|
Viewing 19 - 27 out of 105 Blogs.
| Page:
|
|
3 |
|
|
My Daddy used to call Brenda and I the Bobsey Twins.
I was talking to Brenda on the phone one day. When we talk it always goes to the subject of when we were growing up together. Brenda, her Brother Paul. Me, my Brother Norman.
Thinking back I know we thought those two were our toys to play with when they were small. As soon as they got big enough to follow us around Daddy started calling them burr' heads'. So there you have it The Bobsey Twins and the Burr heads.
One day when they were about two and three Brenda and I were dressing our dolls. I don't know which one thought of it but we decided it would be more fun to dress 'Real' dolls. Yep! You got it! Norman and Paul became our “real' dolls. Oh Lordie Me!!!!
We put some of our dresses on them. I said “Brenda, Mamma has some slips that ought to be put on. We got two of Mammas slips out of her drawer in the chest of drawers . While we were in there we were eating a sucker and Guess what? Yep we dribbled all over Mammas undies.
We knew we had to hurry because every time we played in there Mamma would just keep peepin' in on us. We got on the dresser and sprayed sumptin on them. Don't know what it was but I suspect it was something to clean with cause' Mamma never wore perfumes and stuff like that. The only thing she had was a small tube of lipstick that she put on lightly when she went somewhere special,(which was very seldom). We painted their lips and put some of that stuff on us too. Ruined the lipstick because we put the lid on and scrunched the stuff down.
“WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE Y'ALL DOING!!!!! Good Grief I thought, she didn't havta' holler so loud. Nere busted my ears! The four of us scrambled to attention as fast as we could. Norman started bellerin' and I told him to Shut Up. “YOU SHUT UP CLYDENE”! That was Mamma sayin that so I shet up fast. We were waiting patiently for the storm of all storms. Mamma told us not to move an inch, I mean not an inch! I'll be right back.
“Oh Gosh, were a' gonna get it now”, I said. From the other room came, “DON'T EVEN TALK”. I was thinking 'shoot fire' I think we'd outta go out that door there and run as far as we can away from here.
We heard Mamma coming back so we snapped back to attention. Heck fire she went and got sumptin. My mind was running wild about what that sumptin was and I'll bet the other three were thinking on those same wave lengths.
When Mamma came through the door she had the most beautiful smile on her face I think I've ever seen. She had Grandpas old black box camera. She herded us out in the yard and took two pictures of us. Now who would have thought Mamma would think we were too cute to spank? Never figured that one out till my Richard did some similar things. Mamma's are just like that I recon. YEP!!! I have looked for that picture in Mamma's pictures ever since I talked to Brenda but it is not here. Oh My How I wish I could see that picture again!!!
My Mamma was fisty just like me. But different from me because she hardly ever showed a temper. She would not argue with anyone and never gossiped. She told me that if someone was talking about someone else for me to always say something nice like, "Well look what a pretty sweater or dress they have on". I was not as good at that as Mamma is my Brother Norman is more like Mamma in that way.
We never had much but Mamma could make a good meal for us out of the least thing she had.
Mamma had to work hard. Daddy had to work away from home in another state so that left Mamma to take care of us and everything around the home.
I can remember Mamma taking care of Norman and me when we had the mumphs. Thing was Mamma had the mumps right along with us and still took care of us, milked the cow, sloped the hogs, fed the chickens, and cooked.
I was almost five when my Brother was born. I remember Mamma having to also do all these chores when she was pregnant and big with Norman. I never heard her complain. Daddy had to go and work she said, and that was all the work he could get.
Mamma had a rough childhood during the depression. They never had enough to eat. Their house leaked and had big cracks in the walls. If it rained they all had to find a dry spot to sleep and put pans under the leaks. Mamma said Grandma could also make something good out of nothing.
Kids picked on Mamma and Her Sister in School and made fun of them because they only had one dress and brought beans for their lunch.
Mamma would give away anything she had if she thought you wanted it. My Brother said one day a few years ago that he fully expected to go to her apartment someday and find Mamma setting in the floor because she had given everything she had away. That was my Mamma. She has been gone six years now. On her headstone we put, SHE LEFT THIS WORLD A BETTER PLACE FROM BEING HERE.... YEP that's the truth.
Mamma on the right...Mamma with Me and Norman
Tags: Fisty
I had my washer going this morning early and had gone in the bathroom to get dressed. I started hearing something that sounded like someone was trying to open the door to the bathroom. I was about half dressed and I panicked. After I got my breath I hollered. "Who are you and what do you want?" I heard it again and I really came unglued. I was thinking Why isn't Moses barking for Heavens sake. He barks every time he sees his own shadow but now when it would be useful he clams up. I'll bet he's out there licking this murderer's hand. Boy Now my mind was spinning 90 miles to nothin'.
I got to thinking that I needed to get my clothes on and get myself covered just in case he (in my mind a he) gets in here. Oh My Gosh, even if I get myself dressed what then. During all this thinking I was still hearing the noise but now it sounded like a swishing gurgling racket.
I decided I'd better just get my bluff in and let that sucker know who he was dealing with. When I get that attitude and my red neck pride rares up I lose all sense of being scared. I'm ready to attack I'm thinking. I needed something to attack with and by golly my Daddies hammer in on the shelf where I keep it. I'll just open the door real fast and knock his brains out that's what I'll do by golly. He's gonna learn not to mess with me. By the way I still wasn't dressed completely but I had forgotten that little fact.
I got the hammer and crept up to the door. I didnt hear anything, Ok here I go!!!
I tore open that door and had the hammer ready to smash his brains out. Well heck fire there aint nothing there he must have got scared and run off. About that time the sound came again and by golly this time it was behind me. How the heck did that sucker get behind me? Good grief. I jumped up as far as this ol body would jump, turned around to swing the hammer. The hammer went behind me somehow and I tumbled backward right on my backside from the force of the swing of that heavy hammer. Well, Might as well surrender I was thinking cause I'm not sure I can even get up off the floor.
As I sat there defeated I heard the washing machine do one last slurping sound as it pumped the water out and heard it gurgling in the bathroom along with the slight bumping in the pipes. Oh My Gosh, I've never felt so stupid in my entire life. I was doing battle with the washing machine as it pumped out the water and started to spin. Mercy sakes alive!!! I am so glad that Don was not here. GOOD GRIEF!!!
Tags: Washerthumping Gurglinghammer
Mama washed clothes on the back porch with an old wringer washing machine . The water was drawn from a well and heated on the stove in the kitchen. The washer had to be full of hot water. There were two wash tubs for rinsing. If you are familiar with the way the washers worked you know that it would agitate until you were ready to stop it. The clothes were then picked up from the hot soapy water and fed through the wringer coming out into the first rinse tub which had warm water. Each piece was sloshed around in the water. The ringer was then rotated around between the two tubs and this was done the second time. The second tub has Mrs. Stewarts bluing in it to help whiten the clothes. The clothes were run through the wringer for the third time and out into a container which was carried out to the clothes line to hang the clothes to dry. It was quiet a production and took most of that day. Of course I was on the porch with Mama. This day I wasn't helping as I did in later years but was there so Mama could watch me. Mama had long hair. As she was bending over feeding the clothes through once her hair got caught in the wringer. I can barely remember this but I heard Mama tell it many times. The washer was plugged in to a extension cord laying over in the corner. Our lights hung from the ceiling and of course no plug ins on the walls. Hence the extension cords. The ringer of course kept going with Mamas hair caught in it. She couldn't get to the cord to unplug the washer so she was trying to get me to do it for her. Well Heck fire I had been told to never touch those things and here was Mama telling me to do it. I was a bit confused of course. When Mama kept standing there saying “Ouch, Oh God help me, Clydene get the plug and pull it, Ouch”. Well I got tickled. Heck fire, I thought it was a game or something and I was having a ball not knowing Mama was in serious trouble. I don't know how long it went on but every time Mama would shriek I would just giggle harder. I heard Daddy say later it couldn't have been long or Mamas hair would have been pulled out. Mama finally managed to get her foot in the cord and jerk it loose. Then she had to release the wringer which also looked funny to me with Mama standing there with her head against the wringer struggling to release it. When she did get loose I saw tears in her eyes and some blood which squelched my giggle fit in a hurry. Now I was scared and I started crying. Mama held me close with us both crying and told me she was OK. Bless My sweet Mamas heart. She had a terrible headache and that dad blasted wringer did get a hunk of her hair. Things were much harder back then and I know my Mama and Daddy both worked very hard. I appreciate it more and more every day. I know it was never easy for them now but I didn't know that then and they didn't want my Brother and I to know. We were loved and protected by those two wonderful Parents that God placed us with. We came first always. They earned all the respect we could give them and more. I miss those sweet people more each day I live.
Tags: Clothes Washer Cord Giggle Well
Remember all those giggling times we had as teen-agers? Boy I sure do. Sometimes we would giggle till our tummies hurt. That's OK. Right? Well that's according to where that giggle comes on. In school is not one of the good places, especially when it is supposed to be a serious time. We had JR. And Sr. Plays in high school and I'll never forget our Sr. Play. It was called Ready Made Family and it was so funny. Made even funnier by the antics on stage. I have to say right now that I was directly responsible for at least three of them. I can laugh till my belly aches about it now but let me tell you our Sponsor Miss Brasel sure turned my giggle into a poker face with just a few words. Words, very quietly spoken I might add. I played a teenager and had a teen aged brother and a little sister. Our 'Mom' had brought a Man for us to meet and told us they were getting married. This 'Man' had two teenagers, a boy and a girl. Well the five of us kids didn't want our parents to get married so we set out to put a stop to their plans. Of course the four teenagers fell into puppy love and our minds changed. That's the gist of the play but our on-stage behavior was funnier than the story was. One time I was supposed to walk across the stage. As I went by the fireplace I accidentally knocked the poker over. Cling Clang Clop. My friend Jimmy looked back and said very calmly. "You knocked the poker down". The look on his face got me tickled. To keep from laughing I said "Would you pick it up?", To which he said, " Pick it up yourself sis." I was spluttering' now trying not to go in to the giggles and I said, "Oh good grief Jimmy", which of course was not his name in the play. The audience all laughed and we went on. But the 'stage' was set from then on. One blunder after another. In one scene I was supposed to bust out in baby talk. Our 'Butler' was supposed to be kneeling by the fireplace and my sudden prattle was supposed to scare him. The line he was supposed to say was my cue for my next line, he spluttered it out and said it wrong and I got tickled. He said the word again to help me say my line but I just got more tickled. He was supposed to jump up and run off the stage but he kept saying that line so I'd say mine. Well I was in a giggle fit and couldn't say my line. I guess he decided I'm getting' outta here, cause he jumped up and proceeded to run off the stage and tripped over my foot and fell face down. I looked down at him and really come unglued. I mean I was giggling hard now. Tears were dropping down my face, I was just unhinged. Then I heard the voice of Miss Brasel behind stage. "Straighten up out there, Now! Well folks that was the same as The look from my Mama. Instant calm took over. I said my line, he ran off stage, limping slightly and that scene was over. The next act opened and we kids had decided we liked each other very much. In fact four of us were smitten. Me and my counterpart and the other two were supposed to be arm in arm walking to the couch to sit down and talk it over. I had my arm draped through Tommy's and I had on a rhinestone bracelet. As we turned to sit my bracelet got caught in his sweater and hung there. I was just going to pull free but Tommy took my wrist and raised it up so he could get his sweater unhinged from my bracelet without tearing his sweater. He said "Stupid girls". Well that didn't go over very well either since in the story we were supposed to be smitten. I almost got the giggles again but the door off stage came open just a smidgen and this time I saw Miss Brasels face and "The Look" stopped my giggle in its tracks. Just screeched to a halt. That was a fun time that is just fixed in my mind like indelible ink. I can remember it so vividly it feels like yesterday. What a great time we had with that play. Miss Brasel laughed right along with us afterward. But we all knew when that sweet Lady meant business too because we all loved her. A look or a word worked. Oh what times we had back then. Just some of the times that have made me what I am. They were simple and innocent times and we can not go back in time. But we can sure keep our memories and cherish those times. Which I do.
Tags: Gigglesteens
In 1984 there were three boys in our house. My son and two step sons. I worked and I never knew where my husband was. Man could three boys eat a lot. Sometimes they each had a friend there in the summer months when school was out. One day I had made a huge pot of spanish rice and a German chocolate cake. There were six boys there. I trusted them because the youngest of them was twelve. It was to be for supper that night. When I got home from work the boys had scraped the pot clean, ate the cake, and decided to make waffles. They had cleaned the kitchen, washed the dishes, and the waffle iron was pristine. They had even took out the trash and burned it. Well right away I was suspicious. You know, Mothers intuition! First thing I noticed that puzzled me was three of my kitchen towels were no where to be found. I asked the boys and they acted very guilty but didn't know a thing about those towels. Sure they didn't!! I couldn't put my finger on it but I knew, that I knew, that I knew, something was rotten in Denmark, (or Missouri as the case was). There was just nothing that I could grasp to prove my case. I just waited them out because I knew one day the whole story was bound to come out. AND IT DID!!! We had company one day a few months later and the boys started telling their story which follows. Now the boys knew that eating the food would not get them in trouble. They were never reprimanded for eating good food. They did know to clean up their mess which they did. But they said they were still hungry which I know was true. You couldn't fill those boys up and six boys!!!! Well think about that. That part was all well and good but then came the waffles. They discussed what they would like to eat and I had a new waffle iron. SOOOOO! They decided to make waffles. Did they know what they were doing? Heck no! They looked for my recipes and found the waffle recipe which they started reading. They assembled the things they would need on the work area which was not very big. Of course that made for spills and messes. At first they used paper towels and napkins but they decided quickly that they'd better not use them all up because I would know that. They discussed that and decided they could use the kitchen towels and wash them out as they went. That was only half right because I didn't use towels that way, but then I didn't make the kinds of messes they did either. They got to the point where they were mixing the ingredients in the bowl. They had no idea what a small t meant but they decided it meant tablespoon and used a tablespoon of baking powder, and ½ tablespoon of salt . They figured out the rest until they came to the part that said, Separate two eggs. One of them said “What does that mean”? None of them knew but they finally decided it meant separate the white from the yolk. They had seen egg whites beaten so they knew the yolk had to be removed but had no idea how. The decided to just drop the whole thing in the bowl and use a spoon and dip the yolk out. Oh My Heavens would I have loved to have seen that production and heard them discussing all the aspects of making waffles. They got them mixed with a few egg shells that they couldn't get out. Their next mistake was pouring too much of the too thin batter on the iron which went everywhere. They closed the lid and more oozed out. Too much baking powder made the lid lift up and somehow the whole shebang went on the floor. Oh My Gosh, can't you just see that mess and hear those six boys chattering as they decided what to do next? GOOD Grief!!! They cleaned it all up but decided they would never get the stains outta' the towels so they went in the trash along with the burned waffles and it was all burned. And I didn't pay any attention to my Daddy and Mamma the many times they said I would Pay for my raising!!!
Tags: Boysmessfood Eat
In the late 40's and early 50's things were rough and everything we got or accomplished was new and big to us. I'll never forget the day we got electricity in our house. We were the last in the area to get it because we were at the dead end of the road and had to wait until the workers got there with the lines. I suspect also there was a problem with Daddy getting enough money to pay for the installation. We had coal oil lamps and I remember sitting at the kitchen table to do my homework with one of them in front of me. As a matter of fact I have that same one right here on my dresser. I chipped the globe one night messing with it when I shouldn't have been. That chip is there to remind me. The crew was working up at the end of the road that morning very early setting poles and stringing wires. Daddy walked up that road all day until they got it to our house. After I got up I took every step he did. It was a fascinating thing for me to watch but I suspect not near as great as it was for my Daddy. After all he knew what it would mean to us and I didn't. I just thought the lamps we used were all there was. I can still see my Mamma and Daddy's faces when they finally got the power on and going. Daddy had hired his cousin to help him wire the house. There were wires hanging from the high ceilings with a light socket for the bulb to be screwed in. It had a chain on the end to pull to get the light on. One of the workers came in the house to be sure it was working. Daddy lifted me up and let me have the honors of pulling the chain for the first time. The looks on Mama and Daddy's faces still remains locked firmly in my mind, That humble but joyous look on my Parents faces was the one I saw every time there was an event like that in our lives. Humble people who appreciated everything they had and never were envious of anyone else who had more. That was the reason I was and am so proud of that house and everything that went along with it. It was still daylight when it was finished so it was turned off and we waited till dark. That was a wonderful moment when that room lit up. I thought that was the brightest light I had ever seen in my life and I guess it was. Till then we had a big ol' battery operated radio. Daddy had somehow got an electric one from somewhere and had it ready. I think someone gave it to him for some work he did for them but I'm not really sure. NO plug ins on the wall. There was an attachment between the bulb and the fixture with a place for plugging in a cord. I didn't get to do that, Daddy did because he said it was dangerous. The radio was plugged in and a station found which wasn't very plain. The old battery one sounded better they said. But on Saturday night Mamma tuned in the Grand Ol' Opry and she was tickled pink Daddy said. Oh my goodness those days were magical for me. I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world. Know What? I still think that.
Tags: Bulbs Wires PolesDaddy&Mamma Proud& Happy
My moods are as bad as Arkansas weather. Up, Down, all around. Why do we get in and out of these moods? Why can't we just stay on an even keel of sorts. I'm me, you are you. We are all so different but yet the same.
My Grandma used to tell me I was moody and she was right. There are so many different moods to be in. I have come to the realization that we make our own moods. I went grocery shopping this morning, not my favorite chore I must say. The store was crowded and noisy. They had moved things drastically since the last time I was in there and of course I got frustrated because I couldn't find anything. Nothing was where it should be. Why do they do that anyway. I always was told, If it aint' broke don't fix it. Now who was the smart person that decided to put the dad blasted sour cream up by the butter. It has always been back with the yogurts, cottage cheese, etc.. I liked it there, I was used to it being there, why in the heck move it?! I got to thinking about the little store where my Mama shopped when I was a kid. Nothing moved there. Everything stayed put. It was a cracker box shaped building made of sheet iron. One isle up the middle, meat box in the back, by the side of a pop machine. The pop machine was like a chest type with bars at intervals across it. Pops were slid in these slots with only the bottle top showing. On the cap was the flavor. Pop Kola, RC Cola, Coke in 6oz. Bottles, Root Beer, Cream soda, Nesbitts Orange,Grape, Strawberry, and on and on. You put in your nickel something triggered and you could slide the bottle of your choice over till you could pull it out then open it with a bottle opener hanging on a cord. On the left side was a candy display case. The candy was all in boxes in the glass front case. No wrappings, just lying open in the boxes. That was penny candy and you could get a candy sack full for a penny. Across from it was the candy bars. Baby Ruth, Butterfinger, Zag Nut, Zero, Power House, and they were big. They cost a nickel. On the other side of that isle was shampoos, lotions , Prell Shampoo, Jergens Lotion, and Wildroot Cream Oil hair oil. You could pick all this up yourself and put it on the counter along with your meats and staples. Most of our fruits and vegetables were already at home and home canned. Just a few steps and you are done. Hall Parks stood behind the counter with a pencil and paper. As you laid your items on the counter he wrote it down and listed the price. When you finished he then licked the lead in the pencil and went down the figures counting in his head as he went, then he would write the total at the bottom. It was always a correct count too because scads of people, including Mama checked it out. No calculator, no adding one column at a time. It was all faster than any store now. No waiting for Price Checks or the blamed machine throwing your credit card back at you. Well heck fire, it is as plain as the nose on your face why our moods are changing for the worse as we get older. Things are too fast now. Hurry, hurry, hurry. That's it I have decided. We didn't have as much to choose from then, the store was small, no walking for a long time just to find an item that they have moved. No waiting on price checks. No waiting on a stupid machine that wont work. It was not a major endeavor just to buy groceries. Simple, Simple, Simple. That's what the difference is now, nothing is simple any more. No wonder my moods are jumping here and there all the time. My brain is still in 1950 and it is 2015. Yep! I got it figured out. Times they are a changin' too darn fast. I'm in slow gear trying to function in the fast lane and I'm too old to change now. Heck I don't wanna' strip what gears I've got left! Nope!!!
Tags: Store Add Groceries
When I was 12 I just couldn't wait to be a teenager. I thought I would really be something then. In my teen years I found out it wasn't as great as I had thought so I started looking forward to 21. Now that's when things will really get good I thought. Lo and behold when I turned 21 I discovered that this was not good at all. I had more responsibilities and things were not near as easy as I thought they were gonna' be. After my 20's I started thinking that things just had to get better in my 30's. I'd known people in their 30's and they seemed to have everything. A home and a family. Yep that's when things get better, has to be. On my 30'Th birthday I turned in to a blubbering, squalling mess. Oh my goodness my life was half over and what in the world had I done but wish for the next decade to come. I called everyone who would listen and blubbered and snotted but got nary a bit of sympathy. Now I was really in to living and I didn't know how yet. Then came the fourties. I just seemed to muddle through those fourties by the skin of my teeth. Some bad things had, and did happen to me in my fourties that made me long to have my teens back. In my fifties I blubberd and bawled a lot again. Heck fire my life was really half gone and then some. But I had learned a lot. I had born a lot, and I was still there. I had stood my ground never letting life get me down. Oh I got down but I had learned how to get up and go again. Now in my 60's I look back and know that I would never want to live any decade of my life over. I've got now and that's all I expect. Now I'm entering my 70's. and I don't even wonder what the 70's are going to bring for me. Sometimes I do wonder if I will get to see my 80's, 9o's etc. but I don't worry about it or wish for it to hurry and get here. Each decade of my life so far has had up's and down's, heartbreak, and joy. Not one of them has out done me. I'm still going. Isn't it a shame that it took me so long to come to that conclusion? Life has a way of teaching us what is important and what is not. My age don't mean a hill of beans when all is said and done. The only thing I'd wish for now is to be remembered fondly. I Pray I will be able to leave a good legacy behind and that I have made someone else's life a little better.
Tags: Living Age
| Page:
|
|
3 |
|
|
|
