I Believe – My Values

One of the first things I remember when I was quite young, around age four, my sister and I contracted scarlet fever. We were quarantined, and we couldn’t leave our home. While we were quarantined, my father, who was a dairy farmer, had one of his Jersey bulls get loose—it had gone up our driveway and down State Street in town to the Wasatch Cafe where there was a bus loading people. This bull started driving people away.

 

It went after the bus driver, but my father was able to go down and bring it home. I only heard about it because my sister and I were at home under quarantine because of Scarlet fever.

 

My father had a bull calf. If you’re a dairy farmer, the bull calf doesn’t do any good for your herd because you’re raising females who could give milk. When I was 5 my Dad traded a bull calf to my uncle for a young colt. It was my first horse and his name was Blue (He was dark grayish blue but later on he turned white). I rode that horse for about ten years.

 

After that my brother went to stay for a week with Uncle Pat and Aunt June in Cedar Fort, Utah. Uncle Pat had a herd of wild horses from which he picked one that was the same color as Kent’s hair and told him it was his to bring home.

 

About that time, I started kindergarten. We met in the basement of a large tabernacle, which was a church building. Each of us had to bring a blanket. When we had our nap during the day, we could lay down on the blanket. When they gave us something to eat, we could sit on the blankets.

 

The teacher would recognize everyone when they had a birthday. They taught us mostly those things that helped with our demeanor. We all got along well. The teacher always read to us, which was important. That’s basically what we did in kindergarten. It was kind of a period where we adjusted to going to school.

 

When I was growing up in Pleasant Grove, Utah my hometown was probably about 9000 people. Mostly, it was a farming community. We only had one grade school that we all went to, Central Elementary (it was a 3-story building then). We would walk the .8 miles to school and back home every day.

 

Most of my friends growing up went to the same Pleasant Grove 1st Ward and school that I did. Some of my closest friends were Stewart Beveridge, Jerry Olpin, Karl Richins, Lawrance Kockerhans, Toby Bath, Alton Hone, Eugene Keniston, and Eldon Armitstead.

 

I remember one time when we were in our teenage years, there were five or six of us boys riding on Blue at once. We rode to Lindon to visit some girls. Blue didn’t seem to mind that there were so many kids on at once and we made it there and back without any problems.

 

We didn’t really have a curfew growing up, but whatever time we came home, we knew we still had to get up and milk at 5:00 am. So it was beneficial to us to get home at a decent time.

 

Somewhere around that same time, I went over to one of my neighbors whose family were also dairy farmers, and went on top of the barn. They had a metal roof, and we slid down this metal roof. When we got to the end, I ran a large wood sliver in my arm. They had to take me to the doctor and get that taken out. I still have a scar today from it.

 

Our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, does genealogy work where we track down all of our ancestors and take their names to the temple. The young men and young women are baptized for men and women who have passed on. At the age of 12, I remember that a group of us young men and young women went to Salt Lake City, which was about 40 miles away. We did about 100 names each time we went. My grand kids are all still doing that today.

 

My mother did all of the shopping, Dad very seldom ever went shopping. I remember when I was high school my Mother would take me over to Provo where all of the clothing stores were to shop for clothes and things. And most the time we went to Pennys in Provo, and she would help me pick out shirts and pants. In addition to Levi’s, back in those days they had another kind of pant called Moleskin. And they also had shoes like that.  We did most of our shopping in Provo at Pennys.

 

I was excited to play baseball when I was a teenager but Dad told me that that wasn’t going to work because I had to be there and help milk cows all the times that he couldn’t do the milking and do all the chores so I never did play. That’s why later on I got involved in softball for quite a few years. Kayle Bullock was our coach in church fast pitch softball and told me I should be the pitcher. I played on teams where the players were ages 14-17.

 

I had to drive the dairy herd to the pasture which was about a mile away every morning at 7:00am and then would bring them home at 4:30 in the evening. I would go at those times so that I would miss the traffic going to Geneva Steel. I rode our horse to do that. He was easy going.

 

I was born on June 30, 1939, at American Fork, Utah.

 

My parents names are Paul Lafeyette Blackhurst and Wanda Bernice Berry Blackhurst.

 

I have four siblings, three brothers and a sister.
Colleen Blackhurst Judd. Born March 7, 1937 and passed away August 5, 2000.
I was born on June 30, 1939
Kent Berry Blackhurst November 9, 1943
Pharis Craig Blackhurst May 29, 1945
Marvin Dean Blackhurst June 30, 1950

 

We got along growing up. Our home was strict; as long as we did our work, we got along well.

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Betty and Sammy think their grandchildren really are grand!  Their own five children have been good examples.  Because children do what they see, their grandchildren are turning out wonderfully, and seeing the importance of a good education. 

Insert BlakelyPB9 Paul, Stephen, Kevin – Stephen’s wedding

Insert BlakelyPB10 Karen and Barry – Stephen’s wedding 

Like many grandparents, Betty and Sammy say they have probably a hundred baby photographs of their oldest grandchild, Christopher, son of Stephen and his Malaysian wife Jenny.  He was born on September 2, 1991, with a quiet nature like his Grandad.  The family lived in England then, and Betty and Sammy got to go over for his birth.  Christopher is very sensible, well grounded and courageous. He got his education at Queens University in Belfast and now successfully works as a computer programmer/developer in Belfast.  They don’t get to see Christopher as much as they’d like, but were glad to help him raise money for a charity marathon he participated in. He’s a wonderful boy.  Insert Blakely5.1 Christopher

His beautiful sister Jennifer came along on March 8, 1995.  Once when she was about two or three weeks old, she came over so Granny could watch her, but she screamed the whole time.  Screamed and screamed and screamed.  The moment her mother came back, she stopped.  Jennifer worked in retail while she was at the university and now has a job where she travels worldwide. Her grandparents are very proud of her.  Insert Blakely5.2 Jennifer  Insert Blakely4.12 Christopher and Jennifer with their Mom, Jenny

Stephen’s second family lives in Sweden.  Stephen has taught himself to speak Swedish and his three children, Noah (April 27, 2009), Lily (February 27, 2014), and Amelia (September 17, 2011) are all bi-lingual.  When they get to do video calls with Stephen’s family, Betty and Sammy are so impressed at the ease with which the children, who have been exposed to both languages from a young age, move from one to the other with ease.  Insert Blakely PB29 Stephen  Insert BlakelyPB30 Stephen  Insert BlakelyPB27 Lily, Noah and Amelia

Insert BlakelyPB28 Noah and Tina

Lily loves to walk about in her bare feet.  Insert BlakelyPB26 Lily and Amelia

Paul immigrated to America when his son, Ethan (April 29, 1999), was about one year old, and the whole family are now naturalized citizens.  A favorite video of Sammy and Betty is of Anna (September 15, 2002) and Caeris (February 10, 2006), probably about age eight and four, standing to say the Pledge of Allegiance, not pronouncing all the words correctly, but very sincere.  Betty and Sammy have visited Paul in the U.S. many times and saw the children when Carol brought them over to visit her Mum and then they came on the Derry train to visit their grandparents.  Insert Blakely5.6 Sammy, Betty, a neighbor child, Anna, Ethan, Caeris, Paul  Insert BlakelyPB37 Anna, Paul, Caeris, Carol, Ethan  Insert BlakelyPB45 Caeris, Ethan, Anna

As a child, Ethan was small, quiet, sensitive and very well mannered.  Ethan has matured into “a great young man…a big, strong and lovely lad.”  After a high school soccer game his junior year, he was approached by a scout for Moravian College in Pennsylvania and offered a soccer scholarship.  The standard of play at college is a huge step up from the standard of varsity at high school, but Ethan has started every game and is now the Captain of the team. His studies in Bio Chemistry are in preparation for a career in medical research or medical practice we think. He’s a credit.  Insert Blakely5.3 Ethan

Anna is very quite, but very strong-willed and loves soccer as well.  She received a soccer scholarship to Centenary College in New Jersey where she’s studying Psychology. Her Dad says she’s going to be an FBI profiler and her grandparents really enjoyed the video of her learning to play the saxophone when she was younger.    Insert Blakely5.5 Anna

Paul’s youngest child, Caeris, is boisterous, funny, very sweet, and just a bundle of energy. She’s another excellent soccer player and Betty and Sammy love the video of her, decked out in her soccer uniform, scoring a goal from a penalty kick and running down the field celebrating. They know she’ll do great things like her older brother and sister.   Insert Blakely5.4 Caeris

Insert Blakely4.10 Paul and Kevin on a pub crawl/boozy night out 

Kevin’s daughter Aoifa, born October 6, 1999, attends Manchester University.  Though she’s now taller than Betty, when she was a toddler, about three years old, Granny Betty would sometimes collect her from her other Granny’s and bring her to their home.  The route they drove crossed two bridges, the Foyle Bridge and the Craigavon Bridge; Aoifa thought she needed to help and would say, “No! No, Granny Betty!  Take the blue bridge!”  Insert BlakelyPB65 Aoifa

Born on June 4, 2008, Sophie is a serious sort who tends toward technological subjects. 

Charlie, born on December 21, 2010, is a more relaxed child and into fishing, as shown in a favorite photo Betty and Sammy have of him catching a big trout in the River Mourne.  Their family lives nearby so Betty and Sammy see them occasionally when they come up to visit.  They spend a lot of time with their other granny while their mom works at school. Insert BlakelyPB42 Charlie  Insert BlakelyPB43 Charlie and Kevin  Insert BlakelyPB44 Charlie and Sophie

Insert BlakelyPB22 Karen’s graduation  Insert PB20 Richard & Karen’s wedding, with Sammy  Insert BlakelyPB23 Karen’s wedding, Sammy and Karen

Karen’s son Jamie was born April 15, 2000, while she was still in the university, so he was basically reared by Granny Betty until age five, and consequently, has a very close bond with his grandparents.  When Karen took him to the south of Ireland, it was so heartbreaking that Betty decided to participate in the New York City marathon, to keep from going crazy.  So gregarious is Jamie, that he would, as they say in Ireland, talk to the head of a crutch, an endearing trait he got from his Granny.  His father, Richard, showed Betty and Sammy a video one day when he was in their area for an auction.  Jamie and another lad, both students at Trinity College Dublin, were making a pitch to a millionaire businessman and Jamie’s verbal ability was absolutely brilliant!  Jamie is studying engineering; he’s into building and racing cars, loves rugby and is working on a project to produce clean water for Africa and other nations.  When he and Ethan were just kids, Paul took everyone out for lunch and instead of ordering burgers, the two boys ordered sirloin steak and it cost Paul 50 quid just for the boys! He wasn’t happy.

Karen’s son Zach, born on June 24, 2008, is a very determined person.  But Sammy notes that he is “more sophisticated, more refined.  Like me.”  (“Oh the cheek of him!” quipped Betty.)  When asked if he wants to be a mechanical engineer, Zach said no, he’s going to be a researcher.  Insert 5.7 Baby Zach with his mother, Karen, and grandparents Betty and Sammy

The boys are never idle and do everything under the sun.  They waterski and ride horses. They play Gaelic, hurling, and rugby.  Once when they were visiting, Karen’s family took Sammy and Betty to Cork.  At the lake, Zach, only about two then, rode on a skiboard.  (Betty says she couldn’t watch.)  Now they waterski.  On a more recent visit when Betty and Sammy were minding the boys (not that they needed much minding), Betty said they were going to Saturday night mass.  “I’m not going,” Zach announced.  “I’m Presbyterian.”  But she insisted and even offered to pay him to go to mass, but Zach was equally insistent that he would not.  So they compromised and watched online.  They attend Catholic school and have had their First Communion and taken Confirmation there.  Insert BlakelyPB41 Karen, Richard, Zach, Jamie at Zach’s confirmation    Insert Blakely4.3 Jamie, Zach, Karen and Richard      Insert BlakelyPB19 Sammy, Karen, Betty, Richard

Insert BlakelyPB36 Barry and Sinead’s wedding  Barry’s children are Ellie (November 3, 2014) and Fionn (April 7, 2019).  Ellie is very intelligent and amazing.  Mildly autistic and extremely gifted, she can recite the names of all 32 counties in Ireland!  A jigsaw puzzle featuring the map of Ireland, which she got for Christmas, she put together very quickly though she’d never seen such a map before.  She, too, is a chatterbox like her Granny Betty.  Fionn is a happy toddler who always smiles.  The moment he sees you, his face just lights up!   Insert BlakelyPB31 Barry and Sinead  Insert BlakelyPB32 Ellie  Insert BlakelyPB33 Fionn

The family photograph on the back cover was taken on the day of Paul’s wedding.  Betty spent an hour getting them all together, because she knew it might never happen again. ( l to r – Barry, Karen, Paul, Sammy, Betty, Kevin, Stephen)

Insert BlakelyPB62 Sammy portrait   Insert Blakely PB63 Betty portrait  Betty and Sammy are both shocked to be the “big” age they are, because they don’t feel old.  Recently a friend from their years on Laurel Drive died.  They still know her daughter and husband.   It is troubling to think about their own mortality and they are conscious of the way things have changed during their lifetimes.

Although they couldn’t even have imagined it on their honeymoon, Betty and Sammy have enjoyed a lot of traveling.  Shopping in their younger years was different compared to now.  For instance, when Betty goes to buy something, even groceries, she puts the credit card in and pays for it.  Back in the day, she says, “You had a shop and they knew you.  So you were sent for a quarter pound of ham and six pounds of potatoes, and then it went into a little booklet. And at the end of the week you paid off what you could.”  And that was how everybody else shopped as well.  Because things are better for them financially, Betty still enjoys going in, getting whatever she wants, and paying for everything right away.

One thing that hasn’t changed is Sammy and Betty’s pride in and loyalty to the Irish people.  Sammy’s grandfather emigrated to America, and Sammy still has family in Paterson, New Jersey.  Recently Betty and Sammy attended an anniversary in Connemara, and were reminded that as a result of the Irish famine, thousands of people died and thousands got on board ships bound for America.  The Blakelys proudly note that America has many Irish people and Irish-named landmarks, like O’Hare and Kennedy Airports.  However, Sammy himself was named for two uncles, Samuel and Alexander, non-Irish names—which still rankles.  Why not Barry or Patrick or O’Shaughnessy?

September 2, 2020 marked the 75th anniversary of the end of the second world war.  Betty remembers that her dad wouldn’t ever speak about the war.  Sammy’s father, too, was in both world wars, but would never talk about it.  Many people were recognized in the country’s celebration, including Captain Sir Tom Moore, a nearly-hundred-year-old man who raised 39 million pounds for the NHS (National Health Service) by walking up and down his garden.  Vera Lynn, who passed away at age 103 in June of 2020, was a great singer, who entertained and encouraged the troops with songs like, We’ll Meet Again. Insert 4.6 Sammy’s Dad between his neighbor Ferguson (l) and brother Barney (r) 

Sammy’s father’s death in 1960 at the relatively young age of 62 was a shock to the family.  He went to bed as usual on a Saturday night, but Sunday morning his mother said, “I can’t get your father wakened.”  Teenagers, Sammy and the others didn’t really respond to that immediately.  Several minutes later she said, “There’s something wrong!” and then they jumped on it.  He died in his sleep overnight.  Though she’s known Sammy for 60 years now, Betty, never got to meet her father-in-law.  Sammy’s mother, Hannah, died in 1977. 

Sammy’s sister Vera, who turned 85 on November 26, 2020, never had any children.  Her husband Gerry died in 1994.  When their sister Patricia (Patsy) McMenamin was nearing the end of her life, Vera stayed with and cared for her.  Now Patsy’s son Michael checks in on Vera, the only sister of the family who is still alive.  She lives a short distance from Betty and Sammy on her own in a lovely bungalow and gets regular visits from her brothers Sammy and Freddie.  Insert BlakelyPB14 

The photo of Betty with her sister Annette and her brothers George and Eddie shows them to be dirty and wearing their wellies.  The picture was taken by someone from the neighborhood who was “rich” enough to have a camera.  How grateful Betty is that they captured four muddy children in a photograph, though it’s hard to believe those little boys are now gone.  Annette is still alive.  Insert Blakely4.4 Betty, Georgie, Annette, Eddie

On a typical day, the children would have played outside.  The lads would have taken some planks and wheels and made something to go up and down the street.  Or they’d be pushing the pram, or building castles in the mud.  Even the water pump outside the back door provided some measure of entertainment while children helped get the family’s water.  They, of course, didn’t have phones or even games.  There was no TV.  The boys, says Sammy, were influenced a lot by the cinema.  When they came back from watching a movie at the theater, their play consisted of pretending to be the characters they had seen.  They’d emulate Roy Rogers or Gene Autry.  Robin Hood movies inspired the boys to make bows and arrows and reenact the scenes.  Movies with heroes who spent considerable time fencing with swords were popular with the boys as well.  

Many children played with glass marbles—and they were so precious!   They played games in the street with them where you might win a marble or could lose marbles.  A simple game.  Just so simple.  The children who had a bike were very lucky indeed!  “You created your own amusement,” says Sammy, “because there was nothing else.”  

The River Foyle ran through the town and, of course, children would all go over to throw stones in the river.  Betty remembers that during her childhood, three lads drowned in that river, which may have fostered her reluctance to go near the water.  She doesn’t like water and is scared of it.  One day every year, a bus went from their town to Donegal, a seaside place.  If you had enough money and were lucky enough to be able to go on the bus, you got to have that one day at the seaside each year.  

The children then were all out on the streets, playing rough, and there was no trouble.  Betty and Sammy say they never see children playing outside these days.  In fact, says Betty, if Social Services now saw the picture of her and her siblings all muddy, they’d have assumed the children were neglected, which they certainly were not.  They see on Facebook pictures of children all dirty in the streets, with comments like, “I wish we were back there with our own children because we can’t get them out the door!”

Betty’s great-grandmother had 14 children.  Families then were fed on pork, that they butchered themselves, and cabbage and potatoes that they grew.  Imagine the difficulty feeding a family when there was no cabbage nor potatoes in the field during the famine.  It was a very difficult time.

Before he got a job as a lorry driver, George, Betty’s Dad, was struggling because all his big family had gone to England, to Manchester and Birmingham, to the chocolate factories, but he was working for a contractor as a laborer.  Then he took a test and he was able to drive a lorry, a great job, though the money wouldn’t have been fantastic.  He was a brilliant man and very likable.  All the grandchildren adored him, and Stephen, the eldest of Betty and Sammy’s four boys, is just like him.  “Yes,” Betty said, “my father was a great man, and he loved his wee whiskey.”  When they would bring him home, they parked near the kitchen window.  He would thank them and tell them to “go on home now,” and they would see from the car that he went to the cupboard and sneaked his wee whiskey.  They don’t know why he was sneaking it, but that was the way of it.   Her Mammy also was amazing, like all those ladies with their big families.  Betty wonders whether young people today could cope like they did.  Insert 4.7 Betty’s parents’ 50th Wedding Anniversary    Insert Blakely4.5 Betty’s Dad, Barry, Betty’s Mom, Sammy, Betty and Karen, on the day of Barry’s confirmation at Betty’s parents’ house

Betty’s mom died at age 83.  A small stroke had changed her personality, so that one minute she might be helping you and the next minute throwing a cup at you.  Her Dad just lived on and on and on, then died one day very quickly.  He was never sick, but was always on the go.  Just before he died, at age 88, he wasn’t feeling well and her sister Claire had come from Australia, arriving on a Saturday night.  On Sunday morning she could hear the phone ringing because his alarm button rang the phone.  She quickly went down and found him barely conscious.  It seemed their Dad had waited until Claire arrived to decide to go.  By the time Betty got there, he was unconscious, but still alive.  The paramedics found him unresponsive and staring into space.  His death came quickly and they were glad he didn’t suffer.  Insert Blakely4.8 Memorial Cards for Betty’s parents

Insert Blakely4.9 collage including grave of Betty’s parents  

   

Living in the country brings the Blakelys such peace and joy.  In stark contrast has been the isolation and worry over Covid-19, which seems worse than the Troubles, if that’s even possible.  How has Covid-19 changed their lives?  Sammy and Betty were in Tenerife from January to February 2020, and were coming back on the 23rd of February.  The next day all the airports shut down.  They got home in the nick of time and were very fortunate.  Then they were locked down at home for four months. Insert 3.1 Sammy and Betty in Tenerife

In Sweden, where their son Stephen lives, things are different.  A reporter from Northern Ireland showed how in Sweden the streets were packed, there was no lockdown, nothing closed.  Betty asks about the wisdom of lockdowns, “I can’t understand why other countries continue the lockdowns, when they don’t seem to be beneficial and the economy’s going to be destroyed.  It feels like those in charge don’t have a clue what they’re doing.  The lockdowns don’t seem to work, because after they’ve been ‘in’ for a period of time everyone just goes a little crazy and it’s not helping reduce the infections.  Leaders all over the world are doing different things, hoping it’s the right thing, but it’s just too soon to know.”

The pandemic has changed everything.  The 18th of August was their 56th wedding anniversary, but Betty and Sammy weren’t allowed to go anywhere.  Even in Ireland, they were not allowed to cross the border into the Republic of Ireland, because there is fear that people are taking the virus with them.  For Betty’s birthday, Karen invited them to visit her and the grandkids, but they couldn’t.  Having Northern Ireland license plates on their car would alert the authorities in the South; they would be stopped and sent back.  Where they would normally have gotten to visit their children, Betty and Sammy have had to stay home alone together.  “We can’t just run to a shop, or go get a coffee anymore.” says Betty.  Even church attendance is out because of fear of contracting the virus.  The church is only five miles down the road, but thankfully the services are now being broadcast online.

“There’s a bit of a crisis at the moment because the government is thinking about locking down again, because with people out and about the infection numbers are going up,” observed Betty.  In September 2020, the British Prime Minister threatened a £200 fine for people who don’t wear a mask.  The Irish government will likely follow suit.  As of November 2020, their area in the Northwest has the highest infection rates in the UK and Ireland.  The north of Ireland—Donegal,  Derry, Strabane—their numbers are high at the moment, though it doesn’t seem to Sammy and Betty that the virus is being spread by the older people, but by house parties and students coming back to university and then they’re all locked down.  Response to the virus has been really tough and has taken away people’s freedoms.  The airlines are devastated, the shops are devastated.  The pubs, only just opened up, are now shutting again.  The gyms are shutting down—everything except the hairdressers, but their shutdown is probably in the cards, too.

“Paul sent a picture of his television at home in Los Angeles, surprised that the mayor of Derry and Strabane was on the worldwide news!” Betty commented.  The infection rates have been particularly high in Los Angeles too.  Not to be deterred by Covid, Paul spent his birthday money from his parents on champagne because Liverpool football club won their league for the first time in 30 years.  No fans could be in the stands because of the Coronavirus, but they can still play, thankfully, and celebrate.  

Recently, Sammy and Betty were at the hospital so Sammy could get his arthritis treatment, which went well.  But they heard later on the news that Ward 42, the elderly ward in the hospital, had Covid, but thankfully not a single elderly patient had caught it.  The nurses had it and must have brought it back with them.  So now, they’re checking everyone, every day, just to be on the safe side.

When Sammy and Betty went to have new tyres put on their car, they were surprised to see that not one of the eight or so people at that garage had a mask on.  “What is it about Irish men?” Betty asks.  “They just don’t want to be told what to do,” Sammy explains, “even if it’s for their own good.”  People always think it will happen to someone else and not themselves that gets it.  It seems inevitable that when there is a crowd, like at a game or performance, it’s likely people will come down with it.”

The ramifications of having to be so isolated to be safe are horrible; Betty and Sammy miss their holidays and going to visit Karen in Tipperary and Barry in Belfast.  Luckily, their children are still able to earn a living during the pandemic.  Paul owns his own brand consulting business and can run that comfortably from home.  Barry’s employer set him up with an office in his home and Kevin works for a firm in Belfast from his home just down the road from his parents.  Fortunately, they do get to see Kevin though he’s very busy.  “He comes in the front door with a mask,” Betty remarked, “and goes out the back door like a flash!  If he’s looking for something though, a wee favor perhaps, he doesn’t disappear as quickly.  When I went to the print shop about scanning pictures for this book, I noticed that everyone who worked there was young.  The young woman who waited on me said it would cost £2 per picture to put them onto a flash drive.  When I told Kevin, he said, ‘No, no, no, I’ll do it.’  But I suspect it’s going to cost more than £2 per picture for him to do it when all is said and done!”

Before all of the travel restrictions, Betty and Sammy were able to visit Stephen in Stockholm, and his family was in Ireland to visit several years ago; they won’t be allowed to travel now.

Sammy and Betty also have a lot to be thankful for as they live in a large house in the country and view their circumstance pragmatically.  Like during their humble childhoods, everybody’s in the same boat. 

Yes, everything’s changed, but thankfully in December 2020 the government announced that a vaccine had been developed, so hopefully things will change for the better in 2021.

It was time for Huli to go to the veterinarian for her vaccinations to keep her healthy.  She would also get another X-ray to see how the bone was healing.  Huli was brave to let people touch her painful leg.  This time, the doctor could see  some mending between the bones.  Keeping Huli in a smaller space with little activity had worked!  The food, rest, and medicine helped Huli get strong and helped her bone to heal.  The veterinarian felt that given time the bone would grow together even stronger, not straight but much stronger.  This would enable Huli to have a much more normal puppy and adult life.    

The interesting thing about Huli’s beginnings in the Anderson family is that Emma and Ted needed Huli too.  They had talked about getting a puppy because they now had a fenced back yard.  Ted said that Huli had found them.  Ted was willing to overcome the setbacks of a sick puppy also.  Emma had moved to a new house and community, had no friends and because of the Covid-19 pandemic did not go back to work right away, so she was lonely.  She also needed someone to take care of and to feel needed again, as she missed her work as a nurse.  Huli gave Emma purpose when she needed it.  It was also a time in Emma’s life when she had the time to devote to a sick puppy.   So it worked out perfectly.  Huli needed Emma and Ted so she could live, and Emma needed Huli to use her skills as a nurse and have a puppy to take care of.

A few months later Huli was happy.   Emma spent many happy years in Hawaii and loved the Hawaiian culture.  The name Huli in Hawaiian means “turn around” and Huli had definitely turned around her life.  She would lay on her bed under the window in the sunshine.  Her leg still hurt but she could walk and run with a limp and play with Iggie.  She could not remember “before.”  She had so much love because Emma and Ted were devoted to her, and she loved Emma and Ted, she loved her space, she loved Iggie, and she had a family.  

Huli was just a puppy but she knew she was lucky.

One day when Huli came into the house, to her surprise she saw the kitty in Ted’s office, which was part of Huli’s space.  Huli ran up happily to greet Boo, but Boo went crazy.  She hissed and growled and tried to swat her.  Huli just wanted to play, but Boo hated her.  Boo ran from the office; Huli thought this was a game and chased after her.  Emma did not like this and scolded her.  Huli did not want to share Emma.  Emma was hers.  She did not realize Boo had been with Emma for fourteen years.   She didn’t know Emma’s heart was big enough for Ted, Boo, and Huli.  Sometimes, Emma played with Huli.  At other times, Emma played with Boo.  

Boo is a big part of Emma’s and Ted’s life.  As an only pet, Boo thinks she’s the queen.  Emma found Boo under a car in the parking lot of her favorite Hawaiian grocery store while living in Hawaii.  Boo was undernourished and homeless, sad and hurt—the same as Huli.  Emma, who was single, living in a rented room, working as a waitress, and going to school, could not leave Boo to live on her own, so she brought her home.  Boo Kitty, as she was known, was very popular with friends and family because she was so lively and funny, and had an energetic personality.  

A young Boo had a two-story kitty playhouse with a cloth top.  If you put anything on the cloth top of Boo’s playhouse she would race across the room,  jump like a basketball player, hit the top of her house, and bounce off whatever was on there.  It was a game that Boo loved to play and her fans loved to watch.  When Emma left Hawaii, Boo came too.  Boo flew to Salt Lake City, then drove with Emma all the way across the United States to Florida where she lives with Emma and Ted today.  She is now fourteen years old, with the ailments that come with age, but still loves her Boo Kitty house, heating pads, and lying in the sun outside.  She purrs loudly and loves Emma and Ted. 

Huli, who is very young, is going to have to figure out how to get along with Boo, an older kitty who has been with Emma for so long.