You are currently browsing the monthly archive for May 2007.
A steam engine train is shipping off
my grandpa from his North Dakota farm to the East Coast to prepare to fight in WWI. As far as I know, he was trained as a medic but never went over to Europe because by the time he was battle ready the war had ended. Look closely and see names chalked on the side of the train cars, perhaps of those brave soldiers who were defending freedoms that were in peril. What was he thinking as he shoved off to the East?
I’m preparing for two pending road trips which will take me south 75 miles to the Fargo archives to dig up more about my distant Norwegian relative tomorrow. Then the next day I will interview an 82 year old man who lived in the same house as S.A. Olsness did when he was a young boy. My second trip, next week, will take me to western North Dakota where I will mix my quest of digging for facts about my Norwegian relatives with my Ukrainian interests. I will go to Minot and interview an 92 year old woman who knew S.A. and also go to Dickinson where the Ukrainian Studies Institute houses many good books about Ukraine’s past. Once in Bismarck, the state capital, I hope to go through the state historical archives about both Ukrainian and Norwegian farmers in North Dakota. It should be a very informative time especially if I get to talk with a retired political science professor who has Ukrainian background but interested in North Dakota farmers’ politics. What will I be thinking as I go west? Thanking God for his guardian angels who protect me in ALL my travels.
The bright spot in my day is to look in the direction of my bay window and see all that is thriving inside and out. I have TWO amarillis simultaneously blooming. This thrill only happens once a year for me. I brought in from outside some antique irises, columbine and two poppies. Lilies of the valley are flourishing on the north side 
of our house. Also, I picked in chives which are good as garnish on salads. Earlier I had the last of our lilacs but I let them go. The dry arrangements are of my own statice, baby’s breath and lavender. You can also see cat tails that I picked from the ditch last year before they got too big. One dominate flower in this photo doesn’t belong in season. Which is it? Can you name where all the flowers are in the photo that I listed above? What other things do you see in this photo that are NOT flowers? Details, details. Who will be the first to get the prize?
My husband was on the Red Square a day ago and now back in Kyiv, Ukraine where things have momentarily settled down politically speaking. The greatest tragedy of my not being beside my husband in this photo is obvious to me. However, one could either Photoshop me in or presume that I pulled the trigger on the camera. Not to be. I reflect that I was on this same square over 30 years ago in 1976 and little did I know I would be so enamored by Ukraine’s history that is inextricably tied together with Russia’s history. Off to the right is the tomb where Lenin’s shell is still housed after these 85 plus years. I remember standing in a line just to see this madman’s exterior, for some he was a “god,” but for others Lenin tried to eradicate God Almighty. St. Basil’s Cathedral, to the left, was commissioned to be built by very talented architects by Ivan the Terrible. He rightfully earned that title because when the cathedral was complete he asked his architects if they could create something even more beautiful. Their response, in hopes to please their emperor, was YES. The spiteful man punished them by having their eyes poked out so they would never see the beauty of their own creation again. Supposedly, St. Basil’s cathedral was to be the most beautiful.
Yes, so much tragedy and so much blood has been shed in Moscow. Perhaps that is why it is called “Red Square.”
Sometimes life feels like the flight of the bumble b
ee with so many options of things to do, knowing where to start is half the battle. I mowed the lawn with my Dad’s help last night and it took much less time and looks very nice now. No dandelions! The goldfinches are happy with their thistle seed container filled. However, my flower beds are lanquishing and the young plum trees need to be saved from quack grass take over. Music is a good way to relieve stress from the tyranny of the urgent. Instead of not enjoying my Memorial Day vacation, I should just sit at the piano and play some of these old tunes. Some are 70 years old, others over 100 years old. Then I can think about which sheet music I will sell and which I will keep. Boxes and boxes of antique sheet music must be sorted through, but then there is always tomorrow. 
My grandparents plot at the cemetery is not too far from the Norwegian relative that I’m studying now that I’ve returned close to North Dakota. It was GREAT fun to visit with a 90 year old Aslakson relative and her friend Metta who was daughter t
o one of the governors of North Dakota. Metta is my Mom’s age. The weather was rainy and windy so I planted three geraniums in about seven minutes time and quickly got out of the Grandfield cemetery. How nice to spend the afternoon over a leisurely lunch and then we drove to Metta’s 100 year old house that her husband’s grandfather built. So much history, so little time!
Happy Memorial Day weekend!!! I’m almost done with grading EACH research paper with comments on each. On the most important page of the paper (where is that?) I have typed in each students’ grades. My Friday deadline I gave myself is almost up. Many of my students will awake to check their e-mail and find out their grade for Comp II. For me, it will be nice to actually go on vacation tomorrow. I will drive two hours due west to tend to the cemetery plots of my Norwegian relatives S.A. Olsness and his brother Aslak . Also, I will put plants next to my great grandparents and grandparents, the Aslaksons graves. Usually my Mom and I go together for this yearly tradition but she is busy with other things. Also, I have many people I want to talk to about S.A. Olsness while in his neck of the woods.
Once I’m back home again, I will go through boxes and boxes of the vintage sheet music I inherited from a former, musical student of mine. This music have more than just the “note of F” but G, A, B, as well all the others. Flats and sharps, louds and softs are inside all this sheet music that was mass produced in the late 1800s and early 1900s. However, the most interesting are the FRONT covers with its artwork. Each piece can be sold for about $5 to $10 on eBay or other places that specialize in antique kind of things. I’m just checking out the market since I have 100s of this vintage music that are in the 1910s, 1920s. Some of the illustrations are so pretty. I will scan some and then see how I do with marketing them on the Internet. Most customers are cross overs from other areas besides music, they buy just for the front covers. Some into military might buy the piece above. Others into ballet may buy a cover with a ballerina. If some famous singing star (like Elvis) is on the front, it can sell into the $100s of dollars. It just depends what is showing on the front, the way the notes look are immaterial to the casual buyer.
I’ve been selling books on half.com for the last five years and it gives me extra pin money. This will be extra fun to see what the market is for old Irving Berlin songs or for quadrilles, waltzes and Polish polkas. I’ll keep you all posted on how the music selling business goes!
Since my little Dell laptop is in the shop getting its “F” key attached, I’ve re-acquainted myself with my older, desktop computer that has OLD info and photos on it. Fortunately, the “F” key works on this one. I’ve been reading all my students’ research papers over a second time and noone will get an “F” grade (except the two papers I have NOT received yet!) However, some I have caught not using their own words and taking credit for using someone else’s words. We all know what THAT is called!!! Fancy technology can catch that sort of thing.
A direct correlation can be made with how much my Ukrainian students blogged this past semester and how good their final papers really were. First, the purpose behind blogging was to practice informal expression and to comment on each others’ blogs if time permitted. (I know some of my students were bogged down with other class commitments. ) Second, the purpose in learning how to write an academic paper for the final research paper was to NOT use any personal pronouns while using OTHER people’s thoughts. The idea behind a “Works Cited” page (which is where I go to first to see if you changed anything from your rough draft) is to see what was found in the Ebscohost, Infotrac, Lexus Nexus or ProQuest to support the paper’s thesis statement.
Fancy technology in the realm of composition classes has changed everything for me as a teacher. If my Ukrainian students want to be proud of their country (note the above flags on Maidan Square) then they need to learn how to use technology wisely. Cutting corners and plagiarizing only hurts the student and their country. Getting a low grade in my Comp II class may not mean much now. However, for the future advancement of each respective country (many students do not represent Ukraine) they all need to know how to write Formally. Life is like this discipline of following what may be perceived as strict rules of MLA formatting, but there are reasons for those rules.
I will be posting grades according to MY Friday deadline (May 25th) so my students will have to wait until Ukraine’s Saturday to find out what their final grades are.
Two very kind people in Dallas, Texas are greatly interested in what we are doing with “History Matters” in Ukraine. They have a HUGE heart For the widows in Ukraine and want to get their stories documented NOW!!! They also have the latest in technology to get the job done proFessionally, because they ARE proFessionals. Funding is the big question for us now because what they do is highly technical on very Fancy equipment!!! We have the content, especially aFter reading the research papers, viewing videotapes of “History Matters” and mulling over all the great quotes From the interviews. These Texans have the technology!!! Now it means getting some money to bankroll this so we can have a demo DVD to give out to people. My dream, will it be a reality? I hope and pray so.
Last night as I was “innocently” working at my computer, an overhead light one Foot above my laptop Fell onto my keyboard. Now I do not have a key of “F” and have taped over the spongey thing in order to keep typing. I hope to get this Fixed because it has slowed me down a bit. I had been grumbling earlier about all the bills I have to pay and the health insurance data that wasn’t getting through via computer. I was vexed and now even more so with my laptop’s missing tooth! This computer has perFormed very well for me, it may be getting old (only a year and a halF old) but I don’t want to give it up.
I know the Bauers from Texas have had their share of trials, mine does not compare to theirs, with their Fancy technology. But what Fun to show their DVD to all my friends and family along the way from Phoenix to home. What an excellent job they do especially showing the soup kitchen or the renovation of an old church in Odessa. The Feeling they leave with their viewers oF the DVD is they want to see MORE! Always a good sign when people are gripped by the stories told by the older Ukrainians. I’ve seen the one “Food for the Soul” about ten times and the First several times I could not help but cry. So sad are the stories of these older members of Ukrainian society.
We shall see iF their equipment will be used to bring out the realities of what my dear Ukrainian students have uncovered in their interviews and research papers about Ukraine’s older generation.
So many happy memories are “sewn together” with my visit to Phoenix then driving through Albuquerque, Dallas, Kansas City and finally my Minnesota home. My friend Sally takes credit for introducing me to my husband while we all lived in Almaty, Kazakstan. Since 13 years ago when I last saw them, Sally and her husband moved on to Uzbekistan but now live in Phoenix. She owns a quilt we are holding made in Uzbekistan. She is INTO quilts!
How like our lives which are made up of little pieces, stray pieces that are fit beautifully together by a Master Designer. By themselves the pieces may seem ordinary but put together are not only functional (for its warmth) but show creative, intelligent design. I marvel at all the different types of people I have known throughout my life. Fortunately, I also reconnected with my friend, Kris, who I first met in the Philippines when I lived there in 1981-83. Also, my other friend Elizabeth whom I met in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 1993. Another Phoenix friend, Sandra, has strong Ukrianian roots and an amazing gift of creativity. What fun to spend time with my Phoenix friends whether short or long. Even before my trip to Phoenix while in Minneapolis, I coincidentally ran into a Chinese roommate of mine. I lived with Roz in an International House while I went to U of M graduate school.
Some of my friends are very strong Christians, others are “strong” agnostics or atheists. They are still my friends and pieces of the patchwork in my life. Quilts take much patience and I am reminded anew about the verse from Luke 21:19 “By your patience possess your souls.” Six little words I still puzzle over just as I would a quilt and its intricate design.
Have you looked at “Ukrainian students” on YouTube? It will make you laugh for sure, about dormitory life and something cooking in the kitchen. Or “Star Wars Kid” with a 12 year old playing around with laser fights against Darth Vadar? Or “Human Monkey” that shows an Asian man leaping and jumping from building to building. My favorite is the one placed in a German (?) department store where customers try out a waterbed and turns out that it really IS a waterbed. The last scenario is the best with two ladies trying to get out. Also, “Bowling Bloopers” is funny or for that matter, anything with the word “blooper” attached to it in the keyword is hilarious. Then check out the “Dancing Horse” and the “Hysterical Laughing Baby.” Also, “Hillary 1984″ is a good reminder why she should not be president. I’m considering putting on a couple of funny clips I have, unfortunately they are on videotape and must be digitized.
Not going to happen in the foreseeable future since I have research papers to grade and also gardening to do. Work is never ending it seems. Soon the semester will be over for all my students, I hope they have good summer plans until next fall semester starts up again.
