“I noticed something caught up in the branches of a tree in the woods near my home. It was a balloon and tied to it was a note that simply read…”

–Dean Kalman Lennert
Director/Animator, Dear Anna Olson

These four simple words are an invitation to the reader to work past their complacency and reach out to an individual in need.

A wonderful treatise on the isolation of aging and how simple actions can make a big difference. The film is being completed and the filmmaker is seeking support to fund post-production and distribution efforts atwww.dearannaolson.com. Read more…

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In my day, everyone shared their telephone line with their neighbor. When I was small, my momma would say to me, “if you ever need help, call the operator and stop complaining!” When the kid next door spit at me, I called the operator and she said, “Tell your mother.” I guess you had to be there.

You gave the number you wanted to call to the operator and she connected you from a central switch board. Those operators got to know everyone and they really cared, whether we liked it or not. Sometimes, I’d pick up the phone and she’d say “Lynnie Ruth, take off your mother’s high heels, she’s on her way home.” And sometimes she’d say, “Lynn Ruth, what are you doing?”

Nowadays, it’s the FBI that picks up. You have the internet but we had the party line.

I shared a party line with my high school Latin teacher, Henryetta Stateker. She was a heavy smoker with a nasty disposition. When I’d pick up the phone and she was breathing heavily, I knew we’d get that sweet subsitute the next day because Ms. Stateker’s asthma had kicked in.

That party line gave us access to everybody’s dirty laundry. Read more…