My sister found this picture online. It is of my great-great-grandfather. He is seated on the left.
I know the names but I am not sure who the others are. I believe them to be my great-great-great-grandfather who is also seated. The other might be my great-great-uncle.
So this is the grandfather of my mother's father. The internet is a wonderful place.
My part of the country seems to be teeming with life. I love seeing it.
I have been taking my son's dog for short walks. She needs the exercise even though she has free reign in the yard. She also needs to learn that she can survive without being at my son's side at all times. The walks have been fun.
On my way into town to pick up prescriptions mother deer and her fawn ran out in front of me. The fawn was so small. But it was the first one out on the highway.
Of course the turkey vultures were out on a nice day like this. They soar and dive looking for prey. I did not see any turkeys today though.
I spotted a hawk just sitting on the ground by the road at the end of someone's driveway. It did not even flinch as a car came from the other direction on it's side of the road.
At home I saw a black ant. It was carrying another smaller black ant that was dead.
There was some sort of little red bu on the steps. At first I thought it was a box elder bug but it was not.
Now comes the shocker. I SAW BIGFOOT! It was right next to an old pickup in a country yard. What a shock!
Actually the Bigfoot was cut from metal. It was brown and rusted and sort of blended into the scenery. It woke me up let me tell you.
As much as I loved my mother; that is how much I adored my father.
Daddy was born into a large family. He had one younger brother. The other 9 children were quite a bit older. His father was an alcoholic. His mother was a woman tasked with raising all those children in rough circumstances. Unfortunately she was a selfish woman who could at times be cruel.
When WWII broke out Daddy was still a teenager. Finally cane the day my father came home to find his father drunk once again. They had an argument that ended with my father telling his father that he was done with getting into fights because of him.
Daddy went and joined the Navy. His ship was under radio silence when his father died. He was not notified until after the funeral.
While Daddy was on shore leave he bought a few souvenirs. Among them were two kimonos. One was for his wife and one for his daughter.
He had not yet met my mother. That happened after he was discharged after the war. His younger brother was dating my mother's younger sister. Those two arranged a blind date between my mother and father. It was a double date.
My parents hit it off. My aunt and uncle eventually broke up and married other people.
After my parent married I was born. I was the little girl Daddy wished for. I have always felt special because of that. I wore that kimono until I could not fit in it.
I will admit that Daddy spoiled me some. That is not to say that he did not discipline me because he certainly did. But I never felt unloved.
When I was grown Daddy was so important to my life. There were times when I was tired of being a grown-up. Daddy's emotional lap was always there for me. After being with him for a while I could go back to being an adult.
Daddy could do anything. My family under his direction actually built a house. He laid the foundation, did the plumbing and electrical installations, laid the floors, erected the walls, put on the roof. We helped by pounding in nails, handing tools, installing sheet rock, and painting. Mom wanted hardwood floors so once the wood was installed she did the finishing. The house is still there. I drive by it once in a while and remember the love and labor we put into it.
All of Daddy's grandchildren have wonderful memories of him. They laugh about him throwing his slipper if one of them stood too long between him and the television. They remember him coaching their little league games. They remember the workshop he had on his back porch. He had a section filled with old tools, boards, screws and nails set aside just for them. They remember just spending time with him.
The only time I ever saw Daddy cry was when my brother was killed in Vietnam. He was so hurt and so proud at the same time.
He never quite understood why any of us moved away to have our own families. He was most content to have all of us right there with him. We loved the security we felt knowing he was there for us.
Daddy was not yet 56 years old when he died of a massive heart attack on Good Friday. At the time he was the manager of the plant where he worked.
In a case when a member of the company died the union would send a delegation of 2 or 3 people to represent the workers. My father was so well thought of that every one of his employees wanted to attend.
Even though it was unprecedented the plant was closed for the day of his funeral. There had been the holiday of Easter. There was beautiful weather. All those men could have been with their families at a barbecue or out on their boats that day but they all showed up at the funeral home. A lot of them stood outside because there was no more room inside. Daddy would have been so proud.
As you can see my father was a wonderful man. He was loved by his family and friends. He was a community leader.
Most of all he was my Daddy.
I found a text message on my phone this morning. My brother-in-law let me know my nephew died lat night. His 49th birthday was less than a month ago.
He is the son of my sister who is in a nursing home because of a stroke she suffered several years ago. She does not yet know.
My brother-in-law will not be allowed to see her until June 2. That is the earliest appointment they will give him. I asked if they could make an exception for the emergency. He said they would not.
My nephew has been sick for years. There was something wrong with his pancreas. It periodically became inflamed causing him a lot of pain. In and out of the hospital.
My sister made him promise her that he would not die. He tried so hard to keep that promise.
When I spoke to him a few days ago I could hear the pain in his voice. He sounded terribly weak. I had no idea that he was going to die.
As we got ready to end our call I said, "You know I love you." He said, " I know. I love you too." I am finding some small comfort in that.
We have two big trees in front of our house. By big I mean huge. They stand at either end of the house.
The tree closest to the corner of the streets is much larger than the other. It grows out everywhere. A good strong wind drops pieces of the tree in the yard and occasionally onto the roof. It makes a huge noise and I have even been awakened thinking the tree had fallen onto the house.
It had one gigantic branch that grew out over our street. This spring smaller shoots grew from it and hung over the street. They were low enough to brush cars as they drove on the street.
We decided to call a tree trimmer and have both trees trimmed.
The man came out and my son told him what we wanted done. He quoted a price. It was certainly more than we wanted to pay but it was fair. We told him to do his thing.
He came with two trucks. One had a 'bucket' on a hydraulic lift arm. The other had a big hydraulic claw the laid in the bed. He parked them on the street and left!
When he finally returned he went to work. He trimmed pieces first. He had to be careful because that big branch could possibly fall onto the propane tank of the woman across the street.
Then he began cutting larger pieces. They gave big thumps when they fell to the ground. He was here and busy all day. Toward the end of the day he used the claw to pick up everything he had cut from the tree. Boy was there a lot.
But he was not finished. When he returned he had an assistant. He climbed back into the bucket and up he went. He cut and cut and cut. His wife/assistant stayed on the ground and cut the branches into smaller parts.
They worked steadily all day. Again at the end of the day the claw came out. The truck with the claw was so full of branches.
The tree man and his assistant returned the next day. He still had to trim the back side of the tree and trim the second tree.
Back into the bucket he went with his wife doing her job on the ground. All morning long we heard the saw and then the thump of a branch falling to the ground.
At lunch they left and took the truck full of tree pieces with them. When they returned it was back to work.
They finally finished with the big tree. Now it was time to trim the smaller one.
The smaller branches dropped more quickly. I was surprised at how many there were.
Out came the claw again. And once again the truck was full.
They cleaned up all the fallen pieces. It is really amazing how even the smallest pieces were managed by the claw.
Then they cleaned up the rest with a rake and leaf blower.
I must say they did a fine job. I had no idea it would take three days. I also had no idea what a big job it actually was.
So I have two nicely groomed trees. It feels right.
