Page 80 - MLD Book

Amidst all of the joy of the Garden of Goodness and the Well, an awful thing happened that continued the terrible heritage of Calvary getting rid of good staff members. This time the hatchet fell upon my dear friend Anita House, who had served Calvary for 13 years as bookkeeper, assistant to the rector, doorkeeper, cheerful telephone answerer, food closet helperandbuyer...younameit,shedidit! AmovewasledbythepowerfulSallyReisz,who has had her nose in finances at Calvary for years touting her schooling as a lawyer to implement her takes on how best to spend Calvary’s money. (The incomparable Lou Henson, who not only supports many of my outreach project, also regarded the Calvary kitchen as HER domain, provided a funny aside on Nov. 19 when she called Sally a BITCH right in the kitchen!!). But back to Anita... it was decided to suspend Anita on October 16. She never really knew what she did wrong except once over a weekend the staff got their paychecks one day late. As was in my case, no reason was ever given. Me, Callie, Katherine all now gone from the staff. Two days later, Elizabeth called Anita on the telephone to say she had been relieved of her duties and not to come back. After 13 years, Elizabeth didn’t even have the decency to face her in person. That’s just plain shameful behavior. Anita and I have remained very close, and I wish I could say she bounced back and got a nice job as she deserved, but it has been a rough time for her and I am so sorry for the way Calvary treated her. The only mention Calvary has ever made publicly of this firing was in the annual meeting report when it stated there was a “staff transition in the bookkeeping department!”
In the realm of organ performance, I was again very active. I told Shawn I would not agree to run the kitchen maid aspect of the Lenten Series unless he would let me play one of the recitals, so he reluctantly agreed. It was a good deal, as I traditionally donate all the food (and did all of the 30 years before too) except what others bring. Since he was also still commuting from Cincinnati, I got to play most funerals (six) and three Sundays. I also played services at St. Andrews, St. Luke’s and St. James, and did recitals at Christ Lutheran, and Memorial Auditorium, Ugliness did surface, however, when Shawn informed me that his contract specified that other people would need to substitute for him, not just me (who was free incidentally!). Sure enough, on December 10, David Lamb was hired for the day. He is a good friend of mine, and was shocked to see me there, saying he was told I had another engagement that day! This ridiculous practice continued through 2018 and 2019 but has not surfaced yet in 2020. (I got to do two in August 2020). The “reasoning” was given that others should know how to
play at Calvary as well, but I know the jealousy factor governed that action, and that’s B.S.
On the medical side, I managed to have a ridiculous case of GOUT in May that caused temporary skyrocketing blood pressure that was quickly remedied, and I had an abcessed tooth in September that caused me to take penicillin upon its removal, resulting in a resounding allergic reaction. And one night the blood pressure went sky high because a raccoon had come down the living room chimney and was perched on the couch where Maggie slept! She alerted me to its presence, and I slammed the door to the porch and