Vera's Corner

Am I blogging now?

My two daughters are both interested in weblogs (blogs), so I've decided to learn how to blog, too.

I first became interested in blogging when I saw my younger daughter Anne wearing a t-shirt with the words "I'm blogging this." written across the front of it. I had no idea what it meant, but I was interested in finding out.

Later, when my my older daughter Sandy was visiting me, I asked her what a blog is, and she explained it to me. Then, to my surprise, she said I could try blogging myself. So here I am, blogging for the first time. I am not sure what I should write on this blog, but I'll just start writing and see what happens.

A little bit about me

Before I write more, I need to introduce myself. My name is Vera, and I'm 85 years old. I'm a mother, a grandmother, and a great- grandmother. I have two daughters, four granddaughters, and four great-grandchildren.

Crossword puzzles stir up memories

I hardly ever pick up a crossword puzzle that I don't think of my dad. He used to wait for the daily paper every day. It came about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. He always sat in a rocking chair, and he had a little pet chick that would get up on his shoulder and sit there as he worked that crossword puzzle. For years after he died, I had the stub of a pencil that he used to do those crossword puzzles in my cedar chest.

Now, after all these years, I find myself waiting for the morning paper. Once it's here, I just want to tackle that crossword puzzle. Whenever I pick up the paper, I read the headlines, and then I search out the crossword puzzle. Only after I work it out do I read the rest of the paper.

Remembering that cedar chest

I was thinking about that cedar chest where I kept the pencil stub my father used to do the crossword puzzles. I left it at my mothers, and during a move it got lost.

What a loss---all those cherished objects gone! My older daughter Sandy's first Easter dress---I sewed every bit of it by hand. The first shoes I crocheted for my younger daughter Anne. The first dolls my daughters ever got. A full set of little golden books. All those cherished items...all those links to the past...gone .

Pieces of the past

I was sitting at the kitchen table, thinking about all the things I have. I've saved so many things over the years. It seems I can't throw any of them away because so many of them bring back memories. They're like 'souvenirs of the past' and have special meanings for me. For example, I have two small bowls that belonged to my mother: a pink-flowered one and a green-flowered one. Every morning when I eat cereal from them, I think about my mother.

Then there's the afghan I crocheted so many years ago. My mother tried to teach me to crochet, but it didn't work; I didn't learn how to do it. Later, I learned on my own and crocheted an afghan. I still have it. Strange...whenever I see that afghan now, I see her. My children and grandchildren have hinted they like it, but it's hard to part with a piece of your past.

For little girls, there's nobody like dad.

Some foods just go together. I guess I like pinto beans, corn bread, and onions because it was one of my dad's favorites. I remember him sitting at the head of the table, eating them. As you might guess, they're one of my favorite foods today.

That reminds me...I guess that's also why I love carrots. When I was 10 or 11 years old, the doctor recommended I eat them, so my dad planted two rows of carrots in the garden. We'd go out when he was home, and he'd ask me if I wanted a carrot. Then he'd pull one up, wipe the dirt off, and I'd eat it right there. So many things remind me of him. I guess it's true the old saying: "For all little girls, there's nobody like their dad."

Cruises on my mind

I wonder why people like to go on ocean cruises. I suppose they just like to get away—no telephone ringing, no more appointments to keep, and no traffic to contend with. My husband Lee and I did go on one once to the Caribbean. We went with a few good people and visited St. Thomas, St. Martin's and Nassau. It was quite an experience—traveling on a ship at sea and staying in cabins—and the food was a big deal at all times.

You know, I always thought it would be great to sail across the ocean on one of those ships, but I never did.

Getting back to the past

Now getting back to the past...can't forget those 85 years! For years, my mom and dad had the only dairy in Corsicana, Texas. My mom said that when I was hungry, I'd always say my stomach was tired. I remember that Mr. Whitman, the owner of the grocery store where my dad delivered milk, would often give my dad a box of Eatmores, which were a forerunner of Hershey kisses. He would say, "Take these to that little tired stomach!" Oh, to be a kid again...

Little girls and little boys

Today I was reminiscing about my children, about how calm my two daughters were when they were little. Then the granddaughters came along, and they were, for the most part, also calm little girls. Then all at once, I had a great-grandson, and what a difference! He's a rambunctious little boy. My husband used to tell me that little girls were quite calm, but little boys were sure different. Believe me, he was right! That little great-grandson is not still a minute. He never has to stop and think what he's going to do. It's in his head instantly. But let me tell you, he's a joy. I wouldn't take for him!

The first Christmas I remember

I remember I must have been four or five years old. As I said before, my mom and dad had a dairy, and they were getting up at two o'clock in the morning to milk cows.

So, Santa Claus came early that year, around 5 or 6 in the evening on Christmas Eve, and he brought me a doll. In my mind's eye, to this day, she is still the most beautiful doll I've ever seen. She had black hair and blinking blue eyes. she wore a white silk dress and a black velvet cape. I'm sure I got other things, but the doll is all I remember. She must have been named Snow White, and my house must have been the first one Santa came to that year!

             Me (on the left) at about this age.

Burned beans and a spanking

I remember my little brother's fourth birthday. I had just turned 11 on the 2nd of September, and he turned four on the 29th. He got this little red wagon, and all of the kids in the neighborhood were out taking turns pulling him around.

My mom and dad went somewhere and left me to watch the beans cooking. Can you imagine that? With all the excitement going on outside! HEY, THIS WAS 1929!

My dad said he would give me a spanking if the beans burned. Low and behold, they burned or singed, not once, but three times. Of course, after the third time, I had to put new beans on.

When mom and dad came in, my dad said he had promised me a spanking, so he gave me three little spats. My heart was broken; he had never done that before. I'm reminded of the old adage, "This hurts me worse than it does you." I'm sure he shed a tear or two. He never again gave me an ultimatum like that!

Even though I got a spanking, it was fun seeing my little brother so happy with his little red wagon that day.

Years later, giving my granddaughters Jill and
Stormy a ride in a little red wagon!

When I learned to drive

My older daughter Sandy read somewhere that there are 191 million drivers in the U.S. I guess everyone wants to drive and have a car. I've always liked driving myself. When I learned to drive, there weren't so many drivers, and there weren't as many cars as there are now.

I was 17 years old, fixing to turn 18. I remember it was a girlfriend who taught me. After I had spent some time driving out in the country, we started to go back home. All at once, I realized we had to pass through the town, so I said, "Goldie, would you take over this wheel? I don't want to drive through this town." She answered, "No, I won't. You drive through this town!" I did, and I've been driving ever since. Like I said, I've always enjoyed driving!

One of my early driving experiences

I remember once I drove to a girlfriend's house and a storm came up. Living in a town, I didn't realize what it was like to drive in the country. I mean, I didn't know the roads weren't that good. At my girlfriend's house, they kept telling me I should go home, but I wasn't worried about it. When I did finally start home, I'll tell you, that was something. I was a little nervous when I had to go through a little dip into a creek...right through the water. When I got home, my husband and Papa (his dad) told me they were worried that I would get washed down that creek. I just didn't realize the roads could be that bad.

A leap from cars to space ships

I've been reminiscing about cars, driving, and accidents. Now for a big leap to rockets. I lived in Florida for twenty-eight years and saw how much cars changed that place.

I lived forty miles from NASA, so I also saw all the space shuttles go up, watching from my back yard. They were very small, of course, but I could make them out. I went out into the back yard each time one was launched to watch it go up and took pictures.

I actually saw the Challenger blow up. While I was taking pictures of it, I noticed two small smoke-like streams going up. I took one more picture, but I had the feeling that something was wrong, so I decided to go back inside to watch television.

That's when I learned that the Challenger had exploded, killing all seven of the astronauts on board. What a disaster! I still have that picture.

Hope the soap box is big enough!

Well, I've been thinking about the fact that I am a blogger. To me, it's like reminiscing. In my day, that's what we would have called it. Now I have to get used to the new terms in technology. Not only am I learning something new, but my vocabulary is growing. Not only can I recall the past, but I can blog on anything. Let's hope the soap box is big enough!

Still have driving on my mind

I'm still thinking about driving. Over all these years, I have been involved in only one collision. One day I was driving down the road in the left hand lane. I stopped at the traffic light and was waiting for traffic to come the other way. While I was waiting, I saw this car in my rear view mirror. It was the only car that was behind me. All at once, he hit me! He hit me so hard that he pushed me into the median and I was facing completely in the opposite direction. Luckily for me, witnesses came up and told me they saw the whole thing. After that, he had to go down to the court house and pay a fine.

Back to my parents' dairy

I don't know why so many memories of the dairy keep coming to mind. I remember my younger sister Rosa would take a half pint bottle and (Yes! Milk came in glass bottles with a cap! No plastic then!) go to the barn where Dad was milking cows. He would milk right into her bottle, and she would drink that 'old warm milk' fresh from the cow. She loved it!

Not me! I'd go to the creamer house where my mom was separating the cream from the milk. My bottle would go under the cream spout of the separator. To this day I like to eat my cereal with cream. I should have been fat, but I never was!

I wasn't going to be a golf widow!

I didn't pick up golf until I was 50 years old, and my husband Lee was talking about moving to Florida. He was into playing golf at the time, and I said to myself, "I'm not moving to Florida and becoming a golf widow."That's when I decided to up take up the game. For the next fifteen years, it was great playing. It was a bunch of fun! I went out to play maybe 2 or 3 times a week because I loved the game, and I won 9 golf trophies in golf clubs in the area.

No playing golf by myself in Spain!

When I went to Barcelona, Spain to visit my daughter Sandy and her husband Thomas, my son-in-law took me out to a golf course. He was so busy taking pictures every time I took a shot that I ended up playing by myself.

Two Japanese men who were playing ahead of me noticed that. After about the fourth hole, they told me to just drive my ball up to where they were, and then they wanted me to play with them! It was very enjoyable. Luckily, they spoke English because I don't speak any Japanese!

At the ninth hole, I stopped to get something to drink. They wanted me to continue playing, but I decided to stop there. Imagine! Two Japanese men inviting me to play golf with them in Barcelona, Spain!

70th wedding anniversary for my brother and his wife

My oldest brother Roland and his wife Nelly made the headlines on the front page of a local newspaper. On January 6th, they celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary. They had 6 children, 15 grandchildren, 15 great-grandchildren, and 4 great-great grandchildren there. That makes 40 descendents, and I didn't even add the in-laws. Can't you just see that reunion!

I told him that he had better start saving for that 75th anniversary because my sister-in-law deserves that big diamond he will have to get for her then! I just hope when that reunion takes place, they have room for brothers and sisters because I sure want to be there!

Saturday morning cowboy movies

When I was about 8 or 9 years old, one of my favorite things to do was go to cowboy movies on Saturday morning. My mom would give me 2 bottles to take to the store for 10 cents deposit money so that I could go. My older brothers, Roland and Deverett, and I went just about every Saturday. We hardly ever missed one. They had their own money from doing chores or something.

We used to walk to the movie theater, and when we got there, we sat together. Once we found good seats, we stayed in them. The whole theater was full...just kids. It wasn't noisy. It was really quiet because we were all so engrossed in the cowboy movie.

The movies must have started about 9 in the morning and lasted until about 12 noon. We were so excited about those movies that we didn't even think about the popcorn for sale in a little cart in the movie theater.

Scarlet fever and funny books

When I was seven years old, I had scarlet fever, and my bedroom was quarantined. I enjoyed the Sunday funny papers then...this was before they became comic books.

They were printed in 4 1/2 inch squares...big enough to read! There was "Jiggs and Maggie, Mutt and Jeff, Tillie the Toiler, and Katz and Jammer Kids."

I would cut all those squares out and put them together with yarn to make a book. Even my doctor, (who delivered me, and then 23 years later delivered my first daughter) would bring me his Sunday funnies. I may not have had any comic books, but I'll bet I had some of the first funny books.

Reading funny books on the sly

I have to follow up on the funny books and the time I had scarlet fever. I was still confined to the bedroom, but I was sure I wasn't contagious anymore. We had Thanksgiving dinner at our house. My aunt Sophia (Dad's sister) and her family and cousin Irma (Dad's cousin) and her family were all there. The grown-ups all ate first; kids ate last. (My husband changed that at our house; kids ate first there.)

Anyway, my cousin Ora Mae slipped away to the front porch. Then I opened the window and passed the funny books out to her. It was fun, for I hadn't seen anyone other than my mother and the doctor for so long! If those grown-ups had known what we were up to, I don't know what they would have done to us! Anyway, Ora Mae didn't get scarlet fever, and it was fun having her read my first funny books. Weren't we sneaky?

A broom in one hand, a book in the other!

I have always loved to read. I remember my mom would tell me to sweep the floor, and then she would probably catch me standing in the middle of the room, broom in one hand, book in the other! Also when I was ironing, a book would always be on one end of the ironing board!

Even now, it seems as though I drop everything to read an article in the paper or in a magazine. I'm sure I must annoy my family because I'll cut out articles and give them to them, saying, "Hey, would you read this?"

The drugstore library was a hit!

Down at the drugstore, around 1941, they had a rental library. It was a little, old corner of the drugstore where they had books--just paperback books.

Actually, it didn't cost anything; you could check them out for free. You just had to go down and sign them out. It was not a very big place, but they were busy all the time. It was such a convenience. The drugstore was close while the regular library was a mile away--too far to walk, and of course it was cheaper than buying the books.

The books were mostly novelty books or mysteries. I remember Perry Mason books were popular. They were books for adults, not kids.

I remember my brother Gene would go down and pick me out some books. He would pick out some good ones. The drugstore was a couple of blocks from our house, and the theater where he worked was about three blocks away.

He would always go down at the last minute to get me some books; and as a result, he would sometimes be late for work. Once he brought the books home, I would stay up late reading them. At midnight, I might still be reading!

"Mom, look how orange our house is!"

I remember when I was about 4 or 5 years old. My mom and my younger sister Rosa, and myself were going to the pasture to tell my older brother Roland to bring the cows in to be milked. He was on horse back, old cowboy style...ha!

I looked back at our house and said, "Mom, look how orange our house is!" Of course, it was on fire; it was just before all the flames broke out. I can still see the bright orange color.

The only thing saved was my mom's sewing machine. Luckily, she had all her important papers in the six drawers in that sewing machine.

After the house burned down, they fixed up an apartment in the loft of the big milk barn. All I can remember of that was the outside stair steps leading up to it. We lived there until the new house was built. Can you imagine what people would say now if I told them I had lived in a barn!

The new house was where I had scarlet fever. The old house probably wouldn't have had the accomodations for my cousin to slip around to read my funny books.

My younger sister Rosa and myself at about that time.

We used to go crawfishing

Did you ever go crawfishing? I did, our neighbors had this small tank (which is a pond or something similar). We took a stick, tied a twine on it, took a cornmeal ball or a piece of fat pork, and tied it on as bait!

Believe me, we would catch those old crawdads like crazy- that is me and my two older brothers. After we caught a big mess of them, my brothers would cut the tails off, and mom would give us a skillet. We built a campfire, rolled those granddads in cornmeal and fried them.

Believe me, if you haven't had them, it is a treat. I think that must have been the beginning of my love of lobster.

I'm planning to go to New Orleans with my daughters Sandy and Anne and son-in-law John. The first meal I'm going to look the menu over to find is crawfish.

Years later, Jacob--Stormy and Frank's boy--is
not sure that this crawdad is a treat!

My great fish story - A true one!

A true fish story--circa 1966

Speaking of fishing, I have to tell you about my great experience. It was quite different from crawfishing. Lee and I went to a convention in Hollywood, Florida. He had a free day so we went fishing. To this day, it is hard to understand why a husband would take his wife on the kind of fishing day we had, but it was great.

We went to Fort Lauderdale and rented a boat--just the two of us. The boat had two bucket seats in the back. We were out in the Atlantic Ocean, when all at once, there was a catch on my line.

Now my experience fishing with a rod and reel was nil. I started making such a beautiful circle; and in the meantime, the skipper always kept that fish behind the boat. Of course with all the turns he made, we were drenched with all the water splashing on us.

The skipper was on ship-to-shore radio, keeping other boats out of his way. I must have been on that reel for half an hour or so, giving that fish leeway, then reeling him in. Anyway, I was getting tired and not making those beautiful circles anymore. It was like push-pull!

Lee took over for me. I don't know how long he was working that fish! He told the deckhand he thought the line was too tight. Well, the deckhand must have misunderstood for he tightened up on it, and lo, there went that fish!

The skipper was so mad at that young man. He said the fish was an albacore tuna and would say it was about 300 pounds. Quite a thrill and a big disappointment at the same time. When we got back to the dock, people were lined up, even camera men. It's a shame I couldn't get my picture made. No FISH!

She is so sadly missed.

This has been a very sad week for me. I lost a dear sister-in-law, Nelly. She is the sister who had the 70th wedding anniversary the sixth of January this year. She has been part of our family for over 70 years. She is so sadly missed.

I pray for my brother to hang in there. I know what he is going through. I lost Lee after 41 years, and it isn't easy when you lose a part of yourself. Those two grew up together. They married young--Roland at 19 and Nelly at 16. Isn't it great they had all those years together?

I love you, Roland. Your sister, Vera.

Was she ever mad at me!

I want to go back to another story, me at age 12. Back to my Mom and Dad again. Seems as though they were always gone again! They had gone shopping and came home with this beautiful burnt orange flat crepe material, pattern, thread and all to make me a dress.

Then they left again, going somewhere. Well, that was all I needed. I got the pattern out and read all the directions. I thought, "I can do this!" Aren't kids crazy? Anyway, I laid the material out and put the pattern on it, as instructed.

I had just finished cutting and had it all ready to start sewing when in walked Mom and Dad! Was she ever mad at me! Her words to me were, verbatim, "Young lady, you started this, you are going to finish it, and you are going to wear it!"

I did just that, and I loved that dress! You know, I don't think she ever made a thing for me after that. That same year, in seventh grade, I took home economics. When all the other kids were hemming tea towels, I was making a blouse. I think, at least that year, I was the teacher's pet.