What Would Jimmy Do?

It’s almost New Year’s Resolutions time again and every year at this time, I take the time to review how I did with the ones I made last year. You may remember, or you can check back to last year’s entry, that I was more realistic with my resolutions than in the past…. I only made a few that I really thought I could keep. So let’s see how I did.

• make better bad decisions in 2018
Aced this one, I believe most of my bad decisions were much better than in the past.

• I will assume full responsibility for my actions, except the ones that are someone else’s fault
Another home run. I stepped up and took responsibility for both my actions that weren’t someone else’s fault.

• I will drive by the Shepherd Fitness Center at least once a week
I have to admit I didn’t do quite as well on this one — I did drive by the fitness center, but I didn’t reach my every week goal. I did, however, think about driving past almost every week so I give myself credit for that.

So overall, I think I did pretty good — actually, better than most years. Now on to 2019 and another chance to be a better me….
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Well, here it is time for my (sometimes) annual Christmas Blog. It’s been particularly busy around our house this year, lots of it not attributable to Christmas. Nonetheless, Christmas is almost here. It’ll be fun this year because we now have four grandchildren under eight years of age.

I know in years past that I’ve talked about reindeer — especially Santa’s reindeer because they seem to have special powers, like being able to fly.
I never thought much about them lately until the other day I read an article explaining that all of Santa’s reindeer are girls — not boys. I’m not sure why, but I always assumed they were boys…. but here’s the scoop. Santa’s reindeer must all be female because male reindeer shed their antlers during the winter, while female reindeers retain theirs. Santa’s reindeer are always shown with antlers. Also — male reindeer lose nourishment and vitality during the winter months, so only the females are strong and healthy enough to pull a sleigh full of toys. So there you go — who knew?

And while we’re on the subject of reindeer — how about their names? I know the tendency these days is to come up with non-traditional names, but… Blitzer? Vixen? Who in the world would come up with names like those? I’d guessed that the reindeer must have been named by Clement C. Moore who wrote the ‘Night Before Christmas’ poem. But just about like everything today, there’s a little controversy here, too.
The ‘Night Before Christmas’ was first published anonymously in a New York newspaper on December 23, 1823. The poem was later attributed to Clement Clarke Moore, but there is bit of disagreement and some people attribute the authorship to a Dutch migrant, Henry Livingston.

Anyhow, originally/traditionally there are eight reindeer — Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen. These eight reindeer pulled Santa’s sleigh until 1939 when Rudolph, the mis-fit with the red nose came along. Rudolph first appeared in a coloring book by Robert L. May. Soon afterwards, the song was written (for Gene Autry.)

I suppose I shouldn’t leave this subject without mentioning Santa’s tenth reindeer, who gets almost no notice at all — Bruno the brown-nosed reindeer. Bruno gets a bum rap just because he can run just as fast as the others, but can’t stop as quickly.

Merry Christmas to everyone!!
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All of us have people come into our lives at various times. Some stick around, some move on. But some of those people not only stick around, they become a part of our lives. Winfried was one of those people.
By any measure, Winfried was a very successful, truly self-made man.

To say he got off to a rough start, would be an understatement. He was born in Germany just before World War II started — he was premature and so undersized and puny that knowledgeable people, including the doctors, recommended not going to the trouble of saving him. Everyone thought he probably wouldn’t make it and if he did, he’d never be “right.” Of course his mother wasn’t hearing any of that and since times were hard in Germany in those days and facilities were limited, with no incubators, she put him in the oven to keep him warm. I always told Winfried that his future was determined right then and there — anyone placed in an oven at birth was destined to become a baker.

Winfried came to the US when he was 22 years old, seeking a better life. He was encouraged by a distant relative that worked in the baking industry in the Washington, D.C. area. After arriving in the US, Winfried became active in the German choir in Washington. It was through the choir that Winfried met Anne. From what I’ve heard, it was love at first sight for Winfried…. for Anne, maybe not so much. But he convinced Anne to go out with him and things were looking up. He was doing very well as a baker; his reputation and talent for “fancy” baked goods enabled him to earn a number of promotions and he and Anne were becoming a couple….

But then, of all things, he was drafted! I didn’t even know that was possible — for a German citizen to be drafted into the US services — but — it turns out it was. Military service certainly wasn’t in Winfried’s long-range plans, but he convinced Anne to get engaged before he left for bootcamp — as Winfried put it, he kind of wanted to “lock her in.”
One thing you should know about Winfried — there are only about 4 or 5 people on the face of the Earth that are more prone to seasickness than he is. So naturally, he was drafted into the Navy and assigned to a ship. What followed was two years of seasickness, but even under those conditions, he excelled in his trade as a baker, rising to the chief baker on the ship. He did some truly amazing things like baking a cake for the Marine Corps birthday that was so big it had to be lifted by a crane. All this while being perpetually seasick.

After returning from the Navy, Anne and Winfried got married —he became well known as an expert baker in the Washington area and also an excellent business man, managing the Safeway baking operation for many years. He also volunteered untold hours to community service, like the German choir. How he ever found time to sleep is a mystery to me.

After retirement, the Oxforts bought a beautiful piece of property and built a beautiful house in Shepherdstown. Just because he retired didn’t mean he slowed down, however. He always jumped in to help any good cause for the community. He baked bread in his own (Anne’s?) oven to help St. Agnes pay for a new church building. He contributed all the money to the church — totaling many, many thousands of dollars.

A few years ago, Winfried made a very detailed, exact scale model of the St. Agnes Chapel — out of gingerbread. A true work of art. He then raffled it off to the kids of St. Agnes. There was no money associated with the raffle — you just had to be a kid and write your name for a chance to win the model.
He didn’t do this to impress anyone, or to make any money. It was just another act of kindness by one of the kindest people I’ve ever known.
We will miss his humor, skill, professionalism, and courage. The world will be an appreciably worse place without him….
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When I was working, we had a procedure called “need to know.” This meant that if the information in question wasn’t necessary for you to do your job, you didn’t “need to know” the information. Over the years, I’ve used the term often when someone would ask about something that was none of their business. Of course, I’ve also used it when I didn’t know the answer to the question being asked.
Anyhow, I’ve used and abused the phrase over the years and just this past week I used it again… this time I probably could have provided the information, but just decided it wasn’t appropriate for me to give it out.
Well, all that said, it reminded me of an old joke — I actually told it to a friend when he seemed to be a little annoyed that I was withholding something from him. After he heard the story, he seemed satisfied — or at least he smiled.

A man’s car broke down as he was driving past a beautiful old monastery. He walked up the drive and knocked on the front door of the monastery. A monk answered, listened to the man’s story and graciously invited him to spend the night.
The monks fed the man and led him to a tiny chamber in which to sleep. The man thanked the monks and slept serenely until he was awakened by a strange yet beautiful sound. The next morning, as the monks repaired his car, he asked about the sound that woke him.
The monks said, “We’re sorry. We can’t tell you about the sound. You’re not a monk.” The man was disappointed, but eager to be gone, so he thanked the monks for their kindness and went on his way.
During quiet moments afterward, the man pondered the source of the alluring sound. Several years later, the man was driving in the same area. He stopped at the monastery on a whim and asked admittance. He explained to the monks that he had so enjoyed his previous stay, he wondered if he might be permitted to spend another night under their peaceful roof. The monks agreed and the man stayed. Late that night, he heard the sound again.
The next morning, he begged the monks to explain the sound. The monks said, ”We’re sorry. We can’t tell you about the sound. You’re not a monk.”
By now, the man’s curiosity had turned to obsession. He decided to give up everything and become a monk if that was the only way to learn about the sound. He informed the monks of his decision and began the long and arduous task of becoming a monk.
Seventeen years later, the man was finally established as a true member of the order. When the celebration ended, he humbly went to the leader of the order and asked to be told the source of the sound. Silently, the old monk led the new monk to a huge wooden door. He opened the door with a golden key. That door swung open to reveal a second door of silver, then a third of gold and so on until they had passed through twelve doors, each more magnificent than the last.
The new monk’s face was awash with tears of joy as he finally beheld the wondrous source of the mysterious sound he had heard so many years before.

But, I can’t tell you what it was. You’re not a monk.
See? There are some things that you just can’t know….
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Talk about amazing facts….Today, two people had a birthday. But wait — those two people were not only born on the same day, they were born in the same city and  in the same hospital and… hold on to your hat!! They have the same mother.

Happy first birthday to Rory and Ellie!!
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Locke recently had a birthday and he received a pair of “cowboy boots” from his Auntie Dana. I put cowboy boots in quotes because that’s the only thing they’re called in Texas and Oklahoma. I’ve heard them referred to as western boots and various other names. But in Oklahoma and Texas, they’re cowboy boots.

Anyhow, Dana has been visiting this week and when we went to see Locke and his family. His dad asked him if he wanted to wear his cowboy boots since Dana was coming to visit.
Locke’s response was, NO!!… I don’t like the Cowboys! I like the Redskins!

These are now referred to as boots on Cromwell Drive….
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Both faithful readers of this blog are aware that Maysville, Oklahoma is well known because of two famous past residents — Wiley Post and me. However, few people, even the faithful readers, know that Maysville is well known for another reason throughout the world — especially in the baking industry.

I don’t know all the details, but let me start at the “beginning” and I’ll tell you what I know and remember…..
Earl Burford was born in the neighboring (to Maysville) town of Lindsay — I don’t know the date, but I’m pretty sure it was before Oklahoma became a state in 1907. He was a farmer by trade, but he always had a knack for coming up with labor-saving devices. His first “invention” was a machine that lifted hay bales into moving trucks — that led to him developing a machine to move hay bales into barns.
In 1945, World War II had created a manpower shortage that inspired Burford to invent an automatic wire-tying hay baler. The patent for that machine was later purchased by International Harvester Corp.

After moving his family to Maysville in 1950, he developed a better automatic wire-tie machine for hay balers that is still used all over the world. While living in Maysville, he founded, along with his son, the Burford Company in 1961. They built their plant on their farm north of Maysville, on the bank of the Washita river. They invented the first twist tie machine  for bread wrappers. Just like their machine to tie hay bales, the bread-tie machine is used around the world.

Earl Burford died in 1968. His son, Charles, continued to run the business until his death at the age of 81.
The plant in Maysville employs about 80 people — most of them farmers in the area. Today, the company makes over 30 different products.

So next time you’re thinking about Maysville, remember that it’s not just famous for Wiley and me — the Burford Company helped put it on the map, too.
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We live out here in the wilds of West Virginia — a lot of our friends and relatives that have never visited us believe we really live in the boonies. But the fact is, it is a very nice place and not at all uncivilized like some believe.

Just a few days ago a group of raccoons that got drunk from crab apples caused a rabies scare here in West Virginia. The apples caused the raccoons to walk around “staggering and disoriented.”
The police were called and the animals were arrested and then held in custody so that they could sober up before being released back into the wild. No charges were filed.

Does that sound uncivilized? I think not. West Virginia — almost Heaven….
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As every good American should, I did my civic duty yesterday and voted. A lot of people did — everyone should.
Unfortunately, yesterday, as in years past, I found myself voting against candidates. I look forward to the day that I can vote FOR someone running for office…..
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The news has been full of stories about “bombs,” assignations, mid-term elections, and the usual violence on various city streets, but the President seems intent in focusing our attention on immigration.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve heard so many terms related to immigration used, that I find it confusing. I’ve heard terms like immigrant, illegal immigrant, legal and illegal alien, foreigner, non-citizen, resident alien or enemy alien and some more terms that I can’t think of right now — seemingly all used interchangeably. So naturally, all this confusion calls for some extensive research on my part.

Seems like in the past, I’d always used the term immigrant when referring to someone that relocated to the US from another country. I thought the term alien applied when talking about someone (something?) from another planet. Of course, that’s wrong. My extensive research proved to be a little confusing itself, but here’s what I think I discovered.

It appears that a lot of people, including newspapers and politicians pretty much interchange the terms immigrant and alien when referring to individuals that are not “natives.” Despite similarities, there are differences between an alien and an immigrant.

In general, an alien is any person or creature that is in the wrong place or does not belong to the place where he/she/it is presently located.
An immigrant is an individual that comes to another country with the intention of settling permanently in that country. So immigrant is a term that is used to refer to all people of foreign origin that have relocated here permanently.

So, I think (maybe) that the following statements are true…
Immigrants are people who decide to move to a foreign country to permanently settle there.
An alien is an individual that is not in a foreign country for permanent settlement because he intends to return to his own country — or at least leave the country in which he presently resides.
A foreigner is anyone from outside the US who currently resides here.

Still confused? Join the club. I guess it really doesn’t matter — the least of the problems with politicians and the government is whether they use the correct terminology.
Someone once said, “Immigrants built our great nation; racists and bigots will destroy it.” Maybe truer than we’d like to think….
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