One more day of this nonsense - and then we start a new period(s) of nonsense of claims, counter-claims and uncertainty. Sigh. Oh, and of course this aggravation is compounded by dumping a time change on us. How did I spend my extra hour? Hunting down and changing all the clocks!
I have mentioned the Vietnamese lady who comes regularly (multiple times a day, as of late) to search for fallen pecans. It hasn't been a big crop year, so finding any pecans at all is a long, repetitive process. We have learned that we want to be cautious about opening the blinds - even slightly - when we first arise of a morning. Like as not, she's in the flowerbed in front of the window searching for roof-roll pecans, and one might just get a hearty hello wave from 3 feet away!
She elevated her game this past week. Barb had been shopping and when she returned, the lady approached her and pantomimed a raking motion, but it was not clear to Barb what she wanted. Remember, the lady has NO English other than Hello, as far as we know. Barb went in the house to put her groceries up and looked out to see that our visitor had snagged a lawn rake from the garage (kept right inside the door) and was raking all the leaves in the yard and driveway to uncover more pecans!
A little later, Barb was back outside and the lady pantomimed that she wanted to bag the raked leaves. This time Barb caught on quickly, so she got a couple of trash bags, which the lady filled with leaves and put in the trash before departing for the day! At this point we are wondering if we scattered some pecans throughout the house, could we get the lady to come clean our house!
Monday, November 7, 2016
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
The Postcard Stories, Part 1 - “Wish You Were Here”
The whole subject of the history and subsequent collection of postcards (called “deltiology”) is fascinating. Like stamp-collecting, there are avid collectors and many specialties. For example, check out Austinpostcards.com. But the subject of interest right now is the card collection at hand, and the stories found on those cards.
Most of the cards feature a scene, or building, or vista of some vacation spot – the type of card you gather up at the souvenir shop and send to the folks back home with the “Wish you were here” message. More than a few promote hotels and motels – probably available for free at the front desk.
My aunt was well-traveled, and quite a few cards contain messages from her back to family members, which were then passed back to her for curating. She had many friends through her years of teaching at TCU and involvement in numerous professional organizations, and I believe that everyone she knew sent her cards as they traveled the world. I briefly thought about compiling a list of pictured locations, but gave that up as too much work.
What about a list of foreign locales? After logging Jerusalem, Mexico City, Montreal, Hawaii, Quebec, Nassau, Hamburg, Virgin Islands, Panama, Jan Juan, Moscow, Canterbury, Amsterdam, Zurich and Kowloon - and less than 1/3 of the cards searched, I gave that up too. Suffice it to say that there are lot of locations represented.
Monday, October 31, 2016
Monday Meanderings - 10.31.2016
And a scary, candy-laden Halloween to you.
Okay, I'll go ahead and admit it. Barb and I are going to bunker in this evening, hiding in the dark, not answering any trick-or-treaters that might mistake our dark and shuttered house as a source of treats. It's not our kind of holiday.
I'll share my favorite trick-or-treat story before I go draw the drapes and turn off the lights.
Years ago, a young woman who worked in my department told about receiving a trick-or-treater one year. She lived in the very back of a very large apartment complex - so far back that no ghoulish visitors had ever ventured that far back, so she quit stocking treats that went unclaimed. So it was surprising when the door-bell rang about 9 one Halloween evening.
Checking the door, she found a teen-age boy with a goody sack, waiting for a treat. She opened the door to him and said, "Aren't you a little old for this? Besides, you don't even have a costume."
The boy answered that he was "Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer."
"No, you're not. You don't have on a costume of any kind."
Whereupon the young man took out a small pen-light, turned it on and thrust it into his nostril, where it shone through brightly.
"Wait right here. I'll go find something for you."
Okay, I'll go ahead and admit it. Barb and I are going to bunker in this evening, hiding in the dark, not answering any trick-or-treaters that might mistake our dark and shuttered house as a source of treats. It's not our kind of holiday.
I'll share my favorite trick-or-treat story before I go draw the drapes and turn off the lights.
Years ago, a young woman who worked in my department told about receiving a trick-or-treater one year. She lived in the very back of a very large apartment complex - so far back that no ghoulish visitors had ever ventured that far back, so she quit stocking treats that went unclaimed. So it was surprising when the door-bell rang about 9 one Halloween evening.
Checking the door, she found a teen-age boy with a goody sack, waiting for a treat. She opened the door to him and said, "Aren't you a little old for this? Besides, you don't even have a costume."
The boy answered that he was "Rudolph, the red nosed reindeer."
"No, you're not. You don't have on a costume of any kind."
Whereupon the young man took out a small pen-light, turned it on and thrust it into his nostril, where it shone through brightly.
"Wait right here. I'll go find something for you."
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Ancestors, Indians, Daniel Boone and more Indians - Stories for my grandchildren
I was recently searching through my genealogy records, looking for references of Native American bloodlines in my father's ancestors. I knew there was an undocumented note that my great grandmother, Laura Jane Coleman "...was said to be part Cherokee." But was there any proof?
Laura Jane was born in Bedford County Tennessee in late 1851, some 25 years after the Cherokee had been forced out of the state onto the "trail of tears." Her father has a pretty distinct line straight back to Essex England; however, I can't find any record of her maternal ancestors (though Laura's mamma was named Elizabeth Ann Bivens, which doesn't sound very Native American to me). I do admit, however that Laura Jane certainly looks as if she could have been part Indian. What do you think? Should I send a sample of my DNA to Ancestry.com?
We do know that my father's mother, who was a Starnes, lived among Indians for a good part of her life, both in Washington State and Oklahoma, and her brother Lester marred a woman who was identified on the census as 7/8 Cherokee, though her name was Mary Payne, but this would have no bearing on my having Native American ancestors.
And my search for Indian ancestry turned up this item that I posted back in early 2013. No friendly relations with the Indians here.
Virtually the entire Starnes line in this country can be traced back to the patriarch Frederick Starnes and his wife Mary Goldman, pictured above. Frederick and Mary were immigrants from the German Palatinate, among a group that had fled to England, and being found unwelcome there, moved on to the New World about 1710, settling first in the Hudson River Valley of New York, then along the Mohawk River in Herkimer County New York.
In 1741 Frederick lead a small group of two or three families from the Mohawk Valley of New York to settle on the Juniata River in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, they chose land that the Delaware Indians claimed was their best hunting ground and that was too close to their tribal capitol of Shamokin.
A delegation of Indians from the Six Nations in 1742 came down to Philadelphia and lodged a complaint with Governor Thomas that these settlers were violating their treaty with the Proprietor William Penn, and demanded the trespassers be immediately removed. Richard Peters, Secretary of the Province of Pennsylvania, concerned about serving the order to vacate their cabins, fearing that the settlers might refuse and probably were armed, arrived with a detail of Militia in June of 1743. From the lack of records otherwise, it is assumed the families moved out peaceably.
Eventually, the family ended up on the Middle Fork of the Holston River, near the present town of Chilhowie, Virginia. They were not done with Indian troubles, however. Frederick was attacked July 3, 1755 by several Shawnee Indians, who fired upon him and wounded him. Frederick was able to return fire and escape the attack.
In 1779, two of Frederick's sons, my 4th great granduncles Frederick Jr. and Joseph, along with Joseph's son, Joseph Jr. and son-in-law Michael Moyer departed their homes in Washington County,Virginia and ventured into the Kentucky wilderness in search of new lands to settle and farm. Frederick Jr's son, Jacob Starnes, was already in Kentucky, assisting Daniel Boone with the construction of Fort Boonesborough.
They followed the "Wilderness Trail" that Daniel Boone and 31 axe men, (most likely including Jacob) constructed back in March 1775, a route that made a long loop from Virginia southward to Tennessee and then northward to Kentucky,a distance of over 200 miles. This route was known to be very dangerous, and knowing the dangers, Frederick Starnes made his last will and testament before leaving his home.
"In the name of God Amen, I Frederick Starns of Washington County in the Commonwealth of Virginia being of perfect health, praised by God for his mercies, make constitute this to be my last will and testament as followith~~I give and bequeath to Mary my well beloved wife one black mare which I had from my son Jacob Starns and her saddle likewise her thirds of all my estate~I likewise give and bequeath to my son David, thirty pounds Virginia and ever child younger than him twenty five pounds like money-and the remaining parts of the estate to be equally divided amongst all my children (first paying all my just debts)."
As it turns out, this was a prudent move. On April 7, 1779, Frederick Jr., his brother Joseph, Joseph Jr. and son-in-law Michael Moyer, along with 8 other men from the fort, set out to scout some land south of Fort Boonesborough. About 25 miles south of the fort, the party reached a watercourse known as the "Lower Blue Licks Creek." This would take them back onto the Wilderness Trail. Eventually, they entered the narrow Blue Licks Creek valley just below the headwater springs. Here, on the banks of the creek, in a heavily wooded area close to the Blue Licks Springs, a large group of Indians attacked the Starnes-led group. Joseph Starnes, Jr. was the only survivor. He wrote later:
"I was once in a company of four in the year 1779, April 7 over a watercourse in Virginia back of the settlements towards Boonesboro, where we were fired on by about 25 or 30 Indians, and my father (Joseph Starnes), my uncle (Frederick Starnes) and brother-in-law Michael Moyer were shot and I made my escape although they saw me for upwards of a mile and kept firing on me, but I made my escape in the cane and other undergrowth."
And you thought you had a hard day.
Laura Jane was born in Bedford County Tennessee in late 1851, some 25 years after the Cherokee had been forced out of the state onto the "trail of tears." Her father has a pretty distinct line straight back to Essex England; however, I can't find any record of her maternal ancestors (though Laura's mamma was named Elizabeth Ann Bivens, which doesn't sound very Native American to me). I do admit, however that Laura Jane certainly looks as if she could have been part Indian. What do you think? Should I send a sample of my DNA to Ancestry.com?
Laura Jane "Jenny" Coleman Anderson
We do know that my father's mother, who was a Starnes, lived among Indians for a good part of her life, both in Washington State and Oklahoma, and her brother Lester marred a woman who was identified on the census as 7/8 Cherokee, though her name was Mary Payne, but this would have no bearing on my having Native American ancestors.
And my search for Indian ancestry turned up this item that I posted back in early 2013. No friendly relations with the Indians here.
Frederick and Mary Goldman Starnes
Virtually the entire Starnes line in this country can be traced back to the patriarch Frederick Starnes and his wife Mary Goldman, pictured above. Frederick and Mary were immigrants from the German Palatinate, among a group that had fled to England, and being found unwelcome there, moved on to the New World about 1710, settling first in the Hudson River Valley of New York, then along the Mohawk River in Herkimer County New York.
In 1741 Frederick lead a small group of two or three families from the Mohawk Valley of New York to settle on the Juniata River in Pennsylvania. Unfortunately, they chose land that the Delaware Indians claimed was their best hunting ground and that was too close to their tribal capitol of Shamokin.
A delegation of Indians from the Six Nations in 1742 came down to Philadelphia and lodged a complaint with Governor Thomas that these settlers were violating their treaty with the Proprietor William Penn, and demanded the trespassers be immediately removed. Richard Peters, Secretary of the Province of Pennsylvania, concerned about serving the order to vacate their cabins, fearing that the settlers might refuse and probably were armed, arrived with a detail of Militia in June of 1743. From the lack of records otherwise, it is assumed the families moved out peaceably.
Eventually, the family ended up on the Middle Fork of the Holston River, near the present town of Chilhowie, Virginia. They were not done with Indian troubles, however. Frederick was attacked July 3, 1755 by several Shawnee Indians, who fired upon him and wounded him. Frederick was able to return fire and escape the attack.
In 1779, two of Frederick's sons, my 4th great granduncles Frederick Jr. and Joseph, along with Joseph's son, Joseph Jr. and son-in-law Michael Moyer departed their homes in Washington County,Virginia and ventured into the Kentucky wilderness in search of new lands to settle and farm. Frederick Jr's son, Jacob Starnes, was already in Kentucky, assisting Daniel Boone with the construction of Fort Boonesborough.
They followed the "Wilderness Trail" that Daniel Boone and 31 axe men, (most likely including Jacob) constructed back in March 1775, a route that made a long loop from Virginia southward to Tennessee and then northward to Kentucky,a distance of over 200 miles. This route was known to be very dangerous, and knowing the dangers, Frederick Starnes made his last will and testament before leaving his home.
"In the name of God Amen, I Frederick Starns of Washington County in the Commonwealth of Virginia being of perfect health, praised by God for his mercies, make constitute this to be my last will and testament as followith~~I give and bequeath to Mary my well beloved wife one black mare which I had from my son Jacob Starns and her saddle likewise her thirds of all my estate~I likewise give and bequeath to my son David, thirty pounds Virginia and ever child younger than him twenty five pounds like money-and the remaining parts of the estate to be equally divided amongst all my children (first paying all my just debts)."
As it turns out, this was a prudent move. On April 7, 1779, Frederick Jr., his brother Joseph, Joseph Jr. and son-in-law Michael Moyer, along with 8 other men from the fort, set out to scout some land south of Fort Boonesborough. About 25 miles south of the fort, the party reached a watercourse known as the "Lower Blue Licks Creek." This would take them back onto the Wilderness Trail. Eventually, they entered the narrow Blue Licks Creek valley just below the headwater springs. Here, on the banks of the creek, in a heavily wooded area close to the Blue Licks Springs, a large group of Indians attacked the Starnes-led group. Joseph Starnes, Jr. was the only survivor. He wrote later:
"I was once in a company of four in the year 1779, April 7 over a watercourse in Virginia back of the settlements towards Boonesboro, where we were fired on by about 25 or 30 Indians, and my father (Joseph Starnes), my uncle (Frederick Starnes) and brother-in-law Michael Moyer were shot and I made my escape although they saw me for upwards of a mile and kept firing on me, but I made my escape in the cane and other undergrowth."
And you thought you had a hard day.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Monday Meanderings - 10.24.2016
Now that's more like it! The blanket is back on the bed. Of course, this is Texas, so it's likely that it may come and go a couple of times.
Went for a MRI the other day, and there is this long, long list of things that you have to check off because they present a problem for the process, since anything metal in your body will not react well when surrounded by huge, powerful magnets. Among the items on the check list is "Tattoos." Interestingly, the technician who prepped me for the procedure had a full-sleeve, brightly-colored tattoo, so I commented, "No MRI for you, huh?" Might have been a touchy subject for her - all she said was, "Nope."
At breakfast the other morning, it took me a while to figure out that this young lady wasn't horribly obese - or deformed.
My current book at the Learning Ally studio covers a little-known aspect of WWII - German submarines operating in the Gulf of Mexico. The highly successful U-boat campaigns in the North Atlantic were widely reported, but the US kept a tight lid on the fact that a couple of subs in the Gulf sank more than 2 dozen tankers and freighters over the course of several months. According to the War Diaries of the 2 commanders, they even ventured into the mouth of the Mississippi.
The book recounts the true story of a family that was aboard a Standard Fruit cargo vessel when torpedoed about 25 miles off the coast of Louisiana as the family was returning from Cost Rico (the father was a Standard Fruit employee). The family of 4 survived and were rescued.
Later, the 10-year old boy in the family received a failing grade on a report he wrote in class about his experiences. The teacher had assigned the subject of "how the war had affected them personally" and refused to believe that Sonny and his family had survived a U-boat attack in the Gulf of Mexico!
Went for a MRI the other day, and there is this long, long list of things that you have to check off because they present a problem for the process, since anything metal in your body will not react well when surrounded by huge, powerful magnets. Among the items on the check list is "Tattoos." Interestingly, the technician who prepped me for the procedure had a full-sleeve, brightly-colored tattoo, so I commented, "No MRI for you, huh?" Might have been a touchy subject for her - all she said was, "Nope."
At breakfast the other morning, it took me a while to figure out that this young lady wasn't horribly obese - or deformed.
The book recounts the true story of a family that was aboard a Standard Fruit cargo vessel when torpedoed about 25 miles off the coast of Louisiana as the family was returning from Cost Rico (the father was a Standard Fruit employee). The family of 4 survived and were rescued.
Later, the 10-year old boy in the family received a failing grade on a report he wrote in class about his experiences. The teacher had assigned the subject of "how the war had affected them personally" and refused to believe that Sonny and his family had survived a U-boat attack in the Gulf of Mexico!
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