Soapbox

I was asked by my mother to compose the epitaph for Larry, my step-father. This is what I wrote. It was later edited by a family member who didn’t feel it was appropriate for the newspaper, but I think Larry would have been fine with it.

All of nature today mourns the loss of a beloved friend and photosynthesis advocate, Laurence A. Larson, PhD. Dr. Larson went home to be with Darwin on Thursday, November 9th at his home, after an extended illness.

Larry was born in Cleveland, Ohio on the 17th of March, 1930 to Arthur and Elizabeth Larson. After serving in the U.S. Army Artillery, he attended Ohio University, where he received a Bachelor’s degree in Physics. Larry went on to earn a Masters in Botany from the University of Tennessee and a PhD in Botany from Purdue University. In 1963 he returned to Athens to join the teaching faculty, where he had a long and distinguished career, including being twice given the Deans Award for Excellence in Teaching. He was an outstanding educator in every way and considered it a privilege to introduce college freshmen to the poetry and magic that is Biology 101. In 1978 a grateful student body voted him University Professor in the college of Arts and Sciences.

Larry was indeed both a scientist and an artist, as anyone who is fortunate enough to own one of his beautiful ceramic pots or brass rubbings can attest. He was also an important force behind the Athens Food Pantry for many years, a member of the United Campus ministry and worked with prisoners in the Chillicothe Correctional Facility.

Outside of Porter Hall, Larry will be best remembered in the Good Shepherd Episcopal Church, where his enthusiasm, unflagging baritone and abiding faith made him a pillar of the church in the truest sense.

Dr. Larson is survived by his wife, Elizabeth (Stout) Larson. Larry is deeply mourned by his first wife Joanne and their two daughters, Betsy Wetmore (Terry) of Jacksonville, Florida and Amy Dinger (John) of Syracuse, New York and four grandchildren, Lauren and Garrison Wetmore and Brooke and Jake Dinger, by numerous step-children, step grandchildren, hoardes of friends and co-workers, and even by random strangers he met from time to time in the produce aisle at Krogers. Because that’s just the kind of man Larry was.

A Eucharist in celebration of Larry’s life will be held at Good Shepherd Episcopal Church on Saturday, November 11th at 5:00 PM. In lieu of flowers, donations to the Athens Food Pantry would make Larry smile.

As usual, Larry himself put it best when he wrote, on the occasion of his retirement from teaching:

As firmly cemented clamshells
Fall apart in autumn
So I must take to the road again
Farewell, my friends.

Farewell, Larry!

So I’ve got this kid… and since she’s getting bigger, I decided to buy her a Skipper doll.

I was a bit hesitant, wondering what my mother would say about this. You see, when we were kids we were not allowed to have Barbie dolls of any kind, because they represented the objectification of women, or something like that. Actually, I think that my mother was rather ahead of her time in her views, now that I am an adult.
However, I remember that when I was the only kid in town without a Barbie, I thought my Mom was nuts for making that rule, and hey, I’m looking to score a few points with my daughter. Also, I thought making doll clothes would be a lot of fun. (I have a lot of left-over fabric!)

But I got her a Skipper, since she’s only three. (And since I don’t want her to say, “How come you’re not shaped like my dolly is shaped, Mommy?”) She adored it from the minute she opened it, and named it “Camping” so of course I made the doll a tent. Katie takes baths with Camping and then she and the doll put on matching pajamas and the doll sleeps in a little bed right next to hers.

She went to visit her Grandma last week, and apparently, hell actually froze over while she was there. Not only did my mother not find it objectionable that my daughter had this doll, but the story from my daughter’s lips is that Grandma took her to the Barbie aisle of the toy store and said,
“You may choose any doll here that you like, and Grandma will buy it for you.”

Imagine how far my eyes bugged out of my head when Katie came home with a Doctor Barbie (Complete with mini-skirt and stiletto heels, of course) that her doting grandma had bought for her! My scabby-kneed daughter, whose favorite outfit involves shorts on backwards and hiking boots is now pestering me to make some party dresses for Doctor B.

Of course I immediately called my mother and asked her what had possessed her!
“Hey- I’m a Grandma now” was her only reply. “I gave her a cookie right before dinner, too. That’s what Grandma’s do.”
Wow! What is this Grandma disease, and when can I catch it?

Camping with Camping