beacon - happy holidays (november 2014)

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Holiday gifts the grandkids will

rememberpage 9

Your Guide to a Happy Holiday

• •

2 HAPPY HOLIDAYS www.BeaconSeniorNews.com November 2014

By Teresa Ambord

Growing up, I never gave Thanks-giving much thought. That is, un-

til the year Dad turned my sisters and me into country girls. Dad was part of the Silent Generation—those born from 1925 to 1945 who lived through the Great Depression or World War II or both. Some say this generation was “silent” because they worked hard and kept quiet, which was a pretty good description of my father. He used his muscles more than his mouth.

But Time Magazine erroneously labeled the Silent Generation “unimagi-native and unadventur-ous.” They could not have been more wrong about the generation, and espe-cially about Dad. From his youth, Dad was always invent-ing new ways to turn one nickel into two. If he couldn’t build or fix something himself, he persisted until he could. That usually involved duct tape or WD-40, or both if a problem was really tough.

We girls thought Dad could do any-thing. But even we were surprised at what happened in the summer of 1971. That’s when he and our step-mom, Polly, announced that they’d bought property in a far-away forest, and we were selling everything to move there. The plan was for Dad to build a cabin in the middle of the woods. Many probably thought that sounded crazy. We girls didn’t know it then, but Dad’s health was at risk because of the stress of city life and the rising crime rate there. He longed for us all to have a simpler life.

Soon the house and businesses

A new take on Thanksgivingwere sold, and all our worldly goods were packed onto two trucks. Then we hit the road. The farther north we drove, the fewer cities and towns we saw, as they were replaced by trees and more trees. After two and a half days of driving, the paved road became a rock road, which wound through even thicker trees. Finally we came to a stop, and Dad called out, “We’re here!”

I was stunned, because we were literally in the middle of a forest.

No visible neighbors, no real road, no water and nowhere to plug in my hair dryer. Only my father could look at these dense trees and envision a cabin rising from the forest floor. But that is exactly

what happened…eventually.Within minutes of arriving, he

opened the back of one truck and pulled out a pre-fab outhouse. He’d built it in our garage in the city, then took it apart for reassembly later. He’d even painted a blue half-moon on it. Dad was no dummy. He lived with four females. He knew that soon after arriving at the property, we’d be asking where the bathroom was. So he quickly assembled the outhouse and dug a hole.

The next day, we began clearing a space for the cabin. For six weeks, we lived in a 10-man tent, cooked on a Coleman stove, and hauled water 19 miles from town in big milk cans. Dad had brought tools, of course, and a homemade cement mixer and a small generator for running his power tools. Whenever we needed more lumber or supplies, we had to

Teresa took this recent photo of her dad in front of the cabin 40 years after he built it. She said it looks quite different than when they owned it– “it doesn’t look loved like when we had it, and they took out many of the trees,” she said.

November 2014 www.BeaconSeniorNews.com HAPPY HOLIDAYS 3

soon as possible, we moved into the unfinished cabin, still without power or water. But at least we had walls.

As the holidays grew closer, the building continued, though slowly. Dad and Polly were making friends in the area, including a plumber, a carpenter and an electrician. They’d all built their own forest homes and understood the challenges, though I

in far northern California, someone gave us a welcome gift. It was a bur-lap sack of 100 pounds of potatoes, grown right there in the valley. We enjoyed those potatoes—fried, baked, mashed and best of all—in Polly’s potato soup. The only problem with that soup was she didn’t make it of-ten enough to suit us girls.

Then suddenly, she did. We were puzzled but thrilled when, several days a week, we’d come home from school to find a hot pot of potato soup, made with green onions and real cream, bubbling on the stove. We ate it with a big green salad, and buttered chunks of Polly’s crusty homemade bread. It never occurred to us to wonder why, out of the blue, Polly was making our favorite meal so often.

It wasn’t until we were adults with families of our own that we figured out the potato soup mystery. The original plan when we left the city was that we’d live off the proceeds of the house and businesses we’d sold, and Dad would not look for work until the cabin was built. I doubt we had any health insurance at that point. Then Dad broke his leg, and later, Polly needed emergency sur-gery. There went the nest egg! Look-ing back, I guess that explained why Dad took a job in a local mill and had to finish the cabin a bit at a time on the weekends.

Putting two and two together, we sisters finally realized that our potato soup winter was really Polly’s way to feed us when money was tight. But Polly, with her playful nature, al-lowed us to believe we were having one long celebration, and the guest of honor was potato soup. Never once did my parents let on that they were having problems.

These days, some people run to the food stamp office or max out their credit cards when they run low on money or don’t have the foods they prefer. Typical of their generation, Dad and Polly just tightened their belts, threw some more potatoes and onions in the pot, and worked even harder. And eventually things got better. ■

From left: The author’s stepmom Polly, father John, sister Sharon and author Teresa Ambord.

make the drive through the trees into town.

To Dad, a trip to the nearest tiny town was a delay. But to us girls, it was a joy. Since there was no mail delivery, we greatly anticipated going to the post office to get letters from home. Then we’d go next door to Boss’ General Store for an ice-cold Coke. No soda ever tasted so good as a Coke from Boss’ on a hot day that summer. At night we read by lantern light or played cards. And day by day, the cabin slowly materialized.

There were setbacks in building, of course. The biggest came when Dad fell from a ladder, shatter-ing his leg. But even then, construction didn’t come to a full stop. While Dad was confined to a chair, he directed the work of a teenage boy whom he hired to help (and who was later adopted into our family). You can bet, the moment Dad’s doctor switched him to a walk-ing cast, he was right back out there swinging a hammer.

After Labor Day, school started, and we were still living in the tent. With the nights growing cold and rain on the way, Dad began to worry. So as

doubt they roughed it quite as much as Dad did. When time permitted, they would help Dad lay pipes, wire the house, or whatever was needed.

Then one glorious day, Dad called us all into the bathroom where we stood in a semi-circle around the new toilet and cheered the first ceremo-nial flush.

Our carpenter friend built cus-tom cabinets for Polly’s kitchen in exchange for some mechanic work. Another cause for celebration!

Electricity took much longer, so on those dark fall nights I continued to do homework by lantern light. Then just before Thanksgiving, Dad came in the house, called us to attention and flipped a newly installed switch. There was light! Later that evening, we heard some terrible singing, trudging up the dark road in the rain. It was all those friends who had helped. They were singing “Detour, there’s a muddy road ahead, detour!” They brought a cake, decorated with a real light bulb.

When Dad and Polly announced we were moving to the country, I was not at all happy. But a summer of roughing it, of pulling together as a family to raise a cabin out of the forest floor, of celebrating things we’d always taken for granted—like running water and electricity—made our lives better, forever. Never was the season of Thanksgiving so meaningful, before or since.

Dad’s generation may be labeled silent. But un-imaginative? Unadventur-ous? Untrue. People like Dad were not big talkers. They had work to do and they didn’t quit until the job was done and done right. Our country is bet-ter by far because of that generation.

The Potato Soup Mystery Soon after Dad and

Polly moved us to the beautiful Fall River Valley

ingredients:6 large russet potatoes; peeled, sliced, and boiled until tender1/2 stick of butter1 c of milk (more or less, depending on the thickness you like)1 heaping T of flour6 green onions; chopped (set aside the tops for garnish)Lawry’s Seasoned Salt to tasteSalt and coarsely ground black pepper to tasteOne clove minced garlic, or garlic salt, if you prefer

optional ingredients:A few slices of cooked bacon; crumbled (When money was tight we didn’t have meat to add, but if we did, a little bacon or ham made it even better.)Grated cheddar cheese to top after cooking

ONCE the potatoes are boiled, drain and mash with a potato masher, but don’t worry about making it smooth. We like the texture best with some lumps in it. Polly would make a cream sauce in the blender, with the butter, milk and flour, then add it to the potatoes to thicken. After that, she’d let it heat through while she added the seasoning and finally the onions.

IT’S ALSO great cooked in a crockpot, but give it a whole day. Fill up the pot in the morning before you go to work and it’ll be done when you get home.

WHEN you dish it up, sprinkle a little cheddar cheese and some green onion tops for color, and serve some thick crusty bread with it.

AH… I can smell it now!


By Carrie Brown McWhorter

During Thanksgiving, we like to focus on the blessings of life,

including family, friends and good health. Unfortunately, many of us face struggles that do not magically disappear during the holidays.

The history of many beloved Thanksgiving hymns shows that thankfulness is often inspired by ex-tremely difficult circumstances.

According to Timothy George, dean of the Beeson Divinity School at Samford University, gratitude often comes out of great struggle.

“A lot of our thanksgiving comes out of these periods of wrenching experiences: pain, suffering, sorrow, war and violence,” George said. “In the midst of all that’s swirling around us, there’s an opportunity to lift our hearts in thanksgiving to God.”

This connection between suffer-ing and thanksgiving is rooted in the Bible, according to Professor of Hymnology Paul Richardson.

“From biblical times to our own, persons have often gained a clearer understanding of the presence of God when they have faced diffi-culties,” Richardson said. “That is reflected in song from the Psalms to those by today’s writers.”

The tradition of giving thanks de-spite troubling situations is evident in many beloved Thanksgiving hymns.

For example, “Now Thank We All Our God” by Martin Rinkart was written during Germany’s Thirty Years War (1618-1648). Rinkart was a Lutheran minister in his native city of Eilenburg, a walled city that became a haven for refugees. As the war progressed, the besieged city suffered from famine and then the plague, which claimed 8,000 lives in 1637, including the lives of Rinkart’s wife and other clergymen in the city. Historians estimate that Rinkart conducted services for as many as 50 people a day until the number of daily deaths required mass burials.

In the face of these hardships, Rinkart wrote these words of thanks, based on Ecclesiasticus 50:22-24:

“Now thank we all our God, with heart and hands and voices, who wondrous things has done, in whom this world rejoices;” Though written originally as a table

grace, today the hymn remains popu-lar for worship.

Another familiar hymn, “We Gather Together to Ask the Lord’s Blessings” was written during wartime. Dur-ing the 1500s, the Spanish rulers of Holland forbade Dutch Protestants to gather for worship. The Dutch waged a battle for independence from Spain, defeating the Spanish at the Battle of Turnhout in 1597. Though the Dutch did not gain independence until 1648, they saw the victory at Turn-hout as the hand of God at work, as expressed in the hymn’s first stanza:

“We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing; he chastens and hastens his will to make known. The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing. Sing praises to his name, he forgets not his own.”The hymn’s military undertones

made many 20th century Christians uncomfortable, so in 1902, Julia Cady Cory wrote new words to the melody of “We Gather Together.” The alter-nate version, “We Praise You, O God, Our Redeemer,” emphasizes “grate-ful devotion,” “praise” and adoration over the stronger message of freedom in the original.

Though war and suffering have inspired many thanksgiving hymns, others celebrate the traditions of the harvest so closely connected to the Thanksgiving holiday. For example, Henry Alford’s “Come Ye Thankful People, Come,” celebrates the agricul-tural harvest, called Harvest Festival or Harvest Home in Britain. Finally, “Count Your Blessings” by Johnson Oatman, Jr., urges us to be thankful no matter what the season or trial.

As you celebrate Thanksgiving, give thanks for your blessings and remember that difficult times often shine a brighter light on the blessings of family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving! ■

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By Michelle De La Cerda f More at www.thecompletesavorist.comIngredients:

1 cooked piecrust1 10-oz package dark chocolate chips1 8-oz package cream cheese, softened3/4 c sugar1 18-oz package fresh raspberries1 3-oz package raspberry Jell-O1 c water1 T cornstarch

USING the double boiler method (or micro-wave, if you so choose), melt the chocolate chips. Once melted, slowly add it to a bowl with the softened cream cheese and sugar. Use a mixer to blend ingredients and occa-sionally stop and scrape down the sides.

ONCE the chocolate has been fully incorporated, pour it into a prepared piecrust. Cover and refrigerate for two hours or until the chocolate has firmed and set.

AFTER the chocolate has set, layer the fresh raspberries over the chocolate. Bring one cup of water to a boil and whisk the cornstarch in until it has turned to a thin syrup-like consistency. Pour it into a bowl with the powdered gelatin. Whisk together until smooth and slowly add it over the raspberries, filling in all the nooks and crannies.

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6 HAPPY HOLIDAYS www.BeaconSeniorNews.com Christmas 2014

Compiled by Cloie Sandlin

I’m no fan of the cold, but I love the holidays and I can’t think of

anything better than spending my favorite time of year strolling up and down Main Street, with the trees sparkling with lights, the stores filled with cheer, and a cup of coffee or hot chocolate from a local café in hand. If you’re anything like me, these downtown events are sure to warm you with the holiday spirit, no matter how cold it is outside. Enjoy...

November 14 Wells Fargo Tree Lighting Kick off the holidays in downtown Grand Junction, starting with the Wells Fargo Tree Lighting from 5 p.m.- 7 p.m. in front of Wells Fargo Bank at Fourth and Main Streets. Special entertainment kicks off the magical evening as crowds gather to see the streets of downtown light up and marvel at the holiday décor. Bring the family to this special start to the holiday season. The night wouldn’t be complete without Santa to visit with the grandkids.

December 5 Spirit of Christmas Walk The Spirit of Christmas Walk features a varied collection of entertainers on the Western Slope. From 5:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m., enjoy entertainers performing on Main Street and inside the unique retail shops of downtown Grand Junction. Of course, Santa will be there and free horse-drawn carriage rides will be available. Businesses will be open late and will serve complimentary hot drinks and treats. Carolers will be popping in and out of shops as you enjoy downtown shopping. Admission is free for those walking.

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The 31st annual Winter Festival takes place on Main

Street in downtown Grand Junction. Nonprofit organizations sell holiday goodies until the start of the annual Parade of Lights at 5 p.m. The Parade of Lights is the biggest parade of the year. Thousands of people line Main Street as more than 100 lighted entries and floats enchant viewers.

December 7 Centennial Band Holiday Concert The Grand Junction Centennial Band will perform its annual holiday concert at 3 p.m. at the historical Avalon Theater, 645 Main St. In recognition of Pearl Harbor Day, all veterans will be admitted free. General admission is $7. Children age 5 and under free. Tickets are on

sale at Roper Music or from band members.

December 11 The Great Russian Nutcracker Don’t miss the Moscow Ballet’s performance of “The Great Russian Nutcracker” at the Avalon Theatre, 645 Main St. Doors open at 6 p.m. and show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $28-$175.

December 12 Chocolate Walk Experience downtown Grand Junction’s holiday charm during a walking tour of beautiful Main Street, featuring your choice of either a tour of Art on the Corner or a history tour. Cost is $10, which includes a special commemorative mug filled with Enstrom’s hot chocolate. The tour will start at Enstrom’s Candies, 701 Colorado Ave., at 5:30 p.m. To guarantee you will receive a mug commemorating the event, register by Thursday, November 6, by calling Grand Junction Parks and Recreation at 254-3866. ■

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By Lynn Pribus

Last year Sharon spent Christmas Eve at an emergency room pray-

ing that her grandson wouldn’t die. After surgery in August, she’d taken two prescribed sleeping pills and forgotten the rest.

When her son’s family came to vis-it, inquisitive 2-year-old Logan found the “pretty candies” in her bedside table and promptly ate the eight that remained. Fortunately, he recovered.

It’s important that you survey your house for potential problems to plan for a great holiday. Here are some tips to make your visits both safe and fun.

1. Safety first! Toxic items and fragile things are the greatest risks for youngsters—particularly curious toddlers. Before your company arrives, check for household products, medica-tions, breakables and heavy, tippy objects that could prove harmful. Obtain local phone numbers for medical emergen-cies, including Poison Control and the nearest urgent care facility. Re-duce the temperature on your water heater if it’s especially hot.

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2. Protect children from pets (or vice versa). Rent or borrow gates, cribs or playpens to set up one or two

rooms as a safe chil-dren’s area. Introduce young visitors to your pets and be sure they know how to behave around animals. If you have pets that aren’t child friendly, consider

boarding them for the visit.

3. If it’s been a while since you’ve seen your young visitors, don’t swoop. You probably remember them bet-ter than they remember you. Also,

surely, they have grown and gotten heavier. Sit back and let them come to you.

4. Establish your house rules prompt-ly. Discuss them when both children and parents are present, so if the parents don’t discipline misbehavior, you can tactfully do it yourself say-ing, “I see you’ve forgotten the rule at my house. Come sit right next to me for five minutes to think about it.”

5. Make a list of places to go for good times together, whether it be singing, skating, attending religious services, storytelling time at a local library, or going to a park or zoo. Parents will know what their children will espe-cially enjoy.

6. It’s crucial to offer youngsters opportunities to burn off energy. If you don’t have yard space, locate the nearest park or schoolyard with play equipment or a community swimming pool. Invest in a soccer ball, a jump rope, snow saucers (or swimming floats, depending on your climate), and other equipment for vigorous play.

7. Remember that 2-year-olds usually behave like 2-year-olds. Sometimes 10-year-olds do, too. Have quiet ac-tivities up your sleeve. Perhaps a new board game or a wonderful book that you can read aloud 10 minutes at a time now and then.

8. Discover ahead of time which foods your young company favors and wheth-er there are allergies. This isn’t the time for starting new menus. Serve wholesome snacks such as popcorn, nuts, fruit and whole-grain cookies rather than a lot of candy.

9. A good way to keep little ones on an even keel is to maintain their home routine as much as possible. Meals, naps, baths and bedtime are signifi-cant parts of children’s lives, and a disruption can make it harder for them to behave.

10. Arrange to spend some exclusive time with each person each day, even if it’s only a few minutes. Enlist a grand-son to help set the table, peel carrots with your granddaughter, run an er-rand with your daughter-in-law, and walk the dog with a toddler. ■

It’s important that you survey your house for potential problems to plan for a great holiday.


Kids get their first cell phone by age 12, and more than a third of

them have smart phones. Nine out of 10 teens have a computer and 97 per-cent of 12- to 17-year-olds play video games. More than half the homes in the U.S. have a fairly new video game console.

“It’s great that our kids have access to technology, but I talk to a lot of grandparents who say they simply don’t enjoy giving their grandkids tech gifts during the holiday season,” Life Insurance Concepts, Inc. Found-er Ted Bernstein said. “They want to give something their grandkids will treasure. Something they’ll remem-ber for a long time.”

That has become more challeng-ing, as kids, along with the rest of us, come to rely more and more on technology for everything, from communication to entertainment to telling the time.

Coming from a four-generation fam-ily of life insurance specialists, Bern-stein has a special interest in family legacies and a long history of innova-tion. He offers these suggestions for holiday gifts for grandkids that create lasting memories.

• Their own clunker, which you’ll restore together. If you have a grand-child who’s still a few years from driving age, buy an old pickup truck that the two of you can restore to-gether. You’ll have years to complete the project, which guarantees not only lots of one-on-one time together, but also the opportunity to teach

Low-tech holiday gifts the grandkids will rememberInstead of another mobile device or video game, consider something from the heart

valuable skills that will benefit him or her for a lifetime.

“Plan it right, and when your grand-child gets a driver’s license, he or she will also have wheels,” Bernstein said. “And after spending so much time working on that vehicle, they’re more likely to drive it carefully.”

• An annual helping hand for years after you’ve gone. Imagine being able to send your grandchild a holiday gift of $2,000 every year for 20, 30 or 40 years with a note from you attached. You can do it with the Installment Life Option, a life insurance policy option that pays beneficiaries of a life insurance policy in predetermined amounts of your choice for up to 40 years. Because of the deferred pay-out, the insurance company can re-duce the premiums up to 50 percent. And your grandchild is reminded of your love for him or her throughout his life, particularly during the finan-cially stressful milestones: college tuition, wedding, paying off student loans, down payment for first home, and first child.

“A lot of the grandparents who do this love the fact that they can contin-ue to help their grandchild long after they’re gone,” Bernstein said. “They also like the fact that they can choose what date the money is disbursed, whether it’s a holiday, a birthday, or a special date significant to the grand-parents and grandchild. And they can add a personal note, which can be sent according to the policy holder’s instructions.”

• The gift of compassion. Sponsor an impoverished child in another coun-try in your grandchild’s name.

“I like the organizations that allow you to personally connect with the child you sponsor, so your grandchild can write to and receive letters from them, and trade photographs. You can learn about the country together, and pick out gifts for birthdays or the holiday season,” Bernstein said.

A grandparent might pay the whole cost of sponsorship or allow the grandchild to pick up a small por-tion.

One organization highly rated by independent charity evaluator Char-ity Navigator is Compassion Inter-national. The 61-year-old Christian-based nonprofit facilitates 1.2 million sponsorships, providing the children with food, medical care, educational opportunities and more for $38 per month. Sponsors are invited to ex-change letters and develop a relation-ship with the child. ■

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By Kevin K. VanGundy

“Franz’s cheeks sucked back against his oxygen mask. His

fighter’s wings quivered. The 109 raced toward the earth like a bolt from the blue. Franz’s control yoke and rudder grew heavy from the terri-fying speed. As Franz neared his target, time seemed to accel-erate. As the bomber flew faster, its wings seemed to stretch and swell. The B-24 grew vivid in color, sharper in detail. Suddenly, it filled Franz’s windscreen. Franz mashed his triggers, awakening his fighter’s machine guns and cannon. His guns belched their mechanical rage for a split sec-ond, stitching the bomber between its wings. Franz twisted his fighter and dove past the bomber’s double tail, barely missing it. He felt his fighter shake from the bomber’s wake.”

It’s not often that a book com-pletely captures my attention, but “A Higher Call” by Adam Makos with Larry Alexander did just that and more. I would say that it is one of the best books I have ever read, specifi-cally for three reasons.

First, as is splashed about on the book’s cover, it is “an incredible true story of combat and chivalry in the war-torn skies of World War II.” This is a bit of an understatement as this story is as strange as they come and unbelievably true. (I just got goose bumps while recalling the story and writing that sentence.) I’m not going to say anymore than that because I’ll leave it up to you to discover for yourself.

Second, what I found most fascinat-ing is that the story primarily focuses on and is told from the perspective of German Luftwaffe pilot Franz Stigler. Being a patriotic, red-blooded Ameri-can male, I’ve never seen, heard or

even considered what it might have been like to be a German soldier dur-ing World War II. “A Higher Call” will take you deep into Hitler’s war machine where you will expe-rience first-hand the conflicting choices that many German soldiers faced.

Third, the story is told in great detail based on extensive interviews of those who actually lived the events. From the hot desert sands of North Africa to the cool alpine mead-ows of Bavaria, the authors slowly (and I do mean slowly), but richly, write and climb to the story’s climax about two-thirds of the way through the book.

Had the story ended there, you’d be left with an incredible tale, but it continues, showing you how these characters’ lives unfold over the passing decades while leading to an unexpected finale. Were it not true, I would not have believed it.

Finally, the real story will leave you with bittersweet tears. At least it did me. You come to know these men so well that you won’t want to leave their company. This book actually changed me somewhere deep in my core. I don’t know what else to say except that I bought my copy from Marya Johnston at her new book-store, Out West Books, at 533 Main St. and I asked her to order in a few extra copies for you. Enjoy! ■

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EXPIRES 12/31/2014Excludes Daily Specials

One Coupon Per Two PeopleHomestyle Cooking • Breakfast • LunchOpen Mon. - Sat. 6am to 2pm Closed Sun.

970-243-2133241 Grand Ave.• Grand Junction, CO

Mon-ThursOnly

It is “an incredible true story of combat and chivalry in the war-torn skies of World War II.” This is a bit of an understatement as this story is as strange as they come and unbelievably true.


Jane Schwartzberg said she cringes when she hears someone say that

a terrible accident or frightening medical diagnosis made him or her realize what’s important in life.

“In some ways, I wish everyone could experience a taste of terminal, if that’s what it takes to make them appreciate the intangible gifts we receive not just during the holidays, but all year,” said Schwartzberg, co-author with Marcy Tolkoff Levy of “Naked Jane Bares All,” a book that shares Jane’s story with candor and humor. “But I wish they’d known all along, and I hate the thought of goodness coming at the expense of so much suffering.”

Schwartzberg said she was clear about what’s most important before she was diagnosed with stage-four breast cancer. As a mother, wife, daughter, sister, aunt and friend, she knew that all that really matters is how much love we give and receive.

The holidays are a wonderful op-portunity for people to remember

Would your holidays be different if you knew you had a terminal illness?that and to focus on whom they love. But too often, they become a source of anxiety, stress and tension. Finan-cial concerns, having too much to do, and missing loved ones were among the top causes of holiday stress, ac-cording to a recent Mental Health America survey.

“Although I won’t attribute any revelations about what’s most impor-tant in life to my illness, I can say that there are a few things that I am trying to do better since getting sick,” Schwartzberg said. “The holidays are a great time to cultivate a spirit of gratitude and to refocus on the things that are most meaningful.”

For Schwartzberg, those include the following

• Showing up. If you’re worried about yesterday or always planning for tomorrow, you’re missing the present moment and any wonderful experiences it may hold.

“Although my clock ticks louder than others, I know we are all here

for a short time,” Schwartzberg said. “I am determined to find joy in every single day. It may come from the simplest of things: a view from my window, a great conversation or a hot cup of coffee. But I know I need to be always present and available, with an open mind and open heart, to experience any of it.”

• Riding her love train. We all have people in our lives who care about us, and it’s important to let them know how much we appreciate them. Schwartzberg’s “love train” is a metaphor for all of the people she chooses to share her life with.

“They are rooting me on and giving my family and me love and support,” she said. “I try to be as meticulous and thoughtful as I possibly can be with those on board, and that means making sure they know how much I love and value them.”

• Knowing my place in the world. There is a Jewish teaching that says everyone should carry with them two

pieces of paper, each in a separate pocket. One paper should say, “I am but dust and ashes.” The other should say, “The world was created for me.”

“I constantly remind myself that both statements are true,” Schwartz-berg said. “I am capable of incredible things to improve the world, and I am just a tiny speck in the universe. Powerfulness and humility can, and do exist for me side by side.”

As the holidays approach, keep in mind that the best gift you can give—or receive—is love.

“Approach this holiday season as if it could be your last, and you’ll probably find much more to revel in, rather than to stress about,” she said.

Schwartzberg is the co-author of the newly released book, “Naked Jane Bares All,” the many-layered story told with humor and candor of how she learned to embrace life when she was down for the count. For more information, visit www.nakedjanebaresall.com. ■


December 6 Breakfast with Santa Bring the grandkids to Dinosaur Journey Museum for breakfast with Santa at 9 a.m. This fun-filled family event includes checking out the robotic dinosaurs, breakfast, musical entertainment, stories by Mrs. Claus, and of course, a visit from Santa! Space is limited. Cost is $8 per person. Register by calling 242-0971.

December 10 and/or 11 Senior Holiday Lights Tour See the area’s best holiday light displays. Tour GJ on Wednesday and Fruita on Thursday. Register in advance. Event is free, but tip for driver is encouraged. Tour is at 5:30 p.m. Meet at the Fruita Senior Center.

December 13 Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair Find gifts and goodies at this annual craft fair from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Fruita Community Center. Local artisans will be selling unique, handmade items just in time for the holidays. Event is free to attend.

December 13 Parade of Lights Enjoy shopping and activities on Aspen Avenue in downtown Fruita leading up to the Parade of Lights at 5:30 p.m. Call 858-0360 for more information. ■

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Friendliest Bike Shop in Town

150 South Park SquareFruita, Colorado 81521

970-858-3917

Monday - Saturday: 9 aM - 6 pM

Sunday: 9 aM - 5 pM

CBB

We rent both Road and Mountain Bikes Yeti Cycles DeVinci CyclesAccessories, gear, clothing

www.backcountrybiker.com

Fruita for the Holidays

970-858-3704340 Hwy 6 & 50Fruita, Colorado

456 Kokopelli Blvd. Fruita, CO 81521858.9899 / 250.8588

Thanksgiving DayBuffet Turkey, Ham and

all the traditional fixings!In addition: Prime Rib & Barbecue Ribs.

Pasta Bar made to order.Large Relish Tray with all your favorites,

and assorted Salads!Pies, Candies, Cakes, Brownies,

Lemon, Blueberry Bars.Soft Drinks Included!

Wine, Beerand Spiritsavailable

Call for reservations!

beacon - happy holidays (november 2014)

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