The Truth About Cousins

I consider myself lucky to have been blessed with so many cousins.  My cousins come in many shapes and sizes and some are so interesting, talented, and intelligent, I get my tank filled whenever I am in their presence.  I don’t know if I told you this before; however, my husband, Don, is not so blessed.  Believe it or not, both his biological parents were only children.  He has no cousins, aunts and uncles.  I can’t even imagine what that would be like.  Don has thoroughly enjoyed meeting my cousins, aunts and uncles.  I am closer to my cousins on my mother’s side.  When Don met my family on my father’s side, he defined them as average.  What an astute synopsis. However, my cousins on my father’s and mother’s sides have shaped who I am today. 

When I was a child I would explore the workings of the world with both sides of my family of origin.  I was a curious child, who loved to explore, read and play games.  I listened intently to see what I could grasp and carry into adulthood.  I would play endlessly with hula hoops with my cousins.  I was able to make the hula hoop go up to my neck and back down to my waist.  Now I am lucky to get the hula hoop to go around my waist one time.  They say our bodies have memories and will recall things that you did as a child and pick it up again.  That is not the case with hula hoops for me.

I remember exploring the hill behind my cousins’ house in Munising.  It appeared to be such a big hill.  We would sneak up the hill and hide on one another.  Munising was considered to be a very safe town so my cousins and I would walk to town and gaze in the windows. I lived about two miles from downtown so walking downtown was not permitted. My uncle was a barber and managed somehow to feed his family quite well.  But spare money to give to his children for spending freely was not an option. There were nine cousins in this family.  Bread making days were also pancake days.  I would be served a pancake that filled a big round plate.  My eyes would be as big as saucers.  The rule back in those days was you had to clean your plate, and I was this scrawny kid. 

I still get to see my cousins quite frequently. Around and during the 4^th of July we visited Munising. This is an annual tradition for us.  Munising celebrates the 4^th with a bang.  The town’s pride in our country’s heritage is evident. We, meaning Don and I, love having an ice cream treat or treats.  That is a wonderful used and new book store with some souvenirs, deli foods and ice cream.  There is a main room with a variety of mismatched chairs and tables that add to its charm.  It is my understanding that they hold a lot of community events at this place.  We make it a point to visit this delightful store and deli. 

I found some of the second hand stores in Munising.  Most women love the hunt of finding the best deals.  The Salvation Army store was having a 75% off sale.  We also found this unique second hand shop painted in the brightest colors and designs.  These women enjoyed displaying their artful talents.  I found a Thomas Kinkaid book of his Christmas art.  I love meeting new people and we, meaning the owners of the shop and I, engaged in a discussion about their artwork. 

Back to my cousins, my cousin Marnie Kate has a wonderful eye for preparing things for her home.  She turned an old door with windows sideways and painted the bold stars and stripes on it.  She is into nautical things and loves the color blue. She loves the water and her three children swim like fish like her.  I made her an afghan with solid blue, white and with various blue yarns to go with her nautical theme. 

We, meaning Don, her husband David and I, were walking from her home to the downtown area of Munising and came across a Mason building.  That circumstance led to a lengthy conversation about the Masons.  Don is usually amazed at the topics we engage in, my cousins and I.  I told her that my father could not become a Mason like his father because my mother was a Catholic.  When I watched a documentary on the History Channel about the Masons, it was portrayed that the Masons were nondenominational.  Marnie Kate informed me that one of the final steps before a person could be sworn in as a full fledge Mason, was they had to denounce Jesus as the Savior.  In St. Ignace, Michigan back in the 50s and 60s being a member of the Masons helped you to secure a more prominent employment position in the town.  I recommend the book “Captains and the Kings” by Taylor Caldwell.  That book depicts the dangerous games people play to rise to the top of the ladder and how lonely it can be to place more importance on power and control than on your relationships with others. My cousins and I will hold conversations into the wee hours of the morning about many things that most people don’t talk about. 

My cousin Melissa stayed at our home for a couple of nights in July of this year.  We decided to be tourists in our own community and we took my cousins to explore the sites of Sault Ste. Marie.  First we walked around the Sault Locks Park and had hand dipped ice cream from the shop at the Haunted Depot.  We looked at Halloween costumes because we are going to be participating in a Pirate cruise for FOCAS (Friends of Caring Animal Shelters). It was a little late in the evening so we couldn’t visit the visitors’ center for the Sault Locks.  There’s always tomorrow.  At least I want to believe there is.  Perhaps I should be living life like this is the last day of my life.  I may be a little less negative if I did so and make the best of each and every day.

The next day after staying up until almost 3:00 in the morning, we decided to explore the Sault more.  First, we had to accomplish what she set out to do when she visited my home, which was to provide me with a Mary Kay presentation.  I was given a facial.  I like those products.  The roughness of my elbows disappeared.  I purchased some foundation and cover up. 

My husband came home from work and we were off.  We stopped at a street corner on 3 Mile Road to show them a bird’s nest of a very large bird and we decided it was an Osprey. My cousin had this camera with the function of zooming in and took a picture of the bird.  It was like the bird was only a few yards from us; however the bird was quite a distance from the car.  We have an Osprey that builds a nest on a tower at the end of our road each year.  We also have a mother Robin who builds a nest every year under our front deck.  I love watching birds and so do my cousins. 

I planned on treating my cousins to Valley Camp, a ship that was docked and turned into a museum.  The museum features an exhibit of the Edmund Fitzgerald that broke in two during the year of 1975 in the stormy waters of Lake Superior.  Lake Superior because of its depth, coldness, and size is known to never give up its dead.  The museum covered information about the Great Lakes and other noteworthy information about ships.  Melissa, David and I decided to partake in a scavenger hunt that was provided by the museum.  I discovered that we were both highly competitive.  It was fun to try to find out all the answers. 

Before we went to the museum, we ate at the infamous Clyde’s Drive In.  We ordered our food and ate it outside at one of the picnic tables.  It was a very warm day so we sat near a tree to gain its shade.  We discovered that this Clyde’s Restaurant was opened during the 1950s.  The building I think is the same with very few changes.  You can usually tell when a building hasn’t been revised too much and depicts the times it originated. 

After visiting the Valley Camp, we went to the Sault Locks Park and explored the visitor’s center.  Melissa was amazed to find a canoe constructed by our Uncle Ron.  She called her mother, my aunt, to tell her about it and took a picture with her phone. He is known to have constructed a lot of memorabilia from the Ojibwe people’s history.  He constructed a long house and canoe for the Ojibwe museum in St. Ignace.  The glory of having aunts and uncles is revisited. 

I insisted that we go to the Bayliss Library to watch a video entitled “The Twenty” and we did.  Supposedly the movie was filmed in Sault area.  We were 15 minutes late because I thought the movie was going to be shown at 7:00; but it started at 6:30p.m.  We had to catch the beginning of the movie after we returned home after we borrowed it from the library.  It was reserved for me because I beat everyone else.  Since then we purchased the video. Our daughters have shown an interest in seeing the movie also.

The movie was about someone finding a twenty dollar bill with a message on it and the main actor’s goal was to find out about the message that was associated with the Sault.  The main actor and writer of the movie was at the library and met with the audience afterwards to answer any questions.  He appeared to be such a real person, very down to earth. 

After my Cousin Melissa’s visit to our town and our home I was reminded about how much I have in common with many of my cousins.  I was also reminded of the importance of the connection we feel towards each other.  Family can prove to be very necessary when exploring and maintaining a healthy balance in our lives. 

 

 

Mythology of the North

Sharon McLaren informed the Lake Superior Elders about the mythology of the North on August 8, 2012.  This presentation included a step back in time to the myths and legends of the early Nordic world, the Gods and Goddesses that they worshipped and their eventual demise.  Sharon is a summer resident of Sault Ste. Marie and the director of the Cultural Center of Port Charlotte, Florida.  The presentation was enthralling and extremely interesting.  By the way, Sharon explained the differences between legends and myths.  Myths are in reference to Gods and legends are in reference to heroes.  The Nordics held the number nine in the highest regard.  According to them, there were nine worlds that began as giants.  The giants and humans lived on the same level.  There as the bifrost, which was a rainbow bridge connecting the world the Gods resided on and the humans.  Only the Gods could walk on this bridge to and from both worlds.  There were two types of Gods, warriors and fertility Gods.  Odin was considered the “all father.”  He was an Aesir God who was associated with memory and foresight.  Odin was a shape changer and his favorite shape was an old wanderer.  He was married to Frigg who made the clouds.  Odin had children with other women, including giant women. 

Some of the Gods that were Odin’s children were: Balder (God of Love and Joy); Thor (son of a giantress and Odin – powerful God in regards to his strength); Tyr (one handed God of War – a story was told of how he lost his hand); Humdall (guardian of the bifrost); and Alfheim (Top level ruler of the white elves). 

Loki was a son of the giants and Odin and he fathered three monster children: a snake being; horrible woman; and a large dog like creature.  The snake ended up being the guardian of midgard (the middle world); the woman became the guardian of hell; and the large dog like creature battled against the Gods and Tyr put his hand in the large dog’s mouth and lost his hand while he was trying to retrieve something of importance.  Loki was a trickster, a magician and a shape changer.  He was adopted by Odin who valued some of his talents. 

Mimir was the guardian of the well of knowledge and Odin gave up one eye to drink from the well of wisdom.  This well was located on the level in which the humans lived, interesting.

Another story involved the Goddess Gullveeig.  She had an obsession with gold so the other God’s decided to torture her because of this obsession.  This caused a war between the Vanir and Aesirs, which lasted ten years. 

There are similar beliefs propagated by various folklore such as pulling the sword from a stone versus pulling the sword from a tree which was introduced by the Nordics.

Sogurd awakens Brunnhilde who was placed in a ring of fire.  Then another God managed to cross that ring of fire and Brunnhilde thought it was Sogurd; but it was Rugnarok.  She ended up marrying the later God.

The day of reckoning involved the final battle between the Gods, giants and monsters. Surt was the guardian of the giants.  Thor battles the Midguard serpent and both die.  Most of the monsters and Gods are killed.  Vivarr survives and Balder and Hod are resurrected.  Sound familiar.  There is new world order.  I found this presentation to be very interesting and could have listened to a lot more of the Nordic folklore. 

Sault Ste. Marie Summer Celebration Days

On a sunny afternoon, my husband Don and I headed to downtown Sault Ste. Marie, MI for the History Fest, sidewalk sales, Navy band and other festivities on August 3, 2012.  It was a perfect day for these events. First we explored the sidewalk sales.  Not really needing anything, I wasn’t really in the buying mood. I did find a shirt and caramel corn.  It was so yummy.  I wish I would have purchased more.  Cheerleaders and dancers were going to put on a performance around 4:30p.m.  We did observe cheerleaders, three young women using swords and other props and one young woman wielding a hula hoop.  I was impressed with her hula hoop abilities.  It brought me back to my younger years when I could make the hula hoop leave my hips and make it up to my neck and back to my waist.  Why can’t I do that now?  I barely can make it go around my waist. 

We entered the Island Book and Gift Store and sat in these wooden outdoor chairs that were very comfortable to sit in.  I also observed some beautiful art work.  I have my eye on a picture painted of the Mackinac Bridge.  The artist used various colors of blue, very beautiful.  I saw Bernadine Cook’s children’s books.  There were homemade Afghans and other beautiful art items for sale.  You should visit their store. 

We headed to where we thought the history festival.  There needed to be signs telling us where to go. We heard drums so we headed towards the sound of the drums.  A Pow Wow was being held.  The regalia was phenomenal, beautiful dresses, grass dancing regalia, lots of pride in who they are and represent.  I am usually mesmerized when I watch the dancing and listen to the drums and singing.  First of all, I was standing next to a friend and another acquaintance approached and I asked her about budgets and things associated with Lake Superior Elders. A lot was discussed and plans were made for an additional meeting. 

On the way to where we thought the History Fest was being held, we stopped and talked with friends, Burt and his wife.  They were watching their grandson perform with a band with an average age of 14.  We were sorry we missed most of their performance. We found out when their performances were scheduled the next day. One of the friends we were talking to was retired from the Army Core of Engineers.  I told him about observing a talk given by someone who worked for the Army Core of Engineers and what I remember the man saying which was “We can maintain and fix anything.”  Our friend, Burt, said “Not since I haven’t been there.”  We laughed.  On our way to the history fest, I saw a man and two of his children standing in the doorway of the Army Core of Engineers.  I was having trouble locating a number in the phone book to see if I could arrange a presentation for the Lake Superior Elders.  I didn’t get his name, but he gave me a name and phone number to set up a possible presentation.  I told him about the presentation I saw on Engineers Day and what I remember about being able to fix anything.  My husband Don piped up and said what Burt said about not being able to fix everything since he left and we all laughed.  This man was a best friend of one of Burt’s sons, small world.

At the Pow Wow, I sat next to my friend, Maria, and began discussing things such as what we were up to.  I talked about my first book and the second book I am working on.  She mentioned a dancer and some of her life story and it popped in my mind that we, meaning Maria and I, could write a book together about success stories of Native American people in the area.  She thought that was an excellent idea.  We both started brainstorming about who to interview.  We watched the Pow Wow some more and then it was time to depart and head towards the park where the concert was going to be held.  The Navy Band of the Great Lakes gave a wonderful performance. We listened to blue grass, Celtic music, oldies and top forty songs. We had a great time and looked forward to partaking in the events the next day. 

It’s Saturday, and it’s off to see the car show, history fest activities and other festivities.  After eating lunch, we perched on lounge chairs in the shade to listen to the rock band comprised of young teenagers.  They were very good and will be very popular when they get older.  The name of their band is Tantrym Tyme. Some of the boys have long hair and they were shaking their heads wildly while playing their guitars.  We were sitting next to a Tattoo shop. I was surprised to see some of the people enter the shop such as women in their 60s.  Two teenage boys and one girl rode on skateboards on the road in front of us twice.  There was a very large inflatable eagle set up to advertise the Eagles Hockey Team. I purchased a sweatshirt for my grandson that had an eagle on it.  He’s into Eagles.  My grandson likes the Philadelphia Eagles.

We headed towards the car show.  It seemed smaller this year.  There were cars displayed from various decades in very good shape, actually the engines appeared as if you could eat off them.  How long does it take to get a car ready for a car show?  A mutual friend of my husband and I stated she waxed her truck for eight hours to prepare it for the car show last year.  The main thing I wanted to do that day was go to the book sale at the library and forgot all about it.  So I lucked out and found a book sale at the old theater for donation only.  I need more books like a need a hole in my head.  My mom use to say that when I was growing up, when something seemed unnecessary.  Where did that come from?  I am also reminded of Phineas Cage the man who had a spike driven through his head and this incident was used to study the inner workings of the brain. 

We explored the sidewalk sales some more and then thought we better explore the history fest some more.  The Pow Wow was not going on so we explored the historic homes on Water Street.  Our first stop was the Johnston home.  There are some artifacts and history that were described by Jim Couling, a dolcen. He also is in charge of the Twilight Tours that are held in Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace. We stopped at Bishop Baraga’s home and discovered that there is a lot of renovations going on at that home.  It was so hot and muggy that when we entered the Kenn Museum, the air conditioning was very much welcomed.  We learned about the tannery, coal and leather businesses of the past.  Again, I am reminded about what a busy city Sault Ste. Marie was in the past.

We walked down to the park to watch the Navy band perform; but the information in the flyer was wrong when we asked a man from the band about the schedule.  The city did plan a lot of fun and interesting activities but did give some wrong information. The band was scheduled to play at 4:00 p.m. according to the flyer, however they were not going to perform until 7:00 that evening. My husband and I were getting tired from being in the heat of the day for so long, it was in the low 90s, so we walked down to the water to watch ships going through the locks while sitting under a tree.  Sure enough there was a large ship, it was interesting with cranes, etc.  We decided to do some grocery shopping and head home to watch television in front of fans while enjoying strawberry shakes.  All and all, it was a wonderful weekend.  Thanks Sault Ste. Marie.

The Sault Symphony Orchestra

I attended a presentation put on by the Lake Superior Elders on Monday, July 30. Al Beamish was the presenter.  He was a French teacher for Sault Area Public Schools and Lake Superior State University. Now he is retired. He informed the elders about the upcoming events for the Sault Symphony Orchestra and about what it takes to prepare for any of the orchestra events.  There is an event scheduled in December of this year and the budget for that event is $90,000.  I found that hard to believe.   They have to pay rent, hire the conductor, pay the musicians, etc.  Wow!!  I don’t consider the events to be expensive to attend.  There are fundraisers such as the Bratwurst, Beer and Beethoven being held on June 9, 2013. 

Here is a list of the events:

September 29, 2012        Cirque de la Symphonie

November 10, 2012         A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Dec. 13-16, 2012               Singin’ In the Rain

February 9, 2013               Filmharmonic “An Evening at the Movies”

April 20, 2013                     Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony

Tickets are $38. For Adults; $35. For seniors; $15. For students.

There are reduced prices if you pay for three, four or five performances at a time.  In the past, I remember that this group held a performance entitled “Fantasia.”  I wish I could have attended that performance.  It sounded phenomenal. By the way, you can request seating next to friends and family.

Contact the Sault Symphony Association at 705-945-5337 if you would like to purchase tickets.  Their office is located at 121 Brock St., Rear Entrance in Sault Ste. Marie, ON.

Spread the word.  I attended one performance a while back.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.