BIRTHDAY 89-A LIFE WELL LIVED.

I met Paul Moeller when he came to my writer’s workshop in 1979. I talked him into taking one of my daughter’s baby cats home. Then later, in 1980, I joined his classes in video taping. He was determined to get public access programing into Calaveras County. He was so dedicated and so hardworking, you couldn’t say “no” to Paul. He’s had some tough years, with two broken femurs, strokes and other injuries. Here he is with his caretaker, Pam. He seems to be kind of wondering why everyone is making such a fuss over his birthday.

After his wife died, Marilyn Pyle has taken care of his bookkeeping and his mail and most of the things Martha took care of. Indispensable to him and he feels bereft when she is missing. She quickly organized his birthday party. Just some balloons, friends and cheesecake.

Paul certainly has aging issues; he speaks very slowly but he said of his good friend and neighbor, Bill with his wife Linda, “If you want trouble, you call Bill. Then you get more trouble.”  It tickled me he could make a joke.

Paul is like family and Marilyn’s husband Vern, and his son, Mitch came by. They do the heavy hauling, moving furniture, dump runs-you name it, they show up.

Marilyn thought it would be nice to take a group picture, which includes Karen Phillips, his long time driver after his first accident, and on the right Audry, Marilyn’s mother. I’m in the middle.

Then about that time, Sue showed up. But, we took a lot of pictures anyway.

Karen has a lot of memories of Paul and faithfully visits him every week.

Marilyn decided to put a candle on his favorite cake. Cheesecake at his request.

After we sang Happy Birthday…

He blew out the candle and we spent an hour or more just visiting. He has difficulty hearing on the phone. He rarely has his hearing aids in. But he had calls from friends and relatives in Germany. He has good days and bad days and this one was a good day. He could remember stories and bring up names from the past.

He asked me to take a picture of him with all of his cards. Many of them have cats on them. He lost his cat recently and a stray was hanging around Bill and Linda’s house. They suggested he feed the cat. It is feral and now hangs around Paul’s big sliding glass window. And though he can’t pet it, he enjoys seeing the cat come and eat. He named her/him Roosevelt or Rosie. “I go both ways,” he joshed.

I worked on 85 shows with Paul, as his anchor. It amazed me how he could remember names of past friends while I struggled. Paul is a legend in our county. The Board of Supervisor’s named the studio after him as an honor. And his legacy of over 4,000 productions is an everlasting part of our county’s history. A productive, generous life, well lived.

 

BE CAREFUL TO WHOM YOU GIVE.

Today is play day. Jim and I are taking a day off to take pictures of an “endangered species”, old barns and miner’s cabins. I mistakenly thought yesterday was Saturday. We both worked in the motor home kitchen. yesterday. Thinned canned goods, tossed stuff we don’t use, etc.. I did the wash and worked on mending a rug and some paperwork and pictures, etc. Jim received an email from our friend Al Penta with a list of charities  that you DON’T want to support. This is the biggest “giving” season of the year. Be wary.

How many ways can you spell G R E E D?

THINK BEFORE YOU DONATE! SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT BEFORE YOU MAKE CONTRIBUTIONS: As you open your pockets to do a good thing and make yourself feel good, please keep the following facts in mind: The American Red CrossPresident and CEO Marsha J. Evans’ salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses MARCH OF DIMESIt is called the March of Dimes because only a dime for every 1 dollar is given to the needy. The United WayPresident Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits. UNICEFCEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause. GOODWILLCEO and owner Mark Curran profits $2.3 million a year. Goodwill is a very catchy name for his business. You donate to his business and then he sells the items for PROFIT. He pays nothing for his products and pays his workers minimum wage! Nice Guy. $0.00 goes to help anyone! Stop giving to this man. Instead, give it to ANY OF THE FOLLOWING GO “GREEN” AND PUT YOUR MONEY WHERE IT WILL DO SOME GOOD: The Salvation ArmyCommissioner, Todd Bassett receives a small salary of only $13,000 per year(plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause. The American LegionNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Veterans of Foreign WarsNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Disabled American VeteransNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Military Order of PurpleHeartsNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! The Vietnam Veterans AssociationNational Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth! Make a Wish: For children’s last wishes. 100% goes to funding trips or special wishes for a dying child. St. Jude Research Hospital 100% goes towards funding and helping Children with Cancer who have no insurance and cannot afford to pay. Ronald McDonald Houses All monies go to running the houses for parents who have critically ill Children in the hospital. 100% goes to housing, and feeding the families. Lions Club International 100% OF DONATIONS GO TO HELP THE BLIND, BUY HEARING AIDES, SUPPORT MEDICAL MISSIONS AROUND THE WORLD. THEIR LATEST UNDERTAKING IS MEASLES VACCINATIONS (ONLY $1.00 PER SHOT). Please share this with everyone you can.

I would like to add some information to the above. During our recent rim fire, the Red Cross performed poorly according to volunteers who worked the fire. They brought inadequate and moldy supplies, treated volunteers as though they were stupid and gave conflicting orders to volunteers who were on the scene working two days before the Red Cross even arrived. Most of the supplies came from local businesses. The Red Cross did very little. (Not every member was callous and arrogant.) I’m also reminded when we burned out, the Red Cross refused my dad a loan, not a handout, a loan.

Locally, our food bank is in desperate need of food this year in both Calaveras and Tuolumne Counties. They don’t have enough to give turkeys to needy families this year.

For international and local charities, Oxfam is one of the best. International Heifer, is another. (I hope I have that name right.) It is about supplying money to buy goats, chickens, a calf, etc. to enable people to help themselves, rather than handing them money or rice or wheat.

Finca makes small loans to people to allow them to start small businesses to become self-sufficient.

Covenant House provides food, clothing and housing for people in need. Not as big a  problem where the weather isn’t brutal.

Solar Cooking International supplies solar devices for cooking and pasteurizing water in countries with plenty of sun and not much money for fuel.

Our local Elks Club supports abused children.

Hope you’ll dig deep this year since childhood hunger in the United States is getting more serious with cuts to food stamps. Don’t wait for the holidays to open your wallet. Americans, by the way,  are the most giving, charitable people on earth.

(AFTER PUBLISHING, I REALIZED THE GRID I COPIED IS TOO WIDE FOR MY PAGE. THE LAST AND WORST OF THE CHARITIES IS GOOD WILL. NOTHING GOES TO HELP OTHERS.