Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Say what?

Say what?  Are you kidding me?  Come on...stop pulling my leg.  Nonsense.  You don't really mean it?   Give me a break.  That's stretching it.  I've heard that before...a tall one...like the fish that got away?  Are you serious?  Your joshing.  What a wives' tell... certainly a tall one.   What in the world?  Too much to drink?  Are you sure?  Bull....!  Just kidding.  What have you been smoking?  Unreal...like smoke and mirrors. Well slap my face.  I wouldn't kid you. You're crazy!  A cock and bull story.  Say what?

P.S.  All sayings are from my white, Anglo-Saxon (Celtic), Protestant upbringing.  Are there any left out?

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Calm Before the Storm

Sitting still for very long was not one of my favorite things.  You had to be ahead of the pack at Granny Ewen's since there were many first cousins to contend.  This must be one of those pictures of the "the calm" before "the storm".




 It was taken at Granny Ewen's house when she and Grandad lived in Lexington, KY.  My can't wait to get going look is clearly present.  Just inside the front door was this large, comfortable chair with a pillow, and Granny Ewen's crochet underneath. [crochet = needlework consisting of the interlocking of looped stitches formed with a single thread and a hooked needle.]  She did a lot of this crochet, and I have a number of her hand sown pieces.  At any rate, my white shirt is neatly in place, along with my belt and suspenders.  An ash-tray stand is to my left, and a newspaper rack is full of the days information.  I would call it "the calm".

Moving on along the days adventures is the following picture taken pretty much in the same location.


You can see that Granny Ewen had stopped the day's proceedings.  My usual condition is shown, with a great big smile, shirt hanging out, and only one suspender still hanging.  She is holding down my first cousin's hands, and my brother is standing innocent looking to his left, with some sort of object held in his mouth.  I was holding high something that must have been the prize of the day since my cousin seems unhappy that I am holding it.  What else is waiting I must be thinking.  To the next prize of the day...no more calm before the next storm... I still have one suspender to go.

Monday, December 1, 2014

Sunday Morning(s)

Attending church was part of life in the 1950s.  Every Sunday for more than 9 years in a row, I presented myself in all the glory a 5 to 14 years old could manage.  It was expected.  Here are my brother and I on one of those Sunday mornings.

All smiles we show.  My brother in his bow tie, white pants, and spiffy jacket.  Me in my three button jacket with some type of symbol on the coat pocket.  [Already into "coat-of-arms" at this young age I was.]  Our 1949 Plymouth sedan can be seen to left which took us to that ancient, red brick, building first built in 1857.  This picture was around 1956, which meant that old church building had been standing almost 100 years.  Perhaps that was why I enjoyed exploring this edifice with beautiful stain-glass windows, large mahogany pews with brass numbers on the ends, and a distinctive smell that seemed to be always around very old buildings.  Yes sir, for me a wonderful time to explore...not only in the head, but also in the heart...these Sunday mornings.