he was forgiven and he lived by God’s grace. We’re here to express gratitude because when somebody we love dies or somebody we called a “friend” dies, death can’t take the memories away from us. In fact it cultivates that memory because now that is what we have to hang on to so all of us will write our own obituary of Marland…in our hearts and minds…and our memory. And I invite you to take something that you got from him to carry with you the rest of your life. We’re here to worship in this still, special place, where there’s a lot of love and joy and hope and power. Why? Because Jesus is here. And if He wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be here.
This is a worship service. Marland enjoyed worship. He did it whenever he could. And I had a chance, in this place, to worship with Marland and LaVerne…. one Sunday morning…78 years of Ecclesiastes…coming and going…being born and being buried. ….and planting and harvesting hay and everything else. Read his obituary. He put a lot into those 78 years. He wanted to live to be 100. He thought he might. His mom and dad lived to be 99 and 98. He thought he had he real good genes. In the night in the hospital when you called and said, “will you come up and help us tell Marland that they’re not going to do any more treatments because the cancer has penetrated his brain in a way that the laser we had planned to do won’t be of any value.” I came as his friend and there’s no easy way to say this to somebody that you love…I’ve had to say it many times in my life …but this was a tough time. And he listened and he accepted and instead of thinking about himself, he did say this; “I thought I was going to beat this. I thought I beat this.” And then he talked about his dad, who was a farmer and that he went and helped with the farming after he graduated from high school… for many years. And he told with deep sensitivity, and Marland was a very sensitive person that could cry could at the drop of a ---, especially about stories of vulnerable, poor people; people that didn’t have quite as good a chance as the rest of us had; that touched his heart strings and tempered his soul, so that you could see his baby eyes fill up with beautiful tears. I saw it many times. And he told about his dad…50 years he was blind…and then he wept when he said “I never heard him complain once”. Not once…You see, he had good genes all right. That’s why he learned how to live.
I’ve known Marland and LaVerne for 12 years. They became my neighbors in Pheasantwood. We met you briefly on a Saturday and being familiar with the Jefferson and German lake area after living in your beautiful home there for many years, they showed up at my little church on German Lake on Sunday morning. And I always welcome the visitors. “Any visitors here today?” I said on that Sunday and they raised their hand and I thought “I should know those people. Where do I know them from?” And of course, me, with my big mouth, I said, “ Tell us who you are.” And they said “We’re your next door neighbors.” Well, I’m used to being made a fool so I took it in stride. And I’m glad you were our next door neighbors. And you know, many of you don’t know this, but we became close friends. And we got a friendship ritual going. It’s almost unheard of. But they were used to this in Mesa, where every day at 4:00 they had their little time together …yeah..yeah… So we have been meeting together almost every Monday night for 10 years, at least the 6 months they were here. And we looked forward to that. Marland would get out of the hayfield…you know Jeff worked him so hard…we were supposed to be together at 5:30 and he’d come in at 5:25 and take a shower and get dressed up like he was really going some place important. And then we would sit down and we would talk. How did we talk for 3 hours? It was unbelievable. We talked a lot about you kids. I won’t tell those stories though, Ann, Susan, Bonnie, Steven. And then once in a while he would say, “Did we come here to talk or to drink?” He loved his Lord Calvert. I was hoping I would be able to have one more tip with him. We didn’t overdo it, of course. I’m a Lutheran pastor but I finished what remained in that bottle last night. I had that much left for Marland and I talked to him in my spirits. A unique person….
and the word that kept coming to me in my sleep when I took this as a challenge and an honor to speak to you people today….The word that kept flooding my mind was enjoy…enjoy…enjoy . He really enjoyed life. He was a unique individual. That’s why I picked this one verse. “nothing better than for them to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they lived and take pleasure in all their toil.” He even enjoyed making hay with you, Jeff. It wasn’t work to him. I’m going to read the 23rd Psalm because that kind of sets the stage. The reason Marland could have so much enjoyment of so many things in life and so many people in life is that he had the deep down joy inside. Leo Bascalia said “God’s not going to ask us on Judgment Day ‘how come you didn’t become this or that or the other person’. God’s going to ask us ‘How come you didn’t dare become you? Because you’re the only you I made. And if you didn’t have the courage to become you, then somehow my great mosaic in the universe was missing one of the jewels and one of the precious stones.” Marland dared to be Marland and I loved him for that. He enjoyed himself.
I got a lot of stories. Usually, I have to ask people..”give me some stories so I can talk about your loved one and make it personal”. I didn’t even ask you for any stories. Marland I think I told him when he asked me to preach at his funeral that I could preach 45 minutes. And he said “no…4 to 5 minutes”. So I’m going to go more than 4 to 5 but not 45 minutes.
Marland knew that life is a gift and he saw in the Good Shepherd’s psalm, goodness. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. (get the peaceful picture?) He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness”. Marland knew that his only righteousness was a gift from God because Jesus loved him. He was no phony person about his religion. He was just right down to earth. He knew that life was a gift and what we do with it is our gift back to God. So he wanted to life to 100. He made 78.
Enjoy. He enjoyed being married for 57 years to you precious one. And I said “You look so beautiful today.” And she said “I don’t feel so beautiful.” But you’re going to feel better when I get done. You’re going to know about JOY. And you already know that. 57 years. And they enjoyed each other. Oh, they didn’t always…they had some really good times. I can’t tell you about all those either. But one time I saw Marland not enjoy being married to LaVerne. It was in Mesa, AZ. We stopped for dinner and Marland, good kraut that he was, thought he was usually right about certain things at least, and he knew he was right about something, and she says, “You’re not right about that.” And so he put her to the test. He said, “I’ll bet you $100 that I’m right.” Barb & I witnessed this. She says, “You’re on!” We got to eat and we find out that Marland was wrong. And he did not enjoy peeling off five $20 bills at that table to give to you (LaVerne). That’s the only time I didn’t see him enjoy something.
He enjoyed his family…the pot lucks…the grand kids. The people in the Hospice room at the long term care center knew it. And head nurse said, “You know I’ve been in this setting a lot of times but I’ve never seen a family like yours.” The closeness and the love. I see in this place a lot of love…There’s a lot of joy that takes away the gloom…not the tears, but the gloom.
He had friends. You were right. He knew everybody. He knew people from all over. I’ll never forget the time in the garage..the softball team…all of them…from all over the United States…came in to spend the weekend in the nice townhouse…I don’t know where they all slept. I guess you sent to the motel for a while…We sat in a circle of about 16 people and we just had an enjoyable time. He enjoyed having fun.
He enjoyed playing sports. When he told me he never played sports in school…that he didn’t start playing softball until he had retired and went to Mesa. And Barb and I went and spent the weekend there and we went with them to a big tournament. We went there to get the sun. It rained every day and they had a tournament there where Marland played about 6 ball games on Sat and Sun and the cheerleaders of all those gray-haired guys playing ball out there which…. I couldn’t believe it…. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them …the cheerleaders were all the spouses. And they sat there with them, with umbrellas and blankets cheering those old men playing ball.
Then we went dancing. Oh…leaving the wake last night I heard this song…”If you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance”… I think Marland was singing it for us. If you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance…in Marland’s memory. …in cowboy boots with a cowboy hat…He didn’t step on many toes except his own. When I dance I step on more toes than I do my own. He loved to dance. And my wife is the dancer in our family and they just danced until I got tired just watching them. He loved to dance.
He loved life. He loved to watch the Twins. That’s the only spectator thing he ever did was watch the Twins. And he would tell me that he batted over .600 with the softball league. And he was complaining a little bit. He got only one homerun or 2 homeruns in the weekend and only batted .600 and that wasn’t the best on the team. And I reminded him that you know the big people, the ones who make millions of dollars, would pray, hope that they could bat .300! And you’re complaining about .600? I think he had a good ball glove. I gave him my ball glove. I don’t think he had many errors with that glove. That glove wasn’t used to having many errors when people wore it. He was a great guy. He enjoyed it all.
He enjoyed work! Look at the places he’d worked and what a beautiful picture!(the memorial folder) Got to be for Marland..a hayrack ..did you ever put up hay with that kind of rack (referring to memorial folder picture)? No..he did! Beautiful!
He enjoyed his faith. And that’s why we’re here. Not to lift up the goodness of Marland but to lift up the goodness of Marland’s God, who makes it possible for us to be here in this place and know there’s a lot of love and there’s a lot of joy and there’s a lot of hope and there’s a lot of power. It’s that kind of stuff he leaves with us and we take with us …his sensitive spirit that we care about people …really care about his friends and his family…for he truly enjoyed all of life.
But he also saw that there was a part of life that at 78 you might have to be told “we’re not going to do anything more so..go home and get ready to die.” I asked him “Are you angry at anybody?” “no”
They say people die the way they live. I really mean that. If you’re a complainer when you live, guess what you’ll be doing on your death bed. But he died peacefully. He just fell asleep. And he knew you were with him. And we sang ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and we sang all kinds of songs. And that guitar player came in, the music therapist, and I asked him if he could play ‘The Quaker Song’. He looked at me surprised. He said, “ yeah, I know that.” And he played it and when he was all done he said “ I’m a Quaker.” And I gave him the old theology of that beautiful song of how we ‘turn, turn, turn and we bend and we come around’ and this is the just right place because this is reasonable to assume that life is seasonal. And he said, “You a preacher?” And I said, “yes, goodness and mercy follows me all the days of my life.” What do you want to follow you all the days of your life? Choose God’s goodness and mercy….will follow after me. Pick up the pieces and create peace so I can die peacefully, even though I would have liked to have lived to be 100. “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me even in the presence of my enemies” and death is an enemy. Don’t sugarcoat it. We’ve lost a friend and a loved one. ‘But I shall dwell in the house of the Lord’ …how long? Forever…So that’s why we’re here. To say thank you, old buddy, for being you and having the courage to be Marland and so full of joy that you gave that to everybody who got close to you . wow…especially when you know where you’re going…
Funeral message for Marland from Rev. Duane Everson
Nov. 14, 2006
Here’s the verse that I underscore:
“I know that there is nothing better for them than to be happy and to enjoy themselves as long as they live. Moreover, it is God’s gift to all that all should eat and drink and take pleasure in their toil. I know that whatever God does endures forever, nothing can be added to it or anything taken from it. God has done this so that all can stand before Him.”
Family and friends of Marland, who have gathered in this place, this territory right here now where we know that there is plenty love, and there’s plenty joy, and there’s plenty hope and there’s plenty power to wipe away all gloom. That doesn’t mean we don’t have tears on a day like this. But we’re talking about joy that wipes away gloom. And we’re here today not because somebody has died, but because somebody has lived. That’s already evident from the testimony of the grandkids. Somebody has touched our lives. Somebody has loved us and we have loved in return. Somebody has walked with us and talked with us…a husband of 57 years and a father of 4 precious kids. .a father-in-law… a brother, a grandfather, and a great grandfather… and for many of us a dear old friend. And to say that we are here because somebody has lived is not to deny the reality of death. For death is real. I often say that we sorry and grieve when people die because that’s the price we pay for loving. So, pay the price. Family and friends, pay the price.. and pay it up well. For having loved and had a family member and friend like Marland. We pay the price when we lose loved ones. The Ecclesiastes writer reminds us that there’s a time for every purpose under heaven, so you can’t get born without dying and that statements applies to all of us in this special place, this afternoon. A time for everything under heaven, so it’s reasonable to assume that life is seasonal. It keeps coming and keeps going. It keeps moving forward. But the focus is always on life. Not on death. Edna Melay said “I shall die, but that’s all I’m going to do for death. For I am not on death’s payroll.”
Life……that’s why we’re here today. We remember somebody who lived life, who expressed life in many ways, in a unique way, as only he could do. He knew he was one of God’s kids…not a perfect one, of course. He knew he was forgiven and he lived by God’s grace. We’re here to express gratitude because when somebody we love dies or somebody we called a “friend” dies, death can’t take the memories away from us. In fact it cultivates that memory because now that is what we have to hang on to so all of us will write our own obituary of Marland…in our hearts and minds…and our memory. And I invite you to take something that you got from him to carry with you the rest of your life. We’re here to worship in this still, special place, where there’s a lot of love and joy and hope and power. Why? Because Jesus is here. And if He wouldn’t be here, we wouldn’t be here.
This is a worship service. Marland enjoyed worship. He did it whenever he could. And I had a chance, in this place, to worship with Marland and LaVerne…. one Sunday morning…78 years of Ecclesiastes…coming and going…being born and being buried. ….and planting and harvesting hay and everything else. Read his obituary. He put a lot into those 78 years. He wanted to live to be 100. He thought he might. His mom and dad lived to be 99 and 98. He thought he had he real good genes. In the night in the hospital when you called and said, “will you come up and help us tell Marland that they’re not going to do any more treatments because the cancer has penetrated his brain in a way that the laser we had planned to do won’t be of any value.” I came as his friend and there’s no easy way to say this to somebody that you love…I’ve had to say it many times in my life …but this was a tough time. And he listened and he accepted and instead of thinking about himself, he did say this; “I thought I was going to beat this. I thought I beat this.” And then he talked about his dad, who was a farmer and that he went and helped with the farming after he graduated from high school… for many years. And he told with deep sensitivity, and Marland was a very sensitive person that could cry could at the drop of a ---, especially about stories of vulnerable, poor people; people that didn’t have quite as good a chance as the rest of us had; that touched his heart strings and tempered his soul, so that you could see his baby eyes fill up with beautiful tears. I saw it many times. And he told about his dad…50 years he was blind…and then he wept when he said “I never heard him complain once”. Not once…You see, he had good genes all right. That’s why he learned how to live.
I’ve known Marland and LaVerne for 12 years. They became my neighbors in Pheasantwood. We met you briefly on a Saturday and being familiar with the Jefferson and German lake area after living in your beautiful home there for many years, they showed up at my little church on German Lake on Sunday morning. And I always welcome the visitors. “Any visitors here today?” I said on that Sunday and they raised their hand and I thought “I should know those people. Where do I know them from?” And of course, me, with my big mouth, I said, “ Tell us who you are.” And they said “We’re your next door neighbors.” Well, I’m used to being made a fool so I took it in stride. And I’m glad you were our next door neighbors. And you know, many of you don’t know this, but we became close friends. And we got a friendship ritual going. It’s almost unheard of. But they were used to this in Mesa, where every day at 4:00 they had their little time together …yeah..yeah… So we have been meeting together almost every Monday night for 10 years, at least the 6 months they were here. And we looked forward to that. Marland would get out of the hayfield…you know Jeff worked him so hard…we were supposed to be together at 5:30 and he’d come in at 5:25 and take a shower and get dressed up like he was really going some place important. And then we would sit down and we would talk. How did we talk for 3 hours? It was unbelievable. We talked a lot about you kids. I won’t tell those stories though, Ann, Susan, Bonnie, Steven. And then once in a while he would say, “Did we come here to talk or to drink?” He loved his Lord Calvert. I was hoping I would be able to have one more tip with him. We didn’t overdo it, of course. I’m a Lutheran pastor but I finished what remained in that bottle last night. I had that much left for Marland and I talked to him in my spirits. A unique person….
and the word that kept coming to me in my sleep when I took this as a challenge and an honor to speak to you people today….The word that kept flooding my mind was enjoy…enjoy…enjoy . He really enjoyed life. He was a unique individual. That’s why I picked this one verse. “nothing better than for them to be happy and enjoy themselves as long as they lived and take pleasure in all their toil.” He even enjoyed making hay with you, Jeff. It wasn’t work to him. I’m going to read the 23rd Psalm because that kind of sets the stage. The reason Marland could have so much enjoyment of so many things in life and so many people in life is that he had the deep down joy inside. Leo Bascalia said “God’s not going to ask us on Judgment Day ‘how come you didn’t become this or that or the other person’. God’s going to ask us ‘How come you didn’t dare become you? Because you’re the only you I made. And if you didn’t have the courage to become you, then somehow my great mosaic in the universe was missing one of the jewels and one of the precious stones.” Marland dared to be Marland and I loved him for that. He enjoyed himself.
I got a lot of stories. Usually, I have to ask people..”give me some stories so I can talk about your loved one and make it personal”. I didn’t even ask you for any stories. Marland I think I told him when he asked me to preach at his funeral that I could preach 45 minutes. And he said “no…4 to 5 minutes”. So I’m going to go more than 4 to 5 but not 45 minutes.
Marland knew that life is a gift and he saw in the Good Shepherd’s psalm, goodness. “He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. (get the peaceful picture?) He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness”. Marland knew that his only righteousness was a gift from God because Jesus loved him. He was no phony person about his religion. He was just right down to earth. He knew that life was a gift and what we do with it is our gift back to God. So he wanted to life to 100. He made 78.
Enjoy. He enjoyed being married for 57 years to you precious one. And I said “You look so beautiful today.” And she said “I don’t feel so beautiful.” But you’re going to feel better when I get done. You’re going to know about JOY. And you already know that. 57 years. And they enjoyed each other. Oh, they didn’t always…they had some really good times. I can’t tell you about all those either. But one time I saw Marland not enjoy being married to LaVerne. It was in Mesa, AZ. We stopped for dinner and Marland, good kraut that he was, thought he was usually right about certain things at least, and he knew he was right about something, and she says, “You’re not right about that.” And so he put her to the test. He said, “I’ll bet you $100 that I’m right.” Barb & I witnessed this. She says, “You’re on!” We got to eat and we find out that Marland was wrong. And he did not enjoy peeling off five $20 bills at that table to give to you (LaVerne). That’s the only time I didn’t see him enjoy something.
He enjoyed his family…the pot lucks…the grand kids. The people in the Hospice room at the long term care center knew it. And head nurse said, “You know I’ve been in this setting a lot of times but I’ve never seen a family like yours.” The closeness and the love. I see in this place a lot of love…There’s a lot of joy that takes away the gloom…not the tears, but the gloom.
He had friends. You were right. He knew everybody. He knew people from all over. I’ll never forget the time in the garage..the softball team…all of them…from all over the United States…came in to spend the weekend in the nice townhouse…I don’t know where they all slept. I guess you sent to the motel for a while…We sat in a circle of about 16 people and we just had an enjoyable time. He enjoyed having fun.
He enjoyed playing sports. When he told me he never played sports in school…that he didn’t start playing softball until he had retired and went to Mesa. And Barb and I went and spent the weekend there and we went with them to a big tournament. We went there to get the sun. It rained every day and they had a tournament there where Marland played about 6 ball games on Sat and Sun and the cheerleaders of all those gray-haired guys playing ball out there which…. I couldn’t believe it…. I wouldn’t be able to keep up with them …the cheerleaders were all the spouses. And they sat there with them, with umbrellas and blankets cheering those old men playing ball.
Then we went dancing. Oh…leaving the wake last night I heard this song…”If you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance”… I think Marland was singing it for us. If you get the chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you dance…in Marland’s memory. …in cowboy boots with a cowboy hat…He didn’t step on many toes except his own. When I dance I step on more toes than I do my own. He loved to dance. And my wife is the dancer in our family and they just danced until I got tired just watching them. He loved to dance.
He loved life. He loved to watch the Twins. That’s the only spectator thing he ever did was watch the Twins. And he would tell me that he batted over .600 with the softball league. And he was complaining a little bit. He got only one homerun or 2 homeruns in the weekend and only batted .600 and that wasn’t the best on the team. And I reminded him that you know the big people, the ones who make millions of dollars, would pray, hope that they could bat .300! And you’re complaining about .600? I think he had a good ball glove. I gave him my ball glove. I don’t think he had many errors with that glove. That glove wasn’t used to having many errors when people wore it. He was a great guy. He enjoyed it all.
He enjoyed work! Look at the places he’d worked and what a beautiful picture!(the memorial folder) Got to be for Marland..a hayrack ..did you ever put up hay with that kind of rack (referring to memorial folder picture)? No..he did! Beautiful!
He enjoyed his faith. And that’s why we’re here. Not to lift up the goodness of Marland but to lift up the goodness of Marland’s God, who makes it possible for us to be here in this place and know there’s a lot of love and there’s a lot of joy and there’s a lot of hope and there’s a lot of power. It’s that kind of stuff he leaves with us and we take with us …his sensitive spirit that we care about people …really care about his friends and his family…for he truly enjoyed all of life.
But he also saw that there was a part of life that at 78 you might have to be told “we’re not going to do anything more so..go home and get ready to die.” I asked him “Are you angry at anybody?” “no”
They say people die the way they live. I really mean that. If you’re a complainer when you live, guess what you’ll be doing on your death bed. But he died peacefully. He just fell asleep. And he knew you were with him. And we sang ‘Jesus Loves Me’ and we sang all kinds of songs. And that guitar player came in, the music therapist, and I asked him if he could play ‘The Quaker Song’. He looked at me surprised. He said, “ yeah, I know that.” And he played it and when he was all done he said “ I’m a Quaker.” And I gave him the old theology of that beautiful song of how we ‘turn, turn, turn and we bend and we come around’ and this is the just right place because this is reasonable to assume that life is seasonal. And he said, “You a preacher?” And I said, “yes, goodness and mercy follows me all the days of my life.” What do you want to follow you all the days of your life? Choose God’s goodness and mercy….will follow after me. Pick up the pieces and create peace so I can die peacefully, even though I would have liked to have lived to be 100. “Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me even in the presence of my enemies” and death is an enemy. Don’t sugarcoat it. We’ve lost a friend and a loved one. ‘But I shall dwell in the house of the Lord’ …how long? Forever…So that’s why we’re here. To say thank you, old buddy, for being you and having the courage to be Marland and so full of joy that you gave that to everybody who got close to you . wow…especially when you know where you’re going…
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
Mieska Trivia
Below is the 2006 Mieska Trivia game with answers. Each Christmas we have this contest to see who gets bragging rights for the year.
1. Name 3 Mieska family members who have biblical names or derivatives of biblical names:
(potential list:
Matthew, Jonathan, Nathaniel, Jeremiah, John, Zachary, Lucas, Joshua, Steven, Bethany, Ann, Jesse
2. What were the Red Devil and the Blue Devil?
Grandma & Grandpa Mieska’s CB handles from 1977-1981.
3. Whose bedroom had white and silver foil wallpaper and yellow carpet?
Ann’s room at the new brown house on Union Lake
4. Grandpa received approximately 20 of these at Christmas of 1984 (and lost them in a fire a few months later).
Ties
5. Who is the family’s pathological bee collector? Sue
6. Identify all the family members with names beginning with J:
Jeff, Josh, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Jesse, Julie
7. Who is the only member of the family that has never been to Mesa AZ? Chad
8. In 1988, Bonnie, Greg and their kids went on a trip with Ann and Jeff and their kids. Where did they go and how did they get there? Florida in Greg’s RV
9. Who played Santa in the Christmas production of Santa Goes Mod? Scott
10. Only one Great Grandchild has been born in MN Who? Nathaniel
11. What is the powdery substance you eat with an edible dipstick? Lik-M-Aid
12. Name all the current December birthdays:
Jer, Josh, Jeff, Jonathan, Whitney, Ben
13. Who played the role of Star Trek’s Lt. Scotty in a recent stage production?
Greg (last year’s company annual meeting skit…included costume!)
14. Who played the role of a gay Puerto Rican dancer on stage? Chad (A Chorus Line, 1989)
15. Name all the second borns:
Steve, Scott, Josh, Zach, Ben, Jonathan, Owen, Greg, Jeff, Gina, Whitney
16. What is the Little Brown Jub?
Trophy for winning horseshoes tournaments at Lake Jefferson
17. Which family member has had the opportunity to meet Firday Lady Laura Bush? Jesse
18. Which month currently has the most Mieska birthdays? December
19. Which month currently has the least Mieska birthdays?
Tie…May (Sue) September (Ann), October (Steve)
20. Name another resort or supper club on lake Jefferson besides Beaver Dam:
Summer Breeze, Hi-Lo, Greenland
21. Kranz’s long time cat’s name: Trouble
22. Kranz’s cocker spaniel’s name (from the 50-60s) Cocoa
23. Who owned the lake home 2 doors down from the Mieskas before the Deckers owned it? Cora & Porky Ford
24. How many bedrooms did Grandma Mieska have in hew new house on Union Lake? 4 or 5…ask Chad
25. Besides the lovely house with the porch for shaking rugs, what is Walnut Grove’s other claim to fame?
Setting of “Little House on the Prairie” or where “On the Banks of Plum Creek” was based.
26. There are several family members who have holiday (or lesser holiday) birthdays…Jeff & Ben on Christmas Eve. Name another… Owen on St Patricks Day Chad on Flag Day occasionally Easter on Scott or Bonnie’s
27. There are several family members who have a birthday a day off from an infamous date. (Infamous would be like Pearl Harbor Day or Hitler’s Birthday) Name one:
Jer (Dec 8) one day off Pearl Harbor day (Dec 7);
Ann (Sept 12) one day off 9/11; Bonnie (April 21) one day off day of OK City bombing, Columbine and Hitler’s birthday
1. Name 3 Mieska family members who have biblical names or derivatives of biblical names:
(potential list:
Matthew, Jonathan, Nathaniel, Jeremiah, John, Zachary, Lucas, Joshua, Steven, Bethany, Ann, Jesse
2. What were the Red Devil and the Blue Devil?
Grandma & Grandpa Mieska’s CB handles from 1977-1981.
3. Whose bedroom had white and silver foil wallpaper and yellow carpet?
Ann’s room at the new brown house on Union Lake
4. Grandpa received approximately 20 of these at Christmas of 1984 (and lost them in a fire a few months later).
Ties
5. Who is the family’s pathological bee collector? Sue
6. Identify all the family members with names beginning with J:
Jeff, Josh, Jeremiah, Jonathan, Jesse, Julie
7. Who is the only member of the family that has never been to Mesa AZ? Chad
8. In 1988, Bonnie, Greg and their kids went on a trip with Ann and Jeff and their kids. Where did they go and how did they get there? Florida in Greg’s RV
9. Who played Santa in the Christmas production of Santa Goes Mod? Scott
10. Only one Great Grandchild has been born in MN Who? Nathaniel
11. What is the powdery substance you eat with an edible dipstick? Lik-M-Aid
12. Name all the current December birthdays:
Jer, Josh, Jeff, Jonathan, Whitney, Ben
13. Who played the role of Star Trek’s Lt. Scotty in a recent stage production?
Greg (last year’s company annual meeting skit…included costume!)
14. Who played the role of a gay Puerto Rican dancer on stage? Chad (A Chorus Line, 1989)
15. Name all the second borns:
Steve, Scott, Josh, Zach, Ben, Jonathan, Owen, Greg, Jeff, Gina, Whitney
16. What is the Little Brown Jub?
Trophy for winning horseshoes tournaments at Lake Jefferson
17. Which family member has had the opportunity to meet Firday Lady Laura Bush? Jesse
18. Which month currently has the most Mieska birthdays? December
19. Which month currently has the least Mieska birthdays?
Tie…May (Sue) September (Ann), October (Steve)
20. Name another resort or supper club on lake Jefferson besides Beaver Dam:
Summer Breeze, Hi-Lo, Greenland
21. Kranz’s long time cat’s name: Trouble
22. Kranz’s cocker spaniel’s name (from the 50-60s) Cocoa
23. Who owned the lake home 2 doors down from the Mieskas before the Deckers owned it? Cora & Porky Ford
24. How many bedrooms did Grandma Mieska have in hew new house on Union Lake? 4 or 5…ask Chad
25. Besides the lovely house with the porch for shaking rugs, what is Walnut Grove’s other claim to fame?
Setting of “Little House on the Prairie” or where “On the Banks of Plum Creek” was based.
26. There are several family members who have holiday (or lesser holiday) birthdays…Jeff & Ben on Christmas Eve. Name another… Owen on St Patricks Day Chad on Flag Day occasionally Easter on Scott or Bonnie’s
27. There are several family members who have a birthday a day off from an infamous date. (Infamous would be like Pearl Harbor Day or Hitler’s Birthday) Name one:
Jer (Dec 8) one day off Pearl Harbor day (Dec 7);
Ann (Sept 12) one day off 9/11; Bonnie (April 21) one day off day of OK City bombing, Columbine and Hitler’s birthday
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