Tork Fuglestad…We are doing just fine. There is a quote from a man named Victor Frankl that I like:
“LIFE IS A CHOICE: There is sufficient proof that everything can be taken from man but one thing: that is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
I choose to put a positive spin on the circumstances we are going through today. As they say...”Don’t complain to anybody about anything unless they can do something about it”. They usually can’t. Now about the family. Shirley has 5 children...10 grandchildren...20 great grands. Tork has 5 children...16 grandchildren...3 great grandchildren. That’s right! There are 59 of us in our family. If you add the spouses plus the two of us the number is 68. I still can’t believe it myself! You may ask yourself the question; “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN”? Well, we both lost our first mates to cancer. Shirley and I were high school classmates and were reacquainted at our 50th high school reunion. The rest is history. Even with the size of our family we still manage to get together. The primary vacation for Shirley’s family is a week at Flathead Lake in Montana. We have been doing this for the last 15 years. The best thing about it is that nearly everyone is there each year. That’s 5 families from 5 different states. Tork’s family also has a family vacation each year in Vail, Colorado. This has been a tradition in the Fuglestad family for over 50 years and was started by Tork’s parents. Included in this reunion are Tork’s six brothers and sisters along with their kids, grandkids, etc. We do or at least did, manage to travel to see the children on a regular basis. It’s always fun to get together with family and it will always be a priority for us. It’s been quite a year for Shirley and I. We didn’t get a chance to spend the winter in Scottsdale, Arizona, which has been our custom for the past several years. There were several good reasons as you will see by the following. In September of 2019 while working in the garage, I fell and hit my head on a concrete step. Shirley, who was in the house at the time heard the noise in the garage and found me unconscious and blood coming from my head. Shirley, a nurse, acted quickly and called 911. The medics came quickly and I was rushed to the hospital. For obvious reasons I don’t recall a whole lot about what went on. The one thing that I do know is that had Shirley not heard the noise in the garage and had not called 911,I would not be here today. She saved my life. In the hospital, the surgeon preformed a craniotomy on me to stop the bleeding. The next step in my recuperation was to spend the next five weeks at Marion Joy, a rehab hospital. Yes, I was in pretty bad shape. While in the rehab hospital I had to learn how to walk again and to manage many of the daily functions. I will be eternally thankful to the Doctors, Nurses, and a variety of therapists that put this old body of mine back together. They all did a great job. So...After 5 weeks, they sent me home. Outpatient therapy did continue for another two months. Other than balance and some memory issues I am almost back to normal. That is whatever is normal for an 87 year old. God is good and I am thankful. Having been retired since 1991, I still have many memories of my days with Osco Drug...Good memories. Let me share some with you. I would have to say that I enjoyed my work. Some words I have held close for several years are “If we enjoy what we do we will be successful. Our success in any occupation depends upon enjoyment. Loving our work makes the difference. He who finds joy in his work has found success.” One of the very best days of my life was in July of 1949. A friend of mine who worked for Osco at that time had come down with TB and had to go into a sanitarium for care. He asked if I would be interested in taking his place as an Osco stock boy. Being a healthy 16 year old in need of money I said yes. Bad fortune for a friend was good fortune for me. During my early years in Osco what motivated me were the words of encouragement that I received from my various bosses and coworkers. Words like...you are doing a great job... you should be a pharmacist... the floor is so clean you can eat off of it...thank you for doing your best...Not for pay but pride. Yes at 16 I did receive 50 cents an hour but I would have done it for nothing to hear people say...You know Tork, l think you will do well in life. You might even be an Osco manager one day. Let us never forget what the tender ears of a teenager hears. I am so proud of my time with Osco but I am even more proud of the people that I had the privilege to work with. May we never forget those who went before us. I think I could go on forever thinking of the days with Osco and the Osco people. I would like to close with a quote from Abraham Lincoln:
“I DO THE VERY BEST I KNOW HOW...THE VERY BEST I CAN. I MEAN TO KEEP ON DOING SO UNTIL THE VERY END”
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