Tribute to Denver C Harper

On the morning of January 30, 2015 the mantle of patriarch of the Denver Harper branch of the Harper Family passed from father to son as Denver parted the veil and passed to the other side to dwell again with family members having gone before, and to await future arrival of others he loves following their earthly sojourns. Leaving behind his mortal body with its frailties, he is now able to enjoy a renewed freedom of spirit.

Denver lived a very full earthly life having been born a farm boy to parents in the eastern sandy plains of the state of North Carolina. He along with five brothers and one sister labored long hours on the family farm in their early formative years. As a young adult he went off to BYU to further his education and met a young lassie from Cardston, Alberta, Canada. After serving a mission for his church he married this young lady in the Cardston Temple and proceeded to raise a lovely family. Their earthly family is composed of two sons and four daughters. One sweet daughter passed away shortly after birth and a son who lived to adulthood, Ricky (Richard Wayne) was killed in a tragic vehicle accident shortly before he could serve an earthly mission for his church. Now many grandchildren and their families are added to that growing family circle.

He was honored to serve his country with a career in the US Army. He and his family traveled to countries and states as he served with honor. His career included a stint in the tragic fields of Viet Nam during that conflict. As I recall, he was stationed in the jungles of an area known to the world as Ahn Ke serving as a helicopter pilot and perhaps leading a unit in that valley. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
When I married his younger brother and into this family he and his family were living in Germany and returned back to the states some years later. After this assignment they lived in Virginia and Savannah, the latter being a choice assignment to the family as their darling Cheri became part of their family during this time.

He was the “bestest” brother-in-law a girl could hope for. In later years when my husband became ill, he came to visit and help us as Ken’s last days on this earth waned. This was a few months after he had cut the end of his finger off and had it re-attached while using his snow-blower. I remember hearing that his snow blower got lots of use as he used it to blow the snow from the walkways and porches of others in his community who needed his assistance.
After Ken’s death I settled into a new smaller home. Soon I had visitors who came to help ----guess who. I wish I could remember all he helped me accomplish during this and other visits--- tasks that were a pain for me to try to do --- some which just needed the muscles of the opposite gender. ( Lucille helped supervise and boost my spirits.) Once he helped me spread about forty-five bales of pine straw in the natural areas in back of my home and under the deck. Not a pleasant task but he insisted. That time, as I recall, he had returned to NC for a high school reunion. He even walked my schnauzer girl, Sassy, (for me) in my community and reported back when one of my grumpy neighbors complained as he passed by about dogs. Ah, what a super duper brother-in-law.
He often called just to check on me and my well-being and chat for a few minutes. I always loved touching bases with him and his family via our conversations. Always the perfect gentleman, having been born of goodly southern parents!

He came last when he brought his children to visit NC and to attend a reunion of his old church ward in Albertson, North Carolina. I had had knee surgery and was limping around like everybody’s great grandma and he and those kids were ready for some southern fun. How I envied them!!! He enjoyed his family to the fullest extent, enjoyed being with them and helping them when they needed. Each summer as long as possible he enjoyed having an extended family outing where they all could enjoy time together complete with boating and sports activities. (Bear Lake, Utah for many years, as I recall.)

In more recent years following the loss of his beloved Lucille in 2005, he did not have to look too far to find another with whom to spend his last seven plus years. He married lovely Janice in 2007 and they were fortunate to spend time together and time shared with their family.

We will all miss him as we continue our journeys here in mortality and will remember with a great deal of fondness the days when he was part of our earthly sojourn.
Farewell for a while Father, Husband, Uncle, Grandfather, Brother-in-law -----we WILL meet again.

Testing and Less Testing

Most folks shake a little in their boots at the sound of the word testing as the mind runs wild trying to figure out what .....testing. Today's local newspaper carries a headline touting a call by school administrators for less testing. As one who has had a career in public education my mind is turned toward the query of who is the testing for, who instituted the testing, who made the initial call, what do we do with results. What crosses my mind quickly is politicians with their allegations that schools, i.e. teachers, were not doing a satisfactory job in educating the students in public schools. Therefore, we must test to prove our point!!

On the other hand, looking at a broader picture of the entire scene we see the following. In the arena which is the school and classroom we must actually teach for mastery. So we teach, teach, teach and then we evaluate in some form to 'see' if the concepts taught were mastered! In their efforts to be more effective some where along the way it was decided that perhaps an evaluation should be done at intervals (called benchmarks) to check for gaps and progress making intervention easier rather than waiting until the end and just measuring deficits and shaking fingers at those "darned teachers!" And I might add placing blame. Personally I have always felt that a gap in this procedure is what is done with the results when benchmark testing shows deficits in understanding and mastery.

What has evolved with all of these intentions and evaluations has been an elephant in the house who has devoured the one thing of which teachers are always short.....instructional time. How do you resolve this issue?? A curriculum is designed with each teacher being charged with teaching and developing mastery of concepts in given area(s). There do not seem to be enough instructional hours within the allotted time in a school year to teach, test multiple times, remediate, and still move forward with the charge of teaching and developing the curriculum in a course of study

I have some ideas but I doubt they would be very popular since many of them involve the appropriation of additional dollars to public education. Do you have any of your own?? Most folks can think of many complaints but few have suggestions for solutions.

Washing Machines and Jewelry

And so it goes....I did my research!!! I mean I truly did my research. My washing machine died back in the fall; it was only about sixteen years old, maybe! So I started checking out new machines knowing detergent had changed but without a full knowledge of what that meant in terms of washing machine re-design. How convoluted can an issue be!! I learned that rather than all machines being driven by an agitator in the center the newer designs were what is known as impellers. From what understanding I could gain this design is one in which water and a cleaning agent is forced through the dirty clothing to clean them. I had my doubts. All of the studies I could find verified my doubts. Some of those purchasing and using these machines indicated they were satisfied and a significant number indicated they were less than pleased and felt their clothes were not as clean with the impeller system as with an agitator.

I continued my quest of finding a new machine. I went from store to store. I talked with salesman after salesman. Pretty soon it was obvious they did not like my shopping techniques or my questions. They seemed to wonder why I just didn't play stupid, buy a machine, and leave. I asked too many questions, I asked about complaints, feedback, their understanding of how the machines operated and cleaned the clothing. I wore myself out. I was getting nowhere. I was bent on finding the best agitator machine possible. What I found was a large collection of available impeller machines by various companies and very few makers of agitators available locally for purchase.

I continue to be angry with myself for my choice. I hate to admit that I finally gave up. Rather than buy an agitator (type) which appeared to be more cheaply made machines lacking features I let myself be talked into buying an impeller type machine. And as I had gleaned from the reviews and studies, my own experience has been no different. An impeller machine does not clean clothes as well as does an agitator. With that being said, there are legitimate complaints about agitators such as clothing being caught around the agitator post. Most of the mentioned complaints were of lesser importance than the cleanliness of clothing to me. I have found myself putting items through several wash cycles before I could even accept their level of cleanliness. Stay tuned. I may pitch this washing machine out any day in a fit of Irish anger known only to Daugherty descendants. Then I will again be looking for agitator machines hoping they are still making them!

By the way, I also bought a new dryer and its performance is quite acceptable.

Now to my deal with jewelry In recent years, fashion has been on a bend of low necklines. Seemingly to go along with that, costume jewelry has been caught up in a revival of necklaces to fill that void of exposed neckline and cleavage. It is strand after strand of logging chains with some colored crystals or beads hung on them. While they started out looking quite attractive, as they have evolved they just get tackier and tackier. Need I add that I don't think many of them do a lot for accessorizing an outfit. Don't get me wrong. I love jewelry --but with a bit more class. Just my opinion......no one needs to agree.

Cotton-Pickin' Politics

I admit it....I read the newspaper regularly. I follow politics and political issues. Sometimes political issues irritate me "right out of my frame," so to speak! However, I have learned over the considerable years of my life that I have very little power to influence the outcome of political decisions. Certainly, I can vote and I do. I could lobby, write letters, arrange appointments with political representatives but....I have come to realize that many of those whom we elect pay little attention to our requests, reasoning, and opinions once elected and in office. This is not the way the system is supposed to work --- we all know this but.....unfortunately 'it is what it is,' as I use an overused cliche'.

As for political views, I am not certain I could be identified with any political party, thus I am an Independent. However, in this state I am identified as Unaffiliated. Go figure. Independent versus Unaffiliated!!

What I have learned is this, it does not pay to get your panties in a wad or your britches in a stitch over these issues alone. If you find you are able to align yourself with a group of individuals who represent your thinking, have influence, and the ability to approach reform in a lawful and acceptable manner you might have impact. Otherwise, try not to waste your energy and blow your blood pressure out of the water thinking you, alone, can control a bunch of politicians once they have that all important thing called "power!" Once that happens, they go deaf!!

Pet Ownership and Responsibility

I am convinced that when we long for a pet to enrich our lives we never ever give thought to losing that object of our love and devotion to disease or the cost and care that may be incurred in trying to take care of the pet. That particular thought occurs to me very often these days after having several doggies who have suffered pain and disease and in one case was lost to cancer.

It tears at the heart when you take your pet to the vet hoping for treatment and relief only to find that there exists a disease that can be treated (perhaps) but not cured and in some cases becomes the cause of loss of the pet to death. We do the best we can hoping we are doing all that is right/correct sometimes finding we were not 100% on target.

At our house these days we have one healthy mini schnauzer (age 4) and one (age 10) who has been diagnosed and is being treated daily for diabetes which in pets is Type I. Wow, what a ride this has been! She is contrary to feed for whatever reason. She once was easy to feed. Nowadays, not so much. I am never sure whether she just isn't hungry or doesn't want what I can offer. Diet is limited in that sugar or carbs which convert to sugar are limited to exclusion. There are days when I almost lose my mind trying to get her to eat so that I can administer the required insulin. Dogs receive an insulin injection about 15-30 minutes AFTER eating. Then there is the question of walking your dog. As you know, exercise affects use of sugar in the burning of energy by the body. So...much must be considered here in caring for her basic health. Checking their glucose levels can also be a trial. After all, who likes to be punched with needles and sharp things all of the time. I never thought about a dog having diabetes previously but now I certainly do. With my first schnauzer, I learned lessons about dogs with bladder stones and removal plus having them lodge in the tract and needing removal. I learned that bladder stones are of two varieties and what causes each --- and consequently prevention. So much to learn, so much responsibility.

Each day we move forward in our house, try to do our best to care for and love both mini schnauzer girls and meet the challenges which occur. Will I consider pet ownership after this? I don't know the answer to that. With pure bred dogs prone to a variety of diseases it can be expensive. Time will tell.

Pondering...

So here we find ourselves or myself, I should say, at the end of another year asking myself, " have I used these 365 days to benefit mankind and those for whom I care most." The correct answer is probably no with a million exclamation points. But I must remember the words of leaders who admonish us to move forward and not look back to wallow in our failures as there is nothing to be gained. This is always true but human nature being subject to natural tendencies we are always tempted to wish, regret, and perhaps even learn from our previous experiences. As a new year dawns in a few hours one can hope and pledge to do better than previous years and move forward with that intent. So welcome 2015 ...help us/me to be better, improved, and to make use of every minute to its fullest degree.

Doing Your Part ...or Going to the H - - - Place!!

Today and for the last few I am short tempered, impatient, and tired of the same ole same ole!! I should probably go back to bed and start another new day later. For more than a week I have felt like a walking zombie with my head in an electric mixer thanks to a sinus infection. As a result I am really truly short on patience and just plain fussy!

Today, I do not like suck-ups and people who, while perhaps thinking they are doing their job (calling), approach you with this "do-gooder" attitude and the line starts out with, "Could you please come and let me talk to you just about three minutes to offer you the opportunity to do a little service for some who need it?" It would certainly be appreciated if you could do your part. The entire time your brain is working in 25th gear asking itself, "what the heck is this about, now?" "What is it so needful of my services." You are a widow maintaining a home and caring for two canines one of whom is sick with diabetes, holding down four of these church jobs otherwise known as service opportunities already! Everything that happens in your home and to your vehicles is your responsibility. There is no second person in your household to help. Questions wash over you like, Am I doing your part? Can I actually do one more thing? Do I really want another "service opportunity?" Do you really want to do this thing you are being asked to do? No, you truly do not. Thus, you try to say No politely in every conceivable way possible but "ain't nobody listening!" To get your point across someone needs to be listening with their ears open, not closed. What this person actually hears is you gladly and graciously thanking him for this opportunity!! What you are actually saying is, "Is there no one else without other responsibilities who can do this job each week?" The question is passed over quickly, " no they want you." So you sit there wondering what is so magical about you that there is none other!! While some would be 'bustin' their buttons' and feeling excited about this you give up trying to persuade this 'do-gooder" that your plate is really full -- and no thanks.

So you find yourself trapped in a situation, resentful, and feeling like a victim of persuasive techniques over which you have no control. Slowly seething....wondering how this will all play out when you come to your senses.