Bigger than an Iphone 6

Many times in the last few months I have felt that I really missed sharing my thoughts with the world through this blog. Several times I've gone back over some of the post that I've done and wondered what direction, if any, I was taking. These are my thoughts on the matter.

I often try to post things that I find inspirational. If you follow me on facebook, you may have noticed this too. Over there, I try to keep things short and simple. This is where I can come to finish a thought though. And for some reason, you all seem to care what I think. Thank you for that.

Many times, as well, this has been more of a travel log of sorts. Chronicling my many adventures.

At first, I did not see how these things all went together. It seemed a little random to me. But what I have found is that A Brighter Side of the Grave is all of these things. Life is about the adventures that we share. We share them with family and friends as they happen. And we share them over and over again, sometimes for years afterward, with people that we meet along life's way.
 With age, comes experience. And I love the fact that I have inspired several people to experience more than they ever thought possible simply by sharing my adventures and experiences.

I'm not a materialistic person. I don't need to surround myself with things. I don't need the latest and greatest gadgets. In fact, I usually let others work the bugs out before I invest in anything new. But, what I do love to spend money on is adventure. Sometimes we can plan for a year or more for an adventure. Some people call them vacations, others call them holidays. I call them adventures.

These adventures give us something to look forward to. As the day draws closer, we find ourselves getting excited. When we embark, we can hardly believe that it is happening. And when it is over, we have stories to tell for the rest of our lives. Sometimes we don't even know how great the adventure is until after it is done. Have you ever planned a beach vacation to have it rain every day that you are there? I did. Over a year of planning a trip to Cape Cod and it turned out to be the coldest wettest month of June in the history of Cape Cod weather. We threw on some jackets and went exploring anyway. It was a wonderful time and I wouldn't have changed anything. On the way home, we stopped in Plymouth. We had planned a cemetery tour in the evening. We contacted the tour guide who informed us that everyone else had cancelled but since we had traveled so far, if we wanted to continue, to meet her at Plymouth Rock. We did. She handed us some lanterns and led us to the cemetery. The sun set and as she was trying to spook us with her stories, the weather worsened. A cold wind was blowing and the rain was coming down sideways. I think our stories frightened her more than her stories, us. By the end, we were drenched and frozen. It was an experience I will never forget and wouldn't change for anything. Stories that will last longer than any Iphone 6.

It is life's adventures that keep me going. I appreciate every second that I am given here on Earth. Sometimes those adventures are cloaked in the veil of every day work. But if you look closely, they are always there. In everything we do, there is adventure. And when you realize this, you will look forward to every day, not just your next vacation.

Just remember this, one of my favorite quotes by Mark Twain;
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

So, the adventure goes on....

Kit Kat

It was a warm day in August when I decided to wander down to the mail box to see what the postman had brought me that day. I rarely check the mail since there is even more rarely anything worth the effort in the box. Since I had just checked it the day before and received all the checks that I was expecting from customers already, I was not expecting anything but flyers. 

Then, much to my surprise, there was a package stuffed in there. 

I am so glad I didn't let this one sit in there for a week before picking it up.

This package was no ordinary package. 

It had traveled a great distance to arrive at my home. 

It had made it all the way from Merry-Ole' England!

A wonderful blogger/ reader and I'd dare to say, internet-friend, Anne or "Morning AJ", 

 sent me a sampling of KitKat bars from England.

Not just KitKat bars. But she also sent Chunky KitKats.

Who knew there was such a thing.

And it gets better.

There's Chunky Mint KitKats too!

I do love mint chocolate!

Living so close to the Canadian border, 

I know that KitKats are a big thing on the other side of the river.

But I never really paid much attention to it.

I knew that there are entire vending machines dedicated to them.

But I didn't pay attention to the products available inside.

For one, in America, KitKats are made by the Hershey Chocolate company.

I have to admit they are one of my favorite treats. But one must take these things in moderation.

In England however, KitKats are made by the Nestle Chocolate company. Yes, the same people that make that chocolate syrup to squirt into your milk or poor over top of ice cream.

I decided to do a side-by-side taste test.

Although the coloring was about the same, the scent was quite different.

The American version almost seemed stale in comparison to the sweet scent of it's British counterpart.

Pugsley was looking on with anticipation as Edward and I took in the color, bouquet and eventually the taste of each tasty bite. Waiting for the lingering aftertaste before making any judgements.

We took our time and kept an open mind.

In the end, we had ourselves a winner.

Which of these chocolaty treats is our favorite?

The British version wins!

The chocolate itself seems softer on the pallet, smoother on the tongue and even seemed a little more buttery, if that's possible. 

It stayed with me longer and thus could be enjoyed longer.

I have not been to Canada for a few months now, but I know that the Canadian version is also made by Nestle' and I am stashing some of these British KitKats away so we can do a side-by-side with the Canadian and British versions.

 And we'll probably throw in the American again just to give them a fair second chance. 

But this American lad is a British fan on this one folks.

And since I have to take these things a little at a time, 

I am also saving the chunky ones for a special occasion.

Yellow!

 

And with that, it was Spring.
April 30th, we awoke to frost and later freezing rain.
May 1st, was sunny and 80 degrees.

Before May happened, there was very little growth of plants. But the last 5 days of sunny warm weather has sent the grass and flowers into overdrive.

Walking Pugsley this afternoon,
I thought I lost him in the tall grass of the vacant lot down the street. The very same grass that hadn't grown an inch just last week.
My Eddy mowed our lawn yesterday and I headed over to Dad's to mow his today. Today also brought the dandelions. They can be beautiful from a distance, blanketing a yard with a burst of yellow color, but play havoc with the grass.

 I do love the soft feel of the lawn on my bare feet in the summer so we are constantly weeding the lawn trying to hold back the army of yellow that we face at this time each year.

The yard is not void of yellow though by far. Four forsythia bushes dot the landscape as well as patches of yellow daffodils in every corner.


If you haven't gotten that burst of Spring yet, I hope this helps lift your spirits until you do.

If it's already passed for you, this should help you hang on to that feeling a little while longer.

And John and Linda, we're going to try and stuff some of this in our little car and bring it over for the wedding.

May days

I love the month of May. It brings with it sunshine, warmer temperatures, green grass, flowers, my birthday, Pugsley's annual shed-a-thon and the wonderful promise of life.

For those that still follow this blog, I thank you. There have been so many things in my daily life that effect what happens (or doesn't happen) here. All I can say is that I am in no way leaving blogland. But I simply can not commit to a regular schedule. I truly enjoy writing and sharing the things that are important to me and hope that in some small way, I can enrich your life along the way.

I am working on a couple of articles that I feel will strike your interest. I would like to spend more time putting together meaningful post rather than the half thoughts that I might have published in the past.

Also there are a few explorations and events coming up very soon that I am looking forward to sharing with you.

To update everyone, spring was a long-time coming this year here as in many other parts of the northern hemisphere. But so far in this little corner of Michigan, the month of May has been sunny and 65 to 80 degrees everyday. Now if the ground would dry out a little from all the rain and snow of April, we'll get this summer thing started. I know that a little north of here, they are still getting heavy, wet snow, so I won't complain.

It was a sad day Thursday as we said goodbye to our Navy Blue Hearse. We convinced our major account to switch to black because it was more marketable for us and everyone loves our new Black Pearl. We've gone back to having just one hearse and working with another service for the occasional back-up. By switching to black, we have secured more accounts and are expecting business to only grow from here. We always have the option to add another hearse down the road.

I don't mind that more and more people are choosing to be cremated. (The percentage is at about 65% these days) I do have difficulty understanding why families are choosing to not have full services. Even if there is a absence of religion in the family, the opportunity to say goodbye to your loved one should not be missed. There are so many options for grieving families. You can still have a full viewing and service and end in cremation. That is simply the final disposal method. It should not effect you opportunity for closure. (This subject greatly effects my business)

I promise you there are many more stories coming your way in the near future. Feel free to comment about what draws you here to the Brighter Side.
Are you looking for stories of the lives we honor each day?
Do you enjoy my positive spin on what could be a very dark subject?
Is it my travel loggs that keep you coming back?
Is my daily caos entertaining to you?
Or do you simply have a fasination of the business that I am in?
Tell me what you would like to read more of and I will see what I can do to make all your wishes come true. Well, whatever I can do.

Brighter News

As I stood in the snow today for several hours lining up cars as they arrived for the funeral,

I contemplated the mysteries of the universe.
I thought about the snow.
I thought about the cold.
I thought about summer.
I miss summer.

As the wind blew and the direction of the weather vane changed again, the snow started to fall even heavier and wetter.
I thought about the bleak, colorlessness of winter.
I miss summer.

Then when the service was over and the casket had been buried in the frozen earth, I headed back across the marsh to my nice warm home.

That's when I realized that unless you are a follower of mine on facebook, then you don't know the big news yet.



This last year, sales have been very good for us in the hearse leasing business.

So, just before Christmas, we made the huge decision to add to our fleet. I've been waiting to tell you about it because I can't seem to get a good day to take pictures of my Christmas present to myself. So you'll have to make due with these from a wet, snowy day.

You may have noticed that our hearse in the side-bar is navy blue. Our largest client requested the blue hearse to set his funeral home apart from others in town. Since I like the look of the blue, I've always had a blue hearse.

Our latest addition is black and has been named....
"The Black Pearl". Since sales were already increasing with other funeral homes, the addition of a black coach enables us to service more traditional businesses. Already we have picked up an account that we had years ago that left us over the issue of color. And we are looking forward to adding more funeral homes to our roster.

Of course with the addition of another vehicle, comes the addition of another employee. My Eddy works a full time job already and can not help every day. The work is unsteady with no schedule. So the search has been hard, but I think I may have found a keeper. It turns out that someone that worked for me in my Pizza store is enjoying the funeral business as much as I do.

This brings our fleet to include  two hearses and a limousine. So if you find yourself in need of such a vehicle, please don't hesitate to call me because the bank wants the car payments every month, you know.

But, here on the Brighter Side, we like to think positive. I know deep in my heart that we are running a top quality business representing top quality funeral homes around the area. It is my pleasure every day to work with some of the industries finest professionals and to call them friends. I've said it before, Death is never easy. We are here to help those left behind start a new life. A life that does not include someone that they have loved. We always want the last memories of that person to be good memories.

And that brings me to my thought of the day. The contemplation from the beginning of this post. As I stood for hours in the snow and freezing temperatures, I thought............. " I can make myself miserable, or I can make myself happy. The amount of work I put into either is the same."
I chose each day to think thoughts, make choices and take actions that make me feel good. By doing so, I hope to help others feel good.


And finally, I've always saved facebook for close friends and family. But I've now decided to open it up to anyone that's more curious about the mind behind the Brighter Side. So feel free to look up Stewart Adams. I'd love to know more about those that follow me as well.

Trouble with the Old Navy

 Last  weekend, we had the pleasure of gathering the family together with a few friends down at the local pool hall for a little Trouble. Trouble, that starts with T which rhymes with P and that stands for Pool!

It was Dad's 89th birthday. And since the young man like to shoot a little pool, it was decided we head into town Sunday afternoon and play a few games of snooker. Since it's cold outside, Dad doesn't get out much other than for the occasional doctor visit. So, I made reservations for fifteen or so and sent out the invitations. Everyone was excited to be a part of such a celebration. Even the great-grand kids wouldn't have missed it for anything.







Everyone wanted a chance to play against the pool shark.  He took great pride in defeating us all one by one.

It was great to see him smiling so much showing off all of his teeth.

Sometimes as we get older and our friends and loved ones depart from this word, it's difficult to remember why we need to go on. It's good to get out every now and then and remind yourself that there is still plenty of life left to live and plenty of people that love you. We may not understand why Mom had to die or why Dad is left to go on without her. But he's still here and there must be a reason for it. So we're going to enjoy every moment that we can with the man that gave us and continues to give us life.

Here's my Daddy showing off the new sweatshirt he got for his birthday from his caregiver. She wears an Old Navy shirt often and he always jokes that "That's him..... Old Navy" You see when he was eighteen, he was young and joined the US Navy during World War 2. Now, he's ..... Old Navy.

Still lots of life in that old Navy boy.

Cold

I awoke this morning to reports of it being -1f outside. No matter how you look at that, it measures up to be pretty darn cold. I was delighted with the fact that I had no funeral services booked for today. I was looking forward to spending the day indoors and staying warm. Just then, my phone chimed its little door bell chime, indicating to me that I had received a text message. I begrudgingly pried myself from my comfy chair and made my way the five feet across the room to where I had left my phone sitting on top of the fireplace. When I looked at the screen, suddenly I knew it was going to be one of those days that you just shouldn't get out of bed. Yes, even I have those days.
I read the message from my sister, who is staying at my Dad's new house. It read "Good morning, we have no water :)"
 The house is on a crawl space and requires a heat tape on the pipes to keep them from freezing. I knew what had happened right away. I dragged myself down the hall and found myself a few layers of clothing to put on. Since the house is rented, I called the landlord, who informed me there was about a hundred others in front of me and they would get to it as soon as they can. So out to the shed I went to look for some jugs to put some water in to take over there.
I stuck my head under the house to see how bad things were and to see if I could possibly just plug the heat tape in. That's when I noticed that the wire had been cut. This was definitely something the landlord would have to handle.
So since I was out and about with layers of clothing on, I thought I'd swing by my garage to do some maintenance on the hearses. I went in, figured out what parts I would need from the auto parts store and went shopping. When I returned to the garage, I pulled up to the computer controlled gate, waved my magic pass in front of it and it began to beep as it slid open. I drove my car through and pulled up to the garage door as the gate started to close. When the gate got to the fully closed position, the beep became a loud squeal. I thought to myself, "that's not normal", and didn't think much more about it. I did my repairs and was feeling proud of myself for taking care of things on such a cold day. I hopped back into my little car and pulled up to the gate that is supposed to open when you pull up to it. It just sat there squealing at me still.

Silly me never put the landlords phone number into my contacts and had to sit and go through all my recent calls for the last two months to see if I could find a number that I thought might be his. I finally found where he had called me from his personal phone back on our last big snow day. I dialed, hoping that it was the right number. It was. He answered and I explained that I was trapped inside and would like to go home. He told me that he can't go outside on cold days and didn't know what he could do for me! He had me climb the fence and try my pass at the outside controller. No luck. He then told me he'd call me back and hung up on me. I now had to climb back over the fence to get back to my warm car. I turned on the radio and waited listening to today's top hits. It was a half hour later when he called back with instructions for me.

I had to find the hidden box that had a combination lock to it. The box contained a key. That key opened the control panel that worked the gate. The loud squealing was coming from the control panel. So I'm talking to him on the phone with this squealing a foot away from my head. I then had to flip two switches in a particular order. Then find the hidden lever that releases the mechanical parts from the computerized parts. Once that was done, I could push the 400 pound gate open and free my car from it's prison. Leaving the gate in the open position, I returned all the parts and key to their original positions, climbed back into my warm car and made my way back to Dad's house. Still no water.

So what did I learn from all of this? I learned that with the landlords permission at the garage, I should keep that combination so I could get out if it ever happens again. And I'm still working on the water situation. I'm sure there's some big life lesson that I need to learn there. I just need to figure out what that is.

A couple hours later..... We finally have water! More than 12 hours later and service has been restored. Perhaps we'll keep some on hand in jugs in case something like this happens again. Or maybe we'll get it fixed so it won't happen.

Don't you know who I think I am

I'll tell you about the night we stopped at the local pub for a bite to eat while planning the whole shim-dig that we had for my brother-in-law. It was a Saturday night and every restaurant in town was packed. It's winter in Michigan so there's football on the televisions and people having a grand time cheering for their favorite team. We pulled in to the parking lot and based on how many cars were there, we assumed there might be a wait for a table. We must have got there at just the right time because it wasn't more than 5 minutes, if that. I overheard the owner reminding her staff that there was a reservation for fifteen people expected in about 10 minutes. Others were pouring in the front door and we'd just taken the last table. Suddenly a loud mouthed dweeb of a man walks in with his arm around a busty brunette, proclaiming his presence. He wanted a table for him and his friends. He was told that it might be as much as 25 to 30 minutes before they could accommodate him and his obnoxious friends. He then proclaimed "Don't you know who I am!" He was only a few feet away from our table. I smiled at his stupidity, sat back, ordered a cocktail and dinner and watched as he paced the floor, bothering the bar-keeps. I enjoyed my dinner and my conversation with my husband. It had been a while since we'd relaxed a bit. We watched as others that came before him were seated and the large party filtered in as well. As we settled our bill, I noticed the man still did not have a table. We let him have ours as we left to go home.

Disclaimer: This is not that man.

The energy that he gave off right from his entry into the pub was very negative. I think everyone there took great pride in making him wait. And I still don't know who he was.

More than a Man

Let me tell you a story.

A story of a man that lived life on his own terms.

He never quite fit in to common life.

After suffering a small brain injury as a child,

he never recovered fully and thus lived his life a little different than most.

He never finished school.

There was no way to even get him to stay in the building.

He was always looking for a way to get out of doing 

"what he was supposed to do"

and choosing to  take the more adventurous route.

He took to his little brother right away.

Despite the ten years that separated them,

he always found ways to include him in the fun.

Here's a shining example.

Despite his brother's fear of horses as   a child,

he helped him to overcome his fears and concur this beast of a pony.

Note, the brother is holding on to him, not the pony.

That little brother is my husband, Edward. This man that I'm telling you about, is his brother. 

Eric, or Rick as we knew him, hitched a ride on the frieght train to heaven on Wednesday, January 2, 2013. 

Just 25 days shy of his 60th birthday.

I took this shot of him last summer. It captures so much of his loving personality. He possessed a great love for nature, animals, music and, all things trains.

He could play a piano or guitar by ear after hearing a song only once. Always by his side was one of his trusty canine side-kicks and many friends.

He would make friends anywhere he went, with the most unlikely of people.

One might see him as a bit odd at first, but once you let yourself know him, you would love him.

He belonged to that elite group of Port Huron's eccentrics and everyone seemed to know who he was.

 He chose a life a bit different than most.
At a young age, he ran away from home
To be found living in a shack roughly constructed of waste material at
the train yard.
It wasn't until his father bought a house across from the switching station, that Rick decided to move "home".
Home as he knew it, started with a tent in the wooded acreage
behind the house. Eventually moving into an old milk truck and then a discarded camper. Time would reveal to him an old mobile home or two and then more campers. As each residence filled with things that made him happy, he'd move on to something else.

A few years ago, he had a health scare and I volunteered to clean his place up to help make his life a little easier and nicer. The doctors told us then that he would not live more than a month or so. So, we wanted it to be nice. A few months later, he'd totally trashed what I had done and made it more comfortable in his eyes. His home was open to anyone and anything that happened into it. On any given day, you could find mice or even rats sharing in the dogs food. He would feed the birds of all kinds. And it was nothing for him to lay down in the woods and fall asleep.

 It must have been what he needed because he managed to squeeze 6 more years out of life.

Each time that doctors told him to do something, he'd do just the opposite. He'd rather live one month his way than years, their way.

While I could never live the way he chose, I've learned so much from this man. I've grown to respect him and his ways. With that, I've grown to accept and respect everyone that I meet. We are all doing the best we can with what we have to work with. And who are we to tell someone how to live their life?

If there was ever a shining example of Godliness, it was Rick Borowski.
I hope that I can implement into my life, the lessons that I've learned from this incredible man.
He will truly be missed.

Life as we know it....

Is it the end of the world?
Or just the world as we know it?
The Maya left us a calendar that ends on December 21st of this year.
We are fast approaching this fateful day. This leaves us wondering. Are the planets going to align and cause the Earth's axis to shift and the polar ice caps to melt causing floods everywhere? Will there be earthquakes felt around the globe? Is there going to be the long awaited rapture foretold in the book of Revelations? How will the world change? What fate awaits us?

One thing I know for sure, is that life as I know it will surely end on the 21st of December of 2012.
Last year at this time, we were moving my father into my sister's new house. A rather large house with room for anything and everything that our family could throw at it. With ground floor rooms for both my sister and father and still more rooms upstairs for anyone else, it's been a good house to call home to our large family gatherings.

Followers that have been with me throughout the year will remember that my sister suffered a brain aneurysm  at the end of March. It was a tough couple of months in the hospital for her and the rest of us had to step up and take care of my 88 year old father a little more. When my sister came back home, the work multiplied to taking care of both of them. Some of the doctors claim that her brain damage is irreversible. Weather she recovers or not, one thing is clear, disability insurance doesn't pay the same as her full time job at the local theater where she booked the acts that perform there. So it's no wonder that money has been tight since that fateful day when she called me to take her to the doctor for a headache and I ended up in the Emergency Room making life and death decisions and ultimately placing her in a coma for transfer to another hospital where they could help her with her head trauma.

We love the large beautiful home, but it has proved to be too much for us to handle without her income. So on November 18th (exactly one year to the day after purchasing the home) we placed the house up for sale.
A half hour after the open house started, we accepted the an offer from the second couple that saw the house, for full asking price (including closing cost!).

For the open house, I had strung pine garland through the railing of the switch-back stairs and loft area as well as the bridge that leads to the upstairs bedrooms. I then wrapped all the paintings in the home with christmas paper in shades of red. I then baked some cinnamon  rolls and filled the home with the warm scent of the holidays. These buyers were putty in my hands. They didn't stand a chance against my theme of "Home for the Holidays".

It turns out, they want to be in the house for Christmas! We will be signing over the home and handing over the keys on the 21st of December 2012, essentially changing life as we know it for good. And changing the lives of this young couple as they start their new family in a new home.

We unfortunately had not secured a new home yet, as we were not expecting the house to sell in a half hour.
I like to always stay positive and try to always see something before it happens. I find this really works to visualize what you want and leave the details to God or the universe.

Staying positive and always expecting the best outcome worked for selling the house. And now we are doing the same for finding a new one. And after spending the day looking at new construction condos in the area, I think we may have found our new home for Dad and Sis. It has everything that we were looking for and more for a price that works great for the current budget. Going with a new condo will take a lot of pressure off of me when it comes to maintenance and even lawn care. And I will be able to concentrate on caring for the two of them better. Monday we will talk numbers with the finance people and hopefully start moving within the week.

So again I will apologize for not posting very much lately. As you can see, when combined with running the ever growing business and working part-time at a funeral home, sitting down at the computer just doesn't always happen. So I'm hoping that the 21st of December will be the start of something wonderful. So I can get back to telling you folks all about the goofy things that happen on the way to the cemetery.

Holiday Remembrance

Dad at the park, remembering Mom.

The holidays are upon us and it can be a very joyful time of year. Some of us have problems during the holidays and sometimes are overcome with great sadness when we remember the loved ones who are not with us. And, many people have no one to spend these times with and are besieged by loneliness. We all need caring thoughts and loving prayer right now. Give a moment of support to all those who have family problems, health struggles, job issues, worries of any kind and just need to know that someone cares. Do it for all of us, for nobody is immune. 
 Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Fogged

I'm not big on holidays, so instead of the typical 'be thankful' kind of post from me, I'll give you a little story of one of my days recently. I do hope that the Americans reading this are enjoying their holiday though.

Every morning for the past week, I have awoken to intense fog.

I am renaming November as
 'the foggy season'.
But let me tell you about one foggy day in particular.
On Saturday, the funeral home where I work part time is open from 9am until 2pm. Here you can see my drive into work that day. Let's keep in mind that here in Michigan, deer hunting season has just started. So you have not only the threat of unruly drivers on the road, but the hunters spook the deer to run right out in front of you. Add to that this thick fog and it can be somewhat nerve wracking to drive for any length of time.

Here I am approaching the end of the freeway. At this point, I am on a bridge and the approach ramp for the bridge to Canada is on my left. You can faintly see the post that holds the sign that hangs above the freeway that reads 'Canada Only'. I have to wonder how many people accidentally went to Canada that day.

 The temperature was just below freezing. So the fog actually froze to the backside of my heated mirrors on my car during the drive.

After putting in my time working the office during the day, I was about to close up shop and head for home when the phone rang. It was a man informing me that his father had died that morning and they wanted us to handle the funeral. I  sympathized with his loss and started to take down all the vital information. We wonder each year who will get the first deer hunting casualty. And it looks like this year, we won. The man had gotten his deer sometime in the night and was dragging it back to his car when he had a heart attack and died. His friends found him in the morning. After the coroner had released the body, it was transported to an area funeral home where it was being embalmed and prepared for the trip home. 

The funeral home was a three hour drive from where I was. So I jumped in the van and headed out. 

 It was a beautiful evening for the drive and I really didn't mind it at all. I reached the other funeral home just after sunset. After loading up the van with all his hunting gear, I swung into my brother's house and drug him out to dinner. I don't get a chance to see him much and had to drive right past the town that he lives in. So it only made sense to stop and catch up a little. Sometime during dinner, my brother told me there was a news report of someone having a heart attack while hunting and he wondered if I'd heard that report.

 Then it was back in the van for the long drive back to the funeral home. The deer population in that area is greater than the human population and they seemed to be lounging on the side of the road everywhere. Maybe they feel safer around the speeding cars than in the woods with the hunters.

 After dropping the deceased off back at work, I headed home. I looked over at the gas station just off the freeway. There was a low laying cloud...aka fog, hovering just above the station and the green, blue and red lights steaked across the night sky and resembled the northern lights. I remember thinking how beautiful it was. Then, as I refocused my attention to the road ahead of me, this is what I saw.

And this is moments later. That car is still there. Somewhere. Over and over, the car in front of me would hit their brakes as they entered the next wall of fog and seconds later, would disappear altogether. This would happen every mile or so and it is only a 35 mile drive. Finding exits and keeping track of where other drivers were was quite the challenge. Even trying to ascertain where I was, was a challenge. So I put on my foghat for the slow ride and took it easy.



I was so glad to pull into my driveway at home, walk in the door and see my dog Pugsley. Even though I had been gone all day, he was so happy to see me. This fog has been like this every day for a week and it's getting old. It certainly isn't a place for someone with claustrophobia or hair like mine that frizzes with the slightest bit of humidity.

Maxine Adams

Since I like to say on this blog that it is the stories of someones life that we celebrate at the funerals, and that it is those stories that keep them alive in our hearts, I'd like to share with you briefly the story of my own mother's life.

Born to a poor country family in Northern Lower Michigan in 1933, she was raised with very few luxuries. Although being the only daughter, I'm sure she probably had it a little easier than her two brothers who were ten and eleven years older than her. Still, it was a time and place where homes had only one room and bathwater was shared by the whole family.

By the time she was ten, her brothers had gone off to war and her parents decided to move to Detroit in search of employment. But when she was only eleven, only one day before World War Two ended, her father was tragically killed in a freak factory explosion. Leaving her mother to raise her on her own in harsh times and a strange city.

At fourteen, she started caring for her mother who was injured in an automobile accident and 

by the time she graduated high school, her mother had been diagnosed with cancer. She met my father in March the following year and by June they were married. But before she could give her mother her first grandchild, her mother was gone.

It was a tough beginning to say the least. At that point, her husband (my father) decided he wanted to be a part of the newest craze in health care sweeping across America. He decided to become a Chiropractor. Together, as they started their family, they attended Palmer Chiropractic College in Iowa.

After finishing school, they opened the first chiropractic office in Leesville, Louisiana. It was not a big hit and they made the move to Houma, Louisiana to take over an existing practice. It was a new science then and patience were few. They often paid for services with a barter instead of money.

With a growing family and the promise of a steady paycheck, it was decided to move the family to Michigan where my father took a job with Ford Motor Co.. Their passion was always helping others through chiropractic care but food and clothing for a growing family was not cheap.

Total, my mother had seven children and my father made a very good living with Ford. My mother certainly did not want for much. Anything she thought we needed, we would have. And my father always made sure she always had a nice new car to drive her family around in.

She dedicated her life to raising her children. Taking time out four month every year to help a few hundred friends fill out their income tax forms. Our kitchen table became known as Max's Taxes.

Most importantly, she did not want any of her children to suffer the way she did as a child. She did her best to participate in any and all activities that we became interested in over the years. Then when she was 47 years old she started having problems with her heart. It turned out that a tumor had grown inside her heart and was blocking the valves from operating properly. She survived that, only to spend the rest of her life battling diabetes.

She wasn't perfect by any measure and had a bit of a short temper at times. my father even referred to her as Vesuvius. But she did her best with what she had to offer us. And for that, all seven of us love her and miss her very much. 

This 9th day of November 2012, I am reflecting on her life because today would have been her 79th birthday.

She may not be here to celebrate with us in the flesh, but she will always be in our hearts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM !

Maxine Ellen Shattuck Adams

11/09/1933   ~   05/17/2011

More about my mom

Life is as the flash of the firefly in the night, the breath of the buffalo in winter time.

~ Blackfoot proverb

Odyssey 2012, One More Stop

Often when you live in the North and vacation in the South, there is that middle that just seems to be in the way. That couple of states that you "could just do without". For both myself and Edward, those states are Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee.

Well, on the last day of our odyssey, we found ourselves in southern Kentucky. We'd each been here before but never took the time to look around. While enjoying breakfast at the hotel, we noticed that we were not more than an hour away from Mammoth Cave.

Having plenty of time before we had to be anywhere, we decided to go cave exploring. Ed had never been in a cave before and remembers his father saying what a waste of money it was to pay to go into a hole in the ground.

We took the historical tour that took us 350 feet below ground and over two miles into the cave. The largest cave in the world. Thus the name, Mammoth Cave. Huge caverns and tight passages with low ceilings, all with a mountain on top of us.

What a great last stop on this trip.

But really. It was just a hole in the ground.

And for once, we weren't putting someone else in it.

It was an Odyssey to say the least.

If it was just about surviving, getting by, and keeping things the way they are, then how would you explain imagination?

If it was just about sacrifice, selflessness, and altruism, then how would you explain desire?

And if it was just about thinking, reflection and spiritual stuff, then how would you explain the physical world?

Get the picture?

Want it all?

That's what it's there for.

And, if it was just about working, how would you explain weekends and this odyssey?


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