NET 225

A Three Part Portrait: Teen Age Life During WWII

2007-12-11T16:00:00.000-08:00

Pauline Thomas in a lunch line at her High School

in Piqua, Ohio during WWII.

Video of Pauline Thomas's Family Background During WWII

2007-12-11T13:03:00.000-08:00

Text of Video

Hello my name is Pauline Thomas, Pauline Carder Thomas. My name was Carder during the war and until 1945 actually. Anyway this is a little short story about things, the way they went during WWII and it wasn’t exactly an exciting time. There were many things we had to do without during that time. However, I lived with my Mother and Dad. My sister, a little older, was married and lived with her husband in Detroit Michigan. So there was just me as the child in the family so to speak and we had coupons. They gave us coupons and we had to have those in order to buy a lot of things and there was a shortage of things like laundry detergent and I remember standing in line for my Mother at the Kroger store so that she could do washing . It was just little things like that come to my mind now . Back then, I really don’t know what I thought. At that age we didn’t really think that much about war like they do today, the way the kids do today. We just went along with what we were supposed to do. During that time, at the beginning, my Dad rode a bicycle, we had no car back then and my Dad rode a bicycle all over the place . We rented a house in Shawnee on First Street(Piqua) and he rode his bike all the way to Hartzell’s Propeller Company on Washington Avenue and he would ride his bike back and forth. Luckily he had a job and he kept food on the table. There was a shortage for sure but we always had enough to eat and a place to stay and a close relationship, too.

Pauline Thomas speaks of homelife during WWII

2007-12-11T12:06:00.000-08:00

(Pauline Thomas on High School Steps)

(sound file only)

Q. My first question will be, what did you and your family do for entertainment back when you were in high school during the war years?

A. About the only thing that we could do was listen to what was on the radio or maybe go to a movie once in a while, but we really couldn’t afford to do that all that much so we listened a lot to the radio. It was funny because we would be watching the news and we would all be sitting around looking at the radio. Of course we didn’t see anything except just the radio. You see that on some of the comic shows that remind me of those days.

Q. Did you have group activities?

A. Well, we played cards and that was about it but the whole family could do that and we spent a lot of hours doing that. We played checkers. I never was very good at that. My Dad always beat me playing checkers.

Q. How did you get your information about the outside world and how did you communicate with people outside of your home?

A. Well, we got a newspaper and of course we got the news. My Dad especially kept right up on the news on radio and he listened to a lot of news shows, my aggravation at that age. If we needed to get in touch with somebody, and we could not afford a telephone back then, there was a grocery store across from us, across the street from us and they had a telephone and if we really needed to get out to someone we would go over there and use their phone.

Q. Now where did you get your food? What were your food sources?

A. My Dad was always a big garden person, my Mother too. They put out a pretty good size garden that would include corn, too, and all kinds of vegetables. And then of course we went to the store which was, at that time, the one across the street from us but after it closed we had to walk quite a distance to get to the store and of course that meant carrying grocery bags which were rather heavy at times, up the hill at Shawnee to our house, something we wouldn’t think much of doing these days. Back then you didn’t or you didn’t get the groceries.

Q. Now, where did your clothes come from? Did you buy a lot of them off of the rack?

A. I hardly had any clothes bought off the rack. A few maybe, but my Mother was a very good seamstress and she made a lot of my clothes. I got a lot of compliments on the clothes that she made me. When I was a child, she even made me a winter coat and that coat was trimmed with caracal. I don’t know if you know what caracal is, kind of a little curly type fake fur and she put that around the cuffs and the collar. Ohh..It was a beautiful coat. She made my clothes on up to when I went to high school, a lot of them, but then I bought a few.

Q. Now, how did you get back and forth to school? I know that Shawnee was across a rather large bridge, and that the high school was clear up by where they have a senior home now on High Street (Piqua). How did you get there? Did they have a bus come get you?

A. No, I walked everyplace I went. They had school buses that took the kids in rural areas, but it didn’t take any of us, so we walked to school and that was even when I went to high school I had to walk, I don’t know how far it was from our house to the high school but it was a long distance. It didn’t make any difference if it was raining or snowing or sleeting, it didn’t come across the bottom of the radio that there would be no school today so we went to school and walked home again. It was a pretty good distance even when I went to second or third grade but it was even further than that when I went to high school. After I graduated and was working at the high school I still walked all that distance, as we still didn’t have a car in the family. I got a lot of walking in those days.

Thank you very much. You have given us an excellent view of how it was to live back then in the WWII days.

Thank you very much.

Keepon on YouTube

2007-11-24T09:17:00.001-08:00

This is fun! I saw this on Wired Science and the idea of a sophisticated robot that has music and some facial recognition just blows me away. How far we have come!
Use this link to view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPdP1jBfxzo

Commercial....60 Second

2007-11-18T11:24:00.001-08:00

Sun is rising on a country farm....music plays in the background, the usual flute la-de-da. Rooster crows.

Camera goes into bedroom window to a man in bed waking up, yawing, then throwing back his blanket.
(Music up tempos, muted rock song)
He leaps out of bed and takes a shower in futuristic looking bathroom. Coffee perks on a timer and breakfast pops out of the microwave.
"I am so ready for this day" he says, munching on his food.
He opens the door to go outside and there stands a deer with a flower in its mouth, with lots of different species of animals standing and dancing behind, all singing Celebrate(Rare Earth).
"I just want to celebrate
another day of living
I just want to celebrate
another day of life."

Camera pans out to include the whole house, showing solar panels, recyling bins. water tank for sun warming, hybrid car.
Camera pans further out to space view of Earth clean of pollution.
Music continues to play...Voice in "Saving the planet starts at home."...pan out.

Commercial Spots....30 second

2007-11-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

Darkened room……..in a house anywhere. A nondescript teenager picks up a snowglobe and shakes it. She winds the musicbox part and it plays “America the Beautiful”. Closeup of her face through the glass. The globe contains a pastoral scene, animals, green grass and trees. She says "I remember.." in a dreamy voice.
Girls face turns sad. She sighs, walks over to a table and sets the globe down. She then walks over to a window, pulls aside the drapes and looks out. Camera pans to the outside and shows desert sand, dead trees and animal skeletons. There is a single hand pump at a well with hundreds of people lined up with plastic bottles. Armed guards hold guns at ready. A faded broken-down sign says “Welcome to the Great Smokie Mountains”

Man’s voice over “Global Warming is Real. It is up to you to change the future.”

Keywords

2007-10-10T09:46:00.000-07:00

Keywords: Shorin, karate, Sensei, dojo, sparring, focus, breaking, Leistner, lessons, fees, WSKF, martial, kata, Nagamine, Okinawa, Grant, Zen.

What You Need to Participate in Karate

2007-10-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

What you need to participate in Karate:

First of all, you need to be physically able to participate. You must discuss with your Sensei any liabilities and limitations you may have. He may have a way around them in order for you to participate. For example, some dojos (training halls) have wheelchair students in their classes.

You must have a clear idea of what is expected of you in class. Uniforms, warm ups, sparring, training and breaks are all important to understand as all styles, and yes, all Sensei, are different in their approach to passing on their style of martial art.

You must be mentally prepared to leave it ALL behind you when you cross the threshold of the training hall. You must be willing to totally focus on what you are doing, not only to learn but to be safe and not get hurt or harm others just because you are thinking about work or the dentist.

Most styles charge fees for their lessons. There are bills to be paid and overhead to cover. Many have to have insurance due to the nature of their classes. Some hold classes in public areas and charge the minimum. Others are fancy and have expensive tutors and equipment that must be bought and so they pass that on to the student. It is up to you to pick out the style and place that is right for you.

How to Participate in Karate

2007-10-09T17:10:00.000-07:00

Martial Arts has to be one of the most interesting activities in which to participate. It has something for everyone. If you wish to work on your physical strength, karate is for you. If your balance is out of kilter, then yoga may be your choice. From the sharp reports of breaking boards to the soothing mantras of yoga, martial arts indeed has a place for just about anyone. However, one form of martial arts has stolen my heart: Shorin Ryu karate.

Shorin Ryu is a style of karate that exercises both mind and body. Focus is very important to develop, and it is nurtured as your physical self is put through its paces. This style of martial art has graduated prearranged forms called kata. Kata start at a simple place, one that any beginner can grasp and master. As the student improves in the learning of the first kata, physical and mental habits are cultivated that will enable that student to progress to the next kata. Each form is more difficult and teaches different ideas and movements.

By the time the student is ready for the first promotion, concepts of balance, power and respect are ingrained. As the student progresses through the many levels, physical strength as well as control of that strength become second nature.

Shorin Ryu karate is for self defense only and must not be used out of context. The main precept of this style is that “there is no first attack” as penned by its Okinawan founder, Shoshin Nagamine. His son, Takayoshi Nagamine, carries on the family tradition, continuing to teach the world his father’s dream of combining Zen peace with the force of karate.

Profile of a Sensei

2007-10-09T17:09:00.000-07:00

Kyoshi Jeff Leistner has been involved in teaching Shorin Ryu karate for more than thirty years. He studied under Master Frank Grant, founder of the WSKF (World Shorin Karate Federation) and owns his own dojo(training hall) just outside of Troy, Ohio on Rte 718. He teaches young children and adults as well as advanced black belt classes.

He is president of the WSKF and faithfully passes on the teachings of Shoshine Nagamine, founder of Shorin Ryu karate. His dojo is a wonder in which to train, with an antique wood dovetail panel floor that is so easy on bare feet. He is unassuming and patient. If you have a problem, he will listen to you and try to help with advice. However, he will not allow carelessness or cruelty in his dojo. Kyoshi Leister does not respond to any formal title except that of Sensei, which means “one who has gone before”. He dedicates his life to karate and the passing on of the precepts taught to him by Master Frank Grant who learned them from Grand Master Shoshin Nagamine. Which is how it should be passed…from the one who has gone before.

A Review of Shorin Ryu Karate

2007-10-09T17:07:00.000-07:00

First of all, one must decide which form of martial art is for you. Do you want something fast and hard, or would you benefit more from a slower, softer style? I chose Shorin Ryu karate as it has elements of both, as well as meditative aspects that were applied from the Grand Master of the style, Shosin Nagamine.

I also selected the dojo where I would later train by word of mouth, and then by going to observe a class or two. The next step was to actually participate in a class. By then, it was too late. I was entranced by the mind-body connection that was evident in the smooth powerful moves and loud yells that punctuated the air at important focus points.

As long as you do your best and progress at your own rate, students of any age are welcome to come and be part of the fellowship that is karate.

The Real Geneva Tisdale

2007-09-18T17:20:00.000-07:00

The amazing differences in the written word and the spoken word are never more apparent than in the story of Geneva Tisdale. Reading the text of the story lends a historical, impartial view of the happenings of that time. One can get an overall view of the layout of the restaurant and how hard the employees worked. But once Geneva begins to speak does the true story emerge.

To read the script, one would think the story was about the civil rights battles that were going on all over the south at that time. It was a fierce and frightening time in the history of our country during which many people were hurt and killed.
Civil rights leaders such as Martin King and Malcolm X were murdered outright as people were afraid of their charismatic leadership.

The real story here is in the wistfulness of Geneva’s voice as she tells her story. One hears the pride as she recounts being the first African American to be served at the counter. One can almost hear the anger as she focuses only on her work and ignores the demeaning work of waiting on Caucasians for years, always the servant but never the served, until the moment arrives. One can hear the yearning to be on the customer side of the counter on her own terms and not guided by her boss’s dictates. And after all that she has lived through for so many years, to be making such a low wage with the knowledge that the Caucasian waitress would make more money.

If I were in control of the telling of this tale, I would create a one-woman show in which I would have a woman of color deliver a monologue, speaking of all of the internal conversations that she would have with herself during this time. I would want to know what she was REALLY thinking behind that counter, but would be in too much deep trouble to voice. I would want to hear the longing, the anger and betrayal that was too dangerous to be expressed in a more open way. I might even have her spit in a hamburger before she would serve it to the man who called her racist names.

Yes, Geneva Tisdale is a remarkable woman whose real story is in her feelings and thoughts of a time that discounted her humanity, a story that can be more aptly portrayed through a spoken history rather than a written one.

Ideas the World Over

2007-09-10T16:36:00.000-07:00

I have spent the last couple of hours viewing the front pages of newspapers from all over the world. Guess what....I saw more NFL football stories on the front pages of newspapers in the US than stories about the war in Iraq. Pictures of the pigskin take up half a front page while the occasional small article about the war finds its way into a corner. Every once in a while I noticed stories about illegal aliens. I didnt see much as far as any government criticism (that is, us nailing on our government about the job that they are(or are not) doing. Oh, yes, Britannie Spears. I saw her picture quite a bit in European papers. I saw more soccer in Europe. I guess it is their version of football.
It was difficult to understand what the German papers were about, but the picture of the young man with his fist raised into the air with Osama's face on his t-shirt brought back other extremist memories like those of Hitler. The one paper that I read that was thought provoking was the English version of Aljazeera. Especially the part where folks can email their opinions. What a wealth of information. I understand that these emails are very laden with the politics of the areas from which they originate. However, these topics are not open for discussion in our newspapers like they used to be. It is easy to forget certain topics when they are not in the forefront of the media.
I wish to pose a question to the younger folks--how long will Free Speech be allowed on the web?

Comment also posted to Brad Reed's blog

2007-09-05T15:01:00.000-07:00

I was blown away by the video. I have been trained since an early age to read text and convert that to understanding. I read rather quickly and the words translate into pictures. Now with the new hypertext the transfer is already done and it can constantly change each time someone reads and responds to it. I can see that this will take getting used to. The word is no longer static. I am sure that to those who have grown up with the internet this is nothing new. However, to an older member of the group, all of the change can be rather dizzying. I just am amazed with the combination of graphics, movement, color and sound. It sounds like the next step is to insert a chip directly into the brain to communicate instantly with each other. This class is nothing like I imagined it would be.Simply amazing!

The New Wor(l)d

2007-09-03T17:25:00.000-07:00

I am an old school person trying to transition into the new world of computer communication. In the past, we had photographs and books. We depended upon the crafting of the written word to be able to convey a mood, an emotion or a physical location. How the word felt as it was spoken gave it depth and sensual appeal. How the word sounded when it was spoken added to the experience.
(to be continued)