Here are some interesting tidbits from my family's ancestry:
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As toddlers, my Mom and Elvis used to play together.
My Mom, Cherie Rochelle was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on November 29th, 1935.
My grandmother, Lena Mae, was born in 1918. At the age of 15, during the depression,
she was married off to a nearby farmer, whereupon she had my Mom and my Uncle Stanley.
My grandmother didn't take well to the life of a farmers wife.
She had an adventuresome streak in her that I always admired and took off
one day with my Mom and Uncle Stanley in tow.
By the time my Mom was a toddler, they were living next door to the Presley's.
As my grandmother told us thru the years, they lived on the wrong side of the tracks.
Definitely the poor side of town... Back then, their houses were really shacks with dirt floors.
I remember hearing, many a time, my grandmother tell stories of how awful those dirt floors
were... that you would sweep and sweep and it would be as if you had done nothing at all.
Back in those days, the bathtub was really a tub that was outside.
So, as toddlers, my Mom and Elvis would have their baths together
outside in the tub. Elvis Presley, even then, was musical. My grandmother mentioned
quite often that he had a little guitar or banjo and was very good at it, even at that age.
He was also fascinated my Mom's blonde hair and tried to touch it all the time...
Having grown up with these stories, it's no wonder that I still remember the day that Elvis died.
I was a teenager living in Houston at the time and people were
literally crying in the streets. Every where you looked people were weeping.
It was only then, at that moment, that I realized the magnitude of the greatness of Elvis Presley...
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Given this 'awareness' of Elvis thru the years,
when the U.S. Postal Service released the Elvis stamp over a decade later, I
immediately sent my son, Jason to the post office. Money was pretty tight so I sent
him with change to pick up just two of the 29 cent stamps.
When he brought home the pair of stamps I immediately
noticed they were 'mistakes'. There were double black
inking marks on the stamps. Double eyelashes, double lip
shadows...Even the microphone was surrealistic in that the black
faded into and over Elvis' hand. Being a lifelong stamp collector,
I knew this was an incredible happenstance. Grabbing grocery
money I flew up to the post office to buy out the Elvis stock.
But,it was too late...they had already sold the rest of the
sheet and none of the other sheets had a mistake.
Think about it though...what could the odds be that such a freaky thing would occur?
Sometimes life can come at you in big waves that can be overwhelming.
So to me, this was a reassurance of sorts...
That there is much more to life then we can possibly grasp.
I decided to take it as a good sign.
Not sure what it meant, but it was definitely a good sign.
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I once saw my Uncle Stanley's picture on a U.S. Marshals wanted poster while
standing in the customer service line at a grocery store in south Chicago.
It was a long line...winding around the front of the counter.
The back wall behind the clerk was filled with U.S. Marshal wanted posters.
Bored, I looked at the posters and then suddenly, there was a picture of
who I thought was my Uncle Stanley.
When it was finally my turn I casually asked the woman if she could
"...grab that wanted poster behind her head..."
"What?"
"Well, I think I know who that is..."
She takes the poster down and hands it to me, staring at me with her eyes wide.
I look at it and sure enough, my uncle has done it again. This time he's wanted in Texas...
You know, it's strange how hard times and adversity can either break you
or they can make you stronger...
I handed her her back the poster. "Do you know him?"
"Yea, I sure do. That's my Uncle Stanley". I take my papers and leave.
I couldn't resist turning around to look back at the clerk. She was still clutching the wanted poster
and was frantically looking to the right and then to the left...wondering what to do. :)
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Hey, if you can't appreciate the humor in life, then please...get out of my way!
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In 1970, when he was Cassius Clay...
Muhammad Ali donated the proceeds from a fight
in St. Louis to my family.
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I once met Stan Musial. He autographed a ball for me.
I remember he was very tall and kind...
I believe I met him because of the Backstoppers.
I have such fond memories of the Backstoppers...
I especially remember the wonderful Christmas parties they gave
each year for the families left behind after a tragedy.
Where, for one brief moment in time...
one could be a child enjoying Christmas, just like everyone else.
No words can ever express what that meant to me...
Every state should have this organization. They are a wonderful
group of people dedicated to helping the families of
fallen police and fire, men and women.
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When my Mom was 18 years old she was 'Miss Ivory' for the
Ivory soap company while living in Baltimore, Maryland.
As you can see from the picture, she was very beautiful.
She still is!
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I was once politely asked to 'not attend any further' a Catholic high
school because I had embroidered a bright yellow sun, complete with
sun rays, on the backside of my gray skirt. I personally thought it was quite
beautiful and set off the gray of my skirt wonderfully...
It shouldn't have been a shock to them...
When the theory of evolution had begun to take on momentum back in the sixties,
I can remember very clearly asking the nun
"Does this mean that Adam and Eve were really apes?"
Looking back, I don't believe she ever answered me...
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Perception and attitude are key to surviving life...
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When I was in my early twenties, I thought perhaps that
I would become a police officer like my father.
I trained every night around midnight, when I would get off work.
First, I would run forty-two houses and back, which was equal to a half mile.
Then I would put my car in neutral and push it up and down the street
for fifty feet....back and forth, back and forth. To build up my leg muscles,
I put weights around my ankles and ran up and down the court steps.
I actually scored very well and probably could have become a police officer.
But...in the end, I think it's best that didn't happen.
Honestly? I think I would have let just about everyone go...
I really do believe that we are here on earth to learn lessons and
to touch other lives...
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During trying times, if you don't learn to laugh at the chaotic twists
and turns of life...well, then you'll just weep with despair. I prefer to laugh...
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That's Life...
My son Jason...home from Iraq.
My favorite picture of my sister Jeanne...
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My bucket list:
Go to Carlsbad Caverns with my kids and grandchildren.
Ride a horse again.
Go fishing again, only this time with alcohol...
Get a passport and travel to at least one place
outside of the USA...
Perhaps a pedicure would be nice, or a full day spa.
Hahaha...
You know what? I prefer to view my life as, "...if you take all of the bad away, well, then, you know what? It's been one sweet ride... Can I go again?" :)
My life rules:
Almost forty years ago I made my first 'life rule'. I happened to hear another person
make a hurtful comment and saw the pain in the eyes of the victim.
Seeing that pain haunted me, and I vowed to try to never do such a horrible thing
to someone else. Hence, the first 'life rule' evolved:
#1: Say something nice, every single day, to someone. Make them smile.
Whether it be friend or family or a stranger...it must be genuine.
Over time, I found that this rule actually made you have
to really 'look' at someone in order to see something that you could
sincerely compliment them on.
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The number two rule evolved over time because I was so shocked that there really are people out there who are not happy when something good happens to another person other then themselves...
#2: Never be envious or jealous of another persons good fortune.
Instead, hug them with the joy of it all. Smile and warmly wish them good will...
If you waste time being jealous, then you waste precious time in your own life journey.
Embrace them their good fortune in this time of their life because:
Life really can turn on a dime...
No one makes it through life without their own lessons and pain to endure.
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There is such large area of our brain that is still uncharted territory...
I have always believed that we all are born with extra sensory perception, that because the gift is not encouraged, it atrophies. But, I believe it is there...beneath the surface.
It is called instinct... a 'feeling'. So, going with that theory:
#3: Trust your gut! There is a reason you are having bad feelings and
apprehension. I have found through the years that if you trust your instinct, it
actually becomes better and more finely honed. This was the advice
I gave to my son Jason when he shipped off to Bagdad...
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#4: Learn to surround yourself with positive, feel good people.
Over time I've come to realize that negative people tend to be manipulative, controlling type personalities. They've never learned to appreciate the beauty our
lives give us each and every day.
Negative people just sap your energy and leave you feeling inadequate.
The sad fact is...sometimes even friends and family can be negative. The lesson I've learned is that if you can learn to accept them, and their flaws, love them unconditionally AND go about your OWN journey in life, well, then you'll be a better person. You will teach by example... And, isn't that what life is all about? Learning, and teaching?
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More rules to come...
Peace,baby!
