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.

I need a buzz cut

I took the plunge today.Well not really,what happened was I tried trimming my beard but it didn't work out so well.Better word would be I gapped it out.So I did my best at trim job but ended up just cutting it all off.Not sure if it feels cooler but people say I look 10 years younger and 20 pounds lighter.I think I will keep the clean shaven look for awhile.Now I just need a buzz cut on my head and in style I will be.

Could be worse

Well there just might be something to this global warming thing I hear folks talk about.I 'm not up to date on these scientific things but I know one thing,it is hot dang hot.Being born and raised in the deep south I never minded hot muggy weather much or just didn't pay attention to it.I heard on the TV news that this is the hottest year in recorded history or something like that.Every one I hear from says the same thing it is just hot.Temps near 100 degrees or hotter with the added humidity is just almost unbearable.Someone told me that weather would reverse itself or something like that.Where it's cold will be hot and vice versa.I know just one thing,that snow we had this past winter sure would be nice now but if it snowed here in Georgia during August I would be worrying about the end of the world coming not the hot muggy weather.

Just thinking

Don't love hurt,sting and a few other things I can't say here.It is good we humans fall in love.But seems we can fall out of love just as quick.I have a friend who is my age and married to the same woman for 38 years.I find that so amazing and wonderful.I wonder what their secret is for such an enduring relationship?Like the old saying,guess it's true,better to loved and lost then never loved at all.

We still love you it ain't your fault

I never had anything against yankees.Fact is I love a few of them.So they talk funny or say that I do.There is a test us Southern folk give to people that we just ain't sure of where they come from.It is a simple word but tells so much about one.There is a 4 legged animal with a tail that goes bow wow.You answer that little quiz and if I could hear you it would be know to all where you come from.If you answered correctly the answer should have been dawg,but if you said doggg immediately I would have you pegged as one from north of the Mason Dixon line in other words a yankee.So friends I know all can't be blessed being born way down here but there is still hope just come on down you will be welcomed and loved.

Pray for us

We have decided that there is a stranger,unwanted,evil,stranger in the house.It comes around about 10 pm on some nights.It causes confusion,anger ,mistrust,jealousy just to name a few.I heard a voice,now don't start saying oh yeah now I get it,I really did hear it.It wasn't an audible voice but I heard id just the same.Before you judge and say the boy is wacky just let me finish.The voice said 'THE DEVIL IS IN THIS HOUSE",those where the words .For a while now ,maybe since the first of the year things have been going down hill.My health and Chris's health have worsen.Our relationship with each other has faded some what.Every one is in a bad mood it seems.I have no idea what is going on.Don't think it is a ghost per say but there is something.It seems to be not as strong as before.Chris said I wasn't depressed but being oppressed by what ever evil force that is here.I have lived here for 32 years and never noticed anything strange till lately.Chris prayed,she prayed out loud and it seems to be getting better.So maybe that is what is needed,prayer.I'm asking those who read this to remember us,our family in your prayers.

Friends or the lack of

I aint got no friends it seems,on Facebook that is.The ones I do have are family members,one is Alaina's beau and that is it.I have the grand total of 7.Hey there is one friend of mind T.C.,Topcat,or just Terry.It's no big deal.So JohnLee ain't the most popular kid on the block.The only reason I joined was because of the kids.Yep so I could keep up with what they where doing.They walk around with cell phones stuck to their ears or tapping out text messages with fingers from the time they get up till they fall asleep.You know what I have been thinking of getting one also. They do look like something from the future like Star Trek pocket communicators or something.Sitting on the porch I noticed every car that came by the driver had a cell phone stuck to their ear.And those walking up and down the street had one.I wonder what every one is talking about?Just my luck I don't have anything to say.

Old Guy

It's official.Now I qualify.I am old.58 yep I say again 58 years old.The girls call me old man,butt head was nice but old man?It's okay I don't really mind anymore.I have nothing to prove.Old and gray,slow as a turtle,mean as a snake Cami just said,oh yeah blind as a bat,deaf as a rock dumb as a tree,gee you can tell Cami is helping me describe my self oh yeah her loving enduring word for me is idiot.Your an idiot she says with love I think anyway.Well I just got a compliment from Cami that I smell good so she is now buttering me up for something.

Hot&Cold

Ok what shall I do today.It's way to hot for anything outside,dang temps near 100degs and what ever the heat index is I have no idea.Heat index windchill those are new terms that people use today.If it's hot it's just that hot same way with cold.So no need to fancy up the temperature with some new fangled word.I will admit that hot weather doesn't bother me that much,I rarely sweat and that is bad I've heard.Only time hot muggy weather bothers me is when trying to sleep and you can't because it's so uncomfortable.A few years ago during an ice storm power was lost for a few days.No heat and boy did it get cold.Laying in bed covered with blankets,my coat and wearing a hat I could not get warm.I dreaded having to get up.I missed all the modern convinces,most of all hot coffee.I got tired of tuna fish and peanut butter sandwiches and no not togather but seperate,I'm strange but even I would'nt do that.I missed TV,computers,lights,hot food and that wonderful sound of the central heat coming on.Yeah I'm just a big spoiled baby.

Trust

Monday Monday can't trust that day the song goes.Trust is what I will do for now on.It is the basic requirement of a relationship.Trust in God.Trust in my family.There is an old saying"I'm from the government and here to help you"now I'm not going to let this trust thing get that far out of line.Trust and honesty is what I want in this life.I will trust and I will be honest.

Ice cream,chili,mustard and beards

Ice cream cone and hot weather.The two don't mix.The ice cream melts and will ruin your simple white tshirt.Plus if you have a beard like me there is no dignified way to eat an ice cream cone,same way with a chili dog.I have smarten up some lately.When eating hot dogs I always wear an old shirt cause mustard will ruin a tshirt.I didn't know till recently that mustard was a dye and that is why it won't wash out.Ok I'm through with my cone and through writing for today.

Kugleburg Welander Syndrome

I don't think this has been mentioned but once in my blog.I was born with an neurological problem called Kugleberg Welander Syndrome.KWS for short.I started noticing it when I was about 12 years old.I would stumble and fall.Running was difficult and most likely I would fall.As time went on walking up steps and getting up from chairs where difficult.I really never took it so serious or did I feel sorry for myself saying things like why me what did I do to deserve this.Just wasn't my style.At time s it was just a hassle dealing with it and it did hold me back from doing things I wanted to do.It is an inherited disease,both parents must carry the gene.My uncle JD,Daddy's brother had it and was dead by 40.So here I am at age 58,my left arm and leg don't work right but pain is minimal.I think maybe that is arthritis.After a some what nasty fall and ending up with a blackeye and goose egg on my forehead Chris said maybe it was time I got some help.So for the past few years I have been using a powerchair.It sure makes getting around easier and the risk of falling is now zero.So this is what I'm writing about today.

Closed doors

Closed doors,closed hearts.A closed door means many thing.Closed doors hide what you don't want others to know.Closed doors shut out what you don't want to face.Closed doors mean leave me alone..Closed doors say many things without saying a word.Closed doors hurt.

Momma is free

Momma retired a few months before her 65th birthday.She said she was having trouble running her job.I think Daddy getting sick had lots to do with her getting sick,all that stress.Momma had Alzheimer's.It did not strike me something was wrong till one Sunday we where sitting in the drive thru of a fast food place.Out of the blue Momma said"I have caught cancer from your Daddy".After laughing to myself it hit me she was serious.I tried tell her that cancer could not be spread from person to another but it was no use.I started noticing small things like she could not balance her check book which she kept losing,thank goodness we always found it.She could not pay bills any more,she would get confused and aggravated.Then she would say things so outrageous it was almost funny.So and so said this so and so did that.A few years pass and things aren't funny.She cries her self asleep each night wanting her parents.She is now a little girl.I say Momma and she smiles saying "why are you calling me Momma?I have never been married or have children she would say.There is a condition called sundowning.People with dementia become more agitated as night time nears closer.That is when being a caretaker becomes unbearable at times.Many a night would go sleepless when she would walk the floors calling her parents.We had one good night togather before she went to the hospital.She laughed and ate popciciles she even remembered my name.That was a Saturday night,Monday I had to call an ambulance for her.I knew it was the end.For a week she was in the hospital.Then 21 days at hospice.She had been holding my hand,never speaking,but she squeezed my hand like she knew I was there.I looked up and Momma took a long breath.It was over.Momma was now free.

Father and Son

I was 12 years old the first time me and Daddy went to a dirt track stock car race.From that moment we where hooked.Some Dad's take their son hunting or fishing but our thing to gather was going to races.On Wednesday nights we went to practice,on Friday it was races,same on Saturday night and Sunday.yep we spent a lot of time traveling around Georgia and Alabama on weekends going to the races.Most of the time there would be a car load of us kids and Daddy.Daddy took me hunting twice.Once when I was about 7 I think.It was fall of the year and we where sitting leaned up against a tree.Out of the corner of my eye I seen a snake,it's tongue flickering a few feet from us slithering toward us.I said Daddy there is a snake,that was enough,he out ran me back to the car,leaving me trailing him and to top it off he had the gun.Once we where fishing in the Chattahoochee river,on the banks,my uncle was on rocks in the middle of the river.Anyway something was on my line,it was big,to my surprise Daddy jumped into the river,water up to his chest to get what ever was on my line,to his and my disappointment it was only a sucker fish not a big bass or catfish Daddy had thought it was.So that brings me back to races.That was what we both enjoyed and that is where we bonded as Father and Son.

Storms

It's Monday.Rain and thunder which is great because it has been so hot and muggy lately.One of my favorite things to do is sitting on the screened in back porch on a summer night during a thunder storm.From the porch I have a clear view of the northern sky.Being over the tree tops I can see lighting miles away.Storms have never bothered me.When I worked at the water filter plant for a local mill at times during a storm it would be real interesting.The pumps where located at the river and during a storm the control panel would light up like a Christmas tree with bells a ringing.If the pump shut down I would have to drive over to the mill and put them on city water.Standing at the bottom of a hundred foot water tower with lightning popping around my head didn't phase me a bit.In 1995 my first and only hurricane came through town.It was Hurricane Opal.It was about 9pm when it hit here,I was in bed already with the window up in my bedroom.The wind was howling and trees,power poles came down like match sticks.But silly me I just rolled over and went to sleep.Power was out for a week.I almost burnt the house down.I had left a candle burning inside a tin can.I awoke later that night with alarm ringing,I thought power had came back on and it was the microwave beeping. I was wrong it was the smoke alarms,the candle inside the can had melted the candle holder and was smoking up the kitchen.I was lucky or my guardian Angel was with me that night.

Things about me that are just plain out wrong and bad

About me, things I try to hide.I'm insecure,always have been.It should be against the law to raise a child with no siblings.I wanted that so bad and have missed out on something special.The insecurity has gotten in my way many times.It has destroyed relationships with women.I take every thing to heart,or wrong sometimes.I never meant to hurt people but I know I do.I'm scared alot .And when I say what people say about me doesn't mean nothing to me is a lie.I do care.Which I could get that tough skin some have.I have changed so much lately,I don't know what it is.My kids I never in my life been mad or angry with them and that is God's truth.I will admit at times I do get disappointed cause they are capable of doing so much better.And my better half,I have been a hypocrite at times that double standard thing.I'm guilty of being jealous at times,that is wrong and I'm sorry for it.I can get moody to the point of embarrassing myself.So,my excuse for all this?I have none other than just being human at times.I'm asking the world and all those involved to forgive me,look over my mistakes and give me a day cause usually I'm over them moods then.

Lint Heads

They had names for people like us.The most common word they used was lint head.It came from working in the cotton mills and having lint in your head.My folks would use an air house before leaving their shift but always would be some left.Strange thing but working in the mills feed most everyone direct or indirectly.If you had a business of some sort and you dealt with the public most likely the majority of your trade came from us mill folk.So the professional folk,trade and service type where living off the mills also.When I was a kid the mill was just about the only thing in town where you could get a job.After WW2 my Dad ended up here for some reason and worked in the mill.The only other job I know of that Momma had beside the mill was working as a cashier at a dry cleaners,which by the way is still in business.Houses where provided for the workers and their families.I heard the rent was based on how many rooms in the house.I have lived in many mill houses it seems.It was called a Mill Village.At 6am each working day the work horn would blow,time for shift change.At times I would have to walk to work with Daddy,every body walked in those days,I would wait In the guard house ,waiting for Momma to come out.So I am a son of a lint head and proud of it,I never missed a meal,always had clothes and shoes.I know people that where raised just like me and They have turned their back on the way they where raised,ashamed to admit they where lint heads I guess.

Strange things but no bumps in the night

I have never been a believer in ghost.Only seen or think I seen one thing in the past that I'm not sure of.As a child I heard some one or some thing calling my name,it sounded like a large group of people calling me.Then once at 21 I was alone one night and a voice that sounded like a woman called my name,it said John one time.I told Momma and she said never answer when someone calls your name,I didn't ask for an explanation.Lately I have noticed some strange things.I felt someone poke me in my back the other night while sitting here.Turning around I expected to see one of the kids but no one was there.Out of the corners of my eye I see things move,things like black shadows that move fast and through walls.Laying in bed alone I have felt the mattress give like some one has layed next to me but no one is there.On a few occasions I have woken to see a woman in a long dress with dark long hair just looking at what was on shelves or on the wall,there is no sound and I fall back to sleep.I ask Chris the next morning what she was looking for that late at night but she said it wasn't her.Strange but none of this stuff I see or feel scares me.I know I'm awake when this happens but I can't explain any of it.

Good mood

Watch out world JohnLee is in a good mood today.Anything is possible ha ha.Flitters for breakfast with butter no less.Now on mind is supper,hamburger helper maybe.Cami is on the couch watching Muray,Alaina is in out like a humingbird going from room to room.I'm listening to old music from the 60's sure thankful for headphones.Chris is in another room watching something.Wish the dog had not chewed upped the pool,the girls would enjoy it on such a hot muggy day here way down south.Cami sez I talk funny,Chris mentions it also but hey I don't notice any accent.I was watching a program on PBS years ago,it was about Irish and Welch imigrants to the U.S,the program was subtitled,strange thing but I disn't need the subtitles cause every word they spoke was perfectly clear to me.Welch settled this part of the country.The Haynes's where from Ireland I think and Grandma Haynes was Cherookee.she was so dark,wiry hair.her kids took after her in looks,I always stuck out like a sore thumb at family get togathers with my tow head and blue eyes,so I took after Momaa,not dark black hair and eyes like my cousins on Daddy's side.Back to the way I talk,at times just to aggrivate people I put on my best southern never seen sunshine cause I live so far out in the boonies accent and say words like winder,doe,flo,zinc cheer.Ok that will do it for now cause my train of thought has been derailed a pretty woman just walked into the room.

It's hot

It is hot,temp is in the 90's still this late in the day.By Thursday triple digit temps for all of the east coast.I remember a few years ago close to a thousand people died in Chicago during a heat wave.Most where elderly.I guess people up there are as prepared for heat like down here people can't handle the snow.I have heard people from New Jersey now living here laugh about the way we Southerners drive in snow.He bragged about what he would and could do in the snow.Well he got his chance cause it did snow.Guess what?He was just as bad like rest of us.Guess he didn't know that down here there is no such thing as snow removal equipment.All that is done is some salt or gravel is spread on the bridges.He always put us down Mr. New Jersey did,every chance he got.Well it's just like that great American Lewis Grizzard once said"if you don't like it here Delta is ready when you are".Well said Mr Grizzard.

Random thoughts of a.............

Hmmm whats new?Whats going on with me?Let's see thinking thinking hmmm.Well today has been ok.At times I was slipping but for the most part it's been a ok day.First off puppy was liberated from doggie jail.He escaped Friday but was captured by the roving dog cops.Think Chris thought he was gone,vamossed,never to be seen by us again.Came a pretty good thunderstorm,man the wind did blow.I seen that ugly tree in the yard sway back and forth.It was moving from the base to top of the tree.That can't be good.That brings me to right now.It's Saturday night still light outside.Fireflies have been here for a few days now.My Birthday will be here soon.Seems like I should still be 8 years old running up down Juniper street instead of being almost 58 years old.Where did the years ago?I can hear in my head that song My Uncle Eugene sanged"Wasted Years".Not all my years have been wasted.But could have made better use of them I think.The 7 years looking after Momma where not wasted.Those years could turn out being my most honorable.I kept my promise by keeping Momma home not taking the easy way out by putting her into a home.Sure it was hard,down right unbearable at times but I made it.Keeping Daddy home till the end was another thing I am proud of.They both suffered so much,Daddy with pain,Momma with mental anguish.So here I sit in my rolling chair ha ha ha.Yep I'm a cripple,geek,spatz,freak whatever you want to call me.So I can't stand or walk big deal,lots of folks worse off.I do get aggravated cause I have to have help doing things.At times I feel like a burden and that sucks,yeah it does,my pride I guess.What am I good at?Hmm,taking a long honest look at my self now.......wait wait.Dang I won't say .Maybe I have nothing I am good at.As the Elephant Man said"I'M A MAN" ha ha ha.Going on 9pm,in bed most nights before this.About sleeping,it's been a chore recently.Never in my life have I had trouble sleeping but now days or is that nights I do.Don't know why.When Momma was sick I missed sleep so much.She would be up days at a time,she didn't sleep very well and I couldn't sleep unless she was.One night she let the cat out and while I was getting Sam in she went out the front door to the neighbors house.There is a strange man in my house she told Raymond the neighbor.Next day dead bolts where added to the doors and the key kept in my pocket at all times.I have that uneasy feeling again and I hate it.It makes me so sad and the feeling of no hope is almost unbearable.Why,why,why I think.I will just live with it nothing else to do I guess.Is it just me?I don't know.But it hurts and that is all on that subject

Eyes

Eyes staring, eyes smiling, eyes crying,eyes laughing.Eyes can't lie about what we are really feeling what we are thinking.That is why sunglasses are worn, to keep out the sun but also to hide what we are really thinking.Eyes are windows to our souls I hear.Wonder what my eyes tell about me,other than being blue and bloodshot

Words

I am listening to an old song on internet radio as I sit here thinking.Turn turn turn by the Byrds.In my old age I listen to the words of songs closer.I hear the pain of others who wrote the songs.In my younger days never payed attention much to words.Silly but words can have such a powerful effect on our life.Tone of some one's voice can set up how your day will go.A harsh word or cruel word can hurt worse than a 2x4 upside your head.A happy loving word can raise you up from a low depressing place you have created for your self.So a myth has been proved wrong.Sticks and stones may break my bones yes but words will never hurt me oh how wrong,words can kill.