EP #40 Muriel Pierson - In life there are two main treasures to give away - time and love!

As a social and visual anthropologist, I always am excited to know how we become who we are. Like how did I get so lucky to meet Michael, a true gentleman, and how did he become who he is today?

Today we are lucky to look behind the scenes and get to know his mother, Muriel Pierson. I wish I could have recorded an episode like that with my grandmother or even mother when she was still alive. These are generational stories which are now captured and can be "seasoned" as a cultural history or the story how Michael became who he is today. I felt so lucky the day I met him not only to meet him, but also how I was welcomed into his family with open arms the way I never had before. I have learned so much about Canada, USA and history with these visits and communications with Muriel. 

Today we travel to the East coast of Canada and listen to how Muriel grew up in the 1940s. How while on a cruise, she she was offered a job offer to work on a ship in the Caribbean... said no to it and moved to Santa Barbara instead.

We have many forks in our life and who knows if there would have even been a Michael if she had said yes to the job on the cruise ship? How they moved to Dallas and Florida and what Muriel's life brought to her. What are some of the valuable lessons she is telling us? Someone who is over 80 years old with a whole life of experiences? and what can we learn from her wisdom and do differently to make a better life for ourselves? 

This is a valuable and very different kind of episode, more in a total conversational mode, being in the same room and with her, in person... Something I would love to do each and every time with each and every episode, if that was an option.

Enjoy the very special episode. Think how you too could capture a little memory or two of your parents or grandparents,  so that the stories will not die with them...

As always - please share and like and comment!

Summary: 

03:02 Story about growing up in Canada as a number 12 in the family

05:22 Ghost stories from the coast

06:00 Eastern Canada

06:26 Growing our own food

07:24 Fishermen farmers

07:32 Hay fields, pigs, cattle, chickens, horse – 100 acres in the 1940s

08:34 Planting potatoes

09:00 Making your own beer

09:17 Everyone pitched in with everything

09:33 Made our own butter and cheese and ice cream

09:52 Leaving Canada

10:35 Big boats or small boats

11:00 Go to city – paper mill

11:31 Lots of fish and canning it

12:32 Selling the animal meat for extra money

12:54 Making our own wool stuff from our own lambs

13:16 Being a teacher in Canada for 3 years – 30 – 40 kids per class – in the village

14:36 Older sister went to Montreal and got married

15:22 Two sisters – the oldest sister lived close to Detroit

17:00 Caribbean dream and cruise

17:20 1961

17:49 Teaching ballroom dancing to get money for cruising

18:51 Dancing every night and offer to stay on the boat

19:06 Good job and flat back home

20:02 I am going to go to Santa Barbara, USA

20:25 My professor showed picture of his honeymoon there

21:00 Got some extra money

21:24 Got a job in San Francisco

22:00 Got to San Francisco and decided to go to Santa Barbara

22:44 Green card process back then – cash and a promise of the job

24:12 I wanted to become a nurse – part time job and a nursing program

24:55 Helped in the lab

25:50 New roommate in Santa Barbara

27:52 My mom visiting and cooking and knitting

29:14 Taking wine bottles out

29:48 No time to dating

31:14 A new boyfriend bringing roses every day

32:00 2 children

32:40 Living in Santa Barbara

18:02 Catholic Social club started with 20 men and 20 women

33:37 Doug started to work in Biltmore – and Four Seasons now

34:14 Doug was a manager in that hotel

35:00 Michael was born first and then 3 years later Jennifer

36:00 Stayed at home mom

36:44 Red wagon story

37:51 10 – 15 fruit trees and grew a lot in the garden

38:09 Red wagon as a Christmas present

38:34 Michael took all the veggies to the neighbors with it

39:18 Did not like the weeding, but selling the vegetables

40:00 Teacher’s retirement community on the other side

41:26 Michael investing money into a new fruit tree to produce more fruits and have more money

42:34 12 friends for Michael and 12 friends for Jennifer for birthdays

43:07 Michael loved cooking and had a step stool to do it

44:01 Michael cooked his special dishes: pigs in the blanket, hens in the nest, macaroni cheese

44:41 Getting dressed and Michael was cooking on the stool

45:12 Jennifer reading

45:27 Michael very different

45:44 The owner of Biltmore died and then we moved to Dallas

46:07 Important people in Santa Barbara – movie stars, royals – he was used to that kind of clientele

46:32 Very different clientele

46:50 We moved to Florida – beautiful hotel on the beach in Clearwater Florida

47:58 Doug wanted to his things in the 40s

48:12 Went back to California and back to nursing

48:50 Drug testing for FDA

49:15 Nursing burns you out – 8 hours to do it all and too many patients

50:00 Go into it to help people, but you cannot give them the love and the care

50:41 Too much stress and not enough pleasure

51:01 Did not matter who died you or the patient by the end of the day

52:17 New husband has Alzheimer

53:02 Going to the support group

53:49 Find a support group

54:17 Take care of themselves and you are the first

54:42 Get your ducks in the row

56:08 Part of it is a character – but also teaching please and thank you

57:49 Respect elders, respect other’s property and places

58:49 It is your responsibility

59:04 Doug’s parents did not give much love

59:40 What is acceptable and what is not you need to teach it

60:00 Man is walking on the pavement on the outer side

61:00 Influence generation by generation

61:12 Jennifer’s husband Walter was good with kids

62:10 Different mindset – a lot of it in his DNA when he was born

62:30 Very loving, caring family – everyone took care of each other

63:00 Taking care of each other

63:11 Proud of your son? I am proud of him!!!

63:43 Did things his way as a young

64:23 Influential friends who did not have the male example to guide themselves

64:57 Pick your friends – who influence your character

65:29 I disciplined them – if need to be – sent them to their room or spanked them

66:17 Butts for spanking as a little cushion

66:57 Welcomed to the family

67:10 Blessing to us and Michael and appreciate him and what he has to offer

67:33 Takes a good woman to see appreciate a good man

68:15 Took in a foster son Larry

69:40 Full of mischief and had been to 15 foster homes

71:05 Brought him in – I run this house and you follow our rules

71:48 Stayed with us till going to service

72:19 Counting grand-kids

73:14 Good to be a grandmother – be with them and send them home

73:49 Taught manners and how to be good to grandmother

74:12 Baking cookies at Christmas to give away

74:13 Love and discipline in equal amounts – tough love is needed at times

75:39 Have to let them respect you and their dad – so that dad is coming to peaceful

76:13 Love and respect

76:19 Love them to be who they are – love and discipline and a little spank on the bottom if need to be

77:06 Enriching to travel and travel rather earlier than later

77:30 Make time for your family – the job is not the most important

78:14 Time for kids and make time for your parents and respect them

78:28 I had my mom come to visit me – she was willing to travel

79:00 Was expensive to travel back those days

79:22 Bottom line – nice house, car – nice but good times the kids will remember the hiking or cookies

80:00 Quality time with the kids and grand-kids

80:29 Father was riding the horse bare and finding our fun and simple

80:55 Most dangerous thing you could do – walk out of the cliff

81:22 There was no drugs and did not lock the doors

81:35 In Santa Barbara for 30 years we did not have criminality and it was safe

82:00 Time and love are the most precious gifts

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If you have comments or questions to Muriel's story - let us know so we can make another follow up episode. This episode comes out for Muriel's birthday as a different kind of present. As something part of her legacy to the future generations. We are glad we could co-create it. 

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Abundance in Action Podcast co-producers and co-hosts