Tribute to Cousin

My cousin, Lois Greene, and I met at the
Leola Elementary School where 72 years
earlier she rescured me when I missed
the bus after my first day there. I probably
had not said thank you, so I wrote the
poem on the left.

The Smart Daughter

For Lois on her birthday, Apr 2023

The smart Martin daughter

Got up early and bright,

gulped down some fresh milk,

Yep, chores done before light.

She had all the skills

to help dad in the stable.

Then went on in the house

to help mom set the table.

Like Barbara and Thelma

Doris, Ruthie and Bob,

Hard work made good character

And made the heart throb.

But she was much more

Than just business and chores

She lived for real peace

And never chose wars.

Don’t believe me, take a look. 

She’ll be posting it soon on facebook.

She’s quick, not slow as a turtle

Check out how she wins playing Wordle.

But, back up the years

When she started first grade

In a pretty little dress 

and her hair in a braid.

At first she knew no one

at this local school

But she learned to how to read

And to follow the rule.

Then in spring came a cousin

Into Miss Gish’s room

This added some friendship

We have to assume

But this little cousin

By name of Glenn Mark

His first day at Leola

Was tragic, not a lark.

When the school bell did ring

And the kids went bye-bye

Little Glenn missed his bus

And he started to cry.

You’ve probably never seen

A poor child in such fear,

But Lois saw his trauma

and held him very near.

Such acts of care, of mercy

Is how she always lives

The world’s a better place

Because of how she gives.

Some years have passed

Since that touching first grade tale

But Lois has only grown

With grace we see her prevail.

When time for college,

she wanted the best

She packed up her car 

and headed out west

Her faith guided her 

to the very best one,

She never stopped driving 

till she got to Hesston.

If you’re friends with Lois

Permit me to tip you off:

Treat this beauty like a princess

Afterall, her mother is a Groff.

We’re Groffs, neighbors, cousins,

We love our family.

We pause to give tribute

To Mothers, Elva and Elsie.

Our two mothers were sisters

The Kinzer angels did guard,

Now both lie in rest eternal 

In Stumptown’s graveyard.

But we, heirs of their faith,

The Lehman and Martin clans,

Now sing “happy birthday Lois,”

As in joy we hold hands.

–Glenn Lehman

birthday gift from Paris

Look twice.  These are spun spheres of 6.5 cm (2.5 inches) bought in a "le cousin paul" shop by my son and daughter-in-law while in Paris earlier this year.  There's only one shop in North America where they can be bought--in Montreal.  You pop them over tiny tree lights to glow.  Great to have this color in my life!

birthday gifts abound

With my birthday on June 29, my daughter's on the 10th and my grand-daughter's on the 18th, here's a few of the gifts flowing through the house.   The box my fitbit zip arrived in.  About the size of a silver dollar, this computer chip rides with me in my pocket to count all the steps I take--that is, literal steps with my feet.  It tells me how many calories I burned.  I can log in what I eat, etc.  And my health should sustain a while longer, maybe decades longer.  Thanks, family, for the gift.  Hunch:  probably cost pretty much.  Two-- how to shop these days?  Order two shoulder bags online and send back the one you don't want.  I kept the bottom one, and used it daily already at the Hymn Society conference in Richmond.  Three, and most exciting--one of Leah's 2nd birthday gifts.  Art work by Dorcas

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a birthday

Dorcas had a birthday and we all had cake.  Leah helped to blow out the candles.

turn 67 in style

Here's one way to have a birthday in style: spend it with two people you didn't know ten years ago--your son-in-law and your daughter-in-law, who have since become treasured parts of your life. Drive to Timonium, Maryland, catch the light rail to Baltimore's Camdem Yards and watch the Cardinals beat the Orioles 5 to 1. Daughter Sarah is in her 37th week expecting so Dorcas took her out on the local town. Joel shot this pic on his i-phone while we waited for the train in Timonium.

And thanks to everyone else who wished me well. Let me scattershot some names: Hunter, Rolando, Doug, Pat, Larry, Matt, Becky, Amy, Patrick, Terresa, Katie, Sandra, Irene, Edna, Dwight, Dean, Beth, Harry, Linda...and all the rest.

seeds and speeds

I'm not late. My blog server failed. Here's the end of April stuff.

While a small island country watched a prince get married, my brother turned 75 and invited me to have lunch with this group. Easter gathered the larger family together at my sister's retirement community dining hall. She treated. Thanks, Evie. And I did the annual rototilling of the garden.

Dorcas birthday

Joel fires up the grill on Mary Street and puts on the red snapper and fillet; Dorcas gets gifts, including a wrist watch, and blows out three candles for 62--well, not too far off. When the Barnstormers shoot off the Labor Day fire works the sixsome settles on the back porch to cap off a rich evening. (Dorcas photo by Joel)

birthday 66

Every time June 29 rolls around I get one year older. Family came and helped me enjoy the day. They watched me blow out the six candles. I blew upward to keep spittle off the perfect icing. I said a few profound words of wisdom but I forget what the gist of it was.

photo by Joel

birthday and job change

Over the weekend we added boards to the table, cooked up some stew and paused for Ryan's 29th birthday, replete with ceremony; and we gave Sarah the floor to talk about ending a 6.5 year tenure at Ephrata Hospital and starting a new job at Lancaster's big hospital. They together told us about their imminent trip to Kalona for a wedding. Dogmeister Brutus tries to hold up and be brave and share the stage with le Montreal coq we bought this summer. (Cake pic by Joel; Sarah pic by Stephanie)

birthday meal

There was salmon grilled on a cedar plank and cake with raspberry syrup. Mostly, there was a happy young woman. (pics by Joel)

Sarah turns 28

Friday, Sarah turned 28. We threw a party. She spun the left-over July 4th sparkler. Ryan and Dorcas walked the dog. (pics by Joel)

birthday 65

What's 65? I'm not going to let the government decide what it is for me. Today it is a birthday. Last evening the next generation (Ryan in pic by Joel) and Dorcas gave me a good time. Thanks, everyone! The cake has the peace sign on it, based on the semaphore signs for nuclear disarmament. I never knew that! I was born months before the atom bomb entered the hands of warriors. So, I'm totally on the peace sign. When I was eight years old or so a plane approaching at night was surely the Soviet Union coming to drop an A-bomb on Monterey.

first picnic

Memorial Day weekend kicked off the picnic season, this one sponsored by Lois and celebrating Helen's 6th birthday. Mom Angela holds her while Grandma Lois lights the candles in Musser Park, Lancaster. Then some boccie ball and kubb games.

a Delaware brunch

Delaware may be a small state, but it is the home of Vice-President Biden. Most important, it is the home of Niece Yolanda and her family (Dan, Leah, Hamilton, and baby). She set the best looking table in Delaware and maybe the world for Joanna's birthday.

Here's a quick look before we dug in, or daintily nibbled in. The centerpiece was fresh fruit on sticks. Stealing the show, too, was baby Harrison.

Ryan's birthday party

Ryan turned 28 and proved he still has the puff to take care of the candles at the party we threw for him Saturday.

Besides our sixsome (Sarah, Ryan, Joel, Steph, Dorcas and me) we had guests--Milton and Lois, and cousin Chris from Oregon public radio. Steph, with her new apple laptop, pulled up Chris's recent story which went national.

Last and least were the two hounds, Simon and Brutus, who I noticed did not help to sing "Happy Birthday" and didn't get any of the food. They did regale us with some antics. (pics by Joel)

Ryan's birthday

Come the middle of October, son-in-law Ryan Schrock celebrates a birthday. This summer he demonstrated his newly-purchased Bianchi bike. So I guess he won't get a bike for his birthday. I'm sure I can think of something else. If you ever have a son-in-law, this is the one you want.

Dorcas turns 60

That kind of achievement calls for special gifts. First the supper of crab-stuffed flounder, succotash (local, fresh), tiny, new potatoes (our garden), salad, and topped off with rose and white--sides of ham baked in crust and Italian meatballs over macaroni and cheese.

The gifts started at the table with the dutch oven, the red, high design, desk-top organizer, the orange hedgehog paper clip holder, massage gift card, hand-made jewelry and more. Then it was upstairs for the unveiling, literally, of the piece de resistance--the corner desk, with 3 drawers in front and 3 out the side, to say nothing of the little ones and locked compartment.

In Dutch we call it schnupp. Thanks to Joel, Steph, Sarah, and Ryan for all the fixin's and the special occasion. Photo right by Joel.

when I'm 64

What's it like to turn 64? It's kind of like the Beattle's song, but not much like it.

Here's what you do. Have lunch in Skippack with your family and open gifts.

Here we've made it to dessert. Son Joel is sipping his coffee and I'm contemplating devouring the pudding in the chocolate cup beside the caramelized banana slices.

Beside him you can picture Stephanie. Opposite end of table sits Ryan. Then, Sarah. Beside me, Dorcas.

Will you still be sending me...birthday greetings bottle of wine...will you still need me, will you still feed me,When I'm sixty-four (big YES)...I could be handy, mending a fuse (qualified yes)...You can knit a sweater by the fireside ('fraid not)...Sunday mornings go for a ride ('fraid not, I had just played a service at Zion,mostly music older than this schmalty song)...Doing the garden, digging the weeds,Who could ask for more(yes)...Every summer we can rent a cottage,In the Isle of Wight (how about Long Island?)

That's how you turn 64. And you thank your daughter for the photo.

Memory day and bikes

The Russian iris beside a soft focus candle at one end of the table. Stephanie and Joel at the other, discovering their birthday gift of a bike rack. Their gifts to each other involved bike gear, too.

Menu at their request--Mom's chicken corn soup from scratch (not the chicken's) and a new entry from the Miller tradition-- short cake with ice cream and strawberries and milk. A big hit.

Philosophy--what direction will volunteerism in church take with some women not employed and others over-employed.

Local details--are strawberries usually ready by Joel's birthday (the 22nd) or by Steph's (the 26th)?

New being--Brutus the dog, Ryan and Sarah's. Then, the men played boccie and the women walked to Red Lane and all went to bed happy.

Memorial Day to me is memory day--memory of the sweet spots in life and memory that organized civic and national life, including war, if it is an absolute allegiance, is one sorry god. iris pic by Joel.

May 22 double celebration

In the Philadelphia subway system the sign says May 22. That's a big day for both Joel and Sarah--his birthday and her graduation day from Temple University where she was awarded a master's degree in social work.

Here we are waiting for for the 15th street train at 6:20 p.m. From there it was the 30th street station where ten of us ate at Cosi's.

With us all day were the Schrocks, Ryan's parents and sister Carmen and Grandma Lichty.