Summer’s Over and Fall’s Cookin’!

Tags

Autumn, blessings, change, change of season, cool weather, Dick Willingham, fall, harvest, nature, nature photographs, Summer, tribute

Ah, Summer.  It’s still here for a lot of us.  Warm, humid weather, sunshine.

Why, just a few mornings ago I was out taking these pictures of the summer flowers, skies and grass in my neighbor’s overgrown yard.

The neighbor just moved in and thinks he’s been hoodwinked.  He does not feel that it is his responsibility to mow his yard, and argues with the city about it.

At any rate, things are suddenly changing.  Almost like clockwork, with Fall officially beginning Sunday, it’s just now starting to look a little more like change is in the air.

In the early morning sunlight this week I’ve noticed things that are usually green are starting to turn shades of red, orange and yellow.  Leaves are starting to fall a little, the air is getting cooler at night, the Fall smell is in the air.

Fruit trees are ripe for a final harvest, and fruit is starting to litter the ground.

Even an old acorn cap, probably from last year, has joined the menagerie of falling objects from trees.

But, after all, we’re still getting the occasional 90 degree day.  That’s why I take pictures in the early morning still, so I don’t sweat all over my camera.  There are still vestiges of Summer holding on as long as they can.

I am one of those holdouts.  I like Fall, but I also like the sunshine and outdoorsy feeling of Summer, and have not been in a hurry to let it go.

But, with the change of season also comes the promise of good and different things, so saying goodbye to Summer and embracing Fall starts us on the path that opens us up to all the wonderful things ahead.

In the past several months I’ve had an ongoing mantra of promising I’ll do better at blogging.  I’m not sure what has happened, but I’m trying to figure out why I have just had the blues for the last several months.  

There have been some very bright spots, though, and I am grateful for the blessings of wonderful people and great relationships.  There is not a problem in the world that can’t be made better by these blessings.

At the risk of letting my overwhelming pride turn me into a bad blogger, I wanted to share this video with you.  This past week my family and a host of friends celebrated the life of my Uncle Bud with a party — jazz band playing, food, fun — it’s what he wanted rather than a funeral.  But, the video is the tribute to Uncle Bud done by KYTV, the NBC affiliate station here in southwest Missouri.  This is my final blog about Uncle Bud, but far, far from my final thought and memory.

http://www.ky3.com/news/ky3-former-ky3-anchor-dick-willingham-passes-away-20130915,0,2768607.story

A great weekend is coming up, and I’m looking forward to starting fresh.  Just like the seasons change and another one starts anew, so we each can do the same thing.  It’s what makes life interesting!

Have a fabulous and blessed weekend!

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Poms To Beat the Blues

Tags

being kind, Bird, Colorado, death, Dick Willingham, Fruit, grief, kindness, loss, nature, nature photographs, Pomegranate, Rocky Mountains, sadness

Of course, there is a story behind the pomegranates — it’s not a long one, but worth telling.  The kindness of others is always worth talking about.

Yesterday was a not-so-easy day.  I wanted to go to the hospital to visit Uncle Bud (if you are not up-to-date on what’s going on there, catch up here), but City Boy was working and had our only vehicle.  He was sure he wouldn’t be home until too late for me to see Uncle Bud.

Uncle Bud with his daughter Susan in 1977 while on a Rocky Mountain vacation

When I talked to Aunt Ann yesterday, the news was not good, and I was in a funk.  I had a feeling I was not going to see Uncle Bud again, at least not to where he could see me.

My mother had taken ill with some bug, and I was also concerned for her, so I was trying to stay busy to beat the blues.  Lucy, our dog, started barking loudly and consistently, so I knew someone was approaching the front porch.

Sitting there by the door was a box.  I figured it was the vitamins I’d ordered.  But it wasn’t.

A friend who has been following my blog almost since the first day I started it had sent me some pomegranates from her own trees where she lives.  When I opened the box and saw the little card and the pomegranates, I just started bawling.

The timing couldn’t have been more needed and excellent, and the sheer kindness of this blessing made my broken heart melt.  I had really not had any problem with the weepies until I opened that box.

7 lbs of beautiful pomegranates were sitting on the dining room table when I got the call later that evening that Uncle Bud was gone.

Uncle Bud used my 110 pocket instamatic camera to take this picture of a 17-year-old me (who rarely wore those funky glasses) while I was vacationing with his family in the Rocky Mountains.  If a person stood there holding a peanut in the air, a bird would eventually swoop down and grab it.  

The kindnesses you do for a person may not seem like that big a deal to you, and you may feel like the recipient probably doesn’t consider it anything special as well.  But you don’t know what is happening at that moment in someone’s life, and you may be granting anything from a brighter day to saving their life.

My heartfelt thanks and many hugs to Cindy for the lovely pomegranates!  Cindy and her husband travel extensively, and she posts the most fantastic photos of her travels.  Home is a place Cindy calls “The Holler,” and it has many wonderful things and places that she photographs and posts as well.  Stop by Cindy’s blog for a visit — you’ll be glad you did!

Many blessings to you all, and I wish you a happy and peaceful Sunday!

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And Now, the News

Tags

Buick Skylark, Cancer, Colorado Rockies, death, Dick Willingham, dying, grief, KSMU, KYTV, melanoma, stage 4 melanoma, Tiny Tim, Tiptoe Through the Tulips

Dick Willingham (right), NBC affiliate anchor, in 1970

One of the many things I like about my uncle having been a newscaster is that he has always had the most interesting stories to tell.  Before he retired, he spent 25+ years as an anchor for KYTV in Springfield, Missouri, and then as news director for KSMU radio station.

He and his wife, Ann, and daughter, Susan, were my second family growing up, and during my college years and as a married adult and mother.  They are a strong Christian family and have always been active in the church — Uncle Bud is a deacon and longstanding member of the choir, among other things.

Richard, Susan, Ann — 2008

One thing about my Uncle Bud (the name my brothers and I called him from the time we could talk, so it stuck), is that he has never raised his voice in my presence.  It’s a safe bet that he has rarely, if ever, raised his voice in anyone’s presence.  I have never heard him react to even the most annoying things with a loud voice.

The photos here of Uncle Bud at the tv station span from 1970 to perhaps the very early 80’s.  They are from KY3‘s website, where the station is now celebrating their 60 year anniversary.

There aren’t enough hours in the day to tell about all the things Uncle Bud has done, all the experiences he has had, and all the laughter, learning, holidays, and fun spent with him, my aunt and my cousin.

It’s too bad I don’t still have a picture of it, but Uncle Bud and Aunt Ann gave me my very first car.  It was a white Buick Skylark model from the early 70’s, in pristine condition.  My uncle has always made sure the family cars stayed in top condition.

They even took me on vacation one year with them to the Colorado Rockies for two weeks.  Their home was my home away from home.

For some reason I remember one interview my uncle did more than any of the others.  He interviewed Tiny Tim, for whom singing “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” in high falsetto was a trademark.   It was not all that long after Tiny Tim had divorced, and it hadn’t been a pretty break-up.  I just remember that interview because Tiny Tim was such an odd duck.

Uncle Bud has been an avid photographer as long as I’ve known him.  It seems appropriate, since his total career has been involved with the media in one way or another.

A few months ago Uncle Bud found a lump on his neck and decided to check with a doctor, just in case.  It wasn’t likely to be anything too complicated, since Uncle Bud walked every day, ate healthy things, and lived a healthy lifestyle.  That’s why our whole family was in shock when he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in three places.

When my uncle asked the doctors why the cancer had not been detected until it was so far along, they told him he had the health of a teenager, and the cancer was detected late because he hadn’t had any symptoms at all.  And he still didn’t — until the treatments started.  After two sickening rounds, Uncle Bud was listed as terminal.

Uncle Bud this past Christmas, at my house showing my mother (his sister) how to use her first digital camera

Now, at any moment, I expect that call that no one wants to get, or perhaps even be present when Uncle Bud is ushered into the presence of God.  Uncle Bud is near death in the section of the hospital reserved for patients who the staff are trying to “keep comfortable.”  My heart breaks for Aunt Ann and my cousin Susan.  Uncle Bud and Aunt Ann have been each other’s best friend and spouse for many years, and Susan is their pride and joy.

I always took it for granted that Uncle Bud would outlive me, both because of his stellar health, and also because of my poor health.  Many people have told me that we humans don’t always pick our exact time of leaving, and that we are not promised tomorrow.

This is true, and I know it is.  But, grieving is what it is.  Knowing that you’ll see a person again doesn’t keep you from missing them while they’re gone.

Sorry to end my blogging break with such a post — there has been so very much going on this past few weeks, and it is occasionally difficult for a person to be totally cheerful.  I’m glad you dropped by — my highest blessings go out to all of you, and I pray that you all have a joyful weekend!

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