Fascinating Family

Tonight I got to enjoy my aunt Norma Jean's wonderful cooking at an impromptu dinner at their house with my cousin Cindi, who is visiting from Arizona. Galen and Carol were also there, and my cousin Gwen and her husband stopped by a little later.

It's always fun being with these people, although I began to wonder a little bit if these get- togethers had turned a corner and we would always have to listen to everyone's latest colonoscopy story or other fascinating health issues. I am by far the youngest of this group, and I just don't want to hear them urgently warning me that I must have a colonoscopy now that I'm 50, just because some distant relative had polyps!

I love it when conversation turns to the past, to times before I was born or too young to remember. My dad's seven siblings all stayed in the small community of Milford where they were born - all of them but my Uncle Cloy. Tonight he talked about pastoring a mission church in Lincoln, Nebraska, where some church members became upset by the number of black people who started attending the church, not wanting their young people mixing with them in youth group.

Cloy and Norma were foster parents and took in a little baby with this dark skin color, (Tony) who they eventually adopted. In the early 1960s, they felt God calling them to leave this church and go west. They got rid of most of their possessions, and with $600 to their name, put their four children in the car pulling a small trailer and drove west. They stopped in Tucson, Arizona and looked for a house to rent. My aunt said they needed to do some laundry, and while at the laundromat, Cloy was holding Tony. Another white man with a dark skinned baby came in, and they got to talking. This man was a Presbyterian minister. He invited them to his church and they spent some time together. This man's sister-in-law and her children had recently been killed in a car accident and he was storing all their furniture, which he gave to Cloy's family. It was everything they needed for the rental home. In church, he urged his congregation to share what they had, and Cloy and Norma were amazed by all the things that were offered to them! They prayed that Cloy would find a job, and within a few days, he had three job offers!

A few months later, God led them to Santee, California, where he again brought one of his servants, a man named Tom, into their lives. He worked with Teen Challenge and sounds like a pretty radical guy for a Mennonite pastor from Nebraska to get involved with! Cloy says only once did he join Tom in a street demonstration. Nude bars were springing up in the city, and Cloy was persuaded to carry a sign that said, "Jesus Loves You." as the group walked the sidewalk outside one of these establishments. He said during one of those demonstrations, John Wayne came along. He asked what they were doing, and Tom told him if he didn't repent and give his life to Jesus, he would end up in hell someday. John Wayne told him to keep up the good work and went on inside the bar!

I never get tired of hearing the stories of God's faithfulness and how He works in people's lives. Uncle Cloy told more stories, and has many more to tell. Someone should be writing them down!

A Close Call

Nicholas borrowed my cell phone Monday morning (we won't mention why his was unavailable at that moment). There was no school even for me that day, but Nick went in for an FBLA test.

Late that afternoon I looked for my phone and couldn't find it. Nick thought he had given it to me. We did the usual trick of calling it and walking all over the house listening for its musical tones. Not a sound was heard, even when we roamed through the garage and I opened the coat closet. I sent Nick to search his car, even though he vowed he had not taken it there. When he re-entered the garage he stopped and said, "I heard it!" He went back outside, I called it again and followed him. The musical tones led us to the recycling cart, where my phone nestled between sections of the Sunday paper that I had taken out that morning after I read it! It was about to be wheeled out to the curb for pickup the next day. Talk about a close call!

More about the Retirement Party

Before it's too late, I wanted to share some more pictures and stories from Will's retirement party.

On the way to my sister Linda's birthday lunch earlier that day, I noticed this sign at Burcham's Metals in Albany. We first met Jay Burcham when he was our across the street neighbor when we were newlyweds.Sadly, I failed to get a picture of our boys in their nice sweaters. Anisa got this one while they were talking to Chaplain Darrel and his wife. (Strangely enough, I found those sweaters on my bed after they did laundry!)
It was fun seeing all the old timers who showed up. I had forgotten the nickname given me back when I worked at the S.O. until this gentleman addressed me as "Lulu". For some reason, the guys called me "Lulubell". I think she was a character on HeeHaw, but since I wasn't really familiar with the show, I never did get why! This guy was somewhat of a lady's man. Judging from my rapt attention, possibly he still is!
But look at the adoring look I bestow upon my esteemed husband!I was proud of my brother Galen, who got up and shared some stories and his appreciation of Will. The Sheriff's Posse presented him with a beautful silver belt buckle and a picture of him riding horse with them. Several others also shared, including a U.S. Marshall who enjoyed working with Will over the years. His stories included one about a planned escape that Will helped to foil, and presented Will with a plaque engraved "Under-Sheriff Will McAnulty" and apologized for the hyphen in "Undersheriff"! This plaque says, "Thank you for your years of support of the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force and your coordination of the Marshall Stucky federal escape investigation at the Linn County Jail."

There was also a surprise gift that had been mailed from his step-brother who is an accomplished woodworker. A beautful wooden pen and a finely crafted rubber band gun!

The detective secretary and another long-time fellow deputy presented Will with a very special plaque also. When Will was in the Detectives Division, he remarked several times that when he retired, he looked forward to getting a three-wheel bike which he would ride around and pick up cans all around Tangent. Debbie really wanted to present him with an old three-wheel bike, but since she couldn't find one, she came up with something even better. They presented Will with a framed certificate from The Can Man Enterprises that certifies that Will is "the registered holder of the exclusive franchise rights to all discarded cans and bottles worth redemption on U.S. Highway 99E inside the City limits (including the Urban Growth Boundary) of Tangent, Oregon, U.S.A." How exciting is that! This certificate is signed by "the duly authorized officer of the said Franchisor". I had to study the signature awhile before I recognized that it was signed by Tim Mueller (the Sheriff!).
The Sheriff presented Will with a Sheriff's Award of Merit which states "For your 28 years of outstanding service to the citizens of Linn County and your exemplary dedication to the Linn County Sheriff's Office. Your loyalty to this office, intrepidness in the face of what sometimes seemed to be insurmountable odds, and your tireless pursuit of excellence are all in the finest tradition of law enforcement and the Linn County Sheriff's Office." He also presented him with a nice cash gift collected from his co-workers.
I was speaking to a retired deputy and his wife and she expressed sympathy for my plight of being stuck with a retired husband at home. I felt sorry for her poor husband being made to feel so unwanted! I have heard from several wives of retirees that it is really a pain to have the man around the house all the time. That would never be a problem here. Unthinkable though it be, if I got tired of having Will around, all I'd have to do is say, "Don't you think it's about time for you to go camping?" He would be out of here. But when I came home Friday and he informed me he had cleaned out our closet, I appreciated it but also had an inkling that perhaps this is the type of thing these women are referring to. I'm sure I'll find all my stuff eventually!

Top Secret

Last night while we were eating our dinner, which included a delicious vegetable stir fry, although not as sumptuous as tonight's stir fry, because last night's was cabbage, green peppers, carrots, onions, and garlic flavored with a little Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning, and tonight's featured red peppers and broccoli, so beautiful as well as tasty, especially with a little feta cheese sprinkled on it. But I digress.

As we were discussing our day, Will casually mentioned that an FBI agent had stopped by that afternoon. I did not take him seriously, assuming he was surely jesting. But he declared it to be the truth, and Nick agreed that indeed, an FBI agent had paid a visit. I asked if he had coffee with him, and Will said, no, he declined. When Will got around to telling me the reason for the visit, I was finally convinced it was true.

I'd love to tell you why he came by, but I have been forbidden to share it here. And you probably know why. It's the old story....if I told you, I'd have to kill you.

Will's Retirement Party

On Saturday night, the Linn County Sheriff’s Office (Will’s employer for the past 29 years) hosted a dinner in honor of Will’s retirement, which was effective January 1, 2009. There were funny slide shows and jokes about him, and various people got up and shared stories and thoughts about Will.

I wanted to speak but was feeling uncharacteristically bashful about getting up in front of the crowd of about 150, not wanting to embarrass Will by saying something foolish or get choked up and embarrass myself. Sometimes when I get in front of a microphone I get to talking and say all kinds of things that I had no idea were going to come out of my mouth. Kind of like when I start writing....Only worse cause I can't just delete it!

If I would have spoken to the group of Will’s friends and colleagues gathered that night to honor his career and his character, this is what I would have tried to say:

First of all, for those of you out there who don’t know me but have heard Will tell stories about me over the years, perhaps you are shocked to see that I look like a nice, normal middle-aged woman. The stories he has told that depict me as a crazed woman threatening violence to deputies who call or pound on the door in the middle of the night (or to those civilians who cause the situations that lead to the nocturnal phone calls) have been greatly exaggerated. I did not typically become agitated until the third phone call in one night-- or possibly sometimes the second call if I was awakened just after falling asleep. I’m pretty sure I have never threatened to beat up anyone if they call again, as Will has told people, but I do have faint recollections of politely requesting Will to go ahead and leave if they are going to keep calling him. I was always amazed at how he would answer the phone immediately out of a sound sleep and cheerfully head out into the cold dark night to see what was going on. He always said if he got three calls to update him about a situation, he would go out, but usually he headed out before it got to three. I’m pretty sure some of those guys thought it was fun to call the Detective Lieutenant, the Patrol Lieutenant and then Undersheriff in the middle of the night. Would have it mattered if they knew it was his poor wife who got cranky about getting awakened out of sound sleep, and that Will actually enjoyed the calls? No matter, it’s over now, and in the nick of time. At my age, I require a full night of uninterrupted sleep.

I have been very supportive of Will and his career during all my waking hours. People have often asked if I worried about him in this line of work, and I honestly can say that it was never a great concern to me. I rationalized early on that in this county, more people were killed in industrial and farming and car accidents than in police work, so I figured there were better things to worry about.

Some of you may have noticed that our three big boys are all wearing nice button-down-the-front sweaters. This is in to show their respect for their father, who for years had a similar gray sweater, which you've heard a few references to tonight, hanging on the back of the chair in his office when he was Patrol Lieutenant. Against my advice and to my great chagrin, he once wore it to an office Christmas party for which he was the MC. Tonight a deputy came up to the boys as they stood around in their sweaters, checking to confirm that they were worn in honor of their father and not as their own unique fashion statement. He told them he had tried on "the sweater" on at least one graveyard shift, and the sleeves nearly came to the floor!

You’ve also heard a few references tonight to how much Will always “enjoyed” working with the FBI. I never met any of them, but obviously it’s true he really liked them because he once brought one home for coffee. It was, of course, the only time in my life that I had ever dashed out of the house in the morning with dirty breakfast dishes on the table and a floor that badly needed a good sweeping. I was mortified to learn later that Will had been in the neighborhood with an FBI agent doing surveillance on a house nearby and he decided to bring this guy to our house for coffee. Of course our house has always been spotless ever since then* just in case an FBI agent was in the area and Will had a chance to make a good impression.

I first met Will when I worked at Lebanon Police Department as a records clerk before coming to work at the Sheriff’s Office in 1981. It was a very different circle of people than I was used to associating with in my sheltered life growing up as an innocent Mennonite girl. At first most of the cops seemed somewhat arrogant and cynical to me, and I told more than one friend that I would never want to date any of them. But Will became a good friend. He always made me laugh and it was always entertaining to hang out with him…Obviously it was meant to be as we celebrated 25 years of marriage last year.

I have always enjoyed listening to the stories of his adventures as he progressed through his career. My aunt and uncle from Missouri visited us last summer and Will took some of the family on a tour of Linn County – ending up at the Posse Camp of course. As he drove around the back roads and little known areas of the county, he had a never-ending supply of stories to tell about events that have taken place over the past 30 years in the areas we passed through. I really think he should write a book someday. Will always has a little different perspective on things than normal, I mean most people do. (Which is part of the reason he was such a GREAT detective, no doubt!)

I am very blessed to be the wife of this awesome old retired guy. The best part is that he has recently recognized that I am a princess and deserve to be treated as such. I will try not to abuse this powerful position, but now that he has so much more time to devote to my every whim, the possibilities are endless. Or, is the best part the fact that he has always made me laugh, and we are going to have more time to laugh and do things together?

I have seen how honored and proud Will has always been to serve the people of this county, and especially how hard he has always worked to make the Linn County Sheriff’s Office the best that it could be. He has so much respect for all the good people in all the different divisions there, and he has always said that he looked forward to going to work every day.

I want to thank all the people who worked so hard to put this party together, especially Debbie, (the secretary), Paul (Detective Captain), Bruce (Undersheriff) and Tim (Sheriff). Your respect and friendship for Will is evident, and you have done a great job in making this a very special evening to remember. The shadowbox you gave Will is absolutely beautiful, and we will rearrange our wall decor to make a special place for it!

*(It's my blog and I'll stretch the truth a little any time I want.... I'm just following the leadership of the new Undersheriff as he told stories about my husband!)

Last Week's Coast Trip

If you read Will's blog, you already heard a little about our coast trip last week. Here are some pictures showing how comfortably we enjoyed a cozy potluck ham dinner Saturday evening. (We will get teenage boys who don't have broken legs trained to make sure that all the aunts are seated before they take a chair.)




















We were able to seat nine people for this lovely dinner.

















Will and Nick have become quite close. Can't you just feel the love?

















Galen, Anisa and I took a walk across the Yaquina Bridge. Galen counted the number of steps taken (not counting the stairs) on the way back, I believe he ended up with 2250 steps. He also did some experiments and learned that when he spit from this particular location, it took 6 or 7 seconds for it to reach the water below.

















There was a lovely sunset Friday evening. We took a walk along the fishing pier and enjoyed watching the colors of the sky as it darkened after the sunset.
















It was a wonderful, relaxing trip. In addition to visiting with the family, shopping at the outlet mall, taking walks, and playing a modified version of Scrabble, I read three books. Well, one of them was nearly finished when I got there. I'm a fast reader.

I have to admit I had to eat some words. We had driven through that RV park before and I told Will I would never want to camp there, on asphalt with no picnic tables or anything. However, it is a perfect winter camping place. There is landscaping dividing the campsites, but camping on asphalt means there is no mud to track in. Full hookups including cable tv meant the guys could watch their football games. That's when I snuck in some of my reading. And the view of the bridge was very enjoyable.

It was hard to come back to work - I was a bit envious of my retired husband who got to stay out there a couple days longer!

Happy Birthday Will!

Today Will gets to have the biggest birthday party of his life, and I don't have to do anything to prepare for it other than bring the scrapbook. The official Sheriff's Office retirement party is happening on his 55th birthday. Isn't that cool. I am still fussing with the retirement scrapbook. I just can't stop improving it. With such a subject such as Will, attempting to measure up to his greatness just seems futile. But I keep trying.

Once this retirement party is over and the scrapbook is put to rest, I will have time to get back to blogging again. In the meantime, you will enjoy getting Will's viewpoint at http://willsententia.wordpress.com/ . Yes, now that he's retired, he has time to blog too! And please don't judge him if you find outrageous grammatical errors. Extremely intelligent, creative people just don't have to follow the prescribed guidelines that the rest of us feel we must adhere to.