“Shay Ajeeb!” or, Bobby, our intelligent dog

by Lois Dickason 

Lois writes about the unusual experience of having a pet dog in a foreign country. Her parents were Reformed Church in America missionaries in Muscat, Oman:

Bobby was a birthday gift to our brother Norman in 1940 - one of a litter of thirteen pups born to a dog owned by Major A. O. C. Pettyfer (mentioned in Oman In the Twentieth Century, pgs. 93 and 107), the British Military Advisor to Sultan Sa’id bin Taymor in Muscat, Oman that year.  Another one of the same litter, subsequently named Susan, somehow made the long ship’s journey from one end of the Persian Gulf to the other as a gift for our little cousins, Marilyn and Lewis, toddler daughter and baby son of Dr. Lewis and Dorothy Scudder, Mom’s brother and his wife.  Bobby was a mix of Red Setter and Golden Retriever, a beautiful shiny gold, who came to our family in time to make a little boy very happy on his November 5^th birthday.  

Bobby was much loved by the family and partial to Norm and Dad.  He loved to accompany the family to the beach and would run ahead of the ’36 Ford touring car (named “Zem Zem”), which could not go very fast on the rutted bumpy roads.  Dad taught him the usual tricks, such as “roll over”, “sit”, “lie down” and “shake hands”.  Sometimes he would give the commands in English and sometimes in Arabic using the appropriate gestures for each command.

Bobby may have looked like this "Irish-Golden"
(photo via Retriverman.wordpress.com)

One day Sheikh Hamed Bin Haamed, a thin and relatively tall and dignified man from the inland area of Samayl came to visit Dad.  He would often stay in our home when he came to Muttrah and we in turn  would stay in his guest quarters when visiting Jenaa, whered he lived.  As he was being served coffee and dates in our parlor, our dog, Bobby came into the room.  The sheikh recoiled in horror since dogs are considered unclean.  (The worst insult to an Arab is to be called a “kelb”, meaning “dog”.)  He said to Dad, “You have a kelb!!?”  Dad said, “Don’t worry.  He is not a ‘kelb’.  He is a  ‘dog’ – a very intelligent animal.  In fact he understands commands in Arabic and English.”  Dad then put Bobby through all his tricks, both in Arabic and English and Bobby went through all the paces without a hitch.  The Sheikh was most impressed and said, “Shay ajeeb!” (“This is amazing!”)

Several weeks later, another man came to the hospital from Jenaa.  He came to the house and asked if he could see the dog that “T’kelam Arabiya wa Englaisie:” speaks Arabic and English. The story had gotten around and Bobby’s reputation became slightly exaggerated.

Unfortunately Bobby only lived a few years.  He developed a skin disease related to the extreme heat in Oman (there was no air conditioning in those days and his fairly long coat of hair added to the discomfort).  We children stayed in India during WW II from 1942 – 1945, and Bobby stayed in Mutrah, Oman, so we did not have a chance to enjoy our pet for long.  However, his fond memory lives on.

Thanks for this unique take on pet ownership, Lois! 

This story came to us from Lois in Michigan, to her Hope College roommate, Una in New Jersey, who is the mother of one of my writing buddies! Wow, talk about a traveling tale! Thanks to all of you for keeping in touch, and sending in your story. Keep those stories coming! There are still 5 days left in our contest!!

Heidi and Eileen

Great Advice from Great-Aunt Violet

by Diane J. Standiford

My great-aunt Violet went to the Dr. to have her ears irrigated. "She kept the waiting room in stitches," my cousin said. She did however call the doctor a son of a b____, and while waiting shouted out (as only someone with stuffed ears can), "Why is the doctor taking so long?! Doesn't he know I am 102 and could go anytime?!"

The Dog-Violet Fairy, by Cicely Mary Barker

Aunt Violet Donna Lucille Boveine was the youngest of  six children. Her mother named her Violet and her two sisters were allowed to choose another name, hence her three names. She never married, but was never, ever, alone. Most of her many nieces and nephews were in some way raised by her. She lived from the age of 17 with her schoolmate, Ivah, until Ivah's death in her 80s. With Aunt Violet driving, they visited many states, worked many jobs, bought their own houses, and were women ahead of their time---never afraid to try new things.

Of our very large family, Aunt Vi lived the longest (so far), to age 103. She was a straight shooter and we all went to her for advice. 

I once asked her what her first memory was. She said it was when she sat on the front steps of the small house her father built and heard a boy shouting while running towards her. He was selling the newspaper and wildly shouting, "The Titanic Sinks!  The Titanic Sinks!" Her father rarely could afford the newspaper, but he bought that copy, so she knew it was something very important. 

I once asked her what her secret was to living so long and she replied, "Damned if I know! Just do what you want, that's what I did."  

Diane J. Standiford 

54 years old

Seattle, Washington

Thanks Diane! 

For more from Diane, please visit her blog: Retired in Seattle Viewpointe

Gordon and the Big, Mean, Turkey

As promised, here is our second helping, from Trudy Schuett, of Yuma, AZ.

Gordon and the Big, Mean, Turkey

by Trudy Schuett

Does your family always have a turkey for Thanksgiving, or do you have a pre-holiday discussion, turkey vs. ham like we do?

I grew up in a family with a ham tradition. Every holiday, my mother would trot out a five or ten-pound (depending on the number of people) canned Rath ham. My husband’s family always had turkey, even on Easter.

We never had turkey or chicken, even on regular days. That’s because my parents and grandparents, with my aunt and uncle had a poultry farm in the Depression era, and so for many years, that was what there was to eat. “Chicken and green beans,” my dad used to say. “If you didn’t want that, you could have green beans and chicken.”

They did experiment with turkeys for a while at the Purlingbrook Poultry Farm. Turkeys however, are a different bag of feathers. While you’ve probably heard the story that they’re so stupid they can drown in the rain by looking up to see what’s coming out of the sky, they’re big critters when they still have all their parts, and territorial. They can be big trouble, especially when you’ve got an inquisitive toddler loose in the yard.

Turkeys aren’t like chickens, which pretty much eat and make a mess, and not much else. They’re not big enough to cause any serious trouble.

One summer afternoon, my grandmother looked up from her work in the house and realized little Gordon had wandered off again. He’s my second-eldest brother. Grandma kept an eye on the kids while my mother was either out back in the garden or tending the chickens. At that time, there were only the two boys, Larry and Gordon. After a brief survey of the house, Grandma went outside in search of the missing little boy, when she heard shrieks coming from the turkey pen.

She ran to investigate, and there was Gordon, in his diaper, cowering against a corner of the fence. Two or three turkeys, as tall or even taller, were approaching him, beaks at the ready, to dispatch this intruder. Grandma called to my aunt who happened by, and leapt into the fray, to save the terrified kid from a certain assault. Auntie Teen soon followed, to run interference. Despite some pecking and plenty of un-Grandma-like language, the two women managed to save my brother, who was retrieved unharmed.

It wasn’t long after that, the dinner menu changed to turkey for a while, and the Purlingbrook Poultry Farm returned to dedicated chicken-and-egg production. In later years, when I was old enough to start asking questions, like why we always had ham, my mother would say it was because Dad preferred ham, and Dad would mutter something about “big, mean birds.” Eventually I did get the whole story, and I could figure out why Dad wouldn’t want one of those things on his table.

Gordon, however, gleefully digs in to his roast turkey on Thanksgiving, as his wife comes from a turkey family, and he probably feels a bit of sweet revenge in any case.

- We hope everyone had a nice, warm, belly-filling Thanksgiving dinner−whether you prefer ham or turkey−and that many stories and laughs were shared around the table. 

Don't forget about our contest! (see previous post, or click here.) 

The winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card - hey, one less present to buy, right? So keep those stories coming!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Heidi and Eileen

Thanksgiving PRIZE GIVEAWAY!

Are you up for a challenge? And no, you don't have to eat more pumpkin pie than your brother...

Norman Rockwell's The Four Freedoms: Freedom From Want

The holiday season is here; perfect time to put on those listening ears! As my Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Kruger used to say.

This Thursday, many of you will be sitting around the table in a post-turkey food coma, sipping coffee and reminiscing about the Good Ol 'Days.

Don't let those cherished memories drift into the cinnamon-and-nutmeg-scented ether of Grandma's kitchen! Whip out your laptop, or better yet, your video camera* and lock that precious tale into history!! Don't be selfish and hog it all to yourself! You might be sick of Grandpa Fred's retelling of when the Johnson's barn burnt down and all that was left were the bones of a '42 Oldsmobile, but we've never heard that story before, and we would LOVE it! So would your cousin in Cincinnati or your aunt in Omaha, who couldn't make it back home for Thanksgiving.

Our challenge to you, our readers, is TEN new stories over Thanksgiving weekend! That will be enough to post ONE story per day until Sunday, December 4. What do you say? Are you up for it?

To further sweeten the pot, as they say, we'll offer a prize!

On December 5, we will look at our Google Blogger stats page, and the most popular story of the week will receive a $25 AMAZON GIFT CARD!

Yes, that's right, we have resorted to bribery. But hey, whatever works. We are trying to gain readership, and more importantly, we want more stories!!

Are you up for the challenge?

Here are the rules:

• Any story submitted to seniorshareproject@gmail.com between Thanksgiving Day (November 24) and Sunday, December 4 will be eligible.
• We will post one story per day for the full amount of stories we receive. If we go over our goal, we will keep posting stories until we use up all of the submissions received during the the submission window (Nov. 24 - Dec. 4).
• The story does NOT have to be Thanksgiving related! Just any family story will do.
• Once all of the stories have been posted, we will use Blogger Stats to determine the most popular story, and that author will win a gift card for $25 to Amazon.com!

So get those listening ears on, drag your laptop to Granny's, and let 'er rip! And yes, it is perfectly fair to bet you sister that YOUR story will beat HERS. We encourage friendly competition. :)

Don't forget to share www.SeniorShareProject.com with your friends and family, Like us on Facebook, and let the games begin!

We can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks,

Heidi and Eileen

*for video submissions, post the content to youtube, email us the link, and we'll embed it as a post.
We plan on implementing more video footage soon, and will be developing our own youtube channel.

Need a Dessert Recipe? Try Cherry Crap!

This story submission absolutely cracked me up! And hopefully will start a trend of people sending us recipes along with their stories.

This is from Trudy, the reporter at KAWC radio who recorded our interview. We'll have another great story from Trudy later this week, just in time for Thanksgiving, so stay tuned! :)

Cherry Crap

By Trudy Schuett

Through all the 1950s and most of the 1960s, my mother went to her Pinochle Club twice a month. Each lady took a turn hosting, and the dessert during a break in card playing was an important element of the evening. Everybody would exclaim how lovely that night's dessert was, and later on in the car, my mother and my aunt would say what they really thought. (One of the reasons they called it "Cat Club," no doubt.)

One lady frequently served a pumpkin pie with gravy, of all things; something I've never figured out or ever heard of anybody else doing.

A lot of the recipes in that era were based on convenience foods and Jello, and it wasn't too often Ma came home with a recipe. She was great at pies and cakes made from scratch, but every once in a while there would be one of the "Cat Club" desserts showing up at our house.

The following recipe for Cherry Crap is one of those, and nobody remembered how it got its name. I can only imagine the scene the first time Ma presented this, circa 1955:

Ma: (setting a glass cake pan on the dining room table) I got this recipe from Leona at Cat Club.

Dad: (viewing the dish with suspicion) What is it?

Ma: It's a Quick Cherry Pie!

Dad: Looks more like Cherry Crap to me.

Anyway, no matter what Dad thought of the looks, we all liked it, and I still make it today. Here's the recipe:

11 graham crackers, crushed, or pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs for two crusts (found in the baking aisle of the store)

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine

1 can cherry pie filling

Cool-Whip or spray whipped creme

Melt butter in microwave in microwave-safe mixing bowl. Add crumbs and sugar; mix well. 

Layer half the crumb mixture in the bottom of a 9x9 square cake pan, spread pie filling over crumbs. Top with the rest of the crumbs. Refrigerate for at least three hours or overnight.

Serve with your choice of topping.

Note: Back when we lived in Detroit I tried making this once with fresh cherries from our tree, and real whipped creme but it just wasn't the same. You really want that chemical-y goodness for this one!

Thanks, Trudy!

NEWS!!

Click to go to KAWC Radio program

NEWS!! 


Tune in to KAWC Radio Friday, November 18, 9AM or 3PM (mountain time) for "Arizona Editions," to hear an interview with Heidi and Eileen, Senior Share Project creators. 


As always, Thanks for stopping by!!


WHOOPS! Sorry folks! Due to a last-minute schedule change at the station, our story was moved. Look for us on Monday or Tuesday's Morning Edition or All Things Considered. I will post any scheduled air times as I am updated. Thanks!

Welcome New Readers!

Senior Share Project has been seeing some momentum, recently, and we'd like to thank you all for stopping by. We've recently been lucky enough to have received TWO online reviews!

The first review is over at Blog Search Engine. No matter what your interests, you will be sure to find something to read here, and without the hassle of weeding through a general search on Google or Yahoo. Blog Search Engine is a listing site with ratings and reviews on all kinds of blogs. Please click on the picture below to go to our review, and once there, click on the stars to rate it, "like" it on Facebook or Tweet it to your followers - that will help us get ratings and even more exposure:

Our second review is over at BloggyAward.com! BloggyAward.com is a site that visits hundreds of blogs a year, and rates them based on the following criteria: Visual Aesthetics, User Friendliness, Reading Enjoyment and Useful Info. Based on ratings and what you like to read, BloggyAward.com is a great site to sift through, and find more blogs to visit. 

It's also great feedback for us, because with an outside opinion, we are able to make some changes to our blog, like implementing a label navigation bar (coming soon!)

Senior Share Project received a score of 9 out of 10!! Thank You, BloggyAward.com!

Click this picture to go to our review:

We are so thankful to have this coverage and recognition. But, the most important ingredient of Senior Share Project is YOU, our readers. We don't exist without your stories. 

Maybe the first time you visited our site, you had a little story in the back of your mind that you were reminded of when reading what others have written. 

• Did your parent or grandparent emigrate to the United States from a foreign country, like Carla Carozza's dad, Vince? 
• Do you laugh everytime you think of your favorite aunt, or when you remember a lesson your mom taught you, like Jeanette Kahwaji's Aunt, Winnie the Witch or Joe Finnerty's grape jelly fiasco? 
• How about growing up in the country like Lorene Hoover from Iowa, Holly Klapper from Northern Michigan, or Gordon Fredrickson from Minnesota?
• Did you sneak a radio into school so you could listen to the World Series, like Marty Roselius?

You know there's a story inside you. We want to hear it. Send it to us today! We'd love to hear from our international readers, too!

seniorshareproject@gmail.com

Thank you! Heidi and Eileen

P.S. Coming soon to SSP: Video interviews! Check back, or better yet, subscribe! 

Poppies

I remember when I was a kid, and we would drive into town, there would be volunteers from the Lion's Club at the main intersection. When you'd stop at the stop sign and donated some change, the Lions volunteer would give you a hard candy or a poppy to hang on your rearview mirror. My mom would somehow work it into her outfit or if we were on our way to church, and my dad was wearing a suit, he'd place it in his buttonhole.

Today on my way into the grocery store where I work, I noticed there was a table set up for the purposes of collecting donations for Veterans. I thanked the gentleman manning the station and dropped some bills into the collection jar for Veteran's Day.  The donations go to help the homeless and disabled Vets.  And, if you ask me, it's a shame that we even need to have such a donation. The country which they served should be better prepared to take care of our Veterans. But after what these fellow Americans have done to help provide me with a safe, strong country in which to live, I'm happy to help.

And proud to wear my Poppy.

Thank you, Veterans.

Calling all Veterans

Hey! Do you know anyone who has served our military? Please have them swing by and drop us a line, or tell us about them yourselves! We'd love to have a story or two (or more!) to celebrate Veteran's Day. Photos welcome, too.

Thank you for your service!

Remember, it doesn't have to be a long story, just a snapshot. Some good questions to ask when getting ready to write a memory are:

When did this happen?

Where did it take place?

How old were we?

Why did this memory stick with me? (was it funny, moving, unbelievable, etc.)

Don't worry about grammar or punctuation. That's what editors are for :) 

We'd love to hear from you!