Dr. Lindsey Meder, who is with Endodontics, P.C., performed my root canal last week. I’d discovered that, while earning her undergrad degree, she played basketball for the Hawkeyes at the University of Iowa. She was also drafted into the Women’s National Basketball Association where she played for the Minnesota Lynx.
I took her a copy of Leora’s Dexter Stories: The Scarcity Years of the Great Depression that has the Des Moines Tribune basketball photo of my mother (Doris) as a freshman. The Dexter girls still played three-court basketball but at the end of season, they had several extra practices in order to transition to six-on-six. Now women play full court with five players on a team. Dr. Meder said she hadn’t known about girls’ basketball before six-on-six.
Mom made the team as a freshman because she’d played against her older brothers, and because she was left-handed.
I’m glad the root canal is done. Now to get that tooth crowned soon.
Love that you shared the book with her! 🥰
When I gave a copy of Leora’s Letters to my ophthalmologist, he did a double-take. He’d just biked the Raccoon River Valley Trail with friends out to Minburn, where all five Wilson brothers are remembered on the Dallas County Freedom Rock!
Oh my goodness! See?!? You ARE a connector of people and stories…the power of place and love for those around you! Even your doctors and casual acquaintances as you share your books with readers.
Xo, Joy! 🥰
Thank you, Vicki! It’s been so encouraging.
🥰❤️🥰
When I was growing up, we had so few neighbor kids (at least few willing or skilled enough) to play that most of our games were one on one! 🙂
A great way to learn!
Liked your mother’s story, but you can keep those root canals – I want no part of them. 🦷🦷🦷
I didn’t either, but it stopped the pain and saved the tooth!
I know they’re necessary, but… OUCH!
Someone said it’s no worse than getting a filling. Well, she used a complicated microscope and she and her assistant worked like a surgeon and nurse, and it took about 45 minutes. I had a crummy afternoon, but after that, no worse than a filling. ha
😬
I’ll bet Dr. Meder will get a big kick out the book!
I hope so! She has kids but I don’t know how old they are. I wish I’d found an intro to the Great Depression like it.
The Wilson children were certainly good at sports-and just about everything else, too!. 🙂
The family was so thankful for their school during the Great Depression, along with sports and band!
Isn’t it funny when we find out that people in our lives were semi-famous for some other pursuit? We’re having a Springer Family Reunion in Minnesota this summer near Lake Superior.
Leora’s Letters looks like it would be an interesting read. I’ll check it out closer when I make my weekly Amazon pit stop. I finally make a dent in my Kindle, and then go right back and replace those I’ve read. Oh well, there are far worse habits. 🤣
I was going to sign up to your blog, Joy, but I don’t see any button to do that. In the bottom right there’s a task bar to select a language, and I see your Twitter (X) and Facebook buttons near the top, but I don’t see one for your blog. What am I missing? 😎
My messages say that you found it. Thanks, Pete! I follow a couple of people who write often about the elderly (hey, I’m not there yet, although I am #aginggratefully). David LaBelle’s latest (after losing his own mother in a terrible CA flood when he was 17): https://bridgesandangels.wordpress.com/2024/03/07/friendship-a-treasured-gift/?fbclid=IwAR05sgjAQxbD5q-tMTolZwc6bp-mjoLLYepj0MX6CQWm3h6oYoFe3xFa9cI The other is Paul Kotz, whose mother has Alzheimers. He writes such compelling stories about taking her for regular shots in her eyes. https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10223971916900457&set=a.1053212045232
Yes, I found it. For the last two years, I’ve been volunteering at an assisted living center in our area reading to seniors twice a week. Some are starting to deal with Alzheimer’s and other dementia issues. Literature is the thing that brings us together, but the real payoff is staying around a few minutes afterward just to connect with them. It’s one of the highlights of my week.
Bless you for that! I bet you get to hear some amazing stories.