History of bad driving!!!

You know, pondering the life of our courtship, I realized the first time I ran off the road was not with my daddy. It was with Wayne. We had gone down to Hebert, (my summer stomping grounds) to his dad's camp on the lake. It was late and I don't think we were supposed to be there!!! You decide. On our way back, Wayne was letting me drive his corvair, (I said corvair, not corvette). An economy 4 dr. 4on-on-the-floor, but hey, it had 4 wheels, which is all we cared about. Anyway, he was messing with me, nothing graphic, don't puke, but I'm just learning to drive, and it doesn't take much to set me off course!! Coming around a big curve, I didn't come around it too good. The incident took place just past my Uncle Ralph's house. He was really my 2nd cousin once removed, but was my daddy's age and was not allowed to address grown-ups by their first name, hence Uncle Ralph.

Well the story gets worse, when I went off the road, we were facing the opposite way tangled up with a barbed-wire fence. A man living across the road heard the commotion and ran over to help. I made the misstake of telling him my uncle lived at the next house. He went to get him to help us get out of this entanglement. He gladly came, but sadly left the scene after almost bleeding to death. Unknowing to Wayne, when they told him to "go", he went, but they also told him to" hold it". Wayne didn't hear that command. Maybe the radio was on or the car motor was rared up. My uncle's leg was caught in the wire and the car drug him, tearing up his leg at the knee, (the most vunerable part of the leg, wouldn't you know). Well we got the car out and went on our way after taking my uncle back to his house for his wife to nurse him.

We never said a word about this to any of our families. To this day, I don't know if my parents know. Knowing adults like I do now, (I am one, ha!) they probably know, but have never let on they know. I felt so bad, to have done this after all the help he gave. He passed on years later, hope it wasn't from blood poisoning or something! This is why I think we weren't supposed to be down there to begin with or else why wouldn't we have told someone. Because WE would be in trouble!!!!

Kids!!!!

Somethings never change!! It has a voice now! I'm SORRY Uncle Ralph!

Engaged--39 years ago!!!

I was about to enter my senior year in high school. He had just signed up with the Air Force. It was a troubled summer for him. He graduated from high school in May and moved out of his parents home with his best friend Tommy. Of course we thought we were really grown-up. I don't think they had the garage apt. a month before Tommy decided to go in the navy and Wayne decided to go in the Air Force. Paying bills was a little more than they had anticipated.

We didn't know when the service would call him for duty, so the next thing in order was to get engaged. I remember my parents were on vacation, and when they came back, Wayne asked my Daddy for my hand in marriage. It was really sweet but scary too. As it turned out, they called him for duty December 19. I saw him off at the bus station, then had to go participate with my school choir in a Christmas concert. I was miserable.

He was in basic training all thru the holidays. Christmas day, I couldn't stand it anymore, so I made a call to his barracks. His sergeant answered, I asked for Robert Wayne Fuller. They called him to the office to answer the phone and said " boy, where's that girl from?" Wayne said "Sir, Monroe, Louisiana, Sir" They said "with that accent, she had to be from the south!!" I asked him what they were doing for Christmas. He told me they were having a GI party. I started crying, assuming they had already corrupted my husband to be. He said "no, no, a GI party is where we scrub the floors." I think they have them do that to get their minds off of being away from home on the holidays. It saddened me to think that's how they spend Christmas Day. The last Christmas he gave me a Promise Ring. That was a new thing then. A promise to engagement of course.

I didn't see him again until 5 wks later, when he could leave the base. His parents and his younger brother and I came for the week-end. I stayed with my Uncle Roy and Aunt Edna and they stayed in a motel close to the base. Uncle Roy showed us around San Antonio, but all Wayne and I wanted was to be together

Those were the days!!!!

Well, that's all, just thought I'd give it a place to be.

Cabin Fever

I am BORED out of my mind!!! So, whoever reads this will sure to be bored too. I'm 3 1/2 weeks into this broken foot thingy. Not being able to drive is about to DRIVE me right up a wall. Just to check out the bargains at Big Lots would be a big outing for me. Are you getting the picture now?? Asking someone to drive me to the dr. or drop me off at Walmart, seems so imposing on others. I'm getting a feel for how Mike, my brother-in-law must feel. He has no car, and has no business driving anyway. He'd be as dangerous on the road as me driving with my left foot, maybe more. He has more accidents under his belt than I have fingers and toes. Seriously though, he walks everywhere he goes. He pays a fellow worker to pick him up for work and take him home. He should, the guy lives on the opposite end of town. He usually calls me for rides to the dr. and rides home from work when that guy is gone. I don't know what he's been doing for that, since I can't drive. It's so hot right now, I wonder if he's staying indoors. He lives in the apts. across the way from us. It's a good location, walking distance to almost anything you'd need. That's why I love this location, our kids growing up had access to anything without crossing a major street. Of course, now I know that one kid crossed a major street, by going underneath it in a drain culbert. (sp.?) He was very adventuresome who hung out with an even more adventuresome boy.

On top of this boredom, I'm going thru some diet changes that are very foreign for me. No sugar, breads, dairy or wheat. What's left you ask?? Fruits,vegetables, eggs, meats and nuts (no peanuts). I am a chocoholic 1st of all, 2nd, I love sweets- ice cream mostly and 3rd, I like breads- pizza, bread sticks and rolls. Guess what I'm acustomed to doing when I'm bored, lonely or depressed , (one equals the others)?? I grab my ole buddies sweets and have a lovefest. Not anymore. It's been especially hard, during this foot thing. I grab nuts and fruit. I am seeing results from doing this though. I love my sweet tea. Now I sweeten my tea with Stevia. It's a natural thing and it's ok. I cheated and had some SWEET TEA today, boy, was it sweet!!! I also cheated last night and treated my poor bored, lonely, depressed self to a BLUE BELL homemade vanilla ice cream cone. It's been almost 2 weeks on this new diet change, and I thought I deserved it, by golly!!

Now, you see how bored I am. I'm rambling on and on. I'll stop now.

Stupid Strikes Again

Before you say anything- I have already and am still going thru a horrific time about this. As you probably know by now, I broke my foot last week. I had gotten very comfortable driving with my left foot. Not driving more than I had to and definitely not on the highway. I am very situated in the truck so as to have my booted right foot well out of the way on the "hump", with the seat pulled up and my body turned "just so" so my left foot had the reach it needed. I had just pulled in the driveway and put my foot on the brake. It happened so fast, I'm assuming my foot slipped and hit the gas. My natural instinct was to reach for the brake with my right foot which just pushed my left foot again on the gas. As you can see in the pictures the house stopped my truck.

..:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O />

The scary thing is- I was just saying to myself that I had this all worked out and it would be fine driving with my left foot. People do this out of necessity and this was a necessity. Then this happened just moments after I was thinking this. The thing I did not count on is the natural instinct to use the right foot in the case of emergency. As long as things are going fine, it's ok; but when you need to react quickly, the instinct is to do it with the right. So please, please tell anyone you know, not to think it's ok to drive like this, for any reason. You never know when you'll have to act quick, and believe me- you will never be prepared!!!

A number of things could have happened to make this situation worse.

1. Wayne was on the porch getting ready to take the truck to look at a job, could have already been right there.

2. If Matthew had woke up 20 minutes earlier, he would have been sitting there drinking coffee and smoking

3. Maya could have easily been playing in the drive or yard

4. Last but certainly not least-this could have happened in traffic

Needless to say, I learned my lesson. As inconvenient as it's going to be, I will NOT be driving for 4-6 wks. I keep having bouts of " out of the blue" crying in response to the visions of what could have been. Feeling so-o-o remorseful and ashamed. I could not have lived with myself if I had hurt or killed someone.

I'm trying to look at this as a blessing to have learned this without anyone getting hurt. I'm a little sore in the shoulders, arms and ribs, but nothing my chiropractor can't help me with.

Wayne has been a dear, just like our daddy. So calm, collected and comforting. He's held me and not complained one bit. God has raised him to the occasion health wise.

Perhaps Mary Ann will do the honors of posting the pics of my truck attached to my house.

Moral of this blog: Don't try this at home, it brings nothing but heartache!

Well Ain’t that special???

Gearing up to pat myself on the back, and then I hear "snap"!!!

Sure hope that was a twig I stepped on. One look back told me--no such luck. So how could this be??? This changes everything!!!

A friend of a friend needed to find a good home for her dog she could no longer keep. Knowing a family who was looking for a dog, I emailed my friend and set it up to pick up the dog and deliver it to it's new owners. One problem....I have to pick the dog up at 6:30 and the family can't pick it up from me until 8:30. No problem..just more pats on the back for me.

So as not to upset my dogs or cats, I opt to keep the dog in the front yard on a leash until the new owners could arrive. Good idea...could-of, would-of, should-of! Since he'd been in the kennel all day after being nuetered, I decide he'd enjoy a little walk, after offering him water and food. Well he did... me?? not so much! He dragged me over over the place. I was ok with that, although it wore me out. He finally settled down. Yeah, right!!

For no apparent reason, he bolted, throwing me off balance, causing me to mis-step on our uneven sidewalk, turning my foot sideways. (which is where I was at the beginning of this story)

I'm on the ground crawling to catch the leash that left my hand, afraid to stand up on my foot. Finally grabbing the leash, I pulled myself to my feet for a test walk.... Yep! it hurts, but I can walk on the side of the foot, which comes in handy, since the dog got away again. This time going down the street, with me hobbling along 25 feet behind him calling his name. Hmmff.. he doesn't know me or the neighborhood, he's not listening.... I'm almost in tears, hoping ONE of my neighbors will see this spectacle going on and assist me. No one!!! It's 8 p.m. and all our neighbors are older than us and have shut the doors for the night. 3 houses down I catch up to him and I'm able to grab the leash. That's good..right??? Wrong.... He's dragging me now much faster than my hurt foot can take.... NOW I AM crying!!!

Put his ass in the kennel!!!!!! Yes sirree!! Mosquitos are already sensing I don't have bug spray on EVERY part of my body and are munching away at whatever is available. Mary Ann comes up about that time, puts the dog in the foyer where Bear used to stay, and we escape from the vampires flying all around us like vultures.

The family came for the dog about 9 p.m. All's well that ends well. Except for the foot part.

Elevated and iced the foot all night and went to clinic the next morning, then the foot dr. the NEXT morning. Yep, it's broke....Soft cast and big ugly boot for the next 4-6 weeks. At least I can hobble on the heel of this monster boot, keeping the crutches far, far away.

Just not in the mood now to pat myself on the back. I feel more like kicking myself in the ......... Mary Ann took a pic of me wheeling myself around on the computer chair. It wasn't that cooperative but it beat walking on the side of my foot. (that was the first day, before the boot) Maybe I can get her to add the pic to this blog.

Is there a moral to this story??

Gotcha Birthday Boy!!!

Last weekend was People Suck's BD weekend. All the family was here to celebrate His Day--a day early. We managed to surprise him with a new recliner. He has spent so much time in the recliner, it has gotten pretty dog-gone worn.

I spent the whole week before going to different furniture stores- sitting in all the recliners I thought were worthy of his body. I finally came to decision Saturday, but had to take the one on the floor since the warehouse had none and would not have any for 2 wks. They loaded it in my truck and off I went, almost dumping it b/c it got to rocking and picking up speed with the wind. Matthew met me in the driveway and we were able to get it in the house in a room he never goes in, while he was still sleeping.

Sunday evening we got together for Gattis pizza and some Marble Slab ice cream cake. Afterwards, he was outside chatting with Rick, Matthew and Mary Ann (her job was to keep him out) Good Job Mary Ann!!!!! Mark, Lisa, Ashleigh and I were busy inside switching out the recliners.

When he was finally released to come back in the house, he walked right in eyeing a small gift bag in the new recliner. Even picking it up to sit in the NEW recliner, he did not realize until he placed his arms on the huge overstuffed chair arms. FYI--he also had his eyes on the kiddos. Then the big smile appeared. It was a good Birthday. I'm glad we were able to pull it off. It's so much fun surprising people you love. I will say, I did not get much done that week, even forgetting to do a couple of things he wanted me to do. It was hard coming up with excuses for getting little done.

What prompted this blog was watching him tonight relaxing in it for the first time since he's had it. He worked Monday - Thursday night and then Friday night we were traveling to Monroe, getting back tonight with just enough time to relax and channel surf. He deserves some down time in it.

Our trips to Monroe are always planned with Catfish Junction in Broddus, TX in mind. It's all you can eat buffet with homecooked veggies, gumbo, sausage and fish of course and so much more. Of course I go for the banana pudding. It's a great place, they also have jamborees every weekend. We need to go for that sometime. We go this way to avoid the highsway 59 ratrace traffic. It's good highways and beautiful scenery.

This weekend was really tiring for him. We rented a compact car for the trip. It was cheaper than buying gas for our truck. When you're used to riding in a big truck, riding in a compact car is like riding a go-cart among all the big cars, trucks and 18 wheelers. Anyhoo, it saved wear and tear on our truck and was worth it in gas, especially since we took the scenic route to the family reunion, Saturday. That reminds me, we passed thru the hunting grounds Wayne used to deer hunt. Coming back thru later that afternoon, we took a chance on stopping by his cousin Bonnie's house. We had a great visit with her and Houston. Leaving her house, we went to the cemetery his great grandfather was buried. Found his grave marker AND his great GREAT grandfather's marker and possibly a great great uncle's also. This ended a good day. Needless to say, Wayne was pooped. I tried to hook up with Stacey, but I guess her social calendar had her elsewhere. Try you next time Stacey.

Today we had my mom's famous hamburgers. Just for Wayne, she cooked up some of his favorite veggies. They have not seen him since November and was so glad to see him, though they have talked with him via phone all thru this illness. Debby (my sister) and Ralph and my neice Jody and her two children joined us for lunch. It was a splendid visit back home, I MUST do it more often. DOWN GAS PRICES, DOWN!!!

3 Generations of Fathers

I am witnessing 3 generations of fathers. They are all wonderful, but in their own way.

The first one of course, being My Father. His generation was usually the provider for the family. And so, that's what they were good at. They are also known as the Greatest Generation. My dad was a good example of honest hard work, integrity and love. He was also the head honcho in discipline. If he had to step in to discipline, I must have done something really bad. I remember kissing Wayne good-bye on the carport one Sunday afternoon.(when we were dating) We were right there in view of Daddy's recliner. Maybe it was one of those wet kisses, I don't remember, but he flew out of that chair and followed me to my bedroom(as I had to get ready for evening church). He gave me a piece of his mind and would have given me a piece of his belt if my mom had not stepped in to save the day(I got smart with him, which is the only time I can remember doing that). Whew! I must have looked like some kind of slut in his eyes, kissing in broad daylight for the neighbors to see(IF they happen to be looking out their windows at that very moment). I can't remember if I apologized for being disrespectful. Think I'll do that today, b/c you see, I am still lucky enough to have my daddy. I remember my daddy working graveyard all week(11p.m.-7a.m.). And on the Saturday morning after, he called for me to come to his bedroom. He just wanted to hug me, b/c he hadn't seen me all week. Man!! WHAT a FEELING. I'm 56 yrs. old and that still affects me. The mother never went anywhere alone, or at least that's the way I remember it, but I do remember going to my grandmother's with just me and Daddy. He even let me drive there, and patiently drove his truck out of the ditch I had run into. Then put me back in the driver's seat and said go. I remember going fishing with him in a swampy looking creek and eating watermelon til I was about to pop. I was not a bed-wetter, but I was that night. Never eat alot of watermelon before bedtime.(especially if there's no indoor plumbing, if you know what I mean). But mom's never retreated for a weekend or went out for the evening. How did they do it?? Then the next generation of fathers came along, which brings me to the 2nd set:

The second one is My husband. Now they still have the mindset of providing for the family b/c it had been modeled to them. I wanted to stay home with my children, just felt that was right for me. He was agreeable with that. Even though I cleaned houses parttime, he still worked on the side-building stuff or doing plumbing. But he never missed a ballgame of his children if he could help it. Whether he had to trade shifts or work overtime to make up for it, he was always there. This generation let the moms discipline as they didn't want to spend what time they had being "mean". This father can sit and visit with his children and talk just about anything. He says "nothing can surprise him" hmmmmm? This is the baby boom generation who also became known as the hippy generation, although this father is the complete opposite. He has a good work ethic and shows up for work sometimes an hour early, (in case he had a flat). At work, there are no excuses. He learned that from the previous fathers. This father would keep the kids for a weekend, so that mommy dearest could retreat for awhile. Or for a night, for me to go to a movie. He kept our 3 month old baby girl while I took the boys to the Houston Rodeo. I was still nursing at the time. We were the first generation to have the fathers in the delivery room, although it didn't start until our 3rd time around. That really made a difference in his involvement in caring for our infant. Which brings us to the third set:

The third is My sons. They have a much different role than the fathers before them. From day one of their children's lives, they have played an active role, a shared responsibility with the mothers. They are known as the X generation. I never have liked that. What does that mean, anyway??? It sounds so negative. These fathers are anything but negative. They share in baths, feedings, playtime, discipline and probably much more than I can think of now. Their children don't see a difference in whose caring for them at the moment, b/c both parents are active equally in their lives. This generation usually has both parents working, sometimes b/c they have to, sometimes b/c they want to. And that works these days b/c the fathers have stepped it up a few notches.

Just to say, they ALL have been a vital part in who we are. And I'm proud of all the fathers in my life.

Nuff said!