The West House

Why Do We Go To The Coast?

2010-06-14T09:39:00.006-04:00

As we are on our way home from Myrtle Beach, Mel is driving, so after waking from my nap I have time to write a little. I contemplate why it is that we take these long drives to find a place to relax when it tires us so much to make the return trip home. We usually need a vacation to get over the vacation. So, here are few reasons I can come up with, in no particular order, why people subject themselves to the pain of a Myrtle Beach trip.

Seafood: There must be at least 142,348, +/- one or two, seafood restaurants on the Grand Strand that are all wwwwaaaayyyyy overpriced. It’s odd to me that you drive 250 miles, or more, to the sea where seafood comes from and it cost three or four times more than at the fish camps at home and the waiting period for a table is always 2 or 3 hours. I’ve never met a shrimp that I would wait 2 or 3 hours to eat. A lot of people crave the crablegs on the “all you can eat” buffets. To me, it’s a lot of work for the little bit of meat you get out of it. My brother and son-in-law both love them. When they eat them it reminds me of a 60’s TV show that Daddy never missed called “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom” with Marlin Perkins. On one particular show Marlin and Jim took a trip into the jungles of Africa and ventured into the Elephant Burial Grounds. It looked like what their plate looks like when they finish eating crablegs, as if a dead elephant was on it.
Neither Mel, nor I are big seafood eaters. I much prefer a piece of pan fried chicken, dark meat please, or a big ole piece of red meat, a little pink in the center, with potatoes fixed any way on the side. A bread product of some kind to sop up the left over juices is a must, plus, there in the center of the table, right beside the salt and pepper shakers, a big bottle of ketchup. All of which are not conducive with my heart condition but are my preference just the same. So anyway, seafood isn’t our reason to head to the coast.

Shopping: There are shopping centers everywhere you look. I counted at least 42 WalMarts in the Grand Strand area alone. Then there’s Broadway At The Beach, Barefoot Landing, two or three outlet malls, not to mention a couple of enclosed malls, and little strip malls stuck in every unused corner of the King’s Highway. That doesn’t include the 1367 Eagles, Wings, and Whales stores that are everywhere. Between Murrells’s Inlet and North Myrtle Beach there are about 6 Lowe’s and 6 Home Depot’s. Like I’m going to drive all that way to pick up a weed eater or a couple of hanging baskets for the balcony of the hotel room or a couple of 2x4’s to strap on the top of the SUV and bring home to finish that project I started before I left for vacation. Maybe a shop vac to suck all of that sand out of the car that gets in no matter how much you knock off of your shoes before you get in. Oh yeah, don’t forget that box of screws you needed.
I hate to shop when I’m at home and I’m certainly not going to take a 4.5 hour trip to do so. So, shopping isn’t our reason to head to the coast.

Shows: Myrtle Beach has become the Branson of the South. There are several music shows and dinner shows on the Grand Strand. The Carolina Opry, Alabama Theater, House of Blues, Dixie Stampede, Medieval Knights as well as a plethora of others. I have attended several of these and all are very good. However, they are all rather expensive and for a family of 4 or more it’s almost cost prohibitive to attend one of these shows unless you’re the CEO of some big company.
Since neither Mel, nor I, are CEOs, shows are not our reason to head to the coast even though we do enjoy one occasionally when it’s just the two of us.

Sand and Sea: Now we’re getting down to the nitty gritty, (no pun intended). Our favorite reason for a trip to the coast. Even though the two of us enjoy it differently we both use the same resources to make our trip worthwhile. We both love to hunt shark’s teeth. It’s a hobby we started about 30 years ago on a trip to the beach with some friends. We visited a lady that worked with our friend and she had a permanent site at one of the campgrounds. She had jars sitting all over her house full of shark’s teeth. When we asked about them she showed us how to spot them while we were in the ocean and we’ve been doing it ever since.

By enjoying it differently I mean that Mel likes to take her beach chair down to the edge of the water where the waves just barely reach her and cover her feet as they come in and back out and she sits there and reads a book. When the tide moves in or out a little she repositions her chair accordingly. My routine differs in that it usually includes sand and shade because I don’t get a kick out of sunburn. It hurts. In years past I’ve always rented an umbrella and 2 chairs from the lifeguard for about $25 a day which winds up being over $100 for the entire vacation. This year I wised up and bought a 10x10 canopy for less than the umbrella rental fee for the four days we were there so next time I use it, be it at home or on vacation, it starts paying for itself. Comparatively speaking, that’s more shade for the buck. Since the main reason we went this year was the SC State Firefighters Conference and I had to attend morning meetings Thursday and Friday, Johnathan had to go out to the beach in the mornings and stake a claim on our 100 square feet of sand and turn it into 100 square feet of shade. I gave him my daughter, the least he could do is set up my shade!

I’m a people watcher. I watch all kinds of people, male and female, short and tall, big and little, pretty and ugly. Wait, that wasn’t nice. I should have said real pretty people and just barely pretty people. All people have their own styles. Some children have similar styles to their parents such as the way they walk or talk, etc. Usually, if you watch them long enough, you can find something unique about them. Therefore, I sit in my shade and I watch.

I find it amusing to see what some people, male and female, try to stuff into a bathing suit that’s too small and walk out amongst the hoards of people as if they were Miss America or Mr. Universe. Now that’s self confidence. You’ll see guys with six pack abs and guys whose abs looks like a whole keg, walking just as proud as if both thought they were the perfect specimen of the human male. I know I’m big better than anybody knows. I see it every day in the mirror but at least my bathing suit fits.

In most animal species, the male of the species is the most colorful and prettier than the female. They usually take on the role of the flirter and are responsible for attracting the female mate. Take the Cardinal for instance. The male has the beautiful bright red feathers and the crown on the top of his head while the female is grey with an orange beak. The Mandrill apes are another example, the male with the bright red and blue face and the female without color. Or, the Lion whose mane looks like he just left Vidal Sassoon’s salon but the Lioness has no mane at all.

The human race is different though. The female is the one who usually is the fairer of the race. You can see this at the beach if you are a people watcher. Take the 6 or 7 sixteen or seventeen year old girls with their bronze bodies in their skimpy bikinis walking together down the beach strutting their stuff and 15 or 20 yards behind them are 6 or 7 boys of the same age. One has a football and another goes out for a pass that happens to be overthrown landing right in front of the group of girls. So it begins.

Behind them is the newlywed couple in their early twenties walking down the beach holding hands and making goo goo eyes at each other as the diamond ring sparkles on her left hand. Behind them is the couple in their mid to late twenties, both holding the hand of a three year old little girl with her mama’s golden curls and her daddy’s eyes. Up under an umbrella is a mid thirties couple talking to a fourteen year old girl. You over hear her say “But Mama, I know I just met him but he’s a nice boy. Why can’t I walk up the beach with him?”

On the other side there’s a mid fifties couple in their chairs under their canopy with a two year old between them playing in the sand with a shovel and pail. In front of them, out of the shade of the canopy, are the parents of the two year old working on their tans while behind them in the same 100 square feet of shade is a couple in their late seventies. Him in his baggy legged bathing suit, her in her one piece with a skirted bottom. You overhear the middle aged woman say, “Mom, Dad, do you need anything? Can I get you a bottle of water or a sandwich?” And Dad says, “No honey, we’re fine.” as he looks over at his beautiful white haired bride of 58 years. Somewhere in the recesses of his memory he sees the sixteen year old girl that he met some sixty years earlier on this same beach as he failed to catch an overthrown pass of a football that almost hit her and a sly grin appears on his face as he reminisces.

Everybody has their reasons for making the trek to the coast. None are better than others, just different, and it’s okay to be different. Bottom line is that everyone needs time away from their normal rat race even if it’s to attend a different rat race. Enjoy your vacations this summer, I did.

2010-06-10T12:24:00.003-04:00

Last week a friend of mine delivered the message at the early service at church. He gave an illustration that was simple enough for me to understand so I thought I'd share it here since I haven't wrote anything in like forever. It seems that, according to the author of this illustration, whose names escapes me, all people fall into one of three catagories, carrots, eggs, or coffee beans. Sounds strange, uh. Here's how it works. Say difficulties in your life took the form of hot water. Subject a carrot to hot water for a period of time and it becomes soft and plyable. Subject an egg to hot water for a period of time and it becomes hard on the inside. But subject the same hot water to the coffee beans and what happens? The coffee beans change the water instead of the water changing the coffee beans.

I tend to fall into the egg catagory. I try not to but when bad things happen to me it tends to harden my insides. I've never had a problem with being a carrot and gotten soft when faced with adversity but in my opinion it's very hard to be a coffee bean and change the adversity that's ahead of you.

So, what catagory do you fall into, carrot, egg, or coffee bean?

I Thought It Was A Good Trade

2010-01-23T20:18:00.013-05:00

Mrs. Ross' third grade class, Startex Elementary School, circa 1963 - 64. Her favorite word/phrase was fortylebun (forty eleven) as in "I've told y'all fortylebun times to be quite." I made the mistake one time of asking her if that meant fifty one times. It was a mistake because one of the bad things about living in a small town is that your mama was friends with all of your teachers. Third grade was, back in those days, the year that you learned the times tables and the gazentas (you know, 6 gazenta 24, 4 times). Today, kids learn math much sooner. Jessi was telling us just the other day that Noah, a first grade student, had a math problem that said ____+____=38. People, that's algebra. Any way you look at it. In my algebra I class in 9th grade it would have read X+Y=38. Anyway, third grade was also when you learned deducted reasoning, as in word problems, cursive writing and a host of other things. All in all, third grade was a pretty jam packed year. Back then, I was a pretty good student with decent grades. As I said, mama was friends with all of the teachers so I did what I had to do to survive.

There was a classmate of mine and for the life of me I can't seem to remember his last name but his first name was Robert. He wasn't from the "mill hill" and I think it was his first year at Startex Elementary. He was a big ole boy, bigger than the rest of us anyway. He might have even been older and failed a grade, I don't know. One day he needed a pencil and I had a couple of extras in my plastic zippered pouch in my three ring binder. Being a good student and learner of the reasoning stuff, and being the entrepreneur that I was, I asked what he had to trade. He went into his pencil box, which was an old Tampa Nugget cigar box (he didn't have a zippered pouch), and came out with this cool looking medal. It had this colorful ribbon with a pin on the back and a heart shaped medal hanging from the ribbon. The medal was purple in color and had a gold head on it that looked like George Washington that was on the dollar bill which to me meant that it must have been worth a dollar at least. Man, I had hit the jackpot. This thing was worth three pencils, 2 cat eye marbles and a paperclip and it only cost me one pencil.

The mistake I made was bragging about my good trade when I got home. When mama saw my medal she went ballistic. Seems that my prize turned out to be something called a "Purple Heart", duh, what else would it be called given the description I just gave you. Anyway, she put me, and my medal, in the car and off to see Mrs. Ross we went. After she explained the situation to her we headed to the office to see Mr. Tucker, the principal. Boy, my good trade was turning into a fiasco. After a bunch of phone calls it was discovered that the medal belonged to Robert's grandfather who had been awarded the medal for being wounded in WWII. I was 8 years old, how was I supposed to know what a Purple Heart was? I wound up giving the medal back to the grandfather and I didn't even get my pencil back. I guess I still came out better than Robert, though. I still had my cat eye marbles and paperclip and he had to make a trip out to the woodshed.

Moral of the story is that when you make a good trade keep it to yourself or lose a pencil.

My Right To Rant And Rave

2009-12-08T13:00:00.013-05:00

There is a radio station out of Charlotte that I used to listen to when I was driving back and forth to Fort Mill every day. I don't remember the call letters of the station but I think it was @ 107.9 on the dial. In the mornings they had the Bob and Sherri show and in the afternoon it was the Matt and Ramona show. On Tuesday afternoons Matt and Ramona did a segment called "Tuesday Tirades" which at times was very amusing. People would call in and unload things off of their chests that bothered them. Sometimes the tirades were silly but some of them were serious things that you could tell really bothered the callers. Since today is Tuesday I thought I would post something that gets under my skin.

It absolutely drives me nuts to hear people complain about their jobs. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about the occasional "I had a bad day" comments. Everybody has those days from time to time. I'm talking about the everyday "countdown to the weekend" thing or the "I hate getting up early" thing or the "I can't wait for the long holiday weekend" thing or the "I hate this computer" thing, etc.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this, I used to drive back and forth to Fort Mill every day. That's 90 miles in the morning, work 8am to 5pm, and 90 miles in the afternoon. EVERY WEEK DAY, EVERY WEEK. After several months of that, it was off to the various company owned distribution centers all over the country to implement the software we had configured in Fort Mill. That meant flying out on Monday morning and flying home Friday night, being away from family and friends. Occasionally, to save the company money on airfares, we would stay over a weekend and be away from home for two week periods. Once I had to be gone for 3 weeks without a trip home. This went on for 3 years. If anyone had a reason to complain, I did. But, as soon as those implementations were over, the company started closing some of it's locations and my home base happened to be among the first to go. All of the sudden, I, along with hundreds more, was unemployed. I received unemployment benefits, which amounted to about 1/3 of what I was bringing home while I was working, for 12 of the 18 months I was without a job. The other 6 months I did odd jobs to pick up extra cash.

I know of people right now who are unemployed and haven't got unemployment benefits coming in. People who would probably love to have the jobs that others complain about, just to be able to feed and clothe themselves and their families. Or, to be able to take the family out for an evening of entertainment once in a while. With Christmas coming up, how do you explain to your children that there won't be any presents under the tree because Santa Clause is as broke as a convict? With the economy like it is and the unemployment rate as high as it is, how many are out there, in addition to the ones I know, who are in the same situations. People like the ones I know who aren't receiving unemployment benefits aren't even included in the unemployment rates you hear on the news so no one really can say with any certainy what the real unemployment rate is.

I thank God every day for my job. Even though I'm not getting rich, I can pay my bills and I have enough to eat. After experiencing a heart attack, I thank God every morning that I am able to hear the alarm clock go off at 6am and I open my eyes and realize that I'm still breathing instead of waking up dead. There are times when I feel bad in the mornings and I begin to have thoughts of "I wish this" or "I wish that" then I realize what I have that others may not and I have to ask for forgiveness for my thoughts.

Anyway, that's my tirade for today. I only ask that if you have a job, be thankful for it. Work at it like it's the best job in the world and before you complain, consider those less fortunate.

If you have a "Tuesday Tirade" feel free to unload in the comment section.

Finally, An Answer!

2009-10-16T18:30:00.007-04:00

Listen my children and you shall hear. Not about the midnight ride of Paul Revere, but instead, the answer to an age old question that’s been weighing heavy on the hearts and minds of us all. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, right here in River City, you’ll finally learn which came first, the chicken or the egg. Scientist, Biologist, and Evolutionist have been debating this question for eons. Finally, the debate will be solved and they will have to find something else to argue about.

Okay…….............

Are you ready???????????

Here it comes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the answer is……………………

THE CHICKEN.

I guess, for the sake of science, I should explain the answer, (since Scientist very rarely take your word for anything). You’d think that all Scientist came from Missouri because they have to be shown. (Sorry Mrs. Isler, no insult intended)

The very first three words of the very first chapter of the very first book in the compilation of books that make up the handbook of life we call ‘The Bible’ are “In the beginning”. Let me break that down for you. In, means, well, in, except in this case where it means “at”. The, means something specific. Beginning, means a point in time that something starts or, before this point in time, there is nothing. Put together it translates “At this specific point in time when there is nothing”. Pretty self explanitory, right?

Continue reading the whole first chapter and you’ll read in verse 25 that on the sixth day “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Now if you really closely read all of the words between “In the beginning” (which I broke down for you) and verse 25 like I told you to do, you would realize that you didn’t read anything at all about an egg.

He does say in verse 28 for them to be fruitful and multiply so He instills the instinct in the hen to know what to do with the ability He gave her to lay eggs to accomplish this. Therefore, the scientist in us all must deduce that the chicken did indeed come first, at which point the hen started laying eggs to procreate, according to The Word of God.

Now, when you put it like that, who in their right mind can argue?

Next question please.

I Can't Mama, I'm A Linebacker!!!

2009-10-14T18:00:00.006-04:00

This is Noah's first year playing flag football. He's playing Dist 5 ball instead of Upward. This league is sponsored through the school district and they start the kids out running similar plays to the high school program. This way, if a kid plays his entire elementary school years in the program, he should be able to slide right into middle school and high school football with few problems. That's probably one reason our high school team is nationally ranked now.

I have no problem with Upward Sports because the kids do get Christian teachings and devotions at the practices and games and I think that's wonderful. This is the only Gospel that some of these kids ever hear and that's great. However, I do have a hard time with the "everybody's a winner" philosophy. I understand that it builds self esteem but at the same time I wonder if it does more harm than good when it comes to 'real life' lessons. When a child gets out in the real world and finds out that there really are winners and losers and that you can't be the winner all the time, can that realization push them into depression? It can be a real shocker to find out life's not always fair.

Anyways, back to my topic. I never thought Noah would do very well on the gridiron because he's small for his age but boy was I wrong. He's really a go getter. He's playing on the defensive side of the ball and dead after the guy with the ball to grab his flag. There's some pretty big kids out there and he gets knocked down occasionally but instead of crying, like I expected, and running to his mama, he jumps up and is right back in there. Most of the time instead of getting knocked down, he zips right past the big guys because he's so small. It's fun to watch him in action.

I stand on the sidelines coaching him along, even though I'm not his coach. I'll bark an order out to him and he just looks at me like I'm stupid. The other kid's parents just kind of look at the old man and laugh. Sometimes he gets to go in on offense and he plays on the O line. Now you'd think that a kid his size wouldn't stand a chance in front of some of those big kids but he stands his ground pretty good. He got a flag thrown on him for holding one time because the kid was getting by him so he grabbed his shirt and threw him down on the ground. Never would have thunk it.

In last night's game, he wasn't hustling like he has in the past. I think the coach had had a talk with the team about blitzing because in this age group it's against the rules. When he came over to the sidelines after the game and Jessi and I were prodding him about why he wasn't going in after the flag he gave us that "DUH" look and said " I can't Mama, I'm a linebacker". Kids, what can you do with 'em?

Hey, It's Good To Be Back Home Again

2009-10-12T20:10:00.010-04:00

Going home in my mind, sitting in the kitchen of a house located at #16 North Main Street in a small village called Startex. I look around and I see several things that people in this day and time won’t see in their kitchens. First of all, I’m sitting in a booth, long before Hardee’s or McDonald’s thought about having them. I’m not sure if Daddy built it or it was already in the house when he bought it back before I was born. I don’t recall any of my friend’s houses having a booth but we had one. That made me feel special, don’t know why, but it did.

Over there on the door frame to the right, hanging on a nail is a flyswatter or two. A very handy tool in those days before air conditioning. Not the plastic kind you see today, these were made of what looked like screen wire like you saw on porches and windows of the people’s houses that were fortunate enough to have them.

Moving on around, on the other side of the door is our stove. I don’t remember much about the first stove we had but I remember in the mid sixties Daddy got a bonus from work. He spent most all of it on Mama. He bought a new stove for her kitchen. This one came from the Duke Power store up in Lyman instead of the Company Store across the street, like most everything else in our house did. It was wider than the one we had because it had two doors on the front. One door was smaller than the oven door and it was for storing pots and pans. It still had the drawer on the bottom for large baking pans. The new stove was a dark brown color called Coppertone. I can remember Mama was real proud of her new stove. He also bought Mama a car with that bonus but that’s another story for another time.

Down on the right, past that stove and the indoor water heater, was what Mama and Daddy used to call the laundry heater. Can't figure out why because our laundry room, if you could call it that, (all we had was a washing machine), was out on the back porch. Anyway, this heater was in our kitchen. It was black and had the name “Siegler” written in red on the front of it. It stood there in the middle of the floor with a stovepipe coming out of the back of it going up the wall and into a chimney up next to the ceiling. It was a lot like the one we had in the den except it was a lot older and didn’t have a blower on it. It burned #1 fuel oil and really put out some good heat in the wintertime. I can still see the cast iron kettle with the wooden handle that always sat right up on top of it with water in it to keep some humidity in the air. I remember on cold mornings standing in front of it rubbing my hands together to get warm when Mama would call us down for breakfast.

There were two drawers behind the old heater that you really couldn’t open all the way because the heater was in the way. The one in the corner was the most inaccessible and was our junk drawer where we kept miscellaneous stuff like hammers and screwdrivers etc. I still have a junk drawer in my kitchen today. The other was where we kept cooking utensils like big spoons for stirring and spatulas for turning hamburgers and eggs and such and large knives for cutting vegetables. The upper and lower cabinets there beside the heater were also where we kept junk stuff that you didn’t use often because they weren’t very accessible either, because of the heater.

There on the right side of the sink, hanging on a nail on the side of the upper cabinet, was the “dipper”. I’m quite sure you won’t see one of these in a kitchen these days. Heck, I bet a lot of young people probably don’t even know what I’m talking about. This was a big ladle that was used back in the day when people were working in the fields and someone would come by with a bucket of water and a big dipper. Each person would take the dipper, dip it in the bucket and drink a dipper full of water to quench their thirst. Everybody drank from the same dipper dipped in the same bucket. For a family of six, to keep from dirtying up so many glasses every time one of us wanted a drink of water, we kept the dipper right there beside the sink and all of us would use it, even our friends too when we had them over.

Coming on around on the left side, I can still see the painted cabinets, upper and lower, and remember what was in each one. In the last one beside the Hotpoint refrigerator was where we kept food stuff like cereal and canned goods. Opening the cabinet, I can see a small glass cup with a handle like a coffee cup. I can’t remember if it was clear or had some color but I can see flowers or vines kind of like Depression glass. In it is a small spoon with a brown plastic handle stuck down in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. There beside that is a glass butter dish with a stick of butter on it. We kept one stick out of the refrigerator, at room temperature, so it would be soft for spreading on toast or biscuits. When we used that stick up we’d replace it with a cold one.

Last, but not least, on the left side beside the door was the Hotpoint refrigerator. It’s the only refrigerator I remember being in the house up until my sister bought a new one after I had moved out in 1971. It was the kind with one big door from top to bottom and a little freezer door inside. I can remember on a Saturday, about once a month, Mama taking all of the food out of the top and bottom of the refrigerator, wrapping it in a quilt on the table, and defrosting the refrigerator. She would turn it off and put a dishpan full of steaming hot water in the bottom to melt the ice that had built up. She would have towels all over the floor to soak up the melted ice. Once it was defrosted she would mix up some type of cleaning liquid in a bucket and wash down the inside real good before she filled it back up with the food.

Mama died a little over 40 years ago when I was 13. She wasn’t one who liked to have her picture made very much. I only have two or three of her. As more time passes it gets harder and harder for me to remember her. But, when I sit down like this, close my eyes and let my mind go back home, I can see her standing there in that kitchen as plain as day, stirring something on the stove, humming ‘Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me’

As John Denver said in his song, “Hey, it’s good to be back home again.”

Yes, I Guess It Was!

2009-10-05T16:15:00.008-04:00

As it turns out, I had some more pains and had to call to schedule the heart cath instead of the stress test. I had that done on September 30th. The news wasn't the best news that I could have received but at the same time it could have been a lot worse. When I called to schedule it they didn't have any available appointments until the 30th so I had about three weeks to think about it. It would have been a lot easier if they could have done it the next day so I didn't have that thinking time.

People, for the most part, mean well. There were several that tried to calm my nerves by telling stories of their experiences with the procedure. One said he had had it done 5 times and it was a walk in the park. Several had had it done once and said there was nothing to it. The best advise I got was from a friend, Dr. Marvin Woodson, who said he had been through the procedure 3 times. His take on the situation made the most sense to me. He says when it's someone else that's having it done, it's routine, but when it's you, it's serious. No matter how many times you've had it done.

I was told to report to the Heart Center at SRHS at 10 am. I was sent directly to the second floor and taken straight back to be prep'ed for the procedure. I was given a gown that opens in the back and told to strip everything off and put it on but not to tie it and to also not lay on it. Basically it was cover with armholes. Now, let me interject here that if you have the least bit of modesty in you, you will lose it at this point in the process. In comes 2 or 3 cute, young nurses messing with and shaving parts of me that no one else except my wife, and my Mama when I was a baby, had ever messed with. I instructed them to be careful and to pay attention to where they were shaving. Then they attached wires all over my body, inserted 2 IV's, one in each hand, wrapped a blood pressure cuff on my arm, and put a thing on my finger that measures blood oxygen levels.

Once all of that was done they let the family come back and wait with me until it was my turn. More thinking time was all I needed. The nurse that was assigned to me came in and said that there was one person ahead of me but I was next and it shouldn't be more than 30 to 45 minutes. One and a half hours later they came to get me. A nurse pushed me through a maze of hallways till we went through a set of double doors into what looked like an operating room. They called it a Cath Lab. I don't know the difference. In this room there was a whole different set of nurses, one of which proceeded to take my gown. Now, here I lay, nekkid as a jaybird, in front of God and a room full of women nurses and I'm thinking, just go ahead and knock me out already. Eventually they did, well, not all the way but enough that I didn't care if I was nekkid in front of a bunch of women nurses.

When I awoke enough to realize where I was, I looked up and there was a young blond mashing on my leg real close to where she ought not to be mashing. It was hurting real bad and when I raised my head to see what she was doing she raised her voice and told me to lay flat. I told her she was hurting and she said she had to do that for 15 minutes to keep me from bleeding to death. I told her to keep it up as long as she wanted to. After she finished they layed my gown back on me and pushed me back through the maze to the room I had left earlier. I guess while they were doing all of that, the doctor was out in the waiting room talking to the family because when they let them come back they told me what he had said.

I have had a heart attack sometime in the past. Could have been two months ago or it could have been two years ago. There's really no way to tell. But it was definitely an attack because there is tissue damage on the bottom right side of my heart. That's the sort of news you expect to hear about someone else, not yourself. Believe me, it's sobering to hear that news and know they're talking about you. The arteries leading to my heart are loaded with plaque. The one on the right side has several plaque deposits totaling a 95% blockage. However, no corrective action was required because it had already rerouted itself. In other words, God did a heart bypass on that one. The artery on the left also has several plaque deposits totaling a 50% blockage. He has decided to treat it with medication. The bottom line, as he put it to me, is that if I want to live I will have to start an exercise regimen, lose weight, stop smoking and take the meds. So, even though my bags are packed should God call me home, I'm hoping that He'll let me hang around a little longer to watch the grandkids grow up.

Was that a chest pain or not?

2009-09-01T10:51:00.030-04:00

Before the rumor gets around from mis-interpretation of comments being made on FaceBook that I've got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel let me expand on the title a little bit. Yes, I went to a Cardiologist yesterday because of some chest discomfort ( it wasn't really bad enough to call it chest pain). I have been experiencing this the last few weeks. The events leading up to the visit started a couple of weeks ago on a Saturday when I was outside in the 95+ degree heat building a workbench that I had been wanting to build for quite some time. Those who know me know that when I build something I tend to overbuild. Just ask Ron T. about the drum major stand we built for the Rebel Regiment in the late 70's. It could have been used in the circus for the elephants to stand on and do tricks. Anyway, as I was building this well built workbench I experienced the discomfort I spoke of earlier. Even though I had been experiencing some discomfort for several weeks prior to this, it was a little more intense this time, something I contributed to the extreme heat I was working in. Even though it was more intense I still wouldn't classify it in the pain category. When it would kick in I would just sit down in a folding chair I had close by, drink a little ice water, and it would go away in a couple of minutes and I would continue my work. This continued until I finished the workbench, which turned out real nice, and did I mention, well built.

During the couple of weeks since there have been other episodes of discomfort when I would be doing anything slightly physical though not of the same intensity. The mistake I made on that Saturday (which probably turned out not being a mistake) was to mention to Mel that I had experienced the discomfort. Given her experience with an emergency heart cath and the insertion of 2 stents a couple of years ago the conversation for the last two weeks has gone something like this:

Mel: How are you feeling?
Me: Fine.
Mel: Having any pain?
Me: Maybe a little discomfort, not pain.
Mel: Want to go to the Emergency Room?
Me: No.
Mel: Why not?
Me: Just cause.

Fifteen minutes passes then:

Mel: Feeling okay?
Me: Yep.
Mel: Are you sure?
Me: Yep.
Mel: Having any pain?
Me: No more than the last time you asked.
Mel: Want to go to the Emergency Room?
Me: NO!
Mel: Are you sure?
Me: YES!!!

This has continued for the last two weeks even after I received a call from her last Tuesday to say that she had made an appointment with our family doctor. This angered me a little and she said that I could call and cancel it if I wanted to. I told her that since she made it she could cancel it. Those who know me also know that I absolutely hate to waste money on doctor visits for no reason. The only thing our family doctor could have done was to refer me to a cardiologist and charge me $100 to do so. Those who know her know that she doesn't give up that easy so I told her if she felt she had to make a doctor's appointment to make it with her cardiologist and skip the family doctor, which she did. I figured that since those guys are real busy it'd be six or seven months before the first available appointment and that would be the end of that. That brings us to the visit to the doctor yesterday. Lesson learned: Don't mess with a determined woman!

First thing I had to do was to fill out the usual one hundred forms that all "new" patients have to fill out. You know the type, What was your grandmothers maiden name, was she blond, brunette, or redheaded, did she graduate or was she a dropout, have you ever had....... (a list of deseases that you pray to God you never get) etc, etc, etc, etc. Then I was called back and had to stop to step up on the scales on the way to the exam room. The scales kind of grunted and in the display window it said "One at a time, please". After a few minutes a nurse came in and said to lie down on the table and lift my shirt. She proceeded to stick these little pads all over my chest. I said, "You know that's gonna hurt when you pull those off, right?" she replied, "Yep." and kept sticking until she had about fifty of them stuck on me. Then this other lady came in with a laptop computer with a bunch of wires coming out of it. She started hooking these wires to the pads on me. I looked like the Six Million Dollar Man in for a tune up. She pressed a few buttons on the computer and then unhooked me at which point the first nurse started ripping the pads off, hair and all.

They left and said the doctor would be in soon. We had several minutes to just sit there and contemplate what had happened so far and get more nervous about what was coming next. The doctor finally came in and had me get back on the table and take my shirt off. Out comes the ice cold stethoscope which he put in fifty or sixty different places, including my legs, and saying, "Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, etc, etc, etc, etc". Then came the mashing and poking and tapping here and there and everwhere. Then he said to put my shirt on and have a seat in the chair and he'd be back in a minute.

After a few more minutes of contemplation and wondering how bad it was he came back in. He sat down on the exam table and said, "I'm pretty confident you've had an incident. Don't know when or how much, if any, tissue dammage has occured but I'm sure you've had an incident." He never mentioned the words "HEART ATTACK" even though we assumed that's what he meant, but I'm not a doctor so who knows. He wrote two prescriptions, one for nitro tablets to keep with me at all times and one for a med that he said would keep my heart happy (his exact words) even though the blood flow may possibly be less than normal. He said to take it easy for the first week until the meds had time to get into my system and after that to gradually increase my physical activity, as long as there was no pain, until I reached normal levels of activity. If I experience any pain I am to call his assistant to schedule a heart cath immediately, otherwise come back in a month to do a nuclear stress test and we'd go from there.

To sum up let me say that this is the same doctor that did Mel's emergency heart cath and saved her life because her heart stopped during the procedure and she had to be shocked back. The only stipulation that I gave her in making the appointment was that it had to be her doctor and no other in the group because I have total confidence and trust in him. I think God made sure he was on call that day she had her procedure and I want him to do what ever has to be done for me. His bedside manner is like doctors of long ago. He treats you like you're his only patient and will stay and talk as long as you have questions. I've never, in all of our dealings with him, seen him check his watch like he had to be somewhere else.

Bottom line is that I feel fine and don't think Jesus is calling me home right away, despite the tone of the comments on FaceBook. However, if he does call me, just know that I'm packed and ready to go. Are you?

Another Mill Hill Story

2009-06-23T18:00:00.007-04:00

I've reminisced on several occasions about life on a "Mill Hill" and, for the most part, with favorable remarks. In the beginning the company owned the houses and to live in one of their houses you had to work at the mill. My recollections of life on the mill hill was after the company had sold the houses to the employees. Therefore, I didn't have to worry about our family being kicked out of our house (not that I was old enough to have ANY worries) nor do I remember any of my friends being kicked out of theirs. I'm not sure how it was decided who bought each house but I think that the family that lived in the house had first choice to purchase it. If they declined then I would assume it went out to the bid process and seniority within the company probably played a role in who was awarded the house. I do know that my brother and sisters were born before the houses were sold and lived in at least one other house besides the one we lived in when I came along.

Now, to be fair, let me relate a not so favorable story about mill hill living that happened in another mill village to a member of my family. My mother's family lived in Lyman which was newer than Tucapau (Startex) by 25 or 30 years. It was set up the same in that the mill owned the houses, and everything else in the community. The houses were rented to employees and the rent was taken out of their pay as was the case in Tucapau (Startex). So, my mama and her siblings grew up in the mill hill way of life as did my daddy, only a different mill hill. I'm not sure what year the houses were sold in Lyman but I know it was after 1949, which brings me to my story.

Pacific Mills in Lyman was opened somewhere around 1923 or 1924 and my Grandaddy Gresham was hired to help start up production at the mill. Up until then, I've been told, he worked in a textile mill in the Piedmont area between Greenville and Anderson. My Uncle Larry was the baby of five children and, since I'm not sure of his birth year, was either a very small baby or born right after their move to Lyman. So, when they moved to Lyman they had five kids or did soon after the move. Since the mill village was brand new I'm sure the move was made for better living conditions and better wages. I don't know if they lived in more than one house during their time in Lyman but I do know that the last house they lived in was on Ridge Road, which is the street where the department supervisors lived.

Grandaddy worked in the mill for some twenty five years. All of his children had grown, married and moved out of the home place on Ridge Road by the begining of WWII. My grandmother, we called her Bama, like most women of that era, was a housewife that had never worked outside of the home. With five small children and no day care centers in those days what else could women do? In 1949, both of my grandfathers died within two weeks of each other. Since Bama didn't work for Pacific Mills the company evicted her from the house she had lived in, and reared her family in, for twenty five +/- years. She had no where to go or no means of income to provide a roof over her head or to put food on the table. She lived with her children who supported her. I don't know which ones she stayed with or how long she stayed with each. I do know that she lived with us for a while and my brother and sister have vivid memories of her during this time period. She died in 1957 when I was might near (that's mill hill for "close to") two years old. I have no recollection of her, which is sad, because from the stories that I've heard, she was a pistol and very fun to be around. All of the Greshams must have taken after her because that's how I remember my mother, her sister and all of her brothers. Fun people. This is one case where the company took care of their employees but didn't have much compassion for the families of the people who gave many years of service to it or, in some cases, died for it.

On a good note, Uncle TB, Mama's oldest brother, was able to purchase the home place on Ridge Road in the mid sixties when it came on the market from the original owner who purchased it from the company. It was nice to have the family Christmas get togethers every year in the house where my Mama and her brothers and sister grew up. My Aunt Plennie still lives there today.

As I mentioned above, both of my grandfathers died in 1949. Since my other grandmother, Mama West, was the Post Mistress at the Startex Post Office and it was, at that time, owned by the company, she was considered an employee and was allowed to stay in her house. At least that's the way I figure it worked out. I don't know for sure since I was still six years away from breathing at the time.

This is just a little bit more trivia from the WestHouse. Thanks for listening to me ramble.

Bring Back The Simple Life!

2009-06-09T14:29:00.008-04:00

What ever happened to porch sittin in the South? Not to be confused with pole sittin which is something totally different that used to happen in the South and we won't get into in this post. When I was a kid porch sittin was the thing to do on the mill hill. Maybe because there was no air conditioning, video games, cable or satellite television (we did have three channels that you had to get up to change), malls, or fast food burger joints on every corner. Sometimes, on rare occasions, your parents treated you to a McDonalds or Hardee's hamburger but you had to go all the way to Spartanburg to get it. Highway 290 was loaded with peach orchards from Byrnes High School all the way to Highway 221 in Moore, fifteen miles away. Now from Byrnes to Reidville Road (about six miles) is restaurant row, along with a high class golf course, and from Reidville Road to Highway 221 there are about a hundred housing developments.

Back to my original thought. I can remember when I was a kid, my brother's and sister's friends coming over and all of them would be sitting on the porch with Mama while I was out in the front yard playing in the dirt with my matchbox cars. Daddy wasn't much on hanging out on the porch with the teenagers. He would usually go up to Joe Barkers service station after supper and hang out with the guys until it closed. He did build us a hockey game, much like the air hockey games you see now days, only without the air. It was made out of wood including wooden sticks and a wooden puck. He had several coats of polyurethane and then several coats of paste wax so the puck would really fly when you hit it. That game was the hit of the town and we had tournaments and everything. Even Paul Styles, a deaf mute that everyone in town looked after, would play the game and get really upset when he'd lose a game. My sister still has that game in her basement but everybody is always too busy to play it. Besides, it's not fun to the younger generation who have the X-Box or PS3 or both.

Most evenings we would play out under the street light while the adults would sit on the porch. Games like "Mother May I", "Red Light" "Simon Says" and a lot of others. In the afternoons we would play paper ball. That's where you use a rolled up newspaper as the ball and your hand as the bat. When you hit the "ball" who ever caught it or picked it up could throw it at you and if they hit you it was an out. The adults on the porch would have to settle arguments when they arose, and they always did, Kids today would go crazy if that's all they had to do for fun.

We are sometimes just as guilty as most others by taking the easy way out and running to Wendy's, McDonalds, KFC, Cracker Barrel, or one of a plethora of other places close to home instead of going to the kitchen and cooking something for supper. And then run to Target, Walmart, or the Westgate Mall to buy something we could probably do without. But, it's much nicer to just eat supper at home and retire to the porch with a cool glass of sweet tea or Pepsi and watch the birds on the bird feeder and wave to the people driving by.

We spend a lot of time on our porch but if you ride through the town you'll see we are the among the minority. People just don't have time, or maybe just don't take time, to just sit in the porch rocker or porch swing and enjoy the simple life anymore.

When Life Gives You Dirt, Get Out Your Shovel.

2009-05-22T09:13:00.007-04:00

I commented on my FB page that I was upset with the local water company for digging up the sidewalk if front of my house to install new water mains. It makes my yard look really bad when we had worked really hard to make it look decent. I know you can't stop progress and I'm not really mad but I don't understand why they couldn't have installed the new mains in the back of the houses where the current mains are located. Now it will probably be two months before they install new sidewalks and we'll have a muddy mess every time it rains.

Anyway, as my title states, the boys got out their shovels and got dirty. That's what boys do, right? At least that's what they do when they're at Grandaddy's house.

Tucker decided to take a break and display his artistic expressions on our side walk.

Times, They Are A Changin!

2009-04-29T15:06:00.003-04:00

I was just looking at a photo gallery, Downtown Alive, on the Greenville News' website and a pattern struck me. In about 80% of the pictures there were young people in their 20's and 30's sporting big ole cups of beer. Thinking back to the few times I've attended this event I can remember young couples pushing strollers with a cup of beer in the built-in cup holder on the stroller. Also, couples with one hand holding the hand of a toddler and the other holding a big cup with Budweiser painted all over the side of it with a yellow liquid that had the look of horse tinkle up to the rim of the cup.

Now, I'm not old, not by today's standards anyway, but I'm no spring chicken either. But,,,, I do remember a time when if you drank beer you drank it in the comfort of your own home or at a bar where you parked your car around back where anyone that knew your car wouldn't see it. You never drank it out in public. Now young people don't mind having their picture posted all over the Internet with their beers in hand.

I think I've posted before that I'll soon turn 54 and have never tasted beer. Having said that, let me add that I'm not condemning those that do consume beer. It's not my job to judge. I'm simply asking does it have to be so open and in your face? I can't help but think what are the parents, most of whom are my age and were reared to think like me, thinking when they see pictures all over the Internet of their offspring drinking in public like this. I can't speak to this because I haven't seen any pictures of my kids drinking in public but I think embarrassment is the feeling I would feel.

I guess Peter, Paul, and Mary said it best in a song written by Bob Dylan. "Times, They Are A Changin"

A Much Needed Reminder

2009-04-20T09:50:00.003-04:00

As the narrator states in this video, we sing this song at sporting events, as well as other events, and have done so for so long that we have memorized it and don't really pay attention the the words. After watching and listening to this video I bet the next time you sing this song it will have a greater effect on you.

http://www.footygi.com/view_video.php?viewkey=013ac554571fbd180e1c

My Easter Rant

2009-04-15T08:47:00.003-04:00

I know it's a little late but better late than never. I've posted before about my feelings on Christmas and the commercialization of the same, but now I'm going to rant about Easter. What kind of sick mind did it take to come up with a colored egg laying rabbit to try to get people's minds off of the risen Christ at Easter? Even though we did the Easter basket thing with our kids we never played up the Easter Bunny. They always knew the candy came from us, not some stupid rabbit. They died the eggs themselves so they knew a rabbit didn't lay them. We always made sure they knew what Easter was really about. When they got new clothes for Easter they knew it was representative of Christ's sacrifice on the Cross that made us all new and clean and free from sin.

I find it strange that people tend to believe what they read in the newspaper and question what they read in the Bible. Anyone else want to rant some on this subject, feel free to comment.

Sad Day In Spartanburg County

2009-03-18T15:58:00.005-04:00

Since the story broke this morning that 2 year old William Eschenback's body, who had been missing for some 20 hours, had been found in the South Tyger River I've not been able to get much work done. I was watching the live feed from WSPA and listening to Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office radio communications, both over the Internet. Around 11:30am I heard the dispatcher send an ID unit to the scene and, with my 35 years experience with the fire service, I knew that meant bad news was eminent.

I can't help but think of my grandson Tucker who is the same age as William and imagine how I would feel if this had been him. I know how rambunctious he can be and I can imagine how he could wander off in a split second. It's easy for everyone to blame the mother for not watching him closer but it's so easy to get distracted for a minute, especially since she had an infant in the house too. No one knows all of the details and probably never will. The thing that needs to be done is to not blame her but to pray for her for she will be living with the "what ifs" for the rest of her life. The blame she will be putting on herself will be more than anybody else could ever put on her.

The Bible says "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him." (Romans 8:28). And, I know we aren't supposed to question God's Word but sometimes things happen to make me wonder how this verse applies. But it's ours not to question but to believe no matter how hard it is.

My request to all of my readers, even though the list of them is small, is to keep this family in your prayers that God will sustain them in this time of grief.

Atlanta Weekend

2009-03-09T12:20:00.006-04:00

Mel had to go to Atlanta this past weekend to the SECO conference to get her educational hours to keep her licence current. I drove her down since she hates to drive and it gave me a chance to play with my new Garmin GPS thingy. We went down late Friday evening and the Gar took us right to our motel. It's truly amazing how that thing even knows when the speed limit changes. Anyway, Saturday, Mel had to be in class all day so I drove her in (we stayed out on the perimeter since it was about $50 cheaper per night) and I went back to the room to do a little work. I got logged in to my VPN well enough but once I was on the network I couldn't get the system to come up so I wound up watching TV and napping. When it was time to go back and pick her up I left a little early and drove around the city playing with the Gar. I've wanted one of those things ever since I was in California and had a Hertz rental car with the NeverLost GPS in it. When I picked her up around 5:30pm We went to eat at Ted's Montana Bar & Grill. I had a Bison steak that was wonderful but Mel played it safe and went with the beef. Around 7:30pm we left the truck parked in a public lot near the restaraunt and walked down to the Westin Hotel to catch a shuttle over to the Georgia Aquarium. SECO had reserved the aquarium from 8pm til Midnight for Conference attendees and spouces only. They had also arranged for Kellie Pickler to be there to entertain. She did a great performance and since it was for conference attendees and guest only it was an up close and personal concert. We were only about 15 or 20 feet from her while she sang. I took a few pictures.

A Few Snowday Pics

2009-03-03T15:07:00.005-05:00

The best snow we've had in several years. Still not the kind that hangs around for severl days but enough to get out and play in the Jeep although I didn't get any pictures of that. I had to go to work but Mel didn't and she took these pictures while she was out with the boys.

Eyes of a twenty year old.

2009-02-18T13:49:00.002-05:00

Well, I had the second cataract removed yesterday and all went well. I'm back at work today but probably should've taken another day to recuperate. No pain but my vision is still a little blurry in the right eye so the two aren't working together real well. Not having problems motivating but the letters on the computer screen and keyboard are running together. So, since I didn't take typing in high school and I have to look at my fingers while I type, there's no telling what I just said. Anyway, in a couple of weeks I should only need some low powered Dr. Revco's (what Bill O'Shields used to call the cheap reading glasses) to do up close reading and that's all. No distance correction needed. It's been a long time since I've been able to NOT wear glasses. I'm so happy (picture me doing the Snoopy dance).

No Worries Mate

2009-01-28T15:19:00.003-05:00

As usual, I was worried for no reason. The cataract surgery went very well yesterday. I am seeing 100% better out of my left eye now and I'm already back to work today. Now I can't wait until February 17th to have my right eye done.

Nervous

2009-01-26T11:36:00.016-05:00

I mentioned in a post a couple of moths ago that I had a new cadillac. Well, tomorrow I'm getting rid of it. I report to the Ambultory Surgery Center in the morning at 08:45 and I'm nervous about it. They tell me that they don't put you to sleep for this surgery and that worries me a little. I have a problem with seeing something coming at my eyes. I flench when something does. That's why I never considered contacts in the past. Heck, I can't even put drops in my eyes, Mel has to do that for me. So, I'm scared that when he comes at my eye with whatever tool he uses to take the cadaract off that I'll flench and he'll wind up cutting my whole eyeball out. I'd be in a fix for sure if that happens.

Are You Ready?

2008-12-25T01:00:00.017-05:00

It was time for the census to be done so there were thousands of people in town. Not a single motel in town had a vacancy. Every one of them had their "No Vacancy" signs lit up but mine. I had told my wife to turn it on but as she was going to take care of that Mr. Johnson called from room 201 saying he needed towels so it didn't get turned on right away.

When they came in I had to tell them we didn't have any rooms. It made me feel real bad once I saw that the young lady was pregnant. They mentioned that mine was the only motel in town that didn't have the "No" lit up in front of the vacancy sign so they were hoping that they could get a room. I apologized for the misunderstanding but still I felt bad for them. The only thing I could think of was to offer them a stable out back in our petting zoo that we had as a tourist attraction for kids that were visiting town. It wouldn't be real warm but at least the roof of the barn would keep the snow off of them. I gave them plenty of blankets to make beds and to knock some of the chill off and some pillows. They were a very understanding couple and took me up on my offer. Since I felt so bad for them I only charged them half price, you know, for the use of the blankets and pillows.

The next morning, I awoke and got my shower. It was still dark out but I had to start my routine, getting the coffee made and the sweet rolls out for the complimentary breakfast, putting The Bethlehem Times newspapers out in the hallways at every door, and all of the other things I have to do every morning. That's when I noticed a commotion out back. There was what sounded to me like a huge choir singing and a real bright light coming through all of the windows. I just knew it was going to wake all of the guest and they would all be complaining. I went outside to check it out and found that the young lady had delivered her baby during the night. She had wrapped him in one of the blankets I had given them and had him lying in a feeding trough that was used for the animals. Boy, that really made me feel bad.

The bright light was coming from a really big star that seemed to have settled right over the barn. I didn't see a choir and when I asked about the singing they explained that it was a choir of angels singing praises to the child. That's when I found out who these people were. If they had only told me who they were when they checked in and what was about to happen. I would have gladly booted that rich couple out of the Presidential Suite to provide a proper place for them to spend the night in comfort, at no charge. Later on that day there were all kinds of people stopping by and bowing down before the kid,,,,,in a stable. People came from all over the countryside, some of them had traveled a long way, just to worship this baby. I could only imagine what bad things these visitors must have been thinking about me for putting them up in that stable. If I had only known when he was coming. Just imagine, I could have been known for the man who accomodated the Mesiah. The whole world would have known my name. Instead, I'll go down in the history books as a no-named man who put Jesus in a stable.

Isn't it a shame that we get all tangled up in the commercialism of Christmas. Feeling obligated to buy meaningless gifts for people that have everything they need, people who would be just as happy with a card or a visit. Promoting Santa Clause more than Christ. Radio stations playing Christmas music the day after Halloween. Artificial Christmas trees on display, and for sale, on November 1st. The percentage of people who really celebrate Christmas for the reason it was meant to be celebrated decreases every year and that saddens me.

The Bible tells us that this same child will be coming back in the clouds just as he left and that no man knows the day, the hour, or the minute, just like the motel manager didn't know. The only advise it provides for us is to watch and be ready. I am, are you?

Here's A Few More Pics

2008-12-12T09:30:00.005-05:00

Since I didn't want to steal their thunder by posting the first pictures of Kendall, and, since Josh posted some pictures yesterday while he was home seeing after the animals, that clears me to post a few more.

In these pictures she is just minutes old.

In the pictures below she is being held by her first cousins who are very proud of her and can't wait for her to get big enough to play with them.

Kendall and Noah

Kendall and Tucker

Can you tell she already has her Grandaddy wrapped around her finger?

Welcome the the family, Kendall Quinn West.

SHE'S HERE !!!!!!

2008-12-11T08:24:00.002-05:00

Sorry I'm a day late with this post but no computers at the hospital. Kendall made her appearance yesterday afternoon at 3:21 pm. She came in at 6 lbs 14 oz, 19.75 inchs. She had all of her fingers and toes and a little bit of hair. Her fingers were just big enough to wrap her grandaddy around. Even though I had her permission, I'm not going steal Leigh's thunder by posting a bunch of pictures. Check her blog out this weekend or the first of next week for those.

No Baby Yet But Today Ain't Over

2008-12-10T11:16:00.002-05:00

Still no baby but they gave her an epidural (sp) this morning and then came back between 9:30 and 10:00 and broke her water so there should be a new West in the world sometime today. Updates to follow.

In The Waiting Period

2008-12-09T10:58:00.003-05:00

Leigh is in the hospital as of last night around 5:30 pm, due to blood pressure problems and some other things that could be bad for the baby. They have induced labor this morning but she still has a long way to go yet. I'll post updates later as I know them and possibly some pictures after Kendall makes her appearance.

Stumped

2008-12-05T14:00:00.002-05:00

I try to post something at least every 10 days or so but here it is, 10 days since my last post and still I have nothing. I've stated on numerous occations how I don't know how the younger folks post on a daily basis and yet again I'm stumped. Perhaps, if I had the imagination of a writer, such as a lot of the people whose blogs I follow, I could probably come up with something.....but I don't. And......since life in the West house is realativly boring, I'm rambling on and on just to fill up lines with groups of letters. So, until something happens in our lives that is blog worthy, this is all there is.

Thankful This Holiday Season

2008-11-25T11:25:00.013-05:00

On this Thanksgiving holiday season I can think of a lot of things that I am thankful for. The fact that God saved me through the blood of His Son Jesus Christ, my wife, my children, my grandchildren, both those living outside of the womb and the one living inside the womb. My brother and sisters, my home and a plethora (not your run of the millhill word, huh) of other things.

Mel shared some tidbits with me on some research that she did on the first Thanksgiving. How, even though the settlers and the indians came together for the feast, after it was over the times were just as hard for them as they were before. The winter was cold, as were their houses. People died as a result of the weather. Food was scarce and people were dying of starvation. She was saying all of this to get the point across that, still today, some people are living in hard times with very little to eat or a warm place to lay there head down at night or warm clothes to keep their bodies warm. We sometimes take for granted the small things that we have that others might consider big things. So, during this holiday season, if you know someone who is having some tough times, invite them to celebrate with you and your family.

Since this is my blog, I have the right to use it as I see fit. So.......I see fit to put in a plug for a few of the things that are going on at our church. #1, The Angle Tree. This is a program that was started way back when (some thirty years or so ago) by the youth group of Startex United Methodist Church that provides Chirstmas presents for children that probably wouldn't get any otherwise. It has since spread and is spearheaded now by the District 5 Ministries. Several of the churchs in school district #5 participate, which allows us to reach more children. I'm not sure of the total children served last year but at our church, Lyman United Methodist, we provided for some 30+ children. This is totally funded through donations. If anyone reading this would like to donate to this program feel free to contact me via email. rwestsfd9(at)yahoo(dot)com and I'll give intructions as to who to make the check to and where to send it. #2, The Coat Closet. We have started a Coat Closet at the church. If you would like to donate a new or gently used coat of any size to be given to someone in need, feel free to use the same email address above for information. #3, Upward Sports. Our church sponsers Upward Basketball and also Upward Flag Football. If your child would like to participate we would love to have them. Church membership is NOT a requirement, ALL are welcome.

Now on a lighter note about Thanksgiving. I'm thankful, and you probably are too, that the indians brought turkeys to the first feast and that that's the tradition that caught on. Can you imagine what Thanksgiving would be like today had they brought a nicely prepared German Shepard or Doberman to the feast? We'd be sitting down this Thursday staring at Fido with an apple in his mouth. YUM YUM!!! Just a thought.

What are some things you are thankful for?

Are You Willing To Work?

2008-11-10T10:00:00.009-05:00

Another Old Testament favorite of mine is in the book of Ruth. Naomi, her husband, and two sons, had traveled to the land of Moab because of famine in their homeland of Judah. There, her husband died and she was left with two sons. They both married Moab women, one was Orpah and the other was Ruth. Then both of the sons died and Naomi was left with just the daughters-in-law.

Naomi heard news that God had blessed Judah with good crops so she planned to return to her homeland. She told her daughters-in-law to stay in Moab with their families but Ruth refused and went with her to Bethlehem. I don't know why she left her family to go with her mother-in-law but she did. How many people in this day and time would do that?

Since there were no men in the family, to survive, they had to go to the fields of others and glean, meaning they would pick up sheaves of wheat and barley that were dropped by the harvesters. Ruth went to the fields of Boaz to glean. When he noticed that she worked just as hard as his harvesters, he told his harvesters to drop handsful of purpose for her to pick up.

What intrigues me about this story is that even though Boaz was a good man and would probably have just given her what she needed, he didn't reduce Ruth's dignity and pride by doing that. She had to glean (work) to get the wheat and barley.

Apply that to today's thinking and it goes something like this. God will provide for you if you're willing to do a little work or as the old saying goes, God will help those who help themselves.

What size is your dog?

2008-10-30T15:26:00.009-04:00

As I sit here staring at a blank computer screen, it truly amazes me how the younger generation finds something to post on a daily basis. I guess maybe with age the imagination goes awry.

Then the thought of Gideon comes to me out of nowhere. For those of you that don't know the story, the Israelites were oppressed for a time by the Midianites. They would come in and camp on their lands and ravage their crops and kill their livestock. The Israelites finally resorted to living in caves in the hills to hide from their oppressors.

One day, while Gideon was threshing wheat in secret so as to feed his family, the angel of the Lord came to him and said "The Lord is with you, mighty warrior". Gideon kind of looked around and said "Who, you talking to me? My clan is the weakest of all of the tribes and I'm the least of my clan. I'm here, hiding in a cave. I'm not a mighty warrior." The angel said "Go in thy strength and the Lord will defeat the Midianites by your hand." Again, Gideon said "Who, me? You're kidding, Right?"

Long story short is that after requesting, and receiving, a few signs that it was truly God's intention for him to fight, he did indeed whip the tens of thousands of Midianites with only three hundred men.

Moral of the story is no matter how small we feel, all things are possible when God is on your side. Or, to put it in layman's terms, It's not the size of the dog in the fight that matters but what does matter is the size of the fight in the dog.

Who the heck knows???

2008-10-16T14:08:00.006-04:00

An addendum to my last post. I don't know what in the heck Tucapau means in the Indian language but it ain't "Strong Cloth" or "Red Hills", not in the Cherokee Indian language anyway.

Here's the phonetics of the Cherokee:

Strong = u la ni gi da

Cloth = a nu wo

Together, it would sound like u la ni gi da a nu wo

Red = gi ga ge

Hills = di ga du si

Together, it would sound like gi ga ge di ga du si

Can anybody make Tucapau out of either of those?

A Turkeypaw History Lesson

2008-10-09T16:53:00.038-04:00

Since I've been getting hits on my blog from all over the world, some by searching on Google and some by accessing from other blogs, some of you may be wondering about the http:// address of my blog, turkeypaw.blogspot.com. Or, maybe you haven't wondered but humor me anyway. The name "Turkeypaw" derives from the word Tucapau, which was the name of the small mill village in which I was born and have lived all my life. That is until it changed to Startex sometime in the 40's. In the early 20th century the people who lived here were country folk that had come from farms far and near to work in the brand new cotton mill that was built because times were tough and the mill provided a steady wage. It also provided affordable, company owned, housing. Even though they weren't mansions it was a roof over their heads close to their work. When these people said Tucapau it came out Turkeypaw so that name kind of stuck.

For the sake of those who have never heard of it I'll give a little history as I know it and as was told to me by my father, who also was a lifelong resident. I'll even provide pictures of the early settlement. For those of you who do know Tucapau, it could be interesting or it could be boring because you may know more about it than me. At least you may enjoy the pictures. and again, I apologize for the pictures because I still can't figure out how to fix it where you can click on the picture to make it big so it's easier to view. Anyway, here goes.

Sometime in the 1890's a group of business men from Spartanburg got together and travelled out into the countryside, either on horseback or by horse and buggy. Most probably on horseback since the area had not been widely settled at the time. Some say they were on a fishing expedition and others say they were scouting out a place for a textile mill. Either way, they came upon a spot on the Middle Tyger River called Penny Shoals. It was said that in the early 1800's, and before, this area had been the hunting grounds of the Cherokee Indian tribes located in the North Carolina mountains. It looked like a great place to build a textile plant so they began the process of purchasing the land on both sides of the river. After the land was purchased and plans were finalized, they built a four story structure on the north bank of the river. They called the mill Tucapau Mill. The rumor is that Tucapau was a Cherokee word meaning "strong cloth" but I've heard conflicting meanings of the word over the years with the other being "red hills" because of the red dirt around here. Through my research I've not been able to confirm either.

The mill started operating in the late 1890's and around the turn of the century houses were built to house the employees because transportation back then was almost nil.. They were basically just places to keep people in the dry and a place to sleep. Most of the first houses built were the New England saltbox style meaning the roof line was long in the back and short in the front with a shed style front porch. They consisted of 6 rooms, 4 rooms downstairs and 2 rooms upstairs. They were, however, split into two family dwellings. Each family had 2 rooms down and 1 room up. In some cases the families had several children so the accommodations were tight to say the least. Some of the next houses built were still the saltbox style but they were only 4 room houses. They didn't have the upstairs rooms but were still divided into two family dwellings. Later, they went back and constructed 3 room, shotgun style, houses in between the 6 room houses and these were all one family dwellings. By shotgun style I mean the 3 rooms were all in a row with a hallway all the way down one side. When we first got married we lived in one of these 3 room houses until our family outgrew it. Below is a picture of a couple of the 6 room houses taken in 1923.

Also, a picture of a 4 room house that has had an additional room built on to the rear, also taken around 1923.

In the beginning none of the houses had running water and the bathroom was outside in the back yard. There was a spring about a half mile from the mill from which residents could haul water to their homes. Later on, water mains were laid and running water was installed in the houses but only in the kitchen.

At first, there was a small, one room building used as a school for the children in the village. As the mill expanded and the population grew, a larger school building was needed so one was built in the late teens or early 20's. below is a picture of the new school.

There was also a hotel built in the village I think sometime in the late teens but I'm not real sure of the year of construction. I do know that unmarried school teachers that taught in the Tucapau school were allowed to stay there for next to nothing. My grandmother came to Tucapau as a teacher straight from Winthrop College and stayed in the hotel until she married my grandfather, (She later became the Post Mistress for the U S Post Office in Tucapau and remained so for about 40 years until she retired). The hotel also had a kitchen that provided meals for the guests, as well as anyone else that wanted to eat there. A lot of the supervisors would go there for their lunch every day. Below are some pictures of the hotel.

The old hotel was closed sometime in the 50's and torn down in the early 60's. I can remember it still standing with the windows boarded up and being told by my daddy not to play around the old building. I also remember getting my tail tore up with his belt when I was caught inside it.

The mill was sold in 1936 to Walter S. Montgomery Sr. who owned some mills in the Spartanburg area and he made Tucapau part of his Spartan Mills organization. The mill had expanded and included a finishing plant, as well as a sewing operation. The mill started producing the Startex brand of linens and towels (You can still find them today on Ebay by searching on "Startex" or "vintage linens"). Anyway, when Mr. Walter, as he was affectionately called by the employees, bought the mill, he decided to legally change the name of the mill to Startex Mills, a Division of Spartan Mills because of the popularity of the Startex brand name. Then a few years later, around 1947, he changed the name of the village from Tucapau to Startex. To the best of my knowledge, the only two remaining things with Tucapau in the name is the Tucapau Baptist Church and the Tucapau Masonic Lodge. Below is an aerial picture of the mill and some of the village taken in the early 60's. I know this because the old hotel is still standing and in the distance you can see the original fire dept that was built in the latter part of 1962. As you can see, the mill is quite a bit bigger than the original building which is about 3/4 of the building in the foreground of this picture.

Mr. Walter made a lot of improvements to the "mill hill" including paved streets, sidewalks, a sewer system which allowed him to add bathrooms in the houses and a lot of other improvements to the houses themselves. Startex was a self sustaining community in that we had a company store that sold everything from toothpicks to caskets. We had a doctor who had an office in town and a service station for the ones who were fortunate enough to have a car. There wasn't many that had cars because they really weren't needed because, like I said, everything you needed was within walking distance. There was even a theater in the community building that also housed showers and a laundry in the early days before the houses had bathrooms. The theater part had already been closed down by the time I came along but I remember daddy telling of when he was a kid in the late 20's and early 30's. He said back then they showed the silent movies and there was a man that played the pump organ along with the movie. When there was a scene of the good guys chasing the bad guys he would be really pedaling that old organ and playing real fast music and when there was a love scene he'd play real soft and slow. Eventually, when the "talkies" came out they installed sound equipment in the theater. My brother tells of when he was a kid in the early 50's, he'd go to the Saturday afternoon matinee. They were all cowboy movies and they would show several movies every Saturday like The Lone Ranger, Roy Rogers and Hop a long Cassidy to name a few. The school also held it's Christmas plays and graduation ceremonies in this building. Different clubs and organizations also held fund raisers in the theater such as a womanless wedding that was held to raise funds for the PTA. Below is a picture of the community building.

You can't really tell it in this picture but on the back side the building it is actually 3 stories and the community showers were on the bottom floor. The front of the building looks like it is 3 stories but actually the top 2 sets of windows were both in the theater section. It also had a balcony which is where the upper set of windows are.

Our little small village even hosted the President of the United States in 1980. Jimmy Carter stopped here in September of that year while he was out on his re-election campaign trail. He was here about an hour total. He took about 30 or 40 minutes to tour the mill and then made a 15 or 20 minute speech to all of the employees and citizens of the town out in the parking lot. There must have been 300 to 400 people present. It was probably the biggest thing that ever happened, or will ever happen, here. The mill closed in 1998 for the same reason that most all of the other textile mills in North and South Carolina have closed. Foreign imports.

The main part of the mill has been torn down and recycled. The bricks and heart pine flooring were sold to construction companies mostly in Louisiana and Mississippi. They were cleaned and reused to build houses because of their old antique look. The big 20"X20" heart pine beams were sent over to England to be refinished and sold to build post and beam houses. It was sad to see it come down and a lot of memories went with it but I guess that's progress.

For the most part, Startex is still a quite little Southern town where you can go to bed at night and leave the door open and not worry about somebody coming in on you. I can't think of any place in the world that I'd rather live.

I have probably 30 or 40 more old pictures of the village and the inside of the mill but this is already real long so I'll stop for now. I just wanted to share a little of my town with you.

Happy 6th Birthday to Noah, October 2nd, 2002

2008-10-06T14:57:00.009-04:00

Exactly 6 years ago this past Thursday my life changed forever. My name changed to Grandaddy and I became aware of the joys of being a grandparent. Being able to spoil him, fill him up with sweets and send him home for Mama and Daddy to deal with the sugar rush is great. That's what grandparents are for. Seriously though, he spent the night with us the first time when he was just over a week old and has on many occasions since. It would not bother us at all if he came to live with us all the time. He is that much of a pleasure to be around. He has his moments, as all kids do, but for the most part, he is one of the most polite and well mannered kids I've ever seen.

Stole the picture below from Jessi's blog because I liked it so well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NOAH !!!!

I said SHUT UP!

2008-10-03T14:18:00.011-04:00

I told her to "shut up" and she thought I said "get up". Here's the result of that!

Not really. This is actually the result of gracefulness at it's best. Picture the parking lot of the Pizza Hut with thousands of people around, okay, maybe one or two or none, who's counting. Mel and Noah pretend to be racing with Jessi and Tucker back to the truck. Noah crosses in front to look back and see how far ahead they are. Feet get tangled and down they go. She tries to grab Noah and move him over to keep from falling on top of him, so,,,,, with no hands left to break her fall, she hits directly on the asphalt with her face. The picture above is the result of that contact. Not to mention the lawsuit from Pizza Hut to fix the resulting pothole in their parking lot. As a result of a minor heart attack and the insertion of stents to open a couple of blockages a little over a year ago, Mel is on blood thinners so the slightest, and I emphasize slightest, bump results in a very colorful bruise. So, with a hard bump on the asphalt, like she had, it really looked bad (this picture was taken a week after the event so it looks a lot better here than it did the day after it happened). Two goose eggs popped up immediately, one above the eye and one below. Jessi went back in the restaurant and got ice to apply, which was exactly the right thing to do. Then she brought her to the fire department, where I was attending our yearly infectious control refresher class. There happened to be a nurse there conducting the refresher and she suggested we go to the urgent care facility due to her being on blood thinners, just to be safe. We did, but by the time we got to see the doctor the swelling had gone down considerably as a result of the ice pack. He said everything looked okay but to keep applying ice for the rest of the evening.

You women already know this but for any males that may happen upon this blog, here's what the wonders of makeup can do. Taken 5 minutes after the picture above. Still doesn't look great but does look a lot better and, when she puts her glasses on it's hardly noticeable at all.

New Cadillac

2008-09-29T10:54:00.010-04:00

I'm finding out that getting older is no fun. About three or four months ago I went to the Optometrist because I wasn't seeing too well, even with my glasses. I found out that my left eye had gotten much worse since my last exam. It went from a +.50 to a -1.50 what ever that means. I think it's a lot. He told me I was getting a new cataract and I said "Great! I've always wanted a new Cadillac, but what are you, a physic? How do you know I'm getting a new Cadillac" and he said "No, I said cataract.". I said "I'm not old enough to be getting a cataract!" and he said "You must be cause you've got one forming." He told me then that I could probably go another few years before I would have to have it removed. Well,,,,,, after three months, three new pairs of glasses with the new prescription and two new pairs of prescription sunglasses, I go back because I can see better far off without my glasses than I can with them. Now he tells me that the vision in my left eye is a lot worse than it was three months ago and that the cataract has progressed a lot faster than he thought it would and it's ready to come off. It's a good thing Mel is an Optician and I get a discount on all of those glasses or I'd be really mad instead of just a little perturbed (is that a word???). At this point in time I haven't decided what I'm going to do or when I'm going to do it. It may be that I let it go for a while and get me one of those cool looking black patches to go over my left eye, the kind that gives you that mysterious look. Who knows??? What I do know is that getting older sucks but it does beat the alternative.

Class of '73

2008-09-26T12:51:00.010-04:00

I said I would post pictures of the 35 year reunion of the James F. Byrnes High School "Class of '73" but I only took a few at the football game Friday night. Dumb old me forgot to take my camera Saturday night to the dinner/dance. I'm going to try to get some pictures from a classmate that took some (must have been over 1000) of Saturday's events.

We had a good time but the number of attendees wasn't what I expected. I think maybe there wasn't enough effort made to contact everyone in the class. There were probably 40 or so classmates in attendance, together with our spouses, we probably numbered 65 or 70. I don't think I ever heard an exact count.

I can't remember the last time I was in the same room with that many good looking middle aged women or that many bald headed men. Even the majority of us that could still grow hair had it trimmed so close that we looked bald. Don't know if it's "the style" or if it's just easier to do it that way. As for me, I hate to pay for a haircut so I buzz it myself ( I think it's a rip-off to pay $15 to sit in a barber's chair for 5-10 minutes to get a trim). And,,,,,,,,,,,,, I can wash both my face and my hair with one quick swipe of the washcloth.

The dancing was interesting to watch (notice I said watch). They played a lot of 70's music that was fast and there were a lot of folks out there shaking their booties. Me,,,, I've got so much bootie that when I get it to shaking it's hard to get it to stop so I just don't start it anymore. They also played that Cha-Cha Slide line dance song about a million times. I've gotten to the age that if it ain't slow and I can't rub belt buckles with a member of the opposite sex then I sit and watch. So, that's what I did. Now, don't get me wrong, there were plenty of people out there, including my wife, that had more moves than a checker game at Floyd's Barbershop in Mayberry. But, there were some out on the dance floor that were just thankful they were able to move.

During the dinner, there were the usual gifts given for the most children, most grandchildren, married longest to the same spouse, and the person who traveled the furthest to attend. I tried to win that one by telling them I traveled all the way from Turkey(paw) but it didn't work. We had a guest speaker, Mr. (Coach) Bo Corne and his wife Linda, who both started their teaching careers our freshman year at D.R.Hill Annex. Bo moved on to Byrnes with us the next year. We were the first class to go the full four years of high school after the schools integrated and he alluded to that fact and that, to his recollection, there were no major conflicts that arose from it, at least not in our time at Byrnes. There were a few tense moments but nothing major that the students didn't work out themselves and he applauded us for that. He said that not a week goes by that he doesn't think of some event that took place or have a conversation with someone about an event that happened with his first class (us). He thanked us for the memories that we had given him that will last a lifetime.

Here's a few of the pictures I took at the ballgame Friday night, the last of which is the final score.

Just like the Energizer Bunny, STILL GOING !

2008-09-10T12:07:00.006-04:00

53 years today! Never thought I'd make it this far. And, on top of that, I have my 35 year high school reunion this weekend, Class of '73. That really makes me feel old. I remember thinking back then that I would be 45 at the turn of the century and wondering if I'd live to see it. It should be a good weekend though. The festivities start Friday afternoon with a tailgating party, complete with barbecue and all the fixins, across the street from Nixon Field. Then on to the Byrnes/Greer game, which hopefully will be a blow out. If it's like it was 35 years ago, we should win the game and the fight. Then, Saturday evening we're off to Demitri's Grill for dining and dancing. It's always fun to see the drinkers on the floor dancing after they've had a few too many. Then, Sunday morning everyone is supposed to attend a church in Spartanburg where one of our classmates is the pastor. It'll be interesting to see how many of the drunk classmates make it to church. I'm carrying my camera to all the events so hopefully I'll have pictures to post later.

English - Very Confusing Language

2008-08-25T11:15:00.006-04:00

What's up with the English language, more specifically the American English language?

If I buy a book, I intend to read it. When I finish it, I have read it. If I'm in the first position of a race, I'm in the lead. If I want to hide something from Superman, I put it in a lead box. When I go to the mountains I drive on the Blueridge Parkway. When I get back home, I park my car in the driveway.

This makes the English language a difficult language to learn, or at least I would think it would be difficult to learn. I didn't go to college but from what I remember of high school English classes it seems to me that it's a language that's harder than it has to be. Diagramming sentences, conjugating verbs, inflectional morphology, adjectives, nouns (proper or improper), pronouns, i before e except after c (most of the time but not always), just gives me a headache thinking about it. Maybe I could have been a writer in different life but all I wanted out of James F. Byrnes High School was to be out of James F. Byrnes High School. I certainly wasn't going to subject myself to four more years of that torture. Probably not the wisest decision I ever made but one I made anyway.

Can any of you guys come up with more anomalies in the English language that are confusing such as the few I mentioned above?

Uplifting message worth reading

2008-08-21T09:39:00.003-04:00

If you're feeling a little down and think you're not important to God, then you need to read this.

Aw, what the heck! Even if you're not feeling down this is worth reading.

http://thebigmamablog.com/index.php/2008/08/21/name/

America The Beautiful

2008-08-15T12:51:00.029-04:00

For lack of anything interesting to write about that is presently happening in the "west house", I'm going to reflect on a past experience.

In December of 1999, about two weeks before the infamous Y2K, I was afforded the opportunity to take an all expenses paid trip. The Rebel Regiment, a high school marching band my daughter was a member of, received an invitation to march in the famous Rose Parade in California. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity for +/- 270 kids. Let me add here that my son was also a member of this band but he had already graduated before this trip.

On this trip the band members and chaperons, as well as many others that paid their own way to accompany the band, rode tour buses to Atlanta and flew from there to California on commercial airlines. They could have flown out of Greenville but that would mean they would have to make connecting flights and to eliminate the risk of losing someone they drove to Atlanta for direct flights. They left on December 28th and were to return home on or around January 2nd, providing that all of the airplanes didn't blow up or crash because of Y2K.

I was a member of the "Pit Crew" for a number of years before this. This is a group of men, most of whom have kids in the band, that volunteer to drive the 8 buses and 2 large trucks with trailers behind them. We hauled the band and all of their equipment all over the Southeast to band competitions. We also were responsible for getting the equipment on and off of the field for the performances. As I said, the band members flew to California but it was going to be too costly to ship the instruments and uniforms out there so I, along with two other men who were also "Pit Crew" members, were asked to drive that stuff to and from the West Coast in exchange for an all expenses paid trip. Since Mel and I were already paying for three (her, our daughter and son) to go, it was either volunteer or stay at home because we just couldn't afford to pay for another spot.

As it turned out, it was worth the sacrifice. By sacrifice, I mean that in order for us to have the uniforms and instruments out there when the band arrived we would have to leave on December 23rd and miss Christmas with our families. By worth it, I mean that prior to this trip the furthest point in a Westward direction that I had been was probably Chattanooga, Tennessee so the things I was able to see made it so.

On this trip I made my first crossing of the Mississippi River, I saw my first real Texas tumbleweed. Up until then it was an onion, sliced a million ways, dipped in batter, and deep fried golden brown and put on a plate for some artery clogging enjoyment. I saw the oil wells in Oklahoma and Texas, not to mention the acres upon acres of farm lands with heads of cattle numbering in the millions. I saw the plateaus and red hills of New Mexico, and the deserts of Arizona. I drove across the Hoover Dam and almost got arrested for suspicion of trying to blow it up. Maybe I'll elaborate on that later in this post. I got to spend the night in Vegas and pull the arm of a couple of the gazillion one armed bandits that we ran across. We left Vegas and went through Death Valley. Let me tell you, even kudzu wouldn't grow in that place. It took me back to my childhood when I used to watch "Death Valley Days" on TV. I could just see the old mule train making it's way through that desert. I think I even saw the ghost of Roy Rogers and the Lone Ranger and Tonto riding around out there.

After a good nights sleep in Barstow, CA, We headed on to LA. We arrived on the 27th, one day ahead of the band. That gave us a chance to rest up before having to put up with 270 teenagers. We should've took two days to do this cause one day of rest probably wasn't enough. Once the band started arriving in waves the next day, one of us had to be over at LAX to direct the people to the shuttle buses for the trip across the street to the hotel. Once at the hotel the chaperons took over. from then on we were just tourist until they had to do a performance in the parking lot right outside the Rose Bowl. The band got to go to see where they made the floats but we had to load the equipment back on the trucks and go back to the hotel so we didn't get to see that, but I would have loved to. We did get to participate in the other activities like a trip to the San Diego Zoo, Universal Studios, and breakfast at the Hard Rock Cafe.

During the parade, we dropped off the equipment at the beginning of the parade and drove to the end of the route to wait on the band to arrive to reload the stuff. So,,,,,,We didn't get to see much of the parade either but the chaperons did. They got seats in the grandstand right where the cameras are that show the parade on TV.

The next day we headed out with the trucks before the band and others even woke up, much less leaving for the airport. We drove out on I-40 but due to snow that fell in the Rockies while we were out there we had to come home via the Southern route (I-10 & I-20). This carried us through the Palm Springs area where they have windmill farms that have hundreds of windmills that generate power. We also went through the Southern part of Arizona where we saw different varieties of cacti including the one that looks like a person holding his arms up like you see in cowboy movies. They were everywhere. The rest areas in the desert had signs that warned people to stay on the paved walking areas due to the possibility of being stung by a scorpion. That was weird, I was looking all over for those little deadly things to make sure I didn't get stung. It took us one whole day just to drive back across Texas. All in all, I drove through 13 states on this trip, SC, GA, AL, MS, TN, AR, OK, TX, NM, AZ, NV, CA, and LA.

When I arrived back home on January 5th, 2000 I had time to sit down and reflect on the previous two weeks and the words to Katherine Lee Bates' song, America The Beautiful, came to my mind. Still today that song has a different meaning to me than it did before the trip.

O beautiful for spacious skies,
For amber waves of grain,
For purple mountain majesties
above the fruited plain!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

O beautiful for pilgrim feet
Whose stern impassioned stress
A thoroughfare of freedom beat
Across the wilderness!
America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
They liberty in law!

O beautiful for heroes proved
In liberating strife.
Who more than self their country loved
And mercy more than life
America! America!
May God thy gold refine
Till all success be nobleness
And every grain divine!

O beautiful for patriot dream
That sees beyond the years
Thine alabaster cities gleam
Undimmed by human tears!
America! America!
God shed his grace on thee
And crown thy good with brotherhood
From sea to shining sea!

Who needs to travel to other continents and countries when there is more to see in this country than one could see in a lifetime. As the song says. America is beautiful if you'll just take time to see it.

Never been drunk,,,,on purpose.

2008-08-08T14:30:00.007-04:00

I'm not a drinker, never have been, never will be. I'm dang near 53 and couldn't tell you what beer taste like, honest, no lie. It's not that I tried it and didn't like it. I've never even tried it. If I had and Daddy found out, that would have been the end of life as I knew it and it just wasn't worth the risk. Therefore, the title of the post is correct. I am, however, presently drunk. I've had a cold for the last week and a half and it's been moving around my body, as colds generally do when I get them. It started off in my head, moved down to my chest and now, ever since Tuesday, my left ear has been stopped up. Anytime I have trouble with my left ear I usually get dizzy after a day or two. That's where I'm at now.

It all started back in the seventh grade about two weeks before school let out for the Summer. I had a earache a week or so before and a friend and I rode our bikes to Lyman one afternoon. We were on the way home doing about 90 miles an hour down the hill on the other side of the river and when we started up the hill on our side and got up far enough that we had to get off and push, it hit me as soon as my feet hit the ground. All I could do was drop my bike and lay down on the sidewalk. He went on up the hill and went home, some friend he was, huh. My daddy had just got off of work and drove right past me. He always looked straight ahead when he was driving. He never saw anything or anybody else. You could pass him going the opposite direction and wave and he'd never see you. Anyway, My sister was working at Lyman P&F at the time and got off at 5pm. Normally she came home from the other direction but this day she changed up and came home through Duncan. When I saw her car all I could do was raise my hand, not waving my whole arm like I was flagging her down, just my hand. She still makes fun of me now, some 40 years later, about that. Being a good sister, she turned around and came back, picked me up and carried me to the car. I said "picked me up" not "helped me up". I couldn't do anything, the whole world was spinning. Mama carried me to the doctor and he said it was a real bad ear infection. I still have scar tissue on the eardrum today from this. He gave me some medicine that didn't work and I laid in Mama and Daddy's bed for two weeks. Poor old Daddy had to sleep upstairs in my bed cause I couldn't climb the steps. I couldn't even eat anything without it coming right back up for two weeks. When I finally felt like I could eat, Mama asked me what I wanted. I told her a 1/2 fry chicken with french fries from Tindall's Steak House and that's what she got me. Made my siblings mad cause I usually got what I wanted. I was Mama's baby.

The best thing to come out of this adventure was that I got to skip my final exams because school had already closed for the summer before I got to where I could walk straight. Mama talked to Baldie Hughes (Principal's nickname, he had no hair) and they determined that my grades were good enough to pass without taking my exams, but they told me not to tell anybody. Probably the last year that could've happened. Every year after that I almost didn't pass even with my exam grades. Hey, if I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, maybe I didn't really graduate, legally speaking. Forget I said anything.

Nitrous Oxide.............Good Stuff !!

2008-08-04T15:09:00.016-04:00

Made my semi-annual trip to see Dr. Neil this morning. I love Neil, and his whole family, to death but I'd rather have a colonoscopy than to go see his assistant. Believe me, I've done both so I know. I usually carry my nose contraption that hooks up to the gas thingie with me, yes I have my own, but I couldn't put my hands on it this morning. When I told the Dental Assistant that I would have to get a new one she said that it wasn't on my chart to get gas. Uh-Oh..........She was fixing to see the ghost of Jr. West come out. Anybody that ever had dealings with him knows what I'm talking about. Anyone else that didn't, count yourself lucky. I've reached the age where I'm in charge of me and no one is going to beat the daylights out of me if I act up at the dentist's office. Anyway, before Jr. appeared, I calmly told her that I didn't open my mouth without gas and if she didn't believe me, ask Neil. She said "Just for a cleaning???" I kind of growled "Go ask!" She did and promptly wheeled the gas cylinders in when she came back and then he came in and hooked me up. Call me baby, I don't care.

When I was a kid, the dentist I went to, never will forget him, Dr. McCord down in Woodruff, used to practicly get up in the chair with me. He had old timey equipment, maybe it was state of the art back then, it WAS a long time ago. He'd push this swivel-tray, loaded down with tools, right up in front of you where they were very visable. These tools looked like the tools that someone might use to get information out of a terrorist. Then, when he would start toward your mouth with that machine that kind of looked like a dinosaur skeliton in a museum and all you could see was pulleys and belts wrapping around every arm on that T-Rex. You could hear the sound of the Black and Decker drill that was hooked to the end of all of those belts and pulleys. He'd say "Open Wide" and I'd be thinking "Yeah, right, not in this lifetime" Then I'd think about what Daddy would do when I got home and decided to open up anyway. Before he would shoot me with novicane he'd put this brown looking stuff on the end of a long Q-tip, stick it in my mouth and say "This will keep the shot from hurting." .....BULL..... He lied. I would almost stand straight up in that chair. That's when he would get up on top of me in the chair, to hold me down. I don't know what he charged Mama and Daddy for his services but I can garantee you when he got through with me he earned every penny of it. He'd have to go and change that funny looking shirt (it buttoned up on the side, under his arm, instead of up the front like a real shirt) cause his would be wringing wet with sweat when he finished with me. If he'd gave me the gas back then I might not garner such a dislike for Dental Assistants today. It's all his fault.

Beach 2008 (part 2)

2008-07-25T10:14:00.009-04:00

Picking up where I left off, Saturday at Broadway At The Beach.

When they tore down the Pavillion on Ocean Blvd. It was the end of an era that I hated to see end. I have some great memories at that place all the way back to my early childhood. We always vacationed at my aunt and uncle's house in Georgetown. Usually two or three weekends every summer. Mama and Aunt Dot would always carry us to Pawley's Island on Saturday mornings to play in the ocean. Then we'd go back to Georgetown to clean up to go to Murrell's Inlet for supper. After supper, we got to go to the Pavillion to drop quarters in the games and to ride the rides across the street. Sometimes we'd get a corndog at Peach's Corner and always go shopping at the Gay Dolphin to round out the trip. Then I have memories of taking our kids there to ride the rides and put money into the video games. It's just sad to see that go.

I said all of that to say that they moved some of the rides out to Broadway, especially the kid rides. Here's the boys having fun on those.

Look Ma! No Hands
She's a good Mama.
Noah got a little bored with the cars but Tucker was dilligent in his driving.
Anchors aweigh my boys

I never would have thought in a million years that Noah would want to ride this, but he did, and loved it.

I guess you can tell we're into group pictures.

Big Brother trying to teach Tucker how to do the thumbs up sign.

He couldn't quite get the hang of it.

"Oh well! I love him anyway."

Patiently waiting on Mama to bring him some Ben & Jerry's

Of course, the weather was great again on Sunday as we were leaving so we had to take one more group picture for the road.

That just about does it for the beach trip. I have about a hundred more pictures that I could share but I think you're probably board with it by now.

Beach 2008 (part 1)

2008-07-23T23:51:00.023-04:00

We had a great time at the beach this year and, as I promised, I've got lots of pictures but we'll get to those in a bit. We arrived Wednesday afternoon around 15:30 and got checked in just in time to spend a little time on the beach before the sun went down. The weather was wonderful Wednesday and Thursday but due to tropical storm Cristobal hanging around about 100 miles off the coast, Friday was mostly cloudy and Saturday was mostly wet.

This was Friday morning.

Noah got a little pink Thursday and the salt water was burning him a bit on Friday so he and I spent most of the day in the pool, Mel stayed on the beach. Saturday, since it was raining, Mel and Noah went to the indoor pool but since we paid about a million dollars for an umbrella and two chairs for three days guess where I spent Saturday,,,,,,,,, you guessed it, on the beach, in the rain. There was no thunder and lightning, just rain and wind and I was going to get wet in the ocean anyway so I wanted to get my money's worth out of that umbrella. It's ridiculous what they charge for those things. I could have went to WalMart and bought an umbrella, two chairs, a beach ball, a volley ball and net, and a couple of boogie boards for what I spent to "rent" the stupid umbrella and chairs. Well,,, not really, but almost.

Anyway, let's start the pictures. Sorry, but I can't figure out how to fix it where you can click on the picture to make them bigger so you'll just have to look at the small ones. If anyone knows what I'm doing wrong, let me know.

This is the building at Springmaid Beach that we stayed in.

Our fun times on the beach.

I was a little concerned that Hancock (Will Smith) might fly in and grab me by the feet and sling me out into the ocean mistaking me for a beached whale so I tried to stay in an upright position most of the time to keep that from happening.

Tucker wasn't real fond of the waves but he did have a great time in the sand. Noah, on the other hand, loved the ocean, as you can see below.

Here's a good shot of him body surfing.

Some group pictures

Mimi and Grandaddy with the boys.

Three generations.

Mama with her boys.

Cousin Mollie and the boys.

One of our favorite things to do at the beach is to hunt shark's teeth. Here's Mimi teaching Tucker how to find them.

Fun time in the pool Friday morning.

Friday afternoon we went to the convention center to see all of the exhibits. Quite nice for a state show but nothing compared to FDIC in Indy as I show in one of my previous post.

Saturday afternoon we went to Broadway At The Beach.

You can't go to Broadway without feeding the foosh, as Tucker calls them, and the baby ducks.

Me, acting up in one of the shops trying to embarrass Mollie, which isn't hard to do.

This is getting long so I'll continue in another post later......

Happy Birthday, Tucker

2008-07-13T15:01:00.008-04:00

Tucker will turn 2 on Monday but we celebrated yesterday with some cake and ice cream. It seems like yesterday when he was in the NICU with tubes going in and coming out every where on his body. It was all I could do just to go in there and see him. I can't imagine how Jessi and Johnathan felt. The first time I went in and saw him, I had to leave and go be by myself with God for a while to talk it out. I offered myself to take his place but he wouldn't let me. I had a really hard time there for a while. Now he's a big boy that loves his Godaddy (he can't quite get Grandaddy out yet so it comes out Godaddy). Here's a few pictures of before and after.

Then

Now

One of the most precious gifts God gives us is time as evidenced in the above Then and Now pictures.

Happy Birthday Tucker.

4th of July

2008-07-07T09:51:00.014-04:00

Well, The 4th of July has come and gone and it'll be Christmas before you know it. Seems that the older I get, the faster time goes by. We went to my sister and brother-in-law's place on Lake Greenwood for the 4th. We had BBQ and grilled dogs with all the trimmings and, as usual, I ate toooooooo much. All of my siblings were there which always makes for a good time. We were missing Bee Jay and Jennifer with Zach and Zaley, Josh and Leigh, and Johnathan who had to work.

Mel and I took the boys to Academy Sports Thursday night to pick out fishing gear for Friday's trip to the lake. Tucker picked out a Batman rod and reel and Noah picked out a, you guessed it, Star Wars rod and reel with the matching Star Wars tackle box. The handle on his rod looked like a light sabre. Of course, Tucker's fishing pole had a little rubber fish on the end of the line and he reeled it in a time or two and then lost interest in fishing. Noah, on the other hand, had a real hook and a rubber worm with a cork so he could catch a real fish. After a little practice, he got to where he was casting pretty good, throwing it out 15 or 20 feet. He didn't catch any fish cause he couldn't leave it out in the water long enough for a fish to even see it, much less bite it. He'd throw it out and reel it in, throw it out and reel it in, etc., etc. but he had a good time anyway.

After supper, some of us went for a boat ride. Danny and Jane took Mollie, Jessi and Noah in their boat, which goes pretty fast. As a matter of fact, I think it only has two speeds, off and wide open

Mel , Tucker and I took the pontoon. Tucker looked pretty cool in his shades, don't you think?

We were going up the lake a piece to do some swimming but, as I mentioned, Danny's boat goes a lot faster than the pontoon so off they went and since I'm usually on the lake once a year and I'm not that familiar with it, we never found them. It probably worked for the best though cause the rocking of the pontoon put Tucker to sleep pretty quick so we just rode up the lake and back for about 30 - 45 minutes. He really NEEDED the nap.

The water was pretty rough because of all the boats and jet skis on the lake. The jet skis were running around all over the lake like musquitoes at a cookout. Of course, it's always like that on a holiday weekend at any lake. Tucker woke up when we got back to the dock and got in the water with me for a short time but he wasn't really thrilled with the swimming thing. He was a lot more content to sit on the boat and watch me swim. We got home around 10pm and people all around the house were shooting off a fortune in fireworks. They weren't the little cheap bottle rockets we used to shoot when I was a kid. They were the high dollar, professional looking, fireworks like you see at the end of a Greenville Drive game. There was a group in the Tucapau Baptist Church parking lot that was already shooting off their firewoks when we got home and they ended up around 10:30pm. Up the street in the parking lot of the Methodist Church there was a group of 10 or 12 carloads of people that were shooting their fireworks when we got home and they didn't quit until after midnight. I just can't imagine spending that much money on fireworks. It was driving my dogs slam crazy. Sam, the Dalmation, who normally can't hear it thunder because of a hearing loss due to mutiple ear infections, certainly could hear the fireworks. She almost tore up the baby gate to get into the den where we were. She's 11 years old and it seems that the older she gets the more she dislikes the fireworks.

All in all, we had a pretty good 4th of July holiday. Hope everyone reading this did too.

Next week is going to be great too. We're off to the beach on Wednesday for the annual South Carolina State Firemen's Association convention. Mollie, Jessi and the boys will be going with us. Noah loves the ocean and Tucker should be old enough this year to really enjoy it too. I'm really looking forward to a great time at the beach, not to mention all of the firetrucks and equipment that will be at the convention hall. I should have a multitude of pictures to post when we get back.

Later.......................................

The Hymnal For Baby Boomers

2008-07-01T16:52:00.003-04:00

Just a few selections out of The Hymnal For Baby Boomers. Some of you may be familiar with some of the songs.

1. "Just A Slower Walk With Thee"
2. "It Is Well With My Soul But My Knees Are Killing Me"
3. "Nobody Knows The Trouble I Have Seeing"
4. "Precious Lord, Take My Hand And Help Me Up"
5. "Count Your Many Birthdays, Count Them One By One"
6. "Go Tell It On The Mountain, But Speak Up"
7. "Blessed Insurance"
8. "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah Cause I Forgot Where I Parked My Truck"

These are only a few selections. I'm sure some of you know more.

Random pics.

2008-06-25T10:11:00.026-04:00

Since I haven't posted in a few days and there's not much going on right now at "The West House", I thought I'd post a few random pictures from my memory card.

Enjoying breakfast at Mimi and Grandaddy's house.

Have you ever seen anything so sweet?

Noah, following in Daddy's footsteps.
Uh Oh.........Wrecked while chasing the bad guy.

The guys enjoying an ice cream cone in the porch swing.

Noah was a chef in a skit about making stone soup at his school's graduation program.

Tucker climbed up in the hammock and in about 15 seconds he was gone.

How precious are these pictures?

Hope you enjoyed the pictures. Maybe something interesting will happen at "The West House" soon so I'll have something to post about.

Later.......................................

Eagles and Turkeys

2008-06-17T15:06:00.005-04:00

You've heard the old saying "It's hard to soar with eagles when you work with a bunch of turkeys.", right? Well it's true. Another saying I've learned recently is "You can't send a duck to eagle school.", also very true. Why is it that all warehouse atmospheres breed turkeys?

It seems that my frail attempts to witness fall on deaf ears but then I remember that it may not be my job to reap, but only to sow. One thing I've found that keeps me sane and not diving into the firey pits of hell is to go to http://www.youtube.com/ and search on different southern gospel artist. I don my headphones and listen to song after song, minimized in another window. One of my favorites is "Hear My Song, Lord" by the Gaithers, which was featured on their Hiwaiian video. All the while I'm typing away on the keyboard in an open window, fixing a mutitude of problems for the day.

So, while all of the turkeys are scurrying about the warehouse, in and out of my office, shouting their obsenities, I'm sitting there having church at my desk leaving them wondering why I have a grin on my face.

My New Song

2008-05-19T09:00:00.007-04:00

In my previous post I talk about the songwriting talents of Dottie Rambo. While I don't claim to have any songwriting talents of my own, I have just written a short chorus. It's sung to the tune of a song found in the Methodist Hymnal, "The Lord of the Dance" (chorus only). Any good Methodist knows the song I'm talking about. You're already humming it in your mind. For the rest of you guys, visit a Methodist Church and look in the index of the hymnal. I'll be typing in all CAPS to emphasize the significance of the message contained therein. I call it "Ode To Growing Old".

Here goes:

PAIN, PAIN, IN EVERY JOINT THERE'S PAIN.

WHEN YOU GET OLD, YOU WILL HAVE JOINT PAIN.

IN THE KNEES AND THE HIPS, AND IN THE SHOULDERS TOO,

AND THE BAD THING IS, THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO.

Who knows? This could be the start of a new career for me. I could be famous one day and you all can say "I knew him when...........". What do you think? Come on, give me some feedback. I can take it!

Another Ledgend Gone

2008-05-13T16:03:00.005-04:00

Melba just called and said she read in the paper that Dottie Rambo had died this past Sunday in a one vehicle accident involving her tour bus. This may seem strange to some of the younger folks but it feels like I just heard about the death of a family member. No, I didn't know her personally but it feels that way just the same.

Some of the generation behind me may not even know who Dottie Rambo was. Most of them listen to Contemporary Christian artist like Third Day, Jars Of Clay, and a host of others. Not my cup of tea. Dottie was Southern Gospel all the way. We sang a lot of her songs waaaaaaaaaay back when I was a teenager in the Youth Choir at church. One that sticks out immediately in my mind is "Sheltered In The Arms Of God". I think this was the first duet I ever did in front of people. Cindy sang the first verse, I sang the second and we both did the chorus. The younger generation probably sing some of her songs and don't even know it. She had over 2500 copyrited songs that she had written. Can you imagine that, 2500 songs, that's phenominal.

It really makes me feel old when I think of the Southern Gospel legends that I idolized in my teens, and even more recently, that are no longer with us. I grieved for a week when George Yonce died. He was my hero. Every one of the Happy Goodmans are gone. Rusty Goodman was my hero in the 70's. Glen Payne, gone. Kenny Hinson, gone. Rex Nelon, gone. Johnny Cook, gone. Brock Speer, gone. Jake Hess, gone. James Blackwood (not one of most favorites but a ledgend just the same), gone. J.D. Sumner, gone. The list goes on and on.

This probably makes no sense at all to anyone who might read this but it helps me deal with it when I write it down.

Take me out to the ballgame

2008-05-10T20:40:00.011-04:00

Friday night was "Take me out to the ballgame" for The West House. A bunch of people from our church got together and ordered tickets to a Greenville Drive game, as we do every Spring. I'm ashamed to say this is the only time I go to a Drive game. I don't know why because it's good, fun entertainment that is reasonably priced. Yeah, sure, there is beer sold and people all around are drinking it but I've never seen anyone drinking to excess and acting stupid.

We took Noah to the game again this year and when we got in sight of the lights at the field he started singing "Take me out to the ball game. Take me out to........" and from there God only knows what he was singing. Melba and I started singing it using the correct words and he said "That's okay. I like my words better." What are you supposed to say to that??? So we let him sing it and we listened politely.

This is him entering the ballpark.

No, I don't know who that is he's following, but he was ready to get in to see the game.

Here are a few more pictures of him enjoying the game.

I know I'm not, nor have I ever claimed to be, the sharpest knife in the drawer (shut up, Jessi !) but on the couple of times I've been to a Drive game I still haven't figured out the mascot. How in the world do you associate the Greenville Drive with a frog? Anyone care to enlighten me on that one?

The only thing I can come up with is that I've run over a few frogs when I was driving. HA HA, Get it? Oh well.

After the game, there was a fireworks display that any Fourth of July celebration would be proud to claim as it's own. You could probably buy a brand new Yugo for what they spent on fireworks. I tried to get pictures but you know how cameras set on the night setting don't work real well on moving objects but here's the result of my attempt.

Here's a picture of Noah and his "She's not my girlfriend, she's just a friend", Lexi, just as the fireworks ended and we were getting ready to leave. She's cuter than a speckled pup under a red wagon.

After the fireworks ended, we started out.

And Noah decides he wants a doughnut. He wants to go to that place, "You know, that's far away and they have machines that take the doughnuts and they go this-a-way and they go under this, you know, icing thingy, and then they keep on going and then they're doughnuts, You know, Grandaddy, Mama said it's beside this place where they have bars on the windows and they have these gate things, Mama said it was a jail and all the bad guys were in there." I knew exactly where he was talking about. My favorite place, KrispyKreme. And....... after he put that thought in my head, I knew I'd never make it to the one beside the jail in Spartanburg but I knew where there was one a lot closer. So.......... off to Pleasantburg Drive we went. When we pulled in the parking lot he said" Yeah, this is the place." and he couldn't wait to get out of his seatbelt. I beat him out of the Jeep and he hollered "WAIT, GRANDADDY. WAIT ON ME!!!!" which I did. When we walked in the door he said "See Grandaddy. I told you. They have machines." like I didn't already know that. I believe I could lay down under that icing spigot and drink myself sick. I forgot to take the camera in to get pictures of him tearing up that chocolate covered doughnut with sprinkles, dadgummit. Those would have been some good pictures, but I couldn't have taken them anyway cause both of my hands were full of doughnuts too. I love that place!

A true hero and an AWESOME dad

2008-05-02T08:59:00.002-04:00

If you don't want to cry at work wait till you get home to watch this one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4B-r8KJhlE

Two times in a week

2008-04-19T09:07:00.000-04:00

Twice in the same week, can you beleive it?? Last night Tucker spent the night with his Mema in Gastonia at Aunt Boo's house so it was just Noah with us. We took him to downtown Greenville to see what was going on there. They had several of those blow up jumpy things set up for the kids to play on. Of course nothing is free in this day and time, which was okay since the money was going to save the dogs or free the whales or something like that. Since we are animal lovers and grandparents will do whatever it takes for their grandkids, we bought tickets for him to play. He had a great time.

There were a lot of people there, as is usually the case in downtown Greenville on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

The Clemson University Jazz Ensemble was set up outside the Hyatt and put on a great performance. Noah really enjoyed the music. When they took a break we walked down the street to window shop. Mass General Store was open so in we went. Did I say grandparents are such suckers? Here's the results of that visit.

On the way back up the street we had to stop at The Marble Slab for a horn of cream. Who can walk by that store without stopping? Instead of eating the icecream at the store, Noah wanted to walk back up the street to see if the band was playing again, so we did, and they were. We stayed until their last session was finished and headed out. After a stop at the Texas Road House in Taylors for a late supper (for all of you city folk, that's southern for dinner). Noah got the chicken fingers, as usual, but they were kind of spicy and he said they made his mouth hot. Then it was on to Mimi and Grandaddy's house to bed. We had a good evening.

Much needed update

2008-04-18T13:10:00.000-04:00

I've been instructed, on several occations by several people, to update my blog. What they don't realize is that there is nothing interesting going on at The West House. We are, however, hosting a couple of guys this week which has made for some fun times. Jessi and Johnathan have taken a few days of vacation time (Tuesday thru Saturday) to get some much needed alone time. Every couple needs to do this at least once a year, even if it's just a weekend. We have been entertaining the boys. Let me interject here that there is a reason God gives children to young people. Not that they have been naughty or anything, au contraire, but we have gotten out of the habit a long time ago of having to keep kids that young entertained for that long. Needless to say Mimi and Grandaddy have slept good the last few nights. I think we were more worn out every evening than they were, by far. Once we got used to it again, it wouldn't bother us at all to have them with us all the time. Some of the things they come up with would make it worth all of the tiredness.

Another Interesting thing that I did last week was to take a "guy trip" with the officers of the fire dept. We all went to Indianapolis, IN for FDIC.

That's "Fire Deparetment Instructers Conference" for those that aren't involved in the fire service. It's held in the RCA Dome and Convention Center which is HUGE. Some of you Band-Nerds (Ha Ha) who've been to Grand Nationals know what I mean. Here's what the field should really be used for. To show off a bunch of fire trucks.

We also got to see a celebrity up close and personal. Anybody recognize this fellow?

They even had fire trucks for the fire department that doesn't know if they're coming or going.

You can't go to Indianapolis without going to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In years past when we were there the teams would be on the track practicing for the Indy 500 which is held on Memorial Day. This time they weren't so we got to take a lap on the track in a tour van. We were hoping to get a glimpse of Danica Patrick but she must have been somewhere doing promotions for Sports Illustrated since she made the swimsuit edition. Anyway, here's a picture of the start/finish line for all of you race fans.

Just imagine, in the early years of the track, the entire track was paved with these bricks. That's where the track nickname "The Brickyard" comes from. That must have been a bumpy ride at the high speeds they travel. Although I'm sure back then the speeds weren't near as fast as they go now. The year we were up there and was able to see them practice, they were making a 2.5 mile lap in just under 45 seconds. I think if my math is right, that calculates to around 230 miles per hour. That's fast!! Anyway, this 2 ft section of bricks is all that remains of the "Brickyard". Just a little trivia.

I think that's just about enough updating for now, how about you??

Later.

Writers Block

2008-03-25T17:15:00.000-04:00

I look at some of the younger generation's blogs and see their hit counters are way up in the thousands. Then I notice mine showing a little over 300, most of which are me checking to see if any comments have been added.

People say they don't look at my blog very often cause I don't post every day. Well, I guess I'm either too old for this stuff or my life is just so boring that I don't have anything to update every day. Probably a little of both.

I told Jessi and Mollie Sunday that I don't possess the "gift of gab" and that when I post I like it to be more like,,,,, story telling, I guess. And...........I have to be inspired to do that. I guess right now I have writers block but it'll turn loose one of these days. Maybe!!!

You're gonna miss this

2008-02-25T17:14:00.000-05:00

Browsing a few blogs in my spare time, like Jessi's Three Men and a Mommy and Kelly's Kelly's Krazy Kids along with some of their friend's blogs, I can't help but be amused by the antics of their little ones. It brings back memories of when Josh and Jessi were small and some of the things they did that really drove Melba and me crazy to the point that we needed get away time. I laugh at Jessi quite often and remind her that it's nothing more than payback but it also brings to mind a song playing the country music stations now. It's by Trace Atkins and describes several instances in a young girl's life that has her dad telling her to slow down and enjoy the moment because one day she's "gonna miss this".

So......my advise to all of these young people is to heed Trace's advise to slow down and enjoy the moment cause one day you're gonna miss all of the trials you're going through now. Not just with the kids but ALL of the trials and tribulations you think are insurmountable now. Years down the road you'll realize that they're what make you what you become.

Mortality Rate is 100%

2008-01-30T10:44:00.000-05:00

If the title of this post was a headline in the morning newspaper it would catch everyone's attention right away, but it's actually true. The Bible says that there is an appointed time for every person to die. In other words, no one gets out alive. Therefore, 100% mortality, period. Although every person knows this, it's still not easy to let go of loved ones whose appointed time has come.

Melba, Jessi, and I visited Kate Towery (Ma to me) and her family Monday evening at The Hospice House. She was resting comfortably but aroused from time to time to speak to us. It was hard for me to see her this way even though I was only an adopted son for a while. I can imagine how hard it is for Dewey, Ron, Cindy, Vickie, and all of the grandkids as well as her sisters and their families. Ma knows her going home time is near and she's ready to go and they know that she's ready because she tells them so. That gives some comfort to the family, I'm sure, but it's still got to be hard to let go even though you know she'll be going to a better place.

I lost my Mama when I was 13 but it's hard for me to remember now how I felt then. I know I still miss her every day, 39 years later. But..... the Bible also says that all things work together for good to them that love the Lord. I guess that's true because I don't think I would have ever become involved in the youth group at church if Mama hadn't died. You see, I was a mama's boy, big time. After she died I had some good friends like Ronnie, Cindy, Cindy, Terre, and Carol to mention a few, that got me involved. We would all pile up in Terre's car and go to the truckstop and eat frenchfries and drink coffee on Sunday afternoons before youthchoir practice and UMYF. That started lifelong friendships that can never be severed. We may not get together anymore but they're lifelong friends just the same. Had it not been for this, Ronnie and I would probably have never became the brothers that we were.

Most people would say Kate is at The Hospice House on her death bed but I choose to believe instead that she is there on her life bed because her life is just beginning now. And........ as Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."

Global Warming

2008-01-18T11:13:00.000-05:00

There must be something to this global warming thing. I can remember when I was a kid growing up in Startex that we would have at least two, some years more, good snows. I mean GOOD SNOWS that would be 6 inchs or more and stay on the ground for days. The snow flakes would look like sheets of kleenex falling. We'd be out of school several days each time it snowed. Back then there were a lot of kids on the "mill hill" that were my age give or take a year or two. We'd all meet up at the school with our sleds or saucers and go sledding down the hill beside the gym. A lot of times we'd go on down to Danny and Keith Dobbins' house and either sled or slide on a saucer or cookie sheet, (Mama really liked that), down the steep hill beside their house. They also found a hood off of a 1940 Ford out in the woods beside their house that we used to slide on. We could load up 8 or 10 kids on that thing and fly down that hill. A couple of problems with that was getting it back up the hill once you got to the bottom and you couldn't steer that thing. We wound up in the creek on more than one occasion. Sometimes we'd move on down to Main St in front of the Post Office and sled down across the old bridge. You could go so fast that you had to bail out before you hit the wall on the other side of the river. The last really good snow we got was in January of 1988 when it snowed 13 inches and was on the ground a couple of weeks. We were living the rock house on Spartanburg Rd in Duncan near the "Dan Bridges Bridge". We coulod start up on top of the bridge and sled all the way down to the railroad trussel next to Lyman. The snows we get now are more ice than snow and aren't really any good for sledding. Most of the time it's only about an inch and it's gone by the next afternoon.

Today's kids are really missing out on the good times we had before "Global Warming".

An update from the West's house

2008-01-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything and I really don't have time now but what the heck!! Since my last post we've been through the Christmas holiday, Jessi's birthday, and the new year.

Take a break for a minute or two. Go get a glass of water and make a bathroom stop. I just got an email at work I have to deal with. Be back shortly.

Okay, Im back until the next email.

I always look forward to spending time with family at Christmas but I don't care much for Christmas as a whole. It has become so commercialized that it's hardly recognizable any more. It puts so many people, including me, in a finacial bind. You feel obligated to purchase gifts that you can't afford to give to people that would probably be just as happy to have a visit and a card as they would a gift but you still feel obligated just the same. That's sad. I do enjoy the get togethers with family though. It seems that we don't do that enough. When my Gresham cousins, my siblings and I were younger we would always go to my Uncle T.B.'s house on Christmas eve to eat, exchange gifts and gather around ye ole piano to sing Christmas carols. Other than waking up Christmas morning, that was my most favorite thing to do at Christmans. When all of the cousins got older and started families of their own, that tradition just kind of dwindled for a while. We revived that tradition a few years back and it's almost like old times except that there is only one of the original generation left. That's my Aunt Plennie Gresham. She's in her 80's and still gets around like a woman half her age. When we started back getting together there were three of that generation left, Aunt Plennie, Aunt Clevia and my daddy but two of them have since gone on to a better place. We have a few cousins that have moved way off and don't get to attend every year but it's good when they do come. I also enjoy the Christmas eve service at church. I always come away blessed from that service.

Next comes Jessi's birthday. She came into the world just 4 days after Christmas, just in time for a tax deduction. We always tried to make her birthday special since it was so close to Christmas. We may not have succeeded every year, especially in the leaner years, but we tried. Josh came along in February and she always hated it when, due to lack of funds, we would have to combine their birthday parties sometime in January. It was a lot cheaper to rent the skating rink once for both parties instead of twice. You do what you have to do to come up with suitable results. This year, for her 26th special day, we went to Capri's in Greer for a meal with all of my family and this weekend we're going to meet Melba's family in Gaffney for another meal. We eat too much but the fellowship is good. This one she'll share with Lauren, her cousin from Gastonia.

Be back in a minute. Another urgent email!!

I'm back !!

Now on to New Year's Day. That's Melba and my anniversery. 32 years and counting this year. I can't remember when I wasn't married. We don't celebrate this occation much anymore. The money has usually run out by the time we get to our day. We did have three of our four kids (we consider the in-laws our kids too) and the two grandkids over for supper Tuesday evening. Johnathan had to work and wasn't able to be there. The only thing is I had to do the cooking, what's wrong with that picture?????

Another good man gone

2007-12-07T11:28:00.000-05:00

I lost another friend this week, Joe Weaver, who most everybody that would be reading this blog wouldn't know. He was from Columbia, SC and was my brother's partner in the fire apparatus business. Joe was a unique individual to say the least. He was one of only a few people that I've met in my life that always had a positive attitude. When they would have a deal that they had spent hundreds of manhours working on and thought they had in the bag only to find out the fire department chose to go with another company he would just say "Oh well, we'll get the next one". When one of the suppliers would cheat them out of a bunch of money and my brother would blow up, he'd just say "Aw Papa, It'll be alright.". I did some driving for them delivering new fire trucks and showing demo trucks of all kinds to fire departments all over the southeast so I made a few long trips with Joe, just the two of us. It didn't take long after meeting him to figure out that Joe was a honorable, passonate man. You could tell right away that he was a Christian, a family man ( his daughter called him at least three or four times a day) and a die hard republican. He never thought twice about sending an email to George Bush giving him his opinion on world events and how they should be handled. He had views on the war in Iraq, how to control the southern borders, the stock exchange and just about any other world event taking place at the time. He once told me on one of our trips that if Bush didn't start listening to him he was going to quit sending him money. That's right, he was a faithful financial supporter of the republican party. If you rode in his vehicle, you listened to talk radio, no exception. He knew what stations to dial into whatever area of the country he was in and he would talk back to the commentator like he could hear him. his opinions weren't spur of the moment, they were well researched and thought out. He read all the time, like on our overnight trips, he would actually pick up the USA Today laying in the floor outside of his room and read it. I usually just stepped over mine as I stumbled my way down to breakfast. The only negative thing I can say about Joe is that his conception of time was NIL. If he told you he'd be somewhere at a certain time you could never count on that. He'd get busy looking over some department's specs and loose track of time. He was a closer friend of my brother than of me but he always asked about me cause if he found out I was under the weather or something he would call me to see how I was doing and to say he hoped I would feel better soon. Good friends are hard to come by.

Drinkin From My Saucer

2007-11-12T09:05:00.000-05:00

Let me start by saying I love to sing. Now, that being said, let me add by saying that I'm not crazy about singing solos, although I do from time to time. I'd rather carry the bass part in a quartet, preferably singing southern gospel music. I did sing a solo last Sunday and I think I did an okay job on it. Several people said they were blessed by it. You can tell when people compliment a performance if they really did enjoy it or are just being nice.

I'm not a songwriter and have never claimed to be but if I were to write my testimony in song form it would have been the song I sang last week. The song was titled "I'm Drinking From My Saucer" The lyrics go something like this:

I've never made a fortune
It's probably too late now
But I don't worry 'bout that much
Cause I'm happy anyhow
I'm drinkin from my saucer
cause my cup has overflowed

I ain't got a lot of riches
sometimes the going's tough
But I've got a friend in Jesus
And that makes me rich enough
I'm drinkin from my saucer
Cause my cup has overflowed

(Recitation)
Oh sure, I've been through some storms
Sometimes, well, my faith's been a little thin
But, one day, all at once, the dark clouds broke
And the sun just came shinnin in

(resume singing)
Lord, help me not to grumble, and complain
'bout the tough rows I've hoe'd
I'm drinkin from my saucer
Cause my cup has overflowed

And if I should go on livin
And the way gets steep and rough
May I never be too busy
To help another bear his load
And I'll keep drinkin from my saucer
Cause my cup has overflowed

(tag)
Yeah, I'll keep drinkin from my saucer, Lord
Cause my cup has overflowed

You'll never see my name on the sign in front of the Bi-lo Center, hear us singing on WSSL's "Sunday In The South" program on Sunday mornings, or see us on any of the Gaither videos but I sing with three of my most favorite people in the world, my son, my daughter, and my son-in-law. And, with my best friend, my wife, running the sound board, it makes me feel like I'm drinkin from my saucer cause my cup has overflowed.

Old Dogs Learning New Tricks

2007-11-02T16:48:00.000-04:00

I'm new to this blogging thing but I'm pretty persistant and will get the hang of it eventually. Shoot, before long I may even post a picture or two if Jessi let's me borrow my camera. All of you parents out there know exactly what I'm talking about. But.............when they bat them dadburn eyelashes and say"Diddy, Please do so and so, yada yada yada" what else can you do but give in?

Family reunions ain't what they used to be

2007-11-01T16:50:00.000-04:00

I attended the "receiving of friends" for one of my first cousins once removed (Daddy's first cousin) this past Sunday at the funeral home. I saw kin-folk that I haven't seen in more than five years (not sure how much more but more none the less). It was good to see them but bad to have kin-folk die in order to get together. Even if he is in a better place it's a poor excuse to get together. We used to have a family reunion every year on Mother's Day at the "old home place" where my Grandmother grew up in Jonesville. She had two old maid sisters that still lived there until they both got to where they couldn't stay by themselves. The oldest was over 100 years old when we stopped having the reunions. I can't remember the year but it must have been around the turn of the century. Imagine that, being able to say you've seen two turn of the centuries, WOW. Anyway, it's sad that in this modern world we live where you can go to anyplace in the country in the morning, conduct your business and be home for supper, that we allow our families to grow apart. I sure do miss the slow pace of the "good ole days" and family reunions