For years, we all thought my niece, Andrea Beach would be a chef. The culinary arts were always of interest to her, and she had worked as a chef in several restaurants. Andrea liked her culinary jobs, but after a long time in that industry, she decided that it was time for a change. It’s not that she no longer enjoys cooking and baking, but now her family is the group that gets to enjoy her creations. So, she took a job at Wyoming Machinery as a lab technician in the oil lab. Somehow, I had never considered Andrea might find herself in an occupation involving science. Of course, I don’t know how she did in science in school, but Andrea has been working there for a little over a year now, and she is very happy with her decision to make a change of career. In her work, Andrea tests a variety of fluids from semitrucks to cars. She tests hydraulic, differential, and transmission fluids. These come from trucking companies, mine sites Construction companies and such, and they come from Rick Springs, Casper, Cheyenne, Rawlins and even Denver. It is very important work, and I’m very proud of her.
Andrea is a music lover, and while she and her son, Chris usually go with her mom, Caryl Reed to the Black Hills for a week’s vacation every year, she had to forego the trip last year, because she Seattle, Washington for a concert called Chemical Romance. The trip also gave them a chance to visit her dad, Warren Beach and his wife Diane. This year, even though she and Chris are going to Boston to see a Korean Band called BTS in August, they will still get to make the annual Black Hills trip. I’m sure that is because of the better pay with Wyoming Machinery, and more vacation time, now that she has been there over a year. I’m glad they get to go on their annual trip again this year.
Andrea has always loved experimenting with her hair, and she recently got it cut really short. She loves it and 
the freedom it affords her. While I have always had and likely will always have long hair, I can understand the extra work it is, so I understand why she likes it short. It looks very cute on her. Andrea has been a single mom for most of her son’s life, and she has raised him to be a successful and loving man. While her life was not always easy, she has made it successful with hard work and her faith in God. She loves her son dearly, and she wants nothing more than for him to be happy. She has simply kept forging ahead. Today is Andrea’s birthday. Happy birthday Andrea!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
On June 25, 1950, when North Korea invaded South Korea, my uncle, Larry Byer, was thrown into what would become some of the hardest years of his life. Serving as an Army private during the Korean War, he saw firsthand the turmoil that followed Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule after World War II, which left the nation divided. The United Nations, led primarily by the United States, stepped in to support South Korea, while China, with backing from the Soviet Union, sided with the North. North Korea deeply resented the division imposed after the war, and the growing Cold War tensions only fueled their determination to reclaim what they believed was rightfully theirs. In reality, Korea wasn’t the only country to endure such a split, and had they been willing 
to accept it, the war might have been avoided…but they refused.
I can fully understand why action had to be taken with Korea since they didn’t have a government, but splitting the country up just doesn’t feel right. Still, that’s how it happened, and the region has been unstable ever since. North Korea has tried to take over the South and has made plenty of threats to the rest of the world. Their leaders, first Kim Jong-il and now his son, Kim Jong-un, have shown themselves to be ruthless and even a bit unhinged. It’s like the rest of the world is always debating 
whether to strike or to avoid provoking them. In the end, it all comes down to Kim Jong-un.
My Uncle Larry experienced this world firsthand as a private in the Army. The North Koreans fought their battles using any underhanded tactic they could devise, with the sole aim of winning the war. They were ruthless and willing to do whatever it took to win. Thankfully, they didn’t succeed, and before long, Uncle Larry returned home. I’m sure he was overjoyed to be back. Spending time in a chaotic conflict like the Korean War is never ideal and can easily leave a person traumatized. I’m simply grateful he made it home. Today would have been his 92nd birthday. Happy birthday in Heaven, Uncle Larry. We love and miss you very much.
My sister, Cheryl Masterson, the eldest of our parents five daughters has always carried a lot of the responsibilities of helping our mom, Collene Spencer and dad, Allen Spencer in taking care of her younger sisters. So, when they passed away, it was just natural for Cheryl to assume the role of family matriarch. Cheryl is a very strong woman of God, and being the family matriarch, she is really good about passing much of her wisdom on Christian matters down to her sisters, as well as her nieces and nephews. Cheryl truly loves the Lord, and she spends much of her free time in deep study of His Word. I some ways Cheryl reminds me of Anna in the Bible. Anna was a prophetess. She was widowed at a young age, and decided never to marry again, but rather to serve the Lord for the rest of her life. Cheryl was not widowed, but rather divorced when her five children were very young. She too never married again, and raised her kids, Chantel Balcerzak, Toni Chase, Rob Masterson, Elizabeth Masterson, and Jenny Spethman alone and with little help. Anna didn’t have children, but 
like Anna, Cheryl spends all of her free time studying God’s Word, praying and worshipping God, and sharing her wealth of knowledge from her studies with her sisters and anyone else in need. We are all very blessed because of her.
Cheryl worked hard to get an education and became a legal secretary, a position she’s held for many years. She’s excellent at her job, serving as the secretary for the firm’s busiest attorney, and when she retires, they’ll have a tough time replacing her. Still, she’s hoping to retire in the next year or so and has been looking forward to it for quite some time. It will be a big change for her after working most of her life, but retirement will surely feel wonderful, and I know that she will consider it the perfect time to dive even deeper into her Bible study.
While her top priority is her study of God’s Word, Cheryl is also an excellent cook. Anyone who has had the privilege of eating food Cheryl has prepared, can tell you that her skills are amazing. She can make pretty 
much anything you can imagine, and if she doesn’t know how, just had her a recipe, and she will no doubt more that do it justice. Her family all love to come to her house for a family dinner whenever they can. And anytime we have a family “Potluck” dinner, you know Cheryl’s dishes will be one of the big hits. They always are. Today is Cheryl’s birthday. Happy birthday Cheryl!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
Aunt Charlys Schulenberg was born Charlys Stull on May 11, 1942, in Glendive, Montana to Edward Stull and Vivian née Heath Stull. She was born the third of seven children. Her siblings were Jackie LeRoy, Carol, Layne, Kellys, Douglas, and Kimberly. Over the years Charlys and her family lived in Montana and North Dakota. I don’t know much about her family really, but Aunt Charlys is so sweet that I wanted to know more about her background, so I did a little research. Of course, knowing her parents’ names and the names of her siblings doesn’t really tell me anything much about her, but it does tell me that the family did a little moving around. While the family moved several times, and some of the kids moved away permanently many returned to Montana, because…well, Montana was home. Charlys was one of the ones for whom Montana would always be home.
Charlys met the love of her life, Andrew “Butch” Schulenberg and they were married on June 26, 1966, when he was 25 years old, and she was 24 years old. And that was how she became my future aunt. She married my future husband, Bob Schulenberg’s uncle. Charlys and Butch were so very happy, and over the years they 
added three children to their happy marriage, Andi Kay, Tadd, and Heath. They loved Forsyth, the town of Uncle Butch’s birth, and that was and continues to be where they have made their home. They are both wonderful people who are much loved and respected in Forsyth.
Aunt Charlys has proven herself to be on tough lady. She doesn’t let anything beat her. Because she began suffering with neuropathy, she wasn’t supposed to be cooking…something that was very upsetting to Charlys, who loves to cook and is exceptional at it too. So, Uncle Butch had to start doing the cooking. One night, they were going to have spaghetti, but they needed French bread and other groceries, so he went down to store. When he came back 45 minutes later, Aunt Charlys was laying on the floor. She had decided to start the spaghetti, and as she was boiling the spaghetti, her feet went out from under her. She hit the pan of boiling water as she fell, and the pan fell on her, spilling the boiling water and hot spaghetti in her lap causing 3rd, 4th, and 5th degree burns from her knees to her chest. Uncle Butch called an ambulance, and they got her to the hospital, and then, she was flown to the University of Colorado Burn Center. While her burns must have kept 
her in excruciating pain, Aunt Charlys never lost her sense of humor. She joked with the nurses, even though she was the one in so much pain. She somehow managed to dig deep within herself and become a blessing to those who were supposed to be helping her. That was typical Charlys. Today is Aunt Charlys 84th birthday. Happy birthday Charlys!! Have a great day!! We love you!!
When your mom and mother-in-law are in Heaven, Mother’s Day is forever changed. My mom, Collene Spencer went to Heaven on February 22, 2015, and my mother-in-law, Joann Schulenberg, went to Heaven on January 4, 2018. Last year on April 23, 2025, my sister, Alena Stevens…who was also mom to Michelle Miller, Garrett Stevens, and Lacey Killinger…moved to Heaven too. Mother’s Day is meant to celebrate moms, but when your Mom is in Heaven, it can feel a bit empty. Still, it’s not truly empty, 
because I’m a mom too, as are my sisters, sisters-in-law, daughters, granddaughters-in-law, and nieces. So, to them and to the moms in Heaven, Happy Mother’s Day.
Being a mom is such a blessing, and I’m so honored to have my two beautiful daughters, Corrie Petersen and Amy Royce. They’ve always been an incredible blessing to me, filling my life with kindness and love that has brought me so much joy over the years. Even when I can’t be with them on special days, I know I am in their thoughts and prayers, just as they are always in mine. I cherish our daily chats, whether by phone or text, and the sweet feeling of being on their minds. Each has given me two wonderful grandchildren, and the blessings just keep growing. My granddaughters-in-law, Karen Petersen, who has blessed me with a great granddaughter and two great grandsons, and Athena Petersen, who has blessed me with four great-grandsons, all of whom I love dearly. As my family grows, so 
does the depth of the blessings I’ve been given. God has been, and continues to be, so good to me. Life is good, and it just keeps getting better.
Some people see days like Mother’s Day as just commercial holidays meant to sell greeting cards, but I couldn’t disagree more. Mother’s Day, like so many other special occasions, is a time to think about our moms and all the blessings they’ve given us. People who still have their mother in their life, really have no idea what it might feel like when their mother is gone from their earthly life. I miss those moms who have gone on before me, and I wish I could be with them on this, their day, but since I can’t, I’ll simply celebrate the joy they’ve brought into my life and always will. Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms, especially to mine…I love you so much!!
Would you ever consider taking the job of pet food taster? The very idea would make most of us cringe, but the reality is that there are approximately 90 million pet dogs in America, and that’s just dogs. There are many other pets too. As far as we know, none of these pets can talk, so the only way to tell if they enjoy their food is to, well, try it ourselves. Ok, maybe that is a little extreme, but there needs to be a way to know if their food tastes good. We already know that pets tend to like “people food,” so that should give us an idea of their taste in food, right? Still, to actually taste the food the dogs are going to eat. I just don’t know. I suppose that the $45,000 annual salary might be some incentive…for some people.
More and more pet foods are becoming more of a gourmet kind of cuisine these days. There are brands like Farmer’s Dog, Ollie, Spot and Tango, The Pets Table, We Feed Raw, and A Pup Above, just to name a few. All these gourmet pet food brands need refrigeration, because they have “human grade ingredients” in them. As any pet owner will tell you, a cat or a dog won’t hesitate to show their distaste for a meal. So, is there really a need for a “Pet Food Taster” to decide if the food tastes good. Of course, taste is not the only purpose of the pet food taster. They are primarily there to evaluate the nutritional value of pet food. For so long the nutritional value of pet food was severely lacking and really considered unimportant. Then as the health of the pets declined, veterinarians, pet owners, and dog food manufacturers began to understand that pet bodies needed 
more than just meat byproduct fillers in their food. And the taste of that old pet food…well, maybe a human needed to taste it once in a while.
While I can see that being a pet food taster might be an occupation with some value, it is definitely not the kind of occupation I could see myself in. Not being a pet owner could be part of the reason, but even if I were, I think I would have to take the manufacturer’s word, or that of the veterinarian as to which food would be the best.
Depression is a disease that affects many people all over the world. That has become an accepted fact over the years, although not always looked upon as anything more than being a person of weak countenance. What many of us have never heard of, however, is that pets can also become depressed. There can be a number of reasons for this, with one of the most extreme being the loss of their owner, especially through death and especially if the pet witnessed the passing. While there’s still much we don’t know about the millions of species sharing our planet, scientists and everyday people alike generally agree that animals are capable of experiencing emotions just like we do.
One of the most documented incidences of depression is a police dog, or a military dog that loses its handler. 
These animals work so closely with their handler that they almost become one unit. They can anticipate their partner’s every move, and when their handler is killed or even retires from the service, the animal is left with a hole in their heart than is hard to fill. If the dog happens to see their partner killed in the line of duty, they take it especially hard. Like any police partner, they can even feel a measure of blame…even though they were not to blame and could not have prevented the death. House pets, who have learned to trust and live closely with us, can sometimes show signs of depression or anxiety, often through unusual behaviors like losing interest in their favorite activities. For reason, other than the loss of an owner, pets can become depressed. When a household has more than one pet, the loss of companion pet can bring noticeable sadness to the remaining pet, as well as the pet owner.
In the past, these animals would be left to deal with their sadness on their own, as many still are today. 
However, these days, pet psychologists can help identify these issues and provide advice on how to improve their well-being. That is rather a strange occupation, in my mind. I really don’t understand how a human psychologist can communicate with an animal to identify depression, PTSD, or any other problem…aside from possibly fear of thunder and lightning, which presents itself in a very clear way. Animals can’t tell us what is bothering them, and yet professional psychologists profess to be able to understand the problems they have. Nevertheless, Pet Psychologist is a very real profession that pays in the vicinity of $52,000 a year. I guess in might be a profession for a pet lover to consider.
I’m sure you have seen the funny videos showing people who are walking down the sidewalk suddenly being frightened by what they thought was a statue, only to find out that it is human, and reaching out to accost them. The statue doesn’t literally mean them harm, but in their surprise, they don’t realize that. All they see in a hand reaching out at them, and they scream, drop to the ground, or run to escape the attacker. Of course, their friends can’t stop laughing at the unfortunate victim of the Human Statue Prank. My first thought at watching these videos is that the human statue is an actor, and it likely that my assumption is correct, but while those videos may have an actor as 
a human statue, that “job” is actually a real one that is used quite often and pays pretty well.
Posing as a live mannequin, adorned in paint or clothing, can be surprisingly lucrative, earning $60–$100 per hour for simply standing perfectly still. That might seem like an easy job, but it seems to me that standing perfectly still for hours on end would be…much more difficult that we might think. A human statue, or living statue, is typically a performer who poses as a statue or mannequin, often using realistic, statue-like makeup. The term can also describe art installations made by artists using live people, or other creative works by performing artists.
Contemporary performances often take the form of street busking but can also appear at paid events. A living statue act involves an artist standing completely still, occasionally moving to create a comic or surprising moment. These “human statues” are typically painted from head to toe, often in gold or silver. Australian artist Andrew Baines is known for incorporating living people into his art to convey social messages. Phil Genoux was among the earliest to perform as a living statue on the streets, starting in London in 1988, and was featured in 
what may have been the first current affairs TV coverage of such a performance, aired in Amsterdam in 1989.
Since 1996, the annual World Statues Festival has taken place in Arnhem, Netherlands, originally called “Rijnfestijn” and now known as World Living Statues and Statues by Night. In 2000, the University of Business and Social Sciences in Buenos Aires, Argentina began hosting the National Contest of Living Statues. Since 2011, the Masca Theatre in Bucharest, Romania has organized the International Festival of Living Statues, focusing on developing the art form through research. The first fully dedicated Living Statues Festival was held in Espinho, Portugal, in 1997. Who knew that being a human statue could actually be a moneymaker?
On May 6, 1876, Thomas Gainsborough’s painting *Duchess of Devonshire* created quite a buzz when it went up for auction at Christie’s in London. It was bought by London art dealer William Agnew for $51,540, setting a new record for the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction.
Three weeks later, Agnew wanting to show off his painting, made it the showcase in his gallery. Unfortunately, a thief named Adam Worth saw the display as too great an opportunity to miss, so he stole the painting. After the theft, Worth was dubbed the “Napoleon of Crime” by Scotland Yard and later became the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes’ nemesis Doctor Moriarty. Worth took the artwork hoping to raise bail money for his jailed brother. His brother was released without his help, but Worth chose to keep the painting despite the risks.
Adam Worth was likely one of the 19th century’s most skilled criminals. Born in Germany and raised in the United States, he served in the Union Army during the Civil War. When he was mistakenly reported dead at the Second Battle of Bull Run. Seeing that as a great opportunity, he spent the remainder of the war moving from regiment to regiment, taking enlistment pay and deserting right after. Following the war, he headed to New York and fell in with a gang of pickpockets. After being caught, convicted of robbery, and sentenced to three years at Sing Sing Prison, Worth escaped just weeks later, promising himself to be more cautious from then on. He changed his name to Henry Raymond and embarked on a profitable streak of bank robberies before taking his schemes to Europe. Thanks to meticulously planned heists and a steady forgery business, he steered clear of violence and managed to blend into respectable society. 
The theft of the Duchess of Devonshire ultimately led to his downfall. His partners in crime, Joe Elliot and Junka Phillips, grew resentful when they weren’t paid for their role in stealing the valuable painting. When Worth refused to reveal where it was, they went to the police, and he ended up in prison on unrelated charges. Four years later, in 1897, Worth was released and returned to America. Having a change of heart, he started talks with the Pinkerton Detective Agency to arrange the painting’s ransom. In 1901, the Duchess of Devonshire was brought back to England, and J P Morgan, Wall Street’s top financier, wasted no time traveling to acquire the painting for himself. He reportedly paid $150,000 for it. Worth, who had received only a small portion of his ransom, died the following year, broke and destitute.
With the end of World War II in 1945, the United States, Great Britain, and France took control of western Germany, including the western half of Berlin, which was located deep in the east. The Soviet Union occupied eastern Germany and the other half of Berlin. As tensions from the Cold War grew between the western allies and the Soviets, it became clear that Germany wouldn’t be reunited. By the late 1940s, the United States moved to make the division official and create an independent western Germany, leading to the formal announcement of the Federal Republic of Germany in May 1949.
In 1954, West Germany became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the mutual defense alliance between the United States and several European countries. Now, all that remained to give West Germany her independence again was for the Americans, British, and French to end their nearly decade-long occupation. 
That happened on May 5, 1955, when those nations issued a proclamation ending the military occupation of West Germany. Under a previously reached agreement, West Germany could now create a military force of up to half a million men and restart arms production, though it was banned from making chemical or atomic weapons.
When the Allied occupation of West Germany ended, it marked the full recognition of the republic as part of the Western alliance against the Soviet Union. Although the Russians weren’t exactly happy about a rearmed West Germany, they were relieved that reunification was no longer on the table. They wanted to keep control of their 
part of the old Germany. Not long after the May 5th proclamation, the Soviet Union officially recognized the Federal Republic of Germany. The two Germanys stayed divided until 1990, when they reunited to form a single democratic nation once again. It had been a very long road.
I’m sure that many people were very worried about Germany ever regaining any of its former power. It was easy to foresee a comeback of a Hitler-style terrorist nation, and that would simply be unacceptable. While much of the prejudice and hate of the Hitler era was gone for a time, we do see a resurgence of it these days, and that makes me very sad. There is simply no reason for it. I don’t understand why people can’t just accept other people as they are. Things like skin color and religious background should not matter. We all bleed red, and that makes us all the same…no matter what the haters think.
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