Remember that I mentioned how dry we’d been around here last time? Well, the very next day the remnants of Tropical Storm Fay came through and gave us some much needed rain!
CALLING DR. GOD! As the boys were playing the other day Nate’s foot got cut by one of Ben’s sharp toenails (Zachary, you can relate I’m sure). When Nate came to Vicki for a bandage she got out the Neosporin as well. Seeing the tube, Nate asked what it was.
“It’s Neosporin. It will help your foot heal,” Vicki explained.
Then Nate said, “I don’t want Neosporin to heal my foot. I want God to heal it!”
AUNT MAR AND THE CAT. I was able to get off work a little early Wednesday so I took advantage of the time to go up to church and help Vicki clean out a closet. On the way to church I thought I’d surprise the kids so I left Lilly over at Aunt Mar’s house. I knew Aunt Mar would enjoy the cat too. As I was leaving I asked Mom that loaded question, “Do you want the cat inside or out?”
“Of course, you know we want the cat outside,“ she replied.
What was so funny is right at that time Aunt Mar came into the den, saw Lilly, and started calling the cat to come to her. I put Lilly down, opened the door, and she marched in like she owned the place. Mom was at a loss for words.
Tonight we grilled out at Pauline’s for Labor Day. Aunt Mar began to inquire about Lilly’s well being and in her line of questioning asked, ”Does she ever meow?“
”Yes,“ someone said, ”she does meow sometimes.“
And in all seriousness Aunt Mar asked, ”Does she know what it means?“
We all enjoyed a good laugh at the thought of our cat who might not even understand her own ”words.“
WE’LL ALWAYS HAVE PARIS. We went to Vicki’s 20 year high school reunion Saturday night. It was in Paris, Tennessee. They hadn’t had a reunion since 1998, and since Pauline moved here five years ago Vicki hasn’t been able to see many of her classmates as much as she used to. We drove to Paris (about two hours) Saturday afternoon and returned home yesterday afternoon. And yes, we did see the Eiffel Tower before leaving town.
Vicki had a great time reconnecting with old friends. She was out until after midnight. I enjoyed the reunion too, but I only know Ginger and Angi and Keith (Angi’s husband) really well so I bailed out around 10:00. We heard enough funny stories to keep us entertained as we recounted the evening on our trip home.
SCHOLARSHIP AWARD. It was about this time last year that we celebrated Mom’s retirement as church secretary. At that time Bro. Bill announced that there would be a scholarship fund set up in her honor to benefit a high school graduate that chooses to further their education. Michael Johnson was the first recipient of this scholarship. He was awarded this yesterday (which we missed because we were in Paris). Michael has been playing piano at church all through his high school years and is an exceptional pianist. He has given a lot of himself to our music ministry these last four years. He is now a student at Union University.
HOUSE HISTORY. We think our house may be a few years older than this, but the records at the tax assessor’s office say our home was built in 1908. (I was told construction dates were not recorded before the 1950s and were recorded for older homes when they began to track this.) So, I thought it would be appropriate to tell what I know at this time. By the way, our house is pictured at the top of our blog site.
One hundred years ago this farm was owned by Mr. Oley Simmons. He was a bachelor. I had heard once that he was engaged, but his fiancée called it off. I cannot verify this. At any rate, we do know he remained a bachelor, and that he and his mother live here.
Mr. Oley wanted only the best materials for this house. Mr. Charles Dowell, a carpenter hired to help built the house, recalled to Mom once going through a pile of lumber to cull out bad pieces only to have Mr. Oley go through the pile again and cull out more. He laughed and told Mom the house was so well built that in a wind storm the house might roll off the foundation and tumble across the field, but never collapse. (I’m glad we’ve never had that tested.) We have hardwood floors (if you can call pine a hardwood), and I think the woodwork is walnut. There are four fireplaces.
Our back hall was actually the back porch at one time as evidenced by the sloping floor and clapboard siding on two of the hallway walls. The bathroom (our only bathroom) is the only brick part of the house. It was a smoke house for curing meat before the back porch was enclosed and it was converted to its current function.
Most people I’ve talked to recall Mr. Oley as a very peculiar man with odd habits. I think after his mother died he used the house for a barn as much as a home. I’ve heard stories of farm animals being in the house as well as tobacco stripped in here (talking about bringing your work home). When Mr. Oley passed away in the 1940s Mom and Aunt Mar both came here for the visitation. (At that time the custom was to hold a 24 hour vigil with the deceased in their home.) They both remember sacks of feed and even a sack of sugar stored in the dining room (the room we currently use as the boys’ bedroom). David Lee Thompson told me one that he helped embalm Mr. Oley’s body. This job was done in our study, the very room I am typing in right now.
When Mom and Dad later moved in here they were told the house was a bad buy. This was because the doors were too narrow for a casket to fit through. So far, this has never been a problem for us.
Joe
