A sweet, new photo of Lee’s beautiful granddaughter, Ava (daughter of Richard and Lacey). What a precious baby girl!
Yes, indeed! “Simply Perfect,
Our So Very Pink, Sweet, Little Pig-tailed Ava!”
Hey folks! Post a note to Lee!
A Cherokee Legend: The Wolves Within
January 22, 2009 at 12:18 AM (Just for Fun)
An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life.
“A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.
“It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil – he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.” He continued, “The other is good – he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you – and inside every other person, too.”
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”
Dick Attempts To Quit Smoking
January 5, 2009 at 8:50 AM (Clynese and Winnie, Geneva and Joe, Jimmy, Johnny and Verna, Nathan and Icy, Our Beautiful Branches, Sara & Dave, Teen and Dick)
There was a time when cigarettes were advertised everywhere! TV, magazines, radio… it was glorified, really. Glamorized! And lots of folks smoked.
Dick was one of them. And as we all know, smoking is a very addictive habit. But as time went by, the dangers of smoking became apparent and there was a movement that encouraged smokers to quit. Dick found himself square in the middle of this movement.
He wasn’t thrilled. He enjoyed smoking, but he vowed to give it his best shot.
Dick loved to stay busy. He worked with his hands a lot, so this helped. He was a crafted carpenter and would build things. He made little miniature chairs for the little great nieces and nephews and birdhouses… along with other nice things. And because he was an engineer, everything he made was beautiful. He always used the best materials and put all he had into each piece.
Well, as some of you x-smokers know, it’s hard to quit smoking. His wife, Teen, and a few other family members had to run errands one day. Dick decided he wanted a cigarette and it was a good time to discreetly one! He went outside to the yard so nobody would smell smoke in the house.
He found a nice spot in the shade, just to the side of the house. Standing near the hedges, not worrying a bit that he would ever be discovered, he fired up the cigarette and inhaled. Nobody was in sight… and he was only going to smoke one! “What would that hurt,” he thought!
He looked around and surveyed his yard. Things had sure been dry that year. No matter how hard they tried, they had struggled keeping everything watered. The shrubbery and grass had really dried up from the extreme heat and no rain. His yard was usually green and beautiful, but now “just an ugly brown!”
Suddenly… as he was enjoying his much needed cigarette, to his shock and surprise, his wife’s car pulls up into the driveway. His family had returned and he was right in the middle of a good smoke! They sure made a quick trip to the store! He thought he would have enough time. He looked around in a panic… he had to get rid of the evidence but there was “no time…!” They were getting out of the car!
He quickly tossed the cigarette down on the ground, under the bush he was standing next to!
As the family walked towards him… the bush went up in flames!
Well, needless to say, they all realized what had happened and had a good laugh.
And after that, teased him unmercifully about the “burning bush.”
They called him Moses!
Left to Right: Jimmy, Icy, Teen, Dick
Oh, and by the way… maybe that experience helped him, because we are pleased to report that he was eventually successful and ‘did’ whip his long held habit… he was able to completely quit smoking, which made everyone who loved him extremely happy! (And an additional benefit: the “fire risk” around their house went way, way down.)
We sure do miss you… you always made us smile!
Doodle Bug!
January 4, 2009 at 5:30 AM (Clynese and Winnie, Geneva and Joe, Growing Up Years, Jimmy, Johnny and Verna, Nathan and Icy, Our Beautiful Branches, Sara & Dave, Teen and Dick)
Nathan had a nickname for Doc. He called his brother-in-law “Doodle Bug.”
Doc called Nathan “Jelly!”
When Nathan got off work, he and Icy would often load all the kids up in the car and make a track to the country to see Doc and Vivian.
Because it was usually late when he got off work, they were often arriving in the wee hours of the morning. On this particular trip, Nathan was not familiar with where Doc’s house was. They drove around for a bit and growing frustrated and tired, Nathan finally picked out the house he thought was his brother-in-law’s. He was sure of it… it just had to be Doc’s house!
Icy said, “Nathan, that’s not Doc’s house.”
Nathan protested, “I think it is, Icy!”
Back and forth they argued about it. Finally Icy said, “Well go bang on the door and see…!”
So Nathan pulled in front of the house and beat a path to the door.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!” (…at 2:00 a.m. in the morning!)
“Doodle Bug! Doodle Bug! Get Up! Open Up Doodle Bug,” Nathan hollered as he banged loudly at the door!
A very sleepy, grumpy man finally dragged himself to the door and said, “WHO IN THE WORLD IS DOODLE BUG?”
Nope! It wasn’t Doodle Bug! Yes, as you have probably guessed by now, they had the wrong house!
I wonder if Icy couldn’t resist telling Nathan, “I told you so!” (If she didn’t, I’m sure she thought it!)
Nathan explained to the startled, tired man who “Doodle Bug” was, and the man directed him to Doc’s house.
And if you are wondering where in the world Nathan came up with the nickname “Doodle Bug,” we can only guess. My wild guess is that it most likely came from his workplace. They used to call some of the trains…. yes, “Doodle Bugs!”
And “Jelly?” Oh, that’s easy! “Jelly Roll!”
Or was it from: 
Jelly Roll Morton – 1923/24
Huuuummmm….
LINKS:
Doodlebugs live on in historical train information
Memories at the ATS… Doodle Bugs
Popular Music
“Doodlebug” or “Song of the Doodlebug” – U.S., 1928
Echoing the children’s rhymes of American antlion folklore, the lyrics of this song claim that a doodlebug can be enticed out of its hole by putting one’s mouth near its pit and singing:
Doodle, doodle, doodle. . . hop up bug!
Doodle, doodle, doodle. . . hop up bug!
That doodle jump up and look all around
and doodle back in the ground.
Originally performed by the Georgia Yellowhammers, the “Song of the Doodlebug” appears on several contemporary folk recordings…
The Special Gift: A Labor of Love
January 3, 2009 at 10:46 PM (Clynese and Winnie, Geneva and Joe, Growing Up Years, Jimmy, Johnny and Verna, Our Beautiful Branches, Sara & Dave, Teen and Dick)
Cheryl writes: “During one of our family’s many trips to see everyone, I received an invitation to spend the night with Clynese’s eldest daughter, Sheila and her husband, Louis. I was thrilled. I have always loved Sheila and Louis. They were (and still are) brilliant in my eyes, never too busy to listen to my early teenage silliness or spend time talking with me. They always treated me as though I were an adult and I liked that.
So off we went!
We had a lovely time. Sheila and Louis have always been fascinating, as was their home. It was a warm, fun place to explore and to my delight I discovered that they shared the same love that I had for books. They had an entire wall covered with books. There were books everywhere! I was in heaven! I dreamed of having that many books of my own some day.
We shared a great evening, but nighttime came quickly…
They fixed a place for me on their couch and went off to bed. The only problem…. I wasn’t sleepy yet. So I stayed up, looking through more of their wonderful books. They wouldn’t mind…
I had never seen that many books before, except at the library back home. There seemed to be a book for every subject you could imagine. I must have flipped through them all. As the night ticked away… as I thumbed through book after book, I noticed that they didn’t seem to be arranged in any sort of way.
I had always arranged my books by size. Their books weren’t like that. There were big books next to little books… They were just all messed up. This was no good! It didn’t look “pretty,” I thought. So, I decided to rectify this problem immediately and surprise them the next morning.
I spent most of the night, working diligently into the early morning hours, arranging each books according to it’s size. From big to little, from the top shelf to the bottom shelf, and from left to right I stacked each books carefully. Once done, I stepped back to behold the “magnificent order” I had created! It looked beautiful and “so organized!”
I could hardly wait to show them what I had done for them! I slept hardly a wink in anticipation.
Morning came quickly, and when Sheila and Louis entered the room I proudly pointed to the bookcase to show them what I had done for them. They were so surprised! They thought it looked very nice and I was so pleased that they liked it and appreciated all my hard work.
Years later… they told me, with a smile, that they had their books organized “alphabetically.”
Opps!
Well… you gotta love ’em for how they handled it. They could have really devastated me, but instead, they chose to handle it with love.
And I loved them all the more for it.“
Happy New Year Family!
January 1, 2009 at 6:12 AM (Clynese and Winnie, Geneva and Joe, Jimmy, Johnny and Verna, Just for Fun, Nathan and Icy, Our Beautiful Branches, Sara & Dave, Teen and Dick)
Yigaquv osaniyu adanvto adadoligi naqvv utlogasdi nihi
(May The Great Spirit’s Blessings always be with you)
Oh, Father Time… slow down, please!
What’s the big hurry?
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