Tag Archives: Julie Seedorf

On The Road To Iowa!

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Something About Nothing – Column for Albert Lea Tribune, March 17, 2014

On the road again. Just can’t wait to get on the road again. iowa photo: Iowa Iowa.png

Those words from the Willie Nelson song rumbled through my head as we prepared for a trip to Iowa for a weekend of fun with our son and his children. We had not been across the border, down south, well, a little down south, since the beginning of October. Every time we prepared to get on the road again, we had a snowstorm.

I want to share a few thoughts with you about our visit traveling across the Minnesota border to outside of Des Moines. I always find experiences when I travel that direction or at least something that makes me laugh and wonder.

I gave thanks when I stepped out of my car and I could remove my winter jacket and walk around a house on the dormant grass.

I learned that I need to brush up on my Xbox skills so my grandson doesn’t keep beating me in “Madden NFL” and some other crafty game. Of course, it would have helped had he actually explained what I was supposed to be doing and what the buttons meant on the controller.

The first game we played, which I can’t remember the name, his character blasted me right at the beginning, time and time again, and, yes, I quit in protest of not knowing how to play. My goal, I will learn and conquer and surprise him in the future.

I reinforced my opinion of some drivers on the interstate. Some drivers really are idiots.

I know I must remember the correct name of Orange Leaf frozen yogurt. My grandkids think it’s funny because I always call it Orange Peel. The yogurt tastes the same no matter whether you call the place Orange Leaf or Orange Peel. It is yummy.

It is possible when you wake up in the morning and are in a new community, and you realize you can’t stand your hair one more day, that you can walk into a salon and find a stylist that cuts and styles your hair exactly as you wanted it. When panic mode hits and your normal stylist is hundreds of miles away, there is someone who can save you.

Attending the “Mr. Peabody & Sherman” movie I noticed the adult men were laughing louder at some of the nuances in the movie than the children. I wondered how many of those subtle comments my young grandchildren would remember and ask later on what they meant. Why do movies for kids now have to have suggestive comments in them for adults?

It is possible to meet new friends in strange places. Another grandmother and I bonded at our grandchildren’s gymnastic practice over exercise. We decided the frog hop and the “pull the pad by your toes as you crawl across the floor” — we didn’t know the real name for the exercise — would be perfect for us to try at home. We agreed we wouldn’t let anyone else watch us. We decided to skip the upside-down-against-the-wall exercise as we felt we are a little balance challenged and our heads are dizzy enough without turning upside down. The strange thing about talking to this new friend was that it felt as if we had known each other a long time. I hope we meet up again.

I came away from a conversation about Sunday school with my grandchildren wondering why we don’t take kids’ advice when they have suggestions for making learning in Sunday school more interesting. They have some good ideas.

I concluded that unless we can figure out a way to turn off the electronics it is going to be a hard sell to turn children into readers in this gadget world of ours. Thank goodness for teachers who assigns their class reading assignments where the kids have to read at least 20 minutes every evening. Maybe in that short space of time something will spark a love for reading so they want to put aside their gadgets and get lost in the words and pages of books.

I learned on this trip that my 11-year-old granddaughter is a good cook. Not only can she cook, she makes it look like the enticing food on the cooking shows. My mouth still is watering from her scrumptious French toast and strawberries and cream.  She, unlike me, has the patience to stand and nurture what is cooking instead of walking away and ignoring it until she thinks it is done. She taught me that if she can be patient while cooking, I can too.

As we traveled the road back to Minnesota in the nighttime hours, I became aware of the number of people who have died on the freeway this year in the state of Iowa. Signs over the freeway in the darkness at various points in the road flashed those numbers and warned us to drive safely.

As we came back to Minnesota that night I looked at the beautiful stars in the sky and the brightness of the landscape at night because of the snow and marveled at the differences a few hours can make in our lives.

I thought back to my experiences during the weekend and was filled with wonder at how many experiences small and large that we travel through in our lifetime. The tiny pieces of moments and experiences weave together to change something about us, however small. We may not notice, but we are changed by the moments not just the hours and days.

“Miracles come in moments. Be ready and willing.” — Wayne Dyer

Granny, Hermiony Vidalia Criony Fiddlestadt from Granny Hooks A Crook, Gives Advice.

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Granny_T-shirtLife is interesting at time when you hang out with Granny, Hermiony Vidalia Criony Fiddlestadt from Fuchsia, Minnesota.

I was talking to her today. We were talking about her crime solving abilities. This is the advice she gave me. “If you don’t know something, pretend you know something. The person you’re talking to won’t know that you don’t know what they don’t know. Because they think you know what they don’t know they won’t know that you don’t know. It works every time.”

Should I take granny’s advice?  It left me a little confused. I don’t know if she knows what I don’t know or do I know what she knows that she doesn’t know? I need some coffee to figure out what I just said. It is hazardous being around Granny.

What Is Your Attitude Toward the Hungry in America?

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Column: Something About Nothing, by Julie Seedorf

Are you hungry? What do you do when you are hungry? Do you go to the fridge and grab a snack? Do you trek to the grocery store to pick up some groceries? If we can do that, we are very blessed.

homeless photo: Homeless homeless.pngToday I am writing about hunger in America. We live in a rural area and because we do not see homeless people on the streets we tend to think poverty does not exist in our area. Of course, we know about the food shelves and the backpack programs in our schools. We know about the homeless shelters in the bigger cities. We donate to the bell-ringers each Christmas season.

Recently the Wells Area Food Shelf Volunteers and area coordinators were invited to a movie called “A Place At The Table.” It states that 50 million Americans, 1 in 4 children, don’t know where their next meal is coming from.

This movie reinforced some of the things we already know and opened our eyes to a new way of thinking about the people who are in need of our resources. It may surprise you to know that a large number of those who use the resources available from the food shelves, the backpack program and the free meals are two-parent households working 40 or more hours a week. They are called the working poor because they work for minimum wage.

Minimum wage in Minnesota is $7.25 per hour. If you are concerned, do the math. Figure out how to live as a family of four on minimum wage. Calculate your utilities, your insurance, transportation and most of all food. Look at your own budget and then figure out if you could live on minimum wage.

As of this writing five legislators from Minnesota are taking the minimum wage challenge. I only wish more legislators were doing this and that those taking the challenge were from both parties. Maybe we all should take the challenge and walk in the shoes of those that make low wages and work for a living.

Recently I was involved in a conversation with someone whose opinion differed from mine. I welcomed that. Something is always learned from someone that thinks differently from you. The conversation revolved around those who get low pay and do some of our most valuable jobs. I can’t disagree with part of the conversation, and that is, if you get an education you should have a higher-paying job.

What I did not say was that when you do get that education you need good jobs to pay for the debt you incur getting that education.

That said, there are educated people who need help for a short period of time, too. Finding a job in corporate America has become complicated and isn’t as easy as it once was.

There are people living in shelters who have jobs but can’t afford a place to live. If you happen to be homeless and, yes, there are homeless families in our area, where do you find the clothes to be presentable at a job interview? Where do you take a shower? How do you get to the interview? Can you afford a cellphone so employers can call you? And how do you find the resources to help you through this?

Let’s examine these lower-paying jobs. In our conversations respect isn’t always connected to lower-paying jobs. Some of the top lower-paying jobs in America, according to US News, are: fast food cooks and servers, farm workers and laborers, cashiers, personal care attendants and home care aides, nannies, child care workers, housekeeping and cleaners. They are service workers who take care of us and the needs of those we love.

What would happen if all these jobs and people disappeared? We wouldn’t have anyone to care of the elderly or disabled. We wouldn’t be able to eat at our favorite fast food restaurant. There would no clerks at the grocery stores or anyone to serve us coffee or clean our homes or our hotel rooms. What about all that food we love to put on our table? Those workers that get the food to us by working in the fields and factories would no longer be here. What would happen if you took this low-wage working class segment away from America? Yet we do not want to help them survive.

Obesity is a problem in America. According to the movie and other statistics, part of the problem of obesity is because healthy and nutritious food is unaffordable for those on a low-income budget. Processed foods high in sugar, salt and high in saturated fats are cheap. Take a look at the grocery flier the next time it arrives in your paper and mailbox and see how cheap this food is. It is the food that those on a fixed income can afford to buy. Could your grocery budget withstand minimum wage?

It also might surprise you to know there are many families that do not have beds and stoves or furniture in their homes. They will never tell you. They are too proud.

It might surprise you to know there are families, single adults, senior citizens who are hungry and do not use the food shelf. They do not apply for fuel assistance. They do not apply for food stamps. They do not go to free meals. I can only guess at the reason. Could it be that they have pride and have heard the comments occasionally made by those who don’t understand the hunger and poverty that America is facing today?

These proud people have seen the looks at the grocery store that people have given to those who use government resources. They have heard the comments about those that freeload with government resources and they don’t want to be that person. They have stood in line at well-meaning free meals sponsored by organizations wanting to help. The donation basket for offering is by the food plate that is that given to them. The person ahead of them put in a $20 bill and they know they can’t do that. The person serving the food was watching. It is too hard to swallow their pride so they don’t go. It is hard to ask for help because it is something they have never had to do before.

We can keep telling ourselves that those who need help, need to help themselves. We can keep telling ourselves that it is not our problem. We need to take care of ourselves. To steal a quote from Dr. Phil, “How is that working for you?”

We have more people needing the food shelf every day. More and more that number is the working poor. The number of homeless families and hungry children are increasing each month. Older Americans who worked hard all their lives are struggling.

Until we quit blaming, until we change our hard-headed attitude about who deserves what, we will never solve the problem. There are solutions in open minds and differing opinions working together to find a common ground.

Hunger in America touches each one of us. It is the silent virus eroding our way of life that is known as the American dream.

Please take the time to watch “A Place at the Table.” It is available on online. It is also available in book form. It may change your life and the lives of others.