My Pyhrric Victory

We used to love to walk the railroad tracks when we went to visit my Great Grandma Brennan. It took great skill to walk the tracks like a balance beam for the quarter mile stretch that we were allowed to play on in front of her house.

I also developed the ability to dodge and elude whomever was "it" when we played chase but we weren't allowed to leave the confines of the tracks to get away. This skill helped me greatly when I would get caught in "rundowns" while playing softball in the local Miss Softball America League. I NEVER did get "out" and I loved to tease the opposing players and infuriate them when they couldn't tag me out!

What wasn't fun though was the time we played chicken. We played chicken by seeing who could stand the longest time barefooted on the tracks that had been baking for hours in the hot afternoon sun. I WON. I also had long blisters along the whole length of both of my feet in the shape of the railroad tracks. They took weeks to heal.

I may have won but it was no victory!

I am fighting for my life

We will have to see how successful I am. After my good news from my doctors I have stepped up my activity level. It is not easy considering the fact that it is too cold to go outside, but I am walking a little further each day.

I have to get some of this weight off. I am working on that as well. The trick is not to overdue it and have a set back (which is what I usually do) then I have to start over from scratch.

I won't be on the computer as much. But anybody that has been around for awhile knows that I have covered a little of most of my life anyway. I have made some good friends here and I'll be in contact from time to time as the weather and my exercise routine allow.

My computer time is on the back burner for now.

What Kind of Woman Was She?

I remember her fixing her kids and grand kids whatever they wanted for breakfast. One kid would have eggs and bacon, another would have pancakes, others would have cereal. It didn't matter what you wanted she would fix it.

Her chicken and dumplings were legendary. (the secret she told me was cream of chicken soup). She could cook as well as any gourmet chef. I remember once she was particularly stressed over the progress of a meal. (which was perfect by the way, you know how granny's cluck over their cooking) She threw her hands in the air and yelled, "hallelujah anyhow!" Then she smiled a big smile and kept on about her business.

She took care of my dad when no one else would. This was before I realized how sick he was. Sometimes you have to be hit over the head (figuratively) before you realize that the strongest person in your life needs help. She nursed him. She cooked for him. She gave him money and shelter.

She raised 7 children on practically no money from my alcoholic grandfather. Her divorce from him was one of the most painful parts of her life and she never stopped loving him.

7 children:

my dad was a successful businessman

Wanda was a teacher and is now a real estate broker

Johnny is a CPA and works for the board of education as well

Rhonda Kay is a doctor

Mary is a full time mom and takes any work she can to take care of her kids

Jimmy is a hard working blue collar kind of guy

Robin is married and working in Germany

Granny was an evangelist. She preached all over southern West Virginia. She was never happier than when she was working for the Lord. I always considered this to be very women's lib of her because she would insist that men were the head of the household. She would go out to preach and sing at a moment's notice.

She could crochet the most beautiful things. I had the afghan she made me when I graduated for 25 years and it looked as good as new. I still have some of her snowflakes for the Christmas tree and the crochet Christmas candles she made me. My favorite thing was the crochet Christmas stockings she made with Santa carrying a Christmas Tree.

I remember when all was chaos in her house (7 kids and grandkids, you know), she would be pleading for peace and cooking for everybody all at the same time.

My Granny Died Yesterday

I don't really feel like saying anything else

fishing tip I learned from an old fisherman

Once I was staying at the beach in Melbourne, Florida. Bobby and I decided to go fishing from the beach. We met an old fisherman one morning. He told us that he had been fishing for years and the best place to throw out your line is exactly where the waves break.

You know the spot. The place where the waves break that is the most fun to swim in! He said he had even seen sharks and whales there. So we tested his theory. We spent a solid week throwing our line into the ocean where the waves break. We also spent that week eating more fish than you could ever imagine. We had fish for breakfast, fish for lunch and fish for dinner. We gave fish away to other people in the motel.

I had more fun fishing that week than I ever had in my life.

While I'm thinking about it, that also happened to be during the season when the sea turtles were coming ashore to lay their eggs. It was great fun to go out at night and watch them. (yes, I was careful not to disturb them) I tried to film them but my video camera was not able to film them in the dark - even though there was a full moon.