Tuesday, March 25, 2014

About Last Weekend...Part 1, "The Armed Invasion of the Chicken Snatchers"...



 I spent last weekend with Tami, Logan and Jacy in Centralia. For me to say it was fun would be an understatement. When Jacy, Logan and I are alone, we usually kick back and let the adventures find us. If  we are hungry...we eat. If we ever find ourselves bored we look for something to do hopefully, that 'something to do', will create a lasting memory. 

School was out at 12:45, since they had eaten lunch, all we needed was Sonic ice cream, grubby clothes and a good movie ( Frozen). We relaxed, talked and laughed until it was time to eat dinner. The decision had already been made to eat at Subway. The main topic of conversation was what to do after we ate. Unfortunately, I had a bad idea and suggested we stop by Dollar General for a minute to see if they had anything new we missed the last time we were there.

 My grandchildren have outgrown this store, since they do not play with toys anymore,  however we often find something ...almost necessary to purchase.  Jacy decided she needed a purple journal and pen set to go with her other 23 journals and pen sets.  I grabbed two boxes of cupcakes for breakfast; knowing those "Little Debbie's" would never make it past 10 p.m. No necessary reason for this...just seemed like a good idea at the time.

 Across the isles,  I hear toy machine guns going off at rapid fire speed. I had a feeling I knew where Logan might be found.  We make our way to the war zone and sure enough there was Logan armed and ready. He was holding a three foot machine gun in one hand and a small arsenal of hand guns in the other hand.   Grinning from ear to ear, he wanted to know if he could have any of these guns? Thirty years ago the answer would have been "absolutely", without any hesitation. Melodi, my youngest daughter, never left a store without a little gun or a hot wheels set of cars when we  shopped together. In fact, all my daughters were raised shooting real guns and blowing up junk. They were taught gun safety and are excellent shots. We wanted the girls to be able to protect themselves and to have fun with the sport.  However, our daughters were raised before the horrible school shootings began.

 I looked at Logan and thought to myself, 'how careful we have to be with children these days.' I told him he could not get the handguns because they looked real, however he could get the machine gun... if he promised not to take it to school. That statement baffled Logan. Immediately he wanted to know why on earth I would think he would take a machine gun to school??

My theory on this question is, 'Sometimes when a nine year old  boy wakes up at 6 a.m. he might have an idea that seems great to him then... but could cause him all sorts of trouble at school later that day.'  Personally, I remember having days like that when I was a little girl.

 So in the middle of Dollar General we have our first lesson on the Second Amendment. People were watching while Logan and I were debating the pros and cons of  'toy gun rights'.  I told him about little boys sent home for taking toy guns to school in their backpacks.  I also mentioned the little boy who  made a image of a gun with his thumb and index finger and was expelled. We decided on the large machine gun and left the store.

Next stop was Orschelin's to check out the baby ducks and chicks. Cute does not begin to describe a baby chicken or my grandchildren holding them.  It is possible this was my favorite hour of the day. No time for normal language, "Oooohs and Ahhhs" were the only dialogue we needed.
 

                                            
    

 
Watching "Frozen" again accompanied by outbursts from an AK47, we inhaled the best Little Debbie's ever. About half way through the movie, Logan begins to laugh. I look at him and his
'big machine gun' is now a small  machine gun since the butt of the gun comes off!!!  He looks at me grinning saying, "this is awesome!!! Thanks Nonnie"!!!  All I could say was, "OH CRAP"!!! and I meant it from the bottom of my very nervous heart!                           

Sunday, March 16, 2014

Happy Saint Patrick's Day...



If I were a dog, I would be a mutt of mixed origins without a pedigree or blood line to impress my owners.  This comparison closely resembles my genetics, my heritage. There is no pure blood line; nor is there one nationality I can completely call my own.  I am an American. I am a mixture of immigrants from across the ocean. My ancestors came from countries I have never seen and spoke languages I never learned. In spite of this fact, their blood runs through my veins; we are isolated, unknown strangers sharing DNA and a few names and dates written on snippets of ancient yellowed paper.

Monday March 17th is St. Patrick's Day and all the Irish will be celebrating with traditional food, drink, dance and stories of their heritage. I will be celebrating with them as well; however I will not have any stories of life in Ireland to share. My story is hidden in a line or two of a document found years ago in an old family Bible.

 Jane Anderson was born in Ireland and eventually moved with her family in 1833 to New York. It was there she met my future great, great, great grandfather, John Muscovalley. He was 23 years old and had been a sailor for several years. He was born and raised on an island named Mytilene, off the coast of Greece. Jane and John married setting out on an unknown adventure aboard a river boat bound for New Orleans. The young couple departed the boat at Columbus, Kentucky. They were farmers and the parents of eight children. This is all I know about them. My mother's side of the family originated from these people.

My father's family tree can be traced back to Evan Humphreys whose birth date ranged from 1645-1650.  He was born in Lampathy, England. Years later he married Jane Harris who was born on April 18,1679. They also immigrated to America, and settled in Brunswick County, Virginia. They were the parents of two sons, Robert and John. The boys grew up and eventually moved to North Carolina, where their written story ends.

Mama Pearl, my father's mother,  family tree goes back to George Jones who lived in Virginia in 1774. There are no other records or information.  The same can be said for my grandfather, Harry Poe. I have great stories of his immediate family but little information about his history.

I have always wondered about these people; my invisible family from so many lifetimes ago.  The stories intriguing to me are personal  as well as historical facts. Did they have a good sense of humor; were they tall or short, handsome or ordinary looking?  I wonder if there were any artists, writers, dreamers or teachers in this long line of unknown people;  which side of the family had the most 'black sheep' and why?  There are many unanswered questions concerning multitude's of people who were left out of the lineage. They faced many hardships and wars. Were they brave or cowards? Did they fight for the 'right' cause; or did they have no political persuasion at all?  Would I have liked them and would they have liked me? 

Each person had a story, choosing to not pass it on or write it down for future generations to read about; perhaps they could not read or write. Perhaps they thought no one would care about their lives. It is very possible they were working too hard, trying to stay alive to care what future generations would like to know.  I would  love to know their stories, especially little things concerning family traditions:  how they celebrated  birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas?  I would like to know about their faith; were they Christians or non believers and why?  I would like to know if they had a trade. I would like to know if they loved their children and were good parents...did they love each other or did they marry for necessity and convenience...were they happy?

Regardless of how little I know about my ancestors, tomorrow on St. Patrick's Day I will remember 'Miss Jane Anderson' of Ireland.  Tommy and I will eat the best Reuben sandwich at The Fulton Sub Shop. There is also a good chance that later tomorrow night we shall have a Miller Lite with a smidge of green food coloring and toast to relatives unknown. 

                                  Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!!

Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Cousins Share the Carter Gene for Talent...Misty Watts and T.K. Carter


                                                          The blog I am writing tonight is for Misty
Watts and Tami Carter. They are the new bright stars on the horizon. Both young women are creative, published authors and are in the process of  making a name for themselves in the writing community. The following  is a backdrop to where some of their talent originated. They were blessed with bright minds, flexible imaginations and good creative genes;  each woman, in her own way,  has felt the touch of magic as her thoughts and ideas created stories only she can see and write.

There is no end to the talent that abounds in the Carter family.  When Earl and Louise Carter married they each blessed their children with a double dose of creative genes in music, song and the written word; they also threw in a heaping  scoop of good looks and charm.

 Mimi, as my children called Mrs. Carter, liked to write. I looked forward to her letters when we lived in Arizona. She didn't write a letter...she wrote stories. I wish I had kept them. When Tommy was still living at home Mrs. Carter wrote a country song and sold it to a publisher in Tennessee.  I think she was paid $250 for the song however; without realizing it she signed away her publishing rights and never made any more money from the song. The years I knew Mr. Carter there was always a harmonica in his shirt pocket. Many a morning Tommy and I would wake up to the aroma of fresh coffee and music as Mr. Carter gave their dog, Sheba Lane,  her morning coffee and biscuit accompanied by a song. It was a good way to start the day.

Growing up their lives were not easy, or fair.  At times it was extremely hard to even think of a song, a note or a word in their home.  Sometimes music could not be heard in any one's mind... at other times music was all they had; however they made it. They survived and are blessed.

The Carter kids never had music lessons. They really didn't need them because everyone played by ear.  As the older kids grew up and were in their 20's Jane, Virginia, Jim and Jerry Carter formed a singing group called "The Sunshine Gang".  They played and sang Saturday mornings on WFUL radio station in Fulton, Kentucky. On weekend nights it wasn't unusual to find family and friends on the back porch playing music and singing.  We call that 'pickin' and a grinin'...and we  also call it fun.

 Tommy, Joe Pillow, Tim Schwartz and Larry Pittman formed a band in high school named "The Plus Four". I remember hearing  them play once at school.  The music was great but the microphones didn't work. I had forgotten that part of the story. Tommy reminded me a few minutes ago; in fact he is in the living room still muttering about that:) 

 Six years later,  Tommy played and sang in bands all over Atlanta, Georgia...the microphones usually worked.  We did this for four years after his discharge from the Marines. It was one of my favorite times in our life together.  We made many strange, funny memories,  took crazy chances and made a few mistakes. All in all, it was wonderful and we were very lucky to have lived through all the drama.  If our daughters had pulled some of the stunts we did...they would still be grounded.


People change and grow up. Now on Sunday mornings, churches all across Western Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi, Florida and Missouri are blessed with Carter voices in ministry and song at the church of their choice.

A new generation of Carter kids has  grown up; starting families, and choosing careersThey are nurses, business men and women, musicians, singers and published authors. As I stated before two of the authors are Misty Watts, daughter of Tommy's youngest sister, Joanie and her husband Dickie Cruce and our middle daughter Tami Carter.





The above photo of Misty was taken in January 2014,  at The Looking Glass bookstore in Martin, Tennessee. Misty co hosted the event  with Tami and Micah D. Gardner. At the time this photo was snapped  Misty had written three books. The series consisted of "Reap", "Harvest" and "Yield".  Since January she has written two other novels..."Earthborn" and "Willow's Grace". It would be hard for me to pick my favorite book however, right now I am leaning toward "Willow's Grace"...I hope Misty writes  a series of books on this story line. Her imagination has no boundaries.

                                                        
                                                           Misty, Tami and Micah...


 Last Saturday Tami had her first Missouri  book signing at Kincaid's in Centralia.  It was the first time I could attend one of her signings and I almost missed this one because of a misguided snow storm. The turnout was great; as always the people of Centralia were wonderful and supportive. 


So far Tami has written three books, two blogs and several short stories. The first book "Independence" is currently in the process of being edited and will be published soon. The second a novella, is a personal favorite of many people,  "An Afternoon With Aunt Viv". Tami's breakout novel, "Collapse", is the first book in "The Yellow Flag Series". I think "Collapse" is my favorite book at this time. It is one of those stories that could easily happen in real life. That thought fascinates me. The characters are tough, strong and fight for life, as they are thrown in the frey of calamity. Tami is currently working on the second novel in the series.

All of the authors books can be purchased on Amazon. It is delightful to read the minds of these young women. I am often amazed and forever proud of their talents.  I look forward to watching their careers unfold. They have made good use of the genes they were given...on both sides of the isle:)


                                                   

To be continued...