I wonder if one makes Turkey Tetrazinni the day before Thanksgiving an alarm goes off and your right to be the Martinsville,Virginia Cook of the Week in forever denied. Hope not because that's what I just did.
I knew Jennie wouldn't be here and figured David wouldn't either since he had promised to come to Birmingham for Christmas. I found a cousin quite by accident. In 2009 I had no way to have Internet at momma's house so I gave up having email. When I moved to The Pizitz I got my email and Internet installed again. My computer did not have enough memory to hold all my files so I was deleting all my old emails sent prior to 2009. I came across a cousin from my father's side of the family. Her dad and my dad joined the army and went to WWII together.When I was ten Daddy showed me photographs he had taken of Buchenwald which left me stunned. Patton's army were the first soldiers to see the Holocaust. Daddy gave the photographs to Uncle Paul and shortly thereafter he died of a heartache and the photographs became a memory. Another cousin had given me Suzanne's address and phone and I wrote her but heard nothing back. I ran across the email and her cell phone was included so I sent her a text. We met for breakfast and she invited me to her home for 2017 Thanksgiving and I go tomorrow thinking I would be taking Aunt Nell's dressing which is divine.
The Pizitz has lovely get togethers and a lunch was planned. I said I would bring a turkey since I would need the dripping for the dressing. I cooked my bird and she looked just great. I was going to wait to crisp the skin right before I went to the luncheon. Next morning I was making the cornbread for the dressing. Heat the oven to 450 and I start smelling something the alarm is sounding and flashing I realize the turkey was in the oven roasting his body way too crispy. Too dry for anything but sandwiches. Damn I thought. Every time I opened the oven door the alarm would sound. At one point Willie was so terrified he wouldn't come into the kitchen. I had also told a friend I would make a Rum Cake for a party down in in Wetumpka so I made the cake using a bunt pan with a removable center. Some reason the pan leaked and half the cake ended up on the bottom of the oven. Alarms and an odor well believe me. Yuck! I decided to use the clean oven feature and it cleaned it to nothing but black charcoal. I didn't have a turkey to take to the luncheon so I made the dressing and decided to make a squash casserole to take. All good right? I cooked the squash casserole and when I took it out, the oven would not stop cooking. I told maintenance and they said they could get to it four days. No stove or oven. Microwaved eggs are nasty but I did have my toaster oven. I didn't get a chance to cook the dressing so it sat in the refrigerator went bad. I texted Suzanne and told her dressing was out and a pecan pie was in. Just finished making the pie and it meets the high standards I must have for Thanksgiving dinner. We haven't found the lost photographs but perhaps they will reappear. No one would have thrown those historic images away.
Wednesday, November 22, 2017
Friday, October 13, 2017
Jewish Recipes
Arthur was Jewish raised by his grandfather in the most conservative tradition. I felt flattered he wanted me to be his wife and his mother loved me. When he suggested we not have Christmas I took off my engagement ring and said that's not happening. I was leaving. He convinced me we could share his Judaism and my Methodism. I thought hey I will go on Sunday he can go on Saturday and all will be fine. He gave me Blu Greenburg's book How to Raise a Jewish Family which I read with deep interest. She came to speak at the Jewish Community Center and we drove up from Auburn to hear her. She said the biggest shift of the Jewish faith, more than the Holocaust was men marrying Christian girls. I wish I had given him how to raise a Methodist family. The Rabbi came to wish us well at the hospital when David's was born and asked me if I was going to raise him Jewish and I of course said no. Arthur asked me to change the subject if the Rabbi asked me questions like that which reminded me of a date we had had. We were at a Chinese restaurant and they served Won ton Soup with slices of pork on top. I told him as he slurped it down and he said if I don't know it's okay. I took Jennie to be baptized and he refused to go. That really hurt. For David's bris Momma made challah and braided it with perfection. David screamed at eight days old and I couldn't stay in the room. Everyone celebrated.
Someone told me I hadn't included recipes in my last couple of blogs so I need to be a more reliable including them. In honor of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot I will give you recipes this humble Methodist developed for her Jewish ex husband.
Bagels:
Slice bagels, toast, and spread with cream cheese, a little smear, lox or I broil salmon for my bagels too. Slice tomato and red onion sprinkle with capers. Put the two halves together.
Matzo Ball Soup:
I boil chicken for my stock. Cool stock in the refrigerator. The fat that forms on top of the chicken stock is what make the Matzo Balls divine. Purchase the Matzo Ball mix and do what it says except add about two tablespoons of the schmaltz to the meal. Wet hands and roll the balls a little smaller than golf balls. I drop the Matzo Balls directly into the boiling chicken stock and when they rise to the top the soup is ready.
Potato Pancakes or Latkas
Grate peeled potatoes into a bowl. I sometime zap the potatoes to cook just a bit maybe a minute a potato. Remember to pierce them with a fork before putting them into the microwave.Stir in an egg and some flour. Spoon the pancake onto a hot griddle. Serve with sour cream and applesauce.
Brisket Just follow the directions on the side of the package that always works. Rye bread lightly toasted and gobs of sauerkraut. Slice brisket thinly and lay on bread and spread Russian dressing.
Arthur's family immigrated to America during the slaughter depicted in the play Fiddler on the Roof which I saw in London at 16. My Father was with Patton when they entered Buchenwald to rescue the Holocaust survivors. Daddy showed me photographs of the skeletons of men, barely alive he witnessed when he went in. Piles of skulls lay on the ground. Unfortunately the photographs he showed me were lost.Jennie married a Jewish man and they smashed the glass at the end of the service and the Rabbi scooped his mother and me up to walk out together. David hangs out with Methodists. As a little girl growing up in Birmingham we didn't know Jewish families. I remember being told if you saw a penny on the floor and picked it up you would be considered Jewish. Damn right I picked it up I am a Mac.
Sunday, September 17, 2017
Giving
First you must thank Deb Welsh because her sermon inspired me to dust the cobwebs off my brain and get back to blogging. I did have to sit here and click on things and finally figured out how to begin again. I guess the favorite SNL skit with the Silver Alexis has made me laugh more than anything because I live that.
Deb related an incident on Jerry Steinfield about when Elaine and Jerry were contemplating developing a relationship and it was Elaine's birthday. He deferred to George who suggested giving her money since he didn't want to be too personal and lead her on.So he wrapped up $182 in a beautiful package and bought a card indicating they were pals and gave it to her. Her face when she saw the gift revealed everything. What? you could have though of something a little more personal when Kramer bounces in with a box which contained a dish she had admired. Of course the buffoon Kramer hit the nail on the head.
And of course my brain went straight to the birthday when I received SKIP THE DOG Video from the ex. I looked at him with the look of are you on Jupiter. Why on earth did you give me this? I didn't notice David at the time. And believe me I tried to be gracious but I just couldn't. Much later I found out why I had gotten Skip the Dog. When I was at the Oaxaca experience with Mary Ellen Mark she saw Skip the Dog on the flight down and loved it. She spoke highly of it so I thought I would find a signed copy of the book and send it to her. The author was from Mississippi and had past away. I went in a local bookstore that sold used books and asked probably five times inquiring about getting the copy and much to my distress I could never find a copy. David was always with me so when his dad asked what should we get your mother David joyfully suggested a video of Skip the Dog. And thus Skip the Dog became a cliche to indicate never buy a present with out knowing all the details.
This summer has been filled with good and bad all of which can lead to tax deductions which I am desperate to have. Photography has wiggled itself back into my life. I shot the mission trip to Panama which was amazing. If you get to go to Panama do it. I have been entering photography shows and had two pieces recently accepted. We will see. I went to Mentone which is tricky since it was oh many years ago when an assistant professor of entomology asked me to dance and well most everyone knows what happened. Changed my life. Another fun thing I love to shoot is Standard Deluxe in Waverly. It was 1991 when Scott Peek decided to start a tee shirt business in Waverly. Everyone shook their heads and said that boy is crazy. I was watching the Today show when I noticed the performer, John Moreland was wearing a Standard Deluxe hat. I googled them and found wonderful things happening. He just played and boy howdy what a treat.
When I was at Mentone I put Willie the Dog across the street to the doggie day care. He is old, thirteen in February and gotten when Arthur said I want a divorce. He brought a sense of joy in my life. That Monday after doggy day care he couldn't walk and in so much pain he couldn't even stand. Frantic I called the emergency clinic and they talked me through some things and I took him to the vet mama had used. On his file there, it read, muzzle attacks beware which of course he did and from that point returned him to the vet he loves at the Opelika Animal Hospital. Wednesday I did nothing but look at him trying to get him to take the medicine but the dog is stubborn and I could not get him to swallow pills. We slowly walked to the car Thursday and I took him to Opelika where his vet examined him and said he must complete the medicine and walk him as much as you can. He needed to take 18 pills a day. On the way back home I stopped at McDonald's and got him a small hamburger which I smashed 4 of his pills in. He ate the burger and the four pills lay in a row on the car mat. Finally I discovered sliced ham and he would eat his pills if I made an envelope of the ham and put his pills in it. He is prancing now and is doing great.
Singing and dancing and taking pictures, nothing could be finer.
Deb related an incident on Jerry Steinfield about when Elaine and Jerry were contemplating developing a relationship and it was Elaine's birthday. He deferred to George who suggested giving her money since he didn't want to be too personal and lead her on.So he wrapped up $182 in a beautiful package and bought a card indicating they were pals and gave it to her. Her face when she saw the gift revealed everything. What? you could have though of something a little more personal when Kramer bounces in with a box which contained a dish she had admired. Of course the buffoon Kramer hit the nail on the head.
And of course my brain went straight to the birthday when I received SKIP THE DOG Video from the ex. I looked at him with the look of are you on Jupiter. Why on earth did you give me this? I didn't notice David at the time. And believe me I tried to be gracious but I just couldn't. Much later I found out why I had gotten Skip the Dog. When I was at the Oaxaca experience with Mary Ellen Mark she saw Skip the Dog on the flight down and loved it. She spoke highly of it so I thought I would find a signed copy of the book and send it to her. The author was from Mississippi and had past away. I went in a local bookstore that sold used books and asked probably five times inquiring about getting the copy and much to my distress I could never find a copy. David was always with me so when his dad asked what should we get your mother David joyfully suggested a video of Skip the Dog. And thus Skip the Dog became a cliche to indicate never buy a present with out knowing all the details.
This summer has been filled with good and bad all of which can lead to tax deductions which I am desperate to have. Photography has wiggled itself back into my life. I shot the mission trip to Panama which was amazing. If you get to go to Panama do it. I have been entering photography shows and had two pieces recently accepted. We will see. I went to Mentone which is tricky since it was oh many years ago when an assistant professor of entomology asked me to dance and well most everyone knows what happened. Changed my life. Another fun thing I love to shoot is Standard Deluxe in Waverly. It was 1991 when Scott Peek decided to start a tee shirt business in Waverly. Everyone shook their heads and said that boy is crazy. I was watching the Today show when I noticed the performer, John Moreland was wearing a Standard Deluxe hat. I googled them and found wonderful things happening. He just played and boy howdy what a treat.
When I was at Mentone I put Willie the Dog across the street to the doggie day care. He is old, thirteen in February and gotten when Arthur said I want a divorce. He brought a sense of joy in my life. That Monday after doggy day care he couldn't walk and in so much pain he couldn't even stand. Frantic I called the emergency clinic and they talked me through some things and I took him to the vet mama had used. On his file there, it read, muzzle attacks beware which of course he did and from that point returned him to the vet he loves at the Opelika Animal Hospital. Wednesday I did nothing but look at him trying to get him to take the medicine but the dog is stubborn and I could not get him to swallow pills. We slowly walked to the car Thursday and I took him to Opelika where his vet examined him and said he must complete the medicine and walk him as much as you can. He needed to take 18 pills a day. On the way back home I stopped at McDonald's and got him a small hamburger which I smashed 4 of his pills in. He ate the burger and the four pills lay in a row on the car mat. Finally I discovered sliced ham and he would eat his pills if I made an envelope of the ham and put his pills in it. He is prancing now and is doing great.
Singing and dancing and taking pictures, nothing could be finer.
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
The Pizitz
Anyone who grew up in Birmingham would remember The Pizitz as a wonderful department store in the center of down town. We lived in a new part of Birmingham away from town in a home designed and built by my parents with four children Long Sunday afternoons we played kickball or later teather ball. A whole wall allowed one to hit a tennis ball for hours. Games played like Annie Over where a tennis ball was thrown over the roof and if caught the one that caught it would sneak around and then try and hit the opponent with the ball thus making them go to the other side. If you could run around back to your side you didn't have to go to the other side. The game was won when one side had all the team members of the opponent. Daddy made is own grill with cinder blocks and a steel grate that he would light hickory wood under for the most divine Sirloin Steaks. No one lived near by so you could ride your bike up and down the gravel road without seeing a soul. I had a Mimosa tree I climbed to look out. We had horses we rode and because the house was made for children there were large rooms where we could roller skate inside with our boot skates. When the milkman came we would ride with him to the end of the road and walk back to the house.
We went to Highlands United Methodist Church so we did come to town for church.
We went to Highlands United Methodist Church so we did come to town for church.
Sloss Fest and More.
During that time I got my job as a Lab Tech for Southern Living. Very overweight I started swimming at UAB and trimming down. I remember those long sexy men passing me as I huffed and puffed to make the lap but soon I could make it back and forth without that much effort. Southern Living wouldn't give me health insurance until I weighed 180 so I would have to go in every week to weigh. Anne Moore who weighed 103 pounds would be sitting at her desk eating a danish. Finally I got to 180 and got my health insurance provided by the company. I did get to 129.
One thing we were doing was interviewing past employees of Sloss. I got my gentleman to talk to and he said, why do you care about that old place? He died the next day and I quit interviewing. That booklet of all the interviews is in the Sloss visitor center. From the highest to the lowest paid we found them. They became the the leaders of the tours and it all came so real for the visitors. I loved when they would blush when talking about the bustle on the furnace that resembled the bustle ladies of the that day would wear. The pig iron was called that because it looked like baby pigs sucking their mamma's tits.We got enough support and money to hire a director, Randy Lawrence. He let me climb on the top of the furnace to shoot the city with the furnace in front. I can remember how scared I was because I used to be afraid of heights.
Fast fast fast forward to the Sloss Fest I just attended. I went on Sunday and called an Uber to take me over. They would not allow cameras so I shot everything with my cell. I went by myself and was the only person over 50 as Mimi said. She went on Saturday and was somewhat abused by the conditions. The rain held off and I talked to all the children and found out what they were up too. New York, Natchez, Tuscaloosa, they were from all over as well as local. They loved their cell phones and their looks were well hysterical. I was there from 2 o'clock till 10:30 but I paced myself. The mud was very thick but they had Bobcats clearing and the cleaning crew was right there to make sure everything was very nice. While waiting for the last show of the night, Alabama Shakes to preform I was helping the cleaning crew by kicking cans toward them when I slipped and fell into a big mud puddle. Everybody around me gently helped me up making sure I was okay. I looked like Pig Pen from Charlie Brown. I could not stop taking pictures when the phone started squawking, saying you are running out of power. I still couldn't resist. After the second song Alabama Shakes preformed I started going up stream like a salmon and headed to call my Uber. When I got home I pulled off my very muddy Tevas and plugged in my phone with 1% left. I made it back, thank heavens. Wonder what the people of Save Sloss would think? I bet they would be jump up and down happy but nobody could have imagined back then, Sloss Furnace could be the home of such an extraordinary experience.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Travels with Momma
I had just finished my Sophomore year at Brooke Hill when I went to Europe with momma. This is when my fear of needles began. We were getting out vacinations for the trip and of course I saw myself as fat and I had not eaten lunch or breakfast and I stuck my arm out for the shot and fainted flat onto the floor blacking my eye and terrorizing the nurse. The property where UAB was being built was on the land where my great grandfather's home was. The city condemned the property it sold for $3000, with that check she bought two airline tickets Birmingham to Frankfort, Germany for herself and me and we were off. We landed and rented a car. We didn't speak a word of German but smiles got us a lot. Momma on the autobahn well 120 kg read our odometer and we were being passed like we were standing still. I remember translating the exit sign as Aus fart. Momma would scream with laughter. We stayed in the most lovely little inn with the most wonderful down duvets. We slept away the time change. We drove to Bonn. Momma was so excited about the open market. She bought a kilo of Bing Cherries that were put in a paper sack. We were hungry so we went to a very elegant restaurant, we opened the door and the entire bag of Bing Cherries sprang open at the bottom and shot all over the tile floor. The entire wait staff scurried around picking up the wayward cherries. We sat down and Momma struggled over the menu trying to understand what she was getting. I pointed to an item. The next minute the waiter took away my knife and fork and brought me a tiny fork. I had ordered snails. Being adventurous and hungry I ate them and they were yummy.
The trip took us many places.My younger
brother and sister were living in France at the time so we picked them up and headed for Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls. Momma loved Ernest Hemmingway. Somehow I had gotten away from the group and ended up with a guy about two years older than me. He held me close and gave me a kiss. I barely remember the bulls rumbling down the street after that. Now when I was Florida State Music Camp I had my very first kiss. Randy Weiss was Jewish and had a proper Jewish nose and we both had braces. He gently turned my chin towards him and I thought oh my God we are going to get our braces entangled and his nose plunged into my cheek and I couldn't help it but I started giggling and then a real laugh started well that ended that. He avoided me from then on. We kept on through Spain and we were eating a meal and a man heard we were from Alabama. He asked why the people from Alabama hated Black people. I looked at him and said we don't hate blacks we hate Yankees. This was taught to me by my Great Aunt Nell. We did run out of money a couple of times and had to wait for checks Daddy was to send on a cable that always took more time that she expected. One time we found a little hotel in London. The lady quoted 9 pounds a night but when were carrying the luggage up the third flight of steps the owner says it will be 12 pounds. When momma objected she raised her hands and said, Me makka a mistake. That became a cliche in our home and many times we would say that and it would trigger that memory of Momma turning us around to the door and leaving in search of a place we could afford. I guess these memoies were triggered by the recent running of the bulls. I still have my scarf from that night when I discovered the joy of kisses.The jug is wearing it. in the photo.
The trip took us many places.My younger
Monday, July 10, 2017
Diabetic Hell
My father was diagnosed with Diabetes in the early 60's.The urine test daddy would give himself only registered a blood sugar of 180 or higher therefore he lived with a high blood sugar almost half his life.Normal, that is people with a working pancreas have a number between 80-120. Because of his high blood sugar it damaged his kidney and other complications. Daddy was a comedian at heart and I remember him injecting the needle and coming out of the bathroom and running after me with me squealing in terror. Daddy ended up losing one kidney and then was on a very restricted salt free diet. My freshman year of college Daddy was given 6 weeks to live. Being Daddy's little girl I was devastated. Dialysis had just begun when he became so sick but he would go to the clinic and it took two days when he was very sick but he revived and then he had to do the process all over again. The improvements are amazing. Momma became totally committed to Daddy's care and during the five years he lived they went to retrace the 35 anniversary of the service he gave in World War II. They found the farmer who gave them Christmas dinner in Luxembourg. Daddy would tell only funny stories of his war experiences. His brother and he enlisted
together and spent the time together throughout. Christmas dinner the farmer put his hands on his head and wagged them. Daddy said Paul they are serving us donkey. We all laughed with delight. The last time I saw my father was Christmas Eve, he had gotten sick and had to be in the hospital. My horrid husband told me he had to return to Virginia to go to work and when I told Daddy, he said Ladybug you go with him he is your husband. Sadly I left. I could have stayed another five days because I was teaching first grade. Later I found out he didn't have a job but was pretending to go to work. In the four years we were married he had 19 jobs and 2 years he had returned to school. He never went to class either. What a joke. Daddy died March 12 on their wedding anniversary.
Diabetes terrified me. The worst part was my fear of needles. Even a prick of my finger would leave me trembling. I remember having to have blood drawn for my marriage to the ex thinking do I really want to do this. Jane said oh yes you can and I held out my arm with eyes closed tight. I had gestational diabetes with Jennie and the Brookwood doctors and nurses were manic about my care. I had to weigh roast beef before eating it and every week I had to go to the doctor to be monitored. With David I told the doctor in Auburn I had gestational diabetes with my first child but it didn't seem to register. I had a doctor's appointment in June and they didn't do the test to see if I was prone to diabetes and then July they were busy. September I told Arthur I had lost another 4 pounds in one day and he became concerned and I went to the doctor to find at 7 months pregnant I had lost 50 pounds. Ketoacitosis had been eating all my fat cells and boy was I sick. I peed every hour and exhausted well no body can imagine.I was still shooting for the magazine through all this. I remember driving back from Auburn to turn in my equiptment and I told Tommy Black I probably wouldn't be able to come back and he said there at the bottom of that divine staircase, Sure you will come back but I was right never returned as a travel photographer, a job I absolutely adored with my whole being. I just thought I was pregnant. No pills for me I went straight to injections with insulin. I started trembling and told the nurse there was no way I could do that shot. She looked at me and said it's for your baby. I shoved that needle right in and sighed a moment of relief. And so my life as a diabetic began.
Shots twice a day with checking my blood four times. The monitors back then took 2 minutes to give the reading. You would be amazed what David Appel could get into in two minutes. One time I turned around in the lady's room and he had put three rolls of tissue into the toilet. I had swam, always trying to lose weight, and given my shot and then Arthur got home and he had said we would go out to eat. I started feeling very weak and the lady beside me in line said are you okay. I told her I was diabetic. She was a nurse and they called the paramedics. They tested my blood and it was 12. I got to eat ice cream. Arthur wondered where I was but didn't realize it was me being treated.
Highs and lows became a part of my life. One time I told David to put on his ballet outfit and Jennie her karate. In 2001 I was returning from Birmingham and looked at the speedometer and it was 70. I thought it was broken but I was really going that fast. I had a small fender bender in Harpersville and the lady looked at her car and said it's not a problem. It was raining and I barreled down 280 into Alexander City when I saw a red light ahead. I slammed on brakes and crashed into a lady trying to turn left. I could not figure out how to get out of the van so I waited for the police to help me. I was fine but they took the lady to the hospital but she was fine too. I checked my blood and it was 39. When we got to the police station I saw a candy machine and bought a Butterfingers and ate it while I waited for them to get Arthur. I went back to get the stuff out of my van and found the she crab soup and roulage Mae Gathers had made for me while I photographed her was all over everything. My camera and all the supplies for the next year as an art teacher were in total disarray. Turned out the pump I had, a model they discontinued, had given me an injection without my knowledge. The van had four flat tires and was demolished. I was blessed to walk away from that one.
Prior to getting the pump I had an A1C of 14 for about 2 years. No matter what I did it would not go down. Normal is 6.5 so I was very sick and just plain exhausted. I became a part of a trial for Kirklin Clinic and I was given one of the first pumps so you can they were still getting the bugs out.They've come a long way. I went down to a 7 A1C after the pump so it really works. Kinda like a pancreas in that it gives small amounts of insulin but then when you eat you give an amount to compensate for the food you have consumed. It is brilliant. My only problem is when I try and exercise. Without being able to determine how much insulin I should give makes me go into a low blood sugar.
I guess the worst part of being diabetic is they consider it a pre-existing condition in the health insurance industry. When it was time to sign the divorce papers I held out until 5 minutes before going to court giving up the request to have the ex pay for health insurance. He flat out refused leaving me with sincere Hell. The first three years I was on the Cobra Plan which I'm sure someone thought hey she can get married or a real job and have Health Insurance, oh no not me because when Arthur wanted the divorce my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I choose to be with my mother and try and keep my small business. The horror of what was happening drove me to attend UAB to get my certification renewed so I could teach early childhood and K-12 art. This was 2006 when every teaching job was taken I saw a teaching job for a second grade teacher to finish the year and the principal told me there were 250 people applying for that position. The insurance wrote me letters saying I was not eligible for their health insurance because of the pre-existing diabetic condition. I ended up with the state insurance plan costing $4000 deductible and $700 a month. It killed me to dip in my retirement account but that was all I had. My business made some money but after alimony and child support ran out I was biting bullets to get by. Insulin went from $35.00 a vial to $147.00 so getting insulin was difficult since the deductible was so high. In two weeks I would go through a vial of insulin. The biggest catch was when my Primary Care doctor was going to refuse to write my prescription because I couldn't afford to pay $300.00 for the tests he wanted me to have. My pump died and I couldn't afford to replace it. The doctor gave me insulin I would give shots but the problem was about 4:00 I would go into a low blood sugar. Wrecked a couple of cars. My car insurance was canceled. I held my head up. Jennie could tell if I was having a low blood sugar and would call a neighbor who would feed me jelly and orange juice. One time Jennie called and I had been asleep and when I awoke I sounded groggy. I screamed don't you dare call Lue Ann, I was asleep. Then Obama Care. The house did not have access to Internet so I would go to the library and I immediately clicked on the sight but I was so frustrated it left me crazy. Jane mentioned her friend who was the director of Aids Alabama had trained their people to guide individuals through the maze. And thus I became devoted to Agee Baldwin. He guided me through and I could get my pump again and I got a real doctor who know everything there is to know about diabetes. I was back and haven't had a significant low blood sugar since I got my pump. I wrote to President Obama and told him my plight and how they should rename Obama Care to Obama Cares. He wrote back and I think actually signed it.
together and spent the time together throughout. Christmas dinner the farmer put his hands on his head and wagged them. Daddy said Paul they are serving us donkey. We all laughed with delight. The last time I saw my father was Christmas Eve, he had gotten sick and had to be in the hospital. My horrid husband told me he had to return to Virginia to go to work and when I told Daddy, he said Ladybug you go with him he is your husband. Sadly I left. I could have stayed another five days because I was teaching first grade. Later I found out he didn't have a job but was pretending to go to work. In the four years we were married he had 19 jobs and 2 years he had returned to school. He never went to class either. What a joke. Daddy died March 12 on their wedding anniversary.
Diabetes terrified me. The worst part was my fear of needles. Even a prick of my finger would leave me trembling. I remember having to have blood drawn for my marriage to the ex thinking do I really want to do this. Jane said oh yes you can and I held out my arm with eyes closed tight. I had gestational diabetes with Jennie and the Brookwood doctors and nurses were manic about my care. I had to weigh roast beef before eating it and every week I had to go to the doctor to be monitored. With David I told the doctor in Auburn I had gestational diabetes with my first child but it didn't seem to register. I had a doctor's appointment in June and they didn't do the test to see if I was prone to diabetes and then July they were busy. September I told Arthur I had lost another 4 pounds in one day and he became concerned and I went to the doctor to find at 7 months pregnant I had lost 50 pounds. Ketoacitosis had been eating all my fat cells and boy was I sick. I peed every hour and exhausted well no body can imagine.I was still shooting for the magazine through all this. I remember driving back from Auburn to turn in my equiptment and I told Tommy Black I probably wouldn't be able to come back and he said there at the bottom of that divine staircase, Sure you will come back but I was right never returned as a travel photographer, a job I absolutely adored with my whole being. I just thought I was pregnant. No pills for me I went straight to injections with insulin. I started trembling and told the nurse there was no way I could do that shot. She looked at me and said it's for your baby. I shoved that needle right in and sighed a moment of relief. And so my life as a diabetic began.
Shots twice a day with checking my blood four times. The monitors back then took 2 minutes to give the reading. You would be amazed what David Appel could get into in two minutes. One time I turned around in the lady's room and he had put three rolls of tissue into the toilet. I had swam, always trying to lose weight, and given my shot and then Arthur got home and he had said we would go out to eat. I started feeling very weak and the lady beside me in line said are you okay. I told her I was diabetic. She was a nurse and they called the paramedics. They tested my blood and it was 12. I got to eat ice cream. Arthur wondered where I was but didn't realize it was me being treated.
Highs and lows became a part of my life. One time I told David to put on his ballet outfit and Jennie her karate. In 2001 I was returning from Birmingham and looked at the speedometer and it was 70. I thought it was broken but I was really going that fast. I had a small fender bender in Harpersville and the lady looked at her car and said it's not a problem. It was raining and I barreled down 280 into Alexander City when I saw a red light ahead. I slammed on brakes and crashed into a lady trying to turn left. I could not figure out how to get out of the van so I waited for the police to help me. I was fine but they took the lady to the hospital but she was fine too. I checked my blood and it was 39. When we got to the police station I saw a candy machine and bought a Butterfingers and ate it while I waited for them to get Arthur. I went back to get the stuff out of my van and found the she crab soup and roulage Mae Gathers had made for me while I photographed her was all over everything. My camera and all the supplies for the next year as an art teacher were in total disarray. Turned out the pump I had, a model they discontinued, had given me an injection without my knowledge. The van had four flat tires and was demolished. I was blessed to walk away from that one.
Prior to getting the pump I had an A1C of 14 for about 2 years. No matter what I did it would not go down. Normal is 6.5 so I was very sick and just plain exhausted. I became a part of a trial for Kirklin Clinic and I was given one of the first pumps so you can they were still getting the bugs out.They've come a long way. I went down to a 7 A1C after the pump so it really works. Kinda like a pancreas in that it gives small amounts of insulin but then when you eat you give an amount to compensate for the food you have consumed. It is brilliant. My only problem is when I try and exercise. Without being able to determine how much insulin I should give makes me go into a low blood sugar.
I guess the worst part of being diabetic is they consider it a pre-existing condition in the health insurance industry. When it was time to sign the divorce papers I held out until 5 minutes before going to court giving up the request to have the ex pay for health insurance. He flat out refused leaving me with sincere Hell. The first three years I was on the Cobra Plan which I'm sure someone thought hey she can get married or a real job and have Health Insurance, oh no not me because when Arthur wanted the divorce my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. I choose to be with my mother and try and keep my small business. The horror of what was happening drove me to attend UAB to get my certification renewed so I could teach early childhood and K-12 art. This was 2006 when every teaching job was taken I saw a teaching job for a second grade teacher to finish the year and the principal told me there were 250 people applying for that position. The insurance wrote me letters saying I was not eligible for their health insurance because of the pre-existing diabetic condition. I ended up with the state insurance plan costing $4000 deductible and $700 a month. It killed me to dip in my retirement account but that was all I had. My business made some money but after alimony and child support ran out I was biting bullets to get by. Insulin went from $35.00 a vial to $147.00 so getting insulin was difficult since the deductible was so high. In two weeks I would go through a vial of insulin. The biggest catch was when my Primary Care doctor was going to refuse to write my prescription because I couldn't afford to pay $300.00 for the tests he wanted me to have. My pump died and I couldn't afford to replace it. The doctor gave me insulin I would give shots but the problem was about 4:00 I would go into a low blood sugar. Wrecked a couple of cars. My car insurance was canceled. I held my head up. Jennie could tell if I was having a low blood sugar and would call a neighbor who would feed me jelly and orange juice. One time Jennie called and I had been asleep and when I awoke I sounded groggy. I screamed don't you dare call Lue Ann, I was asleep. Then Obama Care. The house did not have access to Internet so I would go to the library and I immediately clicked on the sight but I was so frustrated it left me crazy. Jane mentioned her friend who was the director of Aids Alabama had trained their people to guide individuals through the maze. And thus I became devoted to Agee Baldwin. He guided me through and I could get my pump again and I got a real doctor who know everything there is to know about diabetes. I was back and haven't had a significant low blood sugar since I got my pump. I wrote to President Obama and told him my plight and how they should rename Obama Care to Obama Cares. He wrote back and I think actually signed it.
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