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“I
am thoroughly enjoying the book. I have laughed, cried and been inspired.”
- Betty
Hall, OK
The Clifton Record, Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2009
Book Review
Mulhausen Book Offers A True ‘Slice Of Life’
By Carol Spicer
Staff
Reporter
CLIFTON – From
poems honoring former military friends and local special events, to a
lifetime of vignettes that cover Elmer Mulhausen’s 80 years of life,
Something Funny Happened On The Way To My 80th
Birthday is a fascinating read.
Not only did Mulhausen grown up in the depression in Oklahoma, but he worked his way through life with joy, and grief with writing.
The stories and photos that are interwoven through the book starting out with a poem about a cowboy and a Harvard man sitting together on a cross country flight, the book also touches on poems about weddings and birthdays and “ordinary people.”
The vignettes cover Mulhausen’s life from his school days to his 34 years with State Farm insurance, to the ups and downs of two families and the raising of kids.
Of his military life, he says, “My only action consisted of fighting a forest fire in the mountains and climbing up to a crash on a mountainside…When I visit with combat veterans, I refer to myself as a “Hollywood Marine.”
Near the end of the book, one finds, A few things I have learned over the past 80 years, which includes shorts such as, “Don’t be obsessed or worried about whether people love you or not. Be obsessed with loving others.” And, “Managers see people as they are. Leaders see people as they can become. Both views are necessary at different times.”
The book can be picked up for a brief read, when on simply wants to sit for a few minutes to relax, or it can be read over a period of time. But what is noticeable is the fact that each page offers a different look at life—each person reading the book will find something that they can relate to their own life.
Currently, Elmer and Jo Ann Mulhausen enjoy hosting guests at their Lakehaven Bed and Breakfast Inn on Lake Whitney.
Current book signings are scheduled as follows:
· Laguna Park Library and Media Center — March 14 — 10a.m.
· Meridian Library — March 17 — 4:30 p.m.
· Nellie Pederson Civic Library, at Clifton Civic Center — April 1 — 3 p.m.
· Whitney Library — May 14 — 10 a.m.