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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/20/2005 5:07:39 PM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
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Rachael, I am tryin' to write the next story, but I keep gettin' interrupted by Comments from Canada! . . . so blame it on that one if it doesn't get done soon! 
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/20/2005 5:16:46 PM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
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quote:
ORIGINAL: rachay2
quote:
obnoxious, screaming kids
Hey! I will have you know my kids haven't screamed at all today... not yet anyway..  I'm sure it is coming.
Rachael, these obnoxious, screamin' kids can't help themselves -- it comes from havin' to put up with all that traffic and crowds! . . . come to think of it, I got rather obnoxious last time I went through that city too! --- and if I wasn't screamin' it was only cuz I didn't want someone haulin' my butt off to the looney bin! --- at least I kept enuf faculties about me to realize that! 
What I really wanna know --- well, I really don't wanna know, but *shrugs* -- ya know, I just wonder about it sometimes -- like those times when I'm forced to drive close to the city to see my precious granddaughters --- anyway -- I just wonder . . where do they all come from????? . . and where do they all go????? . . .. I mean, there's this line of traffic on every highway, bumper to bumper, people just zippin' by, zippin' by, zippin' by . . . where???? --- how do they possibly all fit into St. Louis???  . . . . . nope -- just can't think 'bout it any longer --- I get tooooooo dizzy 
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/20/2005 8:06:55 PM
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stamper_ben
Posts: 10977
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Lone Star State
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Ya oughtta give Houston a try if you can't tell where all those cars are going. I think they just get up on the loop and drive endlessly in the circle...
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We will be known as His by the love we show one another.
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/20/2005 9:46:12 PM
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cherish405
Posts: 32302
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From: The Land Down Under
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City girl here, but just not too big a city. I find the country way too small.
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*** Gone crazy. Back soon. ***
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/20/2005 11:14:05 PM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
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This isn't so much a story, but a little background on Mom & Daddy . . .
Mom's mother died when she was only 3. Her father remarried, but his second wife, whom we came to know as Grandma, didn't really want the two kids from his first marriage, so they spent most of the time with their maternal grandmother. Then she died when Mom was only 11.
This left Mom to the whims & fancies of a step-mother who didn't want her, and aunts/uncles who would take her as long as she was "needed" --- housekeeper, babysitter, gardener -- whatever they needed at the time, and they all treated her pretty much as slave labor -- her wages were her room & board -- with the exception of one dear aunt (her father's sister) who actually showed her love and affection. This woman was our dear great Aunt Nellie.
Sometime in there, she lost contact with her younger half-siblings and didn't even know how many there were. Aunt Nellie had some contact, but had been asked not to reveal any information. But Aunt Nellie was a bit of a rebel, and didn't like the way this father and step-mother had cast off his first-born children, so when Mom & Daddy moved back to Missouri, approximately 10 years after they got married, she was instrumental in helping Mom finally locate her family.
Anyway, when Mom met and fell in love with Daddy, she also fell in love with his family -- especially his mother, who took her in as though she was her own daughter. For the first time in many years, Mom felt loved for who she was, instead of just tolerated for as long as she was needed. She became very close to Daddy's family and spent much of her early years of marriage living with them.
For the first few years of their marriage Daddy traveled looking for work, leaving Mom behind, living close to or with his mother. In a war-torn country, during a depression, jobs were scarce. And money was even scarcer. After Mom had to go to a nursing home in 1996, we found letters from him to her during that period of time. I think this was the roughest time of their marriage -- when they were separated. These letters were very moving. Indeed, the last of them indicated that Daddy was simply unwilling to live apart any longer, and sent Mom money earmarked for her some badly needed shoes demanding that she instead buy bus tickets for her and their first child to join him in Arizona.
Eventually, Mom started traveling with him, and for the next few years they traveled together wherever Daddy's jobs took them. They traveled from Missouri to Arizona, New Mexico, California, Nevada, Colorado. After they had 7 kids, they decided it was time to stop moving them from school to school, so Daddy found a house right next door to Aunt Nellie in Missouri.
It wasn't much of a house -- it had been hit by a tornado a fewl years earlier, and the kitchen wall was leaning a little more than slightly  . . . but, Daddy being a carpenter & all, he promised her he'd have it fixed in no time and he would even install indoor plumbing.
Well, that never happened. He did build the kitchen bigger and added the concrete porch in back (where the washer & rinse tubs sat), removed one inside wall of the living room to make it larger (losing a bedroom in the process) and also poured a concrete porch all the way across the front of the house.
I guess it wasn't all that bad, as poor people's houses went in those days. Hardly anyone we knew had it much better, and many a lot worse. Daddy's main goal in finding a house was to get it close to Aunt Nellie because he knew that he would be away a lot and Mom would need someone she could depend on to help her when needed. Looked at from that perspective, it was very considerate of him to choose the house he did, and Mom was very grateful.
It was after they were settled into this house that Aunt Nellie helped put Mom in touch with her lost family -- the 7 children of her father and the step mother who didn't want her. Mom had one full brother, and I'm unsure of how much contact she had with him at this time.
Another fact unbeknownst to her: her dad had actually had another marriage between the time of her mom's death and the step-mother Mom knew. He fathered 2 kids with this woman, then, from what I can piece together, just up and left her and the two boys.
I'm not sure of the timing of this revelation, only that one of these boys came looking for his lost family and found Mom & Daddy. Mom told me this story after she was in the nursing home -- after she suffered the loss of most of her memory . . . she said one day this good looking soldier in uniform came knocking on her door. When she answered, he said he was her brother. She of course didn't believe him, but was willing to listen to his story. After having it checked out as well as she could, through Aunt Nellie -- who really did know but had been absolutely forbidden to mention it -- she found it was true.
When she told me, I didn't think she was lucid. But I'd already learned (the hard way) not to question her stories. So I kept silent on this one until I could talk to an older sister about it. She knew part of it-- enough to know it was likely true, and later, I was able to talk to Mom's younger sister who filled me in on the rest.
From that day on, Uncle Orville was an important member of the family. He stayed in touch with Mom & Daddy through the war, which he was a part of, becoming very close to them. He married later, our dear Aunt Helen, and they became our favorite aunt & uncle. They lived in Chicago and would come every summer for one week of their vacation. Uncle Orville would play the guitar and we'd all sing with him --- so much fun! "Let's Go Down to the Crawdad Hole, Honey. . . " "Silver Threads Among the Gold" . . . "How Much is That Doggie in the Window"
Mom's dad & step mom did accept her, eventually, and we grew up knowing them as our grandparents. However, as far as I know, Grandpa went to his grave denying Uncle Orville and his brother Tad. Tad wanted nothing to do with Grandpa, and even though Tad only lived 2 miles away from us, he really didn't have anything to do with us either. Uncle Orville would always go see his brother when came to stay with us, though.
Most of Mom's younger siblings did accept Uncle Orville and they all accepted Mom freely and wholeheartedly; they would come visit when Uncle Orville & Aunt Helen came down, and off & on throughout the year. Much of that time was spent on the river, so we all just camped together 
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/20/2005 11:35:32 PM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
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Benny, if you're saying Houston is worse than St. Louis, no thanks! . . . I'll just take your word for it and stay right here in my little country town of 2500, with it's third smallest Wal-Mart in the US --- limited selections requires much less time to make a decision, it's 2 grocery stores -- one of which is newly built and has a very nice selection, TYVM . . it's 50+ year-old shoe store where you are The Customer, and after greeting you at the door and ascertaining what you want, Audrey will show you to a chair, bring over boxes & boxes of shoes, sit on her little stool and begin fitting the shoes to your feet --- kinda gives ya that "Cinderella" feelin', ya know . . .
I will continue to enjoy it's 2 main streets on which you must watch out for the bicyclers, tricyclers, skateboarders, as well as a few disabled people in their scooters and Annie, who walks the town several times a day doing ??what??? -- no one seems to know -- but you might offer her a ride home on those extreme temp days -- she just lives in a small trailer court in the center of town, so will only take you 2-3 minutes to deliver her to her front door -- 'course you gotta leave time for the goodbyes and a gracious way of refusing lunch . . . and I will enjoy my "rocky road", the cattle in the field behind us, the donkey braying across the holler, while listening to the chickadees fussing with their young about their reluctance with the flying lessons . . . yeah, small town life is the life for me!
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 7:58:51 AM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
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Hi Pammie! . . . . yes, she did go a pretty tough childhood, especially after her grandma died. I think she must have been pretty nurturing to Mom. The part that I didn't know about until the last 2-3 years was that she had lost contact with her family and how Uncle Orville & Tad were not thought of as part of the rest of the family. I think Mom was simply unable to talk about that. My Aunt Pauline, who'd filled me in on the details of that said that none of the kids knew about Uncle Orville and Tad until Orville got in touch with Mom and made his presence known.
But it was rather cool that almost all these brothers & sisters migrated towards Mom once they knew of her existence and where she lived. They spent many hours with us, camping out and in our home. In fact, 3 of her brothers and two sisters were at the reunion Saturday, as was several of their kids.
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 8:10:44 AM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
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From: Show-Me State
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Good morning, DeeDee!! . . . hey girl, there's nothing like trees of your own, but you can come sit under mine anytime you want . . . .
Actually, DeeDee, we were very blessed by Bill's grandpa giving us this property before he died. He wanted Bill out here close to him. At the time, though, it had no trees on it. So here we are 28 years and ~ 50+ tree plantings later with plenty of trees and lots of shade . . . . the prettiest one, though, is definitely the weeping willow that we planted somewhere around 20-23 years ago at the bottom of our land. It really is the most awesome tree.
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 8:15:53 AM
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stamper_ben
Posts: 10977
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Lone Star State
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First of all, I can't thank you enough for sharing your life, and the lives of your family, with us.
Next - quote:
limited selections requires much less time to make a decision That's my philosophy on shopping for Christmas presents on Christmas Eve!
Lastly, I don't live in Houston, but about twenty miles outside the city limits in a country subdivision. It is between two towns, one of them just over 1000 folks and the other has about 10,000. When we went looking to buy this house I was firm that I wasn't going to live in the city surrounded by houses with a postage stamp sized yard. We got it. All the homes are on at least an acre.
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We will be known as His by the love we show one another.
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 8:36:44 AM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
Status: online
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quote:
ORIGINAL: stamper_ben
First of all, I can't thank you enough for sharing your life, and the lives of your family, with us.
Next - quote:
limited selections requires much less time to make a decision That's my philosophy on shopping for Christmas presents on Christmas Eve!
Lastly, I don't live in Houston, but about twenty miles outside the city limits in a country subdivision. It is between two towns, one of them just over 1000 folks and the other has about 10,000. When we went looking to buy this house I was firm that I wasn't going to live in the city surrounded by houses with a postage stamp sized yard. We got it. All the homes are on at least an acre.
Why Ben, you're very welcome!! . . . I'm just pleased -- and more than a little surprised -- that so many are enjoying them
We are only a mile from town, and the way subdivisions are going up around here, I look for them to be making an offer on this place in the next few years. It's in a very convenient location. We have 2 acres --- which is a little much when we start mowing . . . but it's nice & we really love it.
DeeDee, I really wish I'd listened and taken notes on more of these stories when Mom & Daddy were still alive. They had so many interesting stories to tell of those early years of their marriage. As I said before, Mom always wanted me to write this book, and I'm real sorry I didn't start it while she was alive. Not only would she have really enjoyed reading my stories -- and correcting them! . . but she would have been able to contribute much to the book that will now be lost.
And yes, it does help you understand why people are the way the are.
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 8:40:34 AM
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stamper_ben
Posts: 10977
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From: Lone Star State
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My Mom has a huge pile of boxes of stuff on her family. She is insistant that when she dies it get saved by someone in the family. I might take it and go through it when I can. That might not be untill after I retire though...
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We will be known as His by the love we show one another.
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 8:50:53 AM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
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Benny, you should start it before your Mom is no longer around to help you sort through it and give you the details that would make it all so meaningful to you.
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 10:09:08 AM
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uncabeeil
Posts: 5782
Joined: 4/11/2005
From: Joisey. Got a problem wit dat?
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We spent this past Christmas with my mom going through her old family photos. It was the first time in my life we did this. I know very little of my family's history, it just wasn't important to my parents or grandparents. I didn't even know my mother's parents' names til last year! The sum total of my family history on my father's side is that my great grandparents came over from County Cork Ireland. Don't know their names, or what year, and if the fact that there was originally an "O' " in front of my last name is true.
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Pretty leaves are falling down,
Green, orange, yellow and brown.
Here comes one colored red,
It landed on my head.
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 10:20:24 AM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
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From: Show-Me State
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Hi Bill! . . .
As I said above, some of this information wasn't revealed to me until after Mom was in the nursing home or after her death. She did talk about her childhood and the things she went through, but I think we weren't listening enough to remember much of it. But we grew up knowing our aunts and uncles -- I am very grateful for that.
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 10:35:08 AM
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stamper_ben
Posts: 10977
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From: Lone Star State
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I've been hearing about the family history all my life, along with my brother and cousins, but there are some of the details I never heard that I now know she has in the boxes, like how her dad came from Chicago and the like. There are many letters from her mother and father in there. But she is like your Mom, up there in age and gets confused easily, so how much is reliable now? With the help of my generation it can be put together sometime.
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We will be known as His by the love we show one another.
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 10:41:42 AM
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cherish405
Posts: 32302
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From: The Land Down Under
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Leah, I love hearing about your family. You are such a great storyteller!
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*** Gone crazy. Back soon. ***
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 11:03:57 AM
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leah777
Posts: 3205
Joined: 4/12/2005
From: Show-Me State
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Thanks Trish & Brian . . . you all make it so much fun to tell them! --- with such a great audience who couldn't tell a great story??!!
Ben, you might be real surprised how much of that part of her memory she hasn't lost. Mom was just so clear about this story of Uncle Orville -- yet it came at a time when she sometimes didn't know who I was.
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Leah
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RE: Leah's Stories - 6/21/2005 1:43:52 PM
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scarlett
Posts: 953
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From: Right next to Hatfield! (my hubby!)
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Thanks for your stories Leah! absolutely wonderful! My mama was born in a small town too (pop. 1000) during the Depression. She has her own stories as well. She is next to the youngest of 5.
Please put these in a book!
Blessings!
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Beth, Mrs. Hatfield,
Scarlett, Scarly, Sackcloth, etc.
We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don't give up and quit (2 Cor. 4:8).
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