Hurricanes and Typhoons

Watching the television reports of hurricane Irene brought back memories, especially after I communicated with friend of mine who took his daughter back to New York for the start of the fall semester. We start classes on Monday and yesterday I asked him what his status was (text message) and he responded he was trapped until Tuesday afternoon. I've been through two typhoons (that's the Pacific Ocean version of a hurricane and I like the name better) in my life.

Note that there were no
windows, just louvers.

I'll start with the second, since it was less dramatic. I was teaching strategic planning to members of the Hong Kong Olympic Committee when my host told me that class would be over in 30 minutes. My response was, "We still have 2 hours." And he said, "Not now, we have a stage 4 hurricane coming and all public transportation stops in 2 hours." Needless to say, I got done in my allotted 30 minutes and let everyone go. That evening all of the big stores were closed and all of the mom and pop stores were open, including the restaurants. The storm missed us and hit Macau, so the next morning we were back in class.

Some 40 years prior to that I experienced my first typhoon as a youngster living on Guam, in the Marianas archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. It was in 1956 or 1957 - I really don't remember. We lived on Anderson Air Force Base and had a couple stay with us during the storm. They lived in quarters that weren't deemed safe. Our housing was on high ground at the north end of the island and we had no windows - just louvers and screens. Hence, you can imagine that keeping water out was a challenge. Fortunately we had all rattan furniture and carpets - long before it was fashionable.

Guam is a beautiful island in the Pacific. It recovers
quickly from disasters. This is what I remember most -
the beauty of the island.

We filled up the bathtub with water, for drinking purposes and then mopped the floors all night. Finally about 2 am everyone went to bed and got up in the morning and mopped all the water out of the house. There was a couple of inches of water in places, but the storm had passed. Not far from our home was a great outdoor theater that we often went to. It had completely collapsed. I don't have a photo of that, but the photo below is of the gymnasium, or what was left of it.

The gym was really a big quonset hut that couldn't survive
the heavy winds. It gives an idea of the force of the winds.

For us kids it was a real adventure. We had know idea how ferocious a typhoon could be and what damage could be caused. I think of Dennis and Juanita and their family as they ride out hurricane Irene and know they will be okay.

The Joy of Play

JoAnn and I love watching our grandchildren play - together and alone. Of course their play is sometimes loud and other times quiet and it is usually the latter that parents worry about. When you have 15 children together ranging in age from 16 to 2 years of age there is a lot of diversity in what is considered play. For the teens it is texting, texting, and yes, more texting interspersed along with a few video games. For the younger children it verges on a lot more spontaneity and physical play. Joshua had a brand new play structure in the backyard that immediately captured everyone's attention who was under the age of 12. I would go out on the upstairs patio and see the youngest ones playing on the structure, running around the house exterior, and having a wonderful time. No one was in charge, but everyone was together. The photo shows six grandchildren from 3 families having a great time - each one of them individually engaged in active play and using their imagination.

The above photo, while only showing Joshua, shows how engaged he (along with his cousins) were with his Thomas the Train set. The train set usually had 3 to 5 children gathered around it, all engaged in a different form of plan. It was amazing how they were all individually engaged and yet didn't seem to get frustrated with the others. There wasn't a lot of space for 3 to 5 children, but they made the most of it each time. They were all pretty much at the age where playing together is still a novel idea.

Playing with Grandma is also very important. All of the kids enjoy playing, and learning from, Grandma. Joshua and Chas loved having Grandma working with them on a puzzle and teaching them to work together. I'm not so sure the "working together" idea was fully grasped. Grandma also found time to eat a little dinner out at the farm with Lexi and Meagan. They are both at an age where food is more important than it used to be, but fun is even more important. Finally, there is the first grandchild with a "driving permit." I personally find that scary, but while we were in downtown Des Moines and found an Italian festival she found the car of her dreams. Of course Grandma was there to share it with her.

It's all about play and fun. It's about practicing for life. It's about learning to work with others, but in the end, it's about family and joy and love. I could have talked about adult play too, but this one is for the kids.

Family Reunion: SquirtGunslingers (Wordless Wednesday)

Where has the time gone?

It seems like just yesterday, or maybe the day before, that I was courting my beautiful bride in Modesto, California. But yet, it's been 44 years today. It was 107 degrees the day we were married and thank goodness we didn't take that as an omen. It would have been the wrong one. Our adventures over the last 44 years have wonderful. Who would have thought that all these years later we would have 7 children, almost 16 grandchildren, and lived in so many different and exciting places.

Neither one of us had a clue about where our life would take us, but the trip has been wonderful. I count my blessings when I look at my bride - and yes, she is still my bride - even if we both have a little time on our side.

Happy Anniversary Lover! It has been fun and I'm looking forward to the next 44 years. Maybe we can do it together on our own 4-wheeler!

Wordless Wednesday

Family Reunion: Lunch in Ames

I have taken a long summer vacation as is obvious by the lack of postings, but it has been time well spent. JoAnn and I spent most of July traveling to Idaho, Utah, and Iowa. The latter was for our family reunion.

A long set of tables and no talking
from end to end - at least quietly.

Iowa has a particular hold on the McLean family. We go back several generations in Iowa, on both sides of my family and as a family, we lived in Ames and Cedar Rapids for a total of 13 years.

As a child I have such fond memories of summers at my grandparents' homes in Des Moines. During this trip I showed at least one daughter and granddaughter where my dad's parents lived and where my mom's parents final home was. Then we drove through the state fair grounds, which was busy getting ready, and talked about experiences I had there.

For all of us going to Ames and Hickory Park restaurant was wonderful. JoAnn and I remember the original Hickory Park, located in an old converted gas station where you would stand outside in the cold (or heat) waiting for a table. You ate dinner or ice cream (there was too much food to eat both), but never both. We first went to Hickory Park in 1977 and as our children grew we took them. Usually we didn't have enough money to take the whole family all at once, so it was special occasions when we took a child. When Donna turned 12 we went with our Bishop (I was the first counselor) and his son and had ice cream. It was great and I still fondly recall that experience.

It was unanimous among our family, long before we got to Des Moines, that we would all go north to Ames. Tim called ahead and made reservations. When we all arrived we asked for a table for 29! In 1977, there were only 6 of us, and 2 were tikes and only 1 was in school, we never imagined we would have dinner for 29 ANYWHERE! But here we are 34 years later and our family has blossomed. And yes, we missed David and Krissie, but the USMC calls and they respond.

Most of the grandchildren sitting in front of a big screen
television taking in cartoons while the patiently (?) waited
for our table

As I looked down the loooooong table at all 29 family members comprising 7 of our 8 families I realized just how wonderful our family has become. Everyone was busy talking, listening, eating, corralling children, and having an awfully good time. Plus, following lunch, many planned to run by the old homestead (it was a townhouse) for additional memories. It is these types of activities that help our family to build long-term relationships. It is going to be too soon before our grandchildren start leaving the nest and building their own families. I wonder how big our table will be next time we go to Hickory Park?

The view from the other end of the table. Mike and Allison
on the right and Ellen on the left.

I hope everyone is getting ready for Denver in 2013.

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday on Thursday - Lunch for 29!