The World of Grandpa Don  

Yes, a day late. But come on, it was Christmas and well, you know.
Besides, I get to include my thoughts and activities of Christmas day.

Stop! Did you read the Thought and the Prayer for this week?  It is always good to start anything with a prayer. It sets the mind at ease and gets us prepared. I little thought doesn't hurt either. Part of my purpose on these pages is to generate thought, not just transmit information.  OK, let's go on ...

Last Friday afternoon and most of the day Saturday was invested in my new "Doolittle" page. One of the benefits I get when I do these pages is that I find the lives of these people fascinating. The life of the patriarch of the clan, Abraham Doolittle, or "Dowlittle" as he was then known,  was extraordinary. But if you want to know more of this family which we include in our ancestry, see the "Doolittle Family". As I build these "family" pages I keep making improvements. Since the Doolittle family merges into the Thayer family and it, in turn, to the Copeland family, I have linked the pages so the reader can follow a natural flow. This of course involved modifying those other family pages as well.

I am noticing little things that work better with the newest version of this Expression Web software that I use to maintain the web site. For instance I always had to be prepared for the fact that whenever I imbedded a YouTube video on a page, the program locked up and had to be restarted. If I had not done a save immediately before the imbedding, which is done in the "code" view, and then another save before switching back to the "design" view, I would loose my work.  Now I don't have that problem. ("Maybe what's good gets a little bit better ... and maybe what's bad, gets gone.")

Sunday morning, as usual, the pews were slow to fill. But that's OK because it allows me to get settled into my favorite spot and watch the people come in. Some get to church early for "private" prayer time. That's Ok We all have our way of praying as well as the time and place for prayer and that is good. But for myself, I kind of think that church is for public prayer and I do most of my private praying at home. I like to believe that God is there also and He and I can get personal there without Him being distracted by a lot of other people all saying different things. OK, I am being silly ... but, sometimes that's what I am.  At our church the Tabernacle is in a small chapel where people can stop and pray when entering and leaving the church.

Besides, if I am praying before mass, I would be disturbed when my friends come over and speak to me. Last Sunday, it was Bob R who came over from the choir area when he noticed me sitting there. He wanted to wish me a Merry Christmas on the behalf of him and his wife as well as inquire about my health and let me know that Sue was improving well after her knee surgery. Part of the communion of the mass is communing with each other and it is one of the changes in the church after Vatican II that I like very much. 

The time before mass is used also to make the announcements ... what is going on in the parish and who is sick and in need of prayer and who has recently died. The music director or the cantor also take the time to introduce and sometimes practice new hymns with the congregation. It would be nice if the chatter would cease during these times. I may make a suggestion that these things be done 8 to 10 minutes after the scheduled time of mass and that the presider come in 15 minutes after the published mass time. As it is now, many people are still arriving 15 minutes late.  They wouldn't do that for a movie or a concert so why can't they be on time for mass out of respect for the others and what is going on? Well, maybe its because they view church going as an "obligation" and don't really want to be there.  I have discovered that the "obligation" is mostly to myself and not to be there would deprive me of blessings, and mutual support. Sometimes the church makes rules that are self destructive.

I was amazed at the number of people at mass last Sunday. The space was overflowing and there seemed to be an unusual number of families with small children. Then I remembered ... after mass there would be donuts with Santa. Maybe another suggestion would be in order ... Have Santa after mass every week! We would have large crowds all the time. OK, ... I am being silly again. 

 

To have respect for ourselves guides our morals; and to have a deference for others governs our manners. Lawrence Sterne (1713 - 1768) . .

Sunday we had a mini Christmas Celebration. Dominick, Sarah and Bella were at Dom & Anne Marie's for the event. Dom's mom and his sister were supposed to be there but Rose was in the hospital. She apparently had a slight stroke earlier in the week and Pauline was with her waiting for her release. The good news was that she came home during the afternoon. Later, Dom brought them dinner. Dominick, Sarah and Bella will be with the Nagy family near Detroit for Christmas and so gifts were exchanged and the small number of people did not dampen the joy and love present. I got a gift from Bella. It was in a beautiful frame and will be displayed with pride. I share it here:

A year ago I proclaimed a new rule for Christmas. There will be no gifts from grandchildren (including "great" ones) to grandpa. Only their love and respect is needed and they had other uses for their money. But I make an exception for gifts of the heart such as the one shown here. Her sitter has been teaching her sign language. The top center pose is actually the sign for "finished" when she has had her fill of a meal. She knows the sign for "more" and several others.  She used "more" several times during dinner and then "Finished" when she had enough. I had heard that infants can learn to sign before they learn to speak but I am still amazed. As can be seen in the above, her personality is developing rapidly. Even more amazing is the fact that she is a perfect, yes, I said a "perfect" child around Christmas decorations and even the packages under the tree. A simple "No, Bella" is all it takes when she approaches something and then she turns away, never to go back unless something is given to her. My children were tolerable, my grandchildren were wonderful and my great grandchild is perfect. Isn't that the way it is supposed to be? We had a wonderful  and joyous mini Christmas and there was more to come.

 

Joy is prayer - Joy is strength -  Joy is love Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. Mother Teresa (1910 - 1997) .

Monday I completed my short "Lewis Family" page. There are only three generations of Lewis' in our genealogy but the line brings a little bit of Welsh, a lot of adventurous spirit and a dose of good civic character just in the life of the Patriarch of the Lewis' in America. .  See the Lewis Family  But, although the Lewis name is brief  in our family, the spirit continues through the Doolittle family, and the Thayer family into the Copeland Family to us. I have set up the links so it can be followed all the way. Don't worry, ... its not the end of family pages ... more to come.

I had intended to delve into the family of Martha Munnson another one of the Doolittle wives but on the way there I thought I would check again into the family of Hannah Royce. I had no information about her at all. I'm glad I did because I found an article about the Nehemia Royce House. It is the oldest house in Wallingford, CT built in 1672 just 2 years after the founding of the town. It is still in use today (2009) at the age of 337. Ok, the roof leaks. The Royce line is another of the short lines in our family tree. It is distinguished only by the life of the first Nehemia Royce. With his skills as a carpenter and blacksmith he was most likely a great asset to his community as it was built from the wilderness. That is not to say that his descendants were not as gifted or not assets to the community. It is just that we know so little about them.  It took some fortitude to live in the days when "The rest of the state was wilderness. The enemies were the Indians, the wolves and bears, and the French, the Dutch and the Devil." Those were formidable enemies ... especially the last one. I invite you to visit the Royce Family. It too is linked to the Doolittle, Thayer and Copland stories.

Anne Marie sent the photos from the "Bella Christmas in Chicago" festivities.

Chicago Christmas 2009			Bella and her great grandpa
	Isabella Ann	She puts items in and takes them out. She knows how to shop already
	The old Radio Flyer isn't the same. It now has seats, seat belts, and an extra long handle.
	Bella, Mom Ga-Ma		Bella with all the guys

I wonder who was the center of attraction last Sunday. In any case, it was a very happy occasion for all.

Happiness depends upon ourselves. Aristotle  (384 BC - 322 BC) .

It was snowing Tuesday morning (again) but this time a little more earnestly. Maria was late in arriving but she came with the usual card, appointment book and pen from her boss, Irene. Irene always has the same gifts for her customer's every Christmas and I always appreciate the pen. It is a good quality and lasts for much more than a year. Maria also brought a Polish treat, that is becoming a tradition, this time a layered square with dark layers light layers, chocolate layers and whipped cream between. She made sure I put it in the refrigerator.  I had a 1:30 appointment with the urologist ... my 6 month checkup ... but I realized that Marie would be finishing late. How could I take my shower and then still be here to give her the card and the Christmas gift as she left? So, After the doctor's office opened, I called and rescheduled. I really didn't want to go to see him anyway. At lunch time I sliced off a piece of my Polish treat and it was delicious.

As I enjoyed my desert, Joe came to the back door. He had come from school where the professor had dismissed the class early and he had some time to invest. He cleaned up the snow as best he could. The car had compressed it and it was solidly attached to the driveway in many places but it will be a lot easier for me to retrieve the mail later. However, the snow continued to fall. We expect a mixed bag in the next several days including snow, ice, rain ... even thunder storms. Merry Christmas! After his efforts, he made himself a glass of tea and we chatted for a while. He got a text message letting him know that he is making money even while not at work because people were coming in to pick up orders placed with him. He makes a lot of sales and has few returns because he doesn't try to sell people shoes they don't need. He listens to them and fills their needs. If your legitimate needs are filled, you are a happy customer. He will go far.

Joe also told me that Anthony had been contacted by the manufacturer of a device like an automatic pitching machine except that this one fires in tennis balls at high speed. The balls have colored dots and numbers on them and the batter calls out the color and the number as the ball nears the plate. Major leagues are starting to use the device to sharpen the batter's concentration on the ball. They need people to set it up and track the accuracy of the batters in batting practice before games. Anthony would love to have that job.  After Maria left, Joe left also. He went to get some (indoor) batting practice before going to work.  Thanks Joe.

Did you notice the difference in Bella's hair when comparing the photos in her Christmas gift to me and those of the party? Well in between she got her first hair cut.

	In the chair		It has toys
This isn't so bad.				The dryer feels so good!
	Am I done?		I feel like a new woman!

I wish my barber had a chair like that. 

 

Children are the anchors  that hold a mother to life. Sophocles. c.496 B.C.-406 B.C. .

It was Wednesday morning, dark and dreary, and I had no reason to be up and about at 6:30 but Mikey had a reason and that was reason enough for me. As I got out of bed I pushed aside the blinds and was even more convinced it was a morning to sleep in. I let my friend out and had to wait but a brief time before Mikey came to the same decision. We both went back to bed. At a quarter till 9 I regained consciousness and reluctantly did my morning rituals. As I got dressed I told my little friend that I was going down stairs and he reluctantly got out of his bed too. I took my morning shot and as I have to wait a half hour before eating, went to check my overnight emails. There it was ... the reminder on my computer ... "Mikey - Touch of Class" - "2 minutes overdue" The two of us were soon in the car and on our way. It was raining lightly, and it was at 30°. The side streets were a bit slippery but the main roads had been salted and were fine. As I pulled up to Touch of Class, so did Joe with Sampson. When we left, Joe asked if he could come to the house for a while. His class was at noon and he didn't want to go all the way home and then drive back. "No problem". We talked as I had my breakfast ... he didn't want any ... and afterward I continued my usual morning and Joe amused himself with the TV. About the time Paula called to let me know Mikey was ready, Joe was ready to go to class to class.  By this time the side streets had been salted and although it was raining harder and the water was freezing on everything, the streets were OK.

I had just finished my lunch when Joe called offering to bring me lunch. He got some for himself and came anyway. Only 3 students showed up for class so the professor showed them a short movie, gave the three 3 extra credits for being there and sent them on their way. Joe stuck around until it was time for work at 2.  Nick called a little later wanting to know if I needed my snow shoveled or if he could spread salt on my driveway. Since I did not plan to go anyplace and Joe had done the snow, I told him to stay home. We are supposed to have warmer temperatures and heavy rain on Thursday and so since nature was putting it there, she could take it away. Thank you guys.

If it isn't my grandkids looking out for me, its my neighbors. When Joe called about lunch, I told him to pull into the garage so he would not need to scrape ice from his windshield when it was time to leave. Then I left the garage door open for him. It had been open about 10 minutes when my neighbor from across the street called to tell me it was open.  Even my neighbors look out for me. I am truly blessed.

Speaking of blessings, I must share this with you. I truly pray that all the blessing expressed in the 3 minute video descend upon each and every one of you this Christmas season and, indeed, every day of your lives.  See May you be blessed . It is, indeed, my prayer for each of you and for the world. I have also added it to my "Inspiration" page.

 

"Wisdom outweighs any wealth.”  -Sophocles  .

The dawn of Christmas Eve came with my world clad in a garment of ice. It would have been a brilliant sight had there been a bright sun but the sky was gowned with heavy clouds. Nevertheless it was a pretty sight. The good news was that at least in my neighborhood it was not thick enough to cause any damage and even better news was that I had no need to go out in it in the morning and I would be gone later in the day with the rising temperatures and rain.  It looks like, with the help of Kevin, my email problems are solved. He directed me to a Comcast article which gave me the correct settings for my Outlook program to work with Windows 7. After making some changes, I was able to send a Christmas message, forwarded from Simple Truths and it appeared to work well. At least I hope I got my message across.

Wednesday evening, defying the tradition of masculinity, I went through the tutorials for using the latest and greatest version of Family Tree Maker. This newest version of the software has a completely different look and feel and at first I was dismayed at my inability to do the simplest of things the way in which I was accustomed. The tutorial removed the veil of ignorance and opened my eyes to a vastly improved application. And I thought it was good before! It is seamlessly integrated to the internet for research ... as long as you also have a subscription to Ancestry.com, which I do. There is more information at your finger tips as you do your work, eliminating the need to switch between views to do many different tasks. The old program had a feature that allowed you to calculate the relationship between any two individuals but you had to input their names and select the individuals from a list of same named people. In the new one you select a "home" person, usually yourself, by clicking on the name in your tree and from then on the relationship to that person to the person you have currently selected in your tree is displayed without you doing anything. With just one session with the tutorials I will not remember how to do everything but at least now I know where to find the answers to my questions and that is more important (and possible) than knowing all the answers. I am now ready to use this new version to prepare a Munson Family page for this web site. The Munson family arrived in America in 1634 and ties into the Doolittle family. Thomas Munson was my 9th great grandfather. There is also a branch of the Munson family which takes us to the Curtis line which will require yet another page. The Curtis family arrived in Boston, Massachusetts on September 16, 1632 on the ship Lion. John Curtis was also a 9th great grandfather of mine That ship has shown up for one of our other ancestors and I will have to link those two together. That and the new pages will all be my project going into next week.

Bob Lewis passed along ... An Invitation.  Its a birthday celebration that can be celebrated anytime. RSVP is required. If you don't go you will really be missing out.

On Christmas Eve I went to my son Tom's house to be warmly greeted by Caitlin and Kelly. Tom prepared a succulent beef roast, tender and juicy along with sautéed mushrooms, double baked potatoes, corn, and dinner roles. It was delicious. He had a cheese cake, intended for desert but forgot to thaw it. No matter, we were stuffed and I certainly did not need the additional carbs.  Caitlin filled me in on the rigors of life at college. (It seldom drops below 70° there) When I asked about boy friends she explained that she doesn't have time for boys with classes, homework and swimming practice up to 9 times a week. She will be returning to the campus almost two weeks before most of the students because of swimming practice. Kelley had good news as well. She has been accepted to St Louis University and awarded their most prestigious scholarship. They had phoned to notify her before Christmas so she would not have to wait for the official mail notification which will come in a week or so. That's two now and hopefully more to come before she makes a decision.  It was a great evening and I went home content with the world.

Mikey was a bit perplexed when I didn't go to bed at the usual time and beyond. He was even more perplexed when, at a little after 11, I was off to Midnight Mass. This is a tradition with me. Our church is decorated beautifully, as usual, and as I passed through the narthex, stopping to greet several others, the choir had already started the pre-mass concert. They alternated with the bell choir in their presentation of glorious Christmas hymns and were augmented by several musicians including violins, flute and  percussion. Our Music director is outstanding and the results are obvious. By the time Mass started the church was full to the point of standing room only. With this mass, those who attend are there because they want to be there and there is no one arriving late. Fr Steve presided, assisted by Fr Artur and Deacon Ed. As usual for this special event, Steve sung the entire Eucharistic Prayer, accompanied by the choir. That is always a treat because he has a good voice and he does it well. Sung prayer is always more profound. The responses of the congregation and their participation in the hymns are exceptionally strong at the Midnight Mass, again I believe,  because the people are not their in obligation to anyone but themselves.  After mass, again because the attendees want to be there, the church was slow to empty. The choir's last notes were followed with generous applause after which people milled about, greeting this one and that, many seemingly reluctant to leave. We were indeed filled with the Christmas spirit. This is what Christmas is all about. I returned home to a glass of warm milk in an attempt to come down from the "high" I was on. Mikey and I were soon fast asleep, my little friend achieving that state before I did.

Mikey got me up about 7 on Christmas morning. The temperature had risen above freezing Christmas Eve and it had rained all evening and during the night. The ice was gone from the trees and the pavements but there was still a coat of frozen snow on the grass. It was still raining lightly here. Downstate had been hit with heavy rain and there was flooding.  My morning was invested in this page and relaxation, a time to count blessings and to say thanks.  By noon most of the vestiges of snow were gone. gone.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~W.T. Ellis  .

Before 2 in the afternoon Mikey and I were on our way to my daughter's for the "Big" family celebration. My oldest son Dan and his family were already there, sans Nick. He arrived later with a friend, Valerie. Anne Marie's family was also there sans, Dominick and his little family who had arrived safely in Detroit for the holiday. My son Tom came also and the festivities were in full swing. There were drinks and appetizers of all kinds and everyone had stories to relate of earlier celebrations with the in-law branches of the family. I had brought with me a very special item. Each year, my sister prepares a "family" related gift for very one of her siblings and for these three years now I have been included. This year it was a framed replica of our great grandfather's advertisement in the 1876 Cleveland City business directory. He was a photographer and was prompting a photograph, carbon printed on ceramic for only $4. The item was admired by all. I was surprised with a Family gift ... all chipped in ... for a Kindle. I had said on this page that when the prices came down I would get one. My kids thought I should have one now. They like the idea that their dad keeps on the cutting edge of technology. Now I will have an electronic library at my finger tips, able to get books within minutes and read them where ever I want. I can even adjust the font size to accommodate these eyes of mine.

Dan & Karen were very happy with their kid's grades at school. Ana , in high school, Kelsey, a freshman in college and Nick in graduate school were all gifted with A's and B's. Ana topped them all with all A's. There are a lot of "smarts" in our family. I always knew that but I am more impreseds with the ambition and fortitude that goes along with it and is necessary to achieve thoes grades and the recognition that goes with them.

We all sat down to a scrumptious and more than ample dinner followed by home made cookies, cake and pastries. I over stuffed myself on popyseed kolaches then when I couldn't find more went to the cheese and fruit filled variety. As we finished dinner, Caitlin and Kelly arrived, rounding out the group. We went to the rec-room where the party continued. 

	Tom & Dan My Sons		Anthony
		Ana, Kelsey & Marc		Dom
	Valerie & Nick		Grandpa gets a surprise
Kelly & Caitlin			Grandpa & the Grandkids
	Merry Christmas 2009		Dad & his kids

When I left the rain had turned to snow. As Mikey and I got into the car and turned on the defrosters, Anthony brushed away the snow and scraped a coat of ice from the windshield. It had turned from a wet to a white Christmas. The roads were snow covered and the big old Buick faithfully did it's job. Just as my kids and grandkids look out for me, so does my car. Several times the antilock brakes kicked in with their rapid thumping and brought the car to a smooth stop at slippery intersections and then as I started to move forward the traction control started me on my way as other cars spun their wheels. We arrived at home safely and I made the required call to my daughter's house to report that fact and warn others of the road conditions.  It was a glorious day, full of love ... indeed overflowing with love.

So, on this day after Christmas, as I spoke with God and Anne, I really counted my blessings. The snow continues off and on but I'm not going anywhere. We can thank Karen for getting her pictures on to Snappish where I grabbed a copy for my computer and this page. Oh yes, that rule about no gifts from the grandchildren to grandpa is, if not broken, bent. The but they are more of the spirit than of monetary substance.  I also tell my kids that I don't "need" anything. I certainly did not "need" the Kindle but their "need" to make me happy will not be denied.  It is in that same spirit, as we continue in the Christmas season, that I leave you with this blessing: Christ Blessing. May it stay with you beyond the holy season as a part of your life.  I invite you to join me as ...

I Am blest I Am  anointed I Am overjoyed .