Friday, July 15, 2011

Goodnight Moon

Sitting on the front steps on a starry night with my first dog, Mickey. A brown and white terrier mix and my best friend.

We look up at the sky and find the Big and Little Dippers and the Milky Way. The crescent moon shines brightly.

The night is quiet and still. Clean fresh air. No traffic on Grady Avenue. Cars are scarce in Athens Georgia in 1938

On my legs I felt the cool, scratchy concrete of the front steps. I wear mostly plain little summer dresses. White cotton panties. No girls wear long pants. Just not proper. Maybe a pair of blue denim overalls for play.

The lightening bugs flitt by. Another night time I would have caught the fireflies, washed my smelly hands, and kept the glass jar filled with bugs to light my bedside until morning. Tonight is for star gazing with my dog.

Then,

My Mother calls from the front porch breaking the spell of silence.

" Come on in now. Time for Fibber McGee and Molly. And afterwards we can walk to the drug store for an ice cream cone"

I go in.

Mickey yawns and sets out to canvas the neighborhood for his doggie friends.

"Gotta check out the street for new, exotic smells and sounds."


"Goodnight Stars. Goodnight Sky. Goodnight Moon"

Monday, July 11, 2011

A long time ago

I remember when I was 15 and my cousin, Harry, was MIA in WW2 in Holland with the US Army. His wife was pregnant with their first(and only) child. A few weeks later the baby was born and shortly there after his family received word that Harry was dead. Killed in action. Rachel, his wife. was only a few years older than I was. My aunt Nora, Harry's Mother,( Rachel was staying with her), called and invited me and my two girlfriends over to visit Rachel and the baby. Only a few days old and fatherless now. We went and got to hold the baby (little Lee) and talk awhile with Rachel. She looked so young and vulnerable. It was sad to think the baby would never know his Dad.

I moved away from Athens and lost track of Rachel and Lee. One evening, years later, I went to a party here in Atlanta and learned that Lee, all grown up now, was the caterer for the event. We met and hugged and talked about Athens and his dad. I was astonished that Lee was the "spitting image" of his dad , Harry, even down to the same friendly personality and never met a stranger attitude. A real charmer. And Lee's dad had also been in the food, restaurant business.

Lee took an avid interest in our family history, paternal side, and with a family tree that a distant aunt of ours had compiled, he went to Donald S.C. and found the old family home of major John Donald (Donnald S,C, was named for Major John Donald) He would have been our a great- great- great grandfather or something like that. Lee bought the old home, had it moved to Athens, restored it to it's original condition (circa about 1800 and he lived in it for a while.

I just think it is touching that Lee was driven to delve back into time to obtain a sense of his Dad and his family history.

"Donald-Epting House "The Hill"

"On the outskirts of Athens, this Plantation-Plain-Style home (circa 1800), with period furnishings and gardens, is the private home of one of Georgia's most hospitable hosts and creative caterers. The Epting family represents the seventh generation of Major John Donald - the original owner - for which Donalds, South Carolina, is named.

No matter what the occasion, Lee Epting creates events that surpass the ordinary. Whether it's candle-lit dinners with waiters in period costume and fireplaces ablaze in every room, mint juleps on the porch, or receptions on the lawn - it will be an experience to remember."

Monday, July 04, 2011

New IPHONE

WOW
My new IPHONE is a doozy.

I can play games like "Words With Friends" a Scrabble clone, text my grandchildren, surf the internet, etc etc. I can even make a phone call when the spirit moves me. ;)

I even downloaded an App for a silent dog whistle to help quiet Buddy's sometimes excessive barking.

The world at my fingertips is not an over statement about the IPHONE.

What a neat toy.




If any of you have an IPHONE and have downloaded the App for "Words With Friends" my game name is jehnet. Maybe we could play a game or two..