River-Rat Reflections

First Skiing of the Year

2012-01-29T13:29:00.000-08:00

We finally have enough snow to get out skiing---went on a trail just a block away but have to drive 4 miles since it's across the river from our house. Not very many people out today, so we were making our own path part of the time. I go ahead to set the pace and John follows on my nicely groomed trail. What a deal! Snow was hanging from the trees and part of the way is through a deep thicket. We kept remarking about the incredibly beautiful scenery. Here he is just as we are starting out. We finished on a sad note. A woman had lost her dog on the trail and then her daughter had come to help search and got stuck in a deep ditch. We drove along the road bordering the wetland park, hoping to catch sight of the dog---no luck. Nice scenery, though, especially this old falling down house.

Back Home in Michigan

2012-01-22T18:39:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday afternoon, after spending a wonderful 2 days with Darlene and Kathy in Denver, we headed for Michigan, driving straight through, arriving home before noon. We had planned to stay on the road Sunday night but a bad weather forecast prodded us on. It was no fun, but we took turns driving and managed to stay awake. It's was a great trip but I always love to come home where I get more writing (and painting) done. Tomorrow we'll stay at the loft (above the barn at Carlton Gardens) overnight with a crackling fire to keep us warm. We don't have much business in the winter months but we both get a lot of work done. Here's a bird house John built yesterday and that I painted this afternoon---made to look kind of like a broken-down shack.

Taos, New Mexico

2012-01-12T18:23:00.000-08:00

Here we are in one of our favorite little all-American towns, staying at the historic Taos Inn, listening to some great live music---modern folk with a lot of minor chord changes, a lead vocalist playing guitar, accompanied by a violinist and cellist. We left Big Bend yesterday noon after 3 days of fantastic hiking. Since then have been enjoying the scenery and stopping along the way to buy merchandise for the shop.
Here is a photo of John as we are arriving at the Inn a few hours ago. Below a wonderful house we saw along Route 285 south of Santa Fe.

The Best of Big Bend

2012-01-10T17:54:00.000-08:00

We walked out of our room at 8:45 this morning, noting the frost on the windshield of our car as we headed for the trail up and around the mountain, an 11+ mile round trip hike, 8 miles of which, I am convinced, go up. After nearly 4 miles up we reach the meadows---about a mile of smooth hilly terrain. Then we start down and after another mile the real hike up the mountain begins. Every time you think you're on your way down you round a bend and are on your way up again. With my problematic knees I wasn't at all sure that I'd be able to make the hike this year, but 600 mg of Ibuprophen before I started did the trick. On our way up we saw this Mexican Jay. Every time I snapped a picture, he moved closer, finally giving me a nice profile pose. One of the favorite sights of this hike is the boot, as shown in the pic below. When we got back to the lodge at 2:30 we sat out in the sunshine on our deck until it got so hot we had to go in. The lodge is right below the gigantic rock formation known as Casa Grande. Below is a snap of it as the sun is going down. Also a snap of me with another mountain formation in the background.

Big Bend National Park

2012-01-09T16:19:00.000-08:00

We've had two great days of hiking here at Big Bend. Today was cold---a high in the 40s but it was perfect for hiking in the desert. Here John is looking out through the "window" overlooking the high desert below. It's a 5-mile hike that we took late yesterday afternoon--a hike that begins at the lodge where we're staying. Also a picture of me as we entered Cattail Falls this morning.

On the Road

2012-01-07T18:47:00.000-08:00

Sunset on entering Fort Stockton, Texas this evening. We're staying at Atrium Inn, an absolutely wonderful place---and a room with a Jacuzzi---all for less than $70. We left Grand Rapids late Thursday afternoon with everything in good order. Carlton is watching over the house and business, while Alex and Rhonda keep the doors open for customers. This is a buying trip for the store, and we've already made some great purchases, including benches and birdhouses. Tomorrow we will be driving into Big Bend National Park on the Rio Grande River on the border of Mexico. We'll be hiking and staying at the Chisos Mountains Lodge for three nights and then driving on to New Mexico for more purchases for the store. Our last stop is Denver where we will be staying with dear friends Darlene and Kathy and going with them to church on Sunday: Columbine United Church where Dr. Steve Poos-Benson waxes eloquently from the pulpit.

We had a fantastic time driving the Ozark Mountain backroads of Missouri and Arkansas. Our destination was the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas. It's an incredible place, free of charge, funded by a massive Walmart inheritance.

That pristine setting was balanced by ram-shackle houses along the way that would fit in well on Abrigador Trail.

Looking Back

2012-01-01T12:00:00.000-08:00

New Year's Day is a time of reflection for me and I'm always glad to be going into an even year. Odd years have been particularly bad for me, even years good: 1969, my mother was killed in an auto accident; 1974, Carlton was born; 1975 and 1977 very bad years of learning I'd been betrayed; 1978, moving to Grand Rapids and beginning my teaching career; 1982, beginning my wonderful 17-year teaching career at Trinity, flying back and forth to Chicago; 1987, more betrayal; 1996, Kayla was born; 2000, beginning as full-time professor at Calvin Seminary; 2003, the beginning of a firing process by new president and sidekicks; 2004, engaged and married to the man of my dreams. Since then, the years have all been good (though this past year John did endure a painful betrayal). So, my superstitious nature has me headed for a wonderful year.

We've had a great 2011 at Carlton Gardens with people coming in every day raving about how wonderful the place is inside and out. This past week we went to 4 good movies: Sherlock Holmes, Higher Ground, War Horse, and Moneyball; I recommend them all. Here is a snap of us in the middle of a hike last week.

Family Christmas

2011-12-30T07:49:00.000-08:00

We hosted an extend-blended family meal on Christmas Eve. Here is John and daughter Laura and below, the whole bunch.

Christmas Past

2011-12-27T07:33:00.000-08:00

We made it through another Christmas season which is always hectic with entertaining and get-togethers---and increased business at the shop. Like other retail establishments we did much better this year than last. But the season is not about gifts and retail, or is it? I've never felt Christmas to be a particularly holy holiday, having not grown up in a religious tradition that emphasized the Advent season. For us, Christmas is surely about singing the old carols and reading the nativity story in Luke. But bottom line it's mostly about family. It was great to be with family and extended family this year and to catch up with folks we hadn't seen for more than a year. With house guests departing yesterday, I'm getting back to my writing and planning for our annual January trip South.

A Night with the Orchestra

2011-12-18T18:15:00.000-08:00

Tonight, like every Christmas season, John conducted the orchestra for our big downtown church. It's a volunteer group that comes together to practice a dozen or more Christmas carols only once, and that just two hours before the service. John and the music director assign parts six weeks ahead of time and send the music out to the players---some fifty of them tonight. They range in quality from middle-schoolers to symphony players, but somehow John brings the best out of them and they end up sounding fantastic. He's a real pro if I say so myself.

The Value of Art

2011-12-13T09:05:00.000-08:00

A woman came into the shop the other day, pacing back and forth in front of this painted board that hangs over the fireplace in the barn. She really wanted it, kept talking about it to another woman who was with her. I have no price tag on it and told her it really wasn't for sale. But she kept persisting so finally I told her to name her price and I would tell her whether or not I'd consider it. So after looking around in all the other buildings she came inside with some other little things she wanted to purchase. After I finished waiting on some other customers she told me she had decided she could afford $40.00. I told her (in a very nice way) that I couldn't let it go for that. Then she came back again yesterday, commenting that she'd sure like to buy it in case I'd changed my mind. I didn't tell her that the wood and paint cost well over $10 and that it took me probably upwards of 30 hours to complete, albeit watching TV at the same time. But at any rate, her offer would have paid me about a dollar an hour for my time. This is what is known by the term starving artist. Someday when I'm world famous, she'll regret she didn't offer more for an early Tucker. Actually, I've had several people tell me that wanted the piece. Maybe I'll stage a bidding war!

My Husband the Artist

2011-12-01T13:23:00.000-08:00

Here is John's lastest artistic creation---though it is yet unfinished. The turquoise doors and windows (that don't show their full color in this photo) were just installed today. We worked out the design together and he did all the building and painting. It is located in the center of our back yard at Carlton Gardens, named The Summer House. I consider this work a promotion---step up--- from his 35 years as a professor of music.

My Museum Piece

2011-11-23T18:59:00.000-08:00

I've finally made it in the art world! Below is the crazy quilt I painted more than a year ago. It sold, and I lost track of it. I never dreamed that my work would be chosen and that I'd be recognized outside of Michigan. Wonders never cease.

JUST KIDDING!!! I found a site online where people can put their own paintings in a museum. Check it out here. Actually, the piece above did sell--for under $100, no less. Hardly an art-world price (though Van Gogh's paintings initially didn't sell for much either). So, there's still hope.

First Snowfall

2011-11-10T11:01:00.000-08:00

How easy it is to forget the beauty of the first snowfall of the year--especially when it's coming down as it is now---huge flakes turning my jacket white before I could snap a picture. This is the back yard of Carlton Gardens.

Ohio Scenic Byway

2011-11-03T17:36:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of photos I took along highway 52 in southern Ohio along the Scenic Byway of the Ohio River. With places like this we never feel far away from home.

November Sunrise on the River

2011-11-02T19:31:00.000-07:00

Alpaca Show

2011-10-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

John always goes out to the mailbox early on Sunday morning to get the local paper and then comes up to the loft while I'm still in bed and reads headlines and some of the stories aloud to me. This morning, the one that caught my attention was headlined "Cuddly alpaca pack 'em in" that told about the 15th annual festival just a few miles away at the DeltaPlex. The call of these creatures was just too strong, so we headed off to walk through aisles of alpaca pens rather than walking down the aisle of church to find the right pew. (We're planning to go to the Reformation hymn sing at church tonight, so this turned into a wonderful alternative worship service by admiring these most delightful creatures.)

What charmers they are. I'm a goat lover from way back, but alpacas now have a place in my heart as well. Turns out that Michigan is leading region for alpaca farms.The show was free, but the items for sale were very pricey. Here I am, pictured above, with a friend I met along the way. This adorable guy didn't even come out of his pen to greet me.

Northern Lights

2011-10-24T19:07:00.000-07:00

Tonight John and I went out to sit on our chairs on a little deck that overlooks the river. Everything was normal on this brisk dark night until we saw curtains of light developing in the northern sky. What a show it was. Truly breath-taking. After we came in I went to the local weather blog and already about a dozen people, including our chief meteorologist, had posted about the phenomenon. Right now, there are upwards of a hundred comments, including my own. People have been calling in from all over Michigan and in neighboring states as well.

Life has been incredibly busy lately with my self-imposed daily goal of writing 1000 words. Some days I struggle to get over 999, but today I managed 1618. Saturday there was an article in the Grand Rapids Press about local women writers---four of us, beginning with me and my church history text.

Earlier this month we took our annual trip to Spooner, Wisconsin. The old farm will forever been in my heart and memories. We had a brunch with brother Jonnie at the picnic area on the bank of the Yellow River. Another highlight was having dinner with my high school band director Don Nelson and his wife Marg---hadn't seen them in many years. What a wonderful reunion. After we left Spooner we headed for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan where we hiked in the Porcupine Mountains and Pictured Rock National Lake Shore. It was a wonderful 5-day get-away.

Naked in Hastings

2011-09-28T18:41:00.000-07:00

Not much ever happens in West Michigan, but today this item in the Grand Rapids Press caught my attention. Just this morning I was writing about the Prophet Isaiah who, on orders from God, went naked for three years in order to draw attention to the evil world. Back then, however, law enforcement was a bit more lax.

A Hastings man attracted attention of horn-honking motorists as he disrobed on an afternoon stroll. By the time he got to Hastings Library, he was naked. Police received several calls just before 4 p.m. Monday about a naked man walking on East State Street. “When Hastings police officers arrived, there were several cars behind him honking their horns since he was, indeed, naked,” Police Chief Jerry Sarver said. The explanation: “He told police . . . God wanted us all to be peaceful and that this world was an evil place.” Police arrested the 42-year-old man for indecent exposure.

Writing Mode--writing grind

2011-09-22T07:08:00.000-07:00

For the past month I've been averaging more than a thousand words a day---part of the process of fulfilling another book contract. I go into "writing mode" with that kind of daily word count for every book I write and it never gets any easier. Some people set aside 6-8 specified hours a day; I can't do that with my short attention span, but I force myself to write words throughout the day.

The schedule doesn't mean we don't have fun. The other night we were out biking, hiking and kayaking and about 10 days ago got away for two nights (computer in tow). We went north along Michigan's beautiful shoreline and stayed near Petosky in Bayview, an educational community owned by the Methodist church, founded in the late nineteenth century. The beautiful Victorian homes are part of the draw. We stayed "on campus" at the old Terrace Inn shown above. Below is an old Victorian house.

2011-09-05T12:29:00.000-07:00

Summer's over and I feel a sense of sadness--more than that, heaviness of heart. Not because of the passing of the season. I love autumn, and everything is going almost too well for John and me, the writing and the business. But just this week I've learned of very unfortunate situations among friends and family, three former students among them, dear ones, whose lives are messed up and relationships are in deep trouble. Only weeks ago I was feeling on top the world---no longer.

7 Incredible Years!

2011-08-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today was our 7th wedding anniversary. We celebrated by biking south into Grand Rapids and then on to trails that took us through parks and wonderful woodlands--some 35 miles in all. West Michigan is very biking-friendly.

Yesterday, who should come into Carlton Gardens---on his bike no less---than Dr. Jim De Jong, the president of Calvin Seminary who hired me. He had opposed the the decision by new administration led by Neal Plantinga to give me the boot, but there was nothing he could do about it. He told me that the faculty was very excited now to be getting a new president---that the school has been dropping in enrollment for the past 5 years. I take no credit for that but my tenure there ended exactly 5 years ago this week.

Old Michigan Barns

2011-08-17T07:04:00.000-07:00

John has incredible patience with me when I plead with him to turn around for a picture. Here are a couple of old barns I spotted while we were driving through the country roads of Michigan.

Carlton Gardens--A Travel Destination!

2011-08-13T17:37:00.000-07:00

Last month Michael Snell and his partner Derrick Sorles from Chicago stopped by the Gardens and found it to be an absolutely enchanting place. They are travel writers and they promised to feature our wonderful spot in one of their online publications. Here it is. What nice publicity--and free of charge.

Sunset on the River

2011-08-11T06:47:00.000-07:00

We face the east when looking out at the River so we have spectacular sunrises. But our sunsets reflecting from the west are also wonderful. Here you see our glider adirondack chairs on the dock with a concrete angel in foreground looking out on God's beauty.

A Rumor in the Making

2011-08-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday while at the Gardens I fell (upstairs in a closet) and got a bloody lip (on a cement block, no less-----don't even ask). (It's not nearly as believable a story as years ago when I was there working up on a step ladder, ran to get the phone, came back, moved the ladder and got hit in the lip with a falling hammer I'd left on top of the ladder.)

So we go to church this morning-----me with my swollen bloodied lip. We're walking out after the service and there's a wonderful breeze so I suggest to John that we take a stroll up to Cathedral Square; my feet are hurting by the time we get to the end of the Square, so John offers to go back, get the car and pick me up. I sit down on a ledge near some wonderful giant pots of flowers to wait when it starts sprinkling. So I cross over Division Ave. to wait under the canopy of a vacant store-front (where on weekdays prostitutes ply their trade). Wouldn't you know, before John can return, members from church (one an elder) in two different vehicles drive by and ask me, with my swollen lip, if I need help. Hey, that's how rumors get started.

HEAT WAVE

2011-07-31T13:54:00.000-07:00

The political heat wave in Washington over the debt crisis is matched only by the hot temps across the Midwest and South. This morning John and I got up early before the heat got the best of us and ventured out for a little biathlon. We put our bikes in the back of our car and drove to a park down river where we left the car. We biked for an hour and ended up back home. Then we took the kayaks down river to where the car was parked and drove back home----a wonderful time in the cool of the day.

My baby---my church history text---(with perhaps the longest gestation period in the history of publishing) was born this week. I cradled it in my arms out of sheer joy. The back of the book lists RuthTucker.com (which I have just launched) as my main blog, though this will remain my blog for personal updates.

2011-07-20T19:10:00.000-07:00

The heat index in Grand Rapids today was 107 degrees......... so we find out this morning that we need a new well and will have no water until that job is done, hopefully by the end of the day tomorrow. It's nice to be able to take showers in the midst of a heat wave, but we make do-----with the mighty Grand River running less than 30 feet from our door. It's a clean river so tonight we put on our swim suits, crawled over the rocks into the current and took our baths the way people have done since the beginning of time.

50th Anniversary Celebration

2011-06-29T07:22:00.000-07:00

Fifty years ago this summer my brother David and Sharon were married in Saginaw. This past weekend they traveled from Seattle to celebrate in that same city. Their children and grandchildren came from South Carolina and Ohio, and my sister Jeannine (and Jim) came from Rhode Island. We snapped a picture of David and Sharon cutting the cake (with a 50-year-old decorative topping), and below a photo of Kayla and me.

A Big Day

2011-06-20T11:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Carlton and Kayla came over with steaks and all the fixings for a Father's Day celebration for John. After dinner and a nice hike we went over to Melissa's house for Kayla's 15th birthday celebration with her other grandparents as well. Here is Kayla posing with Mom and Dad and her cake.

We then stopped to visit with John's mother at the nursing home and after that out to see our other 3 grandkids and their folks---a busy day. Another memorable aspect of the day was my signing copies of my latest book contract from Baker Publishing House. The title is The Biographical Bible: From Adam and Eve to John of Patmos. I mailed the copies in this morning. It's a big project but I'm having a great time working on the early chapters.

Rewards of Writing

2011-05-26T11:00:00.000-07:00

It was always nice to receive compliments from students during those years that I was a college and seminary professor, but I never knew for sure whether the student might be contemplating a higher grade or a better reference. But the comments I frequently get on books have no strings attached and they can fill with sunshine an otherwise gloomy day. Here is one such email I got this morning:

I am the pastor of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, a left behind congregation on the East Side of St. Paul, Minnesota. As I near my fifth anniversary with Our Saviour’s I have just finished re-reading your book “Left Behind in a Mega Church World.” Your book has been a literal God-send to me. I wanted to thank you for writing it and for giving left behind churches and pastors encouragement and hope. I appreciate the sincerity and honesty of your writing style, which I first noted years ago as a college student reading “From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions”.

Snow in May, the Rapture and Gardening

2011-05-21T07:07:00.000-07:00

I arrived at Carton Gardens today---70 degrees Fahrenheit---to find snow on the ground. Well not really, but it looked like it and perhaps fitting for the Day of the Rapture which the news media has been giving way too much coverage. The snow falls from our cottonwoods. We love these tall stately trees (that most customers call birch). Love them, all but for the last 10 days of May.

As for the Rapture, I suppose multimillionaire 89-year-old Harold Camping deserves his 15 minutes of fame. He used to live nearby in Michigan with his priceless collection of old Bibles and manuscripts. A decade ago my colleagues at Calvin Seminary went over to his Lake Michigan estate to check them out; I should have gone along, considering his newly found celebrity. I'm now planting gardens---over 200 plants in the last 3 days---not worried that they'll be left without tending. I'm sure by Camping's standards, I'll be one of the billions left behind.

2011-05-19T18:14:00.000-07:00

This evening I went to the salon for my quarterly perm. I always dread it. It wouldn't be so bad if I were able to have general anesthesia but I can't find a salon that offers it. I'm actually looking for some kind of a franchise that offers a perm and a colonoscopy at the same time. That would at least give me some time in the recovery room to get used to how I look when the perm is finished. To say I've stuck my finger in a light socket doesn't fully capture the image. It's not a pretty sight. But after 5 weeks I look okay---for a week. Then I see my stylist again for a highlight and cut which takes away all the curl. I'm back to fine, thin, straight hair that's tormented by a colic. O, to be an old man (like John) or an alien, where bald seems almost to be in fashion.

The Mellowing of God

2011-05-06T18:16:00.000-07:00

Clarence Page, whose column regularly appears in the Grand Rapids Press, was reflecting today on the killing of Osama bin Laden and how we should react. The paragraph below particularly caught my attention because I am easily amused by humor that touches on God and the Bible.

When others commit wrongs against me, as bin Laden did in launching al-Qaida terrorist attacks against America, I can go Old Testament, as in "an eye for an eye," or I can go New Testament, as in "turn the other cheek." (I don't know all that happened between the Old and New Testaments, but I am endlessly fascinated by how much God seems to mellow out with a new team of writers.)

Flood Receding

2011-05-02T08:18:00.000-07:00

The flood came and is on it's way down---only 14 feet this time, but high enough for us to don our waders and get out the kayaks. Yesterday we kayaked down Abrigador Trail, then put them in the back of the car and unloaded along a flooded stream in East Grand Rapids and paddled into Fisk Lake, a tiny body of water with some 30 houses belonging to rich people. We enjoyed gawking, a sight from the water that few outsiders ever get. Below is a photo of our house when the flood had not yet reached 14 feet and one of John in the distance walking to our house from where we and our neighbors park vehicles.

2011-05-01T05:02:00.000-07:00

Had a crazy dream last night. Billie (friend and former business partner) and I are teaching a Calvin Seminary. She makes an indiscrete remark to someone and tells me about it so we're both given the boot. It's been five years since I have taught at the seminary, but the past never leaves---especially in the unconscious. This time two women, one black, one white, are summarily fired and we just seem to shrug it off.

Self Absorption

2011-04-28T08:04:00.000-07:00

I'm conscious of the above term (defined as: "preoccupation with oneself to the exclusion of others or the outside world") when I contemplate what I wrote yesterday. Yes, there are flood advisories in West Michigan and we do live in a floodplain and the river is now up to flood stage and rising. But in comparison to what happened last night amid tornados across the South, my issues are minute. MSNBC is reporting that already 213 are reported dead, and that number will no doubt rise---a number that pales in comparison to Japan's terrible earthquake disaster. And yet, I easily forget this devastation and focus on my own issues. I've worked sand-bag lines helping to save homes and I've donated to Haiti relief, but bottom line, my own problems are foremost.

Self-absorption, I think, is a human/animal quality of self-preservation. I cannot weep over every great (and small) tragedy or I would be weeping all the time---and confined to a mental institution. I came to terms with this more than 40 years ago when my mother was killed in an auto accident. My co-workers were all sympathetic after I returned to New Jersey from the Wisconsin funeral, but a few hours later I heard them in the lunch room howling with laughter, having forgotten my pain. That's how it should be. I decided that then and there. My sorrow is my own; others can comfort, but bottom line, I must bear the grief alone (and with others who are personally affected). Maybe the term self-absorption is too strong, but I think it's good to chide myself with the term as a way of putting my own issues into perspective.

Floodplain Angst

2011-04-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

Why, why, WHY would anyone choose to live in a floodplain? Our river view is spectacular and it's very affordable waterfront living, but in times like these we envy those living on mountains. The rain simply won't stop. I'm looking at the NOAA website at Comstock Park at this very moment, knowing it's lying when it tells me the river has gone down a half inch in the last few hours and that it won't reach flood stage in the next week. Is this some kind of conspiracy? Is the government toying with us? So I worry and fret. I wonder if anyone has ever done a psychological study of folks like us. Are we nuts to begin with, or do we slowly lose it with all the tension flood cycles create? Anyone who is acquainted with river-rats surly knows that we don't rank high on the mental stability charts.

2011-04-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

The weather has been dominating our lives for the past few weeks---cold and rainy almost every day, but even in the midst of the bad weather there were a few moments when it seemed like all was well, as this early evening photo shows. I looked out the window to the east amid the dark clouds only to see signs of the sun setting in the west.

The weather suddenly broke this past Saturday with sunny skies and a high near 80 degrees. We decided to go out for a little biking and ended up north of Rockford, more than 20 miles round-trip. Not bad for a season opener.

2011-03-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

No, this is not Abrigador Trail in Comstock Park, though it would fit right in. We're river rats, no two ways about it. This is a river-rat barn we came upon while stopping at a gas station in Johnstown, Ohio.

2011-03-14T20:24:00.000-07:00

I'm writing from the river town of Zanesville, Ohio where we're staying at a brand new Holiday Inn. I lectured here tonight at a Methodist Church, last night in London, Ohio, a couple of hours west of here. This region of Ohio has had a lot of flooding and I've been fortunate to collect some wonderful river drift wood. Today, between speaking engagements, we went to the State Park at Hocking Hills and hiked for a few hours. That park ranks as a favorite of ours right along side Starved Rock State Park in Illinois and Brown County State Park in Indiana. Here is John at one of the caverns.

As we were coming into town this afternoon I saw a business establishment that appeared to be a combination funeral home and taxidermy shop. Why not? If you embalm people why not do your taxidermy in the room next door, using the same toxic chemicals for both. It reminded me of my short stint as a taxidermist. When I was a sophomore in high school taking a biology class we were required to have a project of our own choosing. I decided to stuff a squirrel. Brother Jonnie gladly shot one for me and I skinned it and then followed the directions from a kit for preservation and mounting---including the addition of glass eyes. In the process the skin stiffened and stretched out and the squirrel didn't look natural at all. I wanted to get full class credit, so I simply cut the squirrel in half, mounting the top half over the bottom to shorten the length. I smoothed the fur and no one knew the difference. Years later I went back to the biology room, and my squirrel was still in the show case-----though during my most recent visit to my old high school a few years ago it was no longer on display---probably relegated to a locked closet or in a landfill.

2011-03-07T09:59:00.000-08:00

Last night I watched "60 Minutes." One of their stories reminded me of my own situation in a previous life a quarter century ago. The story was about a middle-class family of five from Florida who had lost their home and lived in their van and then in a motel, paid for by the father's day labor. When he could no longer get that work and was fearing he'd be kicked out of the motel, he wrote out a sign begging for work and stood on a corner. The daughter, no more than 12, told how embarrassed she was living like they did and was especially shamed thinking he was her father begging for work. She and her brother were very articulate kids and I was reminded of a time gone by, the fall of 1987. Carlton and I had escaped serious abuse from his dad (who has been long gone all these years since). I was very hard pressed for money, and Carlton was lending me enough to get by on from his various odd jobs and paper-route money. Then one November afternoon, one of the ministers from our church stopped by with a 20-lb. turkey and all the fixings for a Thanksgiving dinner. What could I do but be gracious and thank him for the kindness, but as soon as he left shame flooded over me. I pulled myself together by the time Carlton came home from school, and casually remarked that Dick Doeden had stopped by with a nice turkey and some other things. I should have expected his response. He exploded. Why did you take it! I can get extra work. We don't have to take hand-outs. What if people find out! I can't believe you accepted it! He probably felt more shame than I did. I wonder if we're the only people whose Thanksgiving has been spoiled by wonderful well-meaning people. It was a grim time for us, but surely not as grim as this family from Florida.

In the midst of my reminiscence prompted by this shamed girl on TV, I painted. (How times have changed). We get a lot of traffic on Breton Road where our shop is, and this big metal fish will hopefully let people know we're not just a spring-summer seasonal store, as they sometimes assume.

2011-03-04T18:49:00.000-08:00

We just returned home from a 2-day trip to Chicago where I lectured last night to a group of students at Moody Church, founded by the great D.L. Moody himself. Our first stop after we arrived was the Art Institute, getting our yearly fix on the great masterpieces. Then off to our Crowne Plaza Hotel right of the Michigan Mile and then my evening of work while John enjoyed Old Town which is right in the neighborhood of the church. Late this morning we drove a few miles to a 5th-floor condo in a wonderful old neighborhood in Lincoln Park to have lunch with Hutz, Lynne and Hiley Hertzberg. Hutz is the executive minister of Moody church and has been a dear friend for twenty years, since he was a student of mine at Trinity Divinity School, and Lynne since they married several years ago in Dallas, a beautiful wedding I was privileged to attend. Here we are, Hutz being the photographer.

2011-02-22T19:28:00.000-08:00

Anyone who knows me and who is not aware of the precipitous fall in women's clothing sizes, would be shocked by the fact that I recently wore a sleek black pants suit, SIZE 2. It sounds impressive, but it's not. Trust me, I know my naked body. Decades ago, prior to giving birth to a 9 pound, 12 oz. baby, when I was slim, I was wearing a size 12, straight off the K-Mart rack. Had I been able to afford a nice dress at Mays of Michigan, it would have been an 8. But today, for no extra charge, I can be a 2 with a $20 purchase at Wal-Mart (though my nice sleek suit was purchased elsewhere). Nancy Gibbs, in an essay titled "the Cost of Candor" (February 28, 2011, TIME), echoes my long-standing pet peeve: "I'm not really a size 4. . . . But clothing stores know their customers, so they flatter us, supersizing their sizes until a 4 is as big as an 8 used to be, and we can all sleep better at night, confident that we're slimmer than we were in high school."

2011-02-20T06:16:00.000-08:00

South Florida state park boardwalk overlooking an estuary shaded by red mangroves: John and Me, Lovers Key. Romantic.

2011-02-19T10:41:00.000-08:00

Here's Kayla, free as the breeze, 80 degrees, Ft. Myers Beach.

2011-02-14T18:05:00.000-08:00

We spent the day meandering through Alabama and Georgia and are staying the night at the George T. Bagby State Park Lodge. What a beautiful place it is. All is well back home with Geoff (our friend and next door neighbor) watching the house and Missy minding the shop. This has been partly a "buying trip" with our stoping at every thrift and second-hand store along the way-----filling the car way too full of wonderful inexpensive items for the shop. We left Sunday morning after taking granddaughter Kayla to Kentwood Community Church. Carlton, who is already on the road, will join us in Florida tomorrow at Suwannee River State Park where we've reserved a cabin (same one we've stayed at before); then we'll head south for a night and will meet Kayla who will be flying down Thursday morning to spend the weekend with us in our favorite spot near Ft. Meyers before we all head home. Today we spent a few hours at our absolutely favorite southern town, Eufaula, Alabama. As you drive in from the north, the road turns into a wonderful boulevard lined with historic mansions and shaded by sprawling live oaks. We love the town and think that someday we ought to own a little cottage there. We have our eye on one we've seen before located right on the Chattahoochee River. We called the owner whose phone number was on the for sale sign. Turns out it's only $240,000. It's an old jail. He told us where the key was and we went inside------absolutely beautiful. Two problems: way too high priced and 10 years before we're ready to get a half-time home in Eufaula. Below is one of the many mansions that is not for sale; also the little jail we won't be buying and a sunset pic John took near the lodge where we're staying tonight. Note the full moon between the pines. It was romantic, and Valentine's Day, no less.

2011-01-30T19:04:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those rare sunny winter days in Michigan---a perfect opportunity to do our first skiing of the season. John injured his thumb while we were in Texas and hasn't been able to get a good grip on a ski pole until today. We go across the river where we can ski for more than an hour through the woods and see very few people in the process. What fun. That activity was in lieu of going to church; last week we went to our home church twice and the week before to Kentwood Community (mega) Church with Carlton and Kayla. So I guess we thought we deserved a break, but not entirely. After we got home we rushed off to see "The King's Speech" which was equal to a good church service itself. And after that we listened to 3 very fine sermons on CDs from out favorite preacher Steve Poos-Benson, senior minister of the Columbine United Church in Littleton, Colorado (where our friends Darlene and Kathy are members). Life is good; how could it be otherwise married to John! His nightly reading is currently The Whiskey Rebels by David Liss. It's a novel that deals with a lot of big names of the Revolutionary era, especially Alexander Hamilton. He has always been my least favorite of the Founding Fathers and the book has not heightened my opinion of him, but it did cause me to dig deeper on his life. Turns out his wife Elizabeth was a very religious woman who (after his death in a duel with Aaron Burr) was very active in charitable works, especially as director of the New York Orphan Asylum. Years ago I researched and wrote about one of her colleagues in charitable work but never realized the connection.

2011-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

I noticed in the paper today that the Pope is concerned about the high number of marriage annulments, especially in the US, which in recent years has had more than the rest of the world combined.

I was reminded of Carlton's engagement a few years ago to Stephanie, a real sweetheart. They did not marry for a variety of reasons, one being the fact that she was Catholic. Her folks wanted a Church wedding but there was a problem. Until fairly recently the Church did not accept Protestant marriages as valid. It now does, and Protestants should be pleased by the recognition---except for the fact that a divorced Protestant is now required to go through Rome and have that marriage annulled in order that the Catholic might have a Church wedding.

Carlton balked, but he did want to please his Stephanie. They talked it over and he agreed to have her priest, Father Tony, give me a call to see if I could convince him to back down. I told the good Father that it was one thing to require a Catholic to get an annulment but an outrage to demand that of a Protestant. He responded with resounding conviction that neither God nor the Catholic Church permit divorce: "What God has joined together let no man put asunder." Therefore, he insisted, Carlton is married until he gets an annulment, and as such Stephanie could not marry him. I told him that Carlton's church (Reformed Church in America) allowed for divorce and the law recognized that, and therefore he was no longer married. I added that what Carlton's church did strongly object to was a married man (which he claimed Carlton was) dating a single woman---for more than three years! Well, neither one of us was able to talk the other one down and in the end the wedding plans were canceled---probably for the best.

I'll stay tuned to Vatican to see if the Pope is able to decrease the number of annulments. I wish him well.

2011-01-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

A week into the New Year finds us in Taos, New Mexico. As in past years we headed straight for Texas before the New Year ended and spent four days in our favorite January get-away, Big Bend National Park. Here is John gazing at some of the beautiful scenery at Grapevine Hills Trail.

Tonight we are staying at the historic Taos Inn, enjoying a log fire that John built in the fire place in our room. Tomorrow we head for Denver to spend the weekend with dear friends Darlene and Kathy. We will gossip and laugh and discuss issues and challenge every belief we've ever held dear until we run out of words. What fun it will be. On Sunday we will be starting our trip back home---cold, cold Michigan.

Below is a picture John snapped of me enjoying the dinner music tonight at the Taos Inn.

2010-12-25T06:35:00.000-08:00

Last night was our annual Christmas Eve family time down-town Grand Rapids in the Campau Towers where we have a condo (now rented out) and thus have free access to the Campau Room, a big wonderful living-room space with kitchen. Besides our kids, John's mother and siblings and extended family joins us, coming and going as they take in the church services close by. As we talked and remembered, John's late colleague at Calvin College (and brother Jim's teacher) arose in the conversation. Stanley Wiersma was in some ways the Christian Reformed Garrison Kiellor--always poking fun of his heritage. It's my favorite kind of humor; if I can't laugh at my religious heritage (and John's), what good is it? One of my favorite Wiersma (aka Sietze Buning) poems, especially when John reads it aloud, is "Calvinist Sunday Dinner":

Wasn't that a good sermon, Gertrude?
Orthodox. Such a rich Jesus
and such a poor sinner.
And what poor sinners
we all are . . .

These potatoes are a little hard,
Gertrude, too hard for the side of my fork.
Hard to chew too. You say some rump-roast gravy's
coming. . . .

Yes, what poor sinners we all are.
And how Dominie mashed up those Catholics.
Deprived of grace. . . .

Pass the rolls
and butter
this way,
Gertrude.

--but they won't admit they're depraved. . . .

Great rump roast, Gertrude.
The knife slides
through it.

Yes, and when he got
to the cheap grace
of the Baptists. . . .

Only one-eighty per pound for choice
rump roast, Gertrude? I can't believe it. . . .

I need some more green beans, Gertrude. . . .
It's all that cheap grace . . . . they'll agree that they're desperately wicked. . . .
And then comes the backsliding. . . .
Pass the meat and potatoes again, Gertrude. . . .

What about a little of that a la mode on the pie, Gertrude. . . .

Of course, Catholics and Baptist are duck soup
compared to the liberals. Liberals think
they don't need grace at all.

My, what good pie,
Gertrude. . . .

Dominie knows how
to preach, doesn't he?

[Sietze Buning, Purpalaenie and Other Permutations, p. 66.]

2010-12-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

Kind Words from the Distant Past

It's been more than 30 years since I was awarded a Ph.D. in History at Northern Illinois University, and have had very little contact with the school since. It turns out that the History Department is trying to track down all of its doctoral grads and has been successful, but for me and 6 others. Part of my falling through the cracks relates to the age-old maiden name/married name conundrum. The department contacted my major professor and dissertation director Otto Olsen, now living in Florida. This is what he wrote back: "Ruth Tucker is one of most prolific PhDs we have had, but her work has largely been ignored, probably because of its religious focus. I would urge you simply to type Ruth Tucker into Google and you will get all the information you could desire. In addition to her significant publications, she has been an excellent teacher and very much embroiled in the struggle for women’s rights. In my estimation N.I.U should and would benefit from paying more attention and awarding more recognition to her achievements and activities." How incredibly kind and generous. He's a brilliant scholar and I accept his words as the highest compliment. I feared for a time that I wouldn't get my degree because of what seemed to be over-the-top demands, but in the end it worked out. And, I now recognize how critical his demands have been to my profession as an historian.

2010-12-13T08:21:00.000-08:00

EMOTIONAL AND PHYSICAL PAIN

Last week was not a good one---at least calculated by any standard of my life, though when I consider the problems in this world, mine seem very small. The emotional toll came with a broken business relationship---one that had seemed so promising but has just not worked out. We are committed to ending things amicably, but it still hurts an awful lot. I have another partner who will pick up the slack.

The physical problems didn't help matters, all culminating in a kidney stone (that passed very painfully on Friday), a hard fast fall on the ice on Saturday morning (that wracked my body from the back of my head to my jaws, neck, shoulders, ribs, hitting hardest on the tailbone), a flu or virus that caused chills, and now a cold, passed on to me by John. I was in bed most of yesterday. Dear John read to me despite his own raspy voice. We had read a poem on Walt Whitman in the latest issue of The New Yorker. That led us to my old American Literature textbook. He read introductions to poets and their poetry, including Walt Whitman and his "Leaves of Grass," Edgar Allen Poe, "Ulalume," "The Raven," William Cullen Bryant, "Thanatopsis," and poems by Robert Frost. What incredible wordsmiths these men were! How they soothed my soul during an otherwise miserable day.

Today I'm back at the business, not feeling well, but hopefully on the mend.

2010-12-09T05:03:00.000-08:00

"YOUR ILK, MY ILK"

This morning John and I were having one of our weekly "your ilk, my ilk" spats. His ilk is the Christian Reformed Church---born and bred, 70 years of indoctrination. My ilk is more broadly evangelicalism and fundamentalism---parents who were on the fringe of the church, if that. One thing led to another in our morning conversation and I was telling him about an incident 10 years ago. The Dean of the Chapel at Calvin College who later became president of the seminary and presided over my being terminated (not fired as I referred to it----maybe that's another "your ilk" example) had invited me to lunch at Mountain Jacks, a nice restaurant in Grand Rapids. When the food came he said, "Let's pray." I bowed my head assuming he would pray. Nothing. Just silence. I've always regretted I didn't say in a very respectful way, "I'm sorry, I can't hear you." I didn't. As it turns out, John's ilk prays before meals in restaurants, but silently. My ilk prays out loud. I told John that my ilk is "not ashamed of the gospel" (Romans 1:16); John countered that his ilk does not do as the Pharisees do, making a public show. So, as usual, neither ilk prevailed. It's a stalemate.

An inquiring mind might wonder how a marriage holds up under such divisive religious differences. We compromise. In this case we skip the prayer altogether.

2010-12-08T18:53:00.000-08:00

MY NOT-SO-GOLDEN RULE

I can't get these "Steps to happy relationships" to stay on my site. The title and 2 steps are scrawled in a child's handwriting with a silly stick figure on the bottom. 1. Do something (in secret) for someone that they didn't ask you to do/asked you not to do 2. Get upset when they don't understand that they are indebted to you. It's not nearly so funny without the illustration which is also found on one of Scot McNight's pages.

2010-11-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

Michigan Autumn 2010
I cannot remember a Michigan autumn with as many warm sunny days as we've had this year. Here is my little petunia garden on October 31 and our river bank sunrise on November 1.

2010-10-29T04:13:00.001-07:00

HOME TOWN NEWSPAPER

Our kayaking the Yellow River made news recently in the Spooner Advocate, my home-town newspaper. "Memories of the Yellow River " by Bill Thornley is drawn from an interview as well as my own blog, Yellow River Almanac. I wish we lived closer than 12 hours away. Once a year is not often enough to get back home. Maybe someday when we retire and have more time.

2010-10-23T20:01:00.000-07:00

Six Sunny Days in the Southland
We are now back home from a wonderful trip to North Carolina to see daughter and son-in-law, Laura and Bob, and from there on to Gatlinburg, Kentucky where we hiked and spent the night; then on to one of our favorite places, Cumberland Falls, where we did some more hiking and spent the night in the lodge, and finally on to Indianapolis, where I gave a lecture, and then on home again. We stopped along the way and purchased some treasures to sell at the Gardens. Below are photos of John, Laura, and Bob, and one of me looking at the beautiful Cumberland Falls.

2010-09-29T18:31:00.000-07:00

Back Home

After 5 wonderful days in Northern Wisconsin, we back home again---always a good feeling.

I now have a Yellow River Almanac blog---a blog that will form the basis for my next book by that title.

2010-09-27T12:24:00.000-07:00

Yellow River Almanac: Day Three

Today's trip down stream past my childhood farm is best told in pictures. We put our kayaks in at Jerry and Debbie Thompson's beautiful home ("next-door" neighbors to the home place where I grew up). Here the river is most beautiful---though I may be a bit biased. It's the span of water I knew so well a half century ago. Trees across the river called for some quick maneuvering and lying flat in the kayak at one point, but it made the trek even more interesting. We stopped along the way to visit cousin Marie Stellrecht Bassett. (My maiden name is Stellrecht, a name more common than Smith in these parts.) The river pours into Rice Lake, and after being pushed by the wind half way across the lake we were back on the river again, and in less than three hours were at Kenowski Bridge where we had left our car this morning.

2010-09-26T15:02:00.000-07:00

Yellow River Almanac: Day Two

The bad news this morning: the grass outside our motel window was covered with frost; the good news: any lingering mosquitoes and gnats had shivered away. We were on the river just below the Spooner dam at 8:15, with no authorities around to kick us out of the KEEP OUT area so we were able to drive up close to where we put in. The current was fairly fast for the first hour and we managed to climb over and go under the trees that had fallen across the river. Scenery was spectacular: towering white pine and spruce, garnished with birch and brilliant splashes of red and orange maple, against a vast expanse of azure blue morning sky, broken only by the moon.

We portaged at the culverts on Tozer Lake Road. We contemplated trying to go through, but the water is high and we thought better of it. As we ate our health bars before setting off I thought of my classmates a half century ago, Beverly Magnus and Randy Giddings, who had lived right there a stone's throw away on either side of the road.

Our next leg of the voyage was hard going. The river veers south and turns into a shallow lake that continues beyond Green Valley Bridge and on to Hector Dam---almost all the way to what is known by locals as Swan Bridge. We were told by Dave at Green Valley that we had gone less than a quarter of the way from Spooner to where we had left our bikes, just across the Burnett County line. That news was more than a little depressing. We had already fought the SW wind for most of our three hours, and I was calculating the time, fearing we wouldn't arrive to bike the eight miles back to Spooner until 8 p.m. Fortunately, he had seriously miscalculated. The current picked up after Swan Bridge and we sailed past my second cousin Carrie's home and ten minutes later to cousin Nancy's home where we learned she was gone but chatted with her husband Bud for a short while. From there we went under the bridge on Highway 70, the current carrying us through some beautiful terrain.

We stopped at the home of another classmate, Richard Wright, and were disappointed to find him gone. A bridge had once spanned the river near his house (before I was born), and was washed away in a flood. Across the river from his home is "Wild Cat Canyon," a large wash-out where I played with brother Jonnie as a kid. From there, we passed the old Stafford place and soon we were going by the swimming hole where I spent many hot afternoons as a child. And then, the bridge. It was our bridge, as we referred to it over the years. Less than a half mile from my childhood home, my four siblings and I spent many hours playing there, and it was where I launched my raft that took me down stream to the river bank on our own property. Beyond the bridge is the seventy square feet of land I claimed as my island. What incredible memories. Within minutes we were at realtor Jerry Thompson's beautiful log home where we had stored our bikes. Jerry worked with me more than two decades ago when I was selling some land in the area. We biked back to Spooner and were in our motel room by 4 p.m.

All in all, it was a perfect day. I would not recommend the trip for beginners or for the faint of heart. What perhaps surprised us most was that we saw only one other boat during our long trek---some duck hunters pulling into shore. The Yellow is truly the river less traveled by, to paraphrase Robert Frost.

Here is John putting us in this morning and below is the wonderful bridge on Yellow River Road near my childhood home.

2010-09-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Yellow River Almanac: Day One

I've probably had more than 20 watches over the course of my life but none have meant so much as the one given to me today by eight-year-old Cole Burgraff---a spontaneous act of kindness that I will never forget. Our chance meeting came at the end of our first day kayaking the Yellow River that runs through Spooner, Wisconsin and on through the farm where I grew up.

John and I began our trip yesterday, leaving Grand Rapids at 2 p.m., staying the night in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula, and arriving in Spooner before noon today. The first leg of our kayaking trek was an incredibly beautiful trip up river and then back again to where we had parked the car and then southwest on toward Spooner. I've often said that one of the truisms of my life is: If it's humanly possible to get lost, I will. Well believe it or not we got lost going down river! When we got back on track and started seeing houses along the bank, I called out to a fisherman asking if he knew which way to Spooner. He laughed. How could anyone get lost on a river? Before the Yellow River gets to the dam in Spooner there is a large area of wetland with open water meandering every which way; we took the wrong turn and I feared for a time that we'd be out in the swamp overnight. We finally found our way and then I began recognizing landmarks from childhood, including my grandparents little house. From there we went a short ways and stopped at the motel on the river where we are staying for the next 3 nights. We then went on to the dam where our trek ended for the day.

It was at the dam where I met Cole and his older brother Joshua. Cole came running over and asked in a very friendly way if he could help, seeing that I would have to be getting out of the kayak at a precarious place. I gladly accepted his assistance, but in the process slipped on the bank and fell into the cold water, getting soaked up to my elbows. Cole kept saying he was sorry, but I assured him it was my fault. I must not have been very convincing because he insisted I take his watch as a gift. I said no, that I couldn't do that, but he was persistent, and I know it is wrong to refuse to accept such a gracious gift. Here is a photo John snapped of Cole and me (holding the watch in my hand). Below are pictures along the way, the first at the spot where we began the trek, the second is me at the bank of my grandparents' home (now vacant), and the last is a beautiful natural driftwood sculpture we saw along the way. Tomorrow we will be going down river from Spooner, stopping by to see a cousin who lives on the river and ending our trip at the farm where I grew up. We brought our bikes along, so between bikes and car will manage to get back to our hotel in Spooner at night.

2010-09-03T17:13:00.000-07:00

Today we enjoyed the company of Mom and Dad Kracker (Myra's folks, John's 2nd in-laws) and Yvonne and Roger, Myra's sister and brother-in-law. They visited Carlton Gardens and we all had lunch in our big screened in gazebo. Here is a photo of Mom and Dad standing in the doorway of the chapel John built in memory of Ruth (his first wife) and Myra. I hope John and I look that good in our 90s.

2010-08-25T18:49:00.000-07:00

I never NEVER ever imagined I'd ever be an "artist" who actually sold work, and my partner at Carlton Gardens thinks it's absurd that anyone would purchase my stuff. Nevertheless, I sold 2 pieces this past week, both ones that I painted while watching the evening news over a few nights. The first folk art piece sold for $41.00 and the crazy quilt for 69.95. Go figure.

2010-08-21T14:13:00.000-07:00

We have been busy this summer working at our business Carlton Gardens, now that I'm between books and waiting for page proofs to come in on Parade of Faith in the next couple of weeks. Last week we completed the Chapel by the Bridge. John built it; I stained and painted and did the fake stained glass windows. It actually looks much better in person than pictures. It is dedicated to the memory of John's two dearly departed wives: Ruth Ann and Myra Jean.

2010-07-26T18:46:00.001-07:00

65 YEARS YOUNG---AGAIN

Yesterday morning we headed up the White Pine Trail on our bikes to Big Rapids, where we spent the night. We arrived home today over the noon hour, 12:15 p.m---a total of 110 miles. It was a great time, though 30 miles of the trail is not paved and more than half of that is rough gravel. We passed through little towns on the way up and back. Here is John standing by a feed mill in Stanwood.

2010-07-24T19:20:00.001-07:00

65 YEARS YOUNG!
We were with friends this week and after taking us out on their boat they invited me to give water-skiing a try---after a 25-year hiatus. I got up on the first try with no mishaps and after a spin around the lake was back in the boat looking no worse for wear.

2010-06-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

The wet spring (with no floods---so far) has give us an unusually colorful yard. I snapped this today.

2010-06-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

PROUD GRANDPARENTS

Here we are with grandson Mitch for his 8th grade graduation from Westside Christian School.

2010-06-07T19:00:00.000-07:00

Kayla will be 14 in 2 weeks. It's hard to believe that it was that long ago when I was driving every evening to the neo-natal unit of Spectrum Hospital to see her, having come 2 1/2 months early after an auto accident. She was 3 lbs., 4 ounces. How she has grown! Here she is this evening with Carlton and Melissa, proud parents of their 8th grade graduate.

2010-06-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

Here is granddaughter Kayla's shadowy self-portrait. She's a talented photographer, graduating from 8th grade next Monday night. Grandson Mitch graduates 2 days later.

2010-05-31T05:23:00.000-07:00

WEDDING AND FAMILY CELEBRATION
Last weekend we were in the Twin Cities to celebrate my niece's wedding. What a wonderful time. Katusa is a spectacular bride. My brother was bursting with pride. It was the first time in years that my siblings were all together, spread out as we are from Rhode Island to Seattle. Here is Katusa with Gabe and dancing with her dad. Here are the 5 siblings, lined up left to right, oldest to youngest: David, Jeannine, Ruthie, Jonnie, and Kathy. Below is a 4-generation family picture: my folks gravestone at the little Green Grove cemetery with their daughter, grand son, and great granddaughter.

2010-05-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

MOTHER'S DAY

Carlton was out on the road last week and surprised me by coming home today---showed up in Church and then took us out to dinner; he'll be leaving for Baltimore tonight. He's taking the summer off so that he and Kayla can do some traveling, including a trip to NYC. I told him about meeting the mother of Kayla's friend who said they were "dating." He was not amused. I asked him if he'd ever met the boy. He said: no, I've only glared at him from a distance. Needless to say, he's not entirely thrilled with the situation.

2010-05-08T18:39:00.000-07:00

Teen "Dating"

Today I was at Carlton Gardens and a customer came in and as I was checking her out we began chatting. Turns out, her son is "dating" my not-yet-14 year old granddaughter. She said it casually, and I responded: DATING!!! I was too stunned to say anything more. Kayla learned from her new boyfriend about the conversation and called me, apologizing for not having told me sooner. She said she was too nervous to do so. I've calmed down by now. So far their dating has meant spending time together at recess, attending a church Bible study together twice, going to a skating party last night (both dropped off by their parents) and her going to his church last Sunday (with Carlton) to listen to him play his guitar in the praise band. His mother is a nice lady---a graduate of Calvin College, music dept., and now teaching music at a charter school. She says she (as well as her son) has know Kayla since kindergarten and thinks highly of her. I know other kids date in 8th grade, and Carlton had "dates" in 8th grade. But she's my little girl. I guess I have to get used to it.

2010-04-30T17:31:00.000-07:00

STUFF HAPPENING

I keep wishing I could slow down and just read a good novel, but every day is too packed full. Actually, I just did "read" a good novel on CD last weekend. T.C. Boyle's Drop City. We both say it's the best book we've ever listened to, but we often say that. The backdrop for the book was a fast trip out to New Haven, CT. I was speaking out there and John came along as my "designated driver," as he says. It was a rushed trip because on our way out of town we stopped to see John's Mom and found her not feeling well. Fortunately, while we were there, John's sister came. The upshot is that she was hospitalized later that day with a pelvic stress fracture and is now in a nursing home. Her independent living has come to an end now in her 95th year. It's sad, but it's for the best. We're having an incredibly wonderful spring here in West Michigan---managed to get a little kayaking and biking in today, amid all our other activities.

"Calvin News" announced today that the Seminary had named a new president: Julius Medenblik. The announcement was not supposed to come out until next week, but because most of us had known through the grapevine for a week or so, they decided to officially announce it. I don't know him. The lame duck president, Neal Plantinga, says he's "an ecclesiastical entrepreneur"--- whatever that means. Past presidents have been theologians.

2010-04-12T05:20:00.001-07:00

DREAMING HEAVEN

Last night I talked with my dear friend Darlene in Denver. Kathy’s mother had died early yesterday morning. In one sense it’s the saddest of deaths. When my mother was killed in an auto accident more than 40 years ago my grief was inconsolable. I still get choked up when I speak of it. For Kathy, whose mother virtually “destroyed” her life, it’s a different matter. All she can do is grieve the mother she never had. We don’t like to talk about such things, but Kathy is way too honest to deny it. Darlene and I went on to make some reflections on heaven and after we hung up I went to bed.

I woke up this morning having dreamed about heaven—what was apparently a short dream because I remember so few details. Here I was in heaven—no St. Peter or Pearly Gates or even Jesus. It was a vast vestibule and I was chit-chatting with seemingly everyone I ever knew and didn’t know. I was uncomfortable, clearly not in my element.

Now if I were to embellish that dream, I would have a million-member choir in the background, the chit-chatters being those who, for whatever reason, don’t join the choir. I would not be making small talk (which I hate with a passion) but desperately searching for some privacy to read a book or to find a little click debating the existence of God.

No one knows what heaven will really be like. The Bible holds that secret very tightly. Whatever it is, we're all told that we will be overwhelmed with joy when we get there. Once when I was baiting students in a class with life's paradoxes, a student commented, "I can't wait to get to heaven when all our questions will be answered." No, no, no, I howled. Is that what the Bible says? I don't know how I could bear an eternity without questions and doubts and paradox!

2010-02-18T07:40:00.000-08:00

Pressing on with the Book

We're on our way to Florida today and its a good timing. The river is down---no threats of floods, at least for a few weeks---never know what spring will bring. It's also a good time to take a vacation from the book.This week I received the second half of the advance and that's always a good secure feeling, and I also got the first 3 chapters bacl from the copy editor so it's moving ahead full steam, hopefully out in late summer. I've never been so excited about a book. It has been a long time in coming and I'm convinced it's my best one ever. Here is the rough cover copy.

2010-01-26T14:39:00.000-08:00

JANUARY BLUES

We work hard to fight the January Blues on several different fronts. Above all we're thankful---very relieved to have gotten through the last two months with no floods. The forecast is for cold and flurries and that's good news.

We had talked about beating the winter blahs by buying a flat-screen TV; the only TV we have now is an old 13-inch that allows us to watch the evening news. After pricing the big sets and reading about the added utility cost, we decided instead to buy a $50 ping-pong table from St. Vincent's, complete with net, paddles, and balls! We just finished a round in our attached garage; we don't keep score but we're competitive enough to keep a fast volley going for a while and there always a lot of howling and laughter to go along with our best efforts.

Every day we get out walking or skiing and that keeps back the blues. And we have our wonderful memories of the first days of the month in Big Bend National Park, hiking 10-12 miles a day for each of the 4 days we were there. We had perfect weather and an absolutely wonderful time, once again staying at the Chisos Mountains Lodge.

I play around with painting as well, this gecko (cut out and painted on a board) for my friend Dan who (with his partner Marv) has been a longtime salon neighbor of ours at Carlton Gardens. He wanted a gecko painting of mine in the worst way and was delighted with this. It's made for outdoors.

We also get out and about, twice out to eat for 2 grandkid January birthdays, once for a wonderful video and tour of the local Frank Lloyd Wright house, and another time to Frederick Meijer Gardens. But most of the time for me is spent working hard at the computer on some out-of-town lectures coming up and finding illustrations for my church history text, a grueling ordeal usually done by the publisher but I know what I want and have determined to be very involved in the process.

2009-12-30T09:09:00.000-08:00

SIX DAYS, SIX MOVIES

I'm not sure if I've ever gone to 2 movies in 2 days, let alone 6 in a row. But there are a lot of good movies out there and we are fortunate to have a theater in town that keeps some movies around for a few months. We loved every one of them and find it hard to rate one above another.

Christmas Day: "Up in the Air"---went with our kids Laura and Bob and we all loved it.
Saturday: "It's Complicated"---Meryl Streep was great as ususal.
Sunday: "Invictus"---an inspiring perspective on Nelson Mandela
Monday: "The Serious Man"---Fantastic, if you appreciate the nuance of the Coen Brothers
Tuesday: "Julie and Julia"---great fun; see it before it leaves the theaters.
Wednesday: "The Education"---good period piece---1960s in the UK

2009-12-22T08:25:00.000-08:00

CARLTON GARDENS CHRISTMAS COFFIN SPECIAL!

For 2 years John has been promising he would make our coffins. We read the story of how Ruth Graham was buried in a plywood coffin and Billy will be buried the same way. John completed them 2 weeks ago and they are forsale at Carlton Gardens---serving now as shelving. (He will make new ones if they sell.) We have a Christmas special going ($149 down from $159). The every day specials offer a discount when a coffin is purchased with an Adirondack chair or a pair of stilts (both designed and constructed by John).Here are the coffins, mine and John's. What a deal!

2009-12-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

SPEAKING THE TRUTH

I should not begrudge anyone who is grieving for speaking in euphemisms but I do wish sometimes that we could just say it like it is. Yesterday John and I were ushered down the aisle to a pew at La Grave Avenue Christian Reformed Church by Larry. Then I noted in the bulletin that Larry, his siblings and parents were named for the floral arrangements: "The flowers on the chancel today are in loving memory of Sandra Anne Duyst, daughter, sister and aunt. Born December 29, 1959, the Lord blessed us with 40 years of joy with her in this life. She was called to our heavenly home on March 29, 2000." What if, instead of called to our heavenly home the bulletin note had read: "she was murdered by her husband, a Christian Reformed Church deacon who had taken out a $500,000 life insurance policy on her and was having an adulterous affair. May he remain incarcerated every advent season and every day of the year for the rest of his life."

I remember the incident so well. One of my seminary colleagues said "I have to wonder if she might have been contentious." WHAT, I screamed, are you suggesting that if she was contentious that could even remotely begin to explain it! Who knows, she may have been contentious, but if he could no longer endure her contentiousness he could simply divorce her and then run off with the other woman. O, that's right, he wouldn't get the insurance money. So I guess contention is a reason (though not justification) for murder.

He still claims his innocence---contending that she committed suicide. The only problem with that theory is that she took 2 bullets straight in the head. She could have shot herself in the head once but not twice with such good aim. PLUS, the crime-scene blood spattering showed the bullet wounds were not self-inflicted. Other evidence proved to the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that he was guilty.

This unspeakably awful crime split 2 CRC families and was a horrible ordeal for the 3 school-age children, not knowing who to believe and which side of the family to support. I don't know where the family situation stands now, though he is serving a life sentence in a federal facility in St. Louis.

2009-12-18T07:29:00.000-08:00

GOOGLE MY PHOTO

Carlton recently pointed out that when he'd googled my name pics showed up on the screen, including one of me that I posted, showing my hair looked so awful that I was compelled to stay home from church (See below, 4-27-08). Maybe the last entry I posted with me and a dead possum and rifle will get there as well. AND, if I'm lucky this one will soon appear.

Friend Sarah from London wrote this on her blog (4-4-08): "I was looking for something quick to draw before bedtime, and started giggling over my friend's March 1st blog entry about skiing topless. She got kicked out of her teaching job at an ultra-conservative Calvinist seminary awhile back, but I'm sure I have no idea why."

Sarah illustrated a recently-released children's book. From a reviewer: "must be the most revolting picture book of the year! Morris the Mankiest Monster just gets worse and worse as you read aloud the rhyming text, snot, ear wax, pustules...it's really hard to keep going. This book needs a warning to parents - they're going to have to read it over and over again - children will absolutely love it."

2009-12-10T09:08:00.000-08:00

ME----IN 20 YEARS!

My dear friend Sarah from London has me pegged. She's a prophetess.

This, she says, is me twenty years down the road. John says she's spot on.

Hey, I'll take the compliment------especially since he didn't say it looked like someone snapped the photo of me last week.

2009-11-25T19:29:00.000-08:00

MY BRAIN AGE IS GETTING YOUNGER!

This evening, thanks to my friend Darlene Cate, I have begun working on a brand new Nintendo DS with Brain Age-1 inserted. I started out on a little color test with a brain age of 80, but after giving my brain a real workout got down to a brain age of 30. My math skills are improving as well---got down to 33 seconds on one of the little tests. Darlene is 80 with a brain age less than half that. When we visited her and Kathy in Denver in September, they immediately recognized that we were good candidates for some serious brain exercise.

This afternoon Carlton and Kayla were with us for an early Thanksgiving dinner and nice hike in the woods. John and Carlton played pool---5 games; They are very competitive, but John manged to pull it off, winning the last 3.

Life is very good and VERY full these days. We've had wonderful October weather for the past 3 weeks which has allowed us to get a lot of work done outside---especially at Carlton Gardens. I've been out in the back cutting brush and love every minute of it. All 24 chapters of the church history text have been submitted to my Zondervan editor and I'm just waiting for him to reply; in the meantime I have been writing some encyclopedia articles that are due December 1.

Tomorrow we head up north to spend a couple of days at our little farm and do some hiking. Billie holds down the fort at Carlton Gardens when I'm gone.

2009-10-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

Here is 13-year-old grand-daughter Kayla. She snapped this self portrait. Actually, she's a budding photographer---takes some very creative photos. She's a straight-A students and just an all-around super kid.

2009-10-18T08:04:00.000-07:00

The Pleasures of Ohio

We just got back from a quick 2-day trip to Ohio where I spoke Thursday night at a conference sponsored by University Bible Fellowship. What a wonderful welcoming group they are! We stayed downtown at the Hyatt Capitol where the conference was held. Friday morning we drove out in the country and went through Circleville where we came across this incredible mural on a building in town. It truly looked like you could walk right through the arch. The creator is a local artist who is known for his second to none life-like murals.

From there we headed down to Hocking Hills---a wonderful place to hike and to spend 2 or 3 days if we had the time. There are spectacular cliff and cave formations that an outsider would never imagine could be found in central Ohio. Here's a photo of Old Man's Cave. I'm pictured somewhere in the middle.

2009-10-14T16:34:00.000-07:00

NEWS FROM THE SEMINARY

I was out of town with no online access today and yesterday and got home to emails from Calvin Seminary sources. It seems that Neal Plantinga (who was installed as president in the fall of 2002, less than 3 months before I was given the boot) is on his way out. There's a story behind it, but he says publicly: "I have prayed earnestly about this decision and have made it freely and joyfully."

2009-09-23T19:10:00.000-07:00

BACK HOME IN MICHIGAN!

We arrived home this afternoon after 3 wonderful weeks on the road. Since the last post we had good days in Glacier National Park and Yellowstone, where we stayed at the historic log lodge, Old Faithful Inn, where my mother and father stayed on their honeymoon in 1938. Here is a snap of us at one of the geysers.

After Yellowstone we went to Montana where we toured my younger brother's 2 ranches. Here I am, flanked by brother Jonnie and sister-in-law Sooky at one of the wonderful rock formations at the Cherry Creek Ranch. We also hiked at his smaller ranch not far from the South Dakota border. Both offer incredible hiking and scenery.

Here is the house on the smaller ranch where they sometimes stay when they visit from their home in Minneapolis. It has incredible beauty against this stark Montana background.

After we left Montana we headed for my childhood home in Wisconsin, now owned by Jonnie. We wanted to spend some time at his picnic spot on the Yellow River that runs through our farm but we were stopped by this little guy---his mother no doubt close by. It's interesting that we were warned a hundred times in Yellowstone to watch out for bears but saw only one----at a great distance. Then we head to Spooner and are stopped dead in our tracks.

2009-09-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

On Tour Out West!

Tomorrow we begin our third week out West. Our first stop was in Denver, spending a wonderful 4-day Labor Day Weekend with our dear fiends Darlene and Kathy. We had wonderful mountain hikes with them---including a drive up a remote mountain road to the Pomeroy RR tunnel. I did my doctoral dissertation on Marcus M. Pomeroy, a 19th century newspaper publisher and general gad-about who was also the brains behind a railway tunnel through the Continental Divide---a tunnel that was later labeled "Pomeroy's Folly" because the tunnels coming in from the East and West didn't meet. Here's what is left of the opening. I walked in a ways, but we'd forgetton to bring flashlights so cut our excursion short after 90 feet---as John paced it. Kathy treated us to wonderful meals, thanks to her recent cooking lessons, and we joined them for worship on Sunday at Columbine United Church. What a preacher is Steve Poos-Benson; we'd drive every Sunday from Grand Rapids if we weren't so concerned about our carbon footprint!

In Salt Lake we spent a night and much talk-----and a fantastic meal with Chris and Bob Nelson. What fun to be back together again.

Then on to Oregon where we hiked all the falls beginning with Multnomah and then a drive down to Silver Falls State park, all combined to make 13 miles of hiking that day, staying in a wonderful inn in Silverton. From there to Camano Island, NW of Seattle for a wonderful evening meal with Rimmer and Ruth DeVries and then a couple of miles away to see family, David/Sharon/Barry/Margaret. My brother David has a wonderful 5-acre woodlot. What a wonderful spot to live. They took us to Mount Baker. Here they are hiking.

From there we went to the little western town of Winthrop, WA. We stayed in this wonderful Inn right down town.

Our next stop was Glacier National Park. Here I am at Virginia Falls.

2009-09-03T04:27:00.000-07:00

Grand Rapids has a big art contest going on through the end of September. Artists from around the world are bringing their outdoor art to display---hoping to win the big $250,000 ArtPrize award. I decided to enter my own outdoor art for the contest. It's displayed at my business, Carlton Gardens and titled "ArtPrize 2009." It's a quilt painted on wood. John framed it for me, and we just finished it yesterday--took most of three days to complete.

John has also been building outdoor structures for me at Carlton Gardens. He does a fantastic job. This is what you see when you drive by on Breton Road. He also built that absolutely wonderful orange Adirondack chair you seen in the photo.

2009-08-14T09:53:00.000-07:00

DEFINITION of FAILURE: You know you've failed (at least as a gardener) when morning glories start growing up your hoe handle. But now at least I have an excuse for not getting rid of the weeds. I just don't want to damage those lovely little morning glories and that's the only hoe I've got. (John claims there's another hoe in the shed, but you can't trust him.)

2009-08-02T16:59:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow we will be making a journey to Texas that we have been dreading. Ann Kelsey died this morning. My beloved college roommate is gone---45 years of friendship. I'll never hear that incredible laughter again, but heaven is just bit more fun-loving as of today. Friends and relatives will be congregating in Longview from all over the country. Paul has asked me to say a few words at the funeral on Wednesday. O, how terribly I already miss her. It's been a wonderful ride, dear Annie. You will never be forgotten.

Here she is just a few short weeks ago with Connor, her youngest grandbaby.

2009-07-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Mom and her Kids

How would you like to have a "mother" like this? Isn't she georgeous! Kids are, left to right, Jim, Steve, John, and Mary.

2009-07-17T06:05:00.000-07:00

BIRTHDAY GIRL!

Today I am 64. When I contemplate my age I realize time is running out for writing. I probably have only about 30 good years left in me. I draw this time frame from Mom---Franny Worst, John's mother. She was 94 ten days ago, and except for a little memory loss she's doing great. (And who made the rule you need memory for writing!) I also draw on my love and admiration for Mom and Dad Kraker (John's 2nd inlaws.) They've reached 90 as well and their minds are razor sharp. They are my heroes.

So if all goes as I see my future, I'm about midway through my writing career. Just hope John makes the 30 year journey with me. He has no plans to check out before then.

2009-06-24T05:23:00.000-07:00

MORE RIVER NEWS

The mighty Grand River just won't behave. We're doing fine, but up stream in Ionia the fair grounds parking lot was flooded a few days ago, with a FLASH flood, stranding---and ruining---hundreds of vehicles, front page news in GR PRESS.

2009-05-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

Plugging Along

The flood has long ago receded and I keep plugging away at the book still playing catch-up from last summer. I will be turning the manuscript into a church historian in July, having him search out errors. Then it will come back to me for corrections and on to my editor for a final line by line editing. In the meantime, John will be editing it again. With my long days of editing I still haven't gotten my garden in this year. But will have it planted, I have vowed, within two weeks. Last year everything was coming up nicely when I got the dog bit and from that point on it all went to weeds. This summer will be different.

2009-05-01T16:41:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER FLOOD ON THE GRAND RIVER

We've now set a record---6 floods in the space of 15 months. Part of the problem is that West Michigan had near record snow for 2 winters and near record rainfall for the past year or so. This morning John and I kayaked through the wooded wetland across the road from our house. We can kayak the whole 1 mile of Abrigador trail--have never done that before. Here's a photo of me in the woods and another of our house.

This one is taken from the road in front of our house. Our house is and island; the only dry land is part of our yard that faces the river. Our 2 vehicles are up on high ground.

2009-04-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

Radio in Black and White

This morning my partner at Carlton Gardens and I were interviewed for a local live radio program Radio in Black and White. We told about our business partnership across racial lines and about our website Business Black and White. It was a good time. I'm used to doing radio interviews. Billie isn't, but she come off as a real pro!

2009-04-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Mountain Lion Lurking in my Woods

This morning when we opened our Grand Rapids PRESS, we saw this photo of a mountain lion west of Spooner, Wisconsin, my neck of the woods (where I spent the first 18 years of my life). My brother owns the farm now and from what I could find online it is hanging around within a mile or two of our farm, if not the property itself. My brother and his wife are planting trees there this week so they may spot it.

Someone asked me the other day why I hadn't posted for so long. I've been working virtually non-stop on the church history book, still playing catch-up from last summer. I was originally supposed to have it completed by now but it will be on into the summer before it's completed. John is a saint. He prepares wonderful meals, does my share of the yard and house work, AND edits chapters besides. We're planning a 2+ week trip out West in the fall, so the book's got to be done before then.

2009-03-12T05:55:00.000-07:00

SUNRISE OVER A FLOODED RIVER
We're in flood stage again, though less than a foot over the road---and that only in some places. The corner of our lawn is flooded and, of course, the basement where we store nothing anyway. This is a ho-hum flood that will be receding in a few days. What's scary is having such a high river going into the spring rains. We're now 5 years overdue for a 100-year flood. The last 50-year flood was 7 years late. Floods don't operate by a calendar. So we wait and let nature take her course.