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Those 70ish girls…The Grandfather Clock
Do you believe in Angels? There is a saying, “To those who believe, no explanation is necessary. To those who do not believe, no explanation is possible.”
The following is a true story.
Back in the 70’s Sherri Miller’s Mom and Dad bought a grandfather clock at an auction in Presho, SD where they lived. As it turned out, the clock belonged to someone who lived just a couple of blocks from them, so they ended up hand carrying it down the street to their house, where it still resides.
The clock soon became Mr. Swinson’s pride and joy and he seldom let anyone else touch it. His beautiful clock had to be wound each week before the weights were all the way to the bottom. If they do get to the bottom, the clock can lock up and fixing it requires a clock repair expert. Sherri said that throughout the years, it has only locked up on them once. They had to take the non-working parts out, wrap them very carefully and haul them to Bridgwater, which is about 135 miles from Presho. A couple of weeks later, they had to drive back and pick them up. They never wanted to do that again, so Mr. Swinson was very careful to wind the clock on time each week.
The Grandfather clock has three weights..one in the middle, that controls the time, and two on each side that control the chimes. When Sherri’s Dad started slowing down, he finally decided to let her take over the task of winding the clock. When he became really sick last November and had to go to the hospital, winding the clock was not on Sherri’s mind. When she got back to Presho a few weeks later, the weights on the grandfather clock had reached the bottom and everything on the clock had stopped. She had to get back to Pierre, (SD), so she wasn’t able to do anything with it on that trip.
In late December, she decided to try winding it to see what happened. The clock timing actually started to work, which meant the middle weight was moving down like it should. After that, Sherri was careful to rewind the clock part weekly. The two weights on the outside however, did not move, which meant the clock did not chime on the quarter, half, or on the hour. Fearing he would get upset, Sherri decided not to share this with her Dad.
Several weeks after Mr. Swinson came home, Sherri was helping him to the bedroom and he stopped at the clock and asked, “Is the clock not working?” Sherri responded that it was and it was keeping perfect time. He didn’t say anything more about it until a few days before his passing, when he asked her again if the clock was working. He said he couldn’t hear it chime. This time she told him what had happened. Sherri said he remained calm and said, “If I were able and if I could get to it, I know I could fix it.” Sherri told him she knew he could too, but he couldn’t get to it and they were not going to worry about it now. No more was said.
Sherri and her sisters had tried to fix the chimes several times over the previous three months, but to no avail. Then a few days after her Dad died, the clock needed winding. After she wound it, the clock made a little chime. She was shocked, but thought maybe she had touched something when she pulled the weight up, that caused the sound. That happened around 7:35, so Sherri and her sister sat there watching it, and waited for 7:45 to get there. Sure enough, they heard a small chime. They waited for it to come to the hour of eight o’clock. They were so excited when they heard the “minute before” chime and then the count..8 dongs..one for each hour. Sherri and her sister listened to each chime of the grandfather clock in amazement. The clock has been working perfectly ever since.
Those 70ish Girls
In Italy – Part 6 – Doors
When you visit magical, marvelous, miraculous Italy, you can see architecture that was designed and built thousands of years ago. I do not understand the strategy behind making doors giant. Was it to allow huge equipment to get through, to show the rulers and royalty how great they were in their stature and nobility or they just didn’t cut entrances down to fit human sized bodies. Many were arched. All were majestic and beautiful. Here are a scant few I was fortunate enough to see on my trip to Venice, Florence and Rome.
A more modern take on entryways.
This is a doorway I think.
Oops- David is blocking the view of this door but I don’t mind.
I certainly hope you get to enjoy Italy someday if you haven’t already.
Those 70ish Girls
Italian Food – Part 5 – VALERIE HALLA
At our group cooking class. So much fun.
The food in Italy is fresh, bursting with flavor and does not have all the additives and ingredients that American food has. Simply made and simply put: it’s delicious.
The eyes have it.
The Italians use olive oil and balsamic in cooking and it’s perfect. They use these sparingly. The caprese salads are all you need. meals are eaten slowly and enjoyed and savored. Wine is there, always there or a spritz.
Prosciutto is delicious thinly sliced type of ham.
Bruschetta is a common dish.
Wine or Cappuccino anyone?
Fettuccine and carbinero sauce with Parmesan.
Cooking class.
The pasta we all made with sauce added later. Super yummy.
Pizza and more pizza.
Pizzas which was unsliced all around with drinks. We got time to splinter off into small groups after walking tours.
Breakfast at the hotel in Rome.
Florence is known for their special tasty beef steak.
Iced cappuccino and buns with truffle spread at an outdoor cafe in Florence.
Bon appetit!
Those 70ish Girls – Part 4- When in Rome
By Valerie Halla
No Gladiators there any more.
Rome is a city impossible to describe therefore you just get on a plane and go. And then say, “Arrivederci.” This photo doesn’t show the lower sections of the Coliseum and naturally your first impression nor your emotions of first seeing it cannot be communicated. It’s overwhelmingly moving. The Roman Coliseum is 1,953 years old.
The history, the architecture, the remnants of a lost empire are there. If you think the United States is old, guess again. Italy was home to the Roman Empire. Much of that historical time lives within modern buildings and communities right alongside ancient structures be they crumbling or partially standing or dug up by archaeological digs, the past is living even in 2025.
I walked along the Roman Highway listening on my Whisper device to a knowledgeable guide telling the story of Ancient Rome and its inhabitants.
All roads lead to Rome.
These boulders were placed thousands of years ago and provided a pathway, a highway for merchants, farmers, craftsmen, soldiers and others to travel freely between destinations including tours of today.
Romans also built incredible structures for taking water from one area to another.
An ancient palace dome still hanging onto life.
Can you see the Roman Numerals above the arched entrance marking the area where you would be seated for the games or events at the Coliseum?
Animals from around the world were brought here to fight one another or humans. This showed the Emperor had vast powers from all over the world and could afford to bring exotic animals to Rome.
The Pantheon is 1,900 years old and was covered in marble at one time. The columns came by ship from Egypt.
Is your front door as big as the Pantheon’s?
I truly understand the statement, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” It boggles the mind, the heart, the eyes and the energy level how this was all made and yet thousands of years later, it remains.
More later.
Those 70ish Girls
In Italy Part 3 – by Valerie Halla
Florence was next on our tour with a comfy bus ride there. Outside was some beautiful scenery on our 4 hour tour as the director told us lots of facts and history as we went. Florence has a gorgeous Cathedral pictured here with an exterior of greens and pinks and marble that blows your eyes wide and challenges them to look at the old walls and imagine the interior before you even see it to take you like the old rock ‘n roll song says, “Take me higher, higher and higher”. Florence has beauty. Florence has food and buildings and art and bridges and mystique.
Florence is where ancient and modern meet and shake hands.
Florence has David. How did Michelangelo create statues like this without modern technology?
The Arno River is central part of Florence.
Sounds of the city.
Part of the Roman Aquaduct.
Motorbikes everywhere!
Iced cappuccinos and truffle filled buns in Florence.
Museum of Modern Art in a gorgeous old palace. And me trying to pose. Arches in architect are prevalent.
After a rough day seeing gorgeous sights and beautiful art work, the 26 people on the tour split off to eat dinner and drink Chianti.
Special steaks from special Florence cows on a special night out for dinner.
Wine, always the vino.
Next stop: Rome. All roads lead to Rome.
Those 70ish Girls
In Italy – Part 2 by Valerie Halla
Venice, Italy is a city on the water, within the canals and surrounded by water. Its history is ancient and beautiful beyond words, beyond cultures and back so far in time it’s already into memories of trillions of generations.
We had, as I wrote already, a quaint Italian hotel which was an early mansion from the 1600’s yet modernized and updated yet still hanging around the past.
My gorgeous room with intricate bed headboard.
Bath with lovely tile.
Venice—
There are many little narrow streets like this that seem to close you into their arms then suddenly open into a spacious square with old churches, shops, sidewalk cafes with maybe just a few tables spilling out onto the cobblestones or a restaurant with many tables inviting people to stop for a pizza, pasta, wine or spritz.
Food and drink are everywhere and it all tastes better than you imagined.
My tour group splintered off as our tour director told us when to return to a meeting location in Venice and we went to get a bite to eat seeing this loyal dog sleeping with his leash ready outside a high end store. We all took pictures of this sweet dog. He touched our hearts.
This is just half our group saying bye to Venice and on the next day to Florence. I’m third on the left.
Those 70ish Girls – In Italy
Valerie Halla
Figures at my first hotel in Venice. They didn’t say much.
Ciao. I left recently from San Jose at 6:20 am to fly to Minneapolis for a 4 hour layover, then to Paris, France then to Venice, Italy. It was a solo adventure. A vacation. It was challenging. It was tiring. It was exhilarating. It was exciting. Friends urged me to go after the loss of my husband of 53 years.
Landing in Minneapolis, Minnesota was pretty with lakes dotting the landscape. The airport is well done, not like a steak, but like well organized and laid out, with gates and your plane easy to find and security moving swiftly. It’s simple to put your stuff into a plastic box and walk through those magic frisking machines. One officer made me go through the process 4 times. I guess he liked me.
I had notified a Murdo friend who has lived there for years. I had planned on meeting him at the airport but I texted him off and on thinking that maybe I didn’t need to bother him especially on a Sunday. Things went back and forth for a while, but it did work out so we planned a meet up downstairs at ground level by a coffee shop in the airport to chat, however I would have to go through security again.
We talked about old times, how our families were doing, and how we had met our spouses. I hadn’t realized Rafe had lived with my cousin Jeff H. For a while after he got a job long ago in Minneapolis.
That’s not my friend’s real name but every time I’m out walking my dog, Nincompoop, and listening to music, my AirPods guy says: “You have a message from Rafe- read it?”
Rafe used to be “some guy named Ralph.”
After a three hour chat, then a delayed flight (with a recommendation from Rafe to look for famous tile flooring by Gate 1) I sat waiting and never did see the special tile. But here’s a picture:
That tile is pretty exciting.
I had a long flight from Minneapolis to Paris, and tried to sleep but with no luck. They served drinks a lot, even red and white wine. I had a lasagna dinner like a frozen copy imitating dinner plus veggies and a lemon dessert that resembled a lemon bar. After hours of fits of near sleep and twisting and turning in my seat, we made it to Charles De Gaulle Airport way out on some distant runway as they hauled us away in buses to the real airport and I was instantly lost. This airport is a modern, glassy, glossy, winding, up and down gooey mess.
Photo below is from MN airport.
The piano player at Minneapolis Airport there. That’s a big Steinway baby grand piano.
I had fun chatting with him. He gives lessons, if you’re interested. He told me I could start to learn from where he gives lessons. I told him Minneapolis was a bit too far to go from California where I live for piano lessons.
Then I finally landed in Paris and luck would have it I asked a worker there where my gate was and she knew. It was mobbed at the CDG airport. Crazy security gates there with up escalators then down to find my gate, but I got on board and flew to Venice, Italy. Pretty short flight then found my tour lady with her sign on a pole. After meeting three other ladies in my group, it was pure fun, adventure and amazement.
I had made it to Italy. I was enraptured.
Water taxi to Venice.
We four ladies on the tour were remarking at how fast our water taxi zipped, bounced and splashed across the bay to the island. This driver smoked his cigarette the entire trip out. He was calm. We were worried. We did make it.
I was in Venice, Italy after 24 hours, including an overnight flight, a visit with a fellow Murdoite and four airports and a speeding boat ride out to my hotel. I walked with my lady travelers down the street after hopping off the boat as the tour guide… well…guided us to the quaint, lovely old mansion from the 1600’s currently a hotel/inn.
First night out for snacks with new friends in Venice.
Those 70ish Girls 