Traveling to the "Big House"

Getting up at four in the morning, I got ready to fly to Casa Grande, Arizona where I would meet my daughter and son-in-law at the Running of the Gourd festival. She would be displaying her artistic gourds
along with hundreds of other creative gourd people. I caught the shuttle in Arvada that got me to the airport in plenty of time, but how was I to know that the Gate had been changed and by the time I reached the correct gate I had missed my flight. I was not alone because eight other persons also missed their flight!
The next flight would be at 12:30 p.m.which meant I had to wait six hours before I could fly to Casa Grande.

Not only did I miss the flight, but I also missed getting picked up by my daughter as they drove past the airport. Thank goodness for cell phones because I was able to find a shuttle that traveled between Phoenix and Casa Grande, a forty-five mile distance, and was able to arrive in Casa Grande in style in a new Lincoln Town Car which cost me $65.00!

Seeing my family was well-worth all my travails! Especially when we dined together on quesadillas and tomato soup and caught up on what was happening in our lives. The next day would be my introduction to the gourd show.

The morning was cool though it would warm up and before long it would be 87 degrees. Now I understand why people retire in Arizona. Sitting under the sun is not hot and I was told because the air is so dry it does not warm up like in other states. The gigantic lot at the Wuertz Farm had many recreational vehicles. It looked like a RV sales lot! Many persons are snowbirds who travel in their RV's and trailer to live in Arizona to escape the cold winter months in their home states. We parked and entered the huge barn where I saw, I was told, a hundred booths. Each booth had different decorated gourds with few duplicates. Imaginations run wild at a gourd show!

I would spend three days at the gourd festival and my daughter said, "I hope you don't get bored." There was much to see in each booth plus entertainment by roving musicians, a spiritual healing Native American with soothing sounds and speech, and a competitive barn with gourds entered to win ribbons. If one tired of the entertainment there were food trucks with turkey legs, hamburgers, fry bread, onion rings, huge ice cream cones, Mexican food, kettle pop corn, pork ribs, buffalo and elk burgers, jerky, pizza, corn dogs and sausage sandwiches.

The weather was perfect and I understand why people retire in Arizona. The sky is a clear blue and the slight gently breeze keeps the air cool. A man on a bicycle moves slowly around the grounds and what makes him interesting is that in front of the bike is a gourd figure with a cape and cap running in front of the bicycle. The skinny legged figure runs as fast as the bike is pedaled!

A woman has two miniature horses with gourd figures on their backs. She walks the horses around the grounds and stops so that people can take pictures of the cute horses with their gourd riders.

I enjoyed listening to the Just 4 Mama Bluegrass group. A multi-talented father, mother and two daughters on banjo, guitar, base,  violin, washboard, and train whistle.  When they played there were many toes tapping. A few people got up to clog but mostly it was fun watching the band perform.

The mariachi group, Los Primos, from Albuquerque, New Mexico also wandered all over the farm playing hits. They not only played Mexican music but could rip out songs that made me feel like dancing. Jitterbug, two-step and waltz' were played along with many favorite Mexican music. A talented group who joked and kidded with many of the vendors and gourd buyers.

When I tired, I found a shady spot and worked crossword puzzles while listening to the different styles of music. A silver haired man sang beautiful country and western songs in his clear, soft voice. Later he mentioned that he is a tour bus driver and is called the singing bus driver. He also is a gourd artist specializing in Thunder Gourds. (Another blog will cover the thunder gourds.)

Oh, what fun spending three days of learning, seeing, and eating at the gourd show at the Wuertz Gourd Farm.

 Running of the Gourds, February 12-14, 2016 in Casa Grande, Arizona

Ash Wednesday Thoughts

The Mountain Climber

Without my say

I was born into

a family of people

who climb mountains.

Each generation struggled

up the mountain and some

made it and some did not.

Now it is my turn.

I begin slowly

placing baby steps

along the well-traveled path.

Then, I got older

and it became harder

to place my feet

where they should go.

Sometimes, as I neared

the top and felt as if

I might make it

to the crest,

I would decide to take a rest.

I lingered too long in a life

of sin and found myself slipping

and tumbling down the

mountain so high.

The fall landed me

near the bottom of the hill,

and I wondered if I should give up.

I had been taught to not stop

trying to reach my goal.

The climb now seemed harder.

There were many

temptations along the way

and many times I stopped to play.

That high peak seemed unobtainable

Yet, if I could climb to the top

I knew it would be beautiful,

a sight to behold,

a place of peace.

There would be no more struggles

No more falling into an abyss.

For I would have

gained what I yearned for

no longer would my life be a chore.

My life's goal is to reach the top

without making my life a big flop.

I will continue trying

and climbing until I

reach that paradise

that was promised to me

so long ago.

E. Moscoso

Ash Wednesday

February 10, 2015

Is The Pope In Town?

The only time I have seen crowds in downtown Denver to equal what I saw yesterday was when Pope John Paul II visited our city. As cameras spanned the crowds it reminded me of sea shells on a beach. The announcer mentioned that he thought there were over one million persons in downtown Denver. But why were they there? And why was there so much orange? Even though it was a school day, I could see many school age children in the crowd. Yes, you probably have guessed it already. It was the Victory Parade of the Denver Broncos winning the 50th Super Bowl. Everyone was a fan and they were ready to cheer the players, coaches and owners of the team.

I am glad I did not drive downtown to see for myself how the celebration would turn out, but I did watch everything on television. The fire trucks filled with different members of the team moved along 17th street and the players encouraged the fans to cheer. Everyone appeared to be happy and carefree. I recognized two of the players but relied on the announcers to tell me the names of  the rest of the team.

A white horse with a woman came ahead of the fire trucks and my guess is that the white horse represented a bronco! The first fire engine had Von Miller (MVP), Annabel Bowlen, (Team Owner), DeMarcus Ware and Payton Manning.

Even though I know I missed the excitement of being in the crowd of cheering people, I snapped pictures on the screen. Sometimes, something is better than nothing!

Winning the Super Bowl in Denver will be forever in every one's mind, well, anyway, until next season but yesterday is a day to be remembered forever. As one boy said, "This is awesome! It's the best thing that has ever happened in my life!"

Real Men Wear Tights

On Monday evening I attended the BalletBoyz at Lakewood Cultural Center. When a friend asked me to go I thought I was going to a stage play. When I was told it was ballet the first thing that came to mind were two ballets I have seen; Black Swan and the Nut Cracker. It turned out to be a modern dance type of performance by ten, young, lithe, men who rolled, leaped, stretched in a gymnastics manner. Some of their positions looked impossible and I knew I would have had cramps in my legs if I tried it! My lack of expertise in this kind of dancing left me wondering what the dance was supposed to represent. The music seemed odd with lots of drum and shrill sounds. The dancers were in bare feet and their costumes were jeans, plaid shirts and t-shirts.

As the young men twisted their bodies into almost unimaginable forms I wondered if I had known what the Balletboyz was all about, would I have been sitting in the audience? Four persons sitting next to us left at intermission and did not return. In the second performance, the young men wore mid-calf tights and muscle  shirts. The music sounded like music and the dancing was more energetic. I liked when two men danced in center stage under the light while two other dancers mimicked their moves in the dimly lit area of the stage. It was as if the dancing was taking place in front of a mirror. I found it remarkable that all movements were synchronized.

What I can say about the performance, is that it is not my kind of entertainment. I enjoyed seeing my friends and having dinner before the show but the modern dance type of dancing is at the bottom of my list of things I want to watch!

Super Bowl vs. Downton Abbey

Watching Downton Abbey has become like a religion for me. I never miss the show when it comes on every Sunday evening. On February 7, 2016, the Super Bowl was being advertised repeatedly on television. Every where I went I saw orange. Stores, Facebook, or church, orange and blue seemed to dominate.

I am not a football fan and when the Broncos are playing I find other things to do. I will go shopping, to a movie, a drive,  read or watch television. This year, I had already decided I would not watch the over-popularized game and was flipping through the channels for a good movie. When I hit Channel 4 I
watched the hoopla of past games and somehow, I never changed the channel.  I got caught up in what was going on, what the half-time show would be and curious if we could beat the Panthers.The Broncos had disappointed me in the past and I wondered if the Super Bowl game would be another disappointment.

As I watched, the game became so exciting that I never gave Downton Abbey a second thought. It wouldn't be on until later and I figured I would switch the channel to the show. It was not to happen.  I found myself cheering, praying and enjoying the game. Of course, I do not understand  all that is going on but it always made me feel better when we intercepted a ball or we had the ball. What did happen is that I forgot all about Downton Abbey and it wasn't until I was watching the Late Show with Stephen Colbert and his guest, Will Ferrel,said he had not watched the Super Bowl because he was watching Downton Abbey that I knew I had missed my favorite show.

I now know why people get  caught up in loving the Broncos. Peyton Manning appears to be a sweet, kind, humble man. I like seeing his children celebrating right along with him. I like how he does not take any credit but praises the whole team. I understand the devotion to the team and I may have been fickle in not watching Downton Abbey but I enjoyed every moment of the game, the half-time entertainment, the commercials and the player's excitement. I felt proud that our team, the Denver Broncos, had won the championship!

This morning I went Sports Authority in Arvada and received a shock when I saw the lines and lines of people buying Bronco paraphernalia. T-shirts, caps, drinking glasses, mugs and sweat shirts were for sale. As for Downton Abbey, I know there will be a replay of the episodes I missed. For now, the Broncos have a brand new fan!

Lyrics by Queen

(Partial Lyrics)

"I've paid my dues

time after time.

I've done my sentence

but committed no crime.

And bad mistakes

I've  made a few.

I've had my share of sand 

kicked in my face

but I've come through,

my friends, 

and will keep on fighting 'til the end. 

We are the champions.

We are the champions.

No time for losers

'cause we are the champions."

What Next?

On the evening news it was mentioned that the Zika virus could be harmful to persons, especially pregnant women and their fetuses. The news made me think of the diseases that have been around in my life time.
Many of the diseases are carried by mosquitoes while others are viral or sexually transmitted diseases.
Researching on the Internet I found out that Malaria, which is a mosquito borne illness, has been around for ever. I remember two cousins of mine who were stationed in the Philippines during World War II and they contracted Malaria. I remember them saying that it was horrible and they never got completely over it.

The Spanish Flu which killed many persons  in 1918-1919 took my grandmother when my mother was three years old. From what I have heard from cousins, many relatives died during this time in New Mexico and all over the world!

Growing up I heard about Polio, a viral infection, that made my Mother keep us from going to the swimming pool. Rumors were that people could get polio from the water. Diseases I had growing up were measles,  scarlet fever, chicken pox and mumps. When I had scarlet fever our house was quarantined and my father and brother could not live in the house. My Mother and I were isolated until the quarantine was lifted. What I remember was that the room I was in was kept dark because light bothered my eyes. Tuberculosis, diphtheria, whooping cough, scurvy, and small pox were other illnesses I heard about as I was growing up. I had a friend who I was told had t.b., and we were warned not to eat at her home; a cousin who had whooping cough and I read about sailors having scurvy for lack of vitamin C.

Later, I became aware of Herpes (1940), Aids (1959), Ebola (1976), and the West Nile Virus carried by  mosquitoes.  Even though some of the diseases were already around while I was growing up, I did not know about them until I was an adult. Today I am hearing about Zika, carried by mosquitoes and effecting pregnant women and the babies are born with a smaller than normal head. It seems that mosquitoes are the cause of many of the diseases and I do not want to be out in the evening during the summer without covering myself from head to toe! I wonder if there is a way to eradicate the mosquitoes?

All the diseases made me think about the evils that befell the Egyptians when they would not allow the Hebrews to leave to go to the promised land. Blood in the water (Clint, Michigan and their drinking water.) Frogs and Locusts (mosquitoes); hail, (tornadoes, snowstorms.); livestock died, (salmonella); boils and blisters (herpes and aids); first born killed (Zika) and so on. I know it's not connected but it does make me wonder. Where do these diseases hide and then suddenly make an appearance? Why have we never heard of Zika?   I guess it will be a puzzle and I may never know, but I do wonder, what next?

"Death is the cure for all diseases."

Thomas Browne

A Game of Quiddler

Today I stopped by an Italian friend's home and was pleasantly surprised when she placed a plate of Quiche, slices of avocado, an English muffin with artichoke pieces on top, and a bowl of  red chile in front of me. After eating the tasty food I was introduced to a card game called Quiddler. I am not a card player and wondered if I would even enjoy playing Quiddler. It is sort of like Scrabble where one finds words in the cards. To my surprise, I liked the game.

A lot of laughter and snacking on homemade pizzelles and jam filled cookies. There were four of us as we learned to play the game of Quiddler and there was lots of interesting conversations. The conversation turned to knitting and crocheting and my friend brought out some of the work she has been working on. When she explained that when she was twelve years old, while living in Italy, she had crochet a bedspread, I wanted to see it.

When I saw the beautiful bedspread I was astonished. Perfectly made and it amazed me that she had been a young girl when she worked on it. She said,
"When it was cold we would sit around a stove and work on crocheting. The weather was cold but I was warm while I worked."

She showed us some of her handiwork of orange and blue scarves in honor of the Broncos.  In a potted plant there were two small orange hats that she had crochet. My thought was that here was one talented lady!

My thanks to the Italian lady for a lovely afternoon. She is a wonderful cook and a professional-like crocheter!

"I value crochet with good reason:

It is a very simple technique that is capable of 

producing very sophisticated results."

Judith L. Swartz