Our Good Dog, Buddy
Buddy and GeneAs bad as our Chihuahua was, we did have a good dog. He was a Basset plus Beagle mix. He was a dog that our daughter's boyfriend gave her for a Christmas present.
He loved everyone and he never met a stranger. When we first got Buddy , however, the Chihuahua did not like him and they didn't get along very well. After a few days I decided that it was not going to work out with two dogs so I took Buddy to the animal shelter, with my daughter's permission, one Friday afternoon. She was not pleased with doing that but she followed my advice and allowed me to take him.
I felt terrible all weekend, as if I had condemned my best friend to death! So on Monday morning I was right back at the animal shelter and asked for Buddy back. Of course the animal shelter had rules and I had to pay the adoption fee to get him back even though he was my dog. But I happily paid the fee and took Buddy back home. He was secure in our home for the rest of his life.
Eventually, our daughter left home and of course, she left Buddy with us. By then I was all wrapped up in Buddy and he was my dog.
We had both Buddy and Mickey for quite a few years and they did finally get used to each other and all was well. In the end both dogs had to be euthanized within a year of each other. After that I declared that I would never have another pet. It is too hard when you have to lose them.
Our Psychotic Dog
We had a chihuahua dog years ago. If there is such a thing as a psychotic dog, he was surely the worst!
While we were playing with him the very first night we had him he tried to bite us and he was only six weeks old then. He snapped at us all the time. He is certainly lucky we took him in because most people would have gotten rid of him right away!
If we were standing and talking he would jump and yip at our legs until we picked him up and then he would try to bite us when we did so. He never actually bit anyone seriously. He never went after anyone but if they tried to pick him up then he would try to bite. Over time I became the only person who knew how to handle him or pick him up.
We were visiting at my sister's once and we were all going away for a while. She said we could just leave the dog there. I told her that he never soiled or wet the floor. So we left. When we came home we walked into the bedroom we were using and turned on the light. There right in the very middle of the bed was a nice surprise for us! I laughed and told my sister that I said he never soiled or wet the floor, I didn't say anything about the bed! I assume that since he was not used to soiling the floor and he had to pick some place, the bed was his choice.
We started out putting his food on a piece of waxed paper for him to eat. After that he would never eat out of a dish. So we always just used a piece of waxed paper to put his food on. When we would go away and leave him we would put food out for him to eat while we were gone. Every time we came home the food that was left would be all pushed off the paper onto the bare floor. I figured out that was his way of telling us he didn't like it when we went away!
Our Chihuahua, Mickey, lived a long life of about 18 years. We loved him dearly but he was truly a nutty animal!
Jehovah Witnesses
I was awakened this morning by my door bell. I am a late sleeper and so I was in bed. I ignored the bell. I did peek out my window and I saw two people, black people, walking back to their car. I knew as soon as I saw them that they were Jehovah Witnesses. They always come here on Saturday mornings and there are always two people together.They usually leave a pamphlet on the door but today they didn't. They are never persistent because they only rang the door bell once,and they never try to force their way in. They do ask if they can come in and talk with me for a minute but I always say no, I am busy or give some other excuse.I am never rude to them but I also do not encourage them to talk. I have my church and I am never going to change that. I tell them that and usually they accept that and leave.I know they are doing what they think is right, trying to win souls for God, but I do think that they are not making much headway with their method of operation.I am sure that not many people let them in to talk. In these days you can't be absolutely certain that they really are Jehovah Witnesses. I think they would be just as well off to mail out the pamphlets instead of going door to door. I give them credit for doing the thing they think they are supposed to do but I think they are doing it the wrong way. But then, they didn't ask me!
Biscuits in my Lunch
When I was in grade school I took my lunch to school every day. School was about a two mile walk from my house and I only had one hour for lunch so I didn't have time to walk home.My Mother always made biscuits for breakfast. Occasionally, we would have bought bread and make toast but for the most part we had biscuits for breakfast. So my Mother would make me sandwiches with biscuits and bacon, egg, jelly, potato slices or whatever she had on hand for my lunch. I loved the biscuits but I was a little embarrassed to let other kids see my biscuit sandwiches.Many of the kids had bought bread in their lunches and I thought my biscuits were a little bit degrading. I thought that because they had bought bread and I had biscuits that made me seem a little poorer than they were! Actually, that might have been the case but it also could have been that their mother was too lazy to get up early enough to make biscuits!Anyway, I always tried to hide my biscuit sandwiches from the kids who had bought bread in their lunches. Nowadays, I would not be embarrassed at all to have someone see a biscuit sandwich in my lunch. Hardly anyone makes them anymore. You do see them at MacDonalds in the sausage biscuits and they cost at least a dollar! The other kids might have canned biscuits but my Mother's biscuits were made-from-scratch. And I would love to have one of her delicious home made- from-scratch biscuits right now!
Our first Refrigerator
Way back in about 1938 or 39 we got our very first electric refrigerator. Before that we had an ice box. That was a cabinet with shelves just like a fridge only at the top was a section which held a big block of ice. The ice would keep the ice box somewhat cool but not really like an electric refrigerator.We had to buy the blocks of ice from a truck which ran on a regular routine and delivered the ice to your house. They usually had big cards with pounds listed on them. If you wanted 10 pounds you put the 10 pounds side up, if you wanted 25 pounds you put that side up. You put the cards in a window so the ice man could see it and then he brought whatever amount you wanted and put it in your ice box for you.You also had to put a pan underneath the ice box to catch the water from the melted ice. It came down from the ice section through a tube which came out through a hole in the bottom of the ice box.You had to make sure you emptied the pan before it got too full or you would have a mess on your floor.Back to the new electric fridge. I think it was a GE. My Mother right away got on to the idea of making ice cream in the new fridge. She would mix up milk or cream, sugar, flavorings and sometimes fruit and put it in the ice cube trays and freeze it. She would stir it about two or three times while it was freezing, which made it smoother. The whole family really liked it except for me. I never cared for the home made ice cream. I always thought it was too sweet. But the rest of the family made up for what I didn't eat!But I did like being able to get some ice cubes out for my water, pop, or whatever I wanted to drink. Now I can't imagine not having an electric refrigerator. I have an ice maker which is even handier. I can reach in and get one, two, three or how many ever ice cubes I want--much easier than having to get a whole tray of cubes out.Hooray for progress! I hope we never have to go back to the olden days (actually, in some ways that might not be too bad of an idea!).
Our Orchard
We had a fruit orchard at one place where we use to live when I was a kid. There were apple, peach, plum, and pear trees and maybe some I don't even remember. My Mother used to can many jars of jams, jellies, preserves and just plain fruit each season. We always had a variety of flavors for the spread on our toast and biscuits back then. My favorite was plum jelly. I still like it.I can remember on the peach trees there was a kind of a chewy gelatin-like material which grew on the limbs along the bark. It was as if this substance kind of oozed out of the tree and made little clumps. I don't now what it was but my friends and I liked to pick it off and chew it. The taste was not really anything spectacular or good--it was just a pleasantly chewy substance to munch on. I assume it was a harmless thing because I never got sick from chewing it.We always had plenty of fruit to eat on during the season when each kind of tree would produce its crop. I remember eating green apples before and I probably got a stomach ache!I planted an apple tree in my yard when we moved to this house in 1976. It was about two or three years before I got an apple from it. I learned that to get the best fruit you have to spray the tree every year and you also have to prune it properly . Since that was a lot of work our tree didn't get the exact proper treatment. We did get apples but they were not perfect and had to be trimmed of the bad spots before we could use them. Unfortunately, about 5 years ago, lightening stuck my apple tree and knocked it completely down. We had to have it removed. Since then I have not replanted because for just me it is too much work for my apples. I can buy a four pound bag at the grocery store and have all of the apples I want without the work and the clean up that a tree brings along with it.But I would like to have a chunk of peach tree gelatin to chew on for a while!
My First Perm
When I was around 12 or 13 I got my first permanent. My natural hair was as straight as a ruler! I went alone to the beauty shop. I sat through all the uncomfortable stages of a perm that you use to have to endure. The rolling up tightly of every hair on my head; the application of the waving solution which was breathtaking--literally; and then the heat rods that they used to bake your hair. I can remember each pain filled moment of the whole procedure. But I was excited that I was going to have curly hair.Nowadays, a perm is much more easily acquired. Just a lightly rolled curler is put in your hair, then a waving solution which doesn't smell good but does not have the the strong breathtaking odor of the old time waving solution. Thankfully, they did away with the heat rods which baked your hair.Then you just wear your curlers for about a half hour, take them out and rinse with the neutralizer and your perm is in. Much, much simpler and quicker than the old way!Meanwhile, back at the ranch (as the saying goes) the beauty operator sort of took advantage of me since I had never had a perm and since my Mother was not with me. She put the perm in OK but she skipped the rest of the job--she did not set my hair on curlers and dry it for the final coiffure. That was before curling irons were used to finish a hairdo. So I left the beauty shop with a wet head and tiny ringlets of newly permed hair. I was none the wiser since I didn't know that the end set was normally included with the price of a perm! However, the perm was a good one and lasted for several months and was an improvement of my looks. These days, I no longer go to the beauty shop for perms. I use Toni home perms. Much simpler and MUCH CHEAPER!
Healthy Snacks
I can remember when I was a child my Mother always had dried fruits in a cabinet in the pantry. She would have dried apples, dried peaches, dried apricots. prunes and raisins. Any time I was hungry for a snack I would help myself to one or the other of those items. They were a very chewy, juicy and delicious snack. At that time they were very cheap snacks. Now you have to be well off to be able to pay for them. My Mother always made fried pies with them or just cooked them for a side dish for a dessert. I loved the fried pies she made. She would roll out a round of pie dough and then put a dollop of the cooked dried fruit on to the center of the round. She then folded the round of dough over and sealed the edges. Sometimes she just baked them in the oven. Other times she would fry them in a skillet. I liked them either way. Baked would have been the healthier way to make them. However, my Mother was not so concerned with the healthy way as she was with the easiest or quickest way to make them! Healthy eating was not a big issue back then--at least not with most people.I just saw an ad for dried apricots at Walgreens of $1.00 for an 8 ounce package. That is a pretty good price in this day and age. I may try to get over there for a couple of packages. By the time I add on the price of my gas to drive there it may not be such a good deal after all! I think the price of prunes and raisins are more in line with most people's budgets, but the peaches, apricots and apples are another story.Now, most kids look for cookies, candy, ice cream and other sweet things for snacks. The dried fruits are sweet also but it is a natural sweet which is better for you and they are fruits.
Daddy--The Democrat
My Dad was a staunch Democrat. He believed in everyone voting and he always did. Many years ago Paris used to have many politicians visit and they usually spoke to the public at Bywater's Park. It was about a block south of the main square across from the public library. I can remember many times being with my Dad and my Mom when they went to Bywater's Park to listen to some politician speak. I can not remember any specific name of a politician that was there, that was many years ago, but I am sure many of the famous ones must have visited there.Bywater's Park is still in Paris but I am not sure what it is mainly used for now because I don't live there anymore. It is a beautiful little park with flowers and greenery. I usually drive past it every time I visit Paris. I can still visualize my Dad and Mom and my family standing around listening to the political speeches of the famous persons of that time. Of course I was a child and I was not very politically oriented but I did enjoy the pomp and excitement of the crowds.My Dad died still a Democrat but I think he did sort of change to the policy of voting for the man instead of the party.
Lost Games
I
can remember playing several games when I was a kid that you never see kids playing now. In fact, they wouldn't even know what the game was about if you didn't tell them. How many of you reading this know what Mumblety Peg is?Mumblety Peg is a game where two people usually compete. They throw pocket knives and try to get the blade to stick into the ground. They get points for the way the blade sticks. Truthfully, the game was before my time. I barely remember a couple of times seeing someone play the game. Obviously, it was an inexpensive game because all you needed was a pocket knife, and most boys back then had pocket knives. I think now that kids are prohibited from carrying knives to school so that lets out Mumblety Peg as a school game.Marbles was another olden game and I do remember playing that with my cousin. We each had our supply of marbles and we played for keeps when we played the game. I don't remember much about it except that you drew a big circle in the dirt and placed your marbles in the circle. Then you took turns shooting your marble, the taw or shooter, as it was called, at your opponent's marbles. You used your thumb and forefinger to shoot the marble. If you knocked any of your opponent's marbles out of the circle they were then your marbles. There were certain rules that you had to follow and my memory is fuzzy about the rules.Ball and Jacks, Hopscotch, Hide and Seek and Horse Shoes were other games which were often played when I was a child. These games were very inexpensive to play. They took little equipment, if any at all, and were a lot of fun.Nowadays, children have to have, or think they have to have, expensive computer games or other games which need elaborate equipment in order to play. Many of them require little movement or exercise except to sit at a computer and use joy sticks. I really think that the kids of today would enjoy playing the old fashioned games if they were introduced to them and encouraged to play. I can remember how much fun I used to have playing them and I do not think I was that much different than modern kids!These kinds of games would be advantageous in three ways: First they would be more economical because most of them require little or no equipment: Second, they would get kids outside into the fresh air and give them more exercise: Third, the children would be interacting with other children a lot more than with a video game.These games will be lost forever to kids of the future if someone doesn't get them started again. I don't know who that will be because most of the people who remember the games are too old to get out and play them now. It is a shame that such fun games will be lost forever in the future!
Me and Tiger!
I had my right knee replaced a few years ago. I had had arthroscopic surgery a couple of years before on it in an attempt to lessen the pain but the surgery never worked at all. I think the proof of that is that Tiger also had the arthroscopic surgery and, obviously, it didn't work for him either.
So I had my knee totally replaced. I recovered nicely in a short time. In fact I rode the bus to Texas about three months after the surgery and did fine. The only problem I had was that I never got back all of the flexibility in my knee joint. I can not bend my knee enough to squat. It has been about 7 years and I still don't have that flexibility back. I never have any pain in the joint and I can walk fine but I just can't squat! Not that I want to but I would like to be able to if I did want to! Like Tiger Woods, I will not be able to play golf the rest of the season either! (I have never played golf in my life!)
My left knee probably should be replaced also but I think I can put up with it the way it is rather than lose all flexibility in it. So, unless I start having too much pain with it, I will not have another replacement. Your bones and joints wear out in time! It is one of the prices you pay for getting OLD (ME--get old?).
The Ants came free!
One day many years ago my Dad was going to my sister's place to eat lunch on his noon break from work . My Mom was going somewhere and was not going to be able to make him lunch. So Daddy was supposed to be there about noon. Somehow my sister got involved in some kind of a job which made her late starting lunch. She was making cornbread and beans, some kind of meat and a salad. Hurriedly, she got out the items to make the cornbread and started to make it. Unfortunately, the corn meal had some ants in it. She tried picking them out but it was obvious that there were too many for her to get them all. So, realizing she only had a few minutes to get the bread cooked, she just dumped the corn meal in and mixed it up--ants and all. She said people eat chocolate covered ants all the time so she didn't figure the ants would kill anyone. My Dad never knew the difference. She said the corn bread tasted as good as it ever did when she made it. I am sure the ants added some protein to the meal!
My Lost Earring
My husband once gave me a set of diamond earrings as an anniversary gift.
I was very proud of them and wore them a lot. They were not extremely big diamonds but to me they were very big.We were going to the hospital to visit a friend who had had surgery. I put on my earrings and we left the house. We visited the friend and then came home. I was taking my earrings off when suddenly I realized that one of them was missing. I was horrified. I looked all around on my carpet and found the back of the earring on the carpet but not the earring. I must have not got the back on the post right and it had fallen off while I was still in the house.I then went out to the car retracing my steps and searched all over but the earring was nowhere to be found. It was late at night and dark so we just went to bed. The next morning I told my husband that we should drive over to the hospital and look where we had parked and see if it might be possible to find the earring.We drove to the same place where we had parked the night before and just as we got there I saw something sparkle on the pavement. I got out and looked and there was my earring. It had been driven over and the post was bent flat but the diamond was perfect and not broken.I was amazed that it was still right there in the street. It must have fallen out of my ear when I got out of the car. I took it to the jeweler and had it repaired. I also had him put posts on it that were the screw type. So then they could not accidentally come off my ear. I still have my earrings but, sadly, I do not have my husband. The earrings are a lovely reminder of his love for me when he bought them.
My Dad's big find
My Dad once hit it very lucky one morning when he started out to walk to work. Just out in the street in front of our house he was walking along and he saw a dollar bill lying in the street. He quickly picked it up and then looking ahead he saw some more bills lying there. The money was strung along for several feet along the curb.In total he found about $25--which was quite a lot of money back in those days. Of course there was no way he could find the owner because the money was just loose and not in a wallet or anything with identification. He later suspected that someone drunk had been walking along there and lost the money in his drunken confusion. My Dad was delighted with his find. I think that is about the only really good luck he had during his lifetime. He was a hard worker and enjoyed making money but he had to work pretty hard for all of his money.
The Blue Lady
Once, years ago, I was in a store at the service desk waiting for service. A lady was in front of me in the line. I was shocked to see that she was literally as blue as the sky--even bluer. I assume that she must have had a heart problem. She was a frail little lady, very skinny and, I kid you not--she was as blue as blue can be. Her face, and all exposed skin was very blue. She seemed OK otherwise. She was alone, as far as I could tell and talked as well as anyone. I have often thought of her and wondered why she was so blue. I came to the conclusion that she surely had a heart problem which must have caused it. Of course, I never saw her again and do not know what the problem was. Have you ever seen or do you know what could cause such a problem?
I Was Made a Monkey of
Once when I was a small kid we made a visit to My Uncle Gola's place. He lived in Little Rock, Arkansas at that time. As part of our entertainment he took us to the zoo there in their city. We had been around to a lot of the animal cages and had seen most of the sights. Somewhere along the way Uncle Gola had bought my sister and me lolly pops. I was enjoying my sucker when we came to the monkey display. They were all in cages outside. I was standing there casually looking at the monkeys and I felt my sock slip down inside my shoe. I reached down to pull up my sock and was very close to the bars of the monkey cage. This one little feisty monkey put his arm out through the bars and quickly grabbed my sucker! He went to the back of the cage and sat on a box or stool and he would take a lick on the sucker and look at me. It was as if he were teasing me. I was so flabbergasted at the whole thing that I hardly knew what to do. But one thing was clear--I was not going to get my sucker back. All the other zoo visitors had a good laugh at my expense! I think maybe my uncle Gola did buy me another lolly pop. I stayed away from the monkey cages after that!
Riding the Greyhound Bus
Every summer since the year 2000, when my husband died, I have ridden the bus to Texas. My sister lives in Sulphur Springs, Texas. The Greyhound bus goes right through Sulphur Springs and my sister can pick me up right there. If I flew to Texas someone would have to drive to Dallas , about 80 miles, to pick me up.So I decided that the bus was the way to go. I do have to ride the bus for about 25 hours with two bus changes but flying would not be any better because After a flight from Fort Wayne to Dallas then I would have to ride in a car the 80 miles to get to my sister's house. I can't say I enjoy riding the bus for 25 hours but it is easier for everyone else if I do.I do enjoy the scenery on the bus route. It is as close to a car ride as I can get. We always used to drive to Texas when my husband was still here. It is also so economical to go by bus. It only costs me about $125 for a round trip ticket. Flying would cost three times that. Probably more now since prices have risen. I am planning on a trip there again this summer or maybe in the fall. I have not checked prices yet but I am hoping that they have not gone too far up. Out of my 6 or 7 trips there I have never had any luggage lost until last summer. My bag did not get there when I did. However, in two days my bag did get there all intact. So I am hoping that will not happen again this summer. I am leaving the driving to Greyhound!
Use it or Lose it!
I have a set of 1847 Rogers Brothers silver plated flatware. I bought it when I first got married in 1943 in Paris,Texas. I probably have used it a total of maybe a dozen times in 65 years. It just always seemed quicker and easier to just use my everyday silver wear. For quite a few years I kept adding pieces to it. It is almost as complete as a set can be. I bought iced teaspoons, demitasse spoons, round soup spoons, butter forks, salad forks, and extra teaspoons. I was obsessed with getting everything I could find to add to the set. I always had visions of setting a beautiful dining table and using all of my pretty silver wear. Time had a way of slipping away and before I knew it my set was kind of obsolete. I really regret that I never used it more when I could have.Years ago, when I did do more entertaining I should have used it. Now I do hardly any entertaining at all and really can't use it. One thing that made it unhandy to use was the fact that I could not keep it in a drawer in my kitchen. I always kept it up in a closet on a high shelf . I advise anyone who has nice silver wear or nice dishes--USE THEM NOW! I will never be able to get the money back that I spent on the set and neither of my children want the set, because they like stainless steel, which never needs polishing or gets stains on it. So I am stuck with a white elephant. I have thought of putting it on eBay to sell but I know I will never get what it is worth. Maybe I will just leave it to my kids and let them decide how to dispose of it! I actually lost what I might have enjoyed more if I had just used it.
Mama and Slacks
My Mother never in her whole life had on a pair of slacks or shorts. That was one of the things which she thought was wrong--for a woman to put on a man's clothing. However, she did not ever say that she thought it was wrong for my sisters and me to wear them. I think in later years she just didn't wear them because she never had. She always wore dresses. She changed her mind about many things which originally she had thought was wrong. I guess she just went along with the way things progressed.However, she never changed her mind about very short, skimpy shorts and dresses. And I kind of agreed with her on that. I still don't think extremely short shorts and dresses are very attractive on women. I never wore them even when I was young. Maybe I am a fuddy duddy! Be that as it may, when I see a woman with a very short dress or revealing clothing I think to myself it is ugly! But I am not the ruler on things that women can wear--and many men would not agree with me!
Mama's Long Hair
Back in the days when my Mother was young she was brought up to believe that a woman's hair was her crowning glory and it was sinful to cut it off. Her mother before her was brought up the same way.My Mother's hair was dark and very long and thick. It came down her back at least past her waist. She twisted it into a long tail and then rolled it into a bun on the back of her head. She used hair pins to pin it into a bun. It was attractive for that time. Later on her life got very busy and she had little time to fool with her hair. It was time consuming to wash and dry it and then put in into the bun. So she debated quite a while about getting it cut. Finally, she took the giant leap and had it cut and got a permanent. I don't think she ever regretted it because it was so much easier to take care of. I think she changed her mind about it being sinful also. She had to go along with progress.Later on when I went to visit her about two times a year the one thing I did each time I was there was--I cut her hair and gave her a Toni perm. She looked forward to me doing that. I am not a beauty operater but I could do a fairly good job on her hair. She was always pleased with it. I would love to be able to give her a Toni now but she has been gone for quite a few years. God is taking care of her hair now!
The Circus Parade
Back when I was just a small kid I remember one year my Mother was going to take me to see a parade of circus animals. The circus was going to be in town and the animals were transported by train to our city (town might be a more accurate term to use!). They always marched the animals along the street from the train depot to the place where the circus was being held. A lot of people didn't go to the circus but they could see all of the animals anyway by standing along the street which the parade route used. In fact, my aunt and uncle were taking me to the circus that night, but I wanted to go anyway to see the animals march through town.The one thing bad was; I had to miss a day of school to do this! But so did a lot of other kids. It was very exciting, first, because of having a day off from school and second, doing something very different and exciting than the usual everyday thing.So we got up early and got all dressed and went to a place along one of the streets where the parade was going to march. I really can't remember too much about seeing the animals but I do remember what fun it was to be out of school and just doing something different. It has been many years since I went to a circus. When the circus comes here to Fort Wayne it is held inside the Memorial Coliseum. The olden time circus was held outside in tents. I am sure it was much more exciting than a modern day circus! I have my memories of the circuses of the past so I probably won't ever go to another circus in my lifetime.
The King's Throne
I will continue today with thoughts about the King. His recliner still sits right in the spot where it was when he was still with me. He always sat in the recliner and I sat on a couch right across the room from him.I sometimes nap on the couch during the day. I have suddenly awakened from a nap and for an instant I look over at the recliner and expect to see him sitting there as he always did. Then I become fully awake and I realize he is not there. The recliner was a gift to "The King" from our daughter and he lived in it during the time he was not in bed. After he died, seven years ago, I had thought I would get rid of it and buy a new chair for that spot. About the first year no one sat there at all. Then gradually they began to sit in it occasionally. So I gave up my thoughts of getting rid of the chair. Now no one thinks twice about plopping down there for a rest. The chair is not totally spent. It still looks fairly good , in fact as good as the rest of my chairs.My daughter just mentioned not long ago that she feels kind of good sitting in it because it makes her feel close to her Dad. I seldom sit in it but I do look at it all the time and recall the good old days when "The King" was still with us!So, until the brown corduroy starts to fall off I think the throne will continue to take up that spot in the family room! Recovering it is out of the question because it would not be the same in any other color or material than the brown corduroy.Long live the King's throne!
The King
I wrote a couple of days ago the post, "Double Talk." Now I will write about the origin of the name, Le Roy. That was my husband's name, which he hated with a passion. It is sad that someone has to spend his whole life with a name he hates. However, he was well known as "Ford," which was his surname. The use of that name came along when he entered the service. All of his army buddies used that name because he asked them to and I think that is the normal thing in the army anyway, to go by last names. Actually, he hated his middle name also. It was Earl. Mostly it was shortened to the initial E. The name LeRoy is derived from Old French meaning, "The King." I don't know if there is a single correct pronunciation but his Mother always used the pronunciation of LeRoy with the accent on the Roy part. Most people, including my husband himself, pronounced it LeRoy with the accent on the Le part. He did use the name, LeRoy E. Ford on all business transactions but informally he went by the name Ford, his surname.Often he would jokingly say, "I am the King," to indicate his superiority in certain situations. I have to admit he was the King around our household! The Queen has lost her King!
Lava Lamps
Remember the old lava Lamps? I never had one when they were in style. A few years ago, we had some friends that we played cards with on a regular basis. She had lava lamps which were old ones. She put them on a table in the room where we played cards. I became fascinated with watching them. I would become mesmerized with the bubbles moving up, around and down in the liquid in them. I decided that I had to have some lava Lamps. So I began my search for them. I found some that were not too expensive--new ones, not old. I bought two of them, one red and one blue, and put them on a shelf in my living room. I was thrilled with them for a while and really spent a lot of time looking at the big bubbles going up and down in the liquid. I must have spent too much time doing that because it wasn't long before the bubbles didn't get as big and didn't go up and down as well as they did at first. Then I read on the bottom of the lamp where it said you should not have them on for too long at one time. I think I had exceeded the limit too many times. My lamps were not working as well as they should have.Finally, I lost interest in them because they were not as fascinating as they used to be. Before long they just sat on the shelf and took up space and in the end I removed them to a less obvious place. I was getting new carpet and picked one of the lamps up to move it and I dropped it on the carpet. The glass broke into hundreds of shards and all of the liquid spilled out onto the carpet. It's lucky I was getting new because I could have never gotten all of the glass shards up. I let the carpet dry and I did get most of the glass out. However, It was just a short time before the carpet was removed and the last traces of the glass and the color from the lava liquid was gone. So, now my lava lamps are just a memory--a pleasant one, but one I can keep in my head with all of the other brainstorms I have had in the past.
Double Talk
My husband was in the service and when I met him he was introduced to me by the name Ford. That is his last name. His first name was LeRoy and he hated his first name. So from the time I met him until the day he died he was "Ford." My whole family called him Ford. We visited my sister quite often in Texas. Her son Steve, who was probably about 5 or 6 at the time, knew Ford only as "Ford." Once he was asked by some friends of my sister what Ford's name was . He replied,"Ford." The friend said, "I mean what is his last name?" Steve replied, "Ford." The friend said, Do you mean his name is "Ford Ford?" Steve got a confused look on his face and answered, "Yeah, I guess." He had never considered any thoughts about the name. Later, when the friend mentioned the conversation between Steve and him to my sister, she laughed and told him his name was LeRoy Ford. We have had many laughs about the whole thing in the years since then. It was a very understandable mistake because Steve had never heard the name LeRoy in his whole life!
Yard Chickens
We used to have chickens in our yard all the time. We kept them for the eggs. We had a little shed that the chickens stayed in at night but during the day they just roamed all over our yard--and the neighbor's yard also. But that didn't matter because she had chickens too.I don't have to tell you that you walked very carefully in our yard! I can remember many times having to go in and wash my foot off because I had not walked carefully enough.In the summer time I usually went barefoot. If I had shoes on I would just wipe my shoe off on a grassy spot. I know the eggs were necessary for us to have for eating and we also cooked a chicken occasionally for a meal. But it was not pleasant at all to step on chicken doo!I think nowadays you are not allowed to have chickens in the city, at least not free roaming chickens. With eggs at around $1.50 or more a dozen it might be kind of nice if we were allowed to have them!
Our Picket Fence
When we bought our first home back in 1952 it was a brand new home and had no lawn, landscaping or anything except for the house.I decided immediately that I wanted a white picket fence around our back yard. There was some discussion about the fence--I wanted a white picket and my husband wanted a chain link. I had on my side the fact that the picket fence was much cheaper than the chain link. So we decided on the picket fence. I promised that I would do all of the painting.Since we were not overloaded with money we were going to install the fence ourselves. We bought the pickets and posts and had them delivered to our house. I decided that painting the pickets would be easier to do before the fence was installed. So I got my bucket of white paint and set up to paint in our utility room. It was still winter so it would be warmer and the paint would dry better in the house. I painted and painted, and painted, and then painted some more! I leaned the pickets up along the washer and dryer to dry. Finally, after a few weeks I had all of the pickets painted one coat. I decided that I would put the second coat on after the fence was installed.When spring came and we could install the fence then I started painting the second coat. I painted and painted, and painted and then painted some more. I finally got the whole thing painted and amazingly it looked great.
However, when it wore out about 15 or 20 years later we decided to get a new fence. You'd better believe it was a chain link fence!
The Floating Mouse
My Mother and Dad were in bed one night and were awakened by a sound like water splashing around. My Mother said, " What is that?" My Dad said "I don't know." The bathroom was right next to their bedroom and my Mother got up and went into the bathroom to investigate.As she looked in there she saw a little mouse floating and splashing around in the toilet. Excited and flustered, she didn't know exactly what to do. Finally, she walked over and quickly pushed the handle and flushed the mouse right down the toilet!That was exactly what I would have done, had I been the one to encounter that situation. It was a quick and easy way to dispose of the problem and the mouse. Don't you think?
The Hole in the Ceiling
When we decided to buy a new home back in 1976 we put our present home up for sale. We did all the things you need to do before you put a home up for sale. My husband was up in the attic rearranging some things and accidentally stuck his foot through the ceiling of our bedroom. There was a hole about two feet by two feet smack dab in the middle of our bedroom ceiling! Talk about bad timing!We had to purchase some wallboard to repair the hole. In the meantime, the real estate lady called and wanted to show some people our home that afternoon.Of course, we could not possibly let her show our home before that hole was repaired! I made the excuse that we were having company and could not possibly have anyone come that day. I could have just told her the truth and let her deal with it but I chose to just not tell her.We got the wallboard and my husband repaired the hole the next day. It was quite a job but he managed to repair it so that it was not very obvious at all. Then later I called the real estate lady and said we were ready to show the home. Fortunately, the hole was repaired well and we only had to show the home two times because the first people who looked at it made an offer. The second lookers made a better offer and we accepted. Too bad that these days it isn't quite that easy to sell a home!
Find Six Differences Between these Panels!
I am sure you have seen the cartoon panels in the comics that ask you to find six differences between two pictures which at first glance seem the same, but if you look closely you will find six differences somewhere in the picture. I have always taken the time to find the differences and enjoyed doing it.However, I was shocked to learn that my Dad enjoyed doing the same thing. My Dad has always enjoyed doing crossword puzzles but the cartoon thing seemed a little out of his league. He said he always did the six differences thing each week in the Sunday newspaper.Now each Sunday when I read the comics in the newspaper I have a little bit of a nostalgic moment when I see the six differences panel. I think of my Dad, now long gone. I have somehow adopted that comic as a link between my Dad and me. There probably won't be comics in Heaven but if there were I am sure my Dad would be looking for those six differences in a newspaper right along with me!
Buddy and Gene
