Thomas cuts hair for cancer patients

When Norman Thomas had his hair cut Friday morning by beautician Betty Thompson, he had one goal in mind: to help cancer patients experiencing hair loss due to treatment. Norman donated his more than 10 inch long ponytail to Locks of Love, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces to children under the age of 21 being treated for cancer. This is the second (maybe third) time that Norman has donated his hair to this organization 'because he can.” It takes him about one year to grow his hair out long enough to meet the Locks of Love requirement. Norman says he forgot how cold the winter wind can be to his exposed head.

Julia Gamon celebrated her birthday with treats in the Town Center Friday morning. Residents braved the cold and icy conditions to celebrate with her.

Audra Williams attended a baby shower on Friday for her soon-to-be great-grandbaby. Audra's son Mike escorted her to his home in Camdenton, Missouri so that she could take part in the festivities. The baby is due in March and is the grandchild of Mike and Diane Williams.

The United Presbyterian Home was well represented at the Night to Shine event held at the KC Hall in Washington Saturday evening. Several employees attended as honored guests, organizers, cooks and buddies for the lavish nationwide prom sponsored by the Tim Tebow Foundation along with local organizations, churches and individuals. It was an unforgettable prom night experience for over 110 guests and their escorts. They were pampered with hair duos, shoe shines and limousine rides before walking the red carpet to the beautifully decorated event center for an evening of dinner, dancing and the awarding of crowns.

Residents met for Saturday night at the movies to watch Rain Man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman. This1988 Oscar Best Picture winner deals with a man and his interaction with a recently discovered autistic brother. What begins as an unsentimental journey for the brothers becomes much more than the distance between places.

Nancy Albert returned recently from a trip to Lisbon, Portugal with friends and a group of travelers through Road Scholars. She still is beaming as she relays her travels through the city of many cultures and much history. She saw castles, fortresses, cathedrals, monuments, wineriess and a cork tree farm where she witnessed the blushing trees. She visited a tile factory where she learned of the history and purpose of the century-old tiles on buildings of the same age. Nancy enjoyed the local seafood and cod with European style markets of the freshest food and outdoor dining. It was difficult to return home to Iowa's winter weather after experiencing Lisbon's beautiful winter of temperatures in the 50s.

United Presbyterian Home maintenance employee and WHS senior, Garrett Ikerd, advanced to the state wrestling tournament this week. He has the support of many residents, staff and day care kids with him in his journey for a state title. We congratulate him on his accomplishments this far and wish him good luck at the state tournament.

Becca Enfield was busy on Thursday delivering the many beautiful flower bouquets that arrived for residents and staff on Valentine's Day. It was a sweet job that resulted in many smiles on the faces of the recipients and the delivery girl.

Classics Et Cetera for Feb. 14, 2019 included the introduction and march from 'The Sleeping Beauty” by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; 'Vilja” from 'The Merry Widow” by Franz Lehár; 'Sextet” from 'Reminiscences of ‘Lucia di Lammermoor' (Donizetti) by Franz Liszt; 'A Vucchella” by Paolo Tosti; 'Battle Hymn of the Republic” performed by the 1st Brigade Band; 'Lincoln Portrait” by Aaron Copland, narrated by James Earl Jones; 'Samson March” by Karl L. King.

Franz Liszt (1811-1886) may have been the greatest piano artist and showman of all time. He was at least the greatest of his era. In midlife he tired of his lifestyle and settled down in Weimar, Germany. There he spent much of his time composing, mostly for piano, including his treatments of the music of 99 other composers, called 'fantasies,” 'reminiscences,” 'paraphrases” or other. He even arranged all nine of Beethoven's symphonies for piano, as well as many vocal numbers from operas and Franz Schubert's 300 lieder (songs). Some even say they prefer Liszt's transcriptions to the original works.