2013: Twelve Weddings & a Funeral

Twelve weddings and a funeral... Not the name of a movie, but events of the past year.

January began with a wonderful blessing. Granddaughter Grace Ella was born to Jon and Kendall. What a sweetheart who's perky personality shows itself more every day, particularly when she’s crawling after Micah to explore whatever he’s doing. This surprisingly patient three year old also spent more time with me this year, while mom took Grace to Stroller Strides to get back into shape (not Grace – Kendall!). We had great fun since Micah gets such a kick out of using his flashlight to hunt for our cat, Riley, under my bed or helping me take Charlie out back to make the poops. I’m such a creative baby sitter. 


Speaking of Charlie, our malti-poo. I finally succumbed to adopting a pet from the Metro Animal Services Shelter where I volunteer to take photos for their website on a regular basis. Charlie grabbed my heartstrings from the get go. Our ten-year old adoptee came to us with a ravenous appetite, medical issues and the mental capacity of a newborn, perhaps less. But he is a lover – of a particular stuffed monkey and a green sausage-shaped squeaky toy. His one saving grace: he tolerates the cats (we now have two – Metro Animal Shelter struck again!) and loves to lay with me on the couch when I’m watching TV. That’s enough to keep him in my good graces.

January through April found me at the Puyallup Senior Center on Friday afternoons teaching Memoir Writing. In my case, since I haven’t had time to write mine (I still have every good intention), I’m teaching it. Isn’t that the way the saying goes, “If you can’t do it, you teach it.”

In the spring, long time neighbors, Dick and Betty, moved from next door to a retirement community on South Hill. But the good news is that our new neighbors were meant to have their home. Jim and Trish and family are a real blessing. They love animals, cross fence conversation and getting to know all their neighbors. Since our “neighborhood” consists of very few houses (three close together and a couple across the street and around the corner), having people nearby who are neighborly couldn't be better.

Springtime was also time for a great road trip to Lake Chelan with my friends Janine and Susan. If you want to walk off a few pounds, go visit J9 in Manson. She’ll show you how it’s done walking her dog, Hank, (now dogs, since they adopted a new pup, Kate) two to three miles a day. Of course, we balanced the exercise with lots of good food and winery visits. 

My 50^th class reunion in June found Scott and me in Pasco, Washington visiting with classmates. The way Scott fits right in had some thinking he must have graduated with us too. He managed to lead our table group in karaoke singing and encouraged others to get up and give it a go too! It was wonderful to spend a little time with my younger brother Jim (who is now a senior citizen – how the heck did that happen!) and his wife, Cindy.

Chris Lynch, one of the volunteers at the shelter, and I also started work on creating a Friends At Your Metro Animal Shelter (FAYMAS) non-profit. The paperwork is all filed; we’re incorporated with the State of Washington and just waiting for our IRS tax-exempt status to be determined. Stay tuned in 2014 for more information about how the organization plans to help animals at the shelter.

The two women’s organizations to which I belong also kept me busy. I was elected Treasurer of my P.E.O group which raises money for women’s education. Women in Transition (WIT) which a couple of us started three years ago, is still meeting once a month on Friday’s for breakfast at Charlie’s Restaurant in downtown Puyallup. This is a fun, informal group meeting to share life’s adventures and figure out how we can support each other in a positive way. No dues, no obligations – just show up.

Grandson Ben turned three in September; his dad, Ron, gave us all a scare in the fall with his medical issues, step-grandson Ryan moved in with Courtney and Ron. Step-granddaughter Marissa and her baby, Aiden, were here for a few weeks and granddaughter, Karina, spent ten days with us before and during Christmas. She had also been with us in August and we’re looking forward to seeing her again in May!

Earlier I mentioned two cats… Yes, I succumbed again after fostering a sick kitten, and Tot (named by Scott) is now a member of our family too. He pesters Riley to no end, the Siamese we inherited from Ron and Courtney, and provides endless laughs with his antics. He would have been great friends with Bella, who enjoyed playing with him too, but unfortunately the one funeral I mentioned was Bella’s, our beloved lab/greyhound dog. Her 11 years finally got the best of her and we lost her just after Thanksgiving.

I also mentioned 12 weddings, the number of wedding gigs I had this year. I did have help from good friend Shelly Luthi, but it was quite the adventure. At last count, I had 104 clients this year, including the wedding shoots. And I ended the year by taking photos of someone with a last name starting with “Z.” Isn’t that fitting :-)

Last, but not least… The biggest highlight of all was being able to give Scott his published book, The Last Apocalypse, a manuscript he wrote almost thirty years ago. With the help of friends and family: Jacqueline Martens, John Budz and Vee Sawyer, and Michael Hutton, we were able to pull it off without him knowing about it ahead of time. It was a great Christmas Eve surprise. 

www.facebook.com/TheLastApocalypse?ref=profile

Needless to say, it was a busy and blessed year. I’m eager to see what 2014 brings and certainly give thanks for what we have and pray for continued blessings for my family and yours.

Scott's Christmas Surprise

The highlight for December was the unveiling of Scott's surprise gift, the book he wrote almost thirty years ago. He had no idea it was coming, which was an accomplishment in itself, given my difficulty keeping secrets, unless they are really Top Secret! He was definitely overwhelmed, shed a few tears, as I did, and has been bragging about being a published author ever since. He's also told me it's the sweetest gift he's ever received. We were at the doctor's office on Friday and he merrily motored around the waiting room in his "electric chair" asking if anyone wanted to buy a book, He got a lot of laughs, but no sales.

Here is the story behind the story which is also in the Editor's Notes at the back of the book:

The manuscript was yellowing and frayed at the edges. Some pages had lost their anchor in the cumbersome three-ring binder. That’s what twenty-eight years of idleness will do to a dream.

Scott first began writing The Last Apocalypse in 1983 and it wasn’t until his second wife, Donna B., put the words to paper in typewritten form in 1985-86 that there was hope this science fiction novel would become a published book. Unfortunately, plans to publish the book came to an end. So did the marriage.

In our twenty-year relationship, Scott has asked me more than once if I’d read the book. Truth be told – I hadn’t. The three-inch binder seemed too onerous to tackle. I intended it for a rainy day project and there never seemed to be enough of them – until 2013.

With my retirement in 2008, came a new found passion for teaching memoir writing, photography and an opportunity to meet interesting and interested people. Jacqueline Martens, a student in my memoir writing class and a whirlwind typist, agreed to take on the project of converting Scott’s typewritten pages to digital copy. My new found friend and fellow photographer, Vee Sawyer and her husband John Budz, agreed to assist with the layout and publication of the book through their company, Ward Street Press. Our talented son-in-law, Michael Hutton of Michael Hutton Design, was very open to designing the cover for the book. All of this was done without Scott’s knowledge, although I did have to ask him the occasional off-handed question about some aspect of his past.

As the digital pages arrived from Jacqueline and I began an initial editing read-through, it became apparent character development pieces were missing, very important pieces. Some time ago, Scott had told me about a particular part of the book that I just couldn’t find in what I had sent Jacqueline. So the hunt began… on the backsides of the manuscript pages. In an attempt to be economical with paper, newer iterations of the story had been typed on the blank sides of older versions. I began reading the manuscript’s backsides and eventually made another copy of everything there. It was a puzzle to put together, since pages were upside down, right side up, and in no apparent order. The missing pieces finally emerged and an additional forty pages of manuscript were sent for digitizing. The story was finally whole.

As I read and re-read The Last Apolcalyse, I gained a renewed appreciation for Scott’s innate and acquired intelligence. Please remember, this was written before being able to ‘Google’ information about any and all subjects. Anyone who knows Scott very well will attest to his knowledge of history, his interest in world events, and his breadth of information on just about any subject. Ask him about his past and he will be happy to tell you of his experiences. He is definitely a story teller, many of them – war stories.

In The Last Apocalypse, I also marveled at his ability to create a storyline by visualizing the scene in detail, to become the characters and to allow the story to unfold before him. It was not surprising that his military training and experience drove details and that his own life experiences were woven throughout the story. Devon Everly is Scott Haverly - in large measure.

The original manuscript is still yellowing and fraying at the edges, but finally after twenty-eight years, The Last Apocalypse is no longer just a dream, it’s a published book.

Bonnie King-Haverly

The Last Wife

Available at
Createspace 
https://www.createspace.com/4569527
and
Amazon Books 
http://www.amazon.com/The-Last-Apocalypse-Scott-Haverly/dp/1494465531/