Total Pageviews

Sunday, July 14, 2013

July 14, 2013


July 14, 2013

It’s been over a week since my last posting, I have resurfaced, and is there a lot to report on! We arrived home from Indianapolis on July 4, 2013 after picking up our lab, Mollie and stopping to visit with my folks at their home in Rockport, Me.

I have to share the following story with you. On July 3rd we were driving up I-495 in Massachusetts and stopped to refuel at a Shell Station. As I exited the coach, an employee from the station came up to me and asked, “do you accept donations?”. After stuttering and stammering I responded that we do so he proceeded to hand me rolled up currency. I thanked him and put the money in my pocket. As he was walking away he said to me “I wish I could do more.” His generosity and sincerity really caught me off guard and I decided I needed to speak with the man some more, so inside the station I went. After apologizing to him for not thanking him properly, I thanked him again and asked him if he knew anything about the Daughters of the Nile and/or the Shriner’s Hospitals. “No ma’am, I really don’t know anything about the Daughters of the Nile but when you drove in, I knew I had to do something. My girlfriend’s sister has a little boy who was born 3 months early with severe CP and has been treated at a Shriner’s Hospital. They have been so good to her and her little boy. I knew I had to do something”. I thanked him again and went back outside, in tears. I said to Harold, I am so stunned and overwhelmed by his thoughtfulness that I want to give him a “Love for the Children” pin. So back in the store I went and presented him with this very small token of our appreciation. By now the coach was refueled and we boarded to continue our trek to Maine. I pulled the rolled up money from out of my pocket, it was single dollar bill. I cannot express the emotions which welled up. This young man gave from his heart…..friends; this is what it’s all about: giving freely from your heart.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday we spent reorganizing and replenishing Nila. Saturday, July 6th, Supreme Queen Margaret Ann Risk arrived from Texas and was delivered to our house by Queen Teresa. Sunday a small group of us visited McLaughlin’s at the Marina in Hampden, Maine for “lobstah”, a request of the Supreme Queen.
 
 
 
Monday, July 8th started out in a downpour however, we were determined that “it wasn’t going to rain on our parade”. The skies cleared just enough at the beginning of the “Kick Off Event” so we went ahead as planned. Two of the local television news stations were there to interview the Supreme Queen and promote the tour, channel WABI-TV and WVII-TV/FOX affiliate. Danny Webb, owner of Webb’s RV Center, presented Nila’s keys to Supreme Queen Margaret Ann.
 
 
 
 
 
Several Anah Shrine Clowns, Anah Go Cart members, Anah Funsters and Anah Highlander Ernie Smith were in attendance. Several Anah Divan members, Past Potentates, current Potentate F. Lee Kaufman and Peggy were able to take a few moments off from work to support this event and greetings were brought from Potentate Lee as well as Past Potentate Larry Hersom, representing the Shriners Hospital in Boston and Anah Chaplain, Alton Kenny representing Shriners Hospital in Springfield. It was also nice that my sister, Karen drove my folks up from Rockport for the event and my son and his family was also there to support us and wish us well on the tour. Many of my friends were there to send us off with their well wishes.
 
 
 
This event was largely successful due to the dedication of the committee and those assisting; Chairman Past Potentate Tony Bowers and his wonderful wife Carmel, Anah Oriental Guide Steve Trimm and his wife, Betty, Princess Tirzah, Ankh Temple Daughters of the Nile, Queen Teresa and her husband David, many friends, and members of Ankh Temple No 160.
 
 
 
 
 
 
A special thank you to official adopted photographer Noble Dick Kilton. The Anah Go Carts made a special presentation and donation to the Love for the Children Tour Daily Expense Fund. For me, the highlight of the event, were the two guest speakers which Chairman Tony asked to attend; Craig Clifford from Haynesville, who spoke of his experience as a Shrine child, back in the early days and Lauren who is currently being treated at the Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia. Both speakers shared their stories with us, their love for the hospitals and how being treated by the doctors and the staff has changed their lives. In a word, “Priceless”.

Monday evening, July 8, 2013 – Ankh Temple held its’ Official Visit with our new Supreme Queen, Margaret Ann Risk at the Ralph J. Pollard Masonic Center. The banquet started at 6 pm, followed by a performance of the Ankh Temple Dance Unit. (Missed you Lorena!) We initiated 1 new Princess into our order; I was so proud of our officers who executed their parts extremely well! (We missed you, Lorena!)
 
 

Bright and early Tuesday morning, we hit the road for the “Love for the Children Tour”. We made a pit stop in Lewiston, Maine at the historic Kora Shrine Building and were greeted in the parking lot by custodian Tony Perkins. This man should be the Kora historian! What a wonderful tour he took us on in this absolutely beautiful building which is on the Historical Registry.
 
 
 
Our schedule dictated that we arrive in Portland by noon, so off we went. Arok Temple No. 94, Lewiston, Maine held its’ Official Visit that night at the Deering Masonic Lodge which is also where we parked for the night. The ladies of Arok put on a home-cooked very hardy dinner and executed a wonderful and fun-filled Ceremonial, bringing in two new members. Their new dance unit also, made their premier performance, “Dance Like an Egyptian”; great performance dancers!!




When Harold entered the building the next morning to disconnect from the power, he set off the alarm system and before we knew it, Portland’s “finest” came screaming into the dooryard on two wheels (two cruisers). No arrests were made, thank goodness; we would have hated to lose our chauffer so early in the trip! Now, the ending to this story would have been much different, if Margaret Ann had done what she threatened, to come running out of the motor coach yelling that she had been abducted! Good decision on that one, Margaret Ann, to stay inside!! Wednesday, we arrived in Wakefield, Massachusetts around 9:45 am at the Wakefield Masonic Lodge for the Official Visit of Oppela Temple No. 50, Daughters of the Nile.

 
 

 The ladies served us a wonderful lunch prior to the Ceremonial and afterward we attended a 100th year Anniversary Celebration at the Danversport Yacht Club. A good time was had by all!! Thursday morning, we ventured into Boston to tour the Shriners Hospital for Children®. There’s a lot of new and exciting technology being introduced in the treatment, diagnosis, research and development aspects at the hospital. They have this scanner which they are now using to create an exact image of a patient’s burned area which is then used to make the compression appliance needed to prevent severe scarring from the burns injuries.


 

 


Amazing! During the luncheon, which included lobster rolls, Hospital Administrator C. Tom Desmond, presented a short power point and a certificate of appreciation to Daughters of the Nile for the organizations’ dedication and years of service. The Shriner Hospital in Springfield was expecting us at 3pm so off we went in a cloud of poofle dust! Harold got us to Springfield with minutes, literally, to spare and we were greeted by the Board of Governors who presented the Supreme Queen with a 100 yr. Anniversary cake. Again as at the Boston Hospital, new and exciting things are happening in the treatment, diagnosis and research development areas of healthcare.

 
 
 
 


One of the nurses demonstrated the use of a “vein finder” which when used decreases the time and trauma to the young patient when inserting needles for various procedures. This is just one of many technological advances which the Shriners Hospitals is implementing. Again, amazing!

 

We parked Nila at the Melha Shrine Center for all to see. Friday afternoon, Ahlem Temple No. 84 put on a beautiful ceremonial, initiating three new members followed by a casual picnic. Saturday; a day worth writing about. Now understand, that we left Bangor 4 days earlier with empty gray and black water tanks, and full fresh water storage. It’s 4.5 days later; we have not yet dumped or refilled the water tank. Are you starting to see where I’m going with this? At mid-day, I took a few minutes to bathe and shampoo, or at least I thought I was going to, until I checked the levels of the above stated tanks. Ooooops, full tanks, empty water tank. My thinking was that I could at least shampoo in the kitchen sink; well that thought went “down the drain”. Half-way through the process, the tank drained dry. With a towel around my shampoo laden head, outside I went in search of an outside water spicket to finish the job. Here I was in the middle of the Melha parking lot, looking like a contortionist using a garden hose to finish the job!!!



 Gotta love “dry” camping. Now, we needed to find a dump station to empty those full tanks so off we went to a treatment center to take care of that. Note to self – 3 days is the limit before refilling the water and emptying the waste tanks. Oh, and did I mention that we kept tripping the circuit breakers in the Shrine Center in order to run the roof air, curling irons, electric rollers, computers, printers, etc?! This first 3 day stay was truly a learning experience. Saturday night, the ladies of Ahlem Temple held an absolutely beautiful banquet and ball, great meal and fabulous music. One of the really nice things to see were all the Fez’s in the room. The Potentate of Melha, Ed Griffin, Past Imperial Sir Ralph Semb and Springfield Hospital Chairman of the Board of Governors, David Bernstein were all present and brought greetings. The evening was truly one for the memory book!

No comments:

Post a Comment