Horse and buggy days

It is the year 2010 and I have several connections to the horse and buggy days.Mom told me her family would ride to church on a horse and wagon pulled by their ole plow mules.Grandpa Smith was the preacher at Bethel East Baptist Church.So was my uncle Bill years later.Grandpa was at the old church Bill was at the new one.Anyway Grandpa died when Momma was 5 and when he was preaching at the church she would be sitting on the floor behind the pulpit.Story is they gave her a sack full of biscuits just to keep her quiet.Oh by the way Bethel is in Randolph County Alabama.My other connection with horse and wagons is my other Grandpa.Grandpa Haynes was a bootlegger.Using a horse drawn wagon is how he transported the goods.I find no fault in Grandpa Haynes being a bootlegger/moonshiner.He fed his family during the depression doing this.This also took place in Alabama.My other connection to horse and wagons is a bit more tragic.Great Grandpa Jacob Haynes lost a leg In the Civil War at the battle of Vicksburg,Mississippi and was taken prisoner.After the war he had a businnes transporting things by wagon.What these things where I don't know.Anyway it was a rainy day and Great Grandpa Haynes was getting on his wagon and slipped on muddy ground.The horses got spooked I am guessing and the horses and wagon ran over him killing him.So in the year 2010 I still have a connection to the old horse and buggy days.

Smith grunt

I am just sitting here.Nothing comes into my brain to write about today.Let's see.My mood is good.I have not much pain of any kind.I do have a tooth that is bothering me.While back I was eating a grilled cheese with peperoni sandwich and I bit down on something hard.I don't think that is normal.Anyway it felt like something was stuck in my tooth.After several tooth brushing something came out.I think it was a filling.Ever since then it gives me problems.I have only had one toothache in my life.I was a kid and I remember the pain vividly.It stopped hurting just as I walked into the dentist's office but it was pulled any way.I still have my lower wisdom teeth and they have caused me problems in the past.But all said I have been lucky in this respect.Momma was a Smith.There is something called the Smith grunt.They let every little pain be know so hince the word Smith grunt.I use to never complain about pain now in my old age it is a favorite past time.Oh no I have it.It has struck me.I have the Smith grunt.

P Paul Vollienwider was the boss

I went out to sea once.My first and only time.Sit back my friend and I will tell you of my trip on the boat.We had charted a small fishing boat in Panama City,Florida for a half day fishing trip the next day.Little did we know that a hurricane would blow in and change our plans.The next morning after a breakfast of greasy eggs,bacon and grits we headed out to the boat.The Captain was the only wise man I met that day and refused to go out in such rough weather and gladly refunded our money.So off we go and get on a larger charter boat for the day.There where about 50 souls on board I would guess.From my seat at the table we had commandeered I could see the Captain and his radar screens where lit up like Christmas trees.It was a rough day on the Atlantic Ocean and that was putting it mildly.That boat would rise up and down and each time the back end of the boat would come down it sounded like it was hitting hard pavement.Not much fishing was done.A few hardy souls would hang on and try to fish without much luck.I was lucky,had a place at the table to lay down.Man talk of sick I was.Dry heaves.For 8 long hours I suffered.To make it worse a galley was on the boat and the smell of greasy fried food was just adding to my misery.The guy on the boat said he knew that when he died he would go to hell but least he didn't get sea sick.Lucky man I thought at the time.Soon as I seen land again the sea sickness left me.I told my boss at work about this.His name was P Paul Vollienwider.This is what he said.the cure for sea sickness is to sit under a Palm tree and eat soda crackers.You see folks that is why P Paul Vollienwider was the boss.

I can drive !

This is a 1960 Dodge.My Daddy had one when I got my learners driver permit at 15.It was the first car I ever drove.It was baby blue,4 door,it didn't have carpet but rubber mats instead.It was push button automatic with power steering and brakes.The steering wheel was oblong or egg shaped.It was hard being cool when passing my friends on their bikes cause really I was terrified.Those power brakes where a bit touchy for someone who never drove before.Ok we made it almost home with no incidents.Everything was good.Then.My first mistake.Pulling into the yard I almost sent Daddy through the windshield.Back then some cars didn't have seatbelts and if the car did no one wore them.Those touchy brakes.I slammed on them hard.Almost taking the mail box with me.But no one was hurt.Just my pride.I made it home.

Blessed ones

Gee.Do you ever feel like a burden?I do at times.Being in this wheelchair is ego busting for me.I never asked for help before.If I could not do it on my own it just didn't get done.People don't say it but you can hear it in there voice.In the expression they make.I did not want this.I will not complain but I wonder how it would be if things where different.Maybe I was given this so I could feel for other people.People who have challenges or their road is not easy to travel.It is a hard row to plow for some of us.But maybe,I doubt it but maybe we are the blessed ones.

Ain't looking for no one and no one is looking for me

I never sit down at the computer with an idea on what to write about.It just starts flowing from my fingers.Sometimes it all makes sense and other times well.Like I said before there always seems like a thousand ideas in my head all mixed up with the daily things of life.Maybe a filter is needed.Filter out the junk and nonsense.Filter out the stuff that's really not important.I just got through making the statement to someone that I could honestly say that I hate no one.I really can say there is noone I'm upset with.There is a song that has a line in it by Lynyrd Skynyrd that said this(AIN'T LOOKING FOR NO ONE AND NO ONE IS LOOKING FOR ME).That is a good way to live.

Innocence

I am sitting here watching the kittens.They are precious.They are full of spit and vinegar.Baby anythings are so wonderful.Then they grow up and lose that innocence.They become like us then.I have been thinking lately .I wish I had my innocence back.My trust in man wish it could be restored.

Trick or treat

Happy Halloween everyone.Be safe and eat lots of candy for me.I like snickers,paydays,tootsie rolls.You get the picture I like candy.My first Halloween did not work to good.I was 3 living in Alabama.I had a little problem with my blood at the time.Every time I would get a scratch it would get infected.Several times I remember having to have my foot scrape for lack of a better word because of infection.I had to take sulphur pills,they where orange and the size of a quarter.Anyway it was Halloween and I had a trick or treat costume and was all set for my first time trick or treating.But a problem.I had that infection again.So Daddy made me a deal.If I would go quietly to the ER with out making to much of a fuss I could go trick or treating.I went.Well at the hospital the plan was to give me a shot.I didn't like shots still don't.It took my Daddy,a nurse and the Doctor to hold me down while getting the shot.I remember screaming and pitching a big hissy fit.They won.I got the shot.My side of the deal was done.But wouldn't you know it.Me a wide eyed trusting little 3 year boy with his trick or treat costume on was not allowed to go on my first trick or treat.Oh well but it does bring up a fairly good memory.Trick or treat everyone!

Daddy and WW2

Daddy left Macon,Ga because he knew he was going to be drafted.This was WW2.He was going to stay with his sister in Roanoke,Al.Hear Daddy tell it his draft notice was waiting on him there.So he was drafted.I heard him speak of tent city at Ft Mac.He was sent to Germany as an ambulance driver.He seen the ovens where our Jewish Brethen where burnt.There are other things he told me but it's not for here.Daddy was gone for 5 years.He came home on furlough for 2 weeks before he was to be shipped to the Pacific.The war ended while he was home.

Great American food

Oh my goodness.Just look at that burger and fries.Crinkle cut fries I love them.I crave them.That burger looks just right.To me this is the Great American Food.Sure it's loaded with sodium,fat and cholesterol but it's so good.Maybe not good for your heart but it sure makes the soul happy.

Zillion and thirty

I have a zillion and thirty ideas in my head today.I feel creative.But my brain won't slow down enough for me to pull one out.I am spinning my tires so to speak.Going fast but getting no where.

Lesson learned

I found out at a young age that trying to help out a friend by telling little white lies is not a good idea.A kid got hurt and he said not to tell his Mom how it happened.I did as he wanted.But I told my Mom the truth.Anyway we where at some church thing that night and his Mom started telling how her son was injured.My name came up so Momma spoke up and told what I had told her.Sure enough my friend's Mom said I had lied.My friend just let me hang with out helping.So I was called a liar,a bad egg all this from the Preachers wife.I learned a very important lesson that day.

Zombies in NYC

Zombies in NYC.I read that headline in the paper other day.Something about zombies on the subway.I did not read the whole article but I'm guessing it was some sort of Halloween thingy.When I was a kid maybe 12 years old me and the kid next door,same age as me would put on little spook shows in his basement.I haven't thought of that in years but at the time it was fun.Spaghetti for guts,grapes for eyeballs and ketchup for blood.Fix up a dummy with your old clothes and you got the start of real spooky play acting.We had younger kids screaming and crying with our little shows.Yep it was mean but oh so much fun.

Group hug

I know what everyone needs.What we all need.A big ole group hug.Feeling down?Sad?Discouraged?Let's just take a minute out of our hectic life and give everyone a big group hug.

Guilt

There are so many things I want to put into words.But like they say I better take the fifth.To protect the innocent.Don't want my behind wupped.Won't rile you up.So to keep the peace I will bite my tongue.Being brought up Baptist I always heard if you think it you might as well do it cause you are just as guilty.Guilt has always been a part of my life.I could never enjoy somethings I did because of it.But it kept me out of a lot of trouble guilt did.

Heart on my sleeve

I don't know what it is.Every since I was a little boy people say things to me and I guess it is taken wrong.I know there can't be that many cold,heartless people I know.It's ok I can live with it I always have.What is it I wonder.Maybe it's just me but it makes me sad sometimes.Do I wear my heart on my sleeve?

Butter has slipped off my biscuit

Oh boy.What's going on in your world today?Here it's windy,cloudy but muggy.Leaves sure blowing off the trees with the wind.Monday it rained at 4pm with the sun shinning.Always heard that called the devil beating his wife.Some say it means it will rain again at same time the next day.It did .Tornado warnings are in the area.But think they are north of here.I have had a small microwave taco pizza and a banana so far today.I feel like a fish out of water,a knot on a log today.Like the butter has slipped off my biscuit type of deal.It will be a long day I bet.

It would be Heaven

My memory starts at 3 years old.Anything before that is just blank.The old house at Roanoke,Al sure wasn't like I remembered the last time I seen it.Maybe everything just looked bigger as a kid.The old front porch was wooden and splinters in my feet happened alot.My folks rode the bus to LaGrange to work in the mills.I stayed with my Grandpa and Grandma Haynes.They had 2 beds and in the middle there was a pot belly stove that burned coal.I know I aggravated them poor souls.They would be sleeping and me not sleepy would jump from bed to bed keeping them awake.My folks worked the 2nd shift and got home late.This I can still see in my head.Each night they would wake me up when they got home.They always had a piece of candy for me.I remember the tri color coconut candy.It was the best.There where no kids my age for me to play with.The high point of my day was when the Lady who helped Grandma her kids which seemed like 12 or more would come to walk her home.Oh my kids my age and we got to play for awhile.Sitting on the back porch Grandma would churn butter.That is something you don't see everyday now.There was a large Willow tree in the back.I can still see Uncle Leon's old Nash parked under it.The breakfast at the table with Grandpa telling jokes eating peaches and cream.Grandpa,Daddy and me where downtown Roanoke.What store it was I don't remember.There was a large toy airplane on the shelf for sale.I pitched a bratty fit for it but Daddy was broke and could not buy it.But Grandpa got it for me.I remember playing for hours with it on the old wood floors.Gray John the old plow mule I rode with someone guiding him.Me and Momma would slop the hogs each evening.My job was to gather the eggs each morning.We had no TV.Grandma and me would go to the neighbors house each day and watch Queen for a day,Dragnet.Grandpa got us a TV.It had a record player on top.TV,Grandma loved her shows till the day she died.The night Grandpa died Momma I remembered put a paper sack around the hanging light bulb I guess to dim the light in the room.Grandpa died.They had sent me to stay with the Ramseys that night.I see the preacher at the house preaching.People crying.Daddy and me walked outside while this was going on.I remember asking Daddy in my childish knowledge if they would bring Grandpa back to life.So it goes.These where my earliest memories.I told someone that when I die,If I make it to Heaven,just to be able to sit on the steps of the back porch and just to have my folk,Grandmas,Grandpas,Parents,Uncles,Aunts ,Cousins and just listen to them talk and laugh that would be Heaven for me.

Stars and chickens

Daddy was a poor kid.He said laying in bed at night he could look up and see the stars.He could look down and see the chickens running under the house.

Swamp gas?

I remember the story Momma told about something that happened when they lived in the country.It was the old home place at Bethel.That was where she was born and I am sure the others where also.Anyway one night they all where sitting on the front porch.Uncle Arnold was playing or trying to play his old guitar.From across the road where it was swamp land they seen a bright light.It was coming towards them and was orange.It was getting larger.It came up on the porch with them.Arnold swung his guitar at the light and it disappeared.What ever the light was they never knew.Momma just called it swamp gas.I often wondered if it was an orb.

What goes around

I'm so thankful for this blog.This morning I commented on a woman's looks.I said you look 20 years younger and she did.Well the mail runs and I am being told by her that I am a senior citizen because of the mail I got.There is an old saying...what goes around comes around.

Judge ye least be judged

Born in the south.Raised in the south.Most likely will die in the south.It is all I know.Peaves me off when folks put her down.Why I wonder sometimes.Heard folks call us backwards,ignorant,rednecks on and on.They call us racists without even knowing us.If you live there you are this and that.Take Lester Maddox for example.He came to fame when he refused to serve someone at his Pickrick cafe.Was it wrong? You bet it was.But did he have right to refuse customers?Some black lady spoke of Lester when he was Governor and said quiet honestly that he had done more good and had more blacks in his administration than any one before him.I am getting off the track a bit I know.But it makes me mad when people judge.Those that would never judge anyone will readily judge a whole region without knowing them.Stereotyping is the word.What if I said all New Yorkers are rude fast talkers who have no feelings but for their own self?I would be wrong wouldn't I.So no double standards please.Don't judge me and I will give you the privilege of not being judged without first getting to know you.

Only child

I am an only child.I always wanted a brother or sister.Still do to this very day.Some call us spoiled.But believe me being an only child is never easy.People tell me you are lucky.I don't feel that way.Maybe it was just me but extra hardships are placed on an only child.It was lonesome.Till I started to school all I had for friends and playmates where farm animals I adopted and my dog.So if you are reading this and you have a kid or want a kid please do them a favor and make sure they have a sibling.

Frosted hair

I was sitting on the porch.I seen some woman walking toward the house.The closer she got the more she looked familiar.She walked into the yard up on the porch.It was Momma.She was white headed.Momma take off that wig I said.She laughed she couldn't.She had had her hair frosted.

Brunswick stew

Me,Daddy and my Uncle Arthur had gone to a church homecoming some where.I can still see the church outside and inside.It was for what some people don't know about homecoming.That is where members and past members bring food and have what I always hear it called dinner on the ground.Anyway that day I found a new favorite food.It was good.I had about 3 bowls of it.Then my Uncle told me what it was and what it was made of.It was my first time eating Brunswick Stew.Gosh it was so good.Then Arthur waited till I was finished and told me it was made with hog head,eyes brains everything.He was right there is hogshead Brunswick stew.I still love it but now I make sure it's the kind made with chicken or beef.Not hogshead.

People who think they are smart

Some people think they are smart.They are know-it-alls.I heard some one being put down once.He was being ridiculed.The guy spoke up and what he said made so much sense.He said just because your field of knowledge is not my expertise does not mean I am dumb,not smart, unintelligent or what ever you want to call it.That speaks miles of wisdom.So be careful when you call someone names or ridicule them.It will come back and bite you when you show how unintelligent you are.

Hog killing time

I was 3 years old living in Roanoke,Al.Daddy,Momma,Grandma Haynes and my Uncle Lavert.It was hog killing time.My first and only.I followed Uncle Lavert into the barn.He had his gun I had my cap pistol.The large hogs where in stables.He would reach over into the stable and bam.I thought it was me and my cap pistol shooting the hogs but it was him.I don't remember how the large hogs where drug from the barn.Maybe they where hooked up to Gray John the old plow mule.Anyway they where strung up into trees by their feet.I want get graphic here but you can imagine what was done.I remembered Momma screaming.There was a big ole black cast iron pot of boiling water.Anyway to make a long story short That was my first and I hope only hog killing I ever attended.Till this very day when the weather cools I can hear my Daddy say it's hog killing time.

The light in the tree

It had to be in the early 60's.On highway 27,north of LaGrange.The place was called Blue Berry Hill.On the left side of the road going north.Out in the woods.Something was happening.My folks loaded up a car load.Mom,Dad,me,my cousins.At night we walked into the woods.There was a large crowd gathered.I didn't see it.No one I knew of seen it but it was there.Some guy I remembered said he was the keeper of it.It had asked him for a drink of water.What I am talking about is this.It was a local attraction for awhile.A light in a tree is what it was.What it was I never heard anyone say.But It was a reason to load up the car with your family and join several hundred people who parked on the side of the road on a weekend night.Maybe the companionship was what was the best.Till this very day every time I pass that spot in the road at Blue Berry Hill on highway 27 it brings back a fond memory.

Blustery days

Gosh it was a great thunderstorm that woke me up this morning before sunrise.Thunder,lighting and heavy rain.I like gloomy overcast blustery days for some reason.They don't make me blue or moody.Storms are just a free show that Mother Nature provides for us.Entertainment at it's best and it is free.

Quitting smoking

I quit smoking about 3 years ago.Don't remember if I have wrote about this.Quit cold turkey.At times I want a smoke.One of those little cigars would be wonderful.Drinking my coffee I have caught my self reaching for a smoke.Why I started is like everyone else did.Wanted to fit in or belong to a group and smoking is what they did.I won't say I will never smoke again but I sure hope not.

Male PMS

I am in a good mood.Last night was a different story.I went to bed right after supper last night and just got out of bed a few minutes ago.Don't ask me why I am like that cause I have no idea.I want to blame it on the diabetes.I read it can make men moody.And I do get moody.There is an idea going around that men my age have what is called male PMS.Maybe that is an answer.Really I just have no answer.Just look over me when I get this way.

Communicate

Oh boy.Some people sure have thin skin.Is there a way I can communicate without the spoken word?Hands signals?What other way could I use?The hand signal thing would most likely get me into deeper trouble.So maybe I will just sit here and think.Opps thinking is bad sometimes also.

Worry

Do you ever worry about things?I heard someone say once it was a sin to worry but dang sometimes it is hard not to.Guess worrying about anything will not change it.Just makes your self miserable.Time could be put to better use rather than that.Often I have said to myself that never again would the misery of worry creep into my life again.But in the end it always wins.

The subject is food

Big white butterbeans.Cornbread.Fried cut up potatoes.Maybe a cherry or peach cobbler.Wow doesn't that sound good for supper.I was raised on that kind of food.If Momma ever made a casserole I never knew anything about it.Fried chicken or cube steak we had.Bacon and sausage for breakfast.That is about all the meat I remember we had.Mostly peas,cornbread and other vegetables was the main stay of our food.Grits and eggs for breakfast.I am making my self hungry.

Lucky

Ok the 5 of us could not decide what we wanted for supper.Gee some people would love having that problem I bet.Here at the age of 58 I can honestly say I never went hungry.At times maybe I wanted something else but never did I go without.Daddy would tell me (if you are hungry you will eat it).I am and have been so lucky in my life.

Dog Gone

Dog climbs fence.Dog runs off.Dog is crazy.Dog bites neighbor.Cops come see me.Dog catcher comes see me.Dog catcher takes dog .Dog in dog poky for 10 days.Dog catcher writes me a $100 citation.I go to court November 2nd.I pay fine.I not like poky.Dog gone

Heros

I have been blessed.I never have had much pain.Some people I know have it constantly.How they survive is beyond me.My Daddy had cancer.It had spread through out his body.The bone cancer I read is one of the most painful things you can have.I realize now Daddy could not live without the pills.I have had people I loved die before.But watching my Daddy waste away from a big strong man was hard to take.After he died I thought maybe it was a blessing for him to go so quick.I would not be so selfish just to want him here with all that pain.No matter how much I needed him or loved him I would rather see him go than suffer.I have friends now in pain.They don't know how I think of them as heroes of mine by just living with it when it would be easier just to give up.Yes even at my age I still have heroes.

Dieting

Microwave taco pizza and a diet Big K.You know it's good.Quick and filling.I don't know if it's because of quitting smoking over two years ago or the diabetes or if this is what happens when you get old but my appetite sure is good.Never in my life could I stomach breakfast but now I wake up hungry.Years ago I went on a diet.Lost a lot of weight to much some said.I was hungry all the time but I did it.When I got home from work my supper was a diet coke and pack of soda crackers.Normally it would have been fries,hush puppies or something like that.Back then I cooked with lard.So now I realize why my cholesterol is sky high.The day I started my diet Momma had cubed steak with gravy,homemade biscuits ,mashed potatoes,all the things I like.I would go to Wendys and get a large salad.It would last me for awhile but my hunger would come back.I tried some of those awful shakes in can for dieters.Ughh talk about bad plus reading on the can it had more calories than a filling sand which.So I have come to the conclusion that life is short and long as I can I'm eating good cause you never know when that could end.So enjoy your food.I am.

I won't joke no more

Am I the only one.Only person in the world who just plain out gets lonely?Seems I have been that way all my life.I joke to hide my true feelings sometimes.The other day I was told I joke to much.So since then I haven't .I will be serious John till I slip up and make a joke about something.Have you ever just thought about the world without you in it?It will keep on spinning and the Sun will rise and set without you me We really are that insignificant.In 100 years chances are if we are lucky we will be just foggy memories to someone.I am sure there are others out who are like me.

Pumpkins,trick or treating,hayrides

This time of the year is my favorite.As a kid I would lay on the cool ground smelling the burning leaves.About dusk on a fall evening what a great time.Cool but not cold.Just a light jacket or sweater is all you need to be comfy.Thinking about Thanksgiving and Christmas as a kid .It seemed they would never get here.The fall festivals,hay rides,pumpkins and hay stacks,trick or treating.What a wonderful time of the year to be a kid.

The number 3

It always comes in 3's.Have you ever noticed that when people die there will be 3 in a row.Take Hollywood for example. This week alone Beaver Cleaver's TV Mom died.Riche Cunningham's TV Dad died and there was Tarzan and Jane's son Boy who died.I have seen it happen over and over.What is it about the number 3.I always heard that if you hear 3 knocks at the door don't answer.Don't light 3 people's smoke from the same match.2 is company 3 is a crowd.Then there is Dale Earnhardt,his car was number 3.So the number 3 could it be it's an unlucky number?Food for thought I guess.

Nothing is on my mind

Well just sitting here and nothing has come into my mind what to write about.So I guess this could lead to a lot of things.Oh by the way everything I write about is true.Nothing is fictional.Trying to think of something interesting that has happened lately.About the only thing interesting for me was a few weeks ago the dog climbed it's pen and bit the neighbor.Cops came out then the next day dog catcher was here and took the dog for 10 days and wrote me a $100 ticket.Well got it payed so I won't have to go to court next month.I was a bit concerned about that.What else.Well this is not exciting but we added road side assistance to the car insurance.Man oh man has that payed off.It has been used twice already.Once a dead battery.I called a service station and they wanted $45 dollars just to jump a car off.The insurance took care of it.Then there was a flat tire.Wow it was a life saver.So I am not recommending it but that sure saved us a couple of times.Well what else going on around here?We have cats and kittens.One has been gave a way but there are kittens left.Just waiting till after Halloween before the rest are adopted out.Some people tend to be cruel to cats around this time of the year.Ok just having another cup of coffee and thinking.Talk to you later.

One last talk

Momma and me would stay up for hours late at night just talking.The stories she told I had already heard before but I enjoyed hearing them again.We had that chance one last time before she went to the hospital and never came home again.She had Alzheimer's and she didn't know me.I would say Momma this Momma that and she would just smile and say I don't have any children I never was married.If I let everything she said bother me it would drive you crazy.I always managed to not let it bother me.It was Saturday night and I think she remembered me a little.We talked and I made her laugh.She had her favorite treat,Popsicles.It was a good night,I guess I was lucky cause I had her for one more talk.The following Monday I had to call 911,she could not swallow her food.It was the beginning of the end.

Heaven

I just had my breakfast and it was good.I had this thought as I was sitting here.There are hungry,cold people out in the world who aren't so lucky.I have always thought everyone should have enough to eat and a dry comfortable safe place to live.I think there is a place where everyone will have what they need.It is called Heaven.

Rumors

Ain't we quick to judge.I was 16 0r 17 working in the mill.Some man I never knew him working at the mill came up missing.There where all sorts of speculation of what happened.I remember this comment from some one who said they had seen this man and another woman to gather on such and such a night.I am sure there where many more comments made like that.I was in my car riding into town,we lived in Newnan.Georgia at the time.I seen a wrecker,a rollback and it had an old muddy 53 ford on it.It was followed by several police cars and they all pulled into the county work camp.You can guess what this was I bet.It was the man's car.It was discovered in a lake when the level dropped some.The man's skeleton was inside.The rumor was his watch was still running.So rumor makers guess the truth does come out in the end,so be careful with all your knowledge you pretend to have.

The Goat Man

This is a picture of Charles McCartney.He was know as the Goat Man.Traveling the country in his wagon pulled by goats loaded with pots and pans,etc.I remember seeing him a couple of times when he made his trips through Georgia.When I was a teenager driving past him where he was parked I wanted to stop and just talk with him.For the life of me I cant remember if I did or not.Seems like there is a memory of him,me talking with him but for some strange reason I'm just not 100% sure if I did.This was in the late 1960's.Gosh things where so different back then.

Joe

When I was a kid living on Juniper street here in Lagrange there was a guy who's name was Joe Lipp.Everyone knew him and so did all the dogs.Joe would drive down the street slowly in his pickup truck and no kidding all the dogs would come out of their hiding places just to stand on the side of the road and bark at Joe.Even the most mild manner Canine would turn into a ferocious barking snarling creature.How these dogs knew it was Joe I have no idea.You see Joe was the local dog catcher.So maybe dogs are smarter than we think.

We all have problems

I know this blog may never be read by anyway but that is not the reason it's done.Really it is like therapy for me to write about what going on in my life.There are not many people I tell my problems,wishes or what ever to.I tend to keep my feelings locked in.So this is a great place for me to release some pent upped emotions at times.Everyone has problems or if they don't they sure are blessed ain't they.My problems are no bigger or greater than yours.We all have them and suffer through them.Here is to you hoping answers to your problems come soon.

Can you guess?

Gosh ain't the world full of them.Is everyone this way?I hope I'm not but a few time just out of meanness I was.I know when people where like that with me it sure did hurt my feelings.What about people who are like this all the time?I wonder down deep in their heart do they realize what they are doing,how it hurts others?I hope some people aren't permanently stuck in this mode.That would make them really hard to get along with.I kinda think it might be an act,no one can be that heartless towards their fellow human brethren.Ok have you figured out what I am talking about?It's rude people,yes rude people is the subject today.

Kitty on my shoulder

A kitty on my shoulder.Could anything be more precious.Ok kitty I will not get attached.You will be adopted.I let Big Boy Black steal my heart but I will avoid you little kitty.Does not matter how sweet and loving you are.I always heard let the animals chose you not vice versa.Ok good kitty jumped down nope well in my lap now,nope down my leg,ouch those claws.

Aunt Lema

I just got off the phone with my Aunt Lema.She is 85 years old or maybe older.I only have her and 2 Uncles left.They are Momma's brothers and sister.There where 13 kids in that family.Twin boys died at birth so 11 kids made it.Grandpa Smith,John who I am named after died when he was only 4o so Grandma Smith rasied those kids by herself.Grandma always had on a long dress,apron those black shoes and her hair was always in a bun.She always hard dark glasses on because light hurt her eyes.Oh yeah and she always had a sweater on winter or summer.She never wupped me but once she tried making me leave an old ditch in the backyard that had trash and no telling what else in it.She took a curtain rod and was waving it like she was gonna spank me but I knew she wouldn't do that so I just kept playing in the ditch.Then I got a surprise,My Uncle Thomas,Lema's husband had snuck up behind me and then I knew it was time to go.So till this day everyonce in a while I remind my Aunt Lema of that little story.I will tell one story on her.This is true.Back in the country when she and rest of the kids where little Tuberculous was going around and everyone was tested for it.Lema tested positive and the Doctor drove her and Grandma to Carrolton,Ga for more test.Lema was a kid and had never been any where only place she knew of was Bethel,Alabama.Anyway laying in the back seat of the car napping she made the remark(whew those sure are tall wash lines)Grandma said the Doctor never said a word but cracked a small smile.Lema was looking at telephone poles and lines.This reminds me of a story Momma told me,an elderly lady went to the big town for shopping,the lady said(that old woman sure looks familiar)she was looking at a mirror.So much for growing up in old days in the country.I bet it was the most wonderful time .

UFO

I was just reading in the New York Post that a UFO was seen over Manhattan yesterday.I'm not saying they are real or just a figment of our imagination.I have never had a close encounter with a spaceship or alien beings before so I really can't say much on the subject.I have seen things in the sky that I had no explanation for.Sitting at the grocery store once waiting for Momma to do her shopping I noticed plastic bags flying in to the air.It was a windy day.Up high they where flying.Then this got my attention.I seen a silver round ball just floating or hovering in one spot over downtown LaGrange.It was high in the air and I could not tell it's size.So that might be my personal sighting of an UFO.It was indeed I think an Unidentified Flying Object

Red tape

Red tape.That Government red tape.I have a friend who is having a little trouble with an agency of the Government well not trouble just a snafu I guess is a better word.Anyway,me being like I am sent a few emails and made a phone call.The problem is not solved but I did get a phone call.The caller was nice but a hint of wish you had not did this was in her voice.I was reminded that it's always better to keep things(local).Uh oh,well I did contact the Governors office and even sent an email to the Congressman in our area and sent an email to the White House asking if they might be of some help with this matter.Was I wrong in doing this?It's my right as an American to voice my view on things.No one should feel intimidated by our Government.This is what our fore Fathers went to war and gave their lives for.

Fair weather

Oh how I love this time of the year.October.Days are mild.Nights are cool.This is what we called fair weather.October was when the county fair always came around.Fall just sounds different.Crickets at night will put you to restful sleep.The smell of burning leaves fills the nostrils.Who can disagree with fall.

High brow life

I wont ever be fancy.Never had the desire to be fancy.Never thought I was better than anyone.Putting on airs was never my style.Momma told the story of when she was working as a cashier at a local dry cleaner about one of the town's socialites would come in and the owner would bend over backwards helping her.When the lady walked out of the store he would cuss and call her every name in the book.I was always comfortable with my own kind,mill workers and people who worked hard for a living.Funny how some think others are impressed with their life or achievements.Should I be the one to tell them that most of us are concerned with our own life and really don't care about high brow adventures?

If the shoe fits wear it

Have you ever went out of your way to be nice to someone?The nicer you are seems they take it as a sign of weakness and treat you worse than you know what.You know what?I am glad I was raised with common courtesy and rudeness was not allowed.To you I might not be nothing in your eyes.But you know what maybe I feel just like you.The feeling is mutual as they say.So just because I don't raise my voice,cuss up a storm,stomp around like a bratty 2 year old don't think you scare me.Really it's fun watching you make a horse's ass out of your self.

Strange but true

Strange things.True stories.My Cousin,was trying to throw out her cig from the car.She throw,it bounced backed,she was getting frustrated,yep the window was up.I knew a guy who was a TV repairman.He went on a service call and the owner of the set told him he had the TV worked on recently.The trouble was the on off light on the dial would not turn off now.Unplugged from the wall sure enough the light stayed on.Off came the back of the TV.Can you guess what the problem was?Yep who ever had worked on the TV last had left their flash light inside,on in the TV.

Earthquakes,floods and buritos

Just got through reading about an earthquake in Oklahoma.There have been earthquakes here in LaGrange.Never felt them cause most likley I was a sleep.Last earthquake here knocked pictures off the wall at the Hospital and that is a few blocks away so why I didn't feel it I can't say.I did read once where this part of the country is on a fault line and one day chances are pretty good of a big earthquake.I dream of earthquakes and floods for some reason.I always said it was the bean buritos I ate before bed.I dreamed the earth open up and I could see people being swallowed up by the earth.Once I dreamed of a wall of water coming at me,it devoured me and strange thing was I was not scared.A few days later that tidal wave that killed hundred of thousands happened.I have told people of this but once I had a dream of a little girl and her Mom,they had ran off the road in their car. M om died but the little girl lived.Watching TV on one of the news channels they where showing a story about a little girl who had for days been trapped in a wrecked car which had run off the road,her Mom was dead.I kept wondering why they where showing that it was old news because I knew about it.But here is the kicker,it was just happening,it was not old news.So I guessed I seen the future in my dreams.

Instant coffee

Instant coffee.Never could get the hang of it.Either it was to strong or to weak.Sometimes I would get lucky and make a pretty good cup.We have a tea kettle on the stove and that's where I get my water.Besides awful tasting coffee I have burned myself a few times pouring the water.My left leg has scars from burns after spilling hot boiling water.Trick is not to use a dark colored cup.You can't tell when the cup is full in a dark kitchen.My dislike of instant coffee goes back to my childhood.One of my favorite aunts who lived in Roanoke ,Alabama,Aunt Mytrle always had hot water on the stove and a jar of instant coffee on the table.We always had a coffee peculator,for younger folks they probably have no idea what that was.I seen on TV the other day a program about coffee and making coffee in a peculator is the worst way to make it.You just keep heating up old coffee.It was in the 1970's that I fell in love with Mr.Coffee.Those drip coffee makers where wonderful and made the best tasting cup of coffee I ever had plus they made it fast.So right now the drip coffee maker is shot no good been thrown away so I'm stuck with this instant stuff for awhile.It will do because I don't know if this is true or not but if my head is hurting a cup of coffee will ease it off.I heard caffeine opens up the blood vessels in the brain and blood flows better.I have been called a caffeine addict but that is ok.It's my only vice I guess.So come on ,plug in the Mr.Coffee and have a cup with me.

Rock

This is the way it is.If I could find a big rock with a TV,puter,microwave and coffee pot I would climb under it.

Let's be honest

Hi everyone hope your Sunday is going good.Just sitting here pondering the sad situation the world is in or better yet thinking about my problems.Oh dang I will be honesty I haven't thought once of the world and it's problems today been wrapped up in my own.Don't get me wrong ain't no pity party going on with me.I hope I never slide that low to do anything like that.I know there is a problem and I know where some of it is.But have you ever been in a situation where you try to be nice to someone even though you think they are horse butts and the nicer you be the meaner they get.Seems through out my life I have met plenty of people like that.I have come to the conclusion that maybe I am an awful person or am I just running up on some real dilly of personalities?Let me know what you think if you read this.

Momma had sayings

Momma had sayings.
Some people cut you down to make themself look bigger.
We killed a bear but Poppa shot it.
Maybe it aint them but you.
Those three are all I can remember but am sure there where many more.

What would be good for supper?

Hi everyone whats going on with you today?Not much happening around my humble abode today.Thinking what would be good for supper and so far no answer.I like to cook,simple things,beans,peas cornbread simple filling stuff.Seen a chili cornbread casserole recipe that looks great and want to try it soon.Also I have been wanting some cornbread dressing,a peach cobbler oh my mouth is watering now.Ok that is about all for now.Just me and the little kittens in here,they are full of spit and vinegar today running around chasing each other.

Milestone

Well it's Tuesday afternoon and all is well or is it cause I have no clue.Don't matter really,I have always accepted what ever came down.This I know,it is cool here.This morning almost stayed in bed with covers pulled over my head.It was so warm and cozy.Today does mark a milestone in my life and for some unknown reason it doesn't seem that important.Oh well that's what is going on here with me.

Have you ever?

Have you ever been laying in bed not a sleep just thinking?Have you ever been afraid to let your arm hang over the side of the bed?Have you ever had the feeling something just might grab your arm ?Something that is hiding under your bed just waiting for you?

US 29

Highway 29,US 29.Seems I have always lived near that road.When I was a kid ,on summer nights,window open in my bedroom,laying there thinking of life and all it's problems and how mine would be someday I could hear the big 18 wheelers winding thru the gears,the whining of the tires,it was always a comfort for me hearing them.Then the occasional siren from a Police,Fire Ambulance vehicle would jerk me back into reality.I could hear Bob Whites,Mocking Birds singing at night oh how I love that.Yes US 29 will always be in my memories.

First day rest my life

What's that old saying"first day of the rest my life" well that is where I'm at.Big changes for me and really I am taking it extremely well.I get a little twinge every once and a while and no biggie ,can handle it ,well so far any way.Heard things about me I didn't know so that was a little shock.Yeah my ego took a hit and there is some thing else but can't think of the word right now.Oh well life goes on doesn't it,I have been through worse,and this shall pass also,maybe it has already.

Big news

Big news folks,are you sitting down?Guess what?I am a paid writer,yessss me,JohnLee is a paid writer.I just found out I made $1.86 for my blogging. Just think people said I would never mount to anything.

Let me know

Hello www land people.Am I wasting my time here?Let me know if anyone is reading this stuff,leave a little comment,it can be good,bad or indifferent just as long as you leave some type of comment.

I tease you cause I love you

Hi everybody,how you doing?I'm in the mood to write today so good for me bad for you huh?Just teasing haha.Speaking of teasing I do alot of it.When teasing it's done with love believe me.I had a little fuss last night with someone.I thought it was teasing they said I was picking on them.Listen ,come closer,I have something to tell you.Now get this,tattoo it somewhere on your body so you will never forget what I'm about to say.When I tease you it means you are lucky,yeah lucky cause I only tease those I love and care about.So please excuse ole JohnLee if I hurt feelings cause never would I be so cruel to do it on purpose.So,with that said ,peace,love and happiness to all out there in WWW land.

A change in the air

Well it's been awhile since I wrote anything.Maybe I was busy or maybe I had nothing to say.Whatever I am back.The seasons are changing.Starting to look and feel like fall will be here soon.Even the temp is cooler.Other morning I woke up early and it was so cool,so nice,I just wanted to pull the covers over my head and keep on snoozing.

Wait and see

Hi everyone hope every thing is going good for you today.Another same o same o day here.I'm starting to sort out things that are going on in my life.Only thing I'm afraid of is making the wrong choice.That holds alot of us back doesn't it that afraid I am doing whats really best for us thing or this will be a big mistake.Oh well guess I will just wait and see.

Big Boy Black

My new friend.I have a new friend.His name is Big Boy Black.I said never again would I get attached to an animal.But he just sneaked his way into my heart.He lays on the puter desk and types and by chance he does pretty good.Some of the searches that come up are scary.The other day while walking across keyboard he typed 666 and a search of the anti Christ came up.So is he a cat or prophet?

Color TV from a blackand white set

TV does not interest me anymore.It is rare that something will catch my eye.Sometimes on the history channel or A&E I will find something.When I was a kid the word for me was TV junkie.On any given day I knew by heart the schedule for that day.That was way back then when 3 channels of black and white TV was all you had.Not what people today would call an entertainment center.One night alone with the TV they announced the next program would be in living color.Silly me sat there waiting for a color program on a black and white TV.They did have these little gizmos that was a color wheel you could sit in front of your TV and see color.Gee ain't we got sophisticated today.

Tree house

I just remembered how much fun it was when I was a kid.The guy next door had a tree house and we would sleep overnight in it.It was so peaceful and relaxing.Maybe us grown kids should get a tree house.Sure better than taking some of the meds to relax.

When

I don't think this heat will ever break.I know least I hope it will.But it is August and it's suppose to be hot and muggy.The day will come and someone,someone like me will say it's cold when will this cold break.Just can't be satisfied with what we have .

Someone

All my life I think one thing was my passion ,desire or just what I wanted.Everyone at one time or another wants this.It is a partner,companion,spouse what ever you want to call it.Someone who you trust blindly,someone you know will backup you up.Someone who will laugh with you someone who will cry with you.Someone to hold me,someone who will tell me everything will be ok.When I am lonely someone who will take away that loneliness.When I'm scared someone to take away my fears.When I cry someone who will wipe my tears away.Someone.

My new attitude

Like that Pointer Sisters song I got a new attitude.Things won't get my goat as easy .I know it's been said before in the past but gonna really try this time.I enjoy life people and my self when my attitude is good.No more pity parties for ole JohnLee.Is it true what happens was meant to happen?I don't know but I think we can change our life by having a good outlook on it.When folks are in a bad mood I won't join in I will smile to myself and say what a good day to be alive.I never know whats around the corner could be something good so wait for it,expect something great it might just happen.In short I refuse to let others bring me down.

Big Springs Road

Big Springs Road.I lived there when I turned 10.Just stayed there for a few years it seemed like.Across the street from the house was an old huge rundown empty house.At one time I bet it was a charming place to live.It had so many rooms.It was kinda spooky.My favorite cousin Mike who was older was visiting us.In the old spooky place we where looking around.Mike kicked a door open and it bounced back toward him like it had been pushed.He ran out screaming and I followed.I didn't know why he was running I just ran because he was.GrandMa Haynes lived with us.I don't remember it but Momma said that me and GrandMa where alone and she had some type of attack.I freaked out they said but I must have blocked it out till this very day I don't remember it.Any way it was a heart attack and a few days later she died in the hospital.

To my WWW friends let me know

Hi everyone out there on the WWW .Hope your day is going the way it should.Honestly I hope this day ranks right up there with the best day of your life.Yeah do you see where I'm going with this post?It's your day and what ever you have on your mind I wish you would leave a comment for me.I don't even know if this blog is being read by anyone so do me a big ole favor and leave a word for me.Till later my WWW friends.

The game

Well I feel sad.Sometimes the B.S. is so bad you just want to say whats the use .Sometimes I know it's B.S. when I first hear it then other times it takes a while to sink in.There is an old saying fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me.Yep I know it's just a game,a two sided street.I am far from perfect I will be honest enough to say that.

Be ready

Life is way to short.When you are a kid time drags.Christmas will never get here it seems when you are 8 years old.Now in the fall or is that early winter of my life I want it to slow down just a bit.Like the old joke where the preacher said everyone who wants to go to Heaven raise your hand.All did except for one man.The preacher said man don't you want to go to Heaven?Sure I do the man said but I thought you was getting up a bus load to go now.Guess that is the way I feel.I think there are still some things I need to do or finish.But one never knows when the Grim Reaper will vist.So I guess the moral of the story is be ready,ready for what ever might happen.

What is missing?

Ok it's Saturday afternoon the 14th of the month.Not much is going on around here just the normal stuff.Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water,a bastard child at a family reunion yep it's that type of day so far.I know one should be thankful for all our blessings and I have many.But do you ever get the feeling something is not just right or that you are missing something very important?Maybe I have an idea what it is and I will discuss it further with myself as the day goes on.

Friday 13th

It's Friday the 13th.So far well lets see.Alaina cut her foot and needed stitches but that was yesterday but today it is giving her problems.Cami was in a mood and said she was quitting band.Today was the last day of band camp and tomorrow evening they are having a school thing.Chris is having a problem with her foot and I'm worried about it.Me I just slept all day.So I hear this is the only Friday 13th this year.All I can say is good.

Do you know whats wrong with me?

I have just found out something about my self.Something I didn't realize.When the suns goes down my emotional state changes.I get depressed and lonely for some reason.My Mom who had Alzheimers did this and after reading up on when she was alive it was called sundowning.Sundowning is when people with Alzheimers start feeling agitated.I don't feel agitated but I feel depressed and lonely.Have no idea whats going on.Being diabetic maybe that is the reason,I did research on the web about that but it was no real help.Mornings I so full of energy and want to talk and have fun but this is getting to me a bit.I guess more research is needed.Hmmm should I fear the men in the white coats and nets?

Cat lady from hell

Stressful around here today.First off we thought the neighbor had captured one of our cats.She has been doing that lately for some reason,why we don't know.Matty the neighborhood cat who lives here came up missing last week.He wanders from house to house exploring and I know he likes getting into people's cars and rests there.Matty would walk up to a stranger with his tail in the air and make friends.Matty is gone.We had 2 momma cats disappear at the same time last year.A grand total of 20 kittens died because of that.Chris manged to save 1,Patches out of those 2 litters.By the way Patches had her kittens yesterday.T he neighbor's Grandson told me that he and Grandma where catching cats and taking them to cat jail.All she had to do was just let us know our cats where in her yard and we would zoomed out there and got them.I had the talk with her not long ago telling her not to catch the cats just let us get them.I think she is on a mission now just to hurt the cats.Remember this the golden rule"do unto others as you would have them do unto you"Lot of people have forgotten it or maybe never learned it.

I never was a tough guy

The Sopranos.That is one of my favorite TV programs.Strange but when It was on HBO it never interested me.But after seeing reruns on A&E I got hooked.I'm not a tough guy like Tony.I don't wont' to be like Tony.But it makes for good TV watching.I'm glad that little ole chicken me doesn't have the heart to kill without mercy.People can do that I have thought when laying in the dark of night in my quiet bed when your mind is racing 430 miles per hour.How can people be so cruel?Like my Aunt Pauline said once I love everyone but there are some I don't like.I know people are different some have no what we use to call a conscious .Some have no remorse.Some are just plain out mean and devilish.I wonder when someone chooses that life if they sleep without nightmares. I am not Tony Soprano.

A time for a hero

I had a hero once.He was someone who could do no wrong.He was big,strong and brave.Righteous and fair always looking out for the underdog.Then one day I grew up and reality hit me hard at age 14.My bubble was busted.But you know maybe It was for the best.On that day I learned we are all just mere humans and maybe that was better than him just being a hero.

I should be dead

I should be dead.Thinking of all the things that have happened to me in my life I wonder why I'm still alive.As a kid I had a bad habit of digging tunnels and caves.Why I made it through that phase without a cave in is a mystery.I slid off a barn once,on my belly I hit the ground with enough force it knocked my breath out.My cousins and I made a tent out of a blanket,why we had a broken brick on top I don't know,but yeah it fell and I had a hole in the top of my head.It was a Sunday and we where running late for church so Momma just reached into the fireplace got a hand full of black soot and dabbed it on the hole in my head.Guess it worked,the bleeding stopped but I did have a black spot on my head for awhile.I had plenty of bike wrecks ending up with scrapes and cuts but never a broken whatever that I know of.Once on my bike I ran into a clothes line it caught me at the neck and thew me off,thought I was dead cause stars where seen and lost my breath again.My worse bike crash happened when I was about 8,coming down a long step hill on a bike the chain came off,to my left was a cow pasture with barb wire in front of me was a car stopped in the road,you know which one I hit,yep the car,It through me off the bike which was smashed double into the back window of the car.The people in the car screamed he's dead he's dead,no I'm not I said raising off the trunk of the car,got out of that one with just a broken front tooth.Gee that football helmet I had on saved me .The close call with cars and still alive amazes me.But you know what they say only the good die young.

Speaking Womanesse

I will never understand women.They just don't have the same humor gene that us men have.What's funny to me will 9 times out of 10 send a women into an eye rolling convulsion.I can be dead serious about a subject and for the sake of me women can't understand what I'm trying to get across.It must be true women are from Venus and men are from Mars.We are so completely different yeah physical difference is obvious but our mental difference is 180 degrees out of wack we have a phase shift going on here.So if by any chance a woman stops by and reads this how about leaving a comment on how we men should speak Womanesse and be understood.

Fortunate sons

There was a song once called Sunday morning coming down.It was one of the saddest I ever have heard.At the time I thought how awful it would be to live like that.Homeless no family around.Could I survive life like that I wonder.I have lived a blessed life sorta.I always had plenty to eat,a bed to sleep in,always had shoes to wear if I wanted to wear them and clothes on my back.I know people who haven't been so fortunate.I have always felt that in this great wonderful country of ours that everyone no matter who or what they have done or didn't do should have food in their belly and a safe place to lay their head at night.

It was a good choice

I use to have a hobby.It was called Amateur Radio or just ham radio for short.I haven't turned a radio on in years now but it's still in my blood as people say.1976 I got my license or ticket hams call it.My call sign was WN4PFG.The N meant I was an novice operator.The term limit on the ticket was 2 years,At that time if you did not upgrade in that 2 year time limit you had to wait another year before retaking the novice test.I got brave and lucky and went to the FCC office in Atlanta and took my general test and passed first try.Back in those days the test was a written test and a code test.When I say code it is morse code or as hams call it cw.5 wpm for novice 13 for general and advanced and 20 wpm for extra,wpm means words per minute.Now my call sign was WA4PFG which I proudly have to this very day as long as I renewed it every 10 years it is mine.I started out with cw as a novice that was the only mode we could use.Upgrading you could use voice,cw,rtty,satelites,etc.I enjoyed cw so that was what I used and became quite comfortable with it.I could drink a cup of coffee smoke a cig and never miss a word copying it all in my head.That was just about the time people started talking about something called home computers.Guess what those home computers sure caught on and just about everyone I knew had one.I heard people talked about them till the point of boring me about the subject.I said to my self no need for me to get one what could I do with a computer.Well guess what I called the Dell man after seeing a TV ad about their computers and 3 days later it arrived.You know what It turned out to be one of the most wonderful things I ever done.All the people I would never have met other wise that computer abled mew to make friends and learn things I never dreamed possible.

Good greasy fried food

My favorite foods.I like home fries with hush puppies and cole slaw.I worked the evening shift quite alot and that was what I cooked when I got home.After midnight in front of the TV eating that greasy fried fattening food.It was great.I remember the first time I made cornbread dressing.It was wonderful I was so proud of my self I had to show the neighbors.Day old cornbread,egg,can of chicken broth and lots of onions chipped up plus the kicker lots of black pepper.Delicious.Potato salad with cornbread greasy cornbread does it get any better that that?I got pretty good at making peach and cherry cobblers.Beans of any kind,pinto,butterbeans,green lima beans,peas like blackeyes,pinkeyes.I can't bake biscuits.My Aunt Lema tried to show me but I never made a good biscuit.So I cheated and bought the frozen biscuits in a bag.Oh they are so good.Did I mention that I gained some weight?It was hard going on a diet but I did once...Ok I just got on the subject of food next time maybe I will get on subject of something healthy.

Dog Days

Saturday morning August 7th and I'm just sitting here my brain is blank.Another hot day but it's like that every where.Having my 3rd cup of coffee and it's pretty good.Mmm some butter cookies and they are excellent with the coffee.It's that time of the day when things move slow.No one is rushing around maybe cause it's Saturday.I think it's dog days now.From what I know that is when it's so hot that it drives dogs crazy.I just remembered ...when I was a kid during what is called dog days Momma would warn me about walking barefooted in the morning dew if I had a cut or something on my feet because it would get infected easy during dog days.Maybe that is just an old wife's tale.I have heard plenty of them.Never wash clothes on Sunday,eat blackeye peas and collards on New years day,what you are doing on New Years day is what you will doing rest of the year.There are many more but that will be a story for another time.

Georgia is my home

Georgia is known for several things.Peanuts,peaches,pimentos, pine trees.I guess the most famous thing or most memorable would be Jimmy Carter.Lots of movies have been made here.Fried Green Tomatoes was one.The Green Berets with John Wayne was filmed was filmed down the road at Fort Benning.Several times I have seen film crews in town with their big lights and trucks filming something.Georgia has mountains in the north Atlantic Ocean to the east and the flat farm land in the southern part of the state.I live in whats called west central Georgia,right on the Georgia/Alabama state line.I was born about 3 blocks away in what was called then City County Hospital.Some of the original hospital still stands but now it is called West Ga Medical Center.Do you remember years ago when you walked into a hospital that smell?The smell of alcohol and ether.I had my tonsils taken out when I was 7 years old and was put to sleep with ether.I remember the smell and being so sick when waking up.The night before it all happen Mom was staying with me in the hospital room.I was restless and crying.A nurse came in and was to give me a shot but I got her crying,my Mom was crying cause I hated shots.So both women where crying along with me.Then it happened.All I remember was a large woman walked into the room and without saying a word rolled me over and stuck me with a needle.So I got my shot.So I know I have strayed off the subject but Georgia is my home,some like it some don't but it is home where I was borned and most likely where I will die.

Lost and found

Have you ever noticed that the french fry that you find in the bag seems to be the best one of all?You know the last one in the bag the one you find after everything else in the bag has been eaten.Then you find one last fry that was hiding.It will be the best .Same way with peanuts.Have you ever run your hands down in the couch hunting for something and find a peanut in the shell,one that escaped the last time you where snacking on them.I guarantee it will be tasty.Maybe this is just a story for a lot of things in life.Maybe I'm writing about things lost and found again.But really I'm just writing about finding that last forgotten fry in the bag.

Keeping peace

Why can't people just get along.I have always went out of my way trying to keep peace.I think some people just want to act like little bratty kids.Oh well what ever makes you happy is what one should do.Many times I have bit my tongue just hoping I would let it go and not say something that later would come back to haunt me.Hope I don't bite my tongue off one day.In my old age I am trying my best to give people room and just let them fume or whatever they do.I just think some people are just rude big mouths and that is their problem not mine.

Juniper Street

I remember when living on Juniper street during summer we had no AC no one did back then.We slept with the doors and windows open yes open.Can you do that these days?Maybe the 50's where different.I never heard of things then like now.Crime is expected ,violence and just plain awful behavior is the norm.Maybe the time of hula hoops and Howdy Doody where the good old days.

Are cats smart?

The cats love keyboards.I have to push them out of the way so I can type.Wish they would pick another spot for their naps.It is aggravating,I will be busy doing something and they will lay on the keyboard and zip bang pow I lose what I was doing.And I think they are deaf and blind cause they have a bad habit of laying in front of people and not moving.They just lay there like they don't care.I made my mind up I figured it out the problem is cats are just not very smart then again maybe they have me figured out.

From Bethel to Lagrange

I never met my Grandpa Smith.He died when Momma was just 5 years old.He was a Baptist preacher and a farmer.Grandpa and Grandma Smith had 13 children.Twin boys where the first born but died shortly after birth.He preached a funeral in LaGrange for someone that they really where not sure what he died of.It was the water,it was bad in the well and lot's of people got sick including Grandpa.He was 40 when he died leaving Grandma with a house full of kids to raise by herself.All of the older kids went to work,being in the country that meant leaving the farm and going to towns like Roanoke,Al or Lagrange.That left momma and her 2 younger brothers and Grandma alone on the farm.Eugene and Bobby mom's brothers tried running the farm but they where just kids.So Grandma said she wasn't living there on the farm alone with the kids so they moved to the big town,Lagrange.So that is the story of how the Smiths ended up in LaGrange.