Snakes, snakes, snakes,Fear 4

I do not like snakes. The area we moved to in Kansas City from Topeka was out in the country then and there were no sewers so all the houses were on septic tanks. As the years past we became part of a city and so the septic tanks were sort of filled in but it did not get rid of the black snakes who lived there. They tried to tell me they were harmless but I had trouble believing that. As the years went by I moved over one once in awhile unintentionaly but had little remorse. Now years later I see them once in awhile and I still do not like them. On one camping trip in Yosemite National Park we got out of the car and met a snake we all got back in the car and I do not remember pitching our tent so think we all slept in the car. Now they have three that live in an evergreen south of my front porch and I do not think they are graceful as they slither across my porch. When I drove I would sometimes see them in my garage which did not make my day. I do not know if I am scared as much as do not like them. I know one other time we slept in the car in our camping days was the night that the Spam hit the sand and we started home. We stopped to rest and there were many snakes so we slept in the car on a concrete bridge that night. I think that could be included as one of my fears.

Scary moment #3

One scary moment reminds me of another. When we were camping in Yellowstone (I think) we were sort of on a cliff overlooking a river and one morning we woke up and we heard a woman yell that there was a bear in the camp. She was frying bacon over a camp stove and when the bear got to close she hit him with her frying pan and he went up a tree. The rangers came and got the bear oout of the campground but they put a bear trap next to our tent. We put all our food in the car and went hiking and when we came back there was a bear foot print in our tent. Since we were right next to the bear trap he never came near again. Once in the Shenadoah national park we were traveling with Ray's parents and someone shouted that there was a bear behind them and they looked at the beaar and again the bear went up a tree. We did not relax until we moved on.

Another time to be scared

Ray I went to Africa twice. Once to see where the book Roots had started and once to see why the fields were being detreed in Zimbabwe. I have diaries on every trip I took after I was married but have no idea where they are so I just put what I remember. We went to Zimbabee because of Earthwatch. The group lived in to cabins where the British army had lived in once when the country belonged to England. The women stayed in one cabin and the couples and men in another. They cooked the meals in the women's cabin so we had to get in a jeep and go out of her fenced in area for meals. One night we drove and found we were followed by a bunch of young lions that followed us to the other area. We drove by the first time and yelled at our trouble to the gatekeeper. We turned around and came back with the lions in pursuit. They had the gate read and we raced in and they shut it fast. The lions laid down and watched the gate for awhile. The guide who was with us said we smelled funny and they were curious. The trees were not being cut down it seems elephants came into a field and ate the trees. A herd of elephants are very hungry. If I can remember the other event well enough I will tell how the crocodiles thought we looked tasty on the river between Gambia and Senegal.

Fear

A couple of times I have really been scared, The first time I think I was about three. My parents had gone to a dinner next door and the four of us were at home and I was going to bed when my brother jumped out of his bedroom door and said "Boo" I screamed and yelled until my parents could hear me came home to save me. Then I have seen a couple of tornadoes. The first came in from the northwest and we had the basement full of neighbors as we had one of the few houses with a basement, My husband was covering it and kept calling me to see if we were okay. We did not have a phone in the basement and cell phones had not been invented yet so I told him to quit calling me so I could stay where it was safe, It went on to Hickman Hills were it caused trouble. The New York City had a World's Fair and Ray was to cover the Kansas Governor on Kansas Day so we took our tent and went East. We celebrated the youngest son's birthday and got back as far as St Louis and they forecast Rain so we decided to go on home and loaded up everything and started west. About half way there we had our car picked up in the air and turned around and sat down. A kind farmer had seen it and came out with his tractor and helped us so we were headed back to Shawnee. At the first town Ray called the STAR but they thought he was drunk. After we had been home awhile I took the kids to the swimming pool and when we were ready to go home the car was not. I called Ray and he called a garage and they came out and said we had a cracked axle, I guess that was how Dorothy got to Oz. I do not recommend the flight.

Dust storms

When I read about all the disasters going on I think of one we had when I was in grade school. We did not have rain and the ground dried up and the skies were brown and it was hard to breath. In school if we went out to recess we wore a wet hanky on our noses and the sky was always dusky. Now Oklahoma had it much worse than Kansas and many farmers moved toward California. They had a name but it slips my mind at the moment. I know at home we never opened the windows and the big fan my father had in the attic to cool us on summer nights was not turned on. The flowers did not do well except for the dandelions which don't seem to have any need for moisture at least not as much as some flowers. Food was expensive as the gardens did not do well although watering them seemed to help. The depression was on and that did not help much to the economy. Since I survived the dust storms, one tornado, two floods and am still around I guess I will just keep watching reruns on TV and know this to will pass.

Chiggers

The Chiggers are back and driving my neighbor Richard crazy. I use to have trouble with them and wore my snowboots if I had to go into the yard. I love to catch the firflies and my uncle that was a drugggist told me to put sulpher in my socks and gave me some. It worked so I was back to chasing those wonderful Fireflies. I thought I had sulpher in my medicine closet so I could give some to Richard bur there was none. Aren't those fireflies beautiful?

Father's Day

The never seem to make as much over Father's Day as Mothers' Day. I know when I was growing up I think we gave Dad a tie but I do not remember it was a big deal. As to my parent's parents, my mo iT IS ASHAME AS I not only loved my father but liked him as a friend. My Mother's dad died in 1911 and my grandfather Burkhardt when I was ten I think. Grandfather Burkhardt I remember as he even knew my name unlike my Grandmother who just called me Edgar's kid. My mother's father died in Topeka so we might have visited his grave but Grandfather Burkhardt was buried in a cemetery off of Highway 75 so I think we went there on Memorial Day but not on Father's Day. Now my Dad was buried in the Topeka Cemetery but I do not remember visiting his grave on Father's Day. I seem to remember that the men at church all changed to white shoes and Panama Hats and you did not have to wear a tie for the summer. By then we had fans from a funeral home in the pews to use if it was too hot. It is a shame because I not only loved my father but liked him.

Flag Day

I had a blogg written for flag day but my blogg would not let me on but I am writing it a few days late June 14th was flag day. It is great to display our flag. Growing up my parents strung one across the front porch so it must have been fastened to the drain pipe. We moved to Kansas City in 19551 and I had a hole in the front yard so I could put the flag in. I put a twiler there so I would not lose the piece of pipe. I flew it on Martin Luther King Day, flag day and the fourth of July. I always hoped it would be a calm day and my flag would not fly out and show I only had 48 Stars. One year I helped work on Congressmen Larry Winn's campaign and mentioned my flag. After he was elected he gave me a flag with 50 stars that had flown over the National Capitol building. I cannot raise the flag from my wheelchair but the neighbors put one up and the ones across the street west fly on all the time. If you fly them at night you have to have them lighted and they have the streetlight that shines on theirs. I admire my flag but do not try to fly it.

Ray's Birthday

Today is my husband, Ray's birthday.He has been gone for ten years now but I still think about how much he enjoyed birthdays. His own and others. Birthdays had always been a big deal at my house growing up and it was nice to continue enjoying them. On his 60th birthday He planned it himself and invited people. No one was to bring gifts but I think he accepted cards. He had a 3 piece band and had a wonderful time. If at 87 I like birthdays myself and cards will also do and maybe I might need a little help blowing out my many candles.

My desk in the sewing room

When I was very young I had a few problems like being cross eyed and not as smart as my older sisters. I think I was as smart as my brother. My parents were sorry and decided to buy me a little desk. It was put in the sewing room by the window and it had a nice drawer where I could put in my crayons and art work and a neat little chair that I used at Christmas to hold my gifts. I had to wear a patch over one eye so the lazy eye would would work so I was sort of like a pirate. I hope it is still there in the corner at the foot of the stairs and my sister's great grandchildren can use it but it is probably rickety like me and used for fire wood. I had many great hours there while my mother's sewing machine hummed. I felt very safe and happy.

Katz Drugstore

I grew up in Topeka along with two sisters and a brother and we viewed the city to the east as the wonderland of the area. One Christmas we went to Kansas City to see the decorations. They did not have much in the Plaza then but downtown there were wonderful Christmas decorations. Emery Bird Thayer had their great Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus and the shops were all decorated. We always went back through Kansas City, Kansas, to take US Highway 40 home through Perry. We made one stop at the huge Katz Store and brought a package of chocolate Hershey kisses which made the day perfect. As the time I remember was when I was three, I might be a bit hazy. I am sorry the Katz Store isn't here anymore. It still existed when we moved here in 1951.

Pulling teeth

During my lifetime I have met many dentists. My first non dentist was my father as he had a way to pull teeth. The stairway on Jewell had two entrances one from the west from my mother's sewing room and one from the living room on the east. We would stand behind the west door and my father would tie a string around the bad tooth and slam the door and the tooth came out. Then I started going to a regular dentist who always gave me a sample tube of tooth paste to take home. After we moved to Kansas City we had a variety. One was under drugs when he worked and they took is license away. One blew the bugle at the American Royal and liked to tell you over and over again, one got rich enough to retire, one told me about his colonoscopy as he worked on my teeth. I have had some really nice ones but the best always retire early but they do a good job as I still have most of my teeth at 87. Now I need a new toothbrush as my motorized one is not very good anymore.

Minister's beer Chapter 2

Since I wrote my blog about the minister's beer I have learned another chapter. It seems that my three older relations decided to taste it and did and put the lid back on as they did not like the taste. I expect I did not know as I always blabbed to my mother when my 2 sisters and brother did something interesting like that and I could get them in trouble.

2nd chapter on 1275 Jewll

One interesting thing I remember and I hope I have it correct but it really does not matter. When I was young my parents were especially fond of our minister who had come to our church from Michigan and Michigan was not a dry state and the minister missed his beer. He did not want to offend those of our congregation who might be non drinkers but he did like to have a little beer once in awhile. We kept beer for him in our refrigerator and he would come out for a drink once in awhile. I guess we were not a complete non alcoholic household. He was a good minister and my parents were sorry to have him leave for a better job, When my husband and I were going to be married my mother did not like the present minister so we were married by the president of Washburn College who was a minister.

More flowers

I was born in Topeka and lived on Polk street and when I was three my father designed a house that was built on Jewell. It was just 4 blocks from the Washburn College where my father had been a football hero back in 1913 and he was sure the team would keep winning and he did not want to pay for parking so we were close so he could walk. There was a little house on the corner which a contractor decided to build one as large as ours so he moved the small one back and it now faced 13th Street. My parents had fenced in the yard on 3 sides and had a sidewalk to the alley. There was a 3 foot space of dirt between the sidewalk and the fence. My 2 sisters and 1 brother could plant something if we wanted to. I think my mother planted a rose. I went for things like marigolds as they are a happy flower. I think one of my sisters did zinnias and then in the dirt place between the driveway to our garage and the house my mother had four-o-clocks which seem to reseed themselves like marigolds do. Our new neighbor had lots of rose bushes and I think we had a peony bush which someone drove over. It was fun being a gardener. I remember we had an apricot tree and I still love apricots, Jam is especially good. Smucker's have the same recipe if you want to know what they tasted like. My mother use to bottle root beer but I do not think she had the correct recipe as it had a tendency to blow up and startle us upstairs so we sounded like a Kansas bootlegger. It was fun growing up in that house and except for all the stairs I envy my sister. The doorways are wide so my wheelchair would not hit them like they do in my house.