Past, present & plans 9-17-16

Past

I was eleven years old, when my brother, George, and I tried out for the Hughesville Pony League baseball team. Neither one of us could hit, throw or catch. We were terrible, but we had a reason; the only thing I ever did with a baseball glove was throw a rubber ball against a building and caught it when it bounced back to me. George didn’t do that much.

 
Dad was probably as embarrassed as we were, so he took a little part of the farm land and made us a baseball field. Immediately we started practicing our hitting, pitching and fielding. We would listen to the Washington Senators baseball team on our transistor radio and took turns as the pitcher and the catcher. Every time the big league team would switch batting and fielding we would switch pitching and catching.
We made the team the following year.

Present

I couldn’t reach my writing buddy, Matt, today, so I went to the local, “Life Journey Writers Guild” in Waldorf, by myself. We heard about the meeting two weeks ago; so, this was my first time there. It’s a two hour session that meets once a month.

 
I feel I can learn a lot and it will be a good networking element. It will cost twenty five dollars annually, which I will gladly scrape together. I’m anxious for next month’s meeting, since I really enjoyed myself.

Plans

Yesterday, we added a guest blogger, Gwyn Warren, and I can’t wait for her next story. Tomorrow I hope to add another guest blogger who will go by the pen name, “sweetpea” with a lower case, “s”.

 
I have been slacking a little on my writing the last couple of days, so I think I will catch up tomorrow before and after the Redskins one o’clock game.

Past, Present & Plans 9-11-16

 

Past

 

The other day I told you guys we moved to Hughesville and didn’t have running water. We had a sink, commode and bath tub, but to use any of those we had to carry water upstairs. We used an outhouse for the better part of a year. I knew about outhouses from visiting grandmother in Mountain City, Tennessee every summer as a kid. My brother, George, did also, I’m not sure about my sister, Debbie, because she was only five.

 

I have no idea why some of us were standing in ear shot of the outhouse, when Aunt Louise came out of it, but she said, “Wow, that room smells like shit!” as she walked off towards the house. I thought, “Of course it does.” A couple of my cousins laughed and I was so confused, I didn’t realize it was a joke.

 

Present

 

Today I was at my friend, Matt’s, house, when he had something similar to a stroke. I called 911 and yelled upstairs to his wife, “T, come here; there’s something wrong with Matt!”

 

She came down and said, “It might be vertigo, he takes medicine for that.”

 

At the Emergency Room, I noticed a little white scab on Matt’s lower left leg. I told him, “Has anyone ever told you about the Discoloration Syndrome?” I asked this in front of T and the Doctor.

 

He said, “No.”

 

I was pointing at a white spot on his black leg and said, “At the age of eighty five some black men start losing their color and turn white. I see it’s already started on you.” Everyone laughed and then I told him, “Love ya man! Call me if they keep you over night.” The doctor already told me they were going to run more tests and send him home, so I left.

 

T called me later when he was home and said, “He had several small strokes in the past, but this wasn’t one. They don’t know what it was yet. He has to go to his doctor for more test.”

 

The joke about his leg was supposed to make him feel at ease and me too. I was sitting four feet in front him, when the vertigo happened. It really scared me, because I thought my friend was dying and there was nothing I could do.

 

Plans

 

I talked to a new friend today about scripture and I’m thinking about volunteering at the local Detention Center again. It’s been fifteen years, since I carried the Gospel message to the inmates.

Past, present & plans 9-9-16

 

Past

 

When we moved to Hughesville in ’65, we didn’t have running water. We had what I called walking water. My brother, George, and I carried gallon jugs of water from our neighbor. Two at a time through the weeds, from about three acres away. It seems to me I remember plastic gallon jugs. According to one website, “plastic gallon jugs were introduced in ’64.”

 

To take a bath we had to carry them up stairs in our old farm house. Mom would heat water on the stove and we would carry that up stairs also. I can’t remember the order, but each of us took a bath in the same water.

 

Present

 

Matt registered the other day at the Clark Senior Center and today, his wife, Teresa, did too. We ate three lunches at the center and they were well worth a three dollar donation a piece.

 

After lunch Teresa went home, while Matt and I went to a Creative Writing class down the hall. There were eleven chairs filled with warm bodies, which I thought was pretty good. The teacher answered a question of mine that has plagued me for weeks.

 

The class is free to registered seniors and you can’t beat that.

 

Plans

 

A friend told me that Omega 3 fish oil has helped him with his general aches and pains. He said, “It took three weeks before it took affect.”

 

I bought a three month bottle. When I see the bottom of the bottle, I’ll tell you if my aches and pains are gone.

Past, present & plans 9-7-16

 

Past

 

At the moment I can’t think of anything notable left at Lanham, so I will move on.

 

We moved from Lanham, MD, south to Hughesville, MD in the fall of ’65. It was a very interesting time for me, because I don’t remember much of the previous moves. Of course I didn’t want to leave my friends, but I was interested in living in the country.

 

It was just dad and I the first night there and we camped out in the living room. Again I felt special, but I’m sure it was only because I was the oldest at eleven.

 

Dad said he wanted to move us kids out of the city and give us a chance to grow up working in the dirt.

 

Present

 

Yesterday Matt and I, went to one of the local Senior Centers for a “Meet the Author”session and also register Matt. We found out I misread the calendar and was at the wrong center. After Matt registered we went to the Waldorf Jaycees to meet the author. She was a Waldorf resident named Mary Ann Jenkins, who wrote three books so far.

 

We both learned so much, since we are trying  to learn how to write we soak up all the knowledge we can.

 

There was eighteen of us in the audience and she taught us about copy writing, self publishing and of course told us about her process of writing. I did buy one her books and got her autograph.

 

Plans

 

I decided yesterday not only will I add a new category called, ‘Story by others’ I will add another one called ‘Meet the writer’. Over the past two years I have probably gone to at least six writer signings and took notes on all of them. I will probably start with Mary Ann Jenkins, since she is the latest.

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.