Today, the 7th of April, would have been my mother’s 111th birthday. Born in 1912, she lived a long life, full of joys and sorrows, a wide range of interests, many adventures. Much love and gratitude Mother. Dorothy Friend Miller 1912-2000.

I thought I had pictures of her as a baby but instead all I can find is a snapshot of her holding me as a baby.

June 1937, my mother holding me, Belmont Massachusetts

Reverse side – is this Dutch?

Could the card be from one of the tropical Dutch islands?

Answer _ Dutch East Indies – now Indonesia

Masai Warrior

Reverse side – Masai Warrior

Would you believe this story about a Masai Warrior”s Shield and Spear? I went to Kenya in August 1966, almost 60 years ago.to work at the Institute for Development Studies at the University of Nairobi. This was a combination teaching and research fellowship, and I intended to complete my PhD thesis for the University of California Berkeley. Initially accommodation was provided for me at the United Kenya Club. These premises were a sort of hotel for temporary visitors, short or longterm, working for the Kenya Government. Employees at the University fell under this umbrella. Shortly after my arrival, as I got to know the other residents, I was invited by a handsome young man to see the Masai Shield and Spear which he had recently purchased at the Prison Shop. Said Shield and Spear were up in his room. So I innocently went up to his room to see these treasures. And I was suitably impressed, casually noticing also the bottles of liquor in his closet.

To make a long story short, we married a year and a half later, and that spear and shield were with us for almost 50 years. We finally disposed of them when we were clearing our house in Dublin in preparation for our move to Seattle. We had put the spear and shield in the skip in our driveway and a passerby happened to rummage in the skip, and asked our permission to take the spear and shield. And off he went, the proud new owner.

1. Black Fox, A Life of Emilie Demant Hate, Artist and Ethnographer by Barbara Sjoholm
2. The British Are Coming, The War for America, Lexington to Princeton, 1775-1777 by Rick Atkinson
3. Down the WARPATH to the CEDARS, Indians’ First Battles in the Revolution by Mark R. Anderson

Two Ladies Sitting on a wall at Karen Country Club, Nairobi, Kenya – My Cousin Kaysea and me (Janet)

Note the golfers in the distance

This picture was taken about 30 years ago. Do I miss those happy sunny days in Kenya – YES!!