Shocked by the Clothesline!

I grew up in a large family...3 older brothers, 1 older sister and a younger sister. Barbara was 17 when I was born, Terry was 13, Larry 10 and Richie was 7. My family had endured lots of hardships before I came along. In fact, the week before I was born, the doctors at Warm Springs Gonzales had called my parents to come get my brother, Terry and bring him home. The news was...he would not walk again. You see, Terry had polio. He came down with it when he was only 8 years old and he had been in hospitals for five years. One day he was a healthy boy, running around the farm and the next day he was paralyzed. Terry almost died several times during his first few months with polio. It must have been a frightening time for my parents and my siblings. I can't even imagine! During this same time, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and she had one breast removed. Children were shuffled to aunts' and uncles' homes and they were without parents and a brother. Through all of this, they survived. Mother lived for another 46 years and Terry lived for about 50 more years. And I had an extremely normal childhood...with the exception of a mother with only one breast and a brother who could not walk and who slept each night in an iron lung. Lots of pranks were pulled in our household....some quite funny...some quite dangerous!
One prank was pulled on me by my brother, Richie when I was only about seven. I was a small child. At age seven, I may have weighed about 40 lbs.....I was a "shrimp". I was a whiny shrimp at that. I never ate. Most of our family meals were devoted to trying to get me to eat so that I wouldn't "blow away" in the West Texas winds! This caused me to cry and my cries prompted my brothers to recite the old saying..."Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, I'm going out to eat worms!" More tears would follow until I was in a rage! On this particular summer morning, Richie had gone out in the backyard to bring some clothes in off the clothesline for Mother. In the process, the clothesline had shocked him.....You see, Terry was an avid Ham Radio operator and his radio antenna was attached to the clothesline poles. Evidently, something had happened and his antenna was not grounded properly. So, Richie thought it would be funny for the "shrimp" to get shocked!
I ran to the backyard to fetch the clothes....I was so small that I barely even reached the clothesline. So I tiptoed and stretched to reach the clothespins, but once I did, the electricity caused me to grab the line. My other hand shot up to pull my other hand away and both hands were glued fast to the line. Electricity was flowing through all 40 pounds of my skinny little body! Richie was watching out the bedroom window....hoping to see something funny...only to see his little sister shaking and screaming! I could feel my toes digging into the soft damp ground...I knew I would soon dig to China if someone didn't save me! Richie ran from the house and jumped off the ground to tackle me. We landed on the ground....I was lifeless. I couldn't move at all. He carried me as I screamed and wailed into the house where Mother promptly lay me on her bed and began to put clean clothes on me...(including clean panties...Heaven forbid I go to the hospital without clean panties!). My fear was that I would be like Terry...confined to a wheelchair the rest of my life! However, by the time I got to the hospital, I was moving my arms and my legs.....Luckily there were no burns on my hands....just a scared little girl and a scared and very sorry big brother! Daddy quickly grounded the antenna, but it took me years to be brave enough to touch that clothesline again. It was....just a prank....and we lived through it...giving us another story to tell as we grew older! I still tend to avoid clotheslines..........

The Eagles

What a lucky gal I am! My sister's hubby was given tickets to ACL - Austin City Limits - for Sunday night and the Eagles were the last band to perform. I was just ecstatic to have this chance, I mean , my GOSH....THE EAGLES! This was THE group I loved when I was in high school! How many times did we drive around the square back in Anson, Texas singing "Take It Easy" or "Witchy Woman"???? I never even imagined I would have the chance to see them in person! But...yesterday...10-10-10...I set out towards Austin, Texas....having NO IDEA where I was going! As much as I've secretly wanted to be a "hippie"...I've never even been to Zilker Park! Luckily Cari guided me via telephone....she knew exactly how to get me there! I parked at Congress and Riverside and walked about 10 miles...it seemed! I was told it was closer to 1 mile! I followed the crowd....people of all races...style...age....all of us marching towards our destination....passing a vast array of people who gathered along Barton Springs Rd. Some were vendors attempting to sell their wares to the thousands who passed them! There was everything from organic pitas to colorful glass pipes and bongs to "Keep Austin Weird" t-shirts! Musicians also played along the way with ukuleles, guitars and tambourines hoping passerbyers would drop some coins in their tip box. One laughing group sat in a small trailer park sharing a bottle of wine! All the while we trudged on being tempted by the pedicabs that rang their bike bells and called for us to let them "take us on a ride to the park!" I finally made it after about a 30 minute hike. They checked my Life is Good backpack and sent me on into the gates where Lisa waited with my FREE ticket. I looked out onto a sea of people who walked throughout the park....all of us there because of our love of music and our dream to see musicians that we loved. We bought drinks and found a place to throw down our blanket while we listened to Band of Horses and Norah Jones. We moved toward the Eagles stage while Norah sang....walking swiftly through the mass of strangers....bumping and nudging them as we plowed forward, finally finding a spot near the left side of the stage. Eight o'clock finally arrived, along with the roar of the crowd in anticipation to the first song! We stood and smiled and laughed amidst a crowd that sang and danced and swayed....all of us moving to the beat of the music underneath a sliver of a crescent moon....beautiful night....beautiful weather....perfect....all of us enjoying a "peaceful...easy feeling..."



Thank you, Lisa!!!!

Two Gypsies

Lisa and I met at Hillary's on Sunday, July 18. We loaded up in the Black Honda and sped away, stopping immediately at Sonic to load up on caffeine! We headed out of Waco towards East Texas....promising each other we would stop whenever and where ever we wanted to stop!

By the time we got to Corsicana we were beginning to feel hunger pains....the almonds and walnuts we had been snacking on weren't quite as filling as these two traveling gypsies needed. We stopped at Collins Street Bakery with high hopes of a delicious sandwich and maybe some of the baked cookies that lined the glass shelves. However, after waiting 45 minutes on Lisa's sandwich (they lost the order!), we left the joint with heavy hearts. They did take half off our sandwiches and a bag of cookies that no one else wanted.

Ruby joined us along the way. She was too much for us at times and we had to put her in the trunk!

We picked these two fellas up to keep Ruby company, but had to let them out down the road because they had horrific gas.

Soon the rolling hills turned to piney woods....tall trees towering over us like skyscrapers...and the highway turned to a red brick road.....and there we found Richie and Linda's apartment!

It was great to see them! We went to eat at Jason's Deli....wonderful as always. It makes me feel like I didn't eat too much when I eat all their fresh, organic food. I stuffed myself with all the makings of a salad, organic humus....pudding sprinkled with granola....Full of good food, we returned to Richie and Linda's house to laugh at facebook and all the events in our lives! We climbed into bed....it was just like going to a bed and breakfast. The bed was soft and covered in a white down comforter...just perfect until a few minutes after turning out the light, we were blinded by a bright fluorescent light, similar to a UFO shining in the window. The television had come on for about 5 seconds and scared the peewadins out of us!

After a good night's sleep, we headed to LaPorte to visit with Larry and Margaret Ann. It was wonderful to see them. We puttered around the backyard and laughed about our memories of Mother. It never failed that after a visit to Larry's, Mother would go home to West Texas with the goodies she had taken from their tropical backyard paradise and try to plant them in that hard red dirt in her hot, dry backyard!

Notice the mailbox...it came from Mother and Daddy's house in Anson! And then notice the Christmas lights on their back porch.....leftovers from a Christmas party! They loved them so much they left them up!

Supper was a typical bay side dish.....shrimp boil! We could have fed a dozen more! It was wonderful!

On the way home....we made a quick trip to IKEA! We browsed the top floor and then finally found the IKEA cafe! We loaded up on coffee and Ballerina cookies! Neither of us will be ballerinas after the amount of food we ate on our trip!

As Ruby says, "Folks...I can guarantee you....we had a wonderful time! But now....On the Road again....Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway....We're the best of friends...Insisting that the world keep turning our way...and our way!"

Steps for a fun Easter Weekend

1. Play a game of basketball....get all hot and sweaty! 2. Have a picnic! My grandkids love to have picnic in Nana's backyard. We had grilled cheese sandwiches, Chex mix, mandarin oranges and a root beer. Denver wore an old wig for the occasion!

3. Go to the Polster's for a "reproduction" lesson! They have a pond with two frogs mating and a whole pond full of frog eggs!

Momma and Daddy frog getting it on!

4. Take lots of pictures while playing in the driveway!

5. Learn to ride a bike! Donald taught Denver how to ride a bike and he really took off on it! He had a few "ouchies" from falling, but he really did a great job!

6. Paint Easter eggs! We boiled about 3 dozen eggs and they were beautiful once we colored them.

We even had company! Bella came over for a lesson in coloring eggs...unfortunately she got some of the dye on her dress. Sorry Alyssa!

Averi and Maddie as they colored eggs.

Results of a good time! It took lots of Ajax to get our fingers clean!

7. Get all the cousins together! Tristin loves his older cousins!

8. Make homemade cinnamon rolls with the girls! This was so much fun and Averi and Maddie were very helpful!

9. Go outside to get a little sunshine! Tristin loves to go outside! Cari will be quite busy this summer!

10. Have an Easter egg hunt and inspect all the goodies! We got all the eggs hunted just before I went to Crossfire to work! I hope everyone had a blessed Easter! As you can see...I did!

10 Great Adventures on Spring Break

Spring Break has been wonderful! Here is my recap of my week of adventure!

1. Last Saturday I went to Waco to spend the day/night with Hillary and Madilyn. What fun! Dennis was gone so it was a girls' day! We shopped and played and then on Sunday I helped Hillary paint her bedroom. Donald stopped by and napped while we painted!
2. On Sunday afternoon, I met two of my best friends from Anson and we stayed at the Gaylord Texan. We laughed so hard....it was just like high school minus all the drama that comes with teenagers!
3. Monday morning after breakfast, Kathy, Debbie and I went to Grapevine Mall to shop! Did I mention we had a blast????
4. Tuesday was reserved for Nana! Denver, Averi and Madilyn all spent the night with me! They rode trikes/big wheels, played basketball and watched Ice Age (about 5 times). They were sooo good and I love to watch them as they play.
5. Wednesday was a beautiful day and we had a picnic out in the back yard complete with peanut butter sandwiches, bananas and root beer!
6. I left Wednesday afternoon for Austin to see Cari, Kevin and Tristin. On Thursday morning we went to IKEA and then met Teresa and "her" Cari for lunch at The Domain. Cari Hawn is due in just about 3 weeks, so "my" Cari filled her full of lots of good new mommy information. Tristin was amazingly adorable and perfect during our lunch!
7. The weather was still beautiful on Friday, so we gathered Tristin up for another shopping adventure. We shopped for birthdays...Madilyn, Gina, and Kevin...and for baby goodies for Denton...who will join Hillary, Dennis and Maddie in June.
8. After shopping and getting lots of baby sugar from Tristin, I left Friday afternoon for Bruceville-Eddy to watch Dillan play baseball. Once again I met Hillary and Maddie at the game. The boys won and Dillan even scored a run for the Bulldogs.
9. Saturday we awoke to freezing temperatures. Donald and I enjoyed the day piddling and then braved the wind and cold to go to Kool Beans in time for a coffee and oatmeal-raisin cookies. We worked at Crossfire Saturday night. It was good to see all my working buddies and to make a little money to pay for all that shopping!
10. Today was Sunday...and the last day of my adventure. Dillan came over and he went to Stephenville with us to watch Alice's great adventure in Alice in Wonderland. I loved it! We topped it off with onion rings and a chicken-fried steak dinner at Montana's. Of course, I had to stop by Chi Hua Hua's for a Dr. Pepper before we returned home.

So now I'm exhausted but very happy. However, I still need to unpack and pick this house up before I get back into the swing of things. I'm feeling very blessed to have had such a great week full of adventure after adventure with my family!

New Phone for the Birthday Boy!

Dillan Ryan will be 17 on Sunday....and all he wanted was an iPhone! WELL...I went to Stephenville today after school and got him one! You can see by his expression on his 2nd picture....he was really excited!

Actually these pictures were taken earlier this year....I forgot to take a picture of him tonight when I gave it to him....(refer to Signs of Aging-Forgetfulness!).
When I got in from Stephenville we went to eat at The Garden (that's what he calls El Jardin). He ordered shrimp nachos and he shared them with me. As soon as we got to the house, we started syncing his phone....that was after he went to weigh himself to see if he gained any weight after supper (he weighs religiously after a meal to see if he's gotten heavier!). Unlike me...I wouldn't dare weigh after I ate!
I'll share more of Dillan's "birth"day later...........hope he always knows how proud I am to be his mom!!!

Silly Dilly

We went to San Saba on Saturday to watch Dillan play basketball. Afterwards we went to Harry's. Donald's brother owns this store so we thought we'd stop by to check out the boots and hats and other western wear. I wanted boots, but couldn't find any that I could afford! Dillan found lots of hats. He had a blast trying them own....didn't buy one, but he did try on quite a few and we had fun while we were at it!

Fun Times in LaGrange

I thought I might share some of the fun pictures we took of our new "friend"! These masks only cost a dollar, but they were worth a million dollars in laugh!

My niece Bonnie even joined the fun!

Lisa wore her mask proudly...even though she was embarrassed when I wore the mask around the WalMart parking lot and waved at all the customers!

Senior Ring

Yesterday, my "baby" son, Dillan, who is 16 1/2 came sauntering down the elementary hall with a quirky smile upon his face....he raised his right hand high into the air, as if to greet me with a high five, so I in return raised my right hand to "high five" him. Hands met in the air...and he ever so slightly grasped my hand, as our hands fell to our sides. It was a good feeling...one I don't feel very often...sixteen year old boys don't really like to "touch" their mother's hand...that is an activity that disappeared years ago. Once upon a time, my little boy didn't mind grasping my hand. We would walk hand in hand...swinging them between us as we discussed why butterflies flutter from flower to flower or maybe just talking about what he might want to be when he grew up. I wanted to hug him...but I knew better than to try that...you know he is sixteen and he really doesn't like to hug his mom(even though I want to squeeze him like he's still a baby!).

Anyway, he turned to walk with me back down the hall to my classroom and he began to ask me what I had planned...hmmm...this might mean he has homework that he needs some help with (don't let it be math or Spanish!)...but his request came as a big surprise! He wanted me to go help him pick out his Senior ring. I got a lump in my throat...I didn't know it was time to order Senior rings...can he really be old enough?..."Yes," I tell myself. Of course he's old enough. He has his driver's license...he's a Junior in high school...could he really be ready for a Senior ring? It seems like just yesterday he was born... He was such a fat baby boy...rolls and rolls of fat around his legs...he was full of "sugar" and he smelled like heaven to me. But look at him now...he's taller than I am and he is slim and handsome...he doesn't have chubby little cheeks that drip with sugar...his face is that of a young man, not a bouncing baby!

And what was it that he wanted? Oh, yes, a SENIOR RING! I quizzed him and asked him if he really wanted a Senior ring. "Oh, yes," he replied. "Everyone is getting one!" Well, I wanted to retort the old saying, "Well if everyone was jumping off the roof, would you?", but I knew better. He wouldn't find that humorous...he was excited about the prospect of being a Senior! How could I refuse? We climbed into my dirty black Honda and cruised over to the high school to see what we could find.

There were other parents standing in line waiting to make the purchase of "a lifetime"...all of us had these weird looks on our faces and I'm sure every one's heart was skipping a beat...just wondering how we got to this place! We all agreed that "just yesterday we were starting 1st grade!". Luckily, the people who waited on us knew all the right questions to ask. That made it much easier for Dillan to make his decision. I could tell the man who waited on him, could probably fill out the form with his eyes closed. It was so nice to have him making his suggestions. Otherwise, we may have still been sitting there going through the catalogue trying to decide on just which symbols should be placed on the Senior ring! Dillan chose the least expensive metal (thank you!), black onyx stone placed in the crestview style. He has 2011 on one side and DILLAN on the other side of the stone. He placed a bulldog beneath his name and chose the symbols for basketball, baseball, and football ("I'm playing football next year" he told me) to be placed beneath his graduating year. I wrote a check for $50.00....to be followed by $300.00 more before Christmas.

We turned to leave...and I asked Dillan if he was pleased with his choice. He was, he said. I'm pleased, too. My baby boy has grown up into a funny, appreciative, and kind young man. I'm pleased because he knew he could come to me to ask for his Senior ring. I got to help him pick it out...he valued my opinion and that gave me such comfort! As we left the high school, I wished I could grab his hand and discuss the butterflies and what he wanted to be...but I knew I couldn't. I would just walk next to him...."Thanks," he said... I walked away, but turned to look at him as I got to the corner of the school so I could get one more glimpse of him. I caught his eye as he was climbing into his white pickup....there it was...a million dollar smile and a thumb's up.....now if he can just wait for the Senior ring to get here!