It all started so quietly – in 1940:
Construction was completed on the Edmund Pettus Bridge over the Alabama River in Selma. The bridge was named in honor of a man who led Alabama’s Ku Klux Klan as its “Grand Dragon of the Realm” and served in the U.S. Senate from 1897 to 1907. Continue reading
Today marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Joe Shalton. He was born on October 17, 1914, seven years after his parents Ralph and Mary arrived in the United States from Lithuania.
His brothers were Eddie and John and his sisters were Katie and Nell. Continue reading
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued an executive order freeing the slaves in the Confederate States. Better known as the Emancipation Proclamation, this would be the last significant presidential order related to civil rights until Turnip Day in 1948, some 85 years later. Continue reading
[In June of 2012, Rita began her journey with breast cancer. She informed several friends in a couple of emails, and then as word got out, her support village blossomed. To keep everyone up to date, I took over the message duties, but always with her expert editorial contributions. There were ultimately 21 emails in the process.]
From: Rita Leifhelm
Sent: Thursday, June 14, 2012 12:16 PM
Subject: Official Diagnosis
The report is that I have invasive lobular carcinoma in my right breast. I am having an MRI this afternoon to determine if there is any left breast involvement.
From: Lonnie Shalton
Sent: Monday, October 15, 2012 1:45 PM
Subject: Rita Update – “Game On!”
Friends and Family:
Chemo has arrived and Rita’s new shout-out is “Game On!”. Her plan is to accept sage advice passed along by Cathy Jolly (who in turn was quoting an oncology nurse): “Chemo is your friend. It will get you better. This time in your life is just a season. Seasons change and you will be done soon…do not think about chemo as anything other than what it is: strong medicine to get you better.”
From: Lonnie Shalton
Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2012 11:07 AM
Subject: Rita Update – “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”
The subject line was suggested by Rita. You are probably thinking that it should be no surprise where Rita would be on Christmas. Of course she would be in Kansas City. But it turned out to be touch and go whether she would be on the Missouri side in our condo or on the Kansas side in a KU hospital bed.
From: Lonnie Shalton
Sent: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 10:48 AM
Subject: Rita Update – Quarantine Lifted/Chrome Dome Pals/Good Vibrations
If the 3-week chemo rhythm cycle was still in place, Rita and I would be spending most of today at the KU Cancer Center. Instead, she started this morning with yoga and is at the moment celebrating with her yoga buddies at a coffee shop. Fittingly, Groundhog Day was in this past 3-week period and, like Bill Murray in the movie, she has escaped that nagging repeating loop. The side effects from the final chemo treatment were unremarkable and Rita quickly trended up to almost full-time yoga and took walks on the treadmill and in Loose Park during that good weather. Attended book club last night.
As the MLK holiday approaches, I submit for your consideration the name of baseball maverick Bill Veeck. Those of you who are not big baseball fans (or too young) might not know of this colorful and visionary team owner who shook up the establishment with his stunts, fan promotions, exploding scoreboards and so much more. For good or bad, he is probably most remembered for sending 3-foot-7-inch Eddie Gaedel to the plate in a major league game (Eddie wore uniform number 1/8 and walked on 4 pitches). But here is another fact: Veeck marched (on his one good leg and a wooden one) in Martin Luther King’s funeral procession in Atlanta in 1968. This is a story of why that march was in character for this man and why he has a key role in the history arc covered by Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. Continue reading
Eulogy for Albert Riederer by Fred Slough
December 31, 2012
Good morning, I am Fred Slough, lawyer and longtime friend of Albert and Sandy and their family. Continue reading
525,600 minutes – that’s how many minutes there are in a year and it’s the opening line of a song from the Broadway show “Rent.” The song goes on to suggest more meaningful ways to measure time – sunsets, laughter, cups of coffee …… time with a friend …… which leads to the song’s message – measure your life in love.