From: Paul Deaton
Sent: Monday, Feb. 8, 1999 11:52 AM
To: Libby
Subject: Happy Day!
I figured out that you would probably check your e-mail when you got home from school. I hope you are enjoying having the computer located in your room. Once the monitor gets fixed (it is in Minnesota) then you will really be set up. Remember that for now, we do not plan to get a printer, so copy to disk and we will print on one of the other printers.
Please use the computer wisely. So often, people get bored with life and become cyber worms. It is ok to use the computer for learning and fun, but remember that you have a life outside the computer. When I first got involved with a home computer, I found myself very busy with looking at stuff and installing hardware and software. I did not do as much as I would have liked with the actual software. Don’t let this happen to you.
Anyway, have a great evening, and hopefully if you are looking at this, you have your homework done.
In this final 2016 post it was easier than last year to outline my writing plans.
The work I do to pay bills and support my writing has been tough mentally and physically. To cope with an aging frame and occasionally distracted mind I have had to focus. That meant planning, and then with discipline, working the plan. 2016 was a mixed bag and I expect to do better in 2017.
I seldom post about my personal life and family — at least directly. That leaves issues I confront every day as grist for the keyboard.
There are four broad, intersecting topics about which I’ll write during the coming year.
Low Wage Work and Working Poor
Not only do I earn low wages in all of my jobs, I meet a lot of people who do too. During the last four years I developed a framework for viewing how people sustain their lives without a big job or high salary. A focus on raising the minimum wage, wage theft or immigration status may be timely but most of what I read misses the mark. Stories fail to recognize the complexity with which low wage workers piece together a life. This subject needs more exposition and readers can expect it here.
Food Cultivation, Processing and Cooking
Living on low wages includes knowledge of how to grow, process and prepare some of our own food. My frequent posts on this topic have been intended to tell a story about how the work gets done. I plan to grow another big garden in 2017 and perform the same seasonal farm work. I sent off a membership form to Practical Farmers of Iowa this morning and expect my experience with that group to contribute to food related writing.
Nuclear Abolition
I renewed my membership in Physicians for Social Responsibility. We have a global footprint and as a member I have access to almost everything going on world-wide to abolish one of the gravest threats to human life. The president elect made some startling statements about nuclear weapons this month. The subject should hold interest and perhaps offer an opportunity to get something done toward abolition. The United Nations voted to work toward a new treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. They did so without the support of the United States or any of the other nuclear armed states. In that tension alone there should be a number of posts.
Global Warming and Climate Change
My framework has been membership in the Climate Reality Leadership Corps. Like with Physicians for Social Responsibility we have a global footprint with thousands of Climate Leaders. We have access to the latest information about climate change and its solutions. The key dynamic, however, is how work toward accepting the reality of climate change occurs on a local level. What researchers are finding is skepticism about the science of climate change originates in the personal experience of people where they live. If the weather is very hot and dry they tend to believe in climate change. If it is cold, they tend not to believe. Thing is, climate change and human contributions to it are not a belief system as much as they are facts. Global warming and climate change already affect us whether we believe or doubt.
So that’s the plan. While you are here, click on the tag cloud to find something else to read. I hope you will return to read more in 2017.
By choosing an old car as my main vehicle I got a low purchase price and issues related to a 20-year old car.
A leaking head gasket took more resources than expected to diagnose and repair. The car went to the shop three times beginning in September, generating $3,600 in repair and rental car expense. At that price a new car can never be justified. It’s fixed for now.
There were additional highlights.
January
I began working as the receiving clerk at the home, farm and auto supply store. The dynamic of my weeks changed as I worked regular hours Monday through Friday with weekends off. I haven’t quite adjusted to the “early start time” of 7:55 a.m., which cuts into my prime writing time.
We had a brief spell of sub-zero weather, during which I pruned our apple trees. There was no fruit this year.
I spent free time campaigning with friends for Hillary Clinton before the Iowa caucuses.
February
Hillary Clinton won the Iowa caucuses by the slimmest of margins. She won our precinct easily, garnering two delegates at the caucus to one for Bernie Sanders and one for Martin O’Malley. Clinton picked up the O’Malley delegate when he dropped out of the race on caucus night.
Had coffee with Congressman Dave Loebsack and a small group of area activists at the Big Grove Brewery in Solon.
Began soil blocking at Local Harvest CSA very early on February 7.
March
Had a work-related injury at the home, farm and auto supply store requiring a clinic visit and five stitches in my right hand.
Attended the Johnson County Democratic Convention in Tiffin.
April
Our daughter visited for a few days.
Hello Spring! Potluck hosted by Local Harvest CSA.
Had breakfast in Coralville with my friend from grade school. It was the first of several meals together this year.
May
Read and reviewed Connie Mutel’s book A Sugar Creek Chronicle: Observing Climate Change from a Midwestern Woodland.
Kurt Friese, candidate for county supervisor, meet and greet at Big Grove Brewery in Solon.
June
Participated in a signing ceremony for the new agency established to manage emergency services for the City of Solon and three townships.
Attended a wedding in the Soulard District of Saint Louis.
July
Attended Congressman Dave Loebsack’s annual Brews and BBQ event where I met Hawaii Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard.
Campaign kickoff event for Amy Nielsen’s bid to represent Iowa House District 77 at her home in North Liberty.
Read the book Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding.
Began seasonal work at Wilson’s Orchard. This commenced 100 straight days of work.
August
Met with Kate Edwards of Wild Woods Farm to arrange a job trimming onions.
Covered editor’s job at Blog for Iowa.
September
Filed initial enrollment application for Medicare.
Viewed the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on my hand-held device.
Beginning of car trouble and repairs.
October
Mom fell out of bed and had to be hospitalized.
November
Participated in holiday gatherings for the home, farm and auto supply store and Wilson’s Orchard.
Thanksgiving at home.
December
1997 Subaru finally repaired.
Medicare coverage began.
Christmas at home.
We made it through the year with some new experiences. For that I am thankful. I’m also ready for 2017 to begin.
My birthday trip to the county seat included these real-world variations from yesterday’s plan:
Ordered a voter list for my precinct from the county auditor to start organizing for the 2018 election and beyond.
Noticed the new Zombie Burger and Shake Lab opened next to The Mill. It seemed wrong.
Renewed my library card. Rural residents can take advantage of the Iowa City Public Library. I check out eBooks from home using my card.
Walked past children playing on the pedmall. They were laughing.
Walked past Schaeffer Hall where I spent much time attending classes 45 years ago.
Viewed the Hawkeyes in Space exhibit at the Old Capitol Museum. It is a history of the University of Iowa Physics and Astronomy Department and their contributions to the national space effort beginning in 1951 with the arrival of James A. Van Allen.
Went to Prairie Lights Book Store and bought copies of The Last Love Song: A Biography of Joan Didion by Tracy Daugherty and Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. I also read some remembrances of Burns Weston and called out a friend on her use of what I felt were excessive exclamation points.
Stopped at the HyVee grocery store on North Dodge Street to buy a few items for my birthday dinner. I also returned cans for deposit.
I arrived home in time to read and fixed a dinner which included a test run of a noodle kugel recipe I got from a Des Moines blogger’s web site. The recipe came out well and there are enough leftovers to last a week. Intended to be a side dish, noodle kugel includes a lot of protein which is needed in our vegetarian household.
The president-elect was busy on twitter again yesterday. Here’s my nascent idea on how to handle him from a Facebook post I made.
Donald J. Trump throws tweets out to media the same way chaff was used to foil radar in WWII. We are seeing what he wants us to see about his incoming administration. All the noise is obscuring the signal, which many of us are not going to like once it comes into focus.
The positive side here is no pretense of being a “compassionate conservative” like Bush II pretended he was. I expect Trump to throttle down immediately to rollback progressive reforms dating back to FDR. I’m keeping my powder dry until we know more specifics of his agenda
I’m taking my advocacy lead from Friends Committee on National Legislation. Diane Randall laid out an agenda which seems practical and makes sense. Her outline of how to deal with appointees who require U.S. Senate confirmation is spot on:
In these confirmation hearings, senators ask the nominees questions that establish a public record. One of the most effective ways FCNL can influence the public record is to encourage senators to ask particular questions. FCNL, along with many of our organizational partners, is preparing questions for senators to ask the nominees. These questions are specific to each nominee, concerning their positions on enforcing current laws and their positions with regard to the safety and well-being of specific populations, or on past statements they have made about the role of the agency they will be heading.
Based on the past public statements, or votes for the nominees who have served in Congress, we are particularly concerned about nominees who have stated their opposition to environmental regulations, full access to health care and protection of voting rights and religious freedom.
Following FCNL’s lead isn’t mutually exclusive, but would be a bit of sanity in what appears to the egregiously brazen impetus of the president-elect’s nominees who have track records running against the grain of progressive values.
It’s two days at the home, farm and auto supply store for me, followed by a three-day weekend. Stay tuned.
Picasso with Harry Truman in 1958, Vallauris, France Photo Credit – Truman Library
Today I celebrate my 65th birthday.
Some baking will be involved — maybe homemade pizza for supper or an applesauce cake. Maybe both. Maybe something else.
I plan a trip to the county seat, a tour of our yard and garden, and a walk by the lake — the beginnings of a late winter to-do list.
It’s all about anticipation in 2016’s pre-dawn darkness.
Yesterday historian Michael Beschloss posted this photo in social media. Seeking a copy for my birthday present, I searched the internet for the Harry S. Truman library and found the file. An 8 x 10 colored, glossy (or matte) copy could be mine for $20. Now that the image is posted I satisfied the urge and can spend my birthday money on something needed more.
In yesterday’s newspaper author Anne Keene wrote about the U.S. Navy Pre-flight School and Iowa’s participation as one of the sites during World War II.
“Before cadets could fly they had to graduate from ground school, where the Navy used hard-hitting sports such as football to build speed, agility and power for combat,” Keene wrote. “Pilots learned to swim and to survive in the outdoors along the wooded shores of Lake Macbride.”
In May 1942 John Glenn swam in the same waters I later did. My outing to Lake Macbride with a church group fixed Father in memory. He drove a group of us in a caravan from Davenport to Lake Macbride. He was also a fan of Glenn and the U.S. space program, taking us outside to watch the Telstar satellite pass over in the 1960s. I now see the same lake, which like all Iowa waters feeds a river of memories and experience into the vast gulf of commonality.
Mom sent me some birthday money, just as her mother did. It would be too plain to spend it all on groceries, fuel or sundries. I hope to spend part of it at a shop in the county seat later today on something I wouldn’t normally buy — a fit birthday project.
Wearing My Blue Shirt
I may buy a new blue button-down shirt since there is only one in my closet. It is my go-to garment for attending events and eventually it will wear out. I need socks which I last bought at the discount store on Highway One near the airport. If I feel up for a drive, I could visit Stringtown Grocery near Kalona. I want more dried chervil leaf and it’s the only local place that sells it. It would be a shame to use maternal gift money to make a payment on the credit card or buy dairy products.
It’s still dark outside.
Writing is brief respite and today’s birthday gift. Something to engage a mind resident in an aging frame, preparing for the day.
Would that writing were all that needed doing today. For now, it serves.
Rain fell from the roof to the downspout then to the semi-frozen ground below. The sound of trickling raindrops was background for Christmas Day at home.
We did things together, and talked, sharing ideas, sharing video clips from the internet, and deciding a menu. Christmas dinner ended up being bowls of vegetable soup with cornbread left from our special Christmas Eve supper. We had Christmas cookies for dessert — Nestle Toll House cookies made with the recipe on the bag. Simple fare for plain folks.
It was a peaceful day in a dark year. Nonetheless, days are getting longer. New hope springs, bringing with it growth, new life, and new work beginning today.
I embrace the new days ahead and so should readers. What else is there to do?
A Russian airplane with 92 people on board crashed into the Black Sea near Sochi, Russia today. While rescue teams search for survivors, it appears all lives were lost, including 72 members of the Red Army Choir who were enroute to Syria to entertain Russian troops.
The world is saddened by the loss. Here is a sample of their recent work.
Oakland Cemetery, Big Grove Township, Johnson County, Iowa. Dec. 17, 2016
BIG GROVE TOWNSHIP — The Big Grove Township Trustees don’t sell many grave plots.
One of our responsibilities is a pioneer cemetery called Fackler’s Grove where no one has been interred for several generations. Oakland Cemetery, near the City of Solon, was expanded with an additional acreage before I was elected to the board of trustees.
At the current rate of sales, we’ll have space for more than a century.
My four-year term as a Big Grove Township Trustee ends Dec. 31.
Stopping by Oakland Cemetery on Saturday, on the way home from the orchard, I noticed the new section was colorful with artificial flowers. We haven’t posted the new rules asking people to remove grave decorations before winter. The signs are made and hanging in the clerk’s garage until being installed. While decorations shouldn’t be there, they are — evidence of modern lives no trustee seeks to suppress. Maybe the new board will install the signs next year — or not.
The main activity in the older section was squirrels building nests in mature trees. Old limestone monuments stood stark and weathering in the day’s wintry mix. With the Memorial Day remembrance moved to the American Legion field, fewer people visit the cemetery.
Drawn by our school system, a strong religious community with three church congregations and proximity to work in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and Coralville, new settlement continues with young families arriving every year.
A township trustee has a relationship with the living and dead. We hear more from the living and spend time with the dead.
I learned a lot during my tenure.
2012, the year I was elected, was the high water mark of my political work. I was helping Dick Schwab with his campaign for state representative, and when it came time to run for office myself, I knew how to win without being on the ballot. I doubt I’ll ever be as active in politics as I was that year.
In addition to managing the cemeteries, the trustees are responsible to manage a budget, levy taxes, provide fire suppression and emergency services, and resolve lot line disputes. While the township form of government was the earliest in Iowa, consolidation of services may better serve residents. At the same time, the long-standing political organization is slow to change — the same way limestone monuments weather in sun and wind.
In society we experience an impulse to serve a greater good and seeking elected office can be that. It was for me. Every area of responsibility was addressed during my tenure.
We encouraged the Ely Historical Society to begin restoration of Fackler’s Grove Cemetery, we signed a long term contract for Oakland Cemetery maintenance, we formalized creation of an agency to share emergency service responsibilities between three townships and the City of Solon, and there were no scandals.
As I walked among the graves on Saturday I couldn’t help but think of the inevitable end of my own life. There is so much more I want to do. At least I can point to this work and say we did something for the greater good.
As the cold front moves in, that may be the best we can offer.
Anthony Sells built the first sawmill in Big Grove Township in 1839. There were a lot of nearby trees, hence the name. Things changed.
Farm fields, and eventually subdivisions, replaced the Oak-Hickory forest. Except for the state park and a few scattered parcels, the change has been decisive and permanent.
Memory of trees persists as a place to retreat during the end of year holidays.
Like during much of our lives, food is a holiday consideration — special menus using favorite recipes. We secured fresh cranberries, oranges, Gold Rush apples, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cookie ingredients, apple cider, and a frozen cherry pie from the orchard for the season. Yesterday’s purchases included dark roasted Sumatran coffee (Arabica beans), 64 fluid ounces of half and half for ice cream, special crackers and cream cheese. Planned recipes include cranberry sauce, shortbread cookies, apple crisp, and wild rice. It’s a lot of food for a special meal tomorrow. We’ll eat leftovers for days.
There is more to life than food.
That’s where the camera fades to black and a window into my life is obscured.
The idea of old trees now gone provides solace. Outside living memory, there is no going back to the time before Sells’ sawmill. For most who live here, it is already forgotten.
On this ground we make our own history. Because it lives today, it dominates our outlook and activities. The recipe is not specific and we challenge today what we did yesterday in hope of a better tomorrow.
There is something about the trees. Some linger as Sells’ lumber in structures in the nearby town. What matter more is the idea here was once a different ecosystem. One has to ask, “will what we replaced it with be sustainable?”
Holiday tradition in our house includes cleaning and decorating beginning mid-December.
Dec. 18 is our wedding anniversary. This year we plan to celebrate 34 years of marriage with a meal at a local restaurant.
Our wedding anniversary is also when the Christmas tree goes up with decorating to be finished by Christmas Eve.
As we cleaned, I made soup using bits and pieces of leftover vegetables and pantry items. It was thick and savory — the way soup is supposed to taste.
The process for soup-making is simple.
Turn the heat to medium high and place a Dutch oven on the burner.
Drain the juice from a pint of canned, diced tomatoes into the Dutch oven and bring to a boil.
Add a generous amount of diced onions (2 cups or more), three or four peeled and sliced carrots, two stalks of sliced celery, and three bay leaves. Salt generously and steam-saute until the vegetables begin to soften.
Add the diced tomatoes.
Next steps depend upon what is on hand.
For this batch I put a quart of turnip broth from the pantry in the blender and added cooked Brussels sprout leaves, and fresh Swiss chard and kale, all from the ice box. I blended thoroughly and added the mixture to the Dutch oven.
Next was a can each of prepared black beans and whole corn from the grocery store.
I found an old box of marjoram in the spice rack and added what was left — about a tablespoon. They don’t sell marjoram loosely packed in boxes any more so it must have been 20 years old or more.
Peeled and diced three red potatoes from the counter and added them to the Dutch oven. I also added the thinly sliced the stalks of kale and Swiss chard.
From the pantry I took a cup of lentils, and a quarter cup each of quinoa and pearled barley and added them.
I submerged the vegetables in filtered water from the ice box.
The rest of the process was to bring to a boil, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook until it is soup — adjusting seasonings until it tastes good, and making sure the vegetables are covered in liquid.
The effort produced enough for a meal with a gallon stored in the ice box in quart Mason jars. We’ll be eating on that until Christmas day.
From: Paul Deaton
Journey Home 
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