Happy Birthday, Rae.

Rae sitting at the Firefly table before we built
the structure for it.

Hi Rae,
Today, July 2, 2017, would have been your 80th birthday.  I miss you.  Ray misses you.  Your family and friends miss you.  I am not sure you ever knew what a positive impact you had on so many people.  Today I have a birthday present to celebrate your life.  We have the perfect structure built at Cuyamungue Institute where people can go have a smoke.  We have named it Rae's Firefly in your honor.  I have already written two posts about this building so I won't say anymore about it.  Today I want to share the pictures we took showing Zac all of the places you loved when you would spend time at Cuyamungue Institute.




I invited your grandsons, Zac and Shane, to come to Cuyamungue and experience the place you loved.  Shane was unable to come, but hopefully will make it next year when Zac returns.  I can not speak for Zac, but I do think he was able to feel the energy of the Land.  He even spent the night sleeping in the Casita which was one of your favorite places to sleep.  Later, just like you, he moved down to Cities of Gold where he could take a 'real' shower.

This is the Casita where Zac spent the night.  Rae, Stephanie and I would put cots out on the patio and sleep under the stars
looking at the constellations (and sometimes fighting mosquitoes).

This is the Thunderbird Lodge.  I am showing Zac the small shrine for the Owl that watches over the entrance.

This is the Bear statue that some artist built for Cuyamungue Institute.  We have the Rae's Firefly sign on display for this picture but it will be posted at the structure.  These are the board members and Zac, Bruce and Ray.

We did not stay here (Buffalo Thunder) this time (no rooms available) but Rae, Stephanie and I would sometimes get a room there with a balcony. Zac and Ray are saluting the art of Buffalo Thunder.  This sculpture was created by George Riviera. 

This is the back of Cities of Gold where we often stayed.  It is a few (well quite a few) steps down from Buffalo Thunder (a Hilton Hotel) but has the basics we need and the WiFi is free.  Rae loved it here.  We took Zac on her usual walk to the Cities of Gold Casino across the parking lot, and we all played a few slots for about fifteen minutes and then headed to another of Rae's favorite, The Big Rock Casino in Espanola.  I forgot to take a picture of us there.  It has a big rock out front.  Rae, Stephanie and I would touch it before going in, hoping it would bring us good luck.

Here is Rae posing with the rest of us a few years ago.  She loved the bear sculpture.

Rae, Stephanie and I are at the ridge after greeting the sun.  We look to the east and wait for the sun to rise above the mountains  Rae loved sitting on this bench soaking up the morning sun.

Zac is looking west from the ridge where we greet the sun each morning.  I think we all felt Rae's energy.  This was another of  Rae's favorite places.  The wind seemed to whisper to us as Zac spread some of his Grandma Rae's ashes at the ridge and I swear I heard gravely laugh.


 Rae, I wanted to end this post with Zac looking at the Land, the place you loved so much.  I know your spirit was with us as we stood on the ridge and that it was your laugh that I heard in the wind.

Rae's Firefly

Two weeks ago I went to New Mexico to attend the Cuyamungue Institute Board Meeting for this year.  Last year I wrote about the meeting because we had set aside time to honor our dear friend, Rae.  She had been the Vice President of the Institute and her death left us all feeling a need to something special in her memory.  Before I started to write this, I decided to read the post I wrote last year.  It told about how we honored Rae and what we planned to build for her.  If you want to read it, check out this link: Happy Birthday, Rae.

Rae had a special table where she would sit and smoke her American Spirit cigarettes.  This is the only place at Cuyamungue Institute where people are allowed to smoke.  It is outside with an umbrella to shade us from the sun.  The umbrella did not function well, though and sometimes would blow away when the wind spirits wanted to have a bit of fun.  So, we decided to have a structure build to replace the rickety umbrella.  It was to be called, Rae's Firefly because she called the smoking area, Firefly.

Here is the Firefly Table as it was a few years ago.

Another picture of the Firefly table....but where is the umbrella?

Looks like a tree captured the umbrella when it was blowing in the wind...

Many people donated money to Cuyamungue Institute in memory of Rae when she died.  We had about 75% of the money from donations that was needed to build this structure.  In April, Stephanie Stephens and I presented a short workshop hoping to earn enough money so we could build Rae's Firefly.  Our workshop was such a success that I knew we would be able to begin building.

People enjoyed the Firefly even if Rae was not there.

This was also where Rae did business transactions.

....and of course, a place for a quick hair cut.

Ray (my husband...we call him TR, not to be confused with Rae...Florida Rae) and I drove to New Mexico in May with a van full of items that needed to be stored at Cuyamungue.  I thought Paul (the President of the board) acted a bit strange when we arrived.  When I climbed out of the van, Paul came running out to greet me and ushered be toward the Student Building.  I saw him get his cell phone out but my attention was drawn toward the area of the smoking area.  There it was!  A structure built of wood and logs from the area.  A table with chairs seemed to invite us to step in and enjoy the shade.  Paul was taking a video of my surprised expression.

Here is Rae's Firefly!  We wanted it to be open on all sides to get the desert breeze.  I am so thankful that Paul took time to build this.  He did have some help from a local young man.

Here are some pictures of Rae's Firefly and a few more of Cuyamungue Institute.  It is a place I love, the Land is a refuge for animals....four legged and two legged.  I can feel Rae's spirit there, and hear her deep laugh as she tells stories.

Here are Paul, Ray and Dave making music in Rae's Firefly

What a wonderful place for us.  It is not quite finished yet, but I know it will be perfect.  We could sit there and enjoy the fresh desert air and not swelter under the sun.

And here are just a few more pictures of the Institute....just because I want to post them.

Here is a picture of our buildings.

This is the May Pole that was built this year.

I can't forget a picture of the labyrinth!

Here are some of the Board Members, plus Ray, our photographer.

Ray took some drone pictures that are amazing.  I hope to put a couple of those in my next post.

Tiny but Mighty

Have you ever met someone who is so different from your family and friends and more like a character from a wild west show?   Well, I have to write about this little lady...Lena Oliver Ray...born in 1916 and died in 2002.  I call her little because she was less than five feet tall.  She was my friend, Rae's, mom.


Early picture of Lena

Rae with her parents, Lena and Ray at
college graduation

 I did not meet Lena until my mid twenties...after I had been teaching a few years.  Rae and I were driving back from a class and she said she needed to stop by her mother's.  Those of you who have read any of my posts know that my mother, Maxine, was (or tried to be) a prim and proper lady...did not smoke and never let a drop of liquor pass her lips.  You can imagine my surprise when we walked in Lena's door and I was greeted with a huge hug and kiss from this tiny woman holding a cigarette in one hand and reaching for a beer with the other.

But that was just the shell of who Lean really was.  Her heart was open to all...as well as her home.  She housed at least six of us during the Blizzard of 78.  I remember not being able to drive my jeep because the tires were frozen in inches of ice.  The National Guard had told us to evacuate because there was no power.  The phone did work though and when Lena found we were homeless she sent her neighbor (who smelled a bit of Jack Daniels) to pick us up.  After a few doughnuts in the snow...we made it to Lena's.   I will always remember the aroma of her vegetable soup...a big pot on the stove and homemade apple pie.

Lena at her table eating soup...ashtray and glass full of Coke
(her favorite soft drink) nearby

 We were there for weeks...that blizzard just about closed down central Ohio for a month.  We entertained ourselves by playing an ancient nickel slot machine.  Lena had a bucket full of nickels for us to use.  We also played Scrabble, Yahtzee, Rummikub, and various card games.  The television was on 24 hours a day as it seemed that someone was always awake.  We were able to walk to the Big Bear store to get groceries...and we took turns cooking our own specialties....but Lena was still Queen of her kitchen.

I remember picking Lena up from Westland Mall on a Valentine's Day.  She was with her sister, Thelma. (There were two other sisters, Ethel and Marcella...but they lived in New Boston, OH.)  Their arms were loaded with prizes they had won.  Thelma had a beautiful vase and I can't even remember what Lena had.  When I asked them how they won these they told me that they had been married longer than anyone else....there was some contest held in the middle of the mall.

Lena and Thelma with their Cabbage Patch Dolls

"But, Thelma, I have never seen your husband." I said. (I did not know that she never divorced him.)
"They did not ask if I lived with him," was the reply. "I haven't seen him in fifty years."
"What about you, Lena.  You and Al have not been married over fifteen years."  I knew there had to have been someone else at the mall that had been married longer.
"Well, they didn't ask me how many marriages....so I counted both of mine."  Lena's first husband had died...so Al was her second husband.

One afternoon Lena called me to see if I could take her to Bingo....she had tried everyone else and I think I was her last hope....so I agreed.  The last time I had played Bingo was in grade school when we would dip our hands into a basket full of dried beans to use as markers.  When I got to Lena's she asked me if I had my daubers.  My perplexed expression must have clued her in that I had no idea what she meant.  So...she found me a few of her daubers and off we went.  I was to use these to mark my Bingo sheets because they were just made of paper and would be thrown away after each game. 

We get to the Bingo place....I think it was in a church.  I could see the smoke drifting from the windows and knew I was in for a smoky evening.  Lena bought a pile of cards...or paper game cards, and asked how many I wanted.  "You better start off with four."  That sounded fine.  I figured I could watch four games easily...only to find that each card had four games on it!  I placed the cards in front of me...sitting across from Lena as she placed her eight cards on the table. 

One hundred percent of my focus was direct to my 16 games as the letters and numbers were announced.  I frantically searched for each number, quickly daubing before the next number was announced.  Panic ensued when I was just to my tenth card and the next number was announced.  This was not fun!  Lena was calmly daubing her cards when she looked at me...reached over...daubed one of my numbers and said..."You missed N-42."...and then back to her own 32 games.

These are just a few Lena stories that endeared her to me and others.  She smoked too much....sometimes drank too much beer...but her home was always open for anyone in need and there was always a place at her table for a good home cooked meal.   Once when she had a bit too much to drink...she looked at me...cigarette hanging from her mouth and said..."You are going to sing The Rose at my funeral."  I let the comment pass...hoping she would not remember.  But after her death, Rae informed me that that was one of Lena's wishes.  I was fortunate that my friend Stephanie, music teacher and choral director, agreed to sing with me.   I really didn't want to...but for Lena I did.  It was really impossible to refuse Lena....such a hard headed, stubborn, loving woman.

Lena with her great-grandsons, Shane and Zac

YO! Triple Action Deluxe

How many of you have a yoyo nearby...or in a drawer...or in a box in the garage?  I remember a few times when I was young that to master the yoyo gave you a right to strut around,  yoyo in hand...always with a group of curious onlookers following you.   Ah...but the yoyo craze was replaced with Silly Putty which was replaced with  the hula hoop which was replaced by the Slinky.  All of these toy fads are cyclical and seem to return ' New and Better!'

But this post is about the yoyo.  I checked the website Duncan yo-yo Company and found a lot of trivia that I won't include here...but if you are curious...check it out.  Did you know the yo-yo is:

 The oldest surviving yo-yos have been tracked  to 500 BC. The yo-yos were terra cotta disks, decorated with paintings of mythological figures. Archeologists theorize that Ancient Greek kids gave these yo-yos as offerings at the appropriate temple, as part of a coming-of-age ceremony. A Greek vase from this period is painted with the image of a boy playing yo-yo. (taken from the website)

Those of you who know me or have followed my blog know that one of my very best friends and mentors...actually a member of the family is Rae LeCompte.  She is retired now...but was principal of the middle school where I was the counselor a number of years ago.  At one of our assemblies there was a pro yo-yo- guy...doing various tricks on his  Specialty De-luxxe Duncan Yo-yo, much to the fascination of the students.   He made one mistake....asking the principal (Rae) to come to the stage and try a couple of tricks...he would instruct her.  I have to smile at this part...because he was a bit arrogant...waiting for Rae to get all tangled in the string.  Rae, being in her 60s did not look like a yo-yo whiz.

She first refused the yo-yo he handed her and asked to use his.  Next the students saw their principal morph into her childhood when she had been a yo-yo champ.  She went beyond the "Sleeper", "Around the World" or "Walking the Dog" that the pro had shown.  After she warmed up on those she began "Rocking the Baby", "Three Leaf Clover" and her finale was the "Pinwheel."  The students went wild applauding and cheering.    The Pro overcame his shock and surprise with grace and held up Rae's hand in triumph.

Santa left a yo-yo in my husband, Ray's, stocking this Christmas.  I really wasn't surprised to see that he was quite good at handling the yo-yo.  I told him about Rae outsmarting the Yo-Yo Pro and we decided to take the yo-yo to Florida when we visited her in February.   She was able to do some tricks...but this yo-yo was not a Super Deluxe so it did not have the pizzazz.  Still, it was fun and we left the yo-yo there.  On our return home we stopped by a place called South of the Border (kind of a tourist trap but fun...maybe topic for another post).  There we found the Triple Action Yo-Yo.  It found its way into our van along with the bag of oranges.  We can't wait to take it to Rae to see what she can to with a super duper deluxe triple action yo-yo.  Get ready, Rae....it won't be long.

Last Day of Challenge but... More Adventure to Come!

Ah...the last day of the challenge!  I wonder how many others will write about this...or at least think it?  I must admit...when I began this challenge I was not sure how stressed I would be...and being truthful...I did have a few tense days....wondering what to write...or searching for a picture.  Yes, I'm  glad Cathy 'encouraged' to take the plunge...and no, Cathy, I did not curse your name... ever.

I plan to continue writing this blog weekly and join the weekly group if that is possible.  I think that Ruth and Stacey have done an amazing feat in getting so many people blogging and commenting on other blogs...and doing this everyday for a whole month...and not a short month like February...but a month with 31 days in it. 

So, it is Easter Day...a day of renewal...of new beginnings...and yet this is the last day of the Challenge....but I intend to make it the beginning of scheduling a blog a week.  I had begun this blog to tell family stories....and encouraged family members to write their stories as well.  Last spring, our family began a long and sad journey when my sister's husband, Geoff, was diagnosed with cancer, spending two long periods in the hospital...30 days the first time...and over 70 days the last time...and died in November. 

Geoff

My sister amazed me at her determination to be by his side at all times...to be his advocate as well as his wife.  I have always admired my sister's strength, intelligence, humor, sensitivity...but mostly her love of family...and after spending those months together with her I know how fortunte I am to be her sister. 

I did not write any posts for the blog from April until March 1st.  Feeling were too raw. But writing that first post kicked me back into action.  My
mourning continued, but knowing Geoff's sense of humor, I know he would have appreciated some of the Maxine stories as he would encourage  Maxine to tell her stories.  So each day my writing became less of a task and more of an adventure. 

I thank those who have read this blog and I hope you continue to do so.  I will post it on Facebook for those of you not in the Slice of Life.   It has meant a lot to read your comments and to realize that some of you actually looked forward to another story.   There are still many Maxine and Rae stories to tell...and of course, a sprinkling of others.  Seems a lot enjoyed the story Water Fall with Rae and me trying to move a waterbed. 

Of course, I thank my mother, Maxine, who remains with us in spirit and who was my inspiration to begin this blog...to tell her stories...like how she and my father met...that will take a number of posts though.



Maxine(Nana) with Nathan and Maggie

I want to also thank Rae...for being a good sport and letting me tell stories about her. Those of you who know her know what a super person she is...and wait until you hear the story of wall papering her bathroom.... But that will be later post.

And, yes, I thank my husband Ray. Ray has watched me stress...has been the tech support for me, solving all my computer problems...encouraged me to take the challenge...searched for pictures I could not find....helped me title the posts and proof read the posts before I clicked on 'publish'  and...well, many more ways to support this endeavor. 

Ray and Rae on Pirate Ship in Clearwater Beach

I love doing this....love the opportunity...love those who read my posts....and those who comment which lets me know there are people out there reading.  Have I said 'love' too many times?  I can't help it...it is just how I feel right now...so I think I will listen to LOVE by the Beatles!

Water Fall

How many of you have a friend whose relationship with you is much like Lucy and Ethel...or Laverne and Shirley?   My friend, Rae, Sew What-A Tale of Tape  and I have such a friendship. Rae lives at Buckeye Lake part of the year and in Clearwater Beach, FL most of the year.  This incident happened many years ago when she FIRST moved to Buckeye Lake. 

Rae informed me that she had bought a new bed and needed help emptying the water from her waterbed that was on the second floor of her cottage.  It was a spring day...kind of like what we are having in Ohio right now...reluctant to arrive and cold and windy...but sunny.  Of course, I was glad to help.  How difficult would that be....attach a hose to the waterbed and drain the water out of the window.

The first obstacle was the window....it was painted shut.  So we had to find a longer hose that would reach the only window that we could open...which was down the hall and through the other bedroom.  While I was searching the shed for a longer hose, Rae was searching for the attachment for the hose to hook on to the waterbed.  The only hose I could find was curled up in the corner looking as if it had not been used in years.  It had to be 100 feet...two hoses rusted together.  I couldn't budge the connection so I dragged it into the cottage...grumbling about how anyone could leave a hose together...growl, growl, growl...I guess I should have been glad that the previous owner had left it.

I was really impressed that Rae had found the attachment...things were looking good...so what if the hose was too long.  We got it attached and poked it out the window.  Of course, we had to put plastic garbage bags on the floor because the hose was so dirty from spending its time in the shed.  What do we do next?  The water wasn't moving?

"Maybe we have to syphon it to get it started?" was my bright idea.

"How the hell do we do that?" was Rae's reply.  Things were getting a bit testy because the hose  (probably angry that I woke it from its peaceful hibernation) was not cooperating...kept unrolling...avoiding the plastic bags... and getting dirt on the floor and the bed spread in the other room.

"Did you have a pump come with the water bed?"  I knew the answer before I asked...and the look on her face reinforced that.  If there was a pump...she had no idea where it was.

"One of us could suck the end of the hose and get it started," was Rae's suggestion.  But before she volunteered me to do that she realized that the hose was not air tight.  Oh no!! It must be leaking!

We rushed to the waterbed and found that the hose was leaking in a number of places.  Black oily water was dripping onto the plastic bags and rolling onto the carpet.  Colorful words sprang from Rae's mouth....well, mine too.  Franticly, we unscrewed the hose...slopping more water onto the floor, but at least stopped the flow.  Turned out, the hose was so old it had rotted out.  We needed to get it out of the window before it leaked anymore goo.  It is really difficult to maneuver such a long hose after it had spent years wound up...but I did manage to throw it out the window.  Rae had put the cap back on the bed.  What to do next?

I hate to admit this...but the next idea was mine.  There was that nagging thought....attempting to get through...but I discarded it.  Time was running short...her new bed was being delivered soon...and we had to drain the waterbed.

"Why don't we just roll the bladder down the stairs?"  I said.  "We could then roll it out of the living room into the kitchen and out the back door."

I don't know why Rae did not question that idea....but at the time we both wondered...Wow! how come we had not thought of that in the first place!  The stairs were the divided kind....go down about eight steps with a wrought iron railing...a small landing...turn and then about four steps that opened into the living room.   We even thought about moving some of the furniture so that we would be able to roll the bladder easier.

(Note: The  mattress size  measures 60x.80 inches and is 9 inches deep holding approximately 187 gallons of water...weighing over 1000 pounds)  For some reason, we did not consider this a problem.

It was with much sweat and more colorful words that we got the bladder out of the bed.  We were both a lot younger and stronger then.  We got on one side and rolled it just enough to step inside the bed and kept rolling the bladder with our legs and arms.  Finally it landed on the floor.  The rest was easy...well, squeezing it through the door took some effort, but we just kept kicking it through. 

I went to the landing on the stairs to help "guide' the bladder down the steps.  Rae was at the top and gave it one last shove.  This once slow moving bladder, with a burst of energy found the shortest distance to the floor of the living room.  (Suddenly I remembered the theory of gravity...or is it law of gravity!) The mattress pushed me into the corner of the landing, rolled over the railing, breaking it from the wall....bounced on the chair...and knocked over the lamp. (one of Rae's favorites....specially crafted from Utah with ancient petroglyphs on it)...breaking lamp...cutting into the bladder and creating small geysers with one big 'Old Faithful' spouting and spraying water all over the living room.  

It's one of those times that happen so fast there is no time to react to the danger until afterward.  Even though the bladder was quickly losing water it was still too heavy to drag into the kitchen.  More colorful language...and then my urge to laugh...knowing it was not the right time...but it came.  Rae saw no humor.  We continued working...me giggling and Rae growling...rolling the edges of the bladder and finally dragged it through the door and out the kitchen to the back yard.

The rest of the day was spent cleaning and repairing.  The lamp was lost...shards of pottery everywhere...it found its home with the bladder, out the back door.  The old bed was taken apart making room for the new one that was delivered much later than the time given.  At the end of the day one of her neighbors stopped by wondering what was in the back yard.

"It's a long story," said Rae.  "It is embarrassing. Who would think that two people, both having two degrees,  both advisors to the Future Problem Solvers, most would consider us fairly intelligent...but...well, there is no explanation."

Rae and I (I'm the pale one wearing the pirate hat)...still friends.