Today marks one hundred post for From my Head to Yours at Jfmcdonaldjr.com
Past, present & plans: 9-5-16
Past, present & plans: 9-5-16
Past
My dad was from the cotton fields of Texas and my mom was from east Tennessee, actually she was born in the Appalachian Mountains. Therefore, I have all kinds of hillbilly in my back ground and I am proud of it.
A couple of years after we moved to Lanham, we had what you call a shindig in the front yard. Now, remember this is a housing development in Prince George’s County, Md. in the sixties.
The band was on the front porch, while all the rest of us were scattered in the grass. We had a couple of guitars, banjo, bass, harmonica and a jug and we were jammin’.
A few of the neighbors came out on their porch, but for the most part it was just us hicks. No one said anything or disturbed us, especially the way my dad and the uncles looked, we were a bad ass gang. It was great.
Years later, when ‘The Beverly Hillbillies’ came on TV, I realized how we might have been perceived by the neighbors.
To this day I love the way my family is and I am just as outgoing as they were. No one will squelch my spirit, although I find it useful to count to three sometimes before I speak. Old dogs can learn new tricks.
Present
Yesterday, me and Raymond took a day trip down to Colonial Beach, Virginia and had great day.
While, driving we usually tell each other funny stories of our past. I’ve known Raymond, since high school and I don’t believe I knew, that he spent two summers at Colonial Beach and visited many times.
We searched for his autograph in the fifty year old side walk, but our priority that day was the Art Show on the boardwalk. By the way there were no boards on the boardwalk, it was a concrete walk way. We bought a few things, took a mess of pictures, saw everything and flirted with all the woman.
Plans
I think I will add another category to my blog and I will probably call it ‘Stories by others’, although I will be the author of their stories.
I belong to a large group of people that don’t drink and drug anymore and we all have some stories that we are able to laugh at now.
Raymond in February 2nd 2009 at Fontana River
Random thoughts: Stars and Stripes (true story)
Random thoughts: Stars and Stripes (true story)
I had no idea, but September 3rd 1777 was the first day our American Flag was flown.
It was flown in battle, at Cooch’s Bridge, Maryland. Patriot General William Maxwell ordered the stars and strips banner raised, but we were defeated and forced to retreat to Pennsylvania.
Six white stripes and seven red stripes signifying the thirteen British colonies seceding from Great Britain’s rule about a year earlier. The thirteen white stars on the blue field are our first thirteen states.
Happy birthday to the flag for the greatest country in the world. My flag.
Random thoughts: favorite place in Maryland (true story)
Random thoughts: favorite place in Maryland (true story)
Me and Raymond like to play games with people. So on the way back from Virginia, we stopped off at a Maryland Visitor Center to play one. We pretended we were from Idaho and never been to Maryland before. The center was closed, but we had the opportunity to talk to a very friendly man, that had some kind of job there.
Raymond asked him, “If you had a chance to see or do one thing in Maryland what would it be?”
The man kind of ignored the question, but he did give Raymond a couple of magazines. Raymond then told him, “We stopped at a Virginia Visitor Center and asked a lady the same question.”
Our guy said, “Oh?”
“She told us, she had no idea, because she just moved there from Wisconsin.”
I said, “Yeah, that was funny.”
A little later we were sitting at Twin Kiss, Raymond got a Strawberry Sunday and I got a medium slow cone. We started talking to some other locals and we asked them the same question. One guy said, “Annapolis is nice.”
The other guy said, “We just left Mallows Bay.”
Me and Raymond realized if we were put on the spot with the same question, we would hesitate a little also. Raymond thought we are famous for our Blue Crabs and I mentioned Ocean City.
Where is your favorite place in Maryland?
Your three words, my little story: Collin’s words
Your three words, my little story
Collin’s words: car, salt & fish
Collin’s CAR was good on gas, but not good in the snow. So he didn’t really want to go shopping, but he forgot to get bread, milk and toilet paper.
As soon as he pulled out of his long gravel driveway, he realized this was a mistake. The two lane blacktop hadn’t been plowed or driven on yet, so he tried to take his half of the road right in the middle.
He pulled up to the IGA and not a car or customer was there. He was actually afraid to pull into the parking lot, but it was that or keep on driving to Sloan.
He made the turn and headed home. It took him two hours to make a thirty minute drive. When he pulled up to his house he noticed the lights were off. First thing he thought of was the FISH in the freezer.
Colin piled some split oak in the fireplace and lit it up. He stood at the freezer door trying to remember exactly where the perch was at, so he could pull two out and quickly shut the door. However he pulled out two bass, which was fine. He then thawed them out and seasoned them with SALT and pepper and swung them over the fire.
The Houseboat Poet 