Mary Ann - I hope the family will include your name in Terry's obit.  I'm sure he would want you to be included

Patricia - Writing an obituary for your own daughter must have been extremely difficult and painful. I'm sure that whatever you wrote, was well said and beautifully written.

Thank you, Marilyn, it was but not as hard as listening to people believing their prejudges re funeral, burials versus cremation, donate or not, etc. as if their opinion or beliefs topped your own. That was a real surprise for me and why I am sometimes stiff in expressing sympathies. You don't want to offend unnecessarily or unwittingly.

Hi everyone.  Another overcast morning but we are headed up to 91 degrees today.  I just plan on staying home today.  Yesterday we decided to try out the new Dairy Queen in our area and went there for a big lunch.  It just opened on Wednesday so everything is still bright and new. Today is my youngest great grandson's 6th birthday.  We have never seen him in person so he has no idea of who we are but we have seen many pictures of him.

Mary Ann, you had quite a reputation as a storm bringer. That sure sounds like a nice boat that Norm had and that the family really enjoyed it. 

Patricia, what type of store has opened near you?  Hope you enjoyed the free food.  Your groceries must have been really heavy with the two gallons of yogurt.  It sounds like you are adventurous shopper in the grocery store.  My wife has so many spices that she has purchased or received as samples from Pensky's spices.  She likes to use the seasoning in her cooking. 

Marilyne and Patricia, we did not write an obituary for our daughter although I wrote a remembrance piece that was used by her minister at the Memorial Service. I had given it to him as background and never expected him to read it but that is what he did.  Mary Ann,you have been such an essential part of your nephews lives that you certainly should be mentioned in the obituary. When our son lost his wife a couple of years ago he declined having any type of service.  I felt that was his decision to make.  Her family didn't like it but they had pretty much deserted her while she was alive.   

I talked to Erin last night and they have not written the obit yet so I think I will be included.  Especially since I asked.  It's easy to forget someone when you have so many other things to do.

Before 1957, we had to cross the Straits of Michigan from Mackinaw City to the Soo and back by ferry and those ferries were huge, probably the same size as the Badger, maybe larger.  It was always fun and I was driving while the ferries were still in operation so I was able to drive onto the ferry.  I forget how long it took to cross the Strait, but it wasn't a short ride.  Now you can cross on the Big Mac Bridge in about 15 minutes.  It is a five-mile drive.  The freighters go from Lake Huron under the bridge and are in Lake Michigan. 

Writing about those days makes me realize what a great thing we had while growing up; something we so often took or take for granted.  Even with all of the State's troubles, and we've had many, Michigan has been a great place to grow up!  I live 35-40 miles from one of the largest fresh water lakes in the world.  The lakes surrounding Michigan all are large - Superior, Michigan and Huron.  Lake Erie touches Michigan at the SE corner, but is mostly by Ohio and Ontario is north of New York.

http://www.mackinacbridge.org/fares-traffic/bridge-cam/

The above link has links to more info about the bridge, especially the history.  Recently the bridge was closed twice because of ice falling from the structure.  The bridge is about 225+ miles from Grand Rapids.

Off my soapbox!

Mary Ann

Still looking out hoping the rain lets up but think it is here to stay. Been 4 days now and some street flooding so got to watch which way I drive. So far 7 inch and they say will rain until Wed.  I really don't need to go out into town until then.  I have a hard time not getting out every day and so today I will just go 2 miles down the road to the library. Get a few DVD and another book and figure staying home for the weekend
Daughter just called to say heading out to the burial of here friend at 2pm. Visitation was last night as the cemetery is over the border into Indy. Maybe it will be cut short at the grave with it storming.
MaryAnn. the place you have always lived does sound a nice area. How I miss still living by the ocean. Using ferries. Having beaches. Just so much different than here in the Middle of the country.  Chicago is about the closest to me.

Mary Ann.  Will you be heading down to Indianapolis this summer? I only go there now when using the Airport.  Use to go shopping or out for a night.

Mary Ann - I enjoyed looking at your link, showing the Mackinac Bridge.  From certain angles, it looks a lot like the Golden Gate Bridge.  The Big Mac is much longer though . . . the GG is only slightly over one mile. I walked across it a number of times when I was much younger.   Whenever I hear about Mackinac Island, I'm reminded of that very romantic movie, Somewhere In Time.  I have read that the hotel where most of the movie was filmed, is still there, and has been restored.

Good morning from a very dreary Interior, this time is where the area switches gears between spring and summer so there is always some rain. In the fall, August does the same, summer to fall, and it also rains practically daily.

I bought in Farrah's toys from the balcony. Now it is only my paintings and books remaining. The toys she ignored before, are presently her new favorites such as the felt, chirping grasshopper. Because of her cylinder, I thought she'd like the balls but she ignores them. Also, her felt mice which she loved before, are now largely ignored She used to pick up the mice in her jaws, sit up on her hind legs and toss them several feet while growling. I miss seeing that. The house looks like I have toddlers with her toys strewn about!   

It will be her first year anniversary here on May sixth and she is not the same cat. Before she spent the majority of her time under the bed, flinching or running from you. And now she headbutts you if you stop petting her or scratching her neck! 

Larry, not having a funeral and donating her organs was her wish. When I told folks this, I was told funerals are for the living. Many people expressed their beliefs about donating organs and my decision to have her cremated and her ashes placed in the church sacristy as if they had a say in it or knew better than I. I was often told to be glad I had her for as long as I had and also that I could go and have another child. Many people would tell me about their own headaches and wonder to me if they might have a brain tumor as well?

When I spent time in a grief group for parents, I heard about murdered children's parents hearing about it was their kids fault for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or if it was a fatal disease, the parents were queried about looking into all options versus medical care and plant options. This is why I never know what to say about a death.

We don't have any long or extra high bridges here so I'm always interested in seeing others. I have been on the Golden Gate bridge but not the one in Michigan. I enjoyed the bridge cams and added them to my cam folders.

Larry, I haven't gone to the Co-Op reopening yet. We plan to go this afternoon. The store originally opened in the late nineteen forties and was one of the first malls here. This is yet another transformation in its long life.

It's said that there is a female ghost in the basement, a murdered woman, but while folks were afraid in the forties and fifties, you never hear about her traveling the basement corridors any longer.

Jeanne, at the end of May, just before the Indy 500, one of the quads is being married and I plan to go to the wedding.  I do know all of the quads since I have been going to Indy for about 60 years, maybe even more after they were born.  It has been touch and go because I wasn't sure about transportation home since the race is right after the wedding.  The family is great on the race but I am not.  I planned to come home on Monday, but Tom H said he usually took that day off as vacation.  I did not want to goof that up, so finally asked my great-niece, Erin, who lives in Indy, and we made arrangements that she would bring me home.  She is the one who bought my car and it is her dad, Terry, who just died.  I hope your area dries up soon.

Marilyn, on Labor Day, people can walk across the Mackinac Bridge.  They close one lane and walking starts at Mackinaw City to Sault Ste Marie.  People have to provide their own way back to the starting point.  It is a big deal with the governor participating.  It might have been mentioned in the web site, but I know there are more than a thousand who walk.  I didn't know how long the Golden Gate bridge is; it is shown so often in ads or illustrations and I think the Mighty Mac (not the Big Mac) is shown only in Michigan.  Regardless of the different spellings, both the bridge and city are pronounced Mackinaw.  It is an American Indian name.  We also have Michilimackinac Park (I'm not sure of the spelling, but went by the sound).

Mary Ann

Patricia, I have read when you don't know what to say at a funeral or visitation, it is best to just say "I'm sorry".  That way the mourner doesn't have to defend him/herself.  I think it is terrible when people apply blame, especially to the person who died, for the death.  While I'm not in on the arrangements for Terry, a lot of people nowadays have the funeral or memorial service with visitation an hour earlier at the location, and I think that is what Jan and family will do.  Dot and I went to the visitation for a friend Wednesday at church, then went to the sanctuary for the service, which was lovely. 

Mary Ann

That is probably what I need to do, MaryAnn other than conveying condolences or my sympathies. However, I always enjoyed hearing someone say something personal about my daughter or a memory they had so often I try to include that as well in my message.

Well the four of us walked down to the re-opening but the free food was on the second floor and the elevator wasn't working. So, with two of us using walkers, we just strolled around. There were some vintage shops, homemade wooden furniture, Alaskan arts and crafts, coffee shops, pastry shops, and an art gallery.

My favorite was a place with scarves, some silk, hand painted and earrings and other jewelry. I could have browsed more but they kept calling me to hurry up. Oh well, the city is doing some type of construction and electrical work in this area on Monday,(some light poles will be coming down and replaced); with notices that the electric will be turned off from one PM to five PM so I know where I'll be browsing!

I might try to get some of that with my camera as well

Hi everyone on this Sunday morning.  Pat is planning on going to Sunday School and Church with me this morning.  We will then stop somewhere for our main meal of the day.  I will rest this afternoon, listen to Don't radio program as he returns live to the air after his sabbatical, and then watch the conclusion of the golf match.  Yesterday evening we lost our Internet signal for several hours but it is fixed this morning. I did stay home all day yesterday and enjoyed it.

Mary Ann, several years ago we visited my first cousin and his wife who lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan and they took us on a long day trip to the UP and we got to see Lake Michigan and several of the light houses and a couple of the parks.  I had previously seen the lake from the Chicago shore line.

JeanneP, does your area need all of this rain?  Do the farmers have their crops planted?  Hope you made it to the library.

Patricia, glad Farrah at least has some toys she enjoys.  She has made a lot of progress in this last year thanks to your patience and understanding.  People should keep their opinions on other peoples business to themselves.  They wouldn't want you telling them what to do.  Interesting story about the ghost in the basement of the Co-Op.

Mary Ann, glad you were able to make arrangements with Erin so you can attend the wedding.   

I want to thank everyone for their sincere thoughts on me losing my son.  I am having a hard time accepting this and can't seem to come to terms with it.  I even have a difficult time writing about it.  But I will say that he fought cancer last year, and won. This year he had a hip replacement, needing the other side done.  The replacement did not work and he was in a lot of pain.  Enough that he had to quit his job, and then lost his apartment.  I guess he just didn't feel he had any other choice.  So sad.

shirleyn.

Shirley, life can be a bitch sometimes.  Not always easy to get thru it .  Hugs to you and your family.

Shirley, your son really had a bad time the last year.  I would have a hard time dealing with his troubles and suicide also.  I'm having a difficult time because of Terry, but his troubles lasted many years and at the end, it was a blessing for him (not us) to be gone.  We could see him go downhill and all we could do was love him.

Mary Ann

shirleyn - Your son had a lot of serious health problems to contend with over the past couple of years.  The stress of so many illnesses must have been overwhelming for him.  I hope you have other adult children or family members who are  mourning him along with you, and giving you the emotional support you need right now.

I am so sorry, Shirley.

I hope I'm not doing wrong by posting this, but you've heard so much about Terry in the last week or so, that I thought I'd put it here.  Compared to some of the obits these days, it is rather bland.  Tom and I thought Terry's education might have been included as he graduated from Michigan Tech, an engineering school in Houghton in the UP. 

Mary Ann

Terrance "Terry" Tock
 
Tock, Terrance 1/11/1959 - 4/26/2017 Grand Rapids Terry, age 58, died at home in Grand Rapids on April 26th. He was infinitely precious to his family and friends. He is already missed by his wife, Rev. Jan Lancaster, son Geoff Tock (Charissa Chan), grandson Isaiah, and daughter Erin Tock - as well as brother Tom, aunt Mary Ann, and stepmom Dot. He joins his parents Norman, Joyce, and brother Tim in eternal life. Memorial service will be held on Sunday, May 7th at 2:00 PM at Northlawn United Methodist Church (1157 Northlawn St NE). Reception to follow. Donations can be made to Emmanuel Hospice, Mobility Worldwide West Michigan (formerly PET), or Northlawn UMC.
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Thanks again to all - Joan, Angelface and Mary Ann.

Marilyn, I do have two surviving adult children.  They live not too close, so I talk to them on the phone only.  And I do have a husband, who is understanding but is also not too healthy, so I try not to unburden on him.

Mary Ann, nice obituary.  Glad you were included, although I do not see why you wouldn't be.  You were close to all those boys.

shirleyn.

broke my right arm today.....   i m ok

damn!

Shirley, thanks.  I did call and ask that I be included.  There are also two uncles, while not as close as I have been, have been in contact often.  I figured it is easy to overlook someone at a time like this, so I do appreciate them including me.

Is your son who died the one who retired recently and his picture was shown?

I forgot to let Dot know, but I'll call her now.

Mary Ann

MaryAnn. that was a short Obit. but now so many just are so long. Put all their history into the paper. Everything they have done through life.  I don't think people read all that. If they were close to the person they know everything about them anyway.

Sandy - OH NO!  I'm so sorry that you broke your arm.  That's an injury that we all dread, as we grow older.  How did it happen?

SAndy, so sorry to read your broke your arm.



Maryann, thanks for posting Terry's obit you know we do follow  your family from the days Norman started us off.

Shirleyn, Our prays and thoughts are with you. Also hugs

Hi everyone.  We have an overcast morning with a fairly good possibility of rain sometime today. I plan on attending my meeting at noon as have missed the last two weeks.  On the way I will stop at Costco for two or three items and to return and item Pat bought there that wasn't the right item.  Pat is planning on attending a luncheon for the Church circles at eleven this morning.  Fortunately we have a quart of very good beef vegetable soup in the refrigerator that we will have for our dinner tonight. 

Yesterday we did attend Sunday School and Church and then stopped for lunch at a place we enjoy.  I came home and turned on Don's classical music program while I rested.

*Alert for non-golf fans: just skip the rest of this paragraph if you are not a fan. When I got up I turned on the PGA golf match, which was toward the end of a six hour rain delay, and the match didn't end until almost 9 pm.  At 6 pm CBS cut away from the golf but it continued on the Golf Channel and there we also got to see the long ending to the women's golf tournament that went to 5 or 6 playoff holes between two women and the men's where the team from Aiken, SC, which is the county seat of where I live, are in a playoff today   after one the the Aiken players had chipped in an eagle on the 18th hole to go ahead one stroke but the other team tied and thus the playoff today.

Sandy,  so sorry that you are now going to have to deal with a broken arm.  Thanks for letting us know. Glad you are close to family that will be able to assist you through your healing process. 

Larry, I tuned in during the rain delay, then forgot about it later.  I don't enjoy the match play as much as the individual and that possibly is why I forgot about it.

I did spend much of the evening looking at flash drives for pictures of Terry and/or his brothers when they were little.  They were three cute little boys!  As aren't they all?  I found several and put them on another flash drive for Tom and he can go through them and edit them.  I'm not even sure what Jan is planning for the memorial but I know she and Tom are working together.

We had rain earlier this morning and now the sun is shining.  I think rain is still in the forecast.  Our pond is up to the bottom of the deck by the pumphouse and when it is there, water gets into the lower level.  At one time the lower level was all we had of the pumphouse and more than once the motors for sprinkling got wet.  Now the motors are on the new upper level. 

Mary Ann

Good morning from a gray and ofttimes drizzling Interior. Not much going on these days other than the usual. Farrah, now that she knows I have treats, immediately goes to the big blue cylinder rather than her feed dish in the mornings. I'm going to have to start mixing a few treats into a larger amount of food as the 3/4th cup is all she'll eat in a day and I don't want it to be all treat.

Today, the city will be doing some electrical work in their parking lot directly across from us. They will be taking down some poles as well. They posted a notice on our building doors along with others around that all electric in the area will be shut off today between one PM to five PM. I will be taking my SLR as I might get some photos to post in the forum here, but then again I might go to the library or just go shopping. It is rather open at present. My apartment faces Northwest and the balcony is recessed in four feet, so with drizzle, it would be too dark to read or anything anyway.

MaryAnn, I believe that it was too bland as well. Information about a person gives some insight into who they were. I remember Norm, long ago posted childhood photos of the three boys along with some of the boats he or some of the boys transported for various clients. I wouldn't mind seeing a couple of those again. My daughter's anniversary is May 30th. She has been gone, 26 years, longer than the 18 she lived and I still choke up at the anniversary.

Sandy, ouch! I am so sorry about your arm. it is usually both painful and a pain, isn't it? I know your family is or will be there for you and I hope you are doing well or at least as well as we know you will do.

There is a man, known universally around here at various times as either Mr. Grumps or Mr. know it all. He is short and his best buddy is a tall lanky guy known as mean spirited and the biggest gossip, together, they are usually avoided. Yesterday, in the first-floor social room, he, Mr. Knows Everything, was holding forth about magnesium and it's properties. I became confused at one point, & forgot myself, I asked isn't that electricity? He barked out, "Electricity is magnesium!!" I winced and said sorry! Everyone around me either rolled their eyes or gave me sympathetic looks or smiles. Is he right? I don't think so but I am not an expert.

Everyone have a good day!

"A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
'A full belly to the labourer is, in my opinion, the foundation of public morals and the only source of real public peace. -William Cobbett, journalist, pamphleteer, and farmer (1763-1835)"'

From The Wordsmith.

Sorry, Patricia, I worked for the electric utility for nearly 44 years and I never heard about magnesium and electricity.  I will say I worked in departments where it wasn't necessary to know that.

Kendrick is learning often (I can't say every day).  Annie fixed a throw over a chair pad and it is on the end of my couch.  He loves to be petted.  I sit beside the throw and after a couple of swipes at my legs, he'll get up on the throw, settle himself and then I'll scratch him and tousle his fur.  He loves it.  When my arm gets tired, I just lay my arm over his body and he purrs.  He has a deep purr.  I give him his treat at night and it isn't much.  I get those treat packages and give him up to four pieces which I put on my knees one at a time.  He bats the first treat off my knee, then eats it.  The second one is on the other kness and he gets up on his hind legs and takes the piece with his mouth and eats that.  Then I repeat the process.  I'm not pleased with the treats Tom got last time and I'm not sure Kendrick likes it, but he does eat them.  When finished, the container will be a good place to store future treats.

Mary Ann

Patricia - I hope the electrical work gets done quickly, so you can get back to your usual routine.  I hate it when we have a power outage.  I don't have an iPhone or iPad, so I always feel lost without access to a computer. All we have here to connect us to the outside world, is a regular cell phone, and an old fashioned portable radio. 

I also get Wordsmith - A.Word.A Day.  This weeks theme is, "Ugly words", and first word is "Plethora".  I never thought of plethora, as ugly?  Actually, it's one that I use on occasion, whereas most of the other words, I rarely hear or use, and some I've never heard or seen in my lifetime!

Mary Ann - It sounds like Kendrick loves you, and likes to be close and to please you!  Does he still seem to know that he actually belongs to Annie?   Winnie, spent the first few years of his life with my older daughter and granddaughter.  When my daughter got divorced and they moved into a small apartment, she kept one of their cats, and we took Winnie. He still recognizes them when they come to visit, but he has been here for so long now, that I doubt if he remembers his life with them, and with Jerry, the other cat.