Soon I will have a new book published! The title is NORTH MT. TABOR ROAD and it will be published by Wiley Book Writers, Inc. The story is about our move to Ellettsville, Indiana in 2008 from Carver, Massachusetts. We lived “out in the country”. That was a new experience for us. We owned 5 acres. Although we did not have any animals except cats, we did have non-domesticated animals that roamed our property. The drive into town was interesting as well. The book will be available mid-April on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc. Hope you enjoy it.

In the early 1990’s when I was the clinical instructor for an occupational therapy student, she called the clinic to say she was ill and would not be coming to work for a couple of days. As she ended the phone call she said, “I have to go take my drugs.”

I knew she had a three year old at home. “Who is in the room with you?” I asked.

“My daughter,” she responded. “Why do you ask?”

“Because you just told her that you are taking ‘drugs’. We need to use the word ‘medicine’ when we are taking pills to get better, not the word ‘drugs’. Children don’t know the difference between illicit drugs and medicines. You don’t want her to think her mother is on ‘drugs’.”

“Gosh, no I wouldn’t want that,” the student and mother said. Then loudly she said, “I need to go take my MEDICINE.”

This conversation was before the opioid crises was recognized in this country and medicines for pain relief addicted thousands of people. I still contend that pharmaceutical companies, doctors and others in the medical professions need to distinguish between medications and illicit drugs for the general public.

I do not like to see the words “medicine” or “medications” lost, or dropped from our vocabularies. There are too many children within our voices who will not learn the difference if we lose those words. We seem to have developed a blind spot regarding this issue and I want to bring the use of the word “medicine” back into our conversations and into the advertising we hear in the media.

So the next time you are given medicine for an illness, please call it “medicine” and not refer to those pills as “drugs” no matter what your doctor says.

Bless you all.

Now that the heat of summer is upon us, I see lots of folks out grilling tasty things. I thought you all might enjoy a great baked bean recipe.

I first used this recipe in July of 1973, or there abouts. It was published in FOOD ARTS, a pamphlet published in Tacoma, Washington. The pamphlet was written by Betty G. Nelson, a home Economist, and Helen E. Brady, her associate. I have been using this recipe ever since to much praise.

Ball Park Bake

1/2 cup molasses (I like to use the dark molasses)

2 Tablespoons prepared mustard

1 teaspoon instant coffee

2 Tablespoons Cider Vinegar

2 1lb. 12 oz. cans of plain bakes beans (I usually use the Bushe’s Best Original)

1 3 1/2 oz. can French Fried Onion Rings

Mix molasses, mustard, vinegar and instant coffee together. Pour beans into a 9 X 13 inch pan. Stir in the molasses, mustard, vinegar and instant coffee mixture. Crush onion rings and sprinkle on the surface. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35 minutes. We let the beans sit after baking for about 5 minutes which seems to set them up a little.

You can also add 1 pound of wieners if you want. If you do that, save some of the molasses mixture. After cutting the wieners lengthwise, lay them on top of the beans and brush the remaining molasses mixture on the wieners. Do this before putting on the onion rings. The baking time is the same as is the oven temperature.

Enjoy!

Forty years ago today, May 18, 1980, I was sitting in the congregation of Trinity Episcopal Church in Tacoma, WA at 8:30 a.m. We heard a blast like a jet breaking the sound barrier. The earth shook, but the priest had just started consecrating the elements (bread and wine) for the communion service. He did not stop the ceremony. Only after the service was completed and we entered the fellowship hall did we learn that Mt. St. Helens had erupted. It was the most violent and deadly eruption that had ever occurred in the U. S.

Within a short time, we left the church and all headed to our homes. The ash obliterated the sun, but we were fortunate in Tacoma when the wind shifted and sent most of the ash plumb south and east. The evening news showed film of the ash plumb and areas east of the mountain that were piled high with ash covering everything. In some areas it was not just inches but a couple of feet thick.

Not only will I never forget experiencing the eruption of Mt. St. Helens on May 18, 1980. It was also my mother’s birthday. She would have been 70 years old on that day, but she died in 1974. God bless you, Mom, and those who died in that massive explosion.

At this time it seems that most of my writing time is used to write condolence cards and letters to people I mostly don’t know.

When I lived in Carver, Massachusetts from 2005 to 2008, I attended what was then known as Plymouth United Methodist Church. While there I became a member of the prayer team and received prayer requests via email from the coordinator of the prayer chain at the church. When we moved to Indiana in 2008, I continued to receive prayer requests from the church in Plymouth.

Now with all this pandemic going on I not only receive prayer requests for persons who belong to the church, but also for relatives, friends and general requests for persons working in health care or essential services. The coordinator of the prayer chain, when asked, will also send addresses of people who want cards sent to them or family members. Writing cards has become my writing time and I am glad to be able to do it.

I hope all I know are staying well both physically, mentally, and spiritually at this time. God bless you all. Fondly, Margret

So here’s another TP story. This one I wrote and it was published in Voices From the Plains, 2nd Edition, 2018 pp. 214-216.

Walking down the carpeted hall toward the dining room at Mountain Shadows Nursing Home in Las Cruses, NM, I saw a call light come on above the door to Room 205. I knew the resident who lived there, but she was not my client for occupational therapy. All the nursing assistants were busy getting residents to the dining room for lunch, so I thought I would stop to see what Mrs. McKinley (not her real name) wanted. Knocking on the door before I entered the room and hearing no response, I figured she was in the bathroom, so I knocked a bit louder and entered the room.

The television was on to the news station she frequently watched. “Mrs. McKinley?” I heard a “yes,” coming from the bathroom. Walking over to that door, I knocked again.

“Well, come in for heaven’s sake. I’ve been sitting here for hours,” Mrs. McKinley said. Her newly permed white hair glowed in the light coming from the bare bulb above the sink. She was sitting on the commode with one hand on the grab bar attached to the wall next to the toilet.

“Do you need help getting up?” I asked. She had been doing fine with transfers from the commode to her wheelchair when I had discharged her from occupational therapy a few weeks ago. “What seems to be the problem?”

“Oh, that nurse assistant told me she’d be right back, but that was ages ago. What I need is a new roll of toilet paper. She was going to go get me some, but she hasn’t been back. I just need to wipe and get of this dumb thing.”

“I can get some toilet paper for you and I promise to be right back.”

I turned and went to the closet where there was supposed to be toilet paper. There was none. I hurried to the store room at the back of the building and got four rolls of tissue to stock Mrs. McKinley’s closet and get a new roll to her in the bathroom. When I returned to her room, she was still in a sour mood. She took the toilet tissue, rolled some paper off into her hand, then gave the roll back to me. She cleaned herself before standing to pull up her underpants with one hand. Her other hand back on the grab bar. After adjusting her skirt, she turned to sit in her wheelchair.

“I just need to wash my hands, then I’ll be ready to go to lunch.” I moved out of the way so she could reach the sink. After she washed her hands, I handed her a towel to dry them. I stepped to the commode and began putting the toilet paper onto the holder.

“Oh, no, not that way,” Mrs. McKinley said. “Don’t you know I’m a front roller? Turn the roll around so that the paper comes off from the front of the roll.” I did as I was told. “You know,” she added, There are front rollers and back rollers in this world and it’s important for you to know the difference.”

I walked beside Mrs. McKinley as she pushed herself to the dining room. “It is very important for you to pay attention to which way the toilet tissue comes off the roll. When you are living in a place like this, it can make a big difference in a person’s day as to which way the toilet tissue comes off the roll.” She smiled at me, then rolled herself over to her table and began chatting with some friends.

The thought had never occurred to me that such a thing as to which way the toilet tissue came off the holder could be so important. As I took notice, however, clients did have a preference for which way the toilet paper came off the roll. From then on, I suggested to housekeeping staff to be on the lookout for how they put the rolls of toilet paper on in residents’ rooms. Sometimes during an occupational therapy evaluation, I would ask a new resident which way they preferred their toilet paper to come off the roll, front or back. Some had a distinct preference, others did not seem to care, or had never thought about it themselves.

At our next Medicare survey there was a comment by the survey team, that at this facility residents remarked that their toilet paper was put on the holder the way they preferred. The residents found that very beneficial to their sense of well-being.

So, the next time you put a new roll of toilet paper on the holder, watch which way you prefer. You might be a front roller and put the tissue on in a back roller fashion, not knowing you are affecting how you will feel throughout the day until you change the roll to the way your prefer. It’s good to know if you are a front roller or a back roller for your own mental health.

            There has been a lot of concern regarding the lack of toilet paper in stores as people are loading up.  When has there ever, in the past anyway, where children are home from school, restaurants are closed except for pick up meals, and all the activities we normally do have been cancelled? We are used to having our children and ourselves, if we work someplace other than home, able to use the bathrooms at their school, the ball park or restaurants. We use the bathroom at work and do not think too much about using toilet paper in all those places.

            Now, we have to be prepared at home for all of us to use our own bathrooms and that takes a lot of toilet tissue! Also we don’t know if the stores will stay open for much longer, so, of course we need to stock up, especially if we have several children at home all the time.

            When my son was little we had “The Rule of Three” at our house.  I might suggest that could be used in homes today.  The Rule of Three is this, when you go to the bathroom you only  need three squares of the toilet paper to wipe adequately. He was so used to counting out three squares that when he had friends visit, he imposed that rule on them as well.  He would tell them that they could only use three squares of toilet tissue. He either told them the rule before they entered the bathroom, or would yell it through the door after they were in the bathroom.

            There were certain exceptions to the rule, such as if you had diarrhea and had to wipe often. I can understand that another exception might be for teenage daughters, but again they could also be able to stick to the “Rule of Three” fairly well most of the time.

            Us older folks use the bathroom more frequently, but the Rule of Three can still apply. Toilet paper is something that we all need, so imposing the Rule can help us conserve so that there will be enough toilet tissue to go around until things get back to “normal”. Once we’re using the bathrooms in schools, restaurants and other venues away from home once again the Rule of Three can become a thing of the past, just like this coronavirus that has us all at home trying to stay safe and healthy. Don’t forget to wash your hands frequently, too!