Keeping Dad Alive

Six months into the coronavirus pandemic, Margaret's 95-year-old dad Richard was cheerfully riding it out in his senior living residence. But things change. This podcast captures the voice of a father and his five children, as they cherish their time together on earth.

Recording the podcast presents hilarious challenges for Margaret and Richard.

Richard and his daughter Johanna explore the physical, emotional, and spiritual planes of human existence while exercising on Zoom. Richard brings a poem to read aloud. The poem, titled “Star with a Secret,” is by American anthropologist and natural science writer Loren Eiseley. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Eiseley

Richard and his grandson Sam sing old favorites together and daughter Erika explores her father’s influence on Sam.

Richard revels in living in Philadelphia - the historical heart of U.S. democracy and home of his son Scott - while waiting anxiously for the votes to be counted in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.

When Richard stops answering the phone and getting out of bed for Zoom meetings, daughter Kerry finds a new way to reach our dad.

Richard reflects on the connection between his life’s work and that of his daughter Erika, who is leading the Biden/Harris transition team for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Music Credits: The Crisper; Borough; Taoudella; An Unknown Visitor by Blue Dot Sessions

Fruit brings Richard joy, especially papaya. But the fruit cup at Richard’s senior living residence leaves something to be desired. Richard must work on his son Scott—with deft negotiation and meticulous timing—to keep him in fruit. The music in this podcast is Slow Strutt and Vernouillet by Blue Dot Sessions and Binasuan by Juan Silas Jr. and his Rondalla. Links: Blue Dot Sessions: https://app.sessions.blue/browse/track/null

Richard's physical therapist Jennifer has saved his life...more than once! Jennifer keeps an eye on Richard and, with training, persistence, and ingenuity, helps him keep it together. Links: On chronic conditions, self-management, and challenges in caring for people with chronic conditions: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/health_policy/adult_chronic_conditions.htm https://www.cdc.gov/learnmorefeelbetter/programs/general.htm https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5876976/ https://www.rwjf.org/en/library/research/2010/01/chronic-care.html https://www.giaging.org/documents/mcc_framework.pdf On excess deaths during pandemic: https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6942e2.htm On adults living alone: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/03/10/older-people-are-more-likely-to-live-alone-in-the-u-s-than-elsewhere-in-the-world/ On problems with long term care facilities: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/opinion/sunday/covid-nursing-homes.html?smid=em-share https://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2018/02/05/what-we-dont-know-but-should-about-assisted-living-facilities/?sh=359b6ac4e043 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-nursinghomes-speci/special-report-pandemic-exposes-systemic-staffing-problems-at-u-s-nursing-homes-idUSKBN23H1L9 https://www.gao.gov/assets/690/689302.pdf Music Credits: The Zeppelin, Delamine, and Crumbtown by Blue Dot Sessions Gravitation by Blastculture https://freemusicarchive.org/music/ToucanMusic/Best_Bytes_Volume_4/08_blastculture_gravitation

Richard and his daughter Margaret investigate the bird insurrection, while humans attack the U.S. Capitol and President Trump is impeached for the second time. Birds provide joy, humor, and solace in rough times, and it seems that they share the capacity for feelings with the human species. And boy, are there a lot of feelings swooping and fluttering around right now! Margaret is struggling with a loss of faith in her fellow humans. She pulls an old recording from 2012 in which Richard describes his encounter with the American eagle, and Eunice, Margaret’s mother and Richard’s wife, joins him in singing his favorite hymn, “The Lone Wild Bird.” In loving memory of Eunice Blanchard Poethig, 1930-2018 Links: What It’s Like to Be a Bird, by David Allen Sibley: https://www.sibleyguides.com/product/what-its-like-to-be-a-bird/ Loren Eiseley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loren_Eiseley Music Credits: An Unknown Visitor by Blue Dot Sessions: https://www.sessions.blue/ “The Lone Wild Bird,” by Henry Richard McFadyen: https://hymnary.org/text/the_lone_wild_fowl_in_lofty_flight Photo Credit: Cardinal in Margaret’s birdbath by Richard Creps

Richard and his daughter Johanna co-host a radio show, broadcasting through plant signals. Adopting the monikers Diving for Pearls and Island Boy, Johanna and Richard discover the silver lining of our quarantine isolation and dependence on electronic communication. In this podcast episode, Johanna—a visual, public, and performance artist—engages Richard in her fantasy about earth stations, in which the plants in our gardens or on our windowsills are little satellite dishes, sending signals across time and space. From Radio Free Whitney Street in Oakland, California, and Coleus Earth Station in the great city of Philadelphia, Diving for Pearls and Island Boy play some of their favorite tunes and offer reflections on planetary life. Links: Johanna Poethig: visual, public and performance artist: https://johannapoethig.com/ The “Quasi Extraterratropoizine”: https://johanna-poethig-studio.square.site/ Music credits: “Uranus” by Johanna Poethig with Chris Brown (cbmuse.com) "Lost Cities: The Landscape Speaks" (https://johannapoethig.com/performance-video/music-of-the-lost-cities/) “Hello World” by Kathryn Poethig, performed with Scott Poethig and Johanna Poethig “Phase 3” by Xylo-Ziko (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/) “Kolderen Polka” by Tres Tristes Tangos (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Tres_Tristes_Tangos) “Swinging” by Tim Garland, licensed from AudioNetwork

Money, money, money—Margaret and her sisters unpack the family dynamic around money, starting with the Hotel Eden luxury suite incident in Rome, 1968. Money’s an emotional trigger for Richard and it rubbed off on his kids. His angst about money was established early—in his working class roots, the fragility of his family during the Depression, and his own struggles to earn enough money to pay for college. Richard’s idea about what it means to “live within one’s means” is challenged when he marries into an upper middle-class family. Eunice and the kids adapt to Richard’s insistence on the importance of financial independence. In time, Eunice takes over as the primary source of household income and Richard can begin to relax, but not until he gets all five of his kids through college, without taking on any debt. Links: "Deposits and Withdrawals: the Story of a Bank Book" by Richard Poethig (http://www.onthesidewalksofnewyork.com/read.html) Music credits: “Di Me” licensed from AudioNetwork “Scratcher" and "Let Go Gecko” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue)

Richard’s grandson Ben tries to interview him about cars, but the conversation quickly goes off track. Ben struggles to get the answers he was hoping for while Richard (and Margaret) are confused by Ben’s line of questioning. Richard shares tales of hitchhiking cross country in the 1940s and riding a jeepney in the Philippines. Ben learns about somebody named Joe Louis (aka Buddy Louis) and hones his listening and interviewing skills. In the end, everyone arrives at a good place. Music credits: "Beignet Interlude" and "Gentle Son" by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue) Traffic and car door sound effects from Zapsplat.com. Boxing stadium, Pinball auction, and jeepney sound effects by Soundsplat.

Richard’s been clocking his progress through the coronavirus pandemic by the seasons, hoping he would make it to this point. Now that he’s made it to Spring, it’s time to end Season 1 of this podcast and pause for reflection. Music credit: “Horrible” from the album Mela 2 by the Mela Ensemble. Used under the Creative Commons license Attribution-ShareAlike.

Richard talked a lot about vocation when his kids were young. The word stuck with Margaret. When she asked her dad about it, his answer took them on an unexpected journey. They decided to devote the entire podcast season to vocation.

At the start of Season 2, Margaret asks "why do you talk so much about vocation?” Richard's surprising answer spans time and space—from Luther's understanding of Beruf that launched the Protestant Reformation to Richard's current theological ideas about what holds the universe together. For Richard, vocation asks, “What you can see that you gave your life to?” He reflects on his life's calling to bring justice to working people, in the context of the history of the Presbyterian Church's Social Gospel movement and his own working class roots. He offers a midrash on the theme of class conflict. And he gives us the wide arc of his theology—from the human spirit to a cosmic Spirit that envelopes us in love. Music Credit “Phase 2” by Xylo-Ziko (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Xylo-Ziko/)

Richard is about to embark on his final journey. He recounts an earlier voyage by train, boat, and plane with his young family to their new home in the Philippines. On a stopover in Japan, Richard attends a conference about his new vocation: the urban-industrial mission of the church.

Richard is in hospice and needs caregivers 24-hours-a-day. He marvels at all the attention. For his caregivers, it's a vocation in the deepest sense of the word. Richard makes a case for more public support for caregiving.

Richard imagines life after death on an undiscovered planet in a far-flung galaxy where he can recreate his life with his beloved wife Eunice. Margaret has a message for listeners.

Richard and Eunice left behind a 100 boxes' worth of personal papers and family records. Margaret and her sister Kerry must dispose of it all. Visit the website for more show notes and photos.