This is one of my favorite writing themes. And that is Czech names in the calendar. Each day is dedicated to a different name. Of course some are more popular than others. Probably the most widely celebrated name day is March 19th which is Joseph’s/Josephine’s day.
Since Joseph is a very popular name in Czech, everybody celebrates much like Saint Pat’s here in the USA. It doesn’t mean that the day is an official holiday, but it is very similar to huge Saint Pat’s celebrations in Chicago and Canada.
And even though they don’t color their rivers green or march in parades, March 19th is still a big deal. Usually women bake for the day, and plum brandy known as slivovice flows freely, even at work.
The men sit in pubs and other public hospitality establishments. Other names like Emma have been incorporated into the Czech calendar from other countries. The name Emma originates in France.
A lot of names come from Russia like Sasha or Sergej or from other surrounding countries like Poland and Germany.
Czech calendar with name days.
In many cases, there are more than one name dedicated to each day because of the influence from the Western countries. There are cards for each name day. That’s a lot of cards.
Among the most popular modern names for men are Jakub and Luke, even though it keeps changing constantly. For women I have yet to find out. But it also could be Katerina and Marta.
Chicago river turns green on Saint Pat’s.
Also each church has a patron saint. The most popular ones are Saint Mary’s. They have their own feast celebrations such as Saint Mary’s in Stipa that celebrates the feast on September 12th which is Mary’s day.
The communities celebrate the patron saints with wakes, carnivals and fairs. Different carnival companies come to towns, and the feast is preceded by a dance.
Locally, in Parnell there is Saint Pat’s Church that celebrates the feast last weekend in June. It is a major fundraiser for Saint Pat’s School.
It usually features a polka band on Sundays and chicken dinners. The dinners are very popular, and people come from all over. The parish women bake desserts, and there is a display of old cars, 50:50 raffle and cards on Friday and Saturday nights.
Of course there is a beer tent and an auction. The patron feasts are important to all the parishes as a way to celebrate the saint.
Happy International Women’s Day to all women from the EW team on Emma Blogs, LLC.
The featured image is from SowHope.org whose mission is to help women of the Third World countries in order to fight poverty. Watch for a story on SowHope president Mary Dailey Brown of Grand Rapids. Brown travels to African countries to empower women to help themselves with provided funds and through education.
Inspiring Women at home and around the world
Enigmatic orchids
Note: This is the sixth installment in a feature series about Inspiring Women. It is dedicated to all women who are trying to make a difference and better other people’s lives, as well as their own.
In putting together this feature series, I was inspired by several moments in life that in particular stand out.
No.1 A dedication of a Relax, mind, body & soul book by Barbara Heller from my son Jake: “I dedicate this to my inspiring and motivational mother.” Kuba
No. 2 While on a story before Mother’s Day, I dropped in at Ace Bernard Hardware to talk about the prizes with owner Charlie Bernard. We talked also about the Lowell Area Chamber and its director Liz Baker.“You know what I like about Liz, she keeps re-inventing herself,” Bernard said.
No. 3 Again on a story for the International Women’s Day I talked to Sow Hope president Mary Dailey Brown.“If you want to make a difference in this world, seriously consider helping impoverished women. Helping women is the key to unlocking poverty.”
No. 4 At a parents teacher conference at Cherry Creek Elementary in Lowell in mid 1990s: “Mrs. Pala, we do not give up,” teacher Karen Latva said.
Belding woman works to fix injustice in education & in society
Name: Lynn Mason Occupation: retired teacher, former Ionia County commissioner, 2014 candidate for state representative
Residence: Otisco Township
Family: husband Frank, two grown sons Marty & Richard, two grandchildren Payton and Jackson, daughter-in-law Jamie
Hobbies & interests: reading, gardening, biking, walking, kayaking and other outdoor activities
By Emma Palova
EW Emma’s Writings
Belding, MI – As a retired teacher from a rural school, Lynn Mason has always been concerned about injustice, whether in education or social. But, Mason never left it to just being concerned. She got her handle on politics through her involvement with the Michigan Education Association (MEA) at both the state and national levels while teaching at the Belding Area Schools. She bargained contracts for 20 years. “When I see injustice or need, I try to make it better,” she said. “It hasn’t always been easy.”
Lynn Mason 2014 candidate
Ambitious, adventurous, people- oriented with leadership skills, Mason is mainly motivated if someone says you can’t do something. “That’s my number one motivation,” she said. As a former Ionia county commissioner with a majority of Republican population, Mason got involved in the Ionia County Democratic Party. She is now the chair of the Ionia County Democratic Party. Mason was still teaching when she got elected to the Ionia County Commission Board, and she was re-elected three times.
She served a total of eight years, until she had to give up her seat to run for the 86th District in the Michigan State House. “I ran unopposed for the third commissioner term,” she said. “I consider that a compliment.”
And even though she didn’t win the state representative seat, Mason gained a huge following.
“I got people interested in politics, they were positive for the cause,” she said. “We had great conversations. It doesn’t make me a loser. So many good things came out of it.” And nothing will stop her from running again for the state representative seat in 2016.
Candidate Lynn Mason knocking on doors in 2014
Mason is working on broadening her platform beyond education. “I don’t like boredom,” she said. “I need some sort of challenge and to have my hands in something.”
She most certainly does have her hands in a lot of things. Other than chairing the Ionia Democratic Party, building up the membership and raising money, Mason is the president of the local chapter of Delta, Kappa, and Gamma society of female professional educators who put on educational related events.
The most recent one was in Greenville and at the Ellis School in Belding. The group performed a play for first graders about friendship and diversity. Mason is also on the Belding Labor Day Committee and would like to get involved with the Belding Chamber of Commerce. She is the chairperson for Substance Use Disorder Advisory Committee known as SUDAC. “I have a community service focus,” she said.
2014 candidate Lynn Mason with student volunteer Dan Embedding
In response to how does she approach large projects such as campaigning, Mason said, “I lay a foundation and everything comes through with what I have done. I needed a campaign manager and people with experience. So, I asked for a campaign manager, because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it alone.”
Mason’s inspiration is her athletic background. She played tennis and golf on boy’s teams because there were no girl’s teams. Her role model is definitely Eleanor Roosevelt.
On the theme of challenges in life, Mason said the biggest challenge was parenting and overall family life. Growing up on three meals a day, Mason knew she wouldn’t be able to do that as a teacher, MEA negotiator, a wife and a mother.
Lynn Mason speaking during campaign
“You can’t do it all,” she said. “It’s okay to have tuna or grilled cheese sandwich. You will survive on peanut butter. That way it’s less pressure.”
And even though Mason is very independent, there were three women in her life that played a big role. They were her mother, mother-in-law and mother equivalent,
“I’ve learned different things from each one of them,” she said. “My mother was proud of me and propelled me.” On the other hand, mother-in-law was a retired teacher and saw injustices in education.
“She used me as a conduit, but she pushed me and encouraged me,” Mason said. Mother equivalent (father’s second wife) taught her about violence encounters. Mason has always worked hard herself and taught the same to the students. “People notice if you work hard,” she said. “Good will always come to those who work hard, not always quickly but you have to take the high road.”
Lynn Mason speaks with veteran Juanita Woodward on her 2014 campaign trail.
Her biggest fear is irrelevance. Her biggest pride is being a retired teacher of 30 years. “I never want to be irrelevant,” she said. “I am not scared of public speaking. I am pretty brave.” In face of adversity, Mason said she works through it with friends and through relationships, and biking. “I ride my bike hard until I have a solution,” she said.
On the issue of women’s equality with men in the USA.“No, we don’t have equality yet,” she said. “When you look at the wage difference and at the makeup of those in the state and federal legislature, it becomes obvious. However, I am hopeful that more women will gain the confidence to overcome the obstacles and start going for more positions typically presumed to be a man’s job. Then there will be more equity.”
Lynn Mason, the woman behind the superwoman.
1-What makes you feel good about yourself?Lynn: When I accomplish a project.
2-How about secrets, do you have any secrets?Lynn: I have secrets. Everybody has. If you reveal them, you must have a trust relationship. I approach it cautiously: how is it going to affect someone else?
3-Any tips and advice for other women?Lynn: Be true to yourself. You don’t have to be perfect. Try something new.
Note: This is the fourth installment in a feature series about Inspiring Women. It is dedicated to all women who are trying to make a difference and better other people’s lives, as well as their own. In putting together this feature series, I was inspired by several moments in life that in particular stand out.
No.1 A dedication of a Relax, mind, body & soul book by Barbara Heller from my son Jake: “I dedicate this to my inspiring and motivational mother.” Kuba
No. 2 While on a story before Mother’s Day, I dropped in at Ace Bernard Hardware to talk about the prizes with owner Charlie Bernard. We talked also about the Lowell Area Chamber and its director Liz Baker.
“You know what I like about Liz, she keeps re-inventing herself,” Bernard said.
No. 3 Again on a story for the International Women’s Day I talked to Sow Hope president Mary Dailey Brown.
“If you want to make a difference in this world, seriously consider helping impoverished women. Helping women is the key to unlocking poverty.”
No. 4 At a parents teacher conference at Cherry Creek Elementary in Lowell in mid 1990s: “Mrs. Pala, we do not give up,” teacher Karen Latva said.
Lowell woman completes North Country Trail to memorialize daughter
Name: Gail Lowe
Occupation: retired intensive care nurse
Residence: Lowell
Hobbies & Interests: hiking, reading, writing
By Emma Palova
EW Emma’s Writings
Lowell, MI – It’s never easy to lose a parent, but to lose a child is a traumatic event beyond imagination.
Gail Lowe calls herself “Hiker Babe”, and she truly is a veteran hiker of 10,000 miles with just one fear left. And that is she won’t be able to hike anymore because of aging and related health reasons.
Gail Lowe on a mission walk in memory of daughter.
On Thanksgiving of last year, Lowe completed the most difficult hike of her life. It was “Becka’s Hike” to memorialize her daughter Rebecca Carrie Lyons, 46, who died of breast cancer in May of 2013.
Lowe is working on a book “My Best for Becka” about the end of her daughter’s life.
“It’s like opening a scar and an old wound,” she said. “It’s very difficult.”
It is Lowe’s hope, that the book will help the grieving process and foster personal growth.
“Becka’s biggest fear was that she would be forgotten,” Lowe said. “I wanted to make sure that would never come true.”
Rebecca Carrie Lyons
So, Lowe embarked on a 4,600-mile long hike of the North Country Trail (NCT) on March 18, 2014. She wanted to complete it as a thru hike which means in one season.
“It was a hike with a mission,” she said.
Lowe had previously hiked twice the Appalachian Trail which is only half as long as the NCT.
One of the most difficult parts of the hike was in the western half of the Upper Peninsula, where the trail was overgrown.
“I had to do a lot of bushwhacking,” she said. “I was attacked by a raptor. I saw two wolves and bears.”
Lowe who has also hiked in Alaska, said, the UP part of the trail was much more remote than the one in Alaska.
On the other hand, probably the easiest part of the hike was through North Dakota.
“People welcomed me immediately,” she said. “I was dreading hiking there, but it was easy and it is a beautiful state.”
Victorious Gail Lowe at the end of 4,600 mile hike.
But, what was even more difficult than the length of the hike, was the extreme solitude. Lowe said that on the other trails people camp at night and share shelters together.
“I was it, there were no other hikers,” she said. “The loneliness was overwhelming.”
To fight the loneliness, Lowe went to as many towns as she could to meet with the locals and to reach out to them.
And that was mutual, because Lowe had the help of more than 100 “trail angels.” Trail angels are people who help hikers either with shelter, food or transportation from the trail to towns and back.
“The hike was truly blessed. People took me in for the night,” she said. “It was mind-boggling. Sometimes they did meet me along the way.”
Staying in a tent at 20 F would have been hard, if it wasn’t for the Methodists who opened their doors to Lowe.
“They truly practice their faith,” she said.
Lowe had planned her hike to start and to finish in Ohio. Three couples helped her by taking her back and forth between the trail and the town, so Lowe didn’t have to carry the “rock” or the big backpack.
“I could just use the day pack for four to five days,” she said.
Even though by now after thousands of miles of hiking, Lowe has it down to a science. She carries 26 to 28 pounds on her back.
She averaged 30 to 35 miles a day, before her health became an issue. Lowe came down with mononucleosis and had to make three trips to three different emergency rooms. Her average mileage was down to 15 miles.
“I was exhausted with respiratory infections,” she said. “There really is no treatment for it. I took massive doses of vitamin c.”
Mission accomplished
Against all odds including the nasty 2014 weather, Lowe finished the thru hike in one year as the only woman in the USA. She received major publicity including TV, NPR radio and 40 to 50 articles.
“It was a combination of being the first woman to do it in one hiking season and in memory of my daughter,” Lowe said. “I asked myself how do I want to finish this hike.”
Lowe wanted a quiet finish just between her and Becka. That’s why she planned the last two miles on Thanksgiving Day.
“I could sneak in under the radar and have the type of finish I wanted,” she said.
But, Lowe also wanted to know that Becka was with her all along.
“I told myself if I find a quarter on the ground I would know Becka was with me,” she said.
On the last two miles of the last day, Lowe looked down and found a quarter.
“That was a message she was with me,” Lowe said. “The outcome of the hike is that the entire nation is aware of Becka. The mission was accomplished.”
Her major motivation for a hike that took 8.5 months to complete remained Becka.
“I consider myself a bad ass in hiking,” Lowe said. “I almost drowned, had a surgery and encountered a man with a gun. But knowing that it was in Becka’s memory carried me all along.”
Lowe’s advice to those thinking about hiking the trail is not to tackle it in one season.
“The mileage is daunting,” she said. “There are unmarked areas and the solitude, it can be overwhelming. Give it at least two years.”
Because northern Michigan still had snow in May, Lowe had to turn back to Ohio and hike east and wait for Michigan to thaw.
How did Lowe succeed in spite of all the challenges?
She trained for two months before the hike walking 10 miles a day with an over weighted backpack.
Lowe turned 65 on the NCT hike on Sept. 4th, and she still wants to hike the Continental Divide trail to be the first woman with a quintuple crown award.
Gail Lowe shows a quarter as a message from her daughter
“Hiking is my passion, my church,” she said. “I feel closer to higher power. It has given me strength, freedom and confidence. It has come with tears, sorrow and joy. My trail name is Chosen. I am living out my destiny.”
Lowe said she will do the Continental Divide trail ASAP, before the aging process takes over and makes it impossible.
“My hiking days are numbered,” she said. “I have learned that it’s not the best motivator just pounding out miles, but the most inspirational was the kindness of the people and making lifelong friends. I could feel love coming over me like an ocean of love washing over me.”
Lowe says about herself that she is not religious, but she is spiritual.
“None of us does a hike like this alone,” she said. “I can picture a chain of people holding hands and those are the people who came out. I didn’t do it alone.”
Lowe calls her hikes pilgrimages.
“It’s a time to reflect, it gives insight and introspection,” she said. “The greatest fun is succeeding at your goal, finishing what you start. It gives me incredible accomplishment and confidence.”
Lowe ignores negative people in order to accomplish her goals.
“It’s my responsibility to step over them and keeping my eye on the goal and not let them affect my ability of moving forward,” she said. “I’ve become strong mentally, physically and spiritually.”
Lowe’s final advice:
“Don’t quit, no matter what.”
However, as far as the grieving process itself, Lowe says there is no closure on grieving, ever.
“Becka was my best friend, and when all was said and done, we both forgave each other everything and loved each other dearly,” Lowe said. “I miss being able to do the simple things with her like talking on the phone, going out to eat together, going “thrifting” at thrift shops, travelling together, and listening to her sing at karaoke. She lived for music and had an amazing voice! I miss being able to touch her and kiss her face.”
NCT runs through Fallasburg Park in Kent County, Michigan.
Since the establishment of NCT in 1980, only five men have completed a thru hike of the trail and Lowe was the sixth person, and the only woman in the USA.
NCTA executive director Bruce Matthews said Lowe’s hike elevates the awareness of the North Country Trail.
“It fires people’s imagination and makes the trail more accessible to women,” he said. “It expands the horizon. It is unusual to complete it in one season.”
Matthews hopes that the experience Lowe has had will inspire other people to follow in her footsteps.
“You have to be prepared,” he said. “NCT is different from the Appalachian or the Pacific trails.”
What distinguishes NCT from the other trails is that it runs through different environments, and it does not follow a mountain range.
“Trail angels will be looking for you ready to help,” he said. “You can share experiences and volunteers make the routes more scenic.
On the theme of the extreme solitude on the trail, Matthews said:
“Solitude is part of the NCT experience,” he said.
On the psychology aspect of the strenuous hike, Dr. Daniel Ehnis, professor at Cornerstone University, said that taking on this challenge aids the healing process in a few ways:
“First of all, it helps the mother to do something extreme and distracting, rather than sitting by helplessly.
Second, the mother’s agony and suffering helps her transfer her psychological pain into physical pain. The physical discomfort can be easier to manage than the emotional turmoil from the loss.
Finally, her daughter’s wish to not be forgotten would take something extraordinary to honor that request.”
Lowell, MI- I decided to contribute to the Blogging 201 discussion Day 6 on social media. I am sharing my experience with the much coveted social media.
There are three or more social media distinctions on the WordPress platform.
Number one: sharing buttons or white boxes either in your settings, you drag which services you want. Or on your dashboard in the Publish section on the right, you see Publicize and you click on edit. Add the ones you want. Then of course you want the public to use the sharing buttons as well.
Number two: The much coveted facebook like widget that can go into almost any sidebar. However, the facebook like widget works only with facebook pages, not with personal fb.
So, you first create a facebook page, if you don’t have one. Then copy its URL into the facebook page like widget. Make sure you save. It takes a few minutes. Then, your post on facebook will show in the fb widget on your blog, along with heads of the people who like your page.
The same goes for Instagram except that your photos will show.
Number three: Social media icons. Best placement on top in the upper right hand corner or in the footer. You can find them on the Internet, copy their code and paste into your text widget or you can also find them in the support section of WordPress titled Social Tools. Again copy and paste into the widget text box, and save.
Don’t forget to connect them to your social profiles like Twitter, facebook, LinkedIn and/or Google +.
That means replace the text in the brackets with your let’s say Twitter URL.
However, all this is pointless unless you’re working both your blog and your facebook page. That means regular posts with photographs, logos, polls, events and such.
Lowell, – I make my home in Lowell, a small town in the Midwest. It lies at the crossroads of two major waterways, the Flat River in the northeast and the Grand River in the southern part.
What I’ve always liked about this hometown is the people who live here. They are down to earth folks who earn their living the hard way. Many of them work two part-time low paying jobs with no benefits.
The median family income is around $40,000.
Lowell rowing team on the Flat River.
But, what is most fascinating about Lowell are the people who care about each other. They get together to rejoice and celebrate their successes as in the annual Lowell Area Chamber membership gathering that awards the Person of the Year.
They mourn together when a great citizen passes such as recently Ray Zandstra, and many others who have made a difference in the community.
And in order not to forget community giants like Ivan Blough, the people of Lowell establish foundations and scholarships. The one that honors this truly down to earth man is called the Ivan K. Blough Vocational Scholarship.
The KDL Engelhardt Library in Lowell sits right on the Riverwalk.Being fortunate enough, the town has received bequests from local philanthropists such as Mr. E., that is Harold Englehardt.
In May of 1996, Englehardt’s will set into motion a legacy that benefited the Lowell area community forever. Known as a low-key, humble man who lived his life simply and without fanfare, Englehardt was a self-made millionaire who chose to give back to the community he loved.
Another area philanthropist was late Peter Wege who donated money for farm preservation and nature education in the Wittenbach Wege Agriscience Center.
Wittenbach/Wege Agriscience nature center
The community also fights together; in the fall it is the annual Pink Arrow Pride game that spreads awareness and raises money to fight cancer.
The community honors its veterans, late and alive, in the annual Memorial Day parade.
Main Street before Pink Arrow game.
It stepped up in an uprecendented effort to fight hunger and poverty when local churches created the Flat River Outreach Ministries (FROM) in 1998.
The community collects food for the FROM pantry throughout the year in different food fights like the north side against the south side of the town. Residents bring cans of food to the annual Riverwalk parade in July.
“Can you imagine, all these people bringing cans to the parade,” said former pastor Roger LaWarre of the First Congregational Church of Lowell.
The community loves the arts and it has named the gallery inside Lowell Arts after another philanthropist King Doyle.
It preserves history as local businessman Greg Canfield saved three buildings on the bridge from demolition and turned them into the Main Street Inn,
People of the past, present and the future make up the fabric of this resilient community that is bound together by love and caring.
Lowell, MI- They inspire us. We look up to them. We admire them. We grow stronger by emulating them.
In the “Inspiring Women” series, the EW team will be talking to some of the influential women in the area.
Mystic orchids
How do they handle stress, illness, fame, hardship or multi-tasking in light of daily activities?
What makes them strong and resilient?
They keep reinventing themselves, they assimilate or stand out. They’re comedic and serious. They range from trail coordinators, founders of women’s organizations, chamber directors, ministers to local authors, actresses and artists.
What keeps them going in face adversity, controversy and lack of funding? How do they overcome everyday obstacles that bind or deter us?
They never give up until they reach their goal. Call it determination, passion and love for what they do.
But, most of all they’re wives, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and friends.
They have families and never-ending domestic responsibilities. The husband is waiting for dinner; somebody needs to wash the dishes and do the laundry.
Social pressures require they look good and fit, and up to speed with changing times. Sometimes they have to put on a mask of happiness, while deep inside they’re burning like a candle. They don’t give into gossip and lies, deceit or danger.
A strange engine inside keeps them humming.
Read about them over the next weeks and celebrate with them the International Women’s Day worldwide on March 8.
About the featured photo:
Artist Kathleen Mooney painted this picture influenced by Gee Bend’s quilts.
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a mini series about the 25th anniversary of arrival to the USA.
By Emma Palova
Lowell, MI – The early years in the USA consisted of me packing up my luggage and kids and wanting to go back home to former Czechoslovakia. Once it got so far that my dad Vaclav said he was going to buy me airplane tickets.
I unpacked and my mom Ella with a German neighbor friend Mrs. Gunnell brought over a fortune teller.
“You got yourself in a mess,” she said. “You don’t know where you want to be.”
25 years in the USA
I was torn between the old and the new. The new didn’t seem so great. I remember dad teaching me how to drive on a short stretch of a freeway between Big Rapids and Reed City. Both “holes” terrified me with their nothingness.
“You came unprepared,” he said.
When I think about it today, he was right, like most fathers are. I was unprepared. I didn’t have a driver’s license or a license to practice civil engineering in America, or a desire to do so.
All I could do was listen to the band “Chicago” and cry.
Everything took a turning point when my husband Ludek found a job in Grand Rapids and we could move to an apartment in Kentwood. I took writing classes at the Grand Rapids Community College.
But in the meantime I worked as a clerk in women’s department at a Midwest chain Meijer. Most people have. That’s where I started the store’s newsletter X-Files with a friend. We wrote it on a box from bras. Since Twitter or Facebook were not around, we wrote messages to each other on that same box until finally someone threw it out.
I also wrote for a Czech newspaper former “Czechoslovak Newsweek” that later changed names to ” American Lists.”That was the first time I got into trouble for writing. The article had something to do with religion. Ever since then, I follow the two major pillars of journalism; if you don’t want to get into trouble don’t write about religion or politics.
The kids were doing well in the public schools. Jake went to Challenger elementary and Emma to Kentwood High.
But, then something else transpired. Family members back home started dying. That meant flying to funerals painful flights.
When you emigrate, you don’t think about these things. You are never completely separated from your past, and never fully integrated into the present. You lose old friends, and don’t find new ones.
Gabrielle Garcia Marquez wrote in his “100 Years of Solitude:”
“You’re not home in a new place until someone close dies there.”
Lowell, MI- We arrived at the frozen JFK airport on Dec.22, 1989. I had a 20-hour trip behind me and a lifetime of memories. I was traveling with my two-and-a-half year son Jake and my daughter Emma, 10.
Long before Delta sky team, we took the Czechoslovak Airlines (CSA) from Czech capital Prague to Montreal and on to NYC.
My parents Ella & Vaclav Konecny were waiting for us with a gray station wagon. I still have the jean jacket United Colors of Beneton Tipe de Nimes that I arrived in for memorabilia purposes. And I was freezing in it. The first night we stayed in NYC at my parents’ friends, Mr. & Mrs. Herman from Vizovice.
Our hometown Zlin in Czech Republic.
A long way home to Big Rapids, MI awaited us. I had no idea how huge the USA is. Czech Republic is maybe the size of Connecticut. The car was like an ice cave. You couldn’t see outside unless you scraped the windows from inside and outside.
First Jake wanted to sit on my lap, but he had to be glued to his place by a seat belt.
After a long haul and once we could see through the windows, Jake discovered water towers along the Ohio Turnpike.
“I want to go and sit on it,” he kept repeating. “I want to sit on that ball.”
“Alright I will stop and you can climb on the ball,” my dad said angrily. And slowed down.
We arrived exhausted in Big Rapids, Michigan on Christmas Eve at night. We had to pick up my brother Vas at his mobile home in Rogers Heights. I haven’t seen him since 1976, when he left Czechoslovakia with mom Ella to join dad. Since then, after the Velvet Revolution and breaking away of Slovakia in 1993, the country changed names to Czech Republic.
25th anniversary of arrival to the USA
I was surprised at the huge reflector lamp on Vas’ home that almost blinded us given all the snow.
Mom had the Christmas Eve dinner ready in the fridge. In Czech Republic, Christmas Eve is the main holiday. It is also known as the Feast of Adam and Eve. That is when people open their presents, eat fried carp or other fish, mushroom soup and potato salad. On that evening the good ones, who had fasted, may see the golden pig on the wall, according to a legend.
Our Christmas tree 25 years later in Lowell.
I still remember the feeling of that night. I was confused and uncertain about what I was getting myself into. Big Rapids is a small university town compared to where we lived in Czechoslovakia in a 30,000- people apartment complex known as the Southern Slopes. These enormous apartment complexes, spread around the country,are one of the few successes and remnants of socialism.
The fear of the unknown and a new reality kicked in suddenly. I was in a foreign country, even though I spoke English and had relatives by my side. What will the future bring?
My husband Ludek was in Canada because that’s how the visa process worked out. My parents sponsored me to the USA, while Ludek got immigration visa to Quebec.
I am an engineer by trade with a bachelor’s degree from Technical University of Brno.
Since my parents were both working at the Ferris State University, I took classes there in Computer Aided Design (CAD).
I hated engineering. It was the only university I could get into considering my American past. We had already lived in the USA in the 1970s in Texas, when we left communist Czechoslovakia illegally. And we were punished for that in many ways.
Lowell, MI- On May 16th, my world dipped into a blur. The white fuzzy ball in my right eye turned into fog that surrounded me.
As I turned on the computer in the morning I couldn’t see the Google logo on the screen. I panicked. I drove to the eye doctor in town, but I couldn’t see the signs on the road.
“What brings you here on a Friday morning?” asked Dr. Holzer.
“I can’t see,” I said with tears in my eyes.
After the exam, Dr. Holzer said, “I see why you can’t see. You have cataracts in both eyes.”
Dr. Verdier’s practice in Grand Rapids
I was diagnosed with a fast-moving cataract in my right eye two years ago. Unlike the cataracts that most elderly people eventually develop, this one strikes younger people at a fast pace.
“You will need a surgery in two years,” said the doctor exactly. “I cannot correct your vision to 20/20. This is worse than I expected.”
I cried that fall as I walked to the newspaper office. I could barely see the sidewalk.
The new eyeglasses helped somewhat, but the right eye was useless. I started using the left eye straining it further. Now, the fuzzy ball was also in the left eye.
I couldn’t see from the treadmill my beautiful garden. Everything became a chore. I had to use the magnifying glass on top of the eyeglasses, and still the letters were dancing in front of me somewhere in deep 3D. I had to guess where everything was or used to be.
So, here I was two years later sitting across from Dr. Holzer by the optical equipment in the dark.
“You’re going to need a surgery in both eyes,” he said.
“I want Dr. Verdier to operate on my eyes,” I said.
“You know Dr. Verdier?”
I did know Dr. David Verdier from a story for the Grand Rapids Magazine and Advance Newspapers about his surgeries aboard the Orbis airplane in China. Orbis is a well-known organization among eye specialists, and Dr. Verdier is a renowned eye specialist.
I was well aware of Verdier’s specialization both in corneal disease and cataracts, and about his practice. Verdier Eye Center, located at 1000 E. Paris Avenue in Grand Rapids. That’s where we did the interview for several stories.
“You’re going to have to wait, but Dr. Verdier is worth waiting for,” said Holzer. “He can also correct your vision during the surgery so you won’t need eye glasses.”
The initial consultation was scheduled for Sept. 22 to evaluate how far along the cataracts were.
In the meantime, my eyesight was getting worse by the minute. On the night of the first Summer Sizzlin’ concert, I was blinded by the setting sun as I walked out of the Sneaker’s Restaurant. That was at the beginning of July.
When I was shooting the Riverwalk parade on July 12, I could not see the floats or candidate Lynn Mason marching in the parade. I was shooting into the fog. My son was standing by my side with baby Josephine and I could hardly make out their contours.
On Monday, when I walked to the Franciscan Sisters I couldn’t see my neighbors doing wood on the other side of the gravel road.
“Hey Emma, we’re here,” Karen shouted.
At the Sisters, I couldn’t see the nearby school from their Canticle House on the hill.
Finally, I couldn’t see myself in the mirror. I picked up the phone.
“I have to have the surgery as soon as possible,” I cried. “I can’t write, I can’t drive. Tell Dr. Verdier that I know him.”
authoremmapalova 