DEPRESSIONS ARE NOW CALLED DOWNTURNS

Our parents were homesteaders, and engaged in mixed farming. Even when crops hailed or dried out, hand watered root crops such as potatoes, turnips, and farm animals kept the family fed.

My father visited us early in the 1960s during the time we worked in California. Reviewing events of the great depression, he said he had always thought I would do something special, perhaps even be a medical doctor. I felt sad about his disappointment but it was said without criticism. “I have always hoped that someone from our family would be a doctor and see from his report card that your son makes really good grades - perhaps he will be a doctor one day. Now wouldn’t that be nice to see an MD after his name,” he added hopefully. A scarlet fever epidemic in the mid l930s took the life of their four year old son, Harold, such a beautiful little brother who always had a smile handy. An unwilling tear would still roll down as he recounted the devastating event and the lack of doctors. I told him our son’s interest was in science and math and perhaps might work in that field and be of help to doctors. I found myself leaping into action to help when I heard of any of our descendants registering in pre-med courses. When my son called me on Christmas Day he mentioned he had bought a new computer and found its extra features very helpful in his daily research in the medical field. “We’ve both been so busy we forgot to sign our Christmas letter,” he laughed. I recall telling you and Dad that I enjoyed research so much I’d like to do it for the rest of my life. Now I am. After getting my University degree, I returned other scholarships offered me and married the girl I had met that year and seven years later our son Luke, was born. As Valedictorian of his class at graduation he is doing well and has his own dream of home and family to follow. We are very proud of him and his wife, the mother of our three wonderful grandchildren. Follow your own dream, Mom, you need not try to follow your father’s dream as well, he can still follow it now from his Heavenly home.”