Oh Swell, a Zombie Pandemic

So far so good for the Spring of 2011. The tornados have missed us. Lots of rain. Plenty big green around here. Turtles in the pond. Frogs a’croakin. Canadian goslings running around with their goofy dinosaur gait. Allergies making the inside of my head itch. How do you scratch that anyhow?

There are creative projects galore these days. Here are a couple of examples...

The 93-year-old lady holding the dolls below is Polly Page, the Dollmaker. She has been carving dolls for 70-80 years, has taught the likes of Jane Fonda (according to Polly, Jane didn’t learn a darn thing) and Dolly Parton. She is well known for carving Aunt Jenny and Uncle Pink, based on real pioneers that settled in this area and started a community called Brownstown. You see, Pink's last name was Brown. Judging by his moniker, his parents were laugh riots.

I took her picture for a book project and for the local university archives.

The DVD jacket is for a local documentary about John’s Place, a little dive that has played a significant role in integration for this area.

Elisabeth has been digging into her heritage through Ancestry.com. Amazingly, she has traced her ancestors back to the 1200s. It made me curious and I tried to trace my Dad’s side of the family. So far, I can only get to 1898 and Plum Creek Manitoba where my grandfather was born. My Dad doesn’t know anything about his grandparents other than they were Mennonites.

A few years ago, my cousin Kendall sent me old photos from my mother’s side of the family. This wonderful shot shows my grandmother Elsie sitting on her mother’s knee in the early 1900s.

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to appreciate my roots more. Or maybe it is just living down here. I love the stuff my Dad tells me about when he was growing up. We have wonderful phone conversations these days.

And now, just for fun...

Did you know that May is Zombie Awareness Month? I kid you not. The Zombie Research Society has made it official. May brings with it “a sense of renewal and hopefulness,” which the society says makes May “the perfect month to emphasize continued vigilance in the face of the coming Zombie Pandemic.”

You too can become a member of the Zombie Research Society.

“As a member, you will be on the cutting edge of knowledge gathering about the undead and the threat they represent to the survival of the human race.”

You know, it might be worth it just for the t-shirt. I wonder if that's a zombie modeling it?