Fall is on the way.

Today I sit here....still healing.......and see from my window tiny hints that fall is on it's way. A breeze blows through the trees and as the leaves rustle a few early yellow leaves let go of the branch that has given them life for a year and swirl to the ground. Fall is my favorite time of year. This time of year the tempatures are "just right", the leaves start to turn shades of golden yellow, dark burgandy and firey red orange. Although it does not last long, the world is bright, beautiful and more peaceful. And, the TN Volunteers run onto the field once again bringing chills and thrills to TN folk like me. Festivals and county fairs are held every weekend. Pumplins, apples, cider, corn stalks tied in bundles, hay bales here and there are signs that fall is near. I LOVE IT! I open the door and take a deep breath, my heart races at the thought of what is to come......fall.

"IT'S A BOY!"

Forty nine years ago today I was very pregnant and had just made the long drive to Rockford, IL to start a new life. Like many others in 1960, my husband had lost his job and had heard from friends that relatives of theirs had found work in the north in Rockford....so, on September 1st of 1960, we packed a few items, said goodbye to our families and hit the road. My eyes were red and swollen from all the tears I had shed the night before after saying goodbye to my Mom, Dad and younger sister. Other than a little time in college it was the first time I would be living that far away from them. Sept. 2nd we had settled into a tiny little motel room. Bright and early the morning of Sept. 2nd, my husband called to set up a meeting with the family members of the TN friends to discuss the work situation. Because I had promised my Mother I would see an OBGYN as soon as possible, my husband ask the people if they could recommend a Dr. and they did better than that.....the wife called her Dr. and, miracles of miracles, the office told her that they had just had a patient cancel and to have me come in at two that afternoon. The Dr. was in his late sixties and was very kind and soft spoken which was a blessing to a scared young southern girl like me who was in a strange new place. After a complete examination, he told me that I should deliver in about six weeks, gave me some vitamins and phamplets and sent me on my way. I was to see him again in a week. On the way back to the motel, we stopped at a little diner and there I had my very first pizza. After dinner, my husband dropped me off to rest while he went to visit the TN friends to discuss work. I sprawled across the bed and started reading the phamplets I had been given. I started having little pains in my lower stomach and thought it was probably this new food, pizza, I had eaten. An hour later the pain had not stopped but had grown worse. Three hours later I was so terrified I decided to call my husband, however, he had not given me a phone number and all I knew was the last name of the people he was visiting. I took out the phone book and started calling everyone with that last name. Another miracle..........the fifth name I called was the place he was visiting. They all thought I was just having false labor and told me to lie down and rest some more and try to calm down. A pregnant woman realizing that her water had broken is pretty sure it is NOT false labor. I called the number on the card the nurse had given me and she told me to come straight to St. Anthony's hospital......which we soon did. Now, remember, I was a young southern gal from a small town in TN who had never personally known anyone who was Catholic let alone a Nun or Priest. When I checked into the hospital I realized that the nurses were Nuns....the habits were a pretty good clue. In those days, nobody was allowed to be with a woman in labor.....you were all alone. I remember the Nuns coming in from time to time shaking my arm and even giving me a little slap or two and telling me to be quiet because my screams were scaring the other women in labor. I remember thinking, "I thought Nuns were susposed to be kind". These were not. After many hours I heard a baby cry, felt a mask over my face and was put to sleep. I woke later to find myself in a room with curtains drawn. I called out for someone and a Nun came in and explained that because my baby was early and so tiny (five lbs.) he would have to spend a few days in an incubator, but, she took me down to the nursery to see my new baby boy. There in a glass box I saw a precious tiny baby.....my baby. I wanted to hold him so badly but I could not. It was not until days later that I got to hold him for the first time. I will never forget when the Nun placed him in my arms and told me not to touch his head because due to the fact that he was early the bones had not yet come together. I was trembling. He was so tiny but yet had such a determined look on his face and his little hands were clinched into two tiny fists as if to say, "Come on world, I'm ready for you." I thought I had know what it was like to love someone, but, the love I felt for this tiny baby boy was beyond anything I had ever felt. He had golden yellow hair that stuck out all over his tiny head and the nurses nicknamed him, "Ducky" because they said his head looked like a little duckling. For the next two years of my life, until his younger brother came, he and I spent almost every minute together.......talking, playing and enjoying each other. If you look up to the left on this page under the title of "followers" you will see a set of big eyes.......those big eyes belong to my little "Ducky" LOL who is now a very talented man living in Chicago, IL. It is hard to get a serious picture of him because he is always making funny faces......but, making people laugh and feel better is one of the things he does best. What a ride we have had.....ups and downs......and although I know he is a grown man, when I look into his face I still see a glimpse of that little boy I used to know....my fitst born......... "Ducky". LOL.

Animals are family members too!

Fourteen years ago when we were living in Athens, TN our two sons Tim and Todd were in the process of some changes in their lives and had moved in with us for a while. During that period I had to have surgery so it was helpful to have the guys there. In his spare time, Tim, was doing some carving in the garage. He is an excellent carver and makes beautiful items. Just outside the garage and off our driveway was a wooded lot. One day while Tim was sitting and carving, he heard and saw a young female cat who was aparently living in the woods. I told him she was wild and that he should just leave her alone BUT if you have ever read anything I have written about Tim you know he loves cats with all of his heart. The cat was dirty, skinny, scared to death of people and as I said before basically wild. Every day Tim would put out food for her, talk to her and slowly she came closer and closer. The wild cat befriended him but in a distant way......she was still unable to trust humans. I believe that there are some people who are blessed with the gift of befriending and loving animals in a special way and Tim is one of those people. Before long he was ready to move on to FL to persue a relationship with his present wife, Betsy.....who by the way tolerates his love for cats, allows him to adopt one after another of them and loves them herself. When Tim was getting ready to leave our home he told me he was going to take this wild cat with him and I told my husband, "He'll never be able to get her in the carrier and even if he does she will go crazy." However, he did get the cat in the carrier and off to FL they went. Tim and Betsy patiently cared for her, gave her a loving home and eventually she became a tame, loving pet who was able to trust humans. He named her Sensi. When they moved up to TN they brought her with them. When I saw her I could hardly believe it was the same cat. She was beautiful, healthy and so calm and tame. She was a member of the family for 14 years.....I even sent her and her siblings presents at Christmas. Today, sadly, we lost her. The relationship between Tim and Sensi is a lesson in patience and love. Goodbye beautiful girl.....thank you for being a part of our family and making Tim and Betsy so happy. I know that with every cat Tim loves and has to give up, a little piece of his heart goes with them. Thinking of you, Tim.

SEASONS IN TENNESSEE (Read article under photos..."What did he say?")

What did he say????? or"Locally speaking"

I love Tennessee. I was born and raised here. When I first married forty years ago we moved to Atlanta, Ga. where a deep southern accent was the norm...... words are pronounced slow, long and are sweetly but exactly spoken. It is different than the TN southern accent. With the TN accent words are spoken more lazily, nasal and often with a muttered, samely tone.
In the mid eighties we moved to St. Augustine, FL and lived there for fifteen years. St. Augustine is made up of people from all over the country and the world....it is very hard to find people who were actually born and raised there. Therefore, there is a variety of accents that blend and become a sort of mixture of East and West coast over time.....people there also comes with a variety of temperments and attitudes. We found people there to be more hurried...... less patient and less courteous than the TN folks we had lived with most of our lives. Folks in TN are, for the most part, easy going, counteous, thoughtful, and helpful. AND, many of the locals speak a language all their own. When we first moved back five years ago, I found myself asking my husband, "What did he say?"because I had forgotten the local language. I do know that it is true that other areas of the country also have their own way of speaking. For instance..........while living in FL some of our neighbors were from Boston and if I had a nickle for everytime I heard, "I'm gonna pok the caa" for "park the car", we could retire tomorrow LOL. And, while in NYC I have actually heard, "How ya dooin?"with that deep, quick voice more than once. When we travel the Nebraska route to get out west we hear,"you bet ya"at every stop. AND, in Maine they actually do say,"yah" for yes.
I am now in therapy for a back problem and my therapist is from the Phillipines. She has a great grasp of the English language and speaks very good English, however, she does not understand local terms. The other day after she ask me what I wanted to do when my husband retired, I answered, " I'd like to get in my RV and have one last "Hurrah"....to which she frowned and said, what is this, "Hurrah" ? She had no idea what I meant. She shared with me that she did not understand why TN people say, "I reckon" or "over yonder". LOL.
Sometimes when I hear locals speak I wonder if anyone was listening in English class. I can take the accent, heck, I have one....I can even take the twang but some of my pet peeves are:
Saying "chim- bu-lee" for chimney. Saying "lie-berry" instead of library. OR....."I brung it" instead of I brought it. OR...."them trees" instead of those trees. OR...."he come over here" instead of he came over here. And, who in TN has not heard the word, "Youins" for you or you people. Don't expect most locals to be able to pronounce the word insurance or nuclear.....you'll get, "in-chur-ns" and "nu-ca-lur". Don't get me wrong, I am not making fun of these good people because I am one of them, but, I wonder why they just keep misusing the English language generation after generation. It is possible that something I read years ago might help explain it.......I read that the mountains of eastern TN were mostly settled by Irish and Scottish imagrants and that some of the mountian verbage can be traced back to the Irish and Scottish languages. WHO KNOWS! I just find it all interesting and it has been brought to my attention lately by listening to the people around me on the ETHRA bus on the way to therapy.
"Y'all take cere now".