The World of Grandpa Don
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A work in progress - complete but not finished |
What's New In the world of Grandpa Don On this page I have recorded what I found significant during the past week as well as my thoughts about those events and other reflections. I started doing this before the practice became popular on the internet This is my diary, written a little each day and published weekly. At times I may seem to pontificate on a subject that comes to mind during the week. I do not intend it as a demand or even a suggestion that everyone should think or act as I do. It is rather, intended to let you know what goes on in my mind ... how I am motivated to live as I do.
If The World of Grandpa Don
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Week Ending Friday |
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Or to learn more of Grandpa Don and his remarkable family ...
Many of the quotes found on this page are from the daily messages I receive from Covenant House  |
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Last Friday I left over $70 at the gas station. Then I went to the Jewel and left more money there. I am just grateful that I can afford it. I had read someplace that at some point in time, inflation was so out of control in France that people were paid twice a day and at lunch and after work, they spent their pay as fast as they could because in a few hours, the prices would be higher. Now That's Inflation!
On Saturday we slept in. I managed to go downstairs at about 8:15 and Mikey followed when he heard me get his morning treats out. He reacts to various sounds better than commands from me. My leisurely breakfast was followed by a leisurely sojourn in the gazebo communing with God and nature as I am wont to do on these beautiful mornings. I had barely started to review my email when I heard my darling daughter talking to Mikey. When I went up she suggested coffee on the patio. As we went out she remarked about how well my clematis looked and I corrected her telling ... she meant the Black Eyed Susan ... the Climates was dead! But no, there was a big beautiful climates, in it's pot. sitting where the dead one had been. Isn't she a dear! As we sat sipping our coffee, she suggested that if I wanted more perennials we could go to Every Blooming Thing and see what was available. Indeed I did and indeed we did. I purchased three "Pardon Me" daylilies to frame the new St Francis statue. They sport 3" Cranbury-red fragrant flowers and bloom through the summer. St Francis will like that. I also bought three perennial Salvia plants, one Blue Queen and two Caradonna. .The Cardonna is long flowering violet purple flowers which bloom in mid summer while the Blue Queen has dark purple flowers spikes which bloom in late spring to early summer. They were grouped together directly in front of the gazebo.
But before planting anything we went to Ashford House for a brunch break. A breakfast special was Eggs Florentine that caught my eye and satisfied my apatite. Anne Marie had soup and sandwich Thus fortified, we returned home and Anne Marie quickly planted the Climates and my new purchases. I followed with the water to get them settled in. Gloioskies, the Guardian Angel Garden gets better every year! After most of the initial plantings by the landscaper died I have learned that it is best to put in a few perennials each year. This not only cushions the cost and allows for a better (more costly) selection but lets the "character" of the garden evolve pleasantly. After the planting my daughter rushed of to do some shopping and get to a 4:00 graduation party. I rushed off (unhurriedly) to the gazebo to enjoy the new plants and a resumption of my communing activities, or non-acuities, if you will.
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The Climates enhances the patio area. | Click Thumbnails to enloarge |
| The new St Francis is now framed in the foliage which will soon be festooned with Cranbury-red fragrant Day Lillies |
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| The Guardian Angel with Children is |
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now separated from Old St Francis by the Salvia. |
After a while, I returned to the computer to finish my interrupted (pleasantly, that is) email reading and the reading of Grandpa Baboo's web site ... the account of his summer visit to Florida. Bob sends out an update email as I do and he includes a link to my site. I thought of doing the same for him but he updates on Saturday or Sunday so if I included a link it would be to a week old web site. Maybe I will anyway. As I sat at the computer, I was surprised by the sound of rain on the window ... it had been bright and sunny. But the shower was as brief as it was intense and after having some dinner, I relaxed on the patio with my coffee. There was thunder from the clouds to the South but my plants had been sufficiently watered so Mother Nature directed the new storm away from my little parcel of Paradise.
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Fear makes the wolf bigger than he is. |
It must have stormed during the night. Sunday morning I noticed that there was an opening in my neighbor's fence down towards the back of the yard. It wasn't that long ago that her brother-in-law and son replaced most of the posts and aligned it. But the wind despises solid fences and if it finds a weak spot it will move it or knock it down. After Mass and lunch I did some reading. It started out bright and snny but I was chased indoors by a rain squall.
Unbelievable! I did the unthinkable in turning down an invitation to join Dan and his family for dinner at Rocco's. But I was into the final of three days of measuring and recording my liquid input and output in preparation for my bladder test this week. I could have probably managed but if I had to use the wash room ... ??? .... I was not going to bring the measuring container to the restaurant. Besides, I had changed into my "grundgies" after church and was resigned to a very casual afternoon and evening. Rain check?
Monday morning as I was enjoying the patio there was an early phone call from Anne Marie, She and Joe had gone to Kalamazoo to see Anthony on Sunday. Tom had also gone there from Scott Lake and Ashley and her folks were also there. She had a busy day Sunday with a ball game ... Anthony was 1 for three with a walk and a run in that fiasco ... dinner with everyone and then returning to the lake with Anthony, Tom and Joe. Ashley and her family stayed overnight in Kalamazoo but will join Anthony at the Lake, then take him back for his game Monday. My daughter will come home directly from the lake.
Sarah's grandmother has been born to Eternal life. We pray that she is at peace with God and now, relieved of her pain and suffering, is joined with those who preceded her in paradise. We also pray that God will give strength and faith to those who mourn her.
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If it were not for hopes, |
Monday there was an email from Dave Ehlert who's story I published in the Witness to Life section last week. He had some corrections to the copy and so I revised the page. We welcome Dave as a returning visitor and the friends he brings with him. I do believe I have found another 'kindred spirit' as a result of these pages. Dave also suggested that he would like to join Bill Busby, who sent the story to me, and myself for lunch when Dave is in town. Delightful!
Speaking of delightful, Monday was a B&B afternoon in the gazebo. I brought out a National Geographic magazine ... no, it is too nice outside to read it in the 'necessary room' ... and just relaxed, reading, thinking, enjoying.
Tuesday morning and another perfect day began with my second ...
and third ... cup of coffee on the patio
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Memories returned to 1984 when, on that July First, Anne, her father,
Tom and I moved into this house.. (
see 1984 ) As does life, the
house and its environs was to evolve into what it is now,
influenced by the needs, whims and fancies of those of us who lived
here. Anne and her dad, (our dad ... a third father to me) are gone but
their memories live on. Tom has joined his brother and sister in
establishing their own branches of the family. It is hard to believe
that almost a third of my life has occurred in this place. Grandkids
played here and frolicked in the pool ... it too now gone ...
replaced by Grandpa Guardian Angel Garden ... an evolution more
suitable to the lifestyle of, if I may characterize, an elderly
gentleman living alone, as close to a country gentleman as I can get.
But living alone doesn't mean living in solitude for I am surrounded by
love and the constant attention of my family. I have the freedom
to remember and to dream, the joy in the continued evolvement of family
and yes, the discovery in the last two years of a glorious family of
which I was never aware.
My spiritual awakening occurred while here, influenced by all that had happened in the past and the people in my life, notably Anne but many others, and also influenced by my new parish. I am now blessed with a feeling of contentment. ... being right with God and the world. It is a great feeling.
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A joyful heart is more easily made perfect than
one that is cast down. |
My near perfect world was disrupted a bit on Tuesday afternoon. I had a bladder function test. If you are a very shy person or overly concerned about your dignity this is not for you. The testing was done by Eva, a nurse practitioner and she did a great job in not only performing the test but in putting me at ease in the process. I now know that my bladder is functioning well. As a result of the report I submitted of my liquid input and output over a 3 day period she also told me that I drink too much ... coffee, that is. Then the Urologist inserted a scope and determined that I did indeed have a very enlarged prostate and that I was a good candidate for a Holimium Laser Ablation of the Prostate. During the use of the scope, the doctor admitted that in medical school he had gotten very good grades in Torture 101. Oh yes, those fancy words mean that he plans to zap my prostate with a laser and vaporize part of it. (See http://www.holmiumforbph.com/index.html ) He wants to check with my cardiologist first and then we will schedule when and where.
The old trick question here in America is, "Do they have a 4th of July in England?" The right answer is that of course they do but they don't celebrate Independence Day. Our Independence from the Mother country did not happen on one day, it had been brewing for years and took years to resolve. The truth is that there may have been more holding us together than tearing us apart. We retained the language, somewhat distorted, and the Christian beliefs, somewhat fragmented, all dominated by a strong sense of justice and self rule. We tend to lump it all under the banner of Freedom. We tout that a lot but do we know what that really means?
We look on our freedom as God given, not to be abridged by any human tyrant or for that matter any person at all, and that is correct. We believe every person to be created with free will but with that comes a responsibility to every person created by God, to respect the free will of every one else. Each person, in turn, is expected by God to respect moral values as defined by God. By moral here I mean morality in the broadest since as it pertains to justice for all, as stated in our beloved constitution. We make laws to uphold these values ... that is the basis and intent of the laws. Yet many look for loopholes in the laws so they may take advantage of others. Businessmen write contracts which may be technically legal but are not based in justice or use deceptive advertising to take advantage of the gullible or less informed. We look for ways to "beat the system" to our advantage. We use radar detectors in our cars and even use Handicapped stickers when we don't need them.
Early Christians considered themselves, not above the law, but beyond the law because to be a Christian was to be one with God in His treatment of other people. This would be the ideal ... no need for laws because justice would be inherent in all people. This was the ideal "freedom" but I am afraid that human nature prevailed ... or should I say we used it as an excuse. To be a Christian should be to change our human nature to match God's intent, not our convenience. I recently received a wonderful essay by email with the title "Our Real Roots". The person who started the email circulating changed the title slightly (one of the problems with people who plagiarize to make their point) but the message was lifted from a web page which does a great job documenting the founding of this "Christian Nation". Wonderful! ( See Forsaken Roots. ) This, the original is well done and beautiful. It would be well for us to remember the ideals of our founding fathers and those who followed as we celebrate Independents Day and every day of the year. Whether we live up to the ideals presented on this page and clearly the intent of the men and women who risked everything in the effort to establish this nation is clearly up to us. Are we really Christians or Christians in name only, using the name to our own advantage and when convenient.
As Christians it is our duty to be witnesses to Christ. We are to show that by our exemplary behavior and love of our fellow man it is obvious to everyone that the Christian way is God's way and by our actions entice others to emulate and join us. Yes, that is called evangelization and it is what we are called to do. It is not done by conquest or coercion or even preaching. Our actions are our salesman. What, as an individual, am I selling as I work, play and live? (If I am selling the wrong thing I could be getting someone very important very mad at me!)
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If we do not lay out ourselves in the
service of mankind
Our Constitution was made only for a moral
and religious people. |
I looked for a quote to provide a "punch line" to my discourse on Freedom and Independence, purposely focusing on the words of John Adams, one of the founding fathers of this nation and a second cousin (we are both descendants of Jane Alden see Famous Cousins ). I found two quotations that were not only appropriate but profoundly so ... in my opinion. He also stated: "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide" I am sure that this happens because people abuse their freedoms and reject the responsibilities that come with it. They do not forget the lofty ideals but they fail in common decency towards each other.. They succumb to "just us", or worse, "just me" and in doing so, kill Justice. Could it be that Democracy only works for a religious people and when we forget our religious principals, democracy disappears along with them?
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Do not pray by heart, but with the heart. |
Wednesday was hot and windy with strong storms to the north of the city. We were dry here. With all the rain the area has been getting my lawn is beginning to show a need for water and I have not activated the sprinkler system. I have also failed to drain the gas from my snow blower. Both tasks now require attention. As easy as I have it there are still things to be done. Another job demanding attention is the cleaning of my gutters. With the high winds, twigs and green leaves have collected there. There was a young man who did that for me but he no longer does that kind of work. .
The strong winds have not been kind to my neighbor's fence. The section that blew apart last week and was temporarily fixed did not hold up and is down again. To add to their troubles, another sections was flapping in the breeze and is not long for this world. I presume the brother-in-law will be back this weekend. I wish I could help but me and manual labor have parted company. The wind also stripped all the blossoms from my new climates but the foliage is still in tact. Thursday after lunch fertilizer was added to give it a boost. I fertilized the Black Eyed Susan and Biscus as well. Biscus has several buds and I expect blossoms next week.
A friend asked how Anthony was doing. My reply was something like ... He is hitting well and considering everything, the team has had a few surprising wins. The team is a farce, not the players but the organization, or lack thereof. They are obviously underfunded and owner, in my opinion, doesn't have a clue about running a baseball organization. They are limping along in a bus that is inadequate to begin with and keeps breaking down. if not the engine, its the air conditioning. They stay in the worse motels and the food, when provided, is inadequate for athletes. The motels are often located away from any other commercial areas so that even if they want to get a good meal there are no restaurants nearby. Without a home field, they have nothing other than the meager support of the management ... no fan base ... nothing. I would say that it is worse than minor league baseball of the 20's and 30's. Its a real character builder. However, Anthony's attitude is great and ... he is playing baseball. What else is there?
On this glorious Independence Day morning I recommend a look at the Old Kunnel's page. Patriotic emails flood the in-boxes, most promoting the support of those who put or have put their lives on the line to establish and protect this nation. That is all well and good. But let is not forget that it is also up to each one of us to live our lives as responsible recipients of the gift of freedom, and as good stewards of that gift, sharing it and spreading it, because it is not a personal possession but a way of life based in faith, love and justice for all. Independence signifies our separation from Brittan but not from each other for to remain a free people we must reject personal independence and work together. Without interdependence we will flounder.
Biscus (say Hi Biscus ) has a glorious red blossom this morning!
Happy Independence Day
Grandpa Don Plefka
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Anne wanted everyone to be 'Nice'. This button was in one of her dresser drawers I cleaned out in August of 2004
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