A NEW YEAR, NEW LIFE, and A NEW PLACE

I've been here seven months now and time has a way of moving fast or stalling.  I'm not sure which is the case for these seven months in Georgia.  Neither seems to fit the bill.  On the one hand, it seems like I have done so much already, thanks partly to my wonderful daughter and her love, John.  And of course there is Tanner.  He is two and a half and a hand full of love.  I have kept Tanner some so his Mom and Dad can have some time together away from the house.  Tanner loves to grab me by my thumb and say, "come on Granny".  "Sit right there Granny".  "Don't touch Granny".  Just to name a few of his demands.  John, Pam, Wendy, Tanner and I have gone to the mountains to see the waterfall, and Jeanne, Edmond, John, Pam, Tanner and I have gone to Gibbs Gardens for the Day.  What a wonderful place.

Several weekends are taken up with some outing.  I am sure Pam and John have things they need to do on their days off but they are awful good to incorporate me into their weekends most of the time.

Then there is all the good food.  You wouldn't believe the goodness of the food that comes from John and Pam's house unless you smelled and tasted it.  Better than any restaurant anywhere.  Wendy has been busy with her new teaching job but manages to get in a hike or two with Murphy on weekends or she and I will get out on Saturday and have lunch somewhere.

I haven't spent much time thinking about Texas.  I kinda thought I would miss it really bad, but it seems to be an empty page for me to write about.  I talk to my friend, Sylvia, once in a great while and that is about it.  I don't care about the house there.  I am too busy trying to keep up with what needs to be done around here.  There is always something that needs fixing or changing.

Sometimes I think time is moving to slow.  We have several more months of cold weather so I am trying to think of things to do in the house.  The cold isn't as bad as I thought it would be but I sure ache worse than I did during the winter in Texas.

I am longing for warm spring weather and planting flowers in the warm sunshine.  It use to be planting time by the 12th of March in Houston but I hear I will have to wait a while longer here.  Maybe I'll have time to read a couple more books that I have picked up here while Jeanne rummaged through hundreds of books to buy and take back home.

Well, no matter what the time is doing, going to slow, to fast, or just in idle, my time in Georgia has been okay.  I love the hills, curves in the road, and the fresh country air.  That is unless the air from the chicken farm is blowing our way.  Oh well, someone has to raise them.  Got to have chickens.

It is a good day, in Georgia.

Starting Over at Seventy?

I am about to embark on a new journey at the ripe old age of Seventy.  If anyone had asked me some years ago what I would be doing when I am Seventy years old, it wouldn't have been this.  I'm about to pull up stake in Texas and move to Georgia.  I'm turning in my longhorns for peaches.  Guess my Mom would be happy that I will be rooting for the Atlanta Braves Baseball now.  Mom loved them so much.  She knew all the players and the positions they played.  Didn't know any other team, just them.  Funny. 

I have enjoyed Texas, living in Dallas in the Seventies and Houston from 1987 till 2014.  That's the longest I have lived in any city, even my birth city.  The memories of our times here will never be forgotten, but now I am going to build wonderful new memories in Atlanta with Pam, John, and "Little Tanner".  Of course Wendy is moving along with me so we have our work cut out for us. We each have a house to sell and I have to finish remodeling this house and Wendy has to finish teaching school for the year.

Life is moving faster for me now so I have to cram as much in it as possible.  That won't be hard with Tanner just around the corner from me and his Aunt Wendy.  She has to get him educated with lots of books and I have to put love in his heart by holding him close.  Pam and John have given me a gift that will never be surpassed.  I feel blessed that I have two daughters that God has brought back together and although I don't have Steve to help me enjoy my full family, I know he would be glad that I went to Georgia to be together with them all.

I suppose the first celebration when I get there will be Tanner's birthday in May along with Wendy's.  Then will come the 4th of July and Pam's birthday and on and on.  It is safe to say that I will be a busy person.  It's not good to be idle and I have spent much time since Steve's passing that way.  Time to pull out the wagon and fill it up with many new and wonderful memories.  

Another good thing about moving to Atlanta is that I will be much closer to where Jeanne and Edmond live in Tennessee and I will be closer to Virginia.  I will be able to go to Galax and to McMinnville much easier than before.

It will be very sad to pull out of this drive for the very last time but I must not look back.  I must be thankful there is a future waiting for me and when I pull into my new driveway I will give thanks to God.

Life is good.

FOR ONLY TODAY

Today, yesterday, and tomorrow: yesterday is gone, no more wrongs can be made right. What I have done I cannot change, be it good or bad. Yesterday is of small remembrance or embrace. What I have done wrong is wrong forever, what I have done good will be no use to others.

Tomorrow: is not promised to be. Things may not be thought of or done. No good, no bad may be in my grasp. It will be someone else's day of presence.

Today is a gift. That is why it is called the present. It will either be brief and wasted or it will be long and prosperous. I will choose at my awakening what my day will contain. I must not waste one moment of it for it's hours are brief. Today I will embrace life: the beauty of it, the breeze in the trees, the sun on the grass, the beauty of each moment.

I will choose to give thanks, to be caring, to surround myself with happiness and love. I will hold tight the things I cherish and give thanks for their presence in my life. I will smile often and also laugh out loud at things that make me happy. I will use my time wisely for it is brief. I will do kind deeds and not boast. I will sing God's praises and pray for the pain of others to be lifted.

At the close of the present I hope I will have done all I can do to make a kind mark on my small world. I see, I feel, I hear the nearing of the present day close. May it be meaningful and full of love, and embrace the one's I love more than myself.

Spring is Here, I Think.

Here it is March already, as if I haven't waited for it long enough. This has been a winter for the record books. I have been here almost twenty four years now and I have never seen a winter as cold for so long a time. The whole winter was cold, wet, miserable and down-right uncalled for. All of my palms and bottle-brush plants are dead. Most I just put in this last spring. I will certainly have a bare yard this year.

I can't say I was the only one having a tough winter. My sister, Jeanne in Tennessee had a good bit of snow and a lot of real cold weather. My sister, Pat in Virginia had it the worst. I think she said they had a total of around fifty inches of snow this winter, and winter isn't over for her. It can still snow as late as May in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I want to see some green grass and leaves on the trees. Before the leaves comes the pollen I'm afraid. It is visible from my office window here. I hate those little long squiggly yellow things that are only good for stopping up the skimmer baskets on the pool. But what a small price to pay in order to see those green leaves pop out.

Nothing has been as bad as what my brother Bob has gone through this winter. He has had major surgery on his throat and tongue because of cancer, only to learn afterwards that it was an ulcer from the radiation he took in the fall last year. Now they want to operate again and take out what they put in. I would be wanting to bang some heads against the wall if it were me. I guess Bob is taking it as good as he can considering all the pain he has had to endure. His wife, Joyce, sometimes feels like she is at the breaking point because she has to do so much for him.

When I think of the things Bob and Joyce have had to go through this winter, and all the other less fortunate ones, it makes me ashamed to complain about having to wear long-johns and an extra pair of socks. I do complain a lot over nothing but again I should keep myself busy so I won't have the time to complain. I think I will go get busy and watch some television and stop complaining.I'm not sure what I will have to tell all you folks about if all is perfect. Well, something will come up I am sure.

See ya. Sandy

Where is Spring?

This has been a long and cold winter, one like I have never seen in my twenty four years here in Houston. I long for the warm sunshine and the green leaves on the trees. I guess I should count myself lucky because the rest of the country has had it worse and me.

My neighbor and "friend" has sprung back. She is early and she should go back to California before she gets nipped. We are suppose to get more cold weather and maybe some snow. I haven't had to do lunch with her yet but she did bring a bunch of empty boxes to Wendy's yesterday for me to move books and so forth to other rooms so they can put down the tile. I asked her if she wanted the boxes back and she said "yes, I save them for people like you".

What kind of people was she referring to? I didn't know I was in a category of people. She commented on my hair growing out. She said when she does that it always looks awful and she has it cut back short. Was there a message for me in that statement? Hmmmmm! Well, one good thing about the upcoming cold weather, maybe if I am lucky she will go into hibernation til we warm up.

Enough said about all the cold weather. Spring will eventually come and "she" will show her shadow at my door. Maybe I will answer it....hmmmm....then maybe I won't. See ya.

OLD KATE MULLINS

I have to tell you about Old Kate Mullins. In my home town people occasionally referred to some people being as dumb as Old Kate Mullins. I heard it all my early years. I asked my Mama one time who was Kate Mullins and why people said she was dumb. Mom wouldn't tell me, only smile and say she was a woman in town that people thought was dumb.

When I became an adult I asked Mama again about Kate Mullins and why people thought she was so dumb. Mama never talked bad words around us kids and I had never heard her use any. She said, "well if you really have to know, Old Kate Mullins was so dumb she wiped her ass before she shit". Well of course I was first shocked that Mama had said those two words out loud and then I started thinking how dumb that really was. I asked if she was real and Mama assured me she was.

I had kidded around with the saying in front of Wendy and Pam a lot after they grew up, and after numerous questions about her I finally told them how dumb she was. They never believed that she was a real person, just a joke.

A couple of summers ago my brother Bob, the slow talking brother, came out to stay with me for about a month. We stayed up at my lake house and we had a ball, sitting around all day, swimming in the hot summer sun, and reminiscing about old times. One night Wendy came up to visit us and we went out to supper at a spaghetti, pizza place. We were having a good time and Wendy loved to hear Bob tell his yarns and to just talk in general. Out of the blue Wendy said "Bob do you know Old Kate Mullins"? What happened next was good enough to be on T.V. Bob leaned up in his chair and said in his s l o w southern drawl, "awl----I knew ALL the Old Kate Mullines". At that Wendy, who had just took a big drink of her coke, spit all of it across the table all over Bob's pizza and in his face. Wendy immediately apologized, still laughing. Bob said, "awl---that's alright, the wet coke will make my pizza easier to chew".

I sure have got my money's worth out of Old Kate Mullins. Sure would have loved to met her. I've picked on Bob enough for now. See ya, as Bob would say.

Kate Mullins

This is not Kate Mullins, but I think Pam might be dumber than old Kate Mullins. She was walking around out in the storm.

ROBERT LEE REAVIS

My second brother is Robert Lee Reavis (Bob) or Bobby we called him when he was a little whippersnapper. I have written some stories already about my brother Bob. He's the one responsible for the "Trials and Tribulations" yarns I have talked about.

When Bob was little he and my brother Joe were real close and remained so til Joe's death. They use to play together a lot but their most favorite thing to do was to play pranks on me or scare me then run so when I screamed to the top of my lungs Mom wouldn't catch them.

Bob enlisted in the Marines in his junior year in high school, I think. I remember the letters he would write to Mom all the time telling how he was doing. A long spell went by one year and we didn't hear from him. Mom started calling everyone in the Marines she could dig up. Finally she called the Red Cross I think, anyway they said they would find Bob and call us back. They called and a letter came also saying Bob had been the hospital and remained so because he had come down with malaria. Mom was so worried and cried a lot. Bob finally recovered and finished out his tour of duty and came home for good.

Bob has been a fun brother to grow up with except when his temper would get the best of him. He sure inherited that from Dad. He could be happy one minute and mad the next but it sure kept things exciting.

Later in life he married and had two sons. I must say he has had his share and somebody else share also of hard knocks. He has had a heart attack, triple bypass surgery and now is dealing with throat cancer. He keeps fighting back on all these "Trials". I have always heard the Marines were few and strong and I believe Bob deserves the title.

I can't wait til Bob is over this. He better be by spring cause he has to be back on that porch contemplating on a new "Trial and Tribulation". That is the title of his book. Only thing is he hasn't put any of his stories on paper to date. He has a lot in his head and he can sure keep you spell-bound with his yarns. You must have the patience of Jobe though cause he talk real slow and it takes quite a spell to get to the end. I didn't care though cause it gave me good reason to have another beer.

Well before I run out of paper I will end for now on Bob, but my love for him will never end.

I have been closer to my brother Bob, only two years older than me, than most people think. I looked up to him when I was just a wee lass and I still do.

Bob, put the Marine back in you and win this latest battle so we can chat on the phone again. I always enjoyed our afternoon conversations. BIG phone bills cause of his slow drawl but worth every penny. Hope to chat with you soon brother. I love you, Sis

JOHN WAYNE REAVIS

I want to tell you about my oldest brother, John Wayne Reavis. His initials are the same as my dad's but instead of William for a middle name like dad's Mama wanted to name Joe after John Wayne, the actor. I think Mama had a crush on John Wayne. Yes I called my brother Joe. Mama said when Joe cried as a baby he opened his mouth as wide as Joe E. Brown, another actor/comedian. I always called him Joe-E when I was little.

Joe was the quiet type and didn't tell stories like Bob, but he was always pleasant to be around. I took Bob and Joe to a Country-Western bar in Dallas one time and Joe and I did the two-step to a country song. After it was over the lights came on and a man said we were the winners of the two-step. We won free drinks for the rest of the night. We didn't even know we were in a dance contest. I asked Bob to dance with me later but he said in his slow southern drawl, naw, you and Joe just keep on dancing and I will take care of the drinks.

One summer day a boy drove by my house and stopped when he saw me outside. He told me his name and asked me if I wanted to go to a movie that night. I told him I would have to ask my mother and I did. She said NO! She wasn't going to let me go off with a boy she nor I knew at the age of thirteen.

Joe was home on military leave and he told Mama to let me go cause he knew Steve and he was an okay guy. Joe told me later he didn't know Steve, he just had heard him on the Galax radio station on Teen-Talk telling the latest news from Galax High School. THANKS EVER SO MUCH JOE. A month later Steve and I were going Steady and he gave me a silver friendship ring and two and a half years later we got married with that same friendship ring. I owe Joe for giving me the love of my life.

I use was when I speak of Joe cause he went to Heaven back in 2002 I think. It seems like forever since I sat and talked to Joe and I miss him but I have many wonderful childhood and adult memories of my brother Joe. I have a lot of stories to tell at a later date about Joe and Bob. They liked to pull pranks on me and I still remember them helping Mama catch me to give me a spanking. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't have had to feel the sting of that switch, at least not till I ran out of steam.

I miss you Joe and I will always be grateful that you were in my life and my brother. I love you. Love, Sis

Memories and Childhood Stories

Dear Bob,

Wendy and Pam got me a laptop computer (used) for my birthday in September. Since then I have on occasion written down some of my thoughts ( for what they are worth ) and recalled some of our childhood stories. I wanted to share them with you since I have taken the liberty to tell some of your Trials and Tribulations. I am not in any way recalling them the way you told them because that would be impossible, and they don't come off on paper the way you told them. Believe it or not, I can type faster than you can talk! It does take you a long time to spin your porch yarns but it is well worth the wait.

I like to look back on some of the things we did as kids and I have not begun to tell all the things you and Joe did to us, or me anyway. You wouldn't let me play marbles with you even though Mama told you to, and then there is the time you and Joe dressed up like cowboy ghosts after I was in bed and came into my room and scared me out of my pajamas.

I will continue writting and sending them to you to read if you wish, or you can make a nice warm fire with them to keep warm this winter.

I think of you daily, Bob, and wish I could do something to get you through this tough time. I know you will get through it though and I expect to hear some more Trials and Tribulations from you that I can write about. Wendy and Pam love to read them, and they have been fortunate enough to hear you tell a couple of them.

I love you Bob, and I am praying every day that you will soon be over this very tough "Trial" and be ready to get back to the porch when the winter gives out and start spinning some more of your yarns.

Bye for now. I look forward to the day you can talk to me again. I miss our chats.

Love, Sis

Real Trials and Tribulations

It is the beginning of a new year, 2010, it hardly seems possible. Ten years have gone by since Steve agreed to go to California and live and work for three years. It has been five years since his death.

The time flies by and so much doesn't get done. I want to do so many things but somehow the day is gone and they don't get done.

I want to talk about my brother, Bob, the one who is writing the book on Trials and Tribulations. Of course , Bob has only come up with the title. All the stories are still locked away in his head. They are good stories and should be told. Bob puts in a lot of porch time thinking about life and he can really keep your attention when he is spinning one of his yarns.

Recently, however, Bob has been in a battle against throat cancer and then through tough times with radiation. It has left him unable to eat solid foods and has a hard time drinking liquids. I think of Bob often now more than ever because of the war he is trying to win. It makes my little battles seem so small and petty. We all have to fight our own battles but most of them, in my life anyway, aren't worthy of losing sleep over or fretting all day about them. Sometimes when I have a complaint I try to hold it up beside Bob's battle and boy does it seem small. Most of them I couldn't say out loud, they would seem so dumb.

It amazes me the courage people have that go through such terrific hardships in their life and then say "Oh I'm doing okay". I know my brother was a Marine and they are suppose to be tough but it takes a brave soldier to endure the war he is going through now. I pray that God will give him the strength to see this one through because we all need him to be out there on that porch spinning us a new yarn. Meanwhile I will try to recall some more of the yarns he has spun in the past. Here's one to you brother. I hope to be able to talk to you soon. Love, Sis

PS: In looking back on what I said earlier, I guess we do have enough time in the day, at least for the things that are important to us. And I guess it is okay sometimes to take time out of the day to do nothing except maybe dream, think, or just to gaze at the sky.

Mixed Blessings

Yesterday was a sad day for me. The date was December 9, 2009, five years from the date I lost my husband and best friend. Then in the afternoon I was told his mother had died. I was overwhelmed.

I am trying to look at things in a positive way but it is hard. I have had to struggle with my feelings about his mother for the five years my husband has been gone. I don't think she was treated with the respect she deserved. I felt so powerless to do anything about it. I suppose God will take care of all of those things. I wish I could have gone to church last night like I had planned but I didn't think I could hold myself together.

I suppose there's no real good way to die but I wish Mom could have had people around her when she left this world. I don't think anyone should die alone. I know she will be okay now so I guess the worrying and hurt are over. It will be a time of healing for a while and I have some work to do on myself. I must learn to forgive and I am not at a place right now to be able to do that, however I hope the day will not be so far away when I will be able to put the past in the past and look ahead. Goodness knows, I am far from perfect myself.

I do know all of this has taught me something valuable. Speak kindly of everyone or say nothing at all. I must treat others as I would want to be treated, and I must think before I speak.

Maybe I Should Get A Hobby

It is a cold and dreary Tuesday morning. I fed the dogs and let them out then took a long hot shower and ate my breakfast. Well, now what do I do? I see my net book on the desk and decide not to get started on it. Then it hit me. I haven't fed the fish and hamster. You didn't know I owned fish and a hamster? Well I didn't either until I started playing around with the things I chose to be on my home page. Now I feel guilty if I don't feed them every day. My hamster is named Elmo. I can't explain that one! The fish are all the same color so I can't tell them apart.


Now I do have things to do. My house doesn't have a single sign of Christmas in it and I have Christmas gifts to get. I just need a motivation to get started on these things and knock them out. I thought about ordering the presents over the internet but without supervision I might wind up with three or four of everything. Things pop up on this thing and I have no Idea what they mean or do. Something just popped up and ask me if I wanted them to change SOMETHING. I said no. I have no idea if I should have let them do it. SOMEBODY told me to be careful about web sites trying to fool me or stealing my information. Now I worry every time something pops up. I am still very new at this.

Come to think about it thi s is like a hobby. I enjoy it although I doubt if anyone would say I have an ounce of talent to write. I just get things off my chest by writting them down and it makes me feel better. I have a long way to go to learn about this machine. I asked it to see if a word was spelled correctly back in the first paragraph, now everything from that time on comes out in yellow. I wish I could get the spell check turned off but it's no use. I'm not smart enough to figure it out on my own. Maybe when this is posted it will be in black and white. If not, just pretend my favorite color is yellow.

The internet I am linked to has shut down three times now since I started this and my memory is very short so I'm not sure what this blogg was supposed to be about so I will go now. I have to feed my goldfish and hamster Gismo now. We'll chat again soon I'm sure. Bye now.

What's in a dream

I hear my daughter talk all the time about her dreams and what they mean in her everyday life. I have dreams, I must admit not as often as my daughter. She sometimes has several dreams in one night. The funny part of it is she remembers all of them. I dream sometimes but I rarely remember the dreams and if I do I don't expect them to relate to my present life, so I don't give them much thought.

Why do we dream and what do they mean to our life? I have often wondered if saying a prayer is somehow kin to dreaming. I sometimes sit on the back porch and dream of things I wish could happen and sometimes I pray that a certain thing will happen and if this thing does happen is it a wish come true or a prayer answered? I sometimes think they are one in the same. I do know God answers prayer because tw0 times in my life I have asked God to answer my prayer and he did with in minutes after I asked. They weren't prayers for me and I wonder if God answers your prayers for other people before He will answer one for you.

I'm not sure I am making much sense but somehow I think a dream is the same as a prayer. I don't guess there is a way to find out and why does it matter anyway? If your wish comes true are you as happy as you would be if you had it come to be because of a prayer? I'm not sure I will ever know the true answer and I don't guess it matters a whole lot. I do know that I have been blessed in life, probably more than I deserved.

I will continue sitting on the porch and dreaming and I know I will also continue to pray when I need a favor. I do know there is someone out there watching over us and directing our course.

Crazy or Senile?

I hate to start out on a negative note but I'm not sure what I am doing anymore. Sunday I went to the Verizon store with my daughter to get her a new phone. After what seemed like half a day we left. My daughter had her new blackberry (what ever that is) and a Net Book and I ended up with a Net Book. Now I'm not sure if there is a difference in a Net Book and a Lap Top like I am writing on now.

May I remind you I am sixty six years old and this is my first computer. I confuse what should get one click to make it work or two clicks. I somehow lose what I have just written or it turns blue. I have no idea what that means. I just keep on typing and hope that doesn't mean that blue part will be deleted, in which case you won't know what I am talking about.

I must say, other than the frequent messes I get myself into, I am enjoying the computer a lot. I must however, learn when to click on things and when not to click on things. I have found myself brousing through a company that popped up magically on my screen ande before I know it they are asking me how I am going to pay for my order. WHAT ORDER? After I get over having a hot flash and the sweats I run my arrow quickly to the cancel button. So far the only thing delivered to my door step is a dog bed that I knew I ordered even if I already have --- oh I couldn't tell you right now how many beds I have. All I know is they line up around the kitchen walls and several in the den and at least four in the bedroom. Now it may sound like I am running a dog kennel but I assure you the dogs are all mine. I have four by the way. It seems funny that I am so set on having a bed for each dog in each room when they all end up laying around me, beside me, on top of me, or somewhere other than in a dog bed. Well, I do think the beds look pretty anyway.

I guess you can see by now that my dogs are a big part of my life. My children are grown and on their own and my husband is in Heaven so my dogs comfort me more than the average person can see. I talk to them all day and sometimes they talk back, always the Boxer(Shiloh) and the Chihuahia (Monty). You would think I would know everything about their habits but there is one thing that stumps me. Every morning at 6am they wake me up. I get up thinking they want to go out, but do they? No, they just want me to sit down in the recliner and turn on the TV so they can climb up on me instead of one of the many beds around the room. Some day I will get them to tell me why they do that. I love them just the same.

Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that I have five (5) grand-dogs too. Two are Shit-Zoos and one is a Boxer (the sister to my Boxer ), one white (I guess a mixed race) and one chocolate ( another mixed race) and I am the lucky one that gets to baby sit them too. I guess I don't really have a lot of time to kill but I think I will continue to chat on my blogg once in a while.

It's time to go next door and let three of my grand-dogs out. Must close for now but I will keep trying to learn more about the computer, that is if Wendy doesn't get fed up with the same questions all the time. Bye now.

Fresh Baked Blackberry Cobbler

Boy Oh Boy, there never was anything as good as Mama's Blackberry Cobbler. You see, she climed a bob-wire fence at the top of our lot and went way over the hill and through a pasture to pick blackberries. They were free and with seven mouths to feed it just made sense to go to all that trouble to pick the berries. Mama thought so anyway, the rest of us weren't so sure. Any of us kids that were home when she was ready to go had to go with her. She said she didn't have time to pick them all by herself plus she wouldn't be able to carry all of them home.

I liked the adventure of going just not the thorns I got in my hands and arms. I say I liked the adventure until one day when my older brothers were told they would be going. Mama said Jeanne, my oldest sister could stay home if she would wash up the breakfast dishes so Mama could prepare the berries for a cobbler to have for supper dessert. Jeanne was more than glad to stay home cause she wasn't a tomboy like me and she sure didn't like that bob-wire fence.

Mama handed out the buckets and off we went. I saw Jeanne grab a magazine and plop on the couch. I thought "boy she will be in trouble if she doesn't wash those dishes. Mama climbed through the bob-wire fence followed by Joe and then Bob. I yelled, "I can't get through this fence by myself." After all, I wasn't very old but Mama left Jeanne home with my little sister so I guess she thought Jeanne couldn't handle two of us. After getting through the fence I was pretty happy til Joe asked me if I had heard what happened at an old run down vacant house we were passing by. I thought I was going to hear something good, Bob snickered back at Joe and Joe said "hush Bob". I told Joe to go on with the story. Well I was very young.

Joe said that some years earlier a family lived there. Everybody in town was afraid of the old man. He beat his wife and the kids all the time. Sometimes the kids didn't come to school for weeks at a time and the wife was hardly ever seen. Joe told me to run fast past the house if I heard a loud moan coming from the house when we passed. I said "maybe we will see the kids and can play with them". Joe and Bob laughted to themselves and said "we'll tell you why you had better run for your life if anybody comes out of that house."

Mama said, "boys, stop all that whispering and come on. We don't have all day to get to the berry patch." "Ok, Mama" yelled the boys. We were a far piece behind Mama. "But Joe" I said, "you have to tell me." Joe continued on that one day the Mama and all the kids were murdered in that house and you could still see the blood on the floor. Bob made a moaning sound behind me and of course I thought it came from the house. I screamed and run hard to catch up with Mama and stayed real close to her. The boys laughted and talked to each other as we arrived at the patch of berries.

We picked what seamed a long time and I had my little pail full except I kept having to pick a few more to replace what I ate along the way. The boys yelled out loud, "there's a snake on the bush." Sure enough there was. Bob said, "I'm going to kill it and take it home to scare Jeanne." Mama told him in no uncertain terms that he was to leave that snake alone and fill his bucket.

Needless to say, the boys didn't mind Mama. Joe got two good size sticks and put one over the top of the snake and one under the branch it was on. I was sure Mama would hear the smacking together of the sticks but she had her head stuck down to the ground picking berries from the bottom of the bush. Joe hid the dead snake and made me swear I wouldn't tell Mama and I didn't.

We started home and had almost reached the top of the hill when I heard Mama scream, "Run for the fence fast." We looked back and a big black bull was gaining ground on us fast. Mama held the fence for us and we went through that fence like it didn't have a single barb on it.

I was sure glad to be home, with the scare of the murder and the rageing bull I just wanted to feel safe again. We entered the house before Mama and Jeanne was washing the dishes. I knew she wouldn't have them done. Joe stepped ever so quietly up behind Jeanne and held the stick out over her shoulder and said "Booh!" Jeanne looked around and saw that snake on her shoulder and screamed louder than I thought was possible. A plate went up in the air along with a lot of soap suds and came crashing onto the floor. In comes Mama. You can guess the rest, or maybe you can't. Mama asked Bob if he knew Joe brought the snake home and he lied and said no. When Mama asked me. I was afraid to lie so I said yes.

Now do you know the end of the story? No? Well Joe got yelled at for bringing the snake home. Bob, of course, didn't know he brought it home, and me? Well I got spanked for not telling Mama Joe brought the snake home.

I still can smell Mama's good Blackberry Cobblers and long for them, but I have never gone berry picking again.

Man, TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS!

Another Bob Story

I know I have already told you a Bob Story but one came to mind today that might explain why it takes Bob so long to think and talk.

When we were just little kids we all progressed at different times. Some of us talked and walked at different ages. Mom had five of us kids so I am sure she couldn't spend a lot of time with each one of us. Bob was the third kid, Jeanne being the oldest, then came Joe eleven months later. Boy, they were almost cose to be twins!

Anyway, on to the story of Bob. I didn't know there was anything wrong with Bob cause I was two years younger than Bob and I really don't know how smart I was at that age. All I knew at the age of three was the two older kids made fun of Bob and laughed at him a lot. I never heard anything out of Bob about it which brings me finally to the gest of my story.

One Sunday morning we were all around the breakfast table waiting on Mama to sit down so we cound dig into the bacon and eggs and biscuits with Mama's homemade apple butter. Mama said we could start without her cause she wanted to put the frying pan into soak.

All of a sudden Bob said, "Ma, you burned the biscuits". Then we heard a loud clang as Mama had dropped the heavy iron pan into the sink. She came running over to the table with water dripping from her hands and a startled look on her face. I saw Daddy look at her with surprise.

Mama put her wet hands on Bob's cheeks and looked him right in the eye. Mama said "Bobby", (that's what Mama called him when he was little) you said a whole sentence, why haven't you talked before?" Daddy said, "yes he's never said a word before and he is five years old!" Mama asked him again and waited to see if he would speak again.

Bob pulled Mama's hands away from his face and looked at Mama. "Well, Bob said, you never burned the biscuits before."

I suppose that's why Bob doesn't have much to say, and when he does it takes a long time for him to say it. Now I'm not saying anything was wrong with Bob but you can judge it as you may.

I'll sign off now and leave Bob alone for a while. I guess Bob might say this was just another of his Trials and Tribulations. Bye!

Trials and Tribulations

My brother Bob has always said he was going to write a book someday, but so far he has only been able to come up with the title "Trials and Tribulations". I always told him if he would record his stories that I would type them for him. I had better brush up on my typing because this is the first time I have typed on a computer and believe me it ain't like the typewriters I have used in the past.

Bob told me one day he was sitting on his front porch and a man came walking by and waived at him. Bob waived back. The man asked if he could come sit and visit with him a few minutes because he was the new preacher of the Friends Church and was trying to visit as many people in town as he could. Bob said, "sure, come on over and sit a spell."

Bob said they talked about the town of Galax and how he was born and raised there and left town several times but always came back. Bob said the preacher was quiet for a minute and then turned to Bob with a serious look on his face. He asked the preacher if everything was alright.

"Oh yes" he said with a smile. "I sometimes take on a serious look, I've been told, when I am worrying about someone's walk with the Lord". "Bob, do you ever think about the Here After?"

Bob said he thought for a minute. Bob's minutes are longer than the average and he talks slower than that. Bob told me he told the preacher he thinks of the here after every day. He said the preacher looked surprised and said, "you think about the Here After every day. Why may I ask?"

"Well Sir," Bob said in his slow southern drawl, "Every day when I come out here on this porch, I ask myself, what did I come out HERE AFTER."

This is the end of one of Bob's trials and tribulations!

Fall Has Come Again

There are several ways I know when fall has arrived. For one, my old cat Charlotte yells at me to get her heating pad out of the garage and put it in her bed. Also, there comes the leaves making a mess all over the yard, not that I have to pick them up any more, but they do make my allergies worse. I know when I feel the pounding pressure in my head and I have to get out the nose spray fall has arrived. And then there is the arrival of my good "friend" and neighbor, Sylvia, back from a not so long enough summer in her California home. I shouldn't talk nasty about her "bless her heart", not that I could possibly get a word in edge-wise when she is around. I don't mind talking - uh, I mean listening, to her but she feels compelled to tell me every detail of all the charity work she has sweated over for the entire summer. She does admit, under her breath, that she didn't do it ALL by herself. Once in a while she will change the subject long enough to ask me if anything gossipy has happend while she was away, but before I can get out three words she is cutting in again to tell me about something that she did, not knowing how she could have possibly forgot to tell me. I will have the good fortune to have her around until Spring. Oh, how I like to see an early spring. Oh, good readers, have I told you that FALL HAS COME AGAIN? See you later.

Two Little Ducklings

I have a lot of fond memories of my Daddy, but one particular one I will share with you today. On my thirteenth Easter I acquired two little white ducklings. How I got them is a whole nother story for a later date. I cared for them and fed them every day just as I had promised my mother. One Sunday morning, not quite one year later, I was in the back yard feeding them and carring on a conversation with them and thinking they must be talking back because of all the quacking when I saw my Daddy come out the back door and sit down beside me on the grass. He said, I can tell you love these ducklings very much." I smilled and answered that they make me very happy. He told me to get a wash tub from the shed and bring it to him, then he said bring me the water hose. He filled the tub to the brim. I was worried Mama would come out the door and scole Daddy for wasting well water. Mom could get him told off sometimes like she did us kids. Anyway, Daddy then picked each duckling up very carefully and put them in the tub. Well, you should have heard them quacking loudly and flopping their wings in the water. I had never heard them so happy. I told Daddy we should do this every Sunday. Daddy looked at me for a moment and told me if I truly loved them I should not be selfish and let them go. I guess Daddy saw a tear whelling up in my eye because he put his arm around me and said, "Sandy, there are times when you have to let something go that you love very dearly in order for them to move on with their lives. "You won't forget them and they won't forget you. Some people might have thought my Daddy wasn't very caring for us kids because he didn't talk a lot and he didn't brag on us kids. Anyway I use to think that but as I look back, I had a wonderful Daddy and a valuable lesson about letting go of someone you love so they can grow.