Sunflowers and standing up to bullies

Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022 -- a Thursday -- a right-leaning friend of mine assured me that the war "would be over by the weekend."

Yet here we are, more than three years later and small but mighty Ukraine continues to stand up to bully Russia. The Ukrainians' success in continuing to fight the good fight is, in part due to people doing what they can when they can. 

For much of that time, the United States, as a country, was doing what it could to help Ukraine's effort. The current administration, however, has pulled the rug out from under the Ukrainians, pausing our country's support for them. This goes against everything the United States has stood for during its nearly 250-year history.

In my heart of hearts, I truly believe that a majority of Americans are not in favor of alignment with Russia, but they are not being heard by many of those elected to govern our country. Ordinary citizens struggle daily to get through to their elected representatives. A number of right-leaning lawmakers now parrot Russian talking points, including blaming Ukraine for starting the war. Nothing could be further from the truth.

As I was thinking of this weak, pathetic, cowardly situation our government has gotten us into, I happened to glance across the room and saw something that caused me to smile and be reminded that there are more good Americans than bad.

In June 2022, a group of local and area artists working with Peggy and Wayne DeBey at The Flower Nook had a fundraiser to help the people of Ukraine. More than 100 pieces of art featuring sunflowers, the national flower of Ukraine, were created by the talented artists and available for sale at The Flower Nook in time for the business' June First Friday event. 

Thousands of dollars were raised and contributed to the Warsaw Museum of Modern Art for its Ukrainian refugee efforts. At the time the effort was announced, one of the organizers, Linda Foster of Miltonvale, told me that the Warsaw museum was selected because it was opening its doors to Ukrainian refugees, doing such things as feeding refugees and helping them find medical services and fill out paperwork. 

(Full disclosure: I wrote several stories about the artists' efforts while running Salina Post.)

While I was at The Flower Nook looking over the sunflower art offerings and shooting some photos, I found a piece I couldn't live without. I agreed to not take the painting home until after The Flower Nook's First Friday event, and Peggy kindly reserved it in my name.

The sunflower painting I purchased. No, I haven't hung the
painting yet because I still have not found a frame I like.
Photo © Leslie Eikleberry 2025

The piece I purchased was by Salina artist Marcy Roth, who wrote on the back, "Throughout the day, the sunflower lifts its face toward the sun...towards light. It is my wish for the people of Ukraine that they too, are able to lift their faces towards hope and healing in the midst of this tragic war."

Roth and her group of local and area artists were just more people doing what they could when they could. 

Have you done what you can?

Happy birthday, Dad!

"Hi, kid!"

For years, that's how my Dad greeted me when I got home from work.

I've been thinking a lot about my Dad today. You see, it is his birthday. The third one without him here. 

I had hoped to take some flowers out to the cemetery, but Snowmageddon 2025.3 put a stop to that. The country road that leads to the cemetery is not good whenever any sort of moisture is involved, and I don't want to risk getting stuck, so I'll have to imagine a beautiful bouquet of flowers and a visit with Dad.

When I moved back to my hometown to take a public relations job at a local university, the initial plan was for me to live with my folks until I could get my house in Emporia sold and find a place here. One thing led to another and the longer I lived with my senior parents, the more it became apparent that they needed a bit of help. So I continued to live with my folks, Dad for about twenty years and Mom for more than twenty-one years.

Familywise, those were some of the best years of my life. Sure, we had our differences. Dad was a dyed-in-the-wool Republican who moved farther to the right the older he got. For a number of years, I, too, was a registered Republican, but I couldn't reconcile that with my gut instinct to truly have empathy for others and help those in need. Brownback's "experiment" was the last straw for me. I reside in the moderate part of the political spectrum.

Nonetheless, we had a lot of good times. 

Once I started working at the senior center as the executive director, Dad was a regular fixture, whether it was bringing Mom to her sewing group, having coffee with his friends or hanging out with the guys in the pool room. He always popped into my office for a bit, usually to fill me in on the latest gossip he had heard.

We took vacations together, attended family reunions and funerals in Minnesota together, and attended a lot of football games. My folks started taking me to Salina High football games when I was four. A few years later, they started buying season tickets for Mustang football and kept those seats for decades. When I moved back home, a seat for me was added to the season tickets. I, of course, proudly joined Dad as a Mustang alum!

When Mom and Dad were no longer able to climb the stairs of the stadium, we made a point of watching college football games together on TV. Of course, as we had since I was a child, we watched the Chiefs on Sundays. I'm glad both my folks got to see the Chiefs do well before they died. 

Dad's last Christmas with us, I got us all Chiefs' shirts. I think he knew then that he was dying, as he gave me an earful about wasting money on Christmas presents for him. That very night, he went back to the hospital and less than two weeks later, he was dead.

Dad, taken two days before he went back
to the hospital for the final time.
Photo © Leslie Eikleberry 2025

I'm still amazed at how much Dad's illness and surgery took out of him. He went from a vital senior to a hesitant, thin, unsteady old man in a matter of months.

In the fall of 2022, Dad was diagnosed with rectal cancer. The surgery and radiation went well and the doctors were confident that they had gotten all of the cancer. What none of us knew at the time, however, was that Dad had developed what essentially was a small ulcer at the top of his colon. I suspect it was, in part, from worrying about his cancer diagnosis. Through the hole caused by the ulcer, bad bacteria was able to leak into his chest cavity and he developed a bad infection that his 90-year-old body just couldn't handle.

Although I miss my Dad greatly, I am glad he is no longer suffering. That infection wreaked havoc on his body and his final few days on Earth were not pleasant.

Even though Dad has been gone for a while now, I still have moments when I think to myself, "I need to remember to tell Dad about that." Sometimes, when I walk in the front door, in my head I hear him say "Hi, kid!" I guess that is my way of holding on to memories.

Happy birthday, Dad! I love and miss you greatly.

Everything old is new again

The phrase "Everything old is new again" has special meaning for me these days. 

When I was young, I had a kid-sized table and chairs. Quite often, I used the table when I colored, which I loved to do. (Still do!) We also used it when playing house. Additionally, the table doubled as the kiddie table when there were family food gatherings. 

Once I outgrew the table and chairs, Dad put them in the basement. 

One year for Christmas, again when I was young, I received a toy riding horse. It seemed huge at the time. The horse was made of wood and painted red and white. It was attached to a solid wooden frame with springs. The idea was to pretend to be riding a horse while bouncing it on the springs.

My horse. Photo © Leslie Eikleberry 2025

I loved that horse and I loved to make it bounce. I would get to bouncing so hard, that the frame would come up off the floor, making loud thumping noises. That would send Mom running in my direction, as she thought I had fallen! Needless to say, I got into trouble often for bouncing the horse off the floor!

As happened with the table and chairs, I outgrew the horse. And like the table and chairs, the horse was relegated to the basement. There, they all stayed for decades.

When I sold my childhood home in December, I left the table, chairs, and horse for the new owner to dispose of as he pleased. Little did I know that he would bring new life to my old playthings and cause me happiness once again.

One day, a few weeks after the sale, the new owner texted me a short video of his young daughter playing on the horse on their porch. He told me that the horse was still in good shape and that all he had to do was dust it off!

Then today, he sent me a couple of photos of his adorable young daughter sitting at the table. In one, she is giving me a thumbs up! He had moved the table and chairs to their home and now she has her own personal table and chairs!

Both instanced did my heart good to see another youngster enjoying my playthings as much as I did!

I also was touched that the new owner cared enough to share his daughter's joy with me.

With all of the divisiveness and disarray in our world these days, it's nice to have first-hand examples that there are still good people in this world and that there is a happy little girl who is loving her new horse and table and chairs!

A hand for the Lady Gaga song selection

The Chiefs hat I am wearing today.
Photo © Leslie Eikleberry 2025

The song that Lady Gaga sang before the Super Bowl game today holds a special place in my heart. 

A little over two years ago, I had finally gotten the chance to watch Top Gun: Maverick. Hold My Hand has a prominent place toward the end of the movie. 

As the credits were rolling, I drifted off to sleep, only to be awaken a few minutes later when the hospital called at about 12:30 a.m. to tell me that Dad had died. All the while, Hold My Hand was playing on a loop in my head.

At the time, I thought it was Dad's way of letting me know that he would always be with me.

While I know the song had another meaning today, I also believe that Lady Gaga singing Hold My Hand was Dad checking in with me. We didn't watch all football games together, but Mom, Dad, and I did watch the Super Bowl together.

Although he's not physically here, I know Dad is still watching the Super Bowl with me. A photo of Mom will probably soon pop up on my watch to let me know that Mom also is watching with us.

How about those Chiefs, indeed!

One of my Chiefs shirts. Photo by Leslie Eikleberry

How about those Chiefs!!!

My Chiefs are headed back to the Super Bowl! It's not an unfamiliar occurrence in recent years, but that hasn't always been the case.

Whether you love them or hate them, the Chiefs have had a long history with the NFL's championship game. They played in Super Bowl I on January 15 1967, and were defeated by Vince Lombardi's Packers.

Their second appearance in the title game was Super Bowl IV, ironically in New Orleans. In that game, the Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings on January 11, 1970.

I remember that game and where I was. I sat in the middle of our living room floor a safe distance from the console television and watched the entire game. (As some of you are old enough to remember, we couldn't sit too close to the TV or it would ruin our eyes, or so we kids were told.)

I was enthralled seeing all of my favorite players: Len Dawson at quarterback (I still have an autographed photo from him that I got shortly after the game), Mike Garrett at running back, Otis Taylor and Frank Pitts at wide receiver, and Fred Arbanas at tight end. On the defensive side, I cheered for Curley Culp, Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Willie Lanier, Emmitt Thomas, and Johnny Robinson.

When the Chiefs won, I was so happy that I couldn't stop crying for several minutes. Many pent-up wishes and much emotion escaped through my eyes that day.

Over the next few years, I got to meet some of my favorite Chiefs in person as they formed basketball teams and traveled around the region playing town teams in the off-season. I recall attending one game in Salina's Memorial Hall. We also attended a game played in Lincoln, Kansas. Of course, after the games, the Chiefs players hung around and signed autographs, some of which I still have today.

My family and I also attended a number of Chiefs games, first in old Municipal Stadium and then in Arrowhead. 

I was fascinated with the parking situation around Municipal Stadium. We always parked in someone's front yard. I don't remember how much we paid the homeowner, but he always made sure our car and the others in his yard were safe. Later on, I learned that many people in the Municipal Stadium area rented out parking spaces in their yards during Chiefs home games as a way to make some extra money.

After that Super Bowl win in New Orleans, however, the Chiefs hit a tough patch. And yes, during that time I did occasionally refer to the Chiefs as the "Chefs." It would be a long, sometimes painful, fifty years before the Chiefs reached the Super Bowl again. On February 2, 2020, the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV.

I was as ecstatic for that win over the 49ers as I was for the win over the Vikings. (And no, I did not sit in the middle of the living room floor!) As it turned out, it was the last Chiefs Super Bowl win I would watch with both my parents.

But unlike the season after their Super Bowl IV win, the Chiefs returned to the Super Bowl the next year. Sadly, they were defeated by Tom Brady led Tampa Bay on February 7, 2021.

After that, the Chiefs skipped a year. (And I'm sure Cincinnati's loss to the Rams that year was somehow the Chiefs' fault, since Bengals players and fans like to cast blame on the Chiefs every chance they get.)

The Chiefs returned to the Super Bowl the following year, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles in SBLVII. Then last year, the Chiefs again defeated the 49ers in SBLVIII. (And they did so in the Raiders home stadium!)

This coming February 9, the Chiefs will once again face the Eagles, this time in New Orleans in Super Bowl LIX or Super Bowl "Licks" if you're Gronk!

How do I think they will do? The Chiefs certainly have history and recent SB mojo on their side, winning three of four Super Bowls in five years. And they have learned this year to gut it out and win when it looked like they were going to lose. They also have won a Super Bowl in New Orleans. Additionally, the Chiefs have a number of great players on both sides of the ball, but so do the Eagles. Both teams also have talented coaching staffs.

A key to a Chiefs win will be stopping Eagles RB Saquon Barkley, who, frankly, has been a lot of fun to watch this year. I wish I had drafted him for one of my fantasy teams! 

Another key will be protecting Mahomes and not having ill-timed penalties from certain offensive linemen. And while they're at it, the O-line needs to open up some holes for Pacheco and Hunt! Finally, all the Chiefs need to stay healthy!

From their standpoint, the Eagles also will be playing to avenge their SBLVII defeat by the Chiefs.

It should be a great game! I can't wait!

Wishing you something better

There has been a tremendous amount of loss this year...on a number of levels. 

Now, I know that loss is a part of life and I am not the only one who has lost loved ones. Daily, people lose loved ones. But never before in my life have I experienced so much loss by so many people I know in one year. 

Several classmates have died. A number of friends and relatives have lost spouses. Others have lost parents. In one instance, a good friend from college lost her significant other, who died in his sleep earlier in the year. Last week, I was notified that my friend, herself, had died, also in her sleep. She was only a year older than me.

If you are a regular reader of my blog (thank you!), you know that I lost my Mom and her brother earlier this year. Those two losses were enough to send me into an emotional tailspin. While the spontaneous tears still come on occasion, I am doing better, and frankly, am tired of crying. For me, that is a good sign that I am beginning to heal emotionally.

While I am somewhat stunned by all of the loss within my small part of humanity, I refuse to let it overwhelm me. Yes, the losses do have an affect on my life, but they will not define my life nor how I move forward into the future. 

A good friend recently reminded me of how I want to move forward. "I know how weird/hopeless it can feel when we can’t see the next thing. But I firmly believe that there is a next/new thing coming and it will be better than we could have imagined," she told me.

She is correct! Her reminder gives me hope that all of the chaotic darkness of 2024 will lift and there will be something better in my life in the future. Even something better for all of us! I eagerly await it!

So this Christmas, hug your loved ones tightly and tell them you love them. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and something better for the new year!

So long, Harvey

I went to a visitation today for the father of some longtime friends. 

Harvey's oldest daughter and I have been friends for nearly six decades, and I've known his other three daughters for almost as long. 

I didn't know their Daddy very well when we were growing up, but I was blessed to get to know him as an adult while I worked at the senior center. Most weekdays, Harvey would come in for lunch, and if I could, I would join him for a meal.

We visited about happenings in town and, of course, he caught me up on what his beloved daughters were up to. He was tremendously proud of the girls and their families. On occasion, when the out-of-town girls were home for a visit, Harvey would bring them in to the senior center for lunch and a visit with me. It was always good to see them. 

Despite the solemnity and sadness of the occasion, it was good to see them again today. 

Harvey was a good, hard-working man with a wonderful sense of humor. He usually teased me about something when he saw me. When he ate lunch with a certain humor-loving group of seniors, Harvey could hold his own and give back as good as he got. There were a few times I was nearly in tears from laughing so hard at their banter.

Sometimes, during special occasions, we would give away prizes to seniors during lunch. During one Earth Day celebration, Harvey won one of the specially made desserts. He so didn't want his photo taken, but, because I had asked him, he acquiesced, and posed with his prize and a smile on his face.

When my Mom died earlier this year, I immediately felt the aloneness of adult orphanhood. I'm still dealing with that, but it is getting a bit better. 

After visiting with the girls and a couple of their spouses, I learned that the girls and I are not the only ones who have suffered loss this year. It has been a helluva year for many of us. 

I came away from our visit with a bit of a different perspective about what has happened to us this year.

While we have lost loved ones and are transitioning to being the seniors in society, those of us who remain continue to move forward one step at a time. But we do so together with love, grace, and compassion.