When I Caught a Glimpse of Rita�

We entered the week with heavy hearts and thoughts of Granny Scheu. Many warm, wonderful memories and stories have been shared over the course of this week. On Monday, it remained warm enough to go for a bike ride and a swim in the pool. Grandpa Scheu called that evening, asking me to be a pall bearer � which I was honored to do�but he also asked me to give a eulogy. I passed, but I have been running it through my mind what I would have said� It would have been kind of cool and obviously an honor – but I couldn�t bring myself to commit�yeah, I know; what a weenie, right? I have to admit�it was nice to take our time coming home and going about our evening routine without feeling rushed this week. Ann made a nice sit-down, family-style meal and we didn�t have to feel pressured by the clock, a deadline or a start time�we just took our time. Luke & I were the only takers on bike riding as the other two went straight for the pool! By the time Luke & I were done, we were hot and sweaty. The water was warm � about 92� – but it was short lived. When we woke up on Tuesday, it was much cooler. By the time we got home, it was only 70� – so the pool was out. We decided to go bike riding around the neighborhoods in the front and in the back. We were gone for about an hour. My bike is awful! The rims are both bent really badly from where Luke rammed me twice last fall with his 4-wheeler. I had been riding Matt�s new bike up until tonight�now I remember why! Both tires have a really bad rub that make it very, very difficult to pedal � quite the workout, let me tell ya!! Luke�s replacement tires came in finally and we got the new ones on easily. Alan at HobbyMasters was extremely helpful and went out of his way to make my order right. I will definitely use them again and I would highly recommend them to you as well. He does more than just Power Wheels replacement parts. LOL! The kids decided to try the new tires out with a figure-8 track race on the drive way. They played for close to an hour out there, having a blast running in to each other and the trash cans used as barriers on the track.

On Wednesday, we headed up to Lafayette to attend Granny�s funeral. We met everyone at St. Mary�s, where Granny�s viewing and service was held. As with most funerals I�ve attended in my life, it was raining. The folks at Hahn-Groeber Funeral Home (condolences for the family can be left on their website here) did a good job in preparing the body. She looked very nice�very peaceful. Luke had a million questions while we were there. He kept saying, �Hi Granny!??? �fully expecting her to open her eyes and say hello�he thought she was pretending. 🙂 He was very sweet and innocent. He had to touch her hand a couple times as we said our good-byes. It was nice to see everyone, but an awful occasion obviously. We joked that the only time we see each other anymore is at Christmas, weddings and funerals. Ann told a funny story about the first time they met. At the end of our visit with Granny, she quipped to Ann, �I�m glad I got to meet you, I�m dying�??? �that was 16 years ago! 😛
Nearly everyone in the family was there�let�s see if I can name them all� I�ll go in a logical order. Aunt Sue was up from Texas (she is very active in the Democratic political scene in the Houston area), along with Billy & Blancha (still in Indy), Vickie was there, as was Daniel & Seth� and even Fadi made it. Unfortunately, Jackie & Clint and kids couldn�t make it. They are currently in Alaska, working on building a home in the wilderness. Uncle Chuck & Cindy were there, as was Cathy. Tom couldn�t make it up from North Carolina where they are now living. That is also where David, Becky & Monica are as well as Aunt Judy (who is just visiting this week). Chuck kept tradition alive, as Luke was treated to an �Uncle Goon??? tickling session! LOL! I warned Luke that he used to do that to me 35 years ago and that he better not push his luck� I think they both enjoyed it! Grandma & Grandpa Scheu (Tom & Barb) were there of course (as well as Ann & I and our three kids) – as was Aunt Sally & Scotty. Chris & Tricia were there with the four kiddos as well as Jason & Erica with their four kids! It was great to see those two � I hadn�t seen them in many years. Little John was also there, as was Bill Bailey. Scotty did a very nice eulogy for Granny. It was very fitting, as he admitted he had, �plenty of experience with Mothers-in-law.??? 😛 He told a great story of meeting Granny one summer afternoon in �71, as he, John & Uncle Hank attempted to repair the brick wall by the ravine behind the Highland house. Uncle John and Aunt Juney were there with Barney & Steph and their 3 kids (Nick & Ryan are huge � both over 6�0??? and only 14 & 15!…Hayley just graduated from Jeff and is headed to ISU this fall!) as well as Kimmy & Chuck (I don�t think all 4 of his kids were there, but their little one was�and lovely Kimmy has a 6th one on the way!!) and beautiful Miss Lindsey was also up from North Carolina – where she is now teaching. Matt really wanted to go with Uncle John, back to their home, after everything was over. He is really drawn to John � always has been� We promised to spend more time with them the next time we�re up. Mary & Bob made it up from Florida�.even big Steven and little Steven were there. Steven also has a 2-year old daughter as well, but she wasn�t there. I hadn�t seen Steven since he was little�he�s about 6�4??? now!! Uncle Ed & Aunt Judy were also there. Grandpaw Bryan would be interested to know that I heard Steve Heier and Farter � along with a bunch of that old gang were all there�but I didn�t see / recognize any of those old farts. All told, I�d say there were a couple hundred people at the viewing. About a hundred made it to the mass and cemetery.

St. Mary�s had changed quite a bit since I�d seen it last. But, keep in mind that I hadn�t been in that church in 30 years; so it was difficult to recall those decades-old memories�eventually they came back. It is still beautiful and all the changes have only enhanced the building. It seemed a whole lot bigger back then� The mass was very moving with lots of tears. Cathy & Vickie both read gospel passages. Lindsey also read one of Granny�s favorite psalms. Billy, Barney, Chris, Jason, Steven, Daniel and I were her pall bearers. She joined Grandpa Pug at the St. Boniface cemetery during the interment. We rode out with Grandma & Grandpa Scheu in Dad�s conversion van. It was sad to say our final good-byes, but again we knew it was best for her. She is no longer in pain and she lived a long, full life. She leaves behind a hell of a legacy with this huge family of ours� We also found the graves of Great-Grandma Deerr, Grandmaw & Grandpaw Brown and of course Mom & Dad Bryan�s tombstone & plot (which are a little creepy since they are still living). Luke started to get upset, asking if they were both dead. 🙁 The headstones and plots were all very well kept. I did attempt to fix the flower pot on Grandmaw & Grandpaw Brown�s grave. One of the wires holding it has broken, so it is leaning really badly to one side. Mom, I wonder if you could have Kenny or someone put a new hanging pot out there. It cannot be fixed and a good storm will dump the contents right out of it. The flag for Grandpaw and his 40&8 insignia still looked nice though Mom� Afterward, we all met at the K of C. They had a very nice lunch and Dad & Uncle John had an open bar � which was really cool. (Thanks for the Crown & Coke, Dad!) The great grandkids all got along well and the interactions drew comparisons with the old folks of 30 years ago� 😛 I hadn�t been in the K of C in many, many years. Dad reminded me of my 3rd degree ceremony here when I was about 21, so it was 20 years ago! LOL The place looked great�a lot better than I remember seeing it last. Again, it also looked a lot smaller than I remember. I told Lukey the story of getting my cat, Zeke, from there. He had wandered in somehow from the alley and gotten his foot stuck in the ice crusher behind the basement bar. When he was freed, he limped around on three legs, following me everywhere I went and I fell in love with him. Thankfully, they let me keep him and we had him with us for the next 16 years� I hated that we had to leave earlier than most people, but we had that drive back to Greensburg. I would love to move home one day and not have to worry about stuff like this and see the family on a more regular basis�but I doubt I could ever get Ann out of this place.

When we got home, the kids were wired, so we went bike riding (this time I rode Ann�s bike!) and then the kids played outside in the cool (upper 60�s) weather, under a cloudy sky with intermittent sprinkles. We did a few fireworks to kind of get the 4th of July juices flowing. We did one of our parachute army guys. It did have a guy in it! Of course, Luke broke the army guy�s arm 10 minutes later, but he was just thrilled to have that little guy! 🙂 We even turned off the A/C that evening and opened up the windows to enjoy the temp dropping in to the mid 50�s. �First day of summer my ass! I was just hoping for a significant warm-up the next couple days so we could go swimming. If I remember correctly, it was a chilly swim last Independence Day as well�
Thursday was our last day of work, so it felt like a Friday! As such, we went out for dinner (Ann chose Frisch�s Big Boy) and came home to ride bikes, shoot of a few fireworks and watch a couple movies. Gigi went to a fireworks stand out in BFE and picked up some more parachute fireworks for the kids, which was very nice of her. I got out Matt�s Stingray and moved the seat all the way up so I could ride it. I hadn�t been on a Stingray since our neighbor Jerry Campbell had one back in 1976! Luke and Abby had a �campout??? in Abby�s room, Ann ended up falling asleep on the couch and Matt and I watched The Unborn & Journey to The Center of The Earth (recommended by Ann�s friend Natalie). They were both better than the critics gave them credit for being. We enjoyed both of them, but Matt commented that he was glad we watched �Center of the Earth� last because the first one �creeped??? him out! 😛
On Friday, everyone slept in until mid-morning before getting up to get the house ready for tomorrow�s party. The Columbus city fireworks were again held only blocks from our facility again this year. Unfortunately, the Greensburg city fireworks were also held Friday night. I was asked to work security again on our grounds, so we packed the minivan full of chairs, a picnic basket, balls, gloves, Frisbees, a jambox, blankets and a cooler and headed over about 6 to set up and ward off trespassers. We had a lot of fun playing Frisbee, baseball and hanging out before a spectacular display wrapped up the night around 10 pm. The kids were out cold by the time we got home. It was really sweet how they were sleeping on each other�

We were up early on Saturday to get cleaned up and to get everything ready for the children�s parade. They year, Luke decided to drive his 4-wheeler, Abby walked Lola with Gracie (who walked Muffin…actually she held her the entire route) and Grandma and Matt helped Sandy broadcast the parade on WTRE from the funeral home. We met up with everyone at Grandma & Gigi�s house about 9:15 and headed up town about 9:30. Muffin broke free from Gracie and began to run home. Grace panicked and ran after her�right in to the road without looking. We caught up with the dog moments later and the crisis was averted. Luke and I walked the parade route without incident, waving as we went, especially to his buddies Alex and later Oakley. Afterward, I asked him to pose in front of a classic Cobra 427S/C. Luke was excited to see the car as well and as he stood before it, he got a little close and brushed his leg against the scalding muffler, instantly delivering a 2nd degree burn on poor Lukey�s leg. We rushed him back to Grandma�s house and Ann had Dr. Davis call in for some burn cream (Silvadine is the bomb!) for him. We got him all patched up and he was a brave little soldier, never crying, before we ate lunch. Lunch was wonderful as always. Mary Ann had ham, turkey & roast beef, homemade macaroni & cheese, noodles & �taties???, chips & dip, baked beans and cake. Dee & Gracie joined us at Grandma & Gigi�s house for lunch as well as Aunt Linda & Uncle Dave Gommel and Joe Shields. We came home and everyone took naps until about 4 or 5. It was raining when we woke up and it continued to rain all night�

We didn�t let the weather dampen our spirits and we carried on as normal. Our cookout for supper was epic. We had cheeseburgers, hot dogs, Mom�s mac & cheese, Mom�s baked beans and Ann made 2 versions of her cheesy corn dip, her homemade Shallow’s ranch dip, cheesy potatoes, artichoke spinach dip, and lots of veggies, chips and other junk. Matt and I were in charge of the entertainment. We had a blast, but we got soaked!! We set up our new portable gazebo and set out all our fireworks in front of the shed to keep dry. Gigi made up a soundtrack disc that was equally patriotic, personal (she had interviews from different family members from earlier in the day) and humerous that put the perfect touch on the day. The cutest part of the disc was Matt�s quote, �I helped Gigi broadcast,??? said in a funny, child-like voice. We harassed him all night, but he took it in stride. Matt was a huge help as he probably ignited more fireworks than I did� We had dozens of different parachutes, several forms of firecrackers, multiple kinds of bottle rockets (love the Screaming Texas Rattlers!) and larger rockets, mortar shells (the ones with triple breaks were awesome!!), lots of fountains, all kinds of smoke bombs, roman candles, and many, many more. All told, we had enough materials that we continually set off explosives for 6 straight hours!! 😛 Lola loved the fireworks, jumping, chasing and trying to bite every one that we lit! She was a trip to watch�it was so funny. Highlights of the evening included chasing parachutes in the back lot (especially during a heavy downpour!), Lola turning her fur yellow and blue (from chomping smoke bombs), 3-ft sparklers at dusk, the kids shooting roman candles over the fence, and our final four fireworks of our display. They included (in order) the 100-shot Saturn Battery Missile cake, Pro Ground Display Color Marathon, The Chosen One (47 shot / 560 gram) and finally Addicted to Loud (over 500 gram spread out over nine 3??? shells!). The Chosen One could have easily been our finale, as it was incredible. However, the sheer force of the Addicted to Loud was incredible�it shook the ground hard! The shells were huge � similar to the ones we had witnessed the night before�Grandma & Gigi pooped out on us when the boys made one final run to the fireworks store about 8:30 to pick up the final touches for this year�s display. Gracie ended up spending the night. We were so cold and tired that we didn�t bother to pick up anything and we all passed out around midnight.

Sunday was clean up day. We got up and did all the dishes and cleaned up the yard (and the neighbors� yards) and got everything done before noon. Gigi came over a couple times throughout the day to get leftover goodies. We lounged around, watching the Tivo�ed NASCAR race from last night. It was cool to see Stewart put Kyle Busch in the wall right before the finish line. Matt & I were screaming with joy! 😛

As mentioned earlier, I was able to find several old pictures of Granny Scheu. I�ve got a few for this week but will have several more in the weeks that follow�
The first one here is Granny & Grandpa Pug before 1940 when they were still dating:

Here is one from the fall of 1943 and has Granny with Sue…

This next one is from 1949 and features all the boys (Chuck, Tom & infant John) with Granny:

Here is a good one from June of 1957. We finally get to see Sally…

Our last one from this week pushes forward to 1976. I think this one is at John & June’s home in Anderson…anyhow, it is a classic that features Kimmy, Vickie, Cathy, Jackie & Granny:

Finally, here is a collection of short videos I shot on the Fourth of July. It has some really cute moments, including that crazy dog of ours, trying to catch bottle rockets!

Thanks for keeping up with our family this week. We�ll catch up with you next time. Until then, have a good one.
Later, Scheu