The Party Line

In the 1930s and 1940s, the term soap opera became part of American culture.  This arose mainly from the fact that most women stayed at home and listened to the radio as they did their daily chores.   Doing laundry was not a quick, load the washer, change wet clothes to the dryer matter.  It was an all day job.  Women did not have Pledge, 409, Dawn, Tide, Downey,  and my personal favorite, Comet cleanser,was just hitting the market.  Things were harder, more time consuming.  It prompted soap companies and companies that manufactured "housewifely" items to sponsor the daytime radio  serials.  Hence "Soap Opera".

My mother said she was listening to, "Ma Perkins" when she knew it was time to go to the hospital with me.  She then blamed me for years that I caused her to miss an important episode of "Stella Dallas" .  So I grew up with radio programs, "Our Gal Sunday", the story of a poor girl from a mining community in England who marries a wealthy Count, Lord Sunday.  Your memory dims over some things but not radio soap operas. ESPECIALLY  when that was the only commercial entertainment until you went to town on Saturday afternoon and went to the movie. 


 "Helen Trent", the story of a reporter for a large metropolitan newspaper....  Admittedly this was difficult for a young girl to relate to.  The one paper in Greer County was the Mangum Star which came out on Thursdays.  Hard to imagine something interesting enough about a reporter to make a whole soap opera.  The headline news in the Mangum Star was that Miss Teddie Larson's niece and nephew visited last weekend from Oklahoma City and enjoyed dinner in the park after Church Services at the Nazarene Assembly. 

Kids had our sound version of Nicklelodean.  These programs came on Saturday mornings and you did not miss them.  Oh the excitement of "The Shadow".  Famous line if you play Trivia Pursuit, "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men, the _____knows" That was the lead in line from the Shadow.  Then of course, Jack Armstrong, All American Boy, sponsored by Wheaties , the breakfast of champions. The Lone Ranger, Spiderman, Brenda Starr (another reporter by the way, something related only to "up" north) As you grew you got to listen to more mature programs on Saturday morning.  "Grand Central Station".  Oh I remember it well.  There was a really big train station in New York City and it was full all the time and just plain ordinary citizens had stories that began and ended there.  Tried to equate that with the MKT railroad station in Mangum, Oklahoma, which was a one room wooden building  built on a concrete platform right next to the railroad tracks.  It was probably 20 x 30 feet in size and held some benches, two water fountains, but no bathrooms and a small area for the station master.  Two trains stopped there every single day.  Sometime someone got off or on.  Probably not enough to shape a soap opera around so no wonder they had to revert to Grand Central Station.

Sunday night was the biggest night of the week.  We lived out in the country, some 30 miles from Mangum.  We did not journey into town for Sunday night Church service. So at 6:00 we all gathered around the radio and listened to "One Man's Family".   It was sort of the Waltons, same time period, but with more income and living in the San Francisco area.


I seem to remember that we  did not leave the radio on all the time.  Only in the afternoons to listen to the news, and maybe Amos and Andy.  Then it was turned off.  No one stayed up for a 10:00 news program if there was such a thing.  I think we turned off anything electric when ever it was not being used.  Maybe it was thought that it would run out.  However, I suspect that my grandparents and parents generation just did not waste anything.  


That was our equivalent of television.


Then we had a phone and your line was shared by other families.  The "Party Line".  Everyone had one, rich or poor, you shared the phone line.  If you were going to make a call you quietly picked up the phone and listened to see if anyone else was talking.   I think there was some listening in for a while just to see what was going on.  The other parties knew someone had picked up and they would hurry, knowing someone else needed to use the phone.  I remember my grandmothers talking to two or three other people. because if you got on it was rude not to say  something which oft times led to conversation.  You took your entertainment where you found it.  


This would come to a surprise to the youth of today, but pre teens and teenagers in the country did not talk on the phone.  It would never have have crossed our minds to phone a friend.  Our conversations were held at school or at Church or in town on Saturday afternoon.  


When we first got phones there was no dial.  You picked up the phone and the operator came on and she (I don't know that there was such a think as a male operator back then) would get the number for you.  If you didn't know the number she did.  The operator in a small town was known by all and she knew everyone and everything.  If you wanted to know how someone who was sick and maybe in the hospital was doing you just rang the operator and she would know.  But  this was Mangum, county seat of Greer County.  Things were different in the big cities.    


The Party Line was our equivalent of Face Book.


 

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WHATS THE BIG DEAL?

Last year at this time, i posted this and this year i do so again.  Happy Birthday Jimbo

You know as you get older, you realize things you considered BIG are really LITTLE in the scheme of things.  For instance: you will recall that Mate and I ran off and got married.  Boy was that a BIG thing!  After 57 years the actual planning and doing it was not at all that big.  It was one of many defining moments in our lives and certainly the living together is BIGGER than the actual running away.   The finding a way to buy a home across the street from the Colleys  was really not such a BIG thing.  The BIG thing was living and forming lasting memories and friendships together  for over 30 years.    In 1967, our family consisted of a Mom, Dad and 14 year old daughter.  Our lives were just peachy.  Our wants were not much.   Daughter was doing okay in school, we were  content.  Had just what we wanted.  Fusses every once in a while but they passed.  All in all....... GOOD life.  God blessed us.

1968 proved that indeed God has a sense of humor. 

 If you live in Wichita Falls, Texas, you know that usually on the last Saturday in January each year, the Kiwanis Club has a pancake breakfast and it is almost mandatory to attend sometime during the day.  We always did.  After all you got to visit with people you didn't see much during the year, and every politician who was running for office or trying to stay in office would be there and back then they gave away pencils or  rulers.  It was, you might say,  festive.  Plus all the bacon and pancakes you wanted.

In 1968 my doctor's office was open on Saturday mornings.    I had  made an appointment.  Told no one.  In my mind I had decided I was going to have a baby.  Don't have the slightest idea why (maybe that sense of humor thing again).  Dr. Richard Bates, my doctor for everything.  I loved Richard Bates.  No personality,  seldom ever joked , just down to business.  Office on Brook Street.  Told him what I thought, and he laughed.  That was a BIG thing.  I had made Richard Bates laugh.  Had to do what was called a rabbit  test back then. Had nothing to do with a rabbit but thats what it was called.  He said he would let me know Monday.  Told him I would be a maniac before Monday.  Nurse, friend of mine,  said she would run the test and he would call me in a couple of hours.  Feeling better I went home.

Mate and daughter ready to go eat pancakes.  I stalled and I stalled.  Phone rang.  I answered.  Simple statement from Richard Bates.  "You're pregnant."  His next words, "Are you Okay?"  I think I must have weakly said "Yes".    How do you  tell  two unsuspecting persons that three people's lives as they know them are about to change and change dramatically, when they have no clue what is going on?  When in doubt, barrel in. "Lets go eat pancakes and by the way, we are going to have a baby,"  I said as I walked toward the door.  That my friends was a 'BIG THING'.

Needless to say we did not leave right away, we had a family discussion.  Daughter wanted immediately to run tell the neighbors.  Mate said, do not leave the house.  I think it took a while for it to sink in.

Well 1968 had come in like a lion.  We adjusted.  Daughter was ecstatic, Mate happy, I stayed in shock.  I was the practical one.  I thought about things like, PTA again, bottles to sterilize, diapers to wash.  Now along about three-forths of the way through I began to do some investigation and found that things had come a long way.  Bottles of formula could be bought and all you had to do was to put a nipple on the top of the bottle. Pampers were introduced some 7 years earlier but had not caught on.  They had a long way to go and still used those huge safety pins with the little ducks on them.  However, at this point in time, unlike when Daughter was born, we had a washer.  No dryer yet, but a washer that you did not have to stand over and operate.  It did it on its own.  Still almost every back yard had a clothes line. One good thing about the pregnancy is that I never felt better in my entire life, before or since.  Didn't gain but 14 pounds, was able to get really cute maternity clothes and best of all people made over me all the time.  They thought it was wonderful. I was not certain of that.  Selfishly I kept thinking about how my life was going to change.    I worked until 2:00 on the afternoon of September 9, 1968, and went home got my "stuff" together and Mate, Daughter and I journeyed to the hospital where I was scheduled to deliver a baby the next morning at 9:30.  Well, it was almost fun.  I had a large room, flowers from bosses, whatever I wanted to eat that evening.  It wasn't til Mate and Daughter left that I assessed my position.  There was no way to get out of it, no way to say, "I changed my mind", nothing to do but plow ahead and wonder if it would be a boy or girl.    So the next morning,  I bade my family a teary see you later and was wheeled into the operating room.  At 9:36 on September 10, 1968 ,  Dr. Bates  announced, "You have a fine looking boy here." 

That folks is a 
          BIG, BIG, DEAL Happy Birthday Son.  Thanks for coming into our lives

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Help We're Being Held Captive

By a small white German Schnauzer. Mornings now belong to Daisy.  Routine has set in.  I no longer just get to have my coffee and read what news I care to read on the computer. Between clicks to see how things are going on the coast and, though I swore to not get involved, in seeing how the Texas Rangers did, I am at the mercy of a 15 pound creature.  She brings me one of her toys and lays at my feet, biting it where the squeeker is  so that it makes the most irritating noise on earth.   The most urgent thing on her mind is having me get the toy and proceed to throw it down the hallway so that she can get it and bring it back.  She stops long enough to go to her box and maybe change toys.  Her biggest decision of the day is which one to chose and who can know why she choses one over the other.


 Sometimes she has the attention span of a mite (not that I know how long that was measured or by whom, but it sounds very small); other times she is tenacious and will stand for what must seem like hours to her, but actually it is only minutes, looking up into the tree in our neighbors yard.  She once went outside as a squirrel ran along the top of our fence and jumped into that huge oak.  She is convinced it is still there.  Each time she goes out she takes her stand and looks upward into that tree.  I feel safe knowing she is protecting us.


Something in her mind snaps and she wants me to make yet another trip with her,  down the hallway, to stand outside the bedroom where Mate lies sleeping.  She looks mournfully under the door while making a wailing sound.  She wants her best friend to get up.  She wants to play "Where's Daisy" while we make the bed.  She now waits for us to hold up the sheet so that she can "hide" under it.  She lays spread eagle on her stomach and watches Mate perform his morning ritual of brushing teeth, combing what hairs are left and washing his face.  All the while talking to him about what their plans for the day should be. She will not leave his side for long at a time for the rest of the day,only going outside, but wishing him to go with her.  He usually goes.


Good grief.  It this were a television show now the sound of a needle scratching across a record would be heard and the narrator would say, "What am I thinking!!!!.  We have to get a life".


You know before we rescued Daisy, I thought we had a life.  For a couple in their 70s we are pretty active.  Mate can't do what he used to do because of health reasons, but he volunteers for several things.   I go to work every day and do pretty much what I always did at work, except I don't climb up on the ladder to retrieve a file like I did for years  (somehow you become aware that when older persons fall there is usually a knee or hip replacement in the  future).  We go out to eat all the time with good friends, we go to plays and concerts. I am pretty active on Facebook and Mate texts with son and grandson. Unlike what you may have thought from watching him drive, HE DOES NOT TEXT while driving.  (I just had to stick that in, I think the Devil made me do it)  He is very good on the Mac and can do anything we need to do using technology we didn't know would exist 10 years ago. We spend a lot of time at the Church building,  and we relish an evening at home from time to time because frankly we don't stay at home a lot in the evening.


Wait Just A Minute (as Jimmy Durante used to say)we do have a life, Daisy has just enhanced it.  Oh thank goodness.   

From An Email to 15 People

  Today, our hearts are heavy and Jim and I want to share a family's story with you.

On August 14, 2009, a good friend, Bruce Stanford sent me a forwarded email.  Bruce was always sending me forwards.  One was an email from a mother in Westerville, Ohio, that for some reason touched my heart.  She has a son 8 years old at the time and he had just been diagnosed with osteoscarcoma.     Osteo as families fighting always call it, is one of the most deadly of cancers occurring most often in teens.  Seldom survivable if it has spread to the lungs, but can be conquered if all things are just right. It attacks the bones usually in the limbs.

 Cindy Bish was a desperate mother; she did what all mothers who are cornered do, she fought  with the only weapon she had.  A belief in the Lord God Almighty.  She sent out a simple email to 15 friends asking for prayers and asking that they pass it on. She pulled her congregation together, she organized prayer groups and she begged for those of us who had gotten the email to pray fervently,   A mother cannot diagnoses, cannot treat, cannot perform surgery. She can be there and she can beg.    I saw this  same determination once before up  close and, as they say,  in living color, when our daughter in law was determined that cancer would not take her sweet daughter, Annde.  She held that baby as the doctors did spinal taps; she held her as they did bone marrow tests;  she, along with the help of so many your prayers, and with God's will,  won that battle.

With those 15 persons, the email was sent  to others and on and on and on.  It went around the world.  Posted on the Caring Bridge site are 399,000 plus messages for the Bish family from every state and from Australia to Canada and from Japan to England.

 I was sceptical at first  but checked it out with the Church mentioned, Westerville Christian Church (formerly Westerville Church of Christ)   It was obvious that this was genuine.  She had called on her fellow Christians for help.  She had no hesitation in doing that.  She was at war.  She created a web site in Caring Bridge which I will post on the bottom of this and invite you to go in and send a message with a prayer in your heart for this fine family.  It was through this congregation that I first heard about doing a prayer in the yard and if you go to that web site and look at the pictures you can see the members surrounding the Bish home.

 The day finally came when they had a big decision to make.  Do they authorize an amputation of Sam's leg or not.  They were sent the name of a doctor at MD Anderson in Houston and arrangements were made to fly there with Sam.


  In case you wonder if people are still caring in this world, let me tell you about a family in Houston.  Never met the Bish family but like Jim and I had followed along on Caring Bridge  because someone had sent them the Mother's email.  The Houston family contacted the doctor in Ohio, made the flight arrangements for Mike, Cindy and Sam, paid for the tickets, met them at the plane, kept them at their home, took them to eat real Tex Mex food and drove them everywhere they needed to be staying with them through the testing at MD Anderson.  This did not cost the Bish family a penny.  They even sent Texas presents home for the two little girls, Caitlin and Aubrey. Pictures of this fine family are also on the site. 


Decision was made for amputation.  Sports teams visited Sam in the hospital.  His story has been on TV in Ohio many times. ....... spots were discovered in the lungs.


Never giving up, they got ready for lung surgery not long after the amputation.  Many nodules were discovered, many removed.  The outlook was good.  There would be one more round of chemo, it looked as if they were winning the battle.  


The Bish family prepared for a trip to, you know.......... DisneyWorld in Orlando.  Make a Wish foundation had stepped in.  They went just a week or so ago and were scheduled for five more days in the hospital beginning today for the last round of chemo.  They were dreading it but again it was part of the battle plan.  I cut and paste a paragraph from the posting on Caring Bridge this afternoon.


"It is with a very heavy heart that I write this journal entry. Sam is at home tonight. He was admitted this morning and was taken down for a CT scan first thing.  Sam's doctors pulled me over to the side (away from Sam) and told me that the CT scan showed a relapse of cancer in Sam's lungs. Several nodules have shown up in both of Sam's lungs ( I do not have an exact number...just several) and some of the nodules appear to be bigger. This is very bad news for Sam and our family. The doctors are concerned that he relapsed so quickly after his last lung surgery and while he was still on chemotherapy treatments. Sam's doctors are consulting with the doctors in Texas (Dr. Anderson) and we will meet with our doctors on Friday to discuss a new plan of action. At this point it looks like Sam will be facing 2 additional lung surgeries and a change in his treatment.  Our family is heartbroken and is just trying to hold it together. Please pray!!!  We went into the hospital expecting this to be Sam's last inpatient chemo....instead we are faced with more hurdles to overcome and more surgeries on the horizon.   Our little fighter is still fighting but he has a major battle to face right now. We are tired and heartbroken and really need strength that only God can give us."


Please make a trip to Sam's Caring Bridge page and post a comment as you say a little prayer to the Father for Sam and Cindy, Mike, Caitlin and Aubrey.  As Christians, its what we do, 
 http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/sambish/journal?jid=5826121

Til Death Us Do Part

 July 3, 1953 at approximately 5 in the afternoon, we became Mate and Mate. (The only wedding picture.  We were on the run)    What a long time ago; What a lot has happened; What were we thinking??

To take those points one at a time: WHAT A LONG TIME AGO.  Yes it was.
WHAT A LOT HAS HAPPENED: Yes it has.  WHAT WERE WE THINKING: Who could possibly know.  I am not sure either one of us knew how to think at that stage of our lives. If we had been where we were say 30 or 40 years later or even today, and we sat down and thought it through, I promise we would not have run away and said "I do".  We would have said something like "Are you kidnin me" (kidnin being our granddaughter's way of saying kidding). 

Sometime God just takes over and blesses you even if you haven't asked for it and even if you don't deserve it and even if you don't realize He has done it.

We had rough times in the early  years.  We didn't particularly like each other from time to time.  We didn't have money to go out and "enjoy" ourselves or sometimes not enough to know if we would make it through the week.  We were selfish, never having been taught  to put another person's wants and needs above our own.  We were not patient; we were not  kind; we were not always forgiving; we were not mature; and we did not understand God's will  on how to deal with one another.  If we analyze closely we had very little in common.  So there is no way we would still be married today.  OOOPS,   We are!  We celebrate 57 years together as husband and wife. Tonight after having eaten out with friends, which we do every Friday night, we will get each other a card, (quit buying gifts years ago);  we will play with the Daisy the new dog;  we will kiss each other good night; and say "I love you".  Other than the card and the Daisy Dog,  we have done that for probably 30 years..  The kissing and saying "I love you" we have done almost every night for 57 years. 
                                                                                                              (this looks a lot like our family........well at least the dog is named Daisy.  Jim never wore a bow tie and my hair was never that blond and neither was  Kays, and Jimbo, well maybe he did sort of look like Alexander)

We have been asked the secret for staying married  so many years.  Its simple but not easy.   For the first 10 years we didn't know we had a choice;  For the next 30 years we were busy with  family (daughter Kay, son Jimbo,  grand kids), with  jobs and with living in general;  For the next 10 years we realized that it is just too much trouble to not stay married; and, for the last 7 years we are just too tired.   So there you have it in a nut shell.  How to stay married for 57 years.

If you had asked us if we would do it all over again.............. during the first 10 years we would have said  "let us get back to you on that".  The next 30 years we would have said "Yes".   The next ten years we would have told you "We did good ".   The last 7 years we would have said "do what over?"

I guess that every period of time had its rewards; however,  we have to think long and hard to remember what that could have been the first 10 years.  A series of horrid apartments, fussing when we didn't get our way, being too short sighted to see more than 15 minutes ahead, but still in that period of new love almost every problem could be solved by an argument  and making up. 

The next 30 years:     In 1960 we bought a house. The nicest thing we had ever lived in.   Plain and simple, no air conditioning, no central heat, horrible heater in the hall that burned you up when you stood in the hall and froze you in any other part of the house,  one bathroom, 963 square feet. $8,750.00.    Payments $68.00 a month, including taxes and insurance, all we had to do was catch 2 up.  We didn't have that kind of money.  But my sweet grandmother did. For the first time in our lives we were in debt.  Our mortgage was for 20 years, our interest rate was 4  %.  Had we not decided to move to Lake Palestine in East Texas we would still live there, looking out our front door into the back yard of Beverly and Milton Colley.

Mate was a builder. We always planned to build a  showcase home. Every time new plots of land would open up we would look at house plans.  We would buy an extra lot.  We would sit and think about our neighbors, the fact that our kids knew everyone in the Addition.  We felt safe and loved and happy where we were.  Some things are just more important than big houses.  Then we would add a room, add a swimming pool, or add a new patio. Never did put in another bathroom.   When we sold the house it had doubled in size, we had a pool, very little yard to care for and  we still had the same neighbors.

(this picture  in the Colley garage at Halloween probably 40 years ago)

Milton Colley always had a project.  Either digging a storm cellar, or closing in the garage, or building a camper. Each evening we would have dinner, get  lawn chairs, a glass of tea and journey across the street, sit in the shade and watch Milton work.  Some evenings if there were no project going we played fierce badminton.   All the kids played either Boys Club Basketball or football,  the men coached and we all went to all the games.  Even if your kid wasn't playing.   It was  a wonderful time.
We lived in that house for over 30 years and made our sweetest memories there.


  1990 we left for Lake Palestine,  Then in 2000 we came back home to Wichita Falls.  I wish we could have gone back to Dunbar and how it was.  Great American author, Thomas Wolfe, last novel "You Can't Go Home Again"  is true. 

So here we live and fortunately we have wonderful neighbors, but it can, of course, never be the same again. 

The next 10 years we discovered the comfort of knowing each other well.  Overlooking things like he can't find anything if it is covered up, that I never close a cabinet  or drawer completely; he would rather stay home than eat out but does because it makes me happy.  He pays the check even if I ordered iced tea.  I wait til the last minute to do something, he does it as soon as it can be done.  I finish his sentence which irritates him, but not so much any more.  Its comfort.

   (the Christmas picture below is our entire family 2009 in California, missing first grandson, Cole, stuck up north by weather)


Then of course the last 7 years have been the "ignore any problem that comes our way" years.  We tend to forget any bad thing that happens.  If you irritate either one of us today, we will have forgotten it by evening.  We still go out to eat way more often than we eat at home, but I don't always order iced tea. We have friends we enjoy and who we can count on and who we love like family.  We still disagree on most non important things.  The best thing that has happened to us is that we have learned to pray aloud together.  It was not always so.
(picture is probably 9 or 10 year old Church Directory.  Oh so much nicer than the latest one, so we will ignore the recent one and pretend we still look this good.  Its the least we can do after 57 years and it makes us feel better)

We still kiss each other good  night and say I love you and  maybe sometime we mean it more than we ever did.  So Happy Anniversary to my Mate and may God Bless us for the time we have left together.

I did forget the most important thing.  WE DO KNOW THE SECRET to a successful 57 years of marriage.  It took a while but along about the 30th year we finally learned to  let God take control.

Daisy Mae, Elvis, Miscellany

It  has been awhile since I emptied my mind onto this page and called it a "blog" but it seems my mind has been blank.  I have had numerous requests to do another "writing" (well maybe the niece in Ohio, but she will probably say it many times) and even though nothing big has happened since we got Daisy Mae (previously known as Sparkle) I will pour out what little there is.  Well one thing has changed, we have now memorized our Vet,  Bryan Wade's home phone number in case we would need him day or night.  (and, we are not too proud to use it.)

Daisy Mae has changed our lives.  Instead of watching Masterpiece Theater and The History of Civilization so that we can converse with our friends about matters of culture and sophistication, Mate and I sit at opposite ends of the living room floor and toss a little stuffed animal back and forth after giving it a squeek, all the while saying, "Go get it Daisy"(sounding suspiciously like we were talking to a two year old child) Our minds may be suffering but our biceps are definitely showing improvement.  When I come home in the afternoon from a hard day at the office, I keep reminding myself over and over  "Hug Mate First, Hug Mate First".  Then before dinner we discuss what Daisy did during the day.  Of course this is in addition to whatever Mate has emailed me that was so special it could not wait til I came home from work.  Yes indeed our life is looking up.

Despite being a bit consumed by Daisy, this week we have continued our interesting, full, sometime productive life.  In fact this week a bit of Miscellany happened that completely put Mate in a funk.  If you have followed along with me you know that Mate has an aversion to ordering a drink with his many meals eaten out during the course of a week.  He is against it and oft times will chastize me for spending money on a glass of tea which is so cheap to make.  (oh how many times have I heard that),  Friday evening we ventured out to the far north side of town to a catfish place called Fred's.  We had been out there years and years ago, I think only 1 time but then it was Kickapoo Catfish.

I noticed right away that Mate ordered iced tea! I said nothing but admit  I was shocked in addition to being startled (all the while vowing to take his blood pressure when we returned home) The tea was what I, as a certified iced tea specialist,  would call average.  The cat fish on the other hand is wonderful.  Maybe the best catfish I have ever eaten.  However I am not certified in this particular food.

Well moving right along to the arrival of the bill.  Bless his heart. It was the first time in  long ago years that I have seen Mate's face fall.  I mean actually fall.  That look that tells every one in a close vicinity that something earth shattering has happened, something so unexpected as to be almost frightening, but more along the lines of shocking.  I was relieved that our friend, Gene Stevens was nearby in case he fell.  They had charged him for the iced tea! The menu said that the tea was part of the meal and so of course Mate ordered tea. Never one to let a free item go.  Seems that was on the lunch not on dinner.  A good meal totally ruined.  It has been almost 48 hours and he is still lamenting.   So we may well go back to Fred's, but you can rest assured that Mate will order water with lemon.

Saturday afternoon, we went to see Elvis.  Nice looking young fellow, who did look a lot like him.  Sold out house at the Wichita Theater, main floor and balcony.  We personally went for the Stamps Quartet, a group from Gospel Music with whom we are very familiar.  Elvis Impersonator,  Kraig Parker, was on the second half of the show.  It was not hard to judge which part of the program was more popular.  Lets just say Elvis trumped Gospel Music.  I would not have breathed a word of it there for fear of an uprising, but Mate and I have never been the greatest of Elvis fans.  We do recognize that he was  a phenomenal  entertainer.  We probably will never see his like again.

Well my mind is about emptied.  So I will close this by telling you that I am just about through with my first Senior citizen blog which I hope to post later this week.  I hope you will read about a Lady most of us are blessed to know.  Look for "Leta" in the blog called "Knowing where We Came From".

Miscellany for Saturday morning.  Breakfast table  I am doing crosswords and crypto quiz, drinking coffee.  Mate is reading the paper and reads me an obituary.  "She has gone on to that great poker table in the sky".  Sweet looking lady in her 80s.  Family convinced she is playing poker in Heaven.  We all wonder what Heaven will be like.  No one but John knew for sure.  The one thing we know is that God the Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit will be there and that's good enough for me.

This One's for Bryan Wade

Well you may or may not be old enough to remember Sparkle Plenty. For those of you who do not, I will fill you in.

Dick Tracy appeared in 1931 (even before my time) written and drawn by Chester Gould.  Still runs today.  Different creator but still basically the same.   An iconic strip reflecting the social time and happenings of the day. Tracy was the police detective to end all police detectives. He got in trouble, he solved cases, he was accused of crimes. Just an all around interesting fellow with the squarest jaw  known to the art world.

He finally married Tess Trueheart after a courtship of 18 years. If you work crossword puzzles you have  come across a clue that reads  "Tracy's wife". The answer is  "Tess".  Its used a lot.  Tracy introduced the first two way wrist radio to keep in contact with headquarters. It is credited with being a precursor to the cell phone. (I get all this marvelous information from  Wikipedia ) Tess and Tracy had their first baby, Junior.   Junior grew up and married an alien who later died (by the way the alien period did not go over well and that's why she was killed off by Gould)  Then he married Sparkle Plenty daughter of Tracy's good friends "B.O.  and Gravel Plenty".    They had a daughter named Sparkle Plenty, Jr.    I know you are absolutely mesmerized with this information.

Now all I have to do is tie Sparkle Plenty in with Bryan Wade. For those of you who might not know Bryan. He is a veterinarian. A doctor to small animals.  I don't personally know if he is a Super Vet but my good friends and relatives who are owned by Mollie the Poodle say that he is. That's plenty good for me. Soon I will find this out for myself.

This is for all intents and purposes an ADOPTION ANNOUNCEMENT  (no gifts please). We are now the adoptive parents of Sparkle, a three year old rescued white miniature Schnauzer, who spent most of her three years tied to a tree.  We just returned from Abilene where we picked her up.  I finally learned how to put a picture in here.  The one below is the actual ad from PetFinder.  She doesn't look like this now.  She has been groomed for the summer which means she has been basically shaved except for her face which still looks like a schnauzer.   I just haven't learned how to do more than one picture at a time yet. you can click on the picture and see her better.

We thought long and hard about this move. We have been searching Pet Finder for weeks looking at rescue dogs. Many reasons not to do it. The main one is, we are too old. HOWEVER: Before adopting we cleared it with our Ohio Nephew and Niece and with our Tennessee Grand Niece. In the event something happens to us they will take Sparkle. That's what her foster family called her and we will not change it because she should not have to undergo another change in her life. Many others in our family would take good care of Sparkle, but we think she would be happy in Ohio or Tennessee.

My niece in Oklahoma is going to shake her head. She is the only one in our family who is opposed to any dog in the house. We just ignore her when it comes to pets. My sister, will say "Why in the world would you want to get a dog at this point in your lives". She would also point out all the reasons we should not have gotten one but would be okay with it in the long run, just never get attached .

In any event another reason we got this particular dog is so that I could tie Dick Tracy, Sparkle Plenty and Bryan Wade together. Its not every day you get to do that.

It's Theron's Fault

You know I don't like change. In fact I am opposed to it. I tend to keep things for a long time and when I give them up, I borrow a line from cheating celebrities and politicians...."It wasn't my fault". Of course in my case that's correct. Let me give you a few examples. I changed hairdressers because she moved to another place. (admittedly it was Heaven but not my fault); I changed the color of my hair when they dropped the color I had used for years; I don't have the same lipstick (one that actually stayed on) anymore because McClurkan's went out of business and you can't find it in the USA; I changed doctors a few times because they too went to Heaven. I changed cars because it just died but I don't for a moment believe it went to Heaven. I changed from DelMonte Spinach to Popeye Brand because, well because I like Popeye's better (so there is one thing that was my fault).

We lived in the same house for over 30 years and only moved when we decided we wanted to live on a Lake and moved to East Texas. Lake Palestine to be exact. I liked it, met some wonderful people who are still friends, but it never seemed like home. Ten years later we moved back.

I have of course had the same husband and children and grandchildren for years and years. I even have had the same Sister for, well in deference to her, I won't say for how many years, If you have followed me along you know that I have the same shower curtain in my bathroom that I have had since 1995. Oh its not the same one, but its identical to the one we put up in East Texas. I found that I still like it so I don't see a reason to change.

Then of course there is this purse that I am on my 4th year with and even though it is basically a fall and winter purse, I carry it year round cause I like it.

I am thinking it was around 1980, I would have been in my early 40s. I was in pretty good shape, my skin was soft and supple. I didn't have neck waddles. I didn't need an eye lift. I wore a size 8 or 10. Exactly where I should be. Never a raving beauty, but children did not cry when they saw me. I could get out of a chair without making those old folk noises, in other words, while not exactly a "Babe", I was okay. I decided I needed a little help reading. Two people in my church were optometrist. Actually they practiced together. Chose Theron. He said I didn't need glasses. Good enough for me. I went back two or three years later. You will remember that I am not too good on time, Mate would be able to tell you the first time he went to see Theron and what time of day his appointment was. I just know it was sometime between 1980 and 1990, which is close enough for me.

Theron agreed i needed a wee bit of help and I got a really cute pair of"Granny Glasses". Little gold rims and I wore them only to read. I loved those glasses. Something happens when you wear them only for what ever reason. You began to need them. And so started my long relationship with Theron and glasses.

This was before computers and Theron basically checked the eyes with a cardboard sheet that you read from and a instrument he pulled in front of you and clicked manually where the eye changed and the lettering changed. Our conversation during this exam was: Theron, "Tell me which one is better, this one or this one". Me, "Show me one more time". It seemed like such a heavy decision to make. But I would leave with a new prescription and frame chosen with help from Vollie (who he conveniently married I think partly because she made some great suggestions about the type of frame I needed).

So since you have stayed with me this long I am going to tell you what is Theron's fault and why I am certain he is to blame for many things which I will also tell you about. Assuming my time line is from 1980 through 2004 when Theron thoughtless retired, I never one time walked out of that office with a pair of glasses I didn't love. Twenty-four years, a perfect record. I never one time ever went back to even get a frame adjusted. When we moved to East Texas, I drove back to Wichita Falls to get my eyes examined. I don't like change and especially changing from something that works perfectly.

Then he closed the door and took Vollie home with him.

Since then I have had to go to a different eye doctor. He has fancy computers in dozens of rooms. they dilate my eyes (Theron never did that) They shine horribly bright lights in my eyes (Theron never did that). They send me to yet another doctor who comes once a month who now puts a needle in my eye and gives me a shot once a month. (Theron never did that)

Now I truly don't blame Theron for all of that but here is what I do blame him for. I now have waddles on my neck. I have wrinkles in my skin and its so rough. I had to have an eye lift because my eyes drooped, I no longer wear a size 8 or 10 and you would not believe the noises I make when I get out of a chair. I can't get down in the floor and get back up without making my way to something I can hold on to. Worse yet I have not been satisfied with a pair of glasses since he retired and took Vollie home. I read with glasses and a magnifying glass.

After careful analysis, the one thing I can tie this to is 2004 when Theron retired.

Growing Old Gracefully

I love word games. Any kind. Scrabble, password whatever. I do crossword puzzles and especially crypto quiz. I think I would have been good during the "Big" war doing what I saw in so many movies. Seemed there was always a person who sent a message in Code or worked to break a code. One of my favorites crosswords is the New york Times Puzzle. The Big Daddy of crossword puzzles. Done by a man named Will Shortz. He is actually a Puzzlemaster. I wasn't aware for years that there was such an occupation. Still have never known one in live person. But for the average person the NY Times puzzle is too hard most of the time. I don't even look at it on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hardly can fill in one line. Monday is wonderful, and it gets a bit more difficult as the week wears on,

Mate and I were discussing this very thing. And you thought we only discussed frivolous things. Mate and I have deep conversations. Lets see, this week we have discussed the umpire's call of safe in some ball game, Kobe Bryant and the L.A. Lakers, the playoff game at the Staple Center and a new brand of fiber on the market. Thank goodness after 57 years we have learned that only one of us needs to listen at a time. We did converse at length about the fact that Taco Casa does have a pretty good glass of tea, and a big one at that, for only ninety two cents. I found that out from a friend at church who commented on my blog about iced tea. Now I know that good does come from this. I have been there now more times than I care to admit. But I have digressed.

Back to my point about the NY times Crossword getting harder as time goes by and growing old gracefully. A few weeks ago I would have told you that growing old gracefully was maybe a paradox or an oxymoron. It could not be done, Growing old does get a bit harder as the week (or read that life) goes on.

Several weeks ago I decided to begin another blog about the nonagenarians in our Church family. I feel that I need to put something down about them, things that will be gone one of these days. So I developed me a set of questions and got me a steno pad, called my first subject, went over after work prepared to stay for two hours. I now have been over for 5 afternoons, two hours each and we have reached 1965. I don't know which one of us has enjoyed it more. I have yet to ask the first question. Oh I tried. Her stock answer is "In a minute, first you need to know..". This has been a most fascinating experience. I have learned about so much of life that is thrilling me to hear and she is enjoying telling this story. We are both benefitting from this brief encounter even if I never get a word put down. But I will.

In the Bible we are told that older women should teach the younger ones. (that of course in the New Testament where all the things I need are) and I had to stop and think that she is 20 years older than I am. Maybe that is one of the reasons I am feeling benefits flowing from our encounter, I find myself being one of those New Testament younger women when I am with her.

Peripheral, Physicians, Plastic

In Mangum, County seat of Greer County, the tallest building in town was the hospital. three stories. It had the only elevator in Greer County. Its now the County museum. Been there and family's photos can be found if you look really closely. Our mother worked in and around doctors and hospitals all her life and I am quite comfortable with doctors, as long as I am not sitting on a plastic upholstered table with nothing on except the little gown that ties in the back. I decided I would give up doctors when I turned 71. Don't know why I chose 71 but it seemed like a good year. So, and maybe foolishly so, I just don't go. I like them personally. We have a doctor in our congregation. I love this young man and his family. He is genuine, he is devoted and I understand he is a good physician. Mate thinks so. I prefer not to see him in his office. So I don't. Another good thing about being 74 is that I don't have to do almost anything voluntarily, but of course there may come a day when they load me into an ambulance and take me to the hospital. If I am conscious and in my right mind I will in all likelihood protest.

Mate has had some bad luck with health problems but it seems to me that the first time he went to the doctor about them it became an never ending quest. One doctor led to another, one pill led to another, and on into infinity. We even spent several Saturdays driving to the Metroplex to a doctor who pressed on his ear. I watched one day and we decided if his ear needed pressing I could do it. I'm quick to catch on. Most people with health problems are in the same boat. It appears that there is no way to get out of the boat. So I decided just not to go for the ride. Now, admittedly, I am very lucky. I really don't ever have any medical problems (should I knock on wood) except for colds or flu or an infection here and there. I have always recognized the infections I have had and I do go to the doctor, explain what I have, they test, and sure enough its what I have and they give me an antibiotic and it goes away, and I go away from the doctor's office.

But this morning, I am going to the hospital, voluntarily, where I will lay on a table and hopefully I will leave in a few hours with beautiful oriental shaped eyes. Yep. Having plastic surgery. Chose the doctor carefully. Actually knew him when he was young. Son, cut a tendon in his finger while a freshman in high school. Met this doctor. So nice. I thought I had met Wichita County's Omar Sharif. My favorite movie came to life. We had hired Dr. Zhivago. Since then he has done surgery on Mate two times and I chose him for this endeavor. He has aged much better than Omar Sharif.

S0 I will keep you posted. I have read articles about doctors making mistakes, even in plastic surgery. I figure I will either have those beautiful oriental shaped eyes, and regain peripheral vision, OR will have bosoms like Dolly Partain, OR not be able to smile but sing like Kenny Rogers, OR just be plain ugly like Joan Rivers.

Teapots and Traveling

Back in the 1980s we were privileged to travel several times in England and Scotland. We always went in the Summer. Even though it rains a lot, it also gets hot. The English do not do iced drinks. If you bought a canned drink you got it off the shelf and drank it luke warm. Americans, especially Texans thrive on iced drinks. The Coberg Hotel, Bayswater Street, right across from Hyde Park, and the place where Diana and Prince Charles lived, was where we always stayed in London. Every morning I would get up early, get a cup of coffee from the breakfast room, buy a paper, cross the street and sit on a bench right in front of the door of Diana's palace. Sort of felt like we were having coffee together. Of course she would have tea.

The hotel kept the same staff for years and we got to know many of them. Found that I could order a pot of tea, let it cool down, ask for ice in the bar and make me iced tea. They began to have a cool pot of tea waiting for me in the afternoon. I thought it wonderful. I don't think I ever got over ordering "Hot Tea please". They wondered what other kind was there.

Once we were on a train on our way to somewhere and Mate was hungry. The train always has a Buffet Car but it is pronounced buffey car. Mate went to the buffey car for a sandwich. Came back with two sandwiches and of course an inevitable warm coke. I asked why he got two. Said he had ordered a ham and cheese and he got one ham and one cheese. I don't think we ever figured out how to get one sandwich with both.

The greatest trip we ever had was with my sister and brother in law. It was also our last trip overseas in either the late 80s or early 90s. We had a 21 day Brit Rail pass and traveled all over England and Scotland staying in Bed & Breakfast establishments. Wonderful trip. Stayed in Edinburgh for a while. Sister and I are big time readers and both of us love the story of Greyfriars Bobby. Based on a true story of a cemetery keeper in Edinburgh and his little dog, Bobby. When the keeper died he was buried there and the little dog would not leave. Slept every night on his grave. Became a fixture in the neighborhood and was fed by the local pub owners. It also made a great tear jerker movie. We read there was a pub named Greyfriars Bobby and a statute of the little dog. We found the pub but walked and walked and still could not find the statute. Well you know those things become an obsession and you just have to find it. We would walk a while and ask and would be directed back to the Pub. Brother in law and Mate quit walking and sat at a bench on the sidewalk waiting on us to finally find the dog. Brother in law turned around and there right behind them all the while was the statute of Bobby. It is very small and at eye level. So if you happen to be in Edinburgh and would like to see the little black dog, don't go any further than Greyfriars Pub.

Seems to me that we should always look upward when asking God for blessings but we must remember that the blessing may have been there all the time. Right in front of our eyes,

Age Does Bring Wisdom

Actually I have always, or at least for the past several years, known that you get wiser as you get older My sister has preached that for years now This was proven correct just yesterday.

For about 20 years or maybe even more, Mate and I have owned two lamps. They are those neat "touch" lamps. Just turn over and touch it and it comes on, two more touches and it goes off. I remember buying them. $19.95 at Walmart. I think that they still sell the same ones and I don't think that they are much more than that. They have sat by the side of our bed all these years.

The lamps have a quirk. When the electricity blinks, they come on. For all this time we would wake up and touch two more times and they would go off and we would go back to sleep. Not rocket science, just touch and sleep.

On Thursday night in Wichita Falls, we had spectacular lightening strikes, all night long. Thankfully, our electricity did not go off for any extended period of time, just blinked probably twelve different times. Twelve different times we woke and touched two more times.

Friday morning at breakfast we discussed lack of sleep. Light then went on without touching anything! We can unplug the lamps.

Life is sort of like that. What you think is a pressing, maybe insurmountable problem often times has a very simple solution. We tend to overlook the obvious and make things more difficult than they really are. So simple to talk to the Master and ask His help. Hard part is waiting for the answer. Like unplugging the lamp.

Water With Lemon Please

Its said that if you die in Texas, before you can go to Heaven or the other place, you have to go through either Dallas or Houston. Goodness knows if you want to fly out of the State this is certainly true. Those are our two hubs. When Mate an I go to California, we can oft times come out cheaper flying to Dallas from our home and connecting on to California; If we drive to Dallas and fly out, we have to get up early, pay parking for four or more days and then when we return we have to drive back home when we are really tired and it is dark and we are old....and so forth and so forth Also you can mark it up that Mate and I will have an argument on the way to the airport and on the way home. That would be because I am sure to stop at Starbucks and order a speciality drink for which we will pay in the neighborhood of $4.50, This will put Mate in a bad mood from Decatur all the way to the airport. This doesn't take into account the fact that on the way home from the airport I will cajole until we have stopped at Joe's Crab Shack. He doesn't mind stopping or what I order. BUT, at Joe's, I will order iced tea.

I need to explain about Mate and drinks ordered at eating establishments. He is against them. For over 57 years I have heard the same argument about how much tea you can make for what they charge for a single glass or how much coffee you can buy for what is charged for a single cup. And don't even mention Starbucks to him. He is against it.

I really don't order tea at every meal even though it is my drink of choice. As you know if you have followed along with me, Mate and I do eat out a lot. Therefore, I know all the places where the tea, in my judgment, is worth ordering For instance: Red Lobster, always order iced tea at Red Lobster, Second best in our City, They even have blue sweetner and I don't have to use my own that is always in my purse for emergencies. Cheddars and Applebees. Don't even think about it. No blue packets and the tea just is not that good. Long John Silver is pretty good but they have the pink stuff so i use my blue packets. Number one, best tea in town, hands down winner, Subway Sandwich Shop. It is ( in my not so humble opinion) the best in our City. BUT, again you have to use your own blue sweetner.

Most people think eating out is easy. Not so. It takes a vast amount of knowledge and planning, I just happen to be one of the educated ones who has a lot of experience and knows my way around a menu. Mate always orders water with lemon and if no one is looking he will make lemonade. Not long ago at a favorite restaurant, he told the young waiter he needed a lot of lemon because he was going to make lemonade. Young waiter comes back to the table with a glass of lemonade and sets it down; tells Mate that he remembers last time and its easier to bring him lemonade than to clean up the table, Mate has also learned how to get around a menu.

I usually know what I am going to order at any given place and I am pretty sure what Mate will order. Neither one of us is big on change. I don't dare tell him what I know he is going to order because just to prove me wrong he will order something else. Then of course, he is not happy with his meal. See this is complicated and we have worked out all these bugs over the years. We eat at a place that serves among other items, Mexican food with french fries, Mates favorite meal. Its one of my least favorite places, but I will go anywhere. Just as long as I don't have to put it together at home,

So the next time you hear that we are flying to California to see the kids, you can pretty well bet that we are either at the Wichita Falls Municipal Airport, or at Joe's Crab Shack drinking iced tea.

What Time Is It?

Its Howdy Doody "Time". There may be some that do not remember Howdy and Buffalo Bob. I came to know them because I had a small son. Before that I knew Ding Dong School because I had a daughter. That is really reaching back in" time".

Mate has always been rather precise about "time." He wants to know the minute, like its 8:42. I just want to know what day it is, and I'm not too particular about that. Mate and I have always spent a lot of "Time", discussing "Time." Seems like (pardon the pun) a waste of "Time" to me.

He always wanted to be the first to arrive anywhere we were going. I was always just a few steps behind. Sunday morning used to be the worst. He would be ready leaning against the door sighing and I would be putting the last of the make up on. I would always thank him for helping me to hurry by sighing, I was of course being sarcastic, but it never stopped him from sighing.

Something happens as you get older, "Time" to get somewhere is not quite as important as the journey. We go slower, we need less "Time" to get ready. Amazing how when you are older you don't have to do as much. I think its because we discovered that it doesn't really matter if our outlook is perfect. Its more our inlook we think about now days.

Silk, Sports, Spectators

Mate loves sports. If it has a ball involved, he is a fan. That is outside of soccer which has not appealed to him yet, but there is still time. Basketball is, I think, his favorite, followed closely by football, golf, baseball and tennis. Baseball and tennis are not really that important to him, but he does read the sports page from cover to cover each morning and if you mention a player's name he instantly knows which team he plays for and where they are in the standings. It is amazing to me that this man who has to make a note and post it on the bathroom mirror to remember a haircut or a doctor's appointment, can tell you what the score of the game was when Dallas played San Antonio in February, 2009. First and foremost in his sports life are the Texas Longhorns. We do not talk when the Longhorns play.

Many times Mate and Son watch a game together. Mate is a devoted Maverick fan; Son, the Lakers. They get on the phone together and I can hear both of them cheering. Its one of the good things about sports. Mate has Lakers as his second most favorite team, all because of Son.

Sports are just not my thing. I find I really don't care if the Cowboys have a new stadium,or if they win, or if the Mavericks have a short or tall Center, or even if the University of Texas beats Oklahoma. However, I do hope that you won't mention that University of Texas-Oklahoma thing to mate. It would not go well.

I was a Dallas Cowboy fan until they fired Tom Landry. What kind of person in their right mind would fire Tom Landry. Oh I remember, Jerry Jones. I enjoyed Don Meredith, Roger throwing to Drew, and my favorite, Walt Garrison. See I do know some sports, but then Jerry Jones fired Tom Landry! First thing you know,someone named Michael was in jail; they were mouthing obscenities at the camera and class left the Dallas Cowboys. The Day They Fired Tom Landry. (I feel a Country Western song here) Found out I did not need the Dallas Cowboys without Tom Landry. So I left professional football. Personally I have a lot of trouble being loyal to a bunch of grown men, making more money than we can even think about and they don't win every week. If I did my job like they do I would be fired.

My favorite time with sports ....... the Olympics when the USA team played Russia. I don't remember what year. Mate would. But we would rush home from work to watch the game. The most excited I ever was about something I knew nothing about, didn't take time to learn and would never really watch again in my lifetime. Had not a clue what the rules were, did not care. Not only was it Team USA, there was a player named Silk! Guess what my sister and I have for our last name.....thats right Silk. We do know that somewhere down the line we were kin but we didn't look him up and probably he never looked for us since we never heard from him. I think of anything I ever watched that was termed sport, this was the most exciting. People who had never seen a hockey puck were talking about Team USA in the elevators all over the country,

The second and last thing I found exciting in professional sports was watching Nolan Ryan on his way to his 5000th strikeout. Now in case you don't know Mr. Ryan...he lives in Alvin Texas and was a premier pitcher, not just for the Rangers but everywhere he played. Such a sportsman,

Spectator Sports was just more fun when it was played by gentlemen who didn't go to jail, or didn't go to rehab. It was a kinder gentler time. Sadly spectator sports mirror society. Wish we were gentle persons again.

Where'd Baby Girl Go

In Texas we use a lot of "made up" words. I don't think 'where'd' is really a word, but we use it. We mean it to be a contraction of Where and Did. 'Where'd you put (insert anything you can't find here) . Not in the dictionary.

Our favorite word in Texas is "fixin to"( one word) . Son moved to California. He thinks they know how to talk out there. He 'useta' (always one word) point out every time I was "fixin to" do something. Still does occasionally.

I useta have a baby girl. I don't know where she went. Little baby, sweet and cuddly. Came along before Pampers and ready made formula. Pet milk, Karo ( one of those branded things, any clear syrup was called Karo) and water. Every family had a sterilizer. Big pan on the stove, and if you were lucky it had a rack where you stood the bottles after you filled them . Then you cooked 'em (Texas contraction for them) Got em piping hot. Then Refrigerated. Time to feed you heated "em" up again. Not too hot, not too cold. Did you know that the inside of the mother's wrist was put there by God to use when testing the warmth of the baby's milk. You can look it up. I'm sure its in the Bible.


Washing was done in machine that someone gave mate and I. A big tub with an agitator inside. You filled it with scalding water, turned it on and stood back. It agitated. You lifted items out one at a time, put them in a galvanized tub where you rinsed and then repeated this. We had a woven wicker clothes basket to put the wet clothes in. Some of the wicker strips would come loose and it was usual to be wounded. Laundry was dangerous work. A wire stretched across the back yard and you hung clothes on the line with wooden contraptions called clothes pins. In the winter diapers froze and in the spring they got rained on. Finally the clothes dried and then you ironed nearly everything and put them up. You were through. Wash days were always on Monday. ALL DAY MONDAY!! Some women with large families would disappear for days. Now you know why my generation hangs a towel up to dry and uses it again. You may forget your first day of school, you may forget friends names, and personally, I have never stopped to remember the Alamo (I was after all born in Oklahoma) but I will never forget Mondays.

Baby girl had all cotton dresses. Everything had to be ironed. Nothing wash and wear. Great-Grandmother made little dresses out of gingham check. She had every color that was marketed. The first grand child, the instrument by which I was forgiven for running off and getting married. I never lacked for a baby sitter. The child that cuddled as close to you as possible as a baby and as a teenager seemed as far away as possible. But where did Baby girl go? I really do know the answer. When I wasn't looking, she grew up.

I post this on Baby Girl's birthday. Now a grandmother, and a good one; my friend, and a good one. We fought many battles. I look back and see how unimportant the things we fought over really were. Spent a lot of time on hair. For goodness sakes why? We missed a lot by arguing. Spent a lot of time on clothes. She was always covered, so why? Spent a lot of time on school. Even though not the best grades in the class, she finished. So why? I never knew how to pick my battles. Little things seemed important. Wanted her neat. Wanted her to be the best in class. Wanted her to reflect how good a mother I was. I know now most of what I wanted was for me. It took me a while, and I still slip but I grew up. Now what I pray for is for her to know God, to know how to pray. I want her in Heaven. I want her to know I love her. Much more important than clothes, hair and grades. Happy Birthday Baby Girl.

Barry Manilow

"I write the Songs". One of my top ten favorites. Everything Barry Manilow wrote are favorites; from "Mandy" to "Copa Cabana". Many remember things in our past by hearing a certain song. If I hear "Wheel of Fortune" (a song before it was a game show) by Kay Starr I am taken back to working at F.W. Woolworth record counter. I got to chose the record to play on speakers in the store. They knew I was at work when "Wheel" started playing. "Slow Boat to China" by Jo Stafford and "Peace in the Valley" by Red Foley were my Dad's favorites. Mother loved a tune called "Up A Lazy River".

My favorite TV show was "Your Hit Parade" It featured four singers, Dorothy Collins, Richard Arms, Gisele McKensie and Snooky Lansen. Aired Saturday night, sponsored by Lucky Strike cigarettes. The premise was to take the top songs of the week and present them in what was the forerunner of MTV. But with clothes on and without gestures that would embarrass your grandparents. Our generation's music video.

I have always loved music. I think most of us do. At one time I knew the words to every song recorded by Tammy Wynette. (special but not on my list of top ten accomplishments in life). Had all the songs by the Statler Bros., The Oak Ridge Boys. (don't you still enjoy Elvira), Roy Clark. None gotten stale. Never listened to Rod Stewart until he came out with three volumes of oldies (if you are over 50 and don't have those recordings you should look into it)

Merle Haggard was and still is my favorite Okie from Muskogee and boy is he looking old.

Through owning every Gaither video that Bill has put out, I learned about song writers. I began to look in the book to see who wrote what. One of the greatest, Albert Brumley, wrote over 600 songs. Known as the Dean of Gospel Song Writers. Raised in Southeastern Oklahoma, son of sharecroppers. You will recognize " I'll Fly Away", "Turn Your Radio On", "I'll Meet you In the Morning" and my personal favorite, "Jesus Hold My Hand." I bring up Albert Brumley because at our congregation we have a young couple, Bob and Jane Brumley. Bob is the grandson of Albert Brumley. What a great musical heritage he has.

My California grandson has an IPod with almost every song you can imagine loaded on. When he was here a couple of years ago, "Salty Dog Rag" kept running over in my mind and as I am apt to do I would sing it off and on til one day he asked if that was really a song. Brought him into the computer, cranked up ITunes and found it by Roy Clark. Grandson liked the way it sounded. I clicked the magic button and for 99 cents we owned the record. Downloaded it on his IPod. I am not exaggerating when I say that he is probably the only 18 year old in Southern California with Salty Dog Rag loaded on his IPod. Its either a curse or a blessing. Now if I can just get him to listen to Barry Manilow

Watch Out for the Potholes

Every morning I go to work driving on Southwest Parkway. I turn right onto Maplewood, go on to Kemp, turn right again. Then into Parker Square. I park far away from the office. Its the only exercise I get. In the evening, I just reverse this route. It is a good thing for me to write this down. If I should forget where I am going, and if I can get to a computer, I can find my way home.

Like a lot of streets in any town, Maplewood has more than its fair share of potholes. After driving on it for a long time, I know where the bad ones are. I know when one has been fixed and I know when to drive really close to the curb or as close to the middle stripe as possible in order to avoid the "sinking"of at least one of the tires. Mate isn't aware that I know this. He spends a lot of time when he is with me as I drive on Maplewood, making a sound as if he is drinking through a straw and has reached the bottom of the glass. If you are a wife and have driven with your Mate in the car, you know this sound.

Then a new pothole appears and I don't know where to go.

Occurs to me that life is a lot like Maplewood Boulevard. Lined with potholes. Age and experience have taught me where most of them are, and where to go to miss them. But I am still learning. There are a lot of potholes I miss just because I never went that way. Those are easy to avoid. Personally I don't feel I get any points for missing those that I have avoided for years and that don't tempt me to sink.

Even at my age I hit potholes I didn't know existed.. I feel the tire clunk and hear Mate sip through the straw. The journey to Heaven has been lined with potholes. However, for this trip heading toward eternity, He left me an Advocate to guide me either close to the curb or close to the center stripe. If I can remember to rely on what I know is true and if I ask for guidance, I will find my flock of sheep and more importantly my Shepherd. Please meet my Shepherd. You can find him in the Book. He 's always adding new sheep to the flock. Its a wonderful journey. I promise. But don't rely on me or anyone else you know. Rely on the One that made the promise.

Shopping, Stuff, Shower Curtains

I missed the shopping gene. Never have liked to shop. Only go when I have run out of clothes or have upped a size. More often upped a size than out. Tend to have 5 or 6 outfits and don't change around. Oh sometime I think I would like to have more clothes, but then I realize I would actually have to go inside a store to buy them. Could order, but it never is just right and then I never get around to sending it back. thats why most of my orders go to my Church's work with feeding and clothing the under privileged. So ordering has a purpose.

Found a purse I liked going on about four years ago. Friend had one, I coveted it, so when she went to a craft show she got me one. They are all made by a lady who patented the pattern but only sells them at "craft shows". My friend picked out the material, which is different in every purse. She is sort of like my sister. She would always know what I like. Even though the material is definitely winter (which we don't have very long here in this part of Texas) I have carried that purse every day since I put my "stuff" in it. They don't wear out. Winter,Spring, Summer, Fall.

Now to be truthful, here in North Central Texas we only have one day of Spring and one day of Fall. Those are the two day you can drive a convertible with the top down, or sit outside and eat. The rest of the time its either Winter or Summer.

I like this purse so much that I actually went with my sister to a "craft show" and bought 3 of them and gave them for gifts. It was during the winter and I didn't see the need to get me another one. I found out a long time ago that a Craft show only has "stuff" for sale. I don't do "stuff" Criteria for anything I buy. "If it has to be dusted, I don't need it". Life is simple, My sweet daughter gave me a purse for Christmas which is so pretty. I put my "stuff" in it. Didn't fit. She wants so badly to be able to buy me something. I realize its not easy.

My friend and I have made a bargain. the next craft show she will get me a different same purse.

When we moved back here from East Texas ten years or so ago, I had to put up a shower curtain. Could not find one I liked. Finally one day at Lowes (not where I would normally go to buy a shower curtain) while waiting on Mate to buy a nail or something, I noticed they had shower curtains. Saw one I like. Has shells on it. Liked the color. Reasonable. Bought it. Thats how I shop. Put it up. Mate liked it. Said it looked familiar. We both remembered that it was the one we had in East Texas for 7 years, I have since replaced it with one just like it. My Rules for Living book says I should not fool with something I like or something that fits.

Back before women began to wear pants, I did shop. Found a dress I liked. Thought it looked great on me. They had it in a fushia and blue. I bought both of them. Wore one one week and the other the next. It worked. Found a skirt that I liked at Macys in Tyler, Texas. I bought one in every color they had. Just a simple straight skirt. No one noticed they were all alike. Don't like change much. Those shopping trips were when I discovered I could live without change. Now there is one exception to that. I am the one with the remote control. I don't enjoy much television but do love to click. Married to mate almost 57 years. Kept the same children, grandchildren and sister all these years. Its worked out pretty well for me. Have the same Church family for over fifty years. Been a Democrat all my life. Kept the same job for thirty years before retiring and moving to East Texas to a different job. Lived in the same house for 30 years . I really don't have an exciting life but I like it this way. I believe the True Excitement is yet to come.

Cleaning, Cooking, Calamity

I was not born to be a housewife. I still feel my calling was to be a cabaret singer with fish net stockings. A lot of people miss their calling in life.

Cleaning was a mystery. It never stayed done. I do like things clean however and somehow managed to master it. 57 years ago most men did nothing in the house. I went to work the same hours Mate did, but was not finished when I came home. There was cleaning and washing and ironing and all those things to be done. I invite you to read the last chapter of the Book of Proverbs. Written by Soloman. (a man) Keep in mind that Soloman was the most wealthy man that ever lived. He had, oh I have forgotten how many wives. I prefer to think that the "good wife" he writes about is a composite. Surely even back then if that was a single woman he left out the part about her having a nervous breakdown.

To his credit, when Mate got over that last chapter of Proverbs and found out it was okay for him to pitch in and not just sit in the gate, he did it and did it well.

Cleaning, though never ending, was not my main problem. It was Cooking. With a capital C.

I had never learned to Cook. My sister had the grandmother that taught her to cook. Oh what a great country cook she was. She could bake, stew, broil, saute, braise, poach and steam, as long as it was rolled in flour and fried in lard.

My grandmother........ more fun but alas no cooking. We ate sandwiches, made with store bought bread and pimento cheese and those orange marshmallow peanuts. She loved those and candy corn. No wonder we were soul mates.

Mate loved chicken and dumplings. A good old southern dish. I asked his grandmother how to make them. Been married nearly 57 years and have never owned a cook book. With all that cooking and cleaning and working outside the home when on earth would there have been time to read a cookbook? I do have a phone book and can call and order take out. She neglected to tell me that the broth should be boiling before you put in one of these lumps of dough that was yucky and stuck to your hands. I put several lumps in while it was just heating. Took it a long time to cook and it was one very large dumpling. Covered the entire pan. I only did it one time.

Another was Lasagna. We didn't eat Italian in Greer County. Don't remember where I first ate it, but thought it was the absolute best food I had ever tasted. Company coming. Went to the store found lasagna noodles, read the receipe on the box. In the Country you cook a LOT. Never do you want to come up short. I bought 3 boxes of noodles for four people. Ran out of pans, had the sink full. First time Mate ever got clever about my cooking. He went to the garage, came back with a shovel and said he was going out to the yard and bury that thing.

Later in life we had a garbage disposal. Still to this day my favorite appliance. Company again. Don't remember what I cooked but Mate went to the bathroom, came back with alka seltzer tablets and threw them in the disposal. Told the company that he got to take them every night and he felt the garbage disposal was entitled.

Mate and I stuck it out. I can put a pretty good meal on the table. I still don't enjoy it if there are just the two of us. I do like cooking for a big bunch because then you can revert to your upbringing and cook a lot.

We have a grandson in California. He loves breakfast and I love cooking it for him. When he is here I fix bacon, eggs, especially hash browns and cream gravy. And I fix it when we visit them. Once he told me he would sure like to have some more of that sauce. I explained that if you live in the South, cream gravy is not a sauce, its one of the food groups.

Word Of The Day

The Family began doing Word of the Day a year or so ago when one of the nieces just sent out an email giving us a 'word of the day', which we called "wod", and seeing who could come up with the definition first. What a rowdy bunch we are. It got fierce, it was competitive it was unfair! And still we kept it up for about a year. We do not let go easily. Not of games, not of beliefs and not of preaching to each other, over and over and over as Mate likes to say. It takes us a while to get the point. The California family was completely out of the loop, two hours time difference. Niece in Arizona actually sent the word, and who ever knows what time it is there. Then there was the teacher in Oklahoma who left for work early and complained of the unfairness of it all. Luckily for all of us, except California, Arizona got up early. I will always believe that Ohio niece sat right on the computer ready to pounce and it became quite a contest with her mother in law (my sister) and that niece and then the niece just down the road. We got down to comparing the time set on our computers. Anything to gain an edge. Can you imagine how it would be if we had a large family? Glory Be! Mate discovered the "wod" website. He, who does not come to the computer early in the day, joined in. (Mate is nothing if not a fierce competitor). He downloaded the "wod" and waited on the computer in the morning.

We are simple folk. It doesn't take much to make us happy. We actually started another generation onto "wod". Great niece who then complained because she had an early college class and missed two days a week of "wod". Finally it got so competitive that Arizona just stopped.

Now thats not the actual reason. Facebook came into our lives. Not all the family indulges and therefore, it appears that it has broadened our horizons individually, but it has taken a toll on our Family togetherness.

We still email. Its Saturday morning as I write this. One of my favorite days of the week. Not because I have a day off, but because it is the day that we get the weekly news from the Oklahoma Niece. I look forward to it all week. I love the lives of my Family. It may be just what they had for dinner, or something a child said in school. We went through the building of a house in Oklahoma. We have gone through I don't know how many remodels in Arizona, we have taken college exams with Tennessee. We have learned about the Methodist from the Niece down the road (not an easy task for the rest of the Church of Christ family) . And most importantly, we wept and prayed when Ohio nephew was in the middle East. We have rejoiced that Ohio family is back, living in the country and planting crops and raising chickens. Its not the "content" of the email, its the "comfort" in knowing that I am a part of the DNA of this weird bunch of connected people. Even the DNA of those who joined by marriage lives on in offsprings.

I love my friends. Would not want my life without them. But Family is..... well you understand. Facebook is nice, but personally, I would rather have "wod" back.