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.