Eat More Watermelon! Everything Flows Better!

That is me above eating watermelon while my older sister looks on. Below is Anna’s brothers, grandparents, and great grandparents eating watermelon.

Lately, we have been eating watermelon just about everyday, and just about everyday I have been regular.

The days I didn’t eat watermelon, the day afterwards it wasn’t so easy on the throne.

Now I know why more people die in January. January is long past watermelon season

The General Took a Trip

I feel a song:

Oh, The General took a little trip
down the Mighty Mississip -
Wait!
That is all wrong! The General did not go down the Mighty Mississip - The General went to New Yawk to the 1965 World's Fair.

The General locomotive engine, commandeered by Andrew's Raiders, was chased by the engine The Texas, from Big Shanty to Ringgold, Georgia, commandeered by Conductor Fuller. Thus, the story of The Great Locomotive Chase story was born.*

It sat in the choo-choo yards of Chattanooga until some civic minded Georgians made an effort to have it returned to Georgia. I think I remember Governor Lester Maddox being a big force to get her (him?) back on Georgia soil.

Now, The General sits in the Kennesaw Civil War Museum where thousands of tourists can see it. It has been there quiet a few years.

I forgot it The General was at the New York World's Fair. I am going over all my pictures for possible use in my digital picture box and today came across the above picture of my mother and baby sister Bonnie posing in front of The General. If I remember correctly, it was righ next to a big red China pavilion or something.

*please add anything J3.

Herman

This is a picture of Marilyn and her husband Herman October 23, 2003, at Herman’s retirement party. Herman was a co-worker of mine. We worked together between 10 and 15 years before we realized I knew his wife Marilyn when she was a baby. She is my good friend Ed W’s niece.

I think Herman was retired for about 45 minutes (exaggeration) before he found a job. He went to work for the Cobb County Board of Education. He said he was bored just sitting around. Nervous energy. Tch tch.

Relaxing is an art of the past.

Herman called me today and told me he is scheduled to have another open-heart surgery Friday. Since about 1990 his cardiovascular system has been fragile. He has had several stints installed and one by-pass operation.

The upcoming operation is to by-pass the by-pass, if I understood correctly, and there other complications. They said if it was just a by-pass there is a 2% chance of something going wrong, but with all that has already gone wrong, the chances of something bad happening goes up to 30% That is almost a one in three chance.

The doctor put it simply, when he gets in his heart there is a certain artery to avoid cutting into – he gave the name of it but I didn’t retain it. He said the artery doesn’t have a label or a sign on it, and if he accidentally cuts into it, well, that is it.

Today is Herman's birthday. I hope he has a happy birthday and many more.

Bus Hunter (1906-2005)

This is my my uncle Ray Robert "Bus" Hunter talking to his niece Alice "Rusty" on his 98th birthday May 31, 2004. He died ten months later.

They lived in Douglasville, Georgia. He lived almost six lives longer than his wife Zelma. Unfortunately he buried his only child Jerry also. Jerry was a pilot and shot down in the Vietnam War.

As a teenager Bus wanted to be a professional wrester or boxer, with his older brother as his coach and manager. I think he met someone stronger than he that taught him fighting was not as glamorous as it looked.

He was a lineman for the Douglas County REMC.

At his funeral the preacher told that he heard one time Bus, with incredible strength, lifted a line pole, in an emergency situation.

At his 90th birthday party he was as sharp as usual, quoting long ago poetry and prose and having quick comeback wit.

He told me the year before at a family get together that he quit cutting his grass and is paying someone else to do it. About a year before he had a stroke and walked with a cane.

Bus was the last sibling of nine to go.

In the early 60s I worked with a guy named Red from Douglasville. Red asked me was I related to Robert Hunter in Douglasville. The nickname Bus was a family name, Red knew him as Robert. They played pool together at the local pool hall. He said Bud was a very good pool player. Surprises, surprises!

Hunter Memorial Park is named after his son Jerry. It is mostly a sports park with baseball diamonds, tennis courts, etc. It also has a small choo-choo train that pulls kids around the perimeter of the park. At the entrance of the park is an out of commission F-105 jet plane with Jerry's name on the side.

At every Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and any other time the people pay tribute to those who gave their lives for the defense of their country Bus would be right in there - in the middle of paying tribute.

You Can Fool Some of the People

You can fool all the people some of the time and you can fool some of the people all the time.
- Abe Lincoln said that and it still applies.

I think I been doing some fooling, just as stated above, but then after three years of blogging I have been figured out. The people finally got my number. They figured out there is nothing to me; no substance; No fooling.

For six or eight months now my faithful counter has told me, to my standards, I have had a lot a lot of visitors every day. As I mentioned before what pleased me more than the high numbers was the percentage of revisits and people who spent more than five minutes reading my stuff. Both were running between 40 and 25% daily.

Then Friday something went wrong. I had a big drop in visitors and a big drop in the percentage of revisits and long readings (under 10%).

I had so few visitors I could have invited all them to come and visit me here at our small home. However, if they brought their spouses, children, and grandchildren some people would probably have to stand.

It must have been something I said.

Or something I didn’t say… maybe it was just plain bo-ring.

I thought I might have to look at some cutbacks; cut the labor force of my very dedicated staff.

Then, the next day a wonderful thing happened. I had an increase of ten visitors. I emailed HR and told them to hold on the lay-offs!

And today, the attendance is back in full force, like it was three days ago!

We will survive by not panicking.

Sope Creek Covered Bridge pictures

Pictures of the Soaks Creek Covered Bridge are rare.

The bridge was destroyed on Valentine's night, 1963, when my life-long friend Carol Joe Clayton had a head-on collision in the bridge. He was killed and the bridge was too.

While copying my mother-in-law's slides I came across the above pictures of the Soaks Creek bridge, when it was covered.

The Invisible Couple Strike Again.

Yesterday we went to Home Depot. We are in the process of having our kitchen cabinets refaced and are shopping and choosing what all we need.

A man in an orange apron walked up and said, “How are you folks this evening?”

Anna began to point at what was on displayed and telling him what we were in the market for. We turned around to get his intake and he was not there. He was about 15 or 20 feet from us walking away and approaching another coupl as if we did not say anything.

The Invisible Man strikes again and brings the Mrs along!

Chili, Brunswick Stew, Death, & Fast-Ones

At the dog park yesterday chili, Brunswick stew, and barbecue eateries were discussed.

Joe said that he, his wife, his brother, and his brother's wife as a team won first place in the Brunswick Stew division of the Stone Mountain Chili & Brunswick Stew Cook-Off. He said one year they won 2nd place and the next year they won 1st. .

Rocco’s Grill in Marietta… they won the Stone Mountain Chili-Cook-Off a couple of times, which their signs proudly say.

That reminded me of Vince DeSantes. a co-worker at the Post Office I worked at. He was a regular bar stool warmer at Rocco-s Bar and Grill. To hear him tell it he was a key team member that helped Rocco’s get all the awards. They even went to Texas one time with their chili recipe and got an award.

Vince was one day older than me. He was born July the 15th 1941. He retired from the Marines and had that gruff way of talking like lifer-Marines do. Well, being from Boston probably helped with his accent too.

Did you notice that I said Vince “was” one day older than me and not “is”? Vince reportedly or supposedly committed suicide.

The day before he was to commit the final act of his life the postal inspectors were going over his work. He was a window clerk. They believed he embezzled the Postal Service out of thousands.

Then the next day, the day a trap was set for him – the postal inspectors and management were waiting for him to come in at his regular time and he did not come in.

Later that morning the Acworth Police found a car with a body in it. It was Vince’s car. The body had a gun in one hand and Rosary Beads in the other hand. I don’t know who made the final decision but somebody identified him as Vince.

A few of his co-workers have their doubts. Vince was skinny as a rail with no body fat – he smoked all the time. Vince probably didn’t weight over 130 pounds. The body weighed around 225. There were other questions too… for one, he withdrew a large amount of money from an ATM 30 minutes before he killed himself. There other things that didn’t add up, but time has gone by – at least 15 years or more, so I forgot.

Back to chili: During our conversation about chili and Brunswick stew I asked has any body tried the chili on Brandi’s World Famous Hotdogs – not only does Brandi’s chili complement the hotdogs but so does the coleslaw and of course the other condiments.

Which brings up another fact I read recently: 3% of people prefer plain hotdogs. So, now I am wondering do 3 out of every hundred customers at Brandi’s ask for just plain hotdogs. If so, why are they eating at Brandi’s?

The Dolittle Family

I remember my father telling me of a man who worked for the Cobb County Rabies Control, aka Dog Catchers that could talk to dogs. If a wild dog was hiding and alluding authorities this man could go out in the brush, bushes, and trees where the dog was hiding and talk him into coming on in – give himself up, so to speak.

I suppose now he would be called the Dog Whisperer.

Or several years ago he would probably be nicknamed Doctor Dolittle.

Across the street the family talks to animals…. Well, that is nothing special, I suppose everybody talks to their pet, I know I do. But when they talk to their animals they expect a response of some kind.

A couple of weeks ago I heard the 17 year son holler for their dog to come back. He said something like, “You get yourself back here!!
You better come back before I count to three.
One… two…… “

He didn’t finish counting, I think he realized that either he or the dog did not know the next number.

A few months ago up at Allatoona Lake the father saw that somebody was about to drown a bunch of baby kittens in a box. He rescued them and brought them home.

That is the good thing he did. He should have kept on his good roll and carry them to the Cobb County Humane Society Animal Shelter.

Instead, he let them out and let them wander away…now, they are all grown and all over the neighborhood. Two of them stayed with them.

This morning I saw the father bent over a white cat and shout, “How many times have I told you not to cross the street?”

Evidently, the cat was thinking and had not came up with a figure when the father shouted again, “How many times damn it!!”

I was curious myself what the cat was going to say, but I had things to do, I couldn’t wait around to hear it.

Sumac Presb Church, Crandall, Murray County, Ga

I haven’t posted a cemetery in a long time (they are more work).

Sumac Presbyterian Church Cemetery is in Crandall, Murray County, Georgia, is northwest of Dalton, and almost directly north of Chatsworth, Georgia, on Hwy 225. The church and the cemetery is just several miles south of the Tennessee state line.

I have been to this cemetery a number of times. The place has a lot of relatives on my mother’s side of the family.

It is on a high hill or ridge and has a magnificent view of farms and the country side.




Addie Ridley Davis was my grandmother’s sister.



Ruby Ridley Dickson was my grandmother’s sister.




Walter Ridley was a challenged person. After their parents died my grandmother and her siblings took care of Walt. I remember him well. He always wore overalls. He is in Ruby and Babe Dickson’s plot.



James “Jim” Petty was my grandfather’s brother. He married Lillie Henry. Four of his children and their wives are also in the family plot.




Georgia Petty King was my grandfather’s cousin. My grandfather also had a daughter named Georgia.


Sarah Arrowood is the wife of Andrew Jackson Bookout.




Andrew Jackson Bookout is the son of my ancestor Jesse Bookout.




I am not related to the Arthur family, I just thought their marker was unique.




Clarence Bookout is Andrew Jackson Bookout’s son.





As mentioned above Jesse Bookout is my ancestor. He had an older stone or marker and the above replaced it. It is said he came to this area before 1832, which was before the white man was allowed and worked for Chief Vann, which was also forbidden – for a white man to be employed by and Indian.




Nova Bookout was married twice. One of her marriages was to V.C. Davis. V.C. Davis was also married to Addie Ridley, mentioned above.



Lizzy Lackey was married to a distant cousins, Elijah W. Petty.



Maggie was first the wife to T.J. Lackey and secondly to my ancestor’s brother William D. Petty. It appears to be something of a soap opera before TV going was going on.




Elijah Petty, son of William D. Petty, mentioned above.




Here is another Georgia Petty marker. Wait! I am confused.



J.N. Petty. A mystery.




W.D. Petty was my great grandfather’s brother. He was born in North Carolina, grew up in Fannin County, and moved to Murray County.



Andrew Pullen was a ancestor’s brother.



John Pullen is Andrew Pullen’s brother. Interesting, there is a marker by the parking lot at the beginning of the Cemetery down the road at Calvary Baptist Church – the marker thanks John for his donation for care of the cemetery.




Clarence Ridley is a distant cousin. I thought both markers are vital.




Luke and Sally Dunn were the parents of Clarence (above).



Thomas Jefferson Ridley and Maryetta Pullen are my ancestors. They are the parents of my grandmother; my mother’s mother’s parents.



William M. Ridley is another mystery.

I left out about a dozen pictures of stones hard to read, spouses, etc.

Willow's Goes to the Doctor

Yesterday was Willow’s annual doctor’s visit.

At the vet’s office everything is efficient. I was to bring in a fresh turd for them look at to see if it had whatever a turd would have in it – worms? Also, they have a floor level big scale about 3’ by 4’ I would guess. Weighing Willow was my job.

While we were waiting in the dog waiting room (there is also a cat waiting room on the other side of the service counter island) three other people came in with their dogs. Each dog had to check each other rear-end. I think it is partly a social thing and partly a scientific thing – no telling what the sniffing dog finds out about the dog he has his nose at his or her butt.

While I was sitting in the waiting room a lady was sitting and her huge dog was also there. She said the dog weighed 103 pounds. He and Willow property introduced each other by rear end smelling. The lady said she and huge unusual dog visited people under hospice care to entertain them…. I wonder how she entertain them, tell them her dog has the jaws of death and did they want a boring death or a little excitement as they die?

Seriously, everybody loves dogs, I think that is a noble act, to put a wagging tail in a doomed person’s life for a short time.



Which reminds me of a cat of death at a Marietta nursing home. There was a story about it on the TV news and the paper. The cat apparently has full run of a nursing home and goes where it wants all over the premises. One nurse noticed that it always picked someone on their death bed and lie at their feet and leave just an hour or so before the Grim Reaper comes. When they notice the cat has taken up with someone new it is time to call their family – it won’t be long. Someone said the cat is a blessing, it prepares the family.

Speaking of cats that have freedom of a establishment: A cat lazily shy shay or sauntered in between the four or five dogs and went and stood by the full length window and looked out. The other dogs did not seem to notice the cat but Willow had the appearance of huffing steam out of both nostrils. I felt like I needed a good grip on her leash..

The cat belongs there. Why. I guess she is conversation-piece. The other two or three times we have been at this vet the cat was asleep on the counter. It is a big fluffy cat that is very relaxed. The first time I was standing at the counter checking out and I noticed it and thought it was a big stuffed play-cat and almost picked it up to see it better when it looked up at me when I reached for it. I would have probably been clawed to death if I didn’t see those live eyes.


Also while sitting in the waiting room two females came in with a large breed of dog. The dog I hardly noticed, but the two women I did. They were both text-book beautiful. One looked very much like the proper dyed blond cheerleader and the other looker looked very much like the dyed blond cheer leader mother. They both smiled the entire time – they went straight to the scale, weighed their dog, then left… but not before bending over and petting Willow and have their dog say a few words to Willow. I think they would like to teach their dog to smile like a human.

We were called in. I gave the lady my turd sample all securely wrapped in sandwich sacks.

A technician came in and drew blood. Then shortly after the doctor came in and looked Willow over and gave her two shots – a rabies shot and I think a booster shot. Willow remained very quiet as he pawed her (pawed her – get it?) but I could tell by holding her neck and torso she was trembling like a super charged motor that was about to explode with too much pressure building.

Willow weighed 46 pounds. The doctor suggested she lose a few pounds to be in the low 40s. He said she would be in a healthier shape if you could run your fingers along her sides and count her ribs… he said now there is a cushion of fat there.

He said other than that, all the tests and poo-poo samples proved she is in great shape.

Then he said he used to have a dog. He went on to say he and his wife has cats but he wants a dog again. He said he was thinking about rescuing a Lab – what did I think?

A vet asking me my opinion about what did I think about a Lab?

When I was checking out with the receptionist and getting Willow's medicine and paying and all I thought I wonder what her expression would be if I asked for Willow's "sample stool" back.

On the way home I thought of pulling in Wendy’s or McDonald’s and getting Willow a $1 hamburger and me a spicy chicken sandwich… for her as an award and for me as payment for carrying her to the doctor. But the little goody two-shoes with wings on my left shoulder said, “Remember, the doctor said she needs to lose weight – and I don’t think your ribs can be counted either.”

Then the little guy with horns and a pitchfork on my other shoulder said, “Boston Market now has BBQ chicken sandwiches – you saw the ad and were just thinking about them the other day….”

And I said, “But Boston Market doesn’t have hamburgers for Willow!”

And the little guy with the horns rammed his pitchfork into my shoulder and said, “Wendy’s is almost next door you idiot!”

Then I thought of the cost.

I went home and had a Chicken of the Sea Tuna sandwich and the little guy with horns on my right shoulder said, “Bah!”

Willow had a Chewey bone as an award.

Glover Machine Works and Frank Hunter

Above is a Vanishing Georgia Project picture of the working men at Glover Machinery in Marietta, Georgia, about 1920. Click on to make larger.

Also above is the picture of my grandfather Frank Paris Hunter, taken about 1900 - he was born in 1879. Frank P. Hunter worked at Glover Machinery for many years, which would probably include the years before and after 1920.

So, do you think Frank is in the picture with the workers? I think probably so. Which one?

Looking at each man one at a time, I think he is the dark headed man on the far right that is right behind two men - I think that man has about the same features as Frank Hunter. Remember there are roughly 20 years between each picture.

While we are on the subject of my grandfather and Glover Machinery I want to mention what a great hospitalization plan they had. If you worked there and you or any member of your family was sick, you call the company doctor and he would make a house call family and check on the ailing person. And when he left he did not leave a bill. He was on Glover's payroll. But finding a phone to call the doctor may be another ordeal.

Frank and Minnie Hunter had eight sons and a daughter. The sons played hard - I think the company doctor probably got to know the family well.

a MAD MONSTER

Another History Channel Page a Day Calendar:

On this day* in 1814 Percy Bysshe Shelly fled to France with his lover Mary Wollstoncraft Godwin. Percy was married to Harriet Westbrook, who killed herself in 1816.

Percy Shelly and Mary married after his wife committed suicide and spent a couple of years running from creditors.

While they lived in Geneva, Mary Shelly wrote the masterpiece Frankenstein.

Above and below are some pages out of MAD comic book #8 of Harvey Kurtzman and Will Elder’s interpretation of that story. The top is the cover for that issue done by Kurtzman and below are several pages of the story by Elder- but not the whole story….click on them and look at the details.

Scientific Fishing

I think from a marketing point of view, we have been profiled, cataloged, grouped, characterized, labeled, and predicted. Analysts know our next move. If, while in a store, I have a sudden urge to urinate and make my way to the men’s rest room, as the other day, a man was probably near by, and put a check by “going to rr at 3:15” and said to himself, “Just as we predicted! Are we good or what?”

On the 16th of July Anna and I dropped by Home Depot to buy a Ryobi weed eater I had my eye on for a while now. We had a $10 coupon. At the checkout we discovered the coupon did not start until the following day so we left without purchasing the weed eater.

The next day we went and reclaimed the Ryobi weed eater. While there a young man approached us and asked us if we ever considered having our kitchen cabinets replaced. “Why, yes, as a matter of fact, we have.” I am sure he already knew that. He lined up for a representative to come to our house and show us the options we had.

We walked around a corner and a young lady appeared from no-where and asked if we ever considered a Home Depot credit card. Nope… don’t need another credit card we said. She said something to the effect that if we signed up for a credit card we would get $30 off that weedeater. We more or less said, “$30?” And they probably already knew our next question would be “And can we also use our $10 coupon?”

She lady said, “Of course!”

They reeled us in.

OK For Guns in the Hospital Waiting Room

Friday I was sitting in a waiting area of the admissions area at the hospital. I noticed a man at the counter talking to the receptionist. He was a stout red headed guy. He had two guns, one on each hip. I suppose legally it is ok to carry a gun, or guns, if they are not concealed. This guy was a two-gun Pete.

It is OK, as in OK Corral, now to carry guns in public places.

This guy looked like the type who was a bully in school years ago and loves to intimidate. He can do a lot of intimidating with two guns on his sides.

Then I thought, what if someone else, with two guns, equal as intimidating came in the waiting room. Then someone high-strung with two bigger guns came in, and he held the door opened for a wobbling drunk, that was spinning a six-shooter on his finger.

Then I saw a volunteer push a sick looking man slumped over in a wheelchair by. The sickly old man looked as if he was detached from reality. What if he suddenly, without warning, the sick old man let out a blood curdling scream?

Then…

Good Morning Mr. Sun!

Many mornings when Willow and I run and/or walk we pass by a track field on the campus of Addison Elementary school. The track looks like a regular paved track – not wide enough for a car, but wide enough to have four lines for four competitors to run. I don’t think it is a regulation size track – the tracks I know of are 4 times around make a mile and this one on the inner row ten times around and on the outer row it is nine times around make a mile.

What I am getting at is that in within the circumference of the track is a fairly large area of “nothing much” It is partly grass, and partly not grass, but I suppose the maintenance people are still trying to get grass to grow in the bare spots.

Lately, just about every time we go by the track in the morning, there is a lady standing facing the east. She is dark skin. I suppose she is far eastern and that is a religious thing she does, welcome the sun in the morning. She almost stands at attention as she looks over my head and the trees behind me.

In the parking lot, near the track is always a small little car – which I correctly assumed is the car she came in. One morning I was running a little late, and I saw her get into the little car and drive away.

A couple of days ago I noticed something I thought was different and interesting. I heard loud rock music coming from someplace. Then I figured out it was coming from her car – one of the doors was opened. Inside was somebody, I think a teenager, not worshiping the sun, but maybe worshiping rock music – Interesting.

The next day she came alone again.

Gasp! James Brown Hot Sauce

A few days ago I acquired a 5 oz bottle of James Brown Hot Sauce from a bbq joint. On the label below the title it said, "Made from West African scotch bonnet peppers giving it a hot sauce with soul." (with soul in red).

It has soul alright. An evil soul.

I was warned only a "drop will do you".

That evening we had Talipia. I usually put hot sauce or red pepper on the talipia I eat so I gave the James Brown Hot Sauce a try. I am pretty sure I shook the bottle first... that is something I normally do on things like this.

Instead of a drop, I put about 6 or 8 drops, evenly dispersed on the white fish. It just barely had a spicy taste to it. I tasted hotter.

Today, for lunch I had a hot dog. I placed the wiener in a bun like it lying in a coffin, then dressed it up with condiments.

Then, I remembered the James Brown Hot Sauce. Because the last time I tried the sauce and only got a slight spicy taste, I decided to douse the top of the dog pretty good. I left a steady unbroken trail from one end of the other.

I started eating. About 35% through the dog it hit me. My mouth and lips felt they were on fire. My eyes watered. I huffed and puffed to heave the scorching from my mouth. I drank a Diet Coke and topped it off with lot of water. For some reason my body commanded my right hand to flap up and down.

Man!!!

Then, I scraped off the dressing and re-dressed it, and letting just a couple drops do me.

It was still hot, but not as hot as a few minutes ago.

Whew!

I felt like Wile E. Coyote just after he had one of his gaming tricks to backfire on him.

Willow just watched me with the amusement of an innocent bystander. I think she was probably thinking, "That is what you get for not offering me part of that hotdog!"