As a social and visual anthropologist, I always am excited to know how we become who we are. Like how did I get so lucky to meet Michael, a true gentleman, and how did he become who he is today?
Today we are lucky to look behind the scenes and get to know his mother, Muriel Pierson. I wish I could have recorded an episode like that with my grandmother or even mother when she was still alive. These are generational stories which are now captured and can be "seasoned" as a cultural...
As a social and visual anthropologist, I always am excited to know how we become who we are. Like how did I get so lucky to meet Michael, a true gentleman, and how did he become who he is today?
Today we are lucky to look behind the scenes and get to know his mother, Muriel Pierson. I wish I could have recorded an episode like that with my grandmother or even mother when she was still alive. These are generational stories which are now captured and can be "seasoned" as a cultural history or the story how Michael became who he is today. I felt so lucky the day I met him not only to meet him, but also how I was welcomed into his family with open arms the way I never had before. I have learned so much about Canada, USA and history with these visits and communications with Muriel.
Today we travel to the East coast of Canada and listen to how Muriel grew up in the 1940s. How while on a cruise, she she was offered a job offer to work on a ship in the Caribbean... said no to it and moved to Santa Barbara instead.
We have many forks in our life and who knows if there would have even been a Michael if she had said yes to the job on the cruise ship? How they moved to Dallas and Florida and what Muriel's life brought to her. What are some of the valuable lessons she is telling us? Someone who is over 80 years old with a whole life of experiences? and what can we learn from her wisdom and do differently to make a better life for ourselves?
This is a valuable and very different kind of episode, more in a total conversational mode, being in the same room and with her, in person... Something I would love to do each and every time with each and every episode, if that was an option.
Enjoy the very special episode. Think how you too could capture a little memory or two of your parents or grandparents, so that the stories will not die with them...
As always - please share and like and comment!
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Summary:
03:02 Story about growing up in Canada as a number 12 in the family
05:22 Ghost stories from the coast
06:00 Eastern Canada
06:26 Growing our own food
07:24 Fishermen farmers
07:32 Hay fields, pigs, cattle, chickens, horse – 100 acres in the 1940s
08:34 Planting potatoes
09:00 Making your own beer
09:17 Everyone pitched in with everything
09:33 Made our own butter and cheese and ice cream
09:52 Leaving Canada
10:35 Big boats or small boats
11:00 Go to city – paper mill
11:31 Lots of fish and canning it
12:32 Selling the animal meat for extra money
12:54 Making our own wool stuff from our own lambs
13:16 Being a teacher in Canada for 3 years – 30 – 40 kids per class – in the village
14:36 Older sister went to Montreal and got married
15:22 Two sisters – the oldest sister lived close to Detroit
17:00 Caribbean dream and cruise
17:20 1961
17:49 Teaching ballroom dancing to get money for cruising
18:51 Dancing every night and offer to stay on the boat
19:06 Good job and flat back home
20:02 I am going to go to Santa Barbara, USA
20:25 My professor showed picture of his honeymoon there
21:00 Got some extra money
21:24 Got a job in San Francisco
22:00 Got to San Francisco and decided to go to Santa Barbara
22:44 Green card process back then – cash and a promise of the job
24:12 I wanted to become a nurse – part time job and a nursing program
24:55 Helped in the lab
25:50 New roommate in Santa Barbara
27:52 My mom visiting and cooking and knitting
29:14 Taking wine bottles out
29:48 No time to dating
31:14 A new boyfriend bringing roses every day
32:00 2 children
32:40 Living in Santa Barbara
18:02 Catholic Social club started with 20 men and 20 women
33:37 Doug started to work in Biltmore – and Four Seasons now
34:14 Doug was a manager in that hotel
35:00 Michael was born first and then 3 years later Jennifer
36:00 Stayed at home mom
36:44 Red wagon story
37:51 10 – 15 fruit trees and grew a lot in the garden
38:09 Red wagon as a Christmas present
38:34 Michael took all the veggies to the neighbors with it
39:18 Did not like the weeding, but selling the vegetables
40:00 Teacher’s retirement community on the other side
41:26 Michael investing money into a new fruit tree to produce more fruits and have more money
42:34 12 friends for Michael and 12 friends for Jennifer for birthdays
43:07 Michael loved cooking and had a step stool to do it
44:01 Michael cooked his special dishes: pigs in the blanket, hens in the nest, macaroni cheese
44:41 Getting dressed and Michael was cooking on the stool
45:12 Jennifer reading
45:27 Michael very different
45:44 The owner of Biltmore died and then we moved to Dallas
46:07 Important people in Santa Barbara – movie stars, royals – he was used to that kind of clientele
46:32 Very different clientele
46:50 We moved to Florida – beautiful hotel on the beach in Clearwater Florida
47:58 Doug wanted to his things in the 40s
48:12 Went back to California and back to nursing
48:50 Drug testing for FDA
49:15 Nursing burns you out – 8 hours to do it all and too many patients
50:00 Go into it to help people, but you cannot give them the love and the care
50:41 Too much stress and not enough pleasure
51:01 Did not matter who died you or the patient by the end of the day
52:17 New husband has Alzheimer
53:02 Going to the support group
53:49 Find a support group
54:17 Take care of themselves and you are the first
54:42 Get your ducks in the row
56:08 Part of it is a character – but also teaching please and thank you
57:49 Respect elders, respect other’s property and places
58:49 It is your responsibility
59:04 Doug’s parents did not give much love
59:40 What is acceptable and what is not you need to teach it
60:00 Man is walking on the pavement on the outer side
61:00 Influence generation by generation
61:12 Jennifer’s husband Walter was good with kids
62:10 Different mindset – a lot of it in his DNA when he was born
62:30 Very loving, caring family – everyone took care of each other
63:00 Taking care of each other
63:11 Proud of your son? I am proud of him!!!
63:43 Did things his way as a young
64:23 Influential friends who did not have the male example to guide themselves
64:57 Pick your friends – who influence your character
65:29 I disciplined them – if need to be – sent them to their room or spanked them
66:17 Butts for spanking as a little cushion
66:57 Welcomed to the family
67:10 Blessing to us and Michael and appreciate him and what he has to offer
67:33 Takes a good woman to see appreciate a good man
68:15 Took in a foster son Larry
69:40 Full of mischief and had been to 15 foster homes
71:05 Brought him in – I run this house and you follow our rules
71:48 Stayed with us till going to service
72:19 Counting grand-kids
73:14 Good to be a grandmother – be with them and send them home
73:49 Taught manners and how to be good to grandmother
74:12 Baking cookies at Christmas to give away
74:13 Love and discipline in equal amounts – tough love is needed at times
75:39 Have to let them respect you and their dad – so that dad is coming to peaceful
76:13 Love and respect
76:19 Love them to be who they are – love and discipline and a little spank on the bottom if need to be
77:06 Enriching to travel and travel rather earlier than later
77:30 Make time for your family – the job is not the most important
78:14 Time for kids and make time for your parents and respect them
78:28 I had my mom come to visit me – she was willing to travel
79:00 Was expensive to travel back those days
79:22 Bottom line – nice house, car – nice but good times the kids will remember the hiking or cookies
80:00 Quality time with the kids and grand-kids
80:29 Father was riding the horse bare and finding our fun and simple
80:55 Most dangerous thing you could do – walk out of the cliff
81:22 There was no drugs and did not lock the doors
81:35 In Santa Barbara for 30 years we did not have criminality and it was safe
82:00 Time and love are the most precious gifts
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If you have comments or questions to Muriel's story - let us know so we can make another follow up episode. This episode comes out for Muriel's birthday as a different kind of present. As something part of her legacy to the future generations. We are glad we could co-create it.
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Crystal Ra Laksmi-Ditton & Michael Ditton
Abundance in Action Podcast co-producers and co-hosts
