It Has Been The Best of Times, It Has Been The Worse of Times, It Has Been Something

I struggle ever day wondering who I am.When it truth I am a child that grew up when we had gone from a black rotary phone, the one phone that we always knew where it was,

through the times of a wall phone, a phone that felt so modern merely because it hung on the wall,

 (you were really uptown with that one),

 then we added the long cord to the wall phone (making it easier to hide in another room when your dad was sitting there listening to you talk to a boy),

I had relatives who still had the original number that seemed so old to me then,

and made my way into the world of cell phones. From the very first cell phone (I was cool I had a flip phone) that was large and the mobile phone in the car that had its bag. But hey, we also had one of the huge monstrosities that were the original cell phone. All of them turned out to cause brain tumors in people because of the radiation right at your head, or so we were told.

But as I am a child who has seen those phone morph from the ones where we only dialed five numbers and people were willing to drive 50 miles before they would make a long-distance call. Now everyone from Kindergarten up has a phone on them at all times.

The phone situation is so bad that car accidents are at an all-time high because people are on the phone. Seriously, we can't go five seconds without texting or talk on the phone, how warped is that?

You see I am still that child who was limited to phone time because we were on a party line and someone else might need the phone. But we also answered the phone then without knowing who was on the other end. NO caller ID.

I am also the child of knowing everyone's phone number off the top of my head, and now I don't even remember my phone number, it is simply Home. You see I am the child of a time when I carried a dime in my shoe because if you got into trouble as a teen at least, you had payphone money. A DIME!!

Now if you could find a payphone, I shudder to think of what it would cost. I am the child of a time when with the first cell phones you were furious if someone wanted to use the phone for anything or my God what if you got a wrong number call! The amount of money it rang up with your minutes could wipe out the National Debt.

 I am a child of the time when a phone meant you kept in touch with relatives and called someone when you were in trouble. Now kids text about 'Waz Up?'

I am a child of the time when we had one black and white television, and if we were lucky three channels! The only remote my dad had was my brother and me. Thank heavens there were only the three channels. Then, I am a child of the magic of the technicolor television and the joy of seeing Lucy's red hair and watching The Wizard of Oz as the color of Oz broke out into full magical glory.

I am the child that lived with TV's during a time when to rearrange your living room, which I love to do every other month, but then we had to have the TV man come with his little wand and demagnetize the TV. I am the child of the first remote for the TV, and it was like having a  magic television.

I am a child of catching lightning bugs at night, fishing all day, ghost stories by flashlight and homemade ice cream.

I am a child of the time that when you got in trouble, Daddy or Mama would whoop your butt. And the worse thing was being sent for your hickory switch.

I am a child of the time when we all had guns, we all knew how to respect those weapons, and kids didn't go to school and shoot other kids.

I am a child of the time when I took the Lord's name in vain the one and only time; Mama slapped me across the kitchen, and I never did it again.

I am a child of the time when running in and out of the church to take bathroom breaks got me lectured severely at the dinner table by Grandpa, the preacher. Still, couldn't bring me to get up from a church service to use the bathroom.

I am a child of the time of 8 track tapes, vinyl records, and listening to AM radio.

I am a child that has seen TV change from the shows that never allowed men and women to be on a bed together without one foot still on the floor. It was a time when we didn't have to see a love scene to know what was going on.

I am a child of the time when things were simple; people were happier, and families cared for one another.

That is who I am.

Who Am I? Mother, WIfe, Lover, Writer, Artist

Who am I? Where has life taken me? So many questions that I am asked all the time. 

 So who am I? Many things come to mind, some of them aren't always seen in the best of 

light.  I have been called wife, lover, mom, friend, nana, neighbor, writer, artist, journalist, councilman, secretary, real estate broker, businesswoman, activist, and bitch.

But that doesn't say who I am. I am an emotional, caring person who loves to laugh, can 

scream loud with an awful temper, I love my family and become nervous when I face others' 

pain and suffering.

My life had not taken the road I thought it would when I was in High School. First I swore I 

was not going to get married until I was out of Veterinary school. But, things changed.

This Rollercoaster of my life has had the highest peaks, and the sharpest falls all leading me 

on a journey like no other.

I have dined with Governors, had expensive meals at fund raisers, laughed with what some might 

see as the underbelly of humanity, cried with the sick as I interviewed them, written books, sang 

songs and enjoyed each day. We have seen and done so much it almost doesn't seem fair that it 

was only our lives. There have been celebrities come and go from my kitchen as well as those 

who were rising in the entertainment world. They've sprawled on our sofa to watch movies, raided 

the refrigerator like teenagers, and taught all of us that diversity is merely a word. Because in 

reality as Colorado Ex-Governor Roy Romer liked to remind us "we put our pants on one leg at a 

time."


When the song Home of the Hillbilly plays on the radio with the words, "biker, redneck, hillbilly, 

hick" we see the many meals we have shared with our "diverse" and eclectic set of friends. Or 

honestly they have all gone far beyond the friend stage, and we call them family. 

So where has the last 35 years taken me? Everywhere. From Compton to Pikes Peak and 
down to the Florida swamps. 

Opinion: The Confederate Battle Flag and Thoughts of My Own

IIt's hilarious how so many things will show us the true colors of another person. Post a picture of a baby on your FaceBook page, and you will see the moms come bursting forth with all the awes they feel. Post a picture of a Harley, and the bikers (both the ones who ride and those who ride in their souls) will shout Hell Yeah!

No matter what you say or show to the world, there will be someone who disagrees strongly with your opinions. That fact is a very ironic point in itself. Because after all, this is YOUR opinion belonging to nobody else. So why does the world get so pissed when someone else has a different thought on any subject?

Isn't this the United States of America and don't we have Freedom of Speech? Isn't that the entire point of the First Amendment?

Sadly, our country hasn't truly had real freedom of speech for a very long time. We have been a country where being 'politically correct' is more important than free speech.
Now I am not saying I wish people were running around hurting others with their words; I merely wish we had the REAL right to disagree or feel differently.

We all want to teach our children to be good people and to have an opinion about things, or at least most of us do.When we teach them this how are we to show them what it is like to have an opinion if we live in a world where no one does?

For me, I relish in the fact that I have my opinions and cherish that my kids share in that. We argue, and we discuss the differences when there are some, and then we move on.

I do have those in my family, and people who I felt were 'friends' at one point in my life, which differ in opinion so strongly that they 'disowned' me. That is their words, not mine; I try not to judge anyone else for their beliefs or their thoughts. Too bad the rest of the world doesn't feel that way.

As we all look at today's headlines, with stories about transgender bathrooms and all the talk about what Caitlin Jenner is doing, it makes me shake my head. My thoughts are this; Why is this such HUGE news? Don't we have starving people around us? Don't we have people going without health care? Don't we have homeless?

So why are the stories about famous people like Jenner making all the most important spots of the news? Have you just sat and watched the local news indeed paying attention? If you have then, you will see the nonsense that gathers far more airtime than the stories that matter.

What has happened to this country, to this world?

I am so unsure of it all that it makes me sad. The only time it seems you can get people to stand up and be upset is when you are doing things that aren't any of their business.

Take the things hanging in my front yard. Flags.

Now I am proud of these beautiful symbols of my history, and I proudly show the world. But, since the Rebel Flag, or more correctly The Confederate Battle Flag, has hung for the world to see, people stopped dropping by to talk, and some look the other way when they drive by.
Does that bother me? No, what bothers me is the ignorance associated with the Confederate flag. A friend of my families who lives in a little town near us was asked to remove his Rebel flag by the law enforcement.
They informed him they did not like nor approve of it and since he is on probation, the man removed the flag.
I see that as an affront and a complete difference of opinion.
The same country that allows (because I have personally seen them) Nazi swastika flags, Black Panther Flags, and other flags of groups that aren't your regular neighborhood groups, those flags are allowed to fly, and no one says anything.
Why? Why have we gotten so consumed with removing anyone else's opinion so strongly that making a person remove a flag that is symbolic of their heritage is the one time the world has an opinion?

The sorry world my flag will continue to fly, and my opinions will continue to be strong. So Who Am  I? Well, I am an opinionated, proud descendant of a Confederate soldier, a redheaded descendant of an Irish immigrant, a tall descendant of a Norse immigrant, and a dark skinned descendant of a Cherokee, Sioux, and Choctaw past.

Death Comes Like A Stranger in the Night

Death. It means so much, just those five little letters. I have seen and dealt with so much in my life. I have lost 4 Grandmothers, 1 Grandfather, my parents, my in-laws, friends, and even some I felt as if were my children.

It is always hard to deal with going on after you have lost someone you love so much. When my Mama died, I wasn't sure what we would do. I asked my Dad as we stared at the cold casket on that sunny day in May, "What will we do without her?" His reply was barely audible as he said, "I don't know."

My parents always had been inseparable for so many years. Even when possible Mama went with him to work and the moment he was home, they were together. No matter what they did it together. Now as they had to part in the worst way, I wondered what the world would be like for my poor Dad. How would he ever continue?

It was so hard to drive away and leave the cemetery that day knowing she was gone. But we had to. Then a life without a mother began for me.

Funny, you never realize how much you ask your mom until she isn't there. How many times I went to the phone and dialed to realize no one would pick up the other end. It is hard, then it happened. My Dad left me to go on and be with Mama just a few short years later.

That was the moment I began to feel all alone in the world. Not that my little family wasn't fantastic. My husband and kids are the best. It was just that now with no parents I honestly feel like an orphan.

You don't know what it will be like to lose your parents until you stand at their graves knowing you are alone.

That was the second I decided I needed to know my roots. Who was I? My parents step- families always made it clear I wasn't one of them, so now I needed to find out where I did come from.

Where did I start? I didn't have anyone who could help me in the search. No one to ask where to begin. So digging deep into the childhood memories I searched.

Genealogy is something that we should impress upon our children. Start as soon as you can, write things down, record anything you can because there won't always be someone around to tell you what the past held.

Journey to Hell and Back, The Beginning Transformation of a Lost Soul

Who am I and where do I come from, have been age-old questions since the beginning of time. Even Adam and Eve wondered with questions to God on their situation. So why is today any different?

The real point is honest; it is not any different no matter who you talk to. And in my case, those thoughts came to me at a very young age.

I would sit in the closet and hide wondering why. Why was I here? Why was I not perfect? Why would anyone love me? I also asked why my brother was the one everyone loved and cared about.

You see I never actually felt like I belonged. I didn’t feel a real part of the ‘family’ that was around me. I always felt as if I was just tolerated and looked at like ‘oh well.' Those feelings never went away, and I tried desperately to keep them hidden, I probably did a pretty good job because no one seemed to notice. Or it may have just been the fact I hid it well.

Whatever the case it was the foundation that led me on a quest to figure out my place in this world. And to understand where I came from. Both of my parents had stepfathers, and I longed to see what my birth grandfathers were about and to learn about their side of the family tree.

It was not easy. The stepfamily on my Mama’s side told me how awful I was for doing that. My whole life they relished in the fact of telling me I wasn’t one of them. So what was the big deal now? It devastated me for a brief time then my search continued. It was a fantastic trip and one I figure I will travel the rest of my life.

So in this blog go with me as I find out who I am and if I belong somewhere.


Hopefully, the trip will take me on a journey that doesn’t include some of the following ‘personalities’.

Enjoy the next part as just a sort of ‘shits and grins’ peek into the strange world around us.

Oddities of the Human Train

Many people have often been said to have left their homes to go off to “find themselves, ” and in a sense, I guess I have done that my entire life. I always thought as a child I knew who I was, but honestly, I knew nothing.

Apparently, numerous people around the country (ironically, mostly Wal-Mart shoppers) have no idea who they are either. Or at least we can hope they have no idea who they are. Because if they did surely, they rethink the way they appear.





As this Diva of Walmart shows maybe you are one of those truly ‘awesome’ people who think their sh*t don’t stink. And aren’t afraid to show it.

Or maybe you are a fox in hiding. Apparently, hiding at the Wal-Mart deli.

Or do you long to be part of the Force and think you are Chewbacca?

Then again, maybe no one knows who they are.