I was reading an email a very good friend of mine sent me today. It was about the up coming election and the immense affect it had on our county's future. The next President of the United States will most likely be choosing the Supreme Court Justices do to retirements, or death, as there are FIVE vacancies that will likely come up over the next 4-8 years! That would affect the Highest Court in the United States to be skewed in the ideology of this next Presidential election. That is pretty scary when considering we are a conservative family and naturally associate primarily with like minded people. That got me thinking about my childhood (again...don't we all at times?) and how I grew up with this outlook on values, standards, goals, etc.
In our family when I was young, we lived in Minneapolis/St. Paul area. I grew up with both sets of Grandparents and were very close to both of them. My first memories were when Mom, Dad, Suzanne (my older sister of 2 yrs.) and I lived in a 28', canvas roofed trailer in Dad's folks back yard. No bathroom in the trailer, so we went into the house for that. I remember going to Hiawatha Grade School until the end of third grade (I think) at which time we moved out to the northern suburbs of St. Paul. That was a good time to be little and growing up. Our community was a new housing development called Circle Pines. We were bused into the next town a couple miles away, called Lexington, where the grade school was. If I missed the bus (which I did a couple times), I ran to school through "the woods" (scary times for a little kid, but exciting too!) and got to school on time anyway. Don't remember Mom ever finding out about it, but it wouldn't surprise me if she did and not talk about it. After World War II, Dad came home and went to Dunwoody Trade School and learned the printing trade. With the help of his Dad, they started a small print shop in South Minneapolis where he worked until he passed away at the age of 65yr. We will continue this part after I fill in the rest of the family. My sister Suzanne and I always looked forward to spending time with our Grandparents for a weekend here, and a weekend there, during the summer. So I became very close with both Grandma and Grandpa Saffell and Grandma and Grandpa Rockart. We took turns with our visits and each time was a special time. I remember Grandma Saffell's silver dollar pancakes. Mouth watering and a true culinary treat! Too bad the recipe was lost. They taught me a lot about respect, having a sense of humor, how to treat others, and the value of family. Not necessarily by teaching, but by observation and listening how they spoke to others, treated others. A lot can be taught without "teaching", it you can understand. We are teaching those around us all the time by how we ACT. That's the "what" and "how" I learned from my grandparents as well as my Mom and Dad. I cannot remember a time when my Dad raised his voice to me...not that I never deserved it, but how I learned was from his face. Disappointment. THAT is how I got quickly straightened out. Never, never, never get that "disappointed" look. That was enough to get me back in line, for sure. So I was blessed to have my grandparents to go to, usually during the summer when my sister and I would make the Grandma and Grandpa stay overs. Everything was great in my life
until I was around 10 when we lost my Grandma Saffell in a car accident. That was in 1956. The next to go was Grandpa Saffell in the early '60's. He had retired early at 63 so he could fulfill his dreams, but was cut short with a heart attack. While they were alive, they were a big part of my life as we were FAMILY. They helped shape my thoughts and reasoning capabilities, as well as my values. My Mom’s parents were both with us until I was in Viet Nam when Grandpa died (65years old). BUT, while he was still alive I spent lots of time at his house where he taught me things like woodworking. He helped me build a old West fort by cutting 1x2’s into smaller pieces and making the forts sides with eye hooks on each end so I could disassemble it and store it flat. Pretty nifty since it was a school project. It had a working swinging gate, ladders to get to the walkways to defend against indian attacks and stuff for the inside. He taught me a lot about life too. I remember his telling me once "When you apply for a job and they ask if you can do 'such and such', tell them YES, then learn it." He was an immigrant who came over from Europe and became a part of the American Dream. His brother was one of the architects the designed the Minnesota State Capital. Grandpa went into the Engineering profession and as I understand it, was a large part of designing the heating systems for the Minneapolis School District. Grandpa was a LARGE influence on my understanding about responsibility and education. Grandma Rockart was such a blessing also. I remember once they had me overnight and took me to a restaurant in St. Paul that had an "all you can eat" Chicken dinner special. Bless their hearts. She told me that They wanted to see how much fried chicken I could eat. We were there for quite a while. For a small, skinny kid, I ate like there was no tomorrow!
In our house, we were fed well, but there were not a lot of leftovers. If there were any my Dad had first "dibs" then Mom, then Suzanne, then to me. After my brothers were born the progression went do to them, in order. We were never starving, but we treasured the rare treat moments we had. Those were teaching times as well, that stuck with us. We valued our family members and after Grandpa Rockart passed, and Grandma got to the age and infirmity that she couldn't live in her home, my folks helped her transition to their house, where she could be taken care of and watched over. Grandma ended up dying at 86 years old. She got to see our children and they loved it when she would come over and stay with us when Mom and Dad would take a weekend break and head up north for their “get-away”. ha ha My kids loved having her stay over, as well as seeing her at other family picnics, etc.
All of this is to say, us kids learned values of living. We understood that we were blessed to be living in the United States of America because we learned that in History class in school. We learned to respect our elders because our family taught us that, and we understood. We understood that when one member of our family was in crisis, we came together and helped however we could. We understood there was strength in having a family.
I think America, on a large part, has forgotten our VALUES. They have lost their RESPECT of both others AND themselves. America has lost GOD, in a massive way. Why? Because we, as Americans have FAILED to teach our children the things most important to ourselves, our communities, and our COUNTRY. We have failed to accept our responsibilities to our children to teach them that life is not about ME, it is about US. Us as that neighborhood, community, county, state, and NATION. Without the basic knowledge of VALUES, TRUTH, RESPECT, FAMILY and most importantly GOD, we have FAILED. And we will not be able to regain what we have lost without the help of GOD. It is through God, it is Because of God, that this country exists. It is because of the FACT that we are God's creation and that because of our founding Father's FAITH, is why we are what we used to be. That's sad isn't it? "what we used to be" It is not too late. We still have a chance. All we have to do is forget about our selfishness. Forget about your HATE of others. Step back and take a hard look at your life. How many folks have you helped? Have you considered doing someone a favor without thinking of a reward? Have you smiled at anyone lately....just because. There is so much we can do still that needs to be done to get our country back on track. I think it hinges on FAMILY. I know I am proud of my family. I am proud that I knew and experienced my grandparents and value their efforts to guide me to the person I am today. Did I ever fail? Yes, but with what they gave me, I was able to move forward and try again. In my wildest dreams, I never imagined the wonderful life I have today. The many wonderful experiences I have had. The places I have seen. The occupations that I learned...and was actually good at! What a wonderful journey. If wishes were fishes we would all have enough to eat. That saying goes a long way in the way you live. In the choices you make. I the upcoming election, your vote matters to the life or death of our great country. Did you know that Communism does NOT work? That Socialism is a FAILURE! Do you want to have the opportunity to do the things you have been dreaming about? Most likely, that won't happen unless we can maintain our FREEDOMs. That is the FREEDOM of thought, FREEDOM of speech, FREEDOM of choosing. FREEDOM of earning as much money as you want instead of having to give 70-90% to a government that will "tell you what to do, what you can eat, what you can say, where you can live, where you can . . . . and the list of lack of freedoms goes on and on. Learn what VALUES are. Learn what RESPECT truly is. Learn what COMPASSION is. Most importantly, get to know who GOD is. Ask, and you shall be given that very important information.
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