January 1, 2007 ~ Another year passes …
I don’t intend for this to be an obituary, but as I begin reflecting on 2006, the first thing that occurs to me is that I am coming to a point in

my life where heroes and people that have been celebrities in my lifetime are dying regularly.

My parents did not bring too much pop culture into our home. They allowed us to bring it in, but it was never a large part of every day conversations. My friends were watching television and I was reading books. I completely missed “Sesame Street” and “Electric Company” and all of those afterschool specials. The television was rarely on when we came home from school. There were too many things to do before supper and if we got our chores done, there was homework to be completed and music to be practiced. We played outside and inside with each other, we had too many things going on to participate in popular culture.

I detach myself from stars and celebrities personally because I have nothing in common with them, will never meet them and don’t particularly care to spend much time worrying about their personal lives.

People that know me well might dispute this fact. I spend a lot of time on IMDB.com (Internet Movie Database), yet I generally am looking at it to discover why I recognize an actor or actress. Ah yes! They were in that movie – 25 years ago! But, in actuality, I’m not too affected by what they do in their personal lives.

All of this to say, I actually cried when I read that Peter Boyle (most recently of ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’ fame) died. You’ve all read better obituaries than I could write about him, so I’ll let those stand with no additions. But, his death affected me. I loved “Young Frankenstein”. That came out in 1974 – right at the beginning of my high school years.

Last Monday, President Gerald Ford passed away. I cried again. I’m not sure why I cried for either of these men. And maybe I didn’t. Maybe I was crying for the lost years of my youth. Those years when I was still quite naïve about the world and these men were part of how the outside world impacted me and taught me about life. While mom and dad didn’t ever discuss pop culture, they were quite opinionated about the politicians that were leading our country. Every once in awhile, I find myself spouting an opinion and realize that those were words I had heard in the living room while I was working on my homework. How else could I ever construct an opinion about Bobby Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Lyndon Johnson or JFK? I was much too young, but I heard them talking about all of these men over and over. I had strong opinions on all of them at an early age.

So, when Ford became President in August of 1974, I was preparing to enter my sophomore year in high school. I had spent the last year in my government class fully inundated with the Watergate scandal. These were profound times for the United States and for a young girl who was beginning to understand how the politics of the country would affect me.

There’s an interesting list at mcall.com on the deaths that occurred in 2006. As I scanned through the list, I realized there were quite a few people that died last year that had an impact on the growth of my young mind.

Tony Franciosa was GORGEOUS as Matt Helm in the early 70s (ok, I watched SOME evening television!)

Coretta Scott King. One of my earliest tragic memories is the balcony where her husband was standing when he was shot. My parents were in shock as they watched those images.

Peter Benchley. The first movie I ever saw in a theater was “Jaws”. I was scared to death! But, so were my friends and we had a wonderful time in a small theater in a little town in Iowa.

Somehow, my parents liked interesting mystery shows, so we watched “McCloud” as a family. I always wanted to be on the back of the horse with Dennis Weaver.

I was a little older, but Steve Howe’s (pitcher for the Yankees) troubles with alcoholism and questions about whether or not he hit his wife were something that made me begin paying attention to the fact that celebrities didn’t lead charmed lives. This changed how I viewed them and removed them quickly from the ivory towers they lived in until that point.

Mickey Spillane was a part of a group of writers that intrigued me in late elementary and junior high. I read everything that I could get my hands on. We lived in a very small town and I practically resided at the local library. The librarian (I swear she was in her 80s – are they always old?) loved having me there. It was a short walk from our home and as soon as I could get there, I was there. My 5th & 6th grade years were spent in the stacks at that library. I learned how to reshelve books and I’m certain that my young legs went up and down those ladders at a pace the librarian could never match. As soon as I had taken care of what she needed, I would head for the mysteries and curl up in a corner to read. Mickey Spillane and Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason mysteries) were close friends of mine during those days. I consumed those books. The woman at that library enhanced my love of reading. I have no idea what her name was, but she changed my life by allowing me a sense of ownership in that building.

There are so many other names on this list that bring back incredible memories from my childhood, youth and young adulthood. So as much as this is about the deaths that happened in 2006, it’s about my life and how it has been impacted by ‘celebrities’. I hate to admit that I am moved and changed by these people, but I guess that’s why they are who they are. And because of them, I am who I am.

I know more of my childhood memories will be brought to the surface as I grow older because those that impacted me at young ages are facing the ends of their lives. I will never impact as many people as they have, but I have quite a few years left in me to impact the people around me in a positive way.

Maybe that’s my Resolution for the New Year. To be a positive impact on the lives that immediately surround me. Who knows what one of them might do in the future?

Thursday, January 04, 2007 ~ Amazing Gifts
I just spent a few minutes hugging my dog, Leica. She had walked over to my chair, put her paws on my leg and begged me to pick her up. So, I did. There really wasn't anything more important to do at that moment. As I held her and stroked her smooth coat, I told her that I hoped she knew what a gift she was to me.

Last fall, when we closed Insty-Prints and I became a stay-at-home unmom (no, no kids in my world), I became increasingly grateful for an active dog in my world. She is so full of love and play.

As I said those words out loud to her, I realized that I say them to my husband. That man is one of God's gifts to me. Completely unexpected and even now he continues to surprise and intrigue me. I would never have expected to marry someone like him when I was young, but maturity and sensibility drew me to a man that would always be there to love me and to do for me what very few men care to do – make my mind work.

And as I tried to avoid having Leica lick my face, my mind wandered to some of the other gifts that are my relationships. My family, my extended family, my close friends, my friends, people I work with, people I associate with at church, the kids in my singing groups, the list goes on and on. And whether or not they are always a positive influence on my life, they are a gift.

Last night I was talking to a young man who has been questioning his place in this world. What's it all about? I told him that all of the choices he makes and all the things that have happened to him will work together to build his character and who he will become. As long as he looks back on his life with a positive attitude, he will live a good life.

Then I realized that those words have always been a part of my life. They came from my parents. Things weren't perfect when we were growing up. We had many stresses and awful things happen to us as most families do. We just chose to move through them, not dwell on them and we learned to park them away as part of the past.

So, I do look on my relationships as gifts.

I can think of one old lady that came into my life seemingly to torment me. She never had anything nice to say to me, in fact, she spent the better part of 3 years trying to destroy me. She tried her best to get me eliminated from my 'volunteer' position as music director and youth leader at our church. She would say terrible things to the pastor and tell him that I needed to be kicked out. She would spend hours on the telephone calling everyone she knew and repeating all of the ugliness in her heart to them. I have no idea why she hated me so much, but her actions sent me into prayer … for her. Now, don't think that I was 'little Miss Holy' in that situation. There were times that I prayed for God to just take her home (she was quite old). The sad (and sick) thing is that she did die in March just before I finally left that church in July. Oh well, sigh …

How can I look back at that relationship as a gift? She taught me a lot. And because I lived through it and came out on the other side of it without reducing myself to her hideousness, I learned that I could rise above extreme criticism and outright venom. I didn't have to allow it to change my activities.

Please know that as you move through my life, I recognize you as a gift. My "Love Language" is giving and receiving gifts. I think that this all works out quite nicely!

Monday, January 15, 2007 ~ Simple Acts of Kindness
I've always been grateful for the fact that I can do for others. It never seems to be enough, I always wish I could do more. I always tell God that if I had plenty of money, most of it would be given away ... and probably, it would. It's just the way I was raised.

My father is a Methodist pastor. I grew up in small towns in Iowa, living in a parsonage, generally pretty close to the church. Transients would come through, need help and would end up at our house. In every town we lived in, Dad would try to set up a fund that each church contributed to. That fund would pay for a tank of gas, a meal at a local restaurant and maybe even a hotel room for anyone that was in need. All the people had to do was take Dad's card to the local merchants and they were cared for.

Sometimes, he knew that they needed more than their physical needs met and he would invite them to our home for dinner and an evening of socializing with us. A quick phone call to mom and the three of us kids would get into motion, cleaning and setting the table for our guests. One afternoon, Dad called mom and the call took a little longer. There was a family coming to dinner. They had absolutely nothing. They had been living in their car as they were traveling - probably to somewhere they could find work. When mom got off the phone, she told each of us kids to go to our rooms and find a toy for the kids that were coming over. Now, it wasn't any toy that she wanted us to find. It was to be our 'best' toy. We weren't going to give away from our excess or from our toys that had been tossed aside. We were going to give something nice to these children.

That was a painful lesson for us to learn, but today, I have no idea what toy I gave up. My memory, instead, is about the lesson. The toy was unimportant in the larger scheme of things and my parents knew that. The gift was very important to the family that was in our home. Learning about sacrifice and the importance of people over things was the lesson they were teaching us that evening.

When I was much older, Dad called mom to tell her that he was bringing home a man in desperate need. We were going to care for him until Dad could take him to a truck stop where he was meeting someone. This man was FILTHY! In fact, he had excrement on the outside of his pants. He had some severe emotional disabilities. But, my parents invited him into our home. He was so embarrassed, but they made sure that he felt welcome. He sat on our sofa, Dad offered him a shower and we fed him a meal.

The sacrifice that evening? My pristine sensibilities. The time that it took mom and me to clean up the sofa and chair and shower. (we did ask Dad to take him to the truck stop in the vehicle with vinyl seats). And another lesson was learned about caring for people above things.

But, God has never seen fit to bless me with lots of money so that I can care for others. In fact, lately it seems that God has had yet another lesson to teach me. And this one has been much more difficult to learn.

I have been without work for nearly 5 months. Max and I have made it ... until now. I have had to cut way back on things and I can no longer easily offer to pay for things for others, because I just don't have it. Now, before you become concerned about us, know that there is an interview on Thursday for a job that is pretty close to a sure thing. It's going to be better soon.

But, this weekend I was stressed. I have another week until Max's next paycheck comes through and I was going to be a mess trying to figure out how to pay for everything that came up this week. I knew we could do it, but my stress level was over the top.

Until Saturday morning. My sister, Carol, called me after she finished a meeting to tell me she was going to the grocery store. Would I like to go? She was going to insist on buying my groceries. I refused. "No, I'm fine. We'll be fine this week." She kept pushing me. She didn't let me live within my pride. And she drove to my house and picked me up. She didn't just let me buy basics, but insisted that I have some of my favorite things (like Cheezits and Diet Mt. Dew). And at the end of the morning, she stopped at a cash machine and pulled out money. I cried.

Oh, I know that I have done the same thing for her in the past and will do it again for her in the future. And I have the list of money that I will repay when we're doing well again. But, when I got home and sat down at my desk, I couldn't believe the sense of relief that she had given me. I was no longer worried about getting to the next paycheck. We were going to be alright. She forced me past my pride so that I could accept the gift that she wanted to offer me. I know that she has desperately wanted to care for me through this entire thing, and I've held her off. When I let her do this for me, another lesson was learned.

Jesus calls us to lay down our lives for our friends. That's something that I can do. Sometimes I need to learn to lay down my pride as well. By my laying the pride aside, Carol was able to give - just like I enjoy giving. The lesson was learned. However, I'm fairly certain I will be learning it again and again. My pride is my worst sin. I'm just fortunate to have family and friends that refuse to allow me to live within that pride.

Lessons of sacrifice. I'm pretty old to have to continually learn about them!

Saturday, February 03, 2007 ~ My new job
It's finally here! After 5 months, I'm employed again. Whew! I am the Communications Director at Faith-Westwood United Methodist Church in Omaha, Nebraska.

God has been good to me and I really look forward to seeing where this position takes me. It is definitely going to take some getting used to. I've spent 5 months in the quiet of my home during the day, working on writing and researching. That was an amazing time.

I had owned a business for 22 years and really never took any vacation time. My husband figured that I needed to make up at least 52 weeks of vacation. However there was no way that we were going to be able to afford having me out of work for much longer. Thank goodness that time has ended.

I have nothing terribly witty to say today. I have a lot of work ahead of me. Since I haven't managed to finish the writing project that I had started, I need to do that in my free time - and I'm going to use this day to work as hard as I possibly can.

I have a few more posts over on blogger.com. You can read them there.

nammynools.blogspot.com

And I will probably be posting my more 'Christian' thoughts and commentary there.

March 3, 2007
I'm terrible! I don't spend enough time updating this page. There is always too much going on and I'm already writing about it in several other places. You can check me out on blogger.com and find out what is happening in my world.

These last few months have been rather intense in the Muir family. I was hired at Faith-Westwood as their Communications Director, Max had ankle replacement surgery on Feb. 26 and on Feb. 27 discovered that CompUSA where he has worked for the last 8 years is closing in 60 days. In all of this, I have worried that I would question my faith in God, but in reality, I have never questioned my faith in God.

We are still in the middle of a massive blizzard. The snow has finally quit coming down, the sun is coming out, but my goodness there is a lot of wind which is blowing everything around. I have quite a bit of work ahead of me trying to dig us out, but it will happen.

May 4, 2007
Today marked the end of a long week and the end of a long, wonderful life. My dad - Frank Greenwood - was honored by friends and family. The impact of his life was more than I could imagine, though I suspect I always knew it.

Dad would have been quite humbled to realize the incredible impact that he had on so many people. I am humbled ... just being a part of his life and his ministry. I've told friends that if I only impacted a small percentage of the many people that He touched, I would feel my life was a success.

I have written several blogs this week about what has been happening. It's after midnight and I'm not writing any more tonight, but go to my blog and you can find more of my writing.

Frank Greenwood
1933 - 2007
A Fisher of Men