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Beau Wann, Jr.

     YES,  great to hear from  Bernd and TJ, TJ, come to the front, TJ, come to the front...Howdy Steve, and Jimmie Lee.   All's quiet on the Western Front here in Chappell Hill, Tx 77426  USofA.  Had to go to TSC (tractor supply) get parts and a battery for one of my tractors. I was the only one wearing a mask.  So far no cases of the wuhan plague in Washington county.  

      ALSO,  dont tell anyone, but me and the missus stopped at Churches Fried Chicken for some take out.  Havent had fried chicken in over a year.  It's still as good as I remember.   Saving the biscuit for dessert   Also got two orders of fried okra.  Of course I have to take it home and refry it because the deep fryer doesnt quite cook it long enough, but that's ok, comes out just fine when ah do.  Seems the fried chicken from me youte was more aromatic, you could smell it all over the neighborhood.

    Hey Lloyd Pond...do you have a younger sister and did she graduate from W in 72?   Diane was in that class and knew person with her name, Gaynelle ?  

    On a sad note, Chris Kramer Waltrip class of 72, passed away Monday March 23.  He and his wife Cheryl were both graduates of Waltrip, he 72 and Cheryl 73, or at least my wife informed me of that.  Chris has a brother Craig Kramer  a waltrip 69?  grad Craigs wife Peggy class of 72.   All the aforementioned were long time members of Oaks Presbyterian Church.  A nicer family does not exist.    I was on numerous committees with all of the above, as well as the church softball team and bowling team.  What fun we had!

    Hey Steve,  boredom does not abide or reside here on Wolvertons mountain.  I am not permitted to get sick and die, too much to do, so I'll live to be a zillion and twelvedyleven or a close facimile thereof, henceforth notwithstanding, heretofore, party of the first part....

     Hmmmm, lessee, got a tractor to repair, a hunded foot of electrical war to pull and terminate, lattice work to put around the deck to keep Izzydorable from crawling underneath it and then not able to get out.  Had to take up a couple of boards to dislodge her.  That gal is a trip and a half !   Oh, got some azealas to plant, several bags of wildflowers, bee pollenators, and hummingboid and butterfly attractors, to spread out.  And that's just a few things on a very long list. PLUS, there's naps need to be squeezed in at the appropriate times.   SOOOO, if anyone needs something to do, come on up. 

    All three freezers are FULL,  as are both pantrys, so there wil be plenty of food to choose from, as well as the beverage of your choice as long as it is water, ice tea or whiskey and beer.  The beer is left over from our last party on the hill.

    Time to deplane boss...keep the sun at your six, the son in your heart, and "ride boldly ride..."

Your frien and resident sooth sayer and all round good guy, Cephus R Not Bored..esq but he R sleepy and in need of a nap....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz 

Robert Derrick

Due to my preexiisting conditions I have been in lock down since the first suggestion was made. So, guess I can handle a few more weeks. Thanks to my DISH with 250 channels and Pino Grigio.  However, I have already pushed happy hour up 4 times. Noon now. Oh well, as Beau always said, margaritas arent just for breakfast anymore. Be safe everyone.

Teddie Jordan

Robert, Thanks old friend, you just made me laugh and we all need as much of that as we can get!!

Pat Brantley (Ross)

We have been locked down for two weeks.  My daufgrer worries about everything she can't control.  I hadn't seen her face in 15 days so she worked out a dinner with us.  We ate on my patio.  They brought their own table and chairs and stayed more than six feet away.  At least we got to talk more face to face.  This has been strange:- learning how to shop using a personal shopper, walking down the street and stopping far away from others and we chat louder, finding hard to find stuff for the neighbors who can't hunt through the internet.  I had my first telemedicine visit with a doctor.  It was interesting.  I know we have to keep doing this.  Several friends have missed milestones- two weddings which will now be private, a birthday party for 90th for my home church mother.  That's the way I look at her.  She and her husband allowed a bunch of kids to come every Saturday night to discuss scripture and how it applies.  That was 1966.  We stayed together.  She deserves a medal for putting up with us.  We have postponed the party indefinitely.  One of our group lost her son to emergency surgery.  He was 43.  One lost her husband.  He had a sudden massive heart attack.  Both memorial services are on hold. How much can we push forward while we hibernate?  Are we going to feel overwhelmed when we start a regular day again?  Well we knew the bomb shelter was just temporary housing.  We didn't know it was going to come with 100+ channels and air conditioning.  A friend posted photos of downtown San Antonio.  It looked like a movie set waiting for the monster.  Photos were sad and then I laughed thinking about the "horror" movies we sat through - giant ants, giant rabbits, etc.  Y'all take care.  This is a season of reflection and rest.  

Pat Brantley (Ross)

Beau Wann, Jr.

     WOW...!  Now that's an empty downtown !   Hey Robert and TJ, (come to the front, TJ, come to the front)...Yup, happy hour has now been declared a national day of  happiness.     Yup, that's the ticket.  So in light of our enlightenment for life liberty and the pursuit of happy hour, I do hereby declare, (well I declare) that all peoples on oith keep their distance of at least 6 silly meters from the next silly meter, or whichever comes first.

     Ha!   I've been practicing "social distancing" most of my life.   I hadnt planned it that way, it just seemed to happen.   HOWEVER, and aint there always a however, dang, now I forgot my "however"!   Oh well, I shall "endeavor to persevere".   Being a "shutin" now, I've learned so many things, just cant remember what they are, but rest assured, I'm much more better now than ever before.  The new me! I've reinvented myself, now I'm invisible!   None of yall  can see me, right?      Well, there you go, and there your are, and where am I?  

     Diane and I read alot, and fall asleep sitting up with a book in our lap, alot.  A book and a cat or a dog under said book.   We have started our garden, rather late this year, but started nonetheless.  Even though there are countless wild blackberries/dewberries growing wildly wild about the place, we planted 4 in a place that we can control, along the north fence. Two Natchez and one Ouachita and one Navajo.       Built a 30ft  walkway down the hill from the cement pond into an arbor. Planted grapes there, and I'm amazed that they had grown a foot in one day.  I do hope these arent the grapes of wrath ! ! ! 

    We had pumpkins and watermelons from hell when we lived out in Hearthstone, that crept towards the house from about 50 plus ft out.   Planted 6 tomatoes, and 5 pepper plants, and peppermint and spearmint.  We had a zillion "mint" plants all over the hill, but the freeze and drought killt em all.  We have enough rosemary to completely push aside the "parsley, sage, and Tyme".    Still have to get our corn in, which is late, yellow squash, zuchinni squash, eggplant, beans and peas and onions. 

     Going to do a traditional garden, meaning, plow the earth up with the tractor.   We've tried container gardening with no success.  Lost all my citrus a couple years ago, but still have my retarded peach trees.   We've had a couple of peaches the size of marbles, only to have them plucked away by the dingdang boids.  I HATE BOIDS ! 

     Well, in my garage, I HATE BOIDS.  They just mess all over everything. Now I have a mama wren sitting on her nest of eggs in one of my red bins with the last roll of electrical tape.   I NEED THAT TAPE, AND NOW CANT USE IT !!!!!!!!!!!!   Dang wrens !  

    Day of the POTH came and went.  Sure was sad!   I wandered out to the ol ball field and weedeated around home plate, all that's left of Coopers Field of dreams, other than the field however shortened.  In my mind, I still see Jenny Taylors smiling face crossing homeplate on just one of the many home runs she hit that day.  If it were'nt for memories, we wouldnt have any memories, right?   Right!  

    Took the kids for a walk today, down to the creek to unlock the gate, then a trip through the BBs and IPBs, even took a picture of the girls.   Jack was asleep and didnt care to go, bless his heart, that ol boy is blind, deaf and lame.  Hmmm, that almost describes me, cept I'm blind cripple AND crazy. 

    Where has the time gone ?    I still remember my first day of first grade at Travis Elementary...I cried...Remember those old schools, with the dark wood hallways and the classroom doors with the frosted glass ???? or was it clear???? Hmmmm, cant remember that, just remember the door had glass in the top half of it.   Only thing else I remember, there was a boy, dont remember his name, that had a glass eye.  He use to take it out and chase the girls around with it, and of course I'm right behind him running my fool legs off.  

     The only other two things I remember was, my dad took apart a .22 bullet apart, emptied out the powder and put the lead back in.  I took it too school to show folks, and the teacher promptly took it away and put it in her desk drawer.   Didnt call the bomb squad, FBI, ATF, SWAT, just took it away and that was that.  I didnt even know what a .22 shell was, I was only 6 ! ! ! !   

       And of course I got lost going home the first day.  I'm not sure how they expected me to get home, being directionaly challenged .  Once again, I WAS 6, had no clue where I lived.   Some lady told me to get in her car and she would take me home, how she knew where I lived I have no clue, I didnt even know who she was.   Still dont know anything other than I got home.

      Hmmmm, maybe I was kidnapped, yeah, that's the ticket, and maybe I'm really John D Rockefellar the III, IV or Vth, yeah, and they're still looking for me so I can get my inheiratence (sp)  (hmmm, that doesnt even look right at all,  well, you know what I mean) of a hunded trillion zillion billion dollars, yeah, that's the ticket....

    Ok, time to stop this nonsense and deplane...keep the sun at your six and the son in your heart...and "ride Boldly ride..."
Your frien and resident silly putty, Cephus R Keepin his distance esq...  

Jimmie Lee Smith (Brawner)

Thank you, Beverly, for all the cartoons you're posting on the Home Page each day.  You keep coming up with ones I've not seen.  Humor always lifts our spirits and I appreciate your contributions to brightening our days. 

Robert Derrick

Ditto Jimmie Lee

Wayne Lake

Long time since I’ve posted comments from the Coastal Bend. Pat, if you think it is quite in San Antonio, you should see Aransas, where even the dolphins and birds are keeping their distances from each other.

I am glad to hear our little group is staying safe and hope everyone was stocked with plenty of TP before the proverbial $#!* hit the fan a couple of weeks ago. I probably watch too much TV and sometimes just take a break from it entirely. I like to read but get bored and sleepy like Beau and Diane.

Robert, I think for each week we have to ‘suffer in place’, we should be able to move happy hour back minus one and by that calculation, I think you can arguably commence at 1400 hours. You know what they say, ‘you can’t be drunk all day unless you start early’.

Lora and I left Barcelona on Fat Tuesday, February 28^th  - Picasso, Dali and Gauldi art appreciation tour which is sort of a waste of time on an uncultured guy like myself and there was very little signs of the COVID-19 scare anywhere. Within about a week of returning to Texas, I started noticing news reports about Italy and Spain (both densely populated, older and smoke a lot) and after two weeks they topped the globally affected lists so we were concerned about our own health but, knock on wood, I guess we got lucky……….at least so far.           

About the only good news these days is gas prices are low but the irony is we are stuck at home!        

I noticed in Pat’s post that she has been ‘reflecting’ and I guess we all are in our own ways as well as  doing things around the house that we have put off until now, I know I have restarted some unfinished projects. I recently ran across the thoughtful message below from a friend of mine that was written by one of her ‘favorite 75 year old college professor’ who is still teaching while in late stages of cancer  that kind’a made me re-think this situation we are currently in:

What Matters – Responding to Disruptive Forces

                It was 1665, and London was virtually shut down due to the Great Plague. Cambridge University sent its students home to study alone. One of those students, Isaac Newton, used his time to pioneer work in what we now call calculus. He also developed his theory of gravitation. When the plague subsided and Newton returned to Cambridge, the world as it was known at the time would fundamentally change.   

            Disruptions can vary in scope by geography, by business sectors or even on a personal level. They are often accompanied by a realization that fundamental change is about to occur. While disruptions can be frightening or demoralizing, they don’t have to be negative in the long run.

            How do we cope with disruptions? One way is through personal reflection. Disruptions give us an opportunity to think about the past especially what worked well for us and what we want to avoid in the new reality we face.

            Disruptions give us an opportunity to change course. Disruptions may result in new career paths, new life styles, new relationships, or a new sense of what is vitally important to us. In effect, disruptions give us an excuse to do things we may have dreamed about but were afraid to try.

            Disruptions can spur innovation. Since our former ways of doing things are no longer possible, we need to invent new ways of doing what remains important to us. These new ways often result in permanent ways of doing things after the disruption has passed.

            Disruptions often result in more efficient ways of living. We realize that so much of our life style is not that necessary. We also become more self-sufficient and less reliant on others to meet our needs.

            Finally, disruptions can change who we are as people. Our values shift to those that are much more meaningful.  We have a greater appreciation of the loved ones for being in our lives. We are kinder and more caring. Our faith in society is renewed as we see countless acts of genuine kindness.

            But disruptions also pose many questions. How can we help each other have faith that things will be better after the disruption? How do we pivot from fear to thinking of possibilities? How do we prepare ourselves for an unfolding future that will very likely be different from the past? How do we remain hopeful when hope seems to be in short supply?

***

            When the disruption has run its course, each of us may look back and be thankful for the transformation that the disruption made in society and in ourselves.

Now this is some heavy stuff for the likes of me but it does give me hope for the future even if my retirement savings are significantly less than before.

Stay well and safe my friends, wtl

Ronna Brand

Beau - I have been wondering if you are still seeing yellow paint brushes - you showed them to us at the last celebration on the hill.

Wayne - thanks for the "Disruption" message - it was a really good one!

Beverly - ditto on the thanks for the laughs - we can all use them in these somber times!

Be safe everyone - keep thinking about the great times waiting around the corner!!!!

Ronna

Pat Brantley (Ross)

Well Wayne that was some deep thinking.  I just sent the information to my grandson and his wife.  They have been working from home for three weeks.  She got her notice from Stanford that her master's degree in engineering would be mailed to her.  I told her she needed to keep working if she is going to catch Newton.  My grandson says he isn't getting enough sunshine.  He is working too much.  Poor guy is in security control at Google.  All of their employees are online creating headaches.  I don't know how many security geeks Google has because my grasp of the internet is below rudimentary.  It might be greater than calculus however.  

all of this quiet time has produced a strange positive.  I have been complaining about a spot on my husband's arm for years.  He finally went to the dermatologist since I wouldn't let him go anywhere fun.  It was melanoma and he had it removed today in an office/surgical procedure.  I am overjoyed that it was taken care of so quickly and completely.  One less thing scratched off the nag list.  

who was the Houston radio show host who used to close with "Don't let anyone steal your joy"?

Teddie Jordan

Love the smile of the day meme on the homepage Beverly! 

"When food shopping is the new, "Going Out!"   

🤪😎👍!

Bennie Schielack

Hannity, at one time, used that closing.  Don't know if he still does . . . . . 

Jimmie Lee Smith (Brawner)

Hannity uses, "Let not your heart be troubled."

Beau Wann, Jr.

    " WELL I'LL BE ET FER A TATER",  ifin all yall dint decided to jine happy ar !   Ats good !    Excuse the  Appalachian dialect, my brain has a hard time turning loose of that dialect when I watch "Sargent York" and Diane and I have been reading a 12 book series by Jan Karon on a ficticious town in Noth Carolina called Mitford, that most folks talk like that.   It's not a real town, but modeled after a real one called Holly Springs, and that one is in Mississippi.   It's a nice change from the blood and gore on TV, and that's just the commercials. Tried watching the gnus, to stay current on current events, and of course all that's current is COVID-19. Talk about information overload !!!   "well, what did you know, and when did you know it..."  aaaaaarrrrgggg and aaaaccckkkkkk,  gag me ! ! ! 

    Seems I read sommers that the Appalachian mountains are the oldest mountain range on oith.  I'm on the last book, so ahm trying to decide what to read next. I gotta have em lined up, with not much pause inbetween, or else I move on to something else, like surfing down in Izzys' creek,  or plowing up right field for our garden.  Too late, already plowed er up.   Just waiting for the rain to subside so we can get things planted.

    Already have tomatoes on the vine, not ripe yet, but getting there.   Got about 4 or 5 different tomatos and half dozen or more pepper plants, hmmmm yum.  The blackberries and grapes are going crazy and with all this rain,  pretty soon they'll be knocking on the door saying, "come out and pick me..."    Soon's the rain stops and hit drys up a tad, I'm gonna do just that.

     We had 46 this morning, now 49, and an inch and a half of rain yestidy and a quarter inch this morning with more on the way.  suits me just fine, well except for having to clean the pups feet and dry em off everytime they go out, which if we let them, would be everytime they came in.   I think they just like to see us work, and feed em of course.   That's how I broke my back the first year we were up here, cleaning the mud off Coopers feet.     Yup,  I was bent over cleaning them, he stepped back, my upper half went with him, and lower half stayed put, and voila, T-9 baroque.

     Hey Ronna, yes, we still have yaller IPBs, in fact the IPBs are taller than the BBs and the yaller IPBs are taller than the erngeuns (orange ones).   The whole front pasture directly in front of ye old homestead, save the very bottom, is ablaze with BBs and  IPBs.  I'll try to post a picture of the hill.  I have noticed that the BBs have started fading, well, they did start early February this year, so guess they're bout ready fer a nap. Last year we did have a few stragglers of BBs and IPBs way yonder on up into September.   One thing you can predict about Ma nature is that she  is unpredictable.

     Wayne Wayne Wayne...too much stuff fer my little pea brain...only newtons I recognasize  is Fig and Wayne....get that fly rod out and start catching them speckles.   If we get any more rain, I should be able to cast from the porch and catch something, hopefully not the corona flu. Maybe a Corona beah...yeah, that's the ticket.  Happy hour is open.   I believe I mentioned in an earlier post, that happy hour has been moved back to 6 AM to 6 PM to 6 AM, othern that, hits closed.

    Hmmmm, all the pups and one cat are down for a nap, which on the surface and underneath and on both sides, seems to be a good idear.   I'm not the sort that can lounge in bed all day...wish I were though, cause I'd be snuggled down underneath every blanket we own, cuttin zzzzzzzzzzs  right about now.  No sir, I'm a fully dressed fall asleep in the chair kind of guy, more's the pity.

    Time to deplane, desanitize and desolve all them germs...keep the sun at your six and the son in your heart and "ride boldly ride..."

your frien and resident wildflower, Cephus R In sane esq

Beau Wann, Jr.

Just as I promised...here's   Diane in the middle,   Dixie Belle on the left   and   Izzydorable on the right, our yaller farm house, and all  in our Bluebonnet and Indian Paint Brush patch.   We sure wish yall all could be here...we have masks! ! !   "And now you know the rest of the story...Paul Harvey...good day..."  Miss hearing him around lunchtime!  

Susan Howard (Bowman)

Happy Saturday everyone!  I haven't posted on the Forum for some time, so I thought this might be a good time to do so.  I would also like to thank Beverly for our daily laugh and for doing such a great job keeping up with our website.  Thank you to those who do post frequently.  I enjoy those posts and usually they bring a smile to my facel. Wayne, thank you so much for your post on reflection.  This is surely a time for reflection if there ever was one.  I have started journaling again to help keep me focused on what is important.  It really helps me to write!  Sam and I are doing well!  We are so glad we like each other....alot!  We were able to take a drive this past Sunday to the Inks Lake area and enjoy the bluebonnets.  The wildflowers are beautiful around Georgetown, but it was a good excuse to get away from home for an afternoon, practicing all the safety protocols.  We were not disappointed! Nature is so wonderful!  Everyone breathe deeply and count your blessings, for in the middle of all this we are still blessed in so many ways! 

Wayne Lake

Saw a funny on the net, sort of a lady’s joke:

Another Saturday night at home and I put a bottle of wine in every room. I’m about to get dressed up and go bar hopping.

Beau Wann, Jr.

      Then there was a mother that had 3 sets of twins.  She was sitting in the waiting room of her doc when one of the other waitees ask her, "my goodness, have you had twins everytime?"   "No" said the mother, "hundreds of times we didnt have anything"....

Don Ellisor

Good morning classmates. Below is an access to sermons of my eldest son. He is a priest of the reformed Church of England, which might help some with a daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. I think his messages might help during these times.perhaps some of you will remember the sins of his father, if so, he is a great example of the sins of the father are not visited on his children. May God bless us all and protect us in these times.

Beau Wann, Jr.

     Thanks for that Don, I get on youtube all the time, so I'll check it out.   Also something new has sprung up, well, for me it's new, something called    "ZOOM".   The pastor at Oaks Presbyterian does a sermon with as many parishoners linked together as is allowed, whatever that is.   I'd never heard of it till this week. Diane gets on there and they hold church services as best they can.   I'd like to participate,  the sound quality at it's best, is not good enough for even my audioprosthetics, and there is no CC.

    They held "Palm Sunday" services this morning, and someone even played the piano, so it has been reported to me.   They will be doing Wednesday bible study and Maunday Thursday with ZOOM.  Our pastor, Mark is alloted 40 minutes free air time, dont know what it costs after that.

     Also, everyone can see everyone else because the computers/palm pilots etc have cameras.  I dont wish to, however, be on camera.  Diane tells me that you can have your camera on or not, I'd just as soon Not.    I might try listening in on Wednesday and Maunday thursday. 

      Since Diane and I are "Deacons" in the Presbyterian church, we can administer communion to each other, which we will do on Thursday.  Easter Sunday we will hold Sunrise services on the hill with a multitude of angels, plus releasing our newest  kitty angel, ANNIE-BOB who passed away in February.  We've already released all the other angels ashes last Easter on the hill,  a fitting place for all our angels.    After sevices, we will have a "Methodist" breakfast like I remember at St Stevens Methodist church there on 43rd st. 

    World sure does seem a lonely place nowdays.  We have been to Home Depot and Lowes lately, they allow just so many in their stores, plus we wear masks.  Diane goes to HEB by herself and I've been to Brookshire brothers once, but always wearing masks.     I cant afford to get that crud, being 75 and with funky lungs.  (cant tell you how odd that looks, "being 75")

    Had a tire going down on the old ford truck this past week.  I have a great place to do the work on it, and all the necessary tools ie floor jacks, air compressors, air wrenches etc, but actually doing the work is another thing. 

      I seem to have lost at least half my strength, maybe more, so I donned my trusty mask, "who was that masked man"   and took the ol ford to Discount tire.   The workers come out to you and get the scoop on the problem, then when they are ready for you, they let the customer drive the vehicle up on the rack, and you can stay in the vehicle.

       Didnt take long, but I brought a book just in case.   When they were through, I tried to pay them whatever the going rate would be, but they said it was "NO CHARGE".   Come again, my hearing is not all that good, did you say No charge?   YUP!

     The tires on the Ford, are from the factory/dealer and not from Discount tire, although over the years I have purchased countless sets of tires from them.   Guess who's going to get my tire business, Discount Tire, even though they've had it for the last 40 plus years.

    We've had almost 3 inches rain over the last couple of days, YEA,  lots of fog this morn and 51 degrees, 46 yesterday morning, rain no fog.    We took the E lectric blanket off the bed the beginning of this week, maybe too soon eh !   Suppose to get to 90 on Wednesday, 46 to 90 in a couple of days...only in Texas.

     Time to deplane, keep the sun at your six and the Son in your heart, and "ride boldly ride..."

your frien and resident masked man, Cephus Hiyo Dinosaur esq aka Alley Oop.  

Post Script:  Is it just me, or could Bernd be the twin brother of Efrem Zimbalist ?  

Post post script script:  THE SUN IS PEEKING OUT, YEAAAAAAAAAAA....and, a cardinal is singing right outside my winderlight (east texas for window).  I've heard that Cardinals are the angels looking out for you, if that's so, I'm covered beyond measure cause we have zillions of the red beauties.

James Hilsher '65

  Beaux,I always use discount because they take care of you

Beau Wann, Jr.

    HEY JIMMY ! ! !  Great to hear from youse youte.  We miss you stopping by the Wanns on your way to and from.   Good reason for that now days eh.  I wonder if we'll ever get back to normal...and what will the new normal be ?   Have we already been to Heaven, being from Oak Forest?   No blaspheme intended, just seemed like the perfect place in the perfect time.

   Wonder where my ol go-cart, the "flying none", wound up!   Called it that because if you were looking for brakes, it had "none".  To stop that forerunner of NASCAR I had to run into the tires of a parked car, or a tree and if all else failed, the curb and any orphan trash cans left on the streets of "Talledega".  Yeah, that's how I got this way, too many crashes, no helmet...ate lead paint off the winderlights (east texas for window).  How did we ever survive?

   Just waiting for a sunny day to resume  planting our garden we should have started in February.  My dad always said that his best gardens were ones he started on February 17th.  Never dawned on me before, but that's the perzact time to prune your roses, trees, and transplant anything safely.  Hmmm, wonder if April will be ok?   Well, we will see what we will see, eh mon ami!

     Dark and dreary and drippy yet again this phyne morning. Saw the sun briefly yesterday, maybe ol sol will put in an apperance today, here's hoping.   I think I'll work outside today anyway, rain or shine.  Got too many things to do, running in place or not.  Hmmm, we have two sewing machines, dontchaknow, maybe I'll get Diane to teach me how to sew.   Why do we have two?   Bought Diane one 30 years or so ago, and we inheirited one.  Soooooo, I've always wanted to learn to sew, so I can fix my own clothes and stuff.

    My mom and sisters could sew like they were from the Butterick family.  Mom made almost all our clothes when we were younger, as did most moms in most families, it was called necessity.  Mom and sisters made prom dresses, and easter outfits etc. Mom even made a coat and pants and shirt and suspenders for me when I was 3 or 4. I have a picture around here of me walking the runway, or the front porch.   Always remember mom talking to others that sew , like her mom and sew on, about this pattern or that pattern and "cutting on the bias"...didnt know what that meant and still dont.

   Me and the pups sat outside lastnight till midnight, listening to the crickets and frogs, night thrushes and trucks out on the 4 lane.    Oh, and Izzydorable clucking like a chicken and baying when she's on the trail of that wascally wabbit.   She goes over our backyard a zillion times a day, and always seems to come up with a scent of some critter, oh boy, then it's off to the races.

   Turned on some of the oldies from as far back as the 30s.  Loved the mellowness of the big band era.  At one time I could tell you not only what song it was, but what band was playing, and who was playing trumpet or whatever instrument.  Now I'm lucky if I can recall the name of the song...no matter now, just love to hear them...Moonlight Serenade being right up there with Oh Holy Night...love choir music especially mens choir. Growing up, listening to the radio was pure heaven to me.  Even though the reception was scratchy, especially at night,  it still marveled me.  

      Built my crystal radio when I was about 8, 9 or 10, cant quite pin the date down, but built that electronical marvel all by myself from a few store bought items like the copper wire and the crystal and some items we had on hand, like the cardboard from a toilette roll center to wrap the copper wire around, and shellac to keep it in place,  and one of moms sewing needles for a tuner, and a cigar box from my granddad that I kept all my treasures in like my bottle cap collection and a few catseye marbles.  Oh, I did get a headphone from the Army/Navy surplus store for a quarter or fifty cents I'd saved up of birthday money. 

    I remember seeing the plans for it in one of my "Boys Life" magazines.  It looked simple enough, shucks, I could build that, no sweat!   And wonder of wonders, I did.  I may have had a little help, but just a very little, from my dad and maybe an uncle or two, but dang little for sure. 

     I'd fall asleep at night with that earphone between my ear and the pillow, listening to some far off station, that would eventually turn into "white noise".  I'd wake up with a sore ear,  having slept on that dang earphone all night.     It still marvels me today how that radio worked.  Dont listen to radio today, my music is gone, thankfully I have other venues to listen to "my" music.

   Bored you to death have I !   Time to deplane anyway,   I'M A BURNIN DAYLIGHT.!!!!!    so keep the sun at your six and the Son in your heart and "ride boldly ride..."

    Your frien and resident electronical marvel, Cephus Marconi Collins esq

Beau Wann, Jr.

Beau Wann, Jr.

Well waddaya know, I found it.  Yall all know who that dopey kid is.  My mom made everything I had on except the shoes and socks.    AND,  I grew into the hat, now I'm a Greek fisherman. Boy if that picture dont give you a smile, and make you glad youre you, I dont know what would.