Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well-preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting, “Oh my God, What a ride.” That’s what I hope for. The three essentials to happiness in life are someone to love, something to do and something to hope for. My life is a Three Act play. . Act 1 is how I met my husband and about my family, Act 2 is about my career as a high school teacher, and Act 3 is my present state as a traveler, volunteer and a developing writer.  .Now the play begins.  

Act 1-I went to NIU where I studied English and drama. As a freshmen, I was feeling a bit home sick and lonely. I remember looking up at the sunset and watching the pink clouds and thinking I wanted to be one. Nature has always had a profound effect on me and I said, “G. od, I don’t think you are there, but if you are, “Make something wonderful happen to me."

That night I went to a dance and saw a young man, Larry, whose picture was in the paper that day for his views on Viet Nam.   He had a girl pasted on each side, and yet I had a strong impression that I was going to meet him. When I came out of the bathroom, he was alone and I made my move-----turning as red as my sweater. He had noticed me that day with a friend of his. We danced to a medley of Beatle songs and it was one of those Cinderella moments when I knew I had met my Prince Charming.  The feeling was mutual and three years later we married and had three wonderful children.

Deborah, who lives in Bozeman, MT, is a music instructor and composer. Julie, who works part time in marketing, lives in the city and has two children, Elliot and Natalie.  Aaron, who also lives in Livingston, MT as a noted artist, has three boys, August, Jasper and Isaak.

Act 2 begins with my various careers. I taught ESL and life skills at McHenry and Elgin Community College.  As a substitute, I was offered a job teaching English in District 155/Cary Grove High School—home of the state football and volleyball champs. Overall, I would have to say, I loved working with teenagers---they keep you laughing. I directed the school plays and my husband, then an Industrial Art’s teacher at Dundee Crown, did the sets. I had one student come in for a try out packet in the English dept. I said, "Go pick one up, it’s in the break out room." She returned empty handed and said, “It says, You Can’t Take it with You." The whole department broke out into laughter. That was the name of the play.

Believe it or not, you can take plays down state to the Illinois High School Theatre Festival and we took  down The Taming of the Shrew and When Shakespeare’s Ladies Meet. Teaching, grading and directing took up most of my time so when my husband suggested we take an early retirement, I agreed.

Act 3-Last October 2011, I was on a Lear jet to Andrew’s Air force base. Larry spent four years in the Marines and then was in the Navy Reserves for 18 years. Now we have Space A flying privileges. We got to Andrews and then flew to Italy where we rented a Fiat and explored. But that will be in another blog.

We have worked with Habitat for Humanity building homes in Waveland where Katrina hit the hardest and I write for the Compassion and Justice blog at our church-----on issues such as the Haiti earthquake and Human Trafficking and of course Life with Larry.org.

And now for the Epilogue----- Everyone needs to have a little PMSS in their lives. Did I say PMS? Yes, P stands for Physical. I’m a very active person who loves to bicycle, run, hike and ski. M stands for Mental. I work on developing my mind with activities such as Toastmasters, writing, and reading. I play the piano anything from Mozart to Stairway to Heaven.  S stands for Social.  It is so important to cultivate friendships and reach out to help others. And the final S is for spiritual. It’s the fabric that has woven my life ever since I looked up at the sunset and gave my life to God during college.

As I said in my opening statement,  Life’s journey is not to arrive at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting," Oh my God, what a ride.”

 

After a week of working in Bay/Waveland with Habitat for Humanity, we drove to Scott ARB in Belleville, IL. We love the excitement of traveling Space A---military flights throughout the world. On Monday, Oct. 17th, we took a lear jet to Andrews AFB. It was suppose to be an 1 hour and 45 minute trip but it took 10 minutes longer as we circled around the base waiting for President Obama to make his trip to North Carolina to discuss his economic policies. When the President is at Andrews, the whole airport closes down until his departure.

We took a shuttle to the new Presidential Inn which is a 286 room facility built in 2010. The friendly staff gave us a beautiful room on the 3rd floor. The leaves are changing color and a stream and hiking path is right behind the Inn. Larry and I took a long walk and enjoyed the 70 degree sunny climate.

Tonight we'll get a shuttle with a military wife we met on the plane, and we'll head for Baltimore  airport where we'll take a military/commercial flight to Ramstein, Germany and then to Aviano, a base in Italy. The flight begins at 10 PM so we'll sleep on the plane and wake up across the ocean. We hope to see Venice, Trieste, Florence, Naples and Rome.
There are six bases in Italy where we can stay for the cost of the room.

Life with Larry is always an adventure. I'll write more as we travel.

In Illinois, we broke a 50 year record for days and amounts of rain. Today April 30, 2011----we will have rain yet again.  Larry and I love the outdoors---we are nature freaks.  So we decided to go to one of our favorite places--Kettle Moraine, WI and hike. We also visited our favorite coffee shop in Delafield, WI. My son spend 1 1/2 years in Scotland when he was at the Dundee of Jordon School of Art, and he said the weather never stopped the Scottish from hiking.  They would sport their various umbrellas greeting one another with a hearty, "Great day, isn't it?"  Of course, they swallow their English words which made it difficult for Aaron, our son, to understand.  But he loved the spirit of the fun loving, unpretentious, Scottish.   By the way, they would offer him money to do an American Southern accent. Now, in addition to being a noted western artist, (see aaronschuerr.com) he also acts and is perfecting an upper class English accent.  "Top of the morning to you!" 

Larry and I raised our children without a TV most of the years.  We spent our time reading to our kids and hiking and camping ---- they all developed great imaginations.  Larry read all of JR Toilkein books to them using various voices well before the movies came out. 

So my question to you is the following:  "How do you handle life when the rain comes?"   Maybe the Scottish have a little secret for all of us.  Have a great day!

 

Life with Larry took us to the Schuerr reunion in Fox Lake on Sunday Aug, 29^th. Larry greeted his 90 year old Aunt Esther by kissing and tickling her neck. He has greeted Aunt Esther in this manner over the past 30 years. She smacked him and said, “Stop it, Skip.” Skip was Larry's boyhood nickname. Aunt Esther was always Larry's favorite aunt even if she was instructed by his mother to shave his head in an unfashionable crew cut every summer.

We soon noticed that smiling Aunt Esther was proudly holding hands with her 91 year old boyfriend, Emil. The lovebirds reminded us of high school sweethearts. Yes, Aunt Esther could easily write the recipe for life. Her laughter and teasing personality lightens up any room. She and Emil arrived in an orange, convertible Prowler like Cinderella going to the ball only accompanied by the prince. Emil sports two hearing aids and his sight isn't great, but Aunt Esther is his eyes and ears. In the past, she would ride her bike or walk to her son John's house to greet the day with him over a cup of coffee.

As late as last summer, she road on the back of John's Harley like a true motorcycle mama wearing only a scarf on her head. But now, Emil takes her time and she just calls her son and wishes him a good day.

“I've been jilted by another man,” laughs John while flipping burgers.

On Friday's her son Jim picks Emil and Esther up for a fish dinner. “I sneak peeks from my rear view mirror and catch them smooching. What a role reversal,”Jim said.

Aunt Esther had six children. Her second to the last one, Bobby, lived until 21 years old with cerebral palsy. Normally, a child in his condition would live no longer than seven years. The whole family was trained to help Bobby who had to be hand fed and diaper changed. After his death, Aunt Esther and her husband took in an older gentleman who needed a roof over his head. He stayed with them until his death five years later.

Watching Esther and Emil hold hands at the family reunion brought smiles to all our faces. Her recipe for life is simple. “You're never too old to love and be loved.” Regardless of ailments, the couple may well live to see their 100^th birthday. Now that's an occasion for another

Schuerr reunion.

 

At Sunset Beach in Fish Creek crowds gather for the big event---watching the glowing sun disappear over the Lake Michigan horizon where earlier we saw pelicans, a new phenonomen,  flying like pearls in the sky. Parents and children skip rocks and lovers embrace one another while gazing at the halo of orange and pink. Larry and Sue along with three female friends are ready to join the crowd for applause that begins with the sunset.

Somehow Larry got on the topic of hunting remembering the nightly jaunts of the deer crossing our yard nibbling our flowers and scrubs on their way to a save haven of soft underbrush where they nestle for the night. Our son, Aaron, is a hunter because that is what one does in Montana to get meat for the year. Larry has always longed to join him but the cost of the tags are too expensive. Over the past five years, we have seen the deer population grow exponentially in our suburban neighborhood.

Waiting for the sun to set is a celebration anticipating the guest of honor to arrive. The joyful atmosphere transforms strangers into friends. The picture changed abruptly as Larry explained loudly how he would love to hunt Bambi in his own backyard but he said, “My chances of killing a deer with a single bow would be close to impossible. An arrow would slow it down, but then I'd have to chase it through the neighborhood with a knife and slit its throat. I don't think the neighbors would appreciate that very much.” The mental shift from a setting sun to a slit throat causes us to cringe. The man on the rock below us was squirming while eavesdropping.

Next, we drove into town to get ice cream when Larry suddenly pulled over to the curve and parked. He then took us to a circle of lilacs and told us to breath deeply. “It's the most pleasant aromatic smell. Isn't it wonderful? I just love it and had to share it with you,” said Larry.

Our friend Lu, a counselor, burst out laughing saying to me, “One minute he is slitting Bambi's throat and the next minute he has us all gathered to smell the lilacs. What's that all about?”

Yes, Larry hasn't hunted anything more than a pheasant and cries first at the movies. My former Marine husband will stand up for the needy and oppressed, yet he will stop for a sunset and to smell lilacs-----the many faces of Larry.

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 A green and white neck brace encompasses Larry’s 171/2 in. neck making him look like a turtle.  He does the impression quite well. His large head pokes in and out like some Sesame street character. His speech is sometimes garbled, but I’ve always had to interpret for Larry whose original language is “mumble”. The neck brace doesn’t allow for much mobility. Although his neck fusion happened in January, 2010, he still wears the neck brace at night as a gentle reminder of the past.

Yes, I controlled his every move for a month or so. I was the Siren in charge of his destiny.  Even if I’m not quite 5 ft. and he is 6 ft. 2 in., he cringes at the thought of me driving his testosterone laden 4 by 4 King cap pickup truck. It has a special button to raise the pedals enabling me to drive. This is good because Larry refuses to add blocks with electrical tape like my dad did when I road my first tricycle.  I have to adjust the mirrors on the side which I haven’t quite mastered yet----scary, since the rear view mirror is useless. He has to submit to my wonderful driving techniques.  We had a Fox River Grove policeman as a neighbor who would stop me on the way to school telling me my stops were totally sloppy and what was he going to do----give me a ticket??  We’re neighbors. 

When we take off, Larry holds his head otherwise it might fly off and topple to the ground, and he’d be the headless horseman in a future horror flick.  I threaten to push him out in the snow if he complains one more time. I have waited years to get even. This is the man who throws my pillow down the hallway a half a block when I get up every night at 2 AM.  My secret desire has been to exchange weights and heights for at least a week----revenge.

 

Every once in awhile, he takes off his neck brace and turns into a frog hopping from one activity to the next.  Maybe if I kiss the frog, he’ll turn into a handsome prince. But the doctor’s orders are that he remains a turtle for at least a month.

 

So now I eat with a turtle

 I sleep with a turtle

I drive a turtle around town

 

If he doesn’t behave, I threaten to turn him into turtle soup. Control is what Geoffrey Chaucer said every woman desires.  Ha Ha!

Saturday, April 23, 2011

Since the media is giving attention to the subject of Easter this week, we thought it would be an appropriate time to share our thoughts on the subject.  Our faith has been the anchor of our 42 year marriage, how we raised our children, and our very lives.  There is overwhelming evidence that Christ was the Messiah-----The King of the Jews. God has promised an abundant life which we have experienced as his children.

 To begin, the most powerful arguments are the prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming and his crucifixion.  No person could possibly script his life to fit where he would be born, how he would die, and where and how he would be buried.   These prophecies can be found throughout the Old Testament; but for the sake of brevity, we’ll center on two books.  The book of Isaiah was written in 740-680 B.C. Isaiah was born into an upper-class family where he rubbed shoulders with royalty and gave advice concerning foreign affairs of the nation.  He also attacked the social ills of his day like many of us who are concerned about the welfare of our nation.  He saw these social abuses as symptoms of spiritual declension.    To give you a flavor of his writing which got him in trouble, see Isaiah 1: 23. “Your rulers are rebels and companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts.  They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow’s case does not come before them.” Today, we can throw our corrupt politicians in jail.  Unfortunately for Isaiah, who lived most of his life in Jerusalem, he was martyred by being sawed in two while inside a hollow log (Hebrews 11:37) under the reign of Manasseh. Here are the statements of a God inspired man. When reading Isaiah 53, one would think he was reading the lyrics for Handel’s Messiah.  Many of these verses will resonate with you. 

• “He was despised and rejected by men-a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” Is. 53.3
• “But he was pierced for our transgressions.  He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him and by his wounds, we are healed.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all……he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. Is. 53.5-7
• “He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.” Is. 53:9
• “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life, and be satisfied:  Is. 53:9
• “For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Is. 53:12

 The book of Isaiah was found in the Dead Sea Scrolls relatively intact and is 1000 years older than the oldest script before the discovery.  The Isaiah scroll dates back to the second century B.C. which would make it impossible to falsify to fit the life of Christ.  The whole Old Testament was discovered except for the book of Esther.  The Dead Sea Scrolls also called the Qumran scrolls (Qumran is the main location in the Dead Sea area where the scrolls were discovered) demonstrates unequivocally the fact that the Jews were faithful in their transcription of biblical manuscripts.  The Jewish writers were extremely conscientious about copying the biblical text, and memorization was a key component of their education.  The Old Testament books from Qumran are those which we find in our Bibles.  Minor textual variants occur as they do in any document which depended on hand copies for multiplication.   Comparing today’s scripture to those found in the Dead Sea Scrolls speaks of the accuracy found in the text.      

 The second book is the Psalms which was also found in the Dead Sea Scrolls.

 The following are some of the prophecies of the Messiah.

• “All who see me mock me; they hurl insults, shaking their heads; He trusts in the Lord let the Lord rescue him.  Let him deliver him, since he delights in him.” Ps. 22: 7-8
• “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint.  My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me…my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; Ps. 22:14 (Medically this is an accurate description of what takes place when a person is crucified.) 
• “They have pierced my hands and my feet.  I can count all my bones; people stare and gloat over me.  They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.” Ps. 22:16
• “They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.” Ps. 69:21
• “Because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy one see decay.” Ps. 16:10

There are hundreds of prophecies concerning the coming Messiah which Jesus has fulfilled.  Here are a few more.

• Bethlehem was named as the birthplace of the Messiah seven centuries before the event.  “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”(Micah 5:2)
• “See your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” Zechariah 9:9
• “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.” Zechariah 12:10

The prophecies of Christ first coming are powerful.  In addition, there are prophecies about his second coming also. We encourage you to do your own study and see how these prophecies are fulfilled in the New Testament.  Being skeptics ourselves at one time, we understand the many questions and concerns you may have.  . But we were created for a relationship with the living God.   “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” (Jeremiah 29:12)  If Christ was the Messiah and there is such a thing as abundant life here and life after death-----------------wouldn’t you want to know?  Anything this important cannot be ignored.

We welcome questions and discussion on this all important topic.

                                     Because we care, Sue and Larry Schuerr

 

Our daughter Deborah who resides in Bozeman, Montana taught Larry how to fly fish one summer.  He took to it like a bee to honey.  People come from all over the world to fish in Yellowstone and pay exorbonate amounts of money for the adventure.  Deb took Larry to a small spring creek near a railroad track and the interstate         

“There can’t be anything in here.  It’s too small.” Larry reacted.  But it turned out to be a fish supermarket. 

He caught 43 fish in a manner of a few hours.  They hit any brown fly Larry threw at them.  He was bursting with excitement like a kid in a candy store while cleaning and gutting the four he decided to keep.

“It was going to be a great dinner,” he said knowing we were going to have company that night.  

When visiting Montana, we often camp at Hyalite National Forest-----one of God’s most magnificent creations.  We tow a 19 ft. small trailer and that is our home for 3 weeks.  People come and visit us in our beautiful, pristine surroundings.  Our daughter-in-law’s parents came up that evening for a fish dinner.  By the time the coals were hot and dinner ready to be served, it was dusk.  Extremely hungry, we devoured our food until we heard Larry gag. 

In the darkness of the evening, he had mistaken a bone for fish.  Coughing, bread, water-----nothing seemed to dislodge it.  So the next morning, we headed down the mountain to the medical center.

 “Hi Larry," the doctor said. You see Larry, from Illinois, had visited the center other times in past years for one malady or another.   He looked down his throat and said, “I haven’t seen anything like this in twenty years.”  This was all I needed to hear. My hopes of a problem free vacation were quickly evaporating.

Next he said, “If I cannot dislodge the bone, it will mean surgery.” Surgery------- for a fish bone!  Whoever heard of such nonsense?  Larry suppressed the cough instinct and allowed the doctor to lunge down his throat with a pair of round pliers with a round tip. After a couple of attempted, he captured his bait.                                           

“In addition to teaching,” Larry said, “I could now have another career as a sword swallower.” We all agreed.

Now when eating fish in the dark, I insist that he put on one of his many head lamps, or I’ll have a bone to pick with him.  . 

Friends and Habitat for Humanity

We are almost to St. Petersburg FL where we will spend two day with our dear friends the Bensons and the Hitts.  We spent last night in at Georgia Veterans State Park in Georgia, near Americana, Jimmy Carter’s hometown.  Being so close to Habitat’s central office and Global Village, we decided to take a tour of the facility which has facsimiles of houses throughout the world.  Larry cried when he saw homes so similar to what he saw in 2006/7 in Haiti. 

We decided to spend part of our time volunteering for a project in Sebring near Tampa, FL. With Larry’s experience as a contractor and an Industrial Art’s teacher, Habitat was thrilled to have him come on board; they have 14 homes to build with a deadline in June.  Larry has been a construction leader for three Blitz Builds in Bay Saint Louis, MI plus he worked on local projects.  We are looking forward to spending our lives paying it forward.  We have been blessed so much in our own.  We have found that true happiness comes by giving of ones talents and skills. 

 

            When you see signs labeled Bad Ax River and Lone Elm Tree road, it’s a clue you are no longer in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  Actually, we were in the outskirts of Prairie Du Chien.  It’s where the Mississippi and Wisconsin River meet.  Our mode of transportation was a 1981 Honda motorcycle loaded with everything we would need for a two day adventure. You might call it a midlife crisis, but then no one lives over 120 years unless they are eating Dannon yogurt in some remote village in Russia.  Yes, after twelve years of begging and the sky high prices for gasoline, I finally gave Larry permission to buy another motorcycle. Permission, you may ask!  Well, Larry crashed his first motorcycle on the Ides of March in 1995--- when he gazed at a police officer giving a poor soul a ticket.  The woman in front of him suddenly put on her brakes and Larry slammed into her trunk resulting in his broken pelvis, demolished motorcycle and my spring break at the hospital. Fortunately, no surgery was needed and the wider pelvis would enable Larry to have our next child freein me from labor.     

Every time we went through Sturgis on our way to Montana, I would have to wipe off the drool from Larry’s chin as he lusted after another motorcycle. But Larry wanted his wife as a partner, and he waited twelve years for me to finally give consent. Now I have to admit, I love the freedom and fun of a motorcycle myself. 

            Over the past twelve years, gravity has played havoc with Larry’s 6’ 2”, 240 lb. frame.   To get on his motorcycle, he grabs his pant leg and throws it over the seat and does a little jig when a cramp sets in.  I’ve promised to teach him yoga and stretch moves to remedy his condition but he shows little interest in learning.  Getting off the motorcycle is also a trick since the body wants to stay in the bent over position.  Other than that, we had a wonderful time enjoying the onset of fall and the flocks of pelicans landing on the Mississippi river.

            The first night we camped at Governor Dodge State Park right along the cliffs.  It was late September and we had the place to ourselves.  We pitched our backpacking tent and made an attempt to sleep well on insulate which is like sleeping on old cardboard boxes.  Following tradition, we strained to read before bed with our trusty headlamps and foggy glasses. I dreamed of our first motorcycle trip to Galena twenty years earlier when we traveled with four other couples while witnessing a lightning filled rainstorm.  I was young enough not to worry too much about the metal tent poles attached to the back of cycle.  There are some advantages to growing old---such as gaining wisdom.

 I highly recommend a trip from La Crosse to Prairie Du Chien and then over the bridge to see the Indian Mounds in Iowa.  From there, continue on to Galena and back to the land of more sophisticated names for rivers and roads.  By the way, the lowest gasoline prices were in Dubuque, Iowa ---just $3.66.  You might also find a deal on a motel but then you’d miss the beauty of being so close to nature at its best.  

Author: Sue Schuerr All rights reserved.