Visiting Great Aunt Erma Gruhn

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By Pam Schwartz

Since April of 2016 I have lost most of my grandparents generation of
relatives: my Great Uncle Hugo at 88, Grandma Rose at 93, Grandma Martha
at 97, Great Aunt Lucille at 98, and my Great Aunt Gladys at 100. 

 I moved to Florida in January 2016 and since then every time I have gone
home, I have done my best to see each of them. This Thanksgiving and
Christmas I spent as much time with my 99 year old Great Aunt Erma (my
father’s aunt) as I could, (a bout with food
poisoning and bad weather were unhelpful) which amounted to about 7-8
hours over both trips. 

During this time Aunt Erma and I talked about many things and I recorded
our conversation as an oral history. Aunt Erma is the matriarch of my
family and that last tie I have to my Grandparents’ generation. Since my
Grandpa Vernon (her brother) died when I
was 3 and my Grandma Martha never remembered, or didn’t share, many
stories of her childhood, I have learned so much from her about them and
it means so much to me. 

It’s amazing how much time you can spend talking to your family members
and then when they pass you still have so many questions. I asked my
Aunt Erma what it was like growing up with her parents and my grandpa. I
find it sad that I never got to meet my great
grandparents, but Aunt Erma only ever met one of her grandparents as the others passed before she was born. 

 On the Thanksgiving trip we talked about her childhood, my great
grandparents, my grandpa (her brother), Christmas at their house, what
they ate and did for fun, my great grandfather having had a ticket on
the Titanic that he (luckily) gave up, she talked of
my great-great uncle’s suicide just months after my great grandfather
came from Germany to join him here in the US leaving him alone as a 14
year old boy to find his way, and more. 

She even told me stories about my mother’s mom that I
wasn’t expecting since it was from the other side of the family. She
described her, Rosie, as always being so jolly and full of fun. It made
my heart melt to hear it,
because that was the grandma that I had always known. Always a smile,
and a twinkle in her eye. She explained that my Grandma Martha had a bit
of a tougher upbringing and so was harder in a way, but said that you
could always count on her to lend a hand, and
bring lunch and a cake over for any illness, hardship, or holiday. And
that too, was how I knew my Grandma Martha, though Erma provided more
insight into Martha’s childhood then I ever thought I’d know. 

 It is hard to pick which stories to tell as so many were told in those
seemingly fast running hours. Tom came with me over Christmas and did
this sketch as Aunt Erma and I discussed her marriage, a falling out
with my grandparents over the family farm, and
the 1958 car accident which horrifically took my Grandma Martha’s
brother and his wife, badly injuring their two children and my
grandfather. 

As many interviews as I have recorded with my family, you can never
capture all of the memories. If you have older loved ones, don’t wait.
Spend time with them, ask questions, and record or write down what they
say.

Otronicon at the Orlando Science Center

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Otronicon just opened at the Orlando Science Center (777 E Princeton St, Orlando, FL 32803). The Orlando Science Center’s favorite interactive tech expo is back and better than ever. You can see Synthestruct’s audiovisual performance Viscerality, participate in workshops and hear from industry professionals. Plus, gaming competitions and a hair-raising Tesla Coil show!

I decided to sketch on my tablet since it is a bit high tech. I figure that was my way to blend in to the tech event. I walked the multiple floors of the exhibits and finally decided to sketch this slinky roller coaster exhibit. The nose of the pup was a photo opportunity with a small red platform that said, step up to be tall, sit down to be small. Parents loved to take photos of their kid on that red platform.

The body of the slinky dog was set up like roller coaster cars. People could get in and then they were handed headsets. They were shown an interactive video that showed the slinky as it roared down the roller coaster tracks. The video people were seeing was also broadcast on a TV up near the pups head, so I could keep track of what the people were experiencing as I sketched. A line formed and people came and went quite often.

To my left was an exhibit for Polytechnic University. Their slogan is, “Imagine what you can accomplish.” Lori M. Huertas spoke to me about possibly stopping by the campus to show students how I use my iPad as a sketchbook. One woman was fascinated by my sketching and she asked me about the program I was using. Her son loves to draw and he already has an iPad. She said that finding me was the one thing that truly inspired her about the event and she plans to get the drawing program for her son. I just hope she realizes that the program wasn’t doing the drawing, I was.

Much of Otronicon is about kids who love to play video games. As soon as I entered I could see crowds of kids competing in their virtual worlds. They shouted their annoyance when they died. I am hoping to meet and help inspire kids to transition from being video game consumers to becoming creators.

Otronicon is at the Science Center through Monday, January 21, 2019. Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily. General admission to Otronicon is free
for Orlando Science Center members, $20.95 for adults, $18.95 for
seniors and students, and $14.95 for youth (ages 3 – 11). Purchase
tickets
here.

Weekend Top 6 Pick for January 19 and 20, 2019

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Saturday January 19, 2019

8am to 1pm Free. Parramore Farmers Market. The east side of the Orlando City Stadium, across from City View. Purchase quality, fresh and healthy food grown in your own
neighborhood by local farmers, including Fleet Farming, Growing Orlando,
and other community growers.

10am to 4pm Free. Commander’s Call. Museum of Military History 5210 West Irlo Bronson Hwy Kissimmee FL 34746. This ongoing program is held on the 3rd Sat of each month is designed to
appeal to families, military memorabilia collectors, history buffs,
re-enactors & others interested in military history. In addition,
persons interested in displaying, trading or selling their military
items such as honor coins, swords, photographs, military buttons, scale
model boats & planes, military art, uniforms or other equipment
register in advance by calling the museum to reserve a spot. Re-enactors and ; veterans are welcome to come in uniform to add to the history
& authenticity of the military experience. Non-military booths such
as health care providers, home improvement, local attractions or other
businesses are invited to be vendors for minimal donation.
INFO: 407-507-3894 or to register your table space.

4pm to 8pm Free. Cruisin’ Downtown DeLand Car Show! East Indiana Ave Downtown DeLand, Deland FL. Classic cars and rods. Live DJ, giveaways, shopping and dining. Fun for the family! Every 3rd Saturday night!
INFO: and for showing your car 386-738-0649

Sunday January 20, 2019

9am to 9pm Free. Gasperilla Pirate Festival.  Bayshore Boulevard, Bayshore Blvd, Tampa, FL.

The world famous Seminole Hard Rock Gasparilla Pirate Fest will take to
the streets of South Tampa along Bayshore and into Downtown Tampa.

The annual Gasparilla Pirate Fest has been invading Tampa Bay for over
100 years now. From the water invasion, to the street parade, over half a
million people will be showered with beads and entertainment of all
kinds!

The Gasparilla Festival is the pride and joy of the city of Tampa and a must-attend event.

Enjoy a pirate party with the dazzling parade featuring bands, beads,
floats, and more. There will be great live entertainment, food, drinks,
and much more throughout the Gasparilla Parade.

Experience the Gasparilla Festival in Tampa on land or water but don’t miss out on the amazing pirate festivities!

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Gasparilla Invasion

Route: The Jose Gasparilla sets sail at the south end of Hillsborough
Bay at 11:30am., sails north to Seddon Channel and; docks at the Tampa
Convention Center at 1:00 pm.

9:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Gasparilla Invasion Brunch

Location: Tampa Convention Center

Admission: Tickets are REQUIRED for adults and for children over the age of two.

2:00 p.m. – approx. 5:30 p.m. Parade of the Pirates

Route: The Gasparilla Parade begins at Bay to Bay Blvd & Bayshore
Blvd. It continues along Bayshore Blvd to Brorein St., turns east on
Brorein St,, then north on Ashley Dr. Parade ends at Cass St. and
Ashley Dr. FREE to attend.

10am to Noon Free. Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation Class. University, 5200 Vineland Rd, Orlando, FL 32811. The Method of Heartfulness A simple and practical way to experience the heart’s unlimited resources. 

Noon to pm Free. Yoga. Lake Eola park near red Gazebo. Bring your own mat.

Christmas Day in Iowa

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There is no internet reception in this small Iowa town except with a daily brief phone hot spot, so I didn’t write up the Christmas posts until I got back to Orlando. Christmas day the kids presents were boxed up under the tree. There was some attempt at setting order in opening the presents, but the kids had ideas of their own and it became a free-for-all of ripping paper as presents were opened. Allie got a pretty sweet mermaid’s tail from Pam, Jenni, and I. It is made of really warm fleece and is great for cuddling up on a cold night. It is also rather large because Pam demonstrated how it worked for her parents several days before Christmas. I am pretty certain it is far more hip that the bunny suit pajamas modeled in A Christmas Story. Pam and I ended up with some pretty great warm winter socks. They were needed to keep our feet warm at night since no amount of covers are quite warm enough.

This was the first Christmas where the family didn’t go to Grandmother’s house for a big family meal. Grandma Martha Schwartz passed away this year leaving a void in that holiday tradition.  Instead, a large roast was cooking in the oven all day. An extra table was brought out so everyone could find a seat. Luke ate two heaping plates of meat. I have never seen a man eat so much meat in one sitting. For me that was the Christmas miracle of the day. I helped in clearing the tables and then the games resumed for the rest of Christmas day.

Christmas Eve Cookies

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On Christmas Eve in Iowa, Kimberly brought out the blank Christmas cookies for decorating. Icing came in three colors of squeeze tubes and there were sprinkles of every variety. Allie Rose turned a snowman cookie into the bloodiest Santa Claus with a green beard. She glopped the icing on with zealous glee. She was encouraged to be more conservative with her icing but her style was thick and gloppy.

Kimberly clearly has an artistic streak because her cookies turned out being maser pieces. The biggest tree cookie was meant to be a cookie decorated by everyone at the table, but Kim decorated is so beautifully that no one else dared touch it. I decided to add one ornament as my contribution. Pam decorated a tree cookie with a Zorro slash of red ribbons and some very fancy snow flake sprinkles for ornaments.

Destiny also had a real knack for decorating cookies. Hers were well though out and cleanly executed. The candy cane had just the right mix of red and green stripes, and a snowman’s smile had 5 individual green sprinkles to represent his teeth.

I decided to decorate a cookie myself after the sketch was done. The cookie looked like a thought bubble. I had no idea exactly what it was meant to be, so I ended up creating a rather abstract cookie with a green Grinch face at the center. I later found out that the cookie was supposed to be shaped like Santa’s head which makes sense in hind sight. I didn’t actually eat any of these cookies, but I bet Allie’s Bloody Santa cookie was the sweetest of all. This was a fun and creative family activity that I enjoyed documenting and participating in.

Game Night in Iowa

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The night before, we had watched a West World marathon for who knows how many hours. This evening was set aside for games, be they board games, card games, what have you. Preston was over for part of the night. He sat on the recliner chair scrolling through his iPhone. Pam sat at the kitchen table, which is mission central for games. Since Preston was up for a game that meant I wouldn’t be needed to fill out a a four player set.  That left me time to complete this sketch.

For the first time, I re-cropped the sketch several time as I was working on it. This is a feature I have been waiting for. In this case I had to make the sketch a bit bigger since Preston sat in the foreground. I didn’t want to crop him off at the knees. The Christmas tree was to my left and can be seen reflected in the sliding glass door in the back of the scene.

I used the perspective tool to chisel in the composition quickly. When I started painting, the lights were off in the kitchen and when they were turned on, I kept painting to lighten up the scene. This was a good way to work guaranteeing that I progressed from dark to light. There is an inviting warmth to the scene as the family gathered around the table to play.

Games Galore

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Over the Christmas Holidays there wasn’t much need to go outside in the cold in Iowa. Instead we played endless card and board games. This sketch is of a late night game of Quelf which is an unpredictable party game that gives random a new name! You might be asked to answer hilarious trivia, perform ridiculous stunts, or obey silly rules. The game inspires creativity, wit and sense of humor in ways you’ve never imagined. Pam had to answer questions using nothing but song lyrics. Destiny at one point was crawling on the floor. Some questions had to be answered within 30 seconds which was timed with an hourglass.

Card games were also predominate. Euchre and Canasta seem to be the games of choice. I started to catch on to the rules of Canasta, but euchre is very fast paced and I never caught on to all the rules or strategies. Another board game we played quite a bit was Parcheesi. In this game you move your players, (bulls, bears, camels or elephants), around the board and try to be the first to get all your players home. There is some strategy with blocking and knocking other players back. It was fun to play. I won my first game but lost the other two.

Making Ribbons at the Center

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On May 22, 2017 there was a suicide bombing at the The Manchester Arena in the United Kingdom. An Islamic terrorist
detonated a shrapnel-laden homemade bomb as people were leaving the
Manchester Arena following a concert by the American singer Ariana
Grande. The incident was treated as an act of terrorism. 22 innocent concert goers died. 59 were injured.

A year before in Orlando we had suffered an act of terrorism that took 49 lives at the Pulse Nightclub. As an act of solidarity with the City of Manchester, people gathered at The Center (946 N Mills Ave, Orlando, FL 32803). A video crew was on hand to record a video of support and love for the city of Manchester. Members of the Orange County Regional History Center had gone to the event to show their support. They all sat around the conference table waiting for the event to begin.

Someone mentioned that there was a bag of pins and unfolded ribbons that were waiting to be made. Pam Schwartz, the chief curator at the History Center suggested they get the bag out since there were many idle hands. Soon everyone was folding the ribbons and securing them with pins. I tried a few myself and it is a tricky process at first, which quickly becomes routine. Ribbons began to pile up on the table. I am sure the safety pins pricked more that a few fingers.

Soon members of the community were being recorded with their words of support and this impromptu ribbon making session became the backdrop for this video of solidarity. What the world needs now is love sweet love, now more that ever.

A Doll’s House Part 2 at Shakes

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Doll House Part 2 by Lucas Hnath is being performed at the Orlando Shakes (812 E Rollins St, Orlando, FL 32803) through February 23, 2019. In
the final scene of Henrik Ibsen’s 1879 groundbreaking masterwork, Nora Helmer
makes the shocking decision to leave her husband and children, and begin
a life on her own. This climactic event—when Nora slams the door on
everything in her life—instantly propelled world drama into the modern
age. In A Doll’s House, Part 2, many years have passed since
Nora’s exit. Now, there’s a knock on that same door. Nora has returned.
But why? And what will it mean for those she left behind?

The simple set designed by Stephen Jones consisted of a curved wall with one huge Victorian door.  The paint was chipped with time. The play did indeed begin with a knock at the door. When Anne Marie (Anne Hering) answered the door all the lights on stage illuminated to their top setting creating a blinding sunburst effect as Nora (Suzanne O’Donnell) entered. For some perspective, Pam and I watched the original Ibsen play as a live 1959 telebroadcast. Nora in that production was a flippant housewife demurring to her husband’s wishes. She forged a signature on a loan in order to whisk her husband to Italy for the sake of his health. That act indentured her to try and pay the loan off by begging her husband for small sums of money. Instead of a Christmas present she begged him for a small sum of cash.

When Nora returned, she was a self-made woman of means. She had become an author and was very successful at it. She was a feminist firmly believing that women do not need men for their happiness. The Part 2 production is set 15 years after Nora left her family which would be around 1894. Women would not gain the right to vote for another 26 years, but Nora was well ahead of her time believing she could make a difference through her writing which had to be authored with a pseudonym. She wrote about her marriage to Torvald (Steven Lane) and the book encouraged women to take charge of their own lives. A judge was upset by her message, so he found out who she really was and discovered that she was still married. Torvald had never filed for divorce. It was more convenient for him to think she had died than to face the shame of filing for divorce. She needed that divorce to truly be free. This play focused on that quest. Despite her success, she was still beholden to unfair laws that made her the property of a man she had not seen for 15 years. She needed to sit down with her husband to again demand her freedom. I identified with her desire for artistic freedom.

The language is decidedly modern with some cursing that seemed out of place compared to the original Ibsen play. These outbursts do offer some comedic relief. People in the audience who had suffered through divorce were nodding their heads in solidarity as Nora pontificated about the need for freedom. Love and affection were cherished, but after marriage she felt people changed. They no longer wooed their partners and took them for granted. This is what caused affection to turn to resentment. This was a decidedly modern message.

Tickets are $32 to $44.

Myrlande Bebe

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Myrlande Bebe is the mother of Jason Josaphat who was one of the 49 people who died at Pulse on June 12, 2016. Chelsea, her sister in law sat with her. Jason was born on August 8, 1995 and was 20 years old when he died.  Jason loved to draw. He wanted to do 3D animation and he studied photography as well in high school. He studied at Valencia Community College for 6 months and then went to Southern Technical School where he made the presidents list and was on his way to becoming a CPA. He planned to travel the world and some day go to Haiti which is where Myrlanda was born.

“I never heard of Pulse until that night.” Myrlande explained. On June 11, 2016 she was working a 12 hour shift. Jason is one of three brothers. They were known as the 3 J’s, Jamal, Justin and Jason. Their sister Mirium had just flown in from Arizona to visit. Her birthday was on June 13th so they were making plans to celebrate. Myrlanda called Mirium before she got home and found out that Jason had gone out. When Jamal got home she asked him where Jason was. He didn’t know, so he called Jason and left a message. Exhausted from a long day of work, She went to bed, but she couldn’t sleep.

In the middle of the night her phone started ringing. Mirium picked it up and heard Jason screaming. She shouted, “Mom Jason is in trouble! Call 911!” Myrlande took the phone, “Where are you?” she asked Jason. He was panicking. “There are a lot of dead people on the floor, call 911!” She started screaming and Jamal asked, “What is wrong? Mom calm down.” On the phone Jason explained that he was at Pulse. “I’m in the bathroom, I’m trapped and I can’t get out.” The last thing he said was, “He’s coming.” and he got off the phone.

Myrlande and Jamal immediately drove over to Pulse. The call had been at around 3:25am and the drive took 15 minutes. They were outside Pulse from about 3:40am to 6am and they saw everything. They knew Jason was trapped in the bathroom and they both wanted to rush inside to get him. Police had secured the scene making that impossible. “It felt like I was in Iraq, it was terrible.” she said. “My heart was aching.” She saw a young man crying. He said, “I lost him.” She asked him what happened. “Some crazy man just started shooting at us.” he said. Anyone she met that night, she asked, “Did you see my son?” Everyone was crying. There was blood everywhere. “We saw ambulances taking people.” She had never seen dead bodies before. They would pick them up with two arms and two legs and haul them to a truck. It was a disaster, a nightmare.

At 6am they said, “If you don’t see your family member here go to Orlando Regional Medical Center, you can claim them there.” Myrlande gave one of the nurses Jason’s name and described a tattoo he had on his chest that he had designed himself. She gave them a picture of her son. They couldn’t find him. They asked for his medical and dental records as well. She couldn’t believe what was happening. She and Jamal had to return home without knowing where Jason was.

That night she had a dream about Jason. She was in a market place with her daughter and niece. She looked up and saw her son. He had his favorite color on which was green. She saw him far far away. She shouted his name and ran towards him. He passed behind a pole and disappeared. She woke up feeling anxious.

The next day she went to the Beardall Center. She sat patiently waiting to find out if her son was in a coma or if he was at the hospital somewhere. Someone asked to talk to her and they delivered the news. All the records she had given them matched. She found out that her son was dead on her daughter’s birthday. Her daughter said, “Mom, I will never again have another birthday.” It was a nightmare for them all. It wasn’t easy to find out that her son had gone out to have a good time, and didn’t make it back home.

Myrlande later learned that Jason fought hard for his life that night. Jason had the courage to talk to the gunman. The last bullet Jason took shielded someone else. Patience Carter had been shot in the leg and Jason helped to keep her calm. Just before the bathroom walls were breached by police, the gunman started to shoot again.  Jason covered the young girl with his body and took the bullet. He died instantly and didn’t suffer. Myrlande later met Patience and she said to her, “You shouldn’t feel guilty, it wasn’t your time.”

This article and sketch have been posted with the express written
permission of the interviewee. Analog Artist Digital World takes the
privacy and wishes of individuals very seriously.