You haven’t lived till you’re way out in the country and realize nature is calling miles from the nearest bathroom. Mother was walking with her elderly Aunt Mary when they understood they were in just such a predicament. They were about a half-mile from from Continue reading
Mother
No Honor among Thieves
I won’t bother to lie. That was me you saw on the side of that country road or on that old home place in the country digging up plants..and that little, bitty old lady you saw with me; that was my mama. She’s my look out and spotter. When arrested, I won’t even be able to claim the act was spontaneous, since I keep a nice little camping shovel and plastic bags under my truck seat especially for my thieving excursions. I’ll probably try to explain that Mother has Alzheimer’s and escaped from me, but that might not fly, since I’ll be the one out wading in the muck while she’s standing by the truck, but I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Just so you know, I’m not the only thief she raised. My sister, Connie makes raids just like I do. We both make sure to get enough to share, since it’s inevitable one of us will eventually get caught. Bud swears he won’t bail me out, but I suspect he’ll come get me when he gets hungry. Mother is on her own. She should have raised us better.
Girl’s Night Out
I am very fortunate to come from a close family with three sisters and one brother. The girls get together periodically for a girl’s night out. For some reason, my brother, bows out on our girl’s night out. We gathered this time in honor of Mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day. In the second picture back left is me , 2nd daughter, back right, Phyllis eldest daughter, bottom left Mother, bottom center, Connie 4th daughter, bottom right Marilyn the youngest. In the third picture, Mother is reacting to being kissed by Marilyn’s little dog.My brother Bill is pictured with my Mother in the top picture. In the fourth picture, a dear family friend, Elaine, joins us. We had a wonderful night, laughed till we were exhausted, and enjoyed every minute together.
Mothers Day Pinto
Mother was a slow learner. It took her forever to learn that Daddy was not the thoughtful kind of guy who would ever surprise her with lovely gifts and gestures. He was more the kind of guy who felt sorry for himself when she got her feelings hurt or got mad. After all, he was pretty sure he’d gotten her something last year, for her birthday or Christmas, one or the other. What had she done with that eggbeater?
This year was going to be different. Virgil Hughes had a nice Pinto horse. It was a good deal since it “wasn’t broke” yet. Nobody really wanted it since it stomped Euless and broke his leg, but Daddy was sure he could make a fine riding horse out of it. Kathleen was scared of horses, but she’d get over that. If she didn’t, he’d ride it. Daddy stopped off on the way home from work the Friday before Mother’s Day to pick it up. It was kicking the side rails when he pulled in. He called Mother out to see her beautiful Pinto and she hit the ceiling. “Of all the things I need, you come bringing in a horse. We need another useless animal to feed like I need a hole in the head.” She stormed in, furious.
Daddy stomped off, putting the horse in the pasture. “Kathleen didn’t appreciate anything he did for her. It would be a cold day in Hell before he brought her anything else!
Happy Mother’s Day!
Sketch of Roscoe Holdaway
This is a sketch my mother did of her father January 31, 1942, just a few days after Pearl Harbor Day. She was twelve years old. It is better than any photograph she has of him.
Conquering Corwin (Part 2)
Aunt Essie got her nose out of joint when her little guys came home bringing tales of how badly Uncle Bill had treated them, so he didn’t hear from her till she fell on hard times a couple of years later. She had married her own fella named Bill by that time, strangely enough. This Bill was an affable enough guy, though he must not have taken time to meet Continue reading
Conquering Corwin (Part !)
In my family of “Mixed Nuts” Cousin Corwin was the winner, hands down. When he was about twelve, he and his twin Kelvin got in a little “dust up” with the police, so it seemed like a good time to get out of town. Aunt Essie called Daddy, asking if the twins could come spend a few days. Now if the image “twins” brings to mind thoughts of “barefoot Continue reading
It’s My Head
My mother could be so unreasonable about what I did with my own head when I was a kid. I was sitting on the floor at the end of the kitchen table playing one evening after dinner, when Phyllis tipped over a bowl of canned peaches. The syrup ran off the end of the table, onto my head. It felt cool and good. I didn’t complain. The next morning Continue reading
Breakfast With Barbie
Mother’s house was bedlam the morning after Daddy died. Someone made a quick trip to the store for breakfast fixings for Cox’s Army while the rest of us pulled the house back together. The term “quick trip” was relative, since the nearest grocery store was twenty-two miles away. It was a mess since we’d had to find beds for fourteen the night before, Continue reading
Nutsrok 