Elections, Eyelids, and Ervin Miller Stories
I laugh to myself every time I read or hear someone say, "If you don't vote, don't complain about how things turn out." This usually comes from someone whom I perceive to be defensive both about voting and complaining.
To me the injunction comes across as high-octane bloviation. I don't need a commandment to "get" that message. I already live that way. At least concerning the presidential elections, I don't vote and I don't complain about how it turns out. There's plenty to be glad about and plenty to be concerned about regardless of the outcome.
I fully expect to wake up on Wednesday morning with exactly the same measure of optimism and pessimism about the future as I did this morning--unless the results of the election are not clear, in which case I will allow myself a sigh.
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My right eyelid is maddeningly itchy this evening next to my nose, apparently on the same course as the skin around the outer corner of the same eye, which started out itchy this morning and is a little sore this evening. I don't expect it to interfere with my vision, but I am not enamored with the prospect of a narrow-slitted, puffy-lidded eye for all my students to have to look at tomorrow.
*************************
I posted on Facebook this morning a link to an excellent article that Joel alerted me to in one of the comments on an earlier post. I'm going to re-post the link here in case we're not connected on Facebook and you happen to be interested in the subject.
**********************
Several years ago, Ervin Miller gave me a handwritten document in which he reminisced about the past. He wanted it "written up" properly. Because I couldn't always decipher it, Hiromi suggested that I type it first exactly as he wrote it and ask him then to mark corrections on a printed copy. When we gave him the printed copy, he was horrified at how incoherent it was, and we never got back a corrected copy. Several of Ervin's sons read the copy and corrected some of the details they had knowledge of. I now have the uncorrected copy in my electronic files, but have lost track of the corrected hard copy. I remember a bit of it, however.
As a favor to the family, I'd like to write some of those memories here. They are often more nearly like snapshots than stories. I run the risk of getting a few of the details wrong, and I will invite any family members who know the details to correct them.
Ervin had dementia at the end of his life. It's not clear to me how much his mind was affected at the time he wrote the paper he gave me. A note I wrote him after I had typed it is dated December 19, 2009. My impression is that some things were not clear in his mind at that time, but most of his childhood memories may have been clear.
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Memories of His Mother's Family in Illinois
Ervin traveled with his mother to Illinois by train when he was three years old. A ticket cost $20-30.00 at that time. This was a trip Ervin's mother Josephine (Feeny) made every three years. During their time there, Ervin remembers asking his mother for a piece of bread with "lotvac" (apple butter). She prepared a piece for him and then unthinkingly started eating it herself. Ervin's tears brought her back to her senses, and she gave Ervin the rest of the piece. He remembers his aunts laughing at Feeny's mistake.
Feeny's brother, who was quite young, (Ervin remembers him as being 12 or 13) built wagons and a variety of other items from wood. The child Ervin tagged along with his uncle and enjoyed their time together a great deal.
Perhaps at later visits, Ervin witnessed his grandfather's diligence in reading his Bible daily. For the last six of his 82 years he had slowed down to reading only 4 or 5 chapters a day. Ervin may have been 12 when his grandfather died.
After Ervin's grandfather died, his widow lived in a Dawdy (Grandpa or Grandparent, in this case) house by herself. Every morning she had to have a few eye drops put in both eyes. She died one Sunday evening when Ervin was 17.
************************
Childhood Illness
Ervin was a sickly child. When he was 13, he was able to attend school only six days that school year. He spent 30 days in the hospital at Weatherford, OK.
One morning, in preparation for the nurse's visit, he got up and made his bed around 7:00 in the morning and then lay down again on top of the covers. When the nurse arrived and found him there, she asked why he hadn't slept under the covers. "I did," he answered. "I already fixed my bed. I expected you to come sooner." She believed him.
At the age of 16, Ervin's tonsils were removed in the doctor's office on Main Street in Thomas, OK. While waiting for the anesthesia to take hold, the nurse asked him who his girlfriend was. That was the last thing he remembered until he woke up after the surgery. On the way home, only a short distance from town, sudden bleeding made his father turn around quickly to go back to the doctor's office. The doctor got the bleeding stopped soon, and to his father's surprise, Ervin was allowed to go home that day yet, although it was dark by the time they got there.
To be continued.
To me the injunction comes across as high-octane bloviation. I don't need a commandment to "get" that message. I already live that way. At least concerning the presidential elections, I don't vote and I don't complain about how it turns out. There's plenty to be glad about and plenty to be concerned about regardless of the outcome.
I fully expect to wake up on Wednesday morning with exactly the same measure of optimism and pessimism about the future as I did this morning--unless the results of the election are not clear, in which case I will allow myself a sigh.
************************
My right eyelid is maddeningly itchy this evening next to my nose, apparently on the same course as the skin around the outer corner of the same eye, which started out itchy this morning and is a little sore this evening. I don't expect it to interfere with my vision, but I am not enamored with the prospect of a narrow-slitted, puffy-lidded eye for all my students to have to look at tomorrow.
*************************
I posted on Facebook this morning a link to an excellent article that Joel alerted me to in one of the comments on an earlier post. I'm going to re-post the link here in case we're not connected on Facebook and you happen to be interested in the subject.
The link below is to an outstanding treatment of subjects swirling through discussions in our churches. Two warnings: The article is 31 typewritten pages long, and will take a bit of time to read. I had to wait to do so till I found some time,
but it's well worth the effort. The other warning has to do with a recurring misspelling: "hearing" instead of "healing." I feel very good about Hiebert's treatment of a sometimes controversial subject. 
**********************
Several years ago, Ervin Miller gave me a handwritten document in which he reminisced about the past. He wanted it "written up" properly. Because I couldn't always decipher it, Hiromi suggested that I type it first exactly as he wrote it and ask him then to mark corrections on a printed copy. When we gave him the printed copy, he was horrified at how incoherent it was, and we never got back a corrected copy. Several of Ervin's sons read the copy and corrected some of the details they had knowledge of. I now have the uncorrected copy in my electronic files, but have lost track of the corrected hard copy. I remember a bit of it, however.
As a favor to the family, I'd like to write some of those memories here. They are often more nearly like snapshots than stories. I run the risk of getting a few of the details wrong, and I will invite any family members who know the details to correct them.
Ervin had dementia at the end of his life. It's not clear to me how much his mind was affected at the time he wrote the paper he gave me. A note I wrote him after I had typed it is dated December 19, 2009. My impression is that some things were not clear in his mind at that time, but most of his childhood memories may have been clear.
************************
Memories of His Mother's Family in Illinois
Ervin traveled with his mother to Illinois by train when he was three years old. A ticket cost $20-30.00 at that time. This was a trip Ervin's mother Josephine (Feeny) made every three years. During their time there, Ervin remembers asking his mother for a piece of bread with "lotvac" (apple butter). She prepared a piece for him and then unthinkingly started eating it herself. Ervin's tears brought her back to her senses, and she gave Ervin the rest of the piece. He remembers his aunts laughing at Feeny's mistake.
Feeny's brother, who was quite young, (Ervin remembers him as being 12 or 13) built wagons and a variety of other items from wood. The child Ervin tagged along with his uncle and enjoyed their time together a great deal.
Perhaps at later visits, Ervin witnessed his grandfather's diligence in reading his Bible daily. For the last six of his 82 years he had slowed down to reading only 4 or 5 chapters a day. Ervin may have been 12 when his grandfather died.
After Ervin's grandfather died, his widow lived in a Dawdy (Grandpa or Grandparent, in this case) house by herself. Every morning she had to have a few eye drops put in both eyes. She died one Sunday evening when Ervin was 17.
************************
Childhood Illness
Ervin was a sickly child. When he was 13, he was able to attend school only six days that school year. He spent 30 days in the hospital at Weatherford, OK.
One morning, in preparation for the nurse's visit, he got up and made his bed around 7:00 in the morning and then lay down again on top of the covers. When the nurse arrived and found him there, she asked why he hadn't slept under the covers. "I did," he answered. "I already fixed my bed. I expected you to come sooner." She believed him.
At the age of 16, Ervin's tonsils were removed in the doctor's office on Main Street in Thomas, OK. While waiting for the anesthesia to take hold, the nurse asked him who his girlfriend was. That was the last thing he remembered until he woke up after the surgery. On the way home, only a short distance from town, sudden bleeding made his father turn around quickly to go back to the doctor's office. The doctor got the bleeding stopped soon, and to his father's surprise, Ervin was allowed to go home that day yet, although it was dark by the time they got there.
To be continued.
posted by Mrs. I (Miriam Iwashige) at
8:22 PM
1 Comments:
I'm so enjoying your blog! I'm not complaining about how the election turned out either. To those who tell me I have no right to complain if I don't vote I ask, "Don't you complain about the government and laws that happen in other countries? Like how in Germany you think it's wrong that they don't allow homeschooling, or how Switzerland has a park where drug addicts can be without getting arrested, or how Iraq treats its women? Did you help make any of those things law or support those who did?" The news is FULL with complaints of what is happening in other countries. Pointing out areas of concern does not equal to complaining.
By
Todd, Tia, & Tyler, at 11/14/2012
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