I just have to share this….be prepared for the worst that could happen in my son’s life!!!! So, Wednesday evening I got this email from our son in Houston. It was sent the day after the Tropical Storm, Eduoard. And the subject line on the email was Damage From the Storm. It was late and I was in the process of shutting the computer down for the night so I could watch the 10PM newscast and go to read afterward. I had talked with him Tuesday evening as he drove home from work in the heavy rain. He sounded okay and was calling it, jokingly, ‘the worst storm ever’. Keep in mind the guy has lived through hurricanes in Japan while serving the U S in the Marine Corps. You know, the tough, strong…the few the proud? And during those hurricanes overseas, he survived them while sleeping in pup tents and out on maneuvers. Okay…he’s strong. He’s rarely scared of anything. Tough.
While I was reading, my mind wandered. I was thinking of the email that I didn’t open because the computer was partly shutting down and being cleaned out with the computer file cleaner that I do nightly. And it was a document file with the photos embedded. I didn’t, at the time, want to stop the cleaning out and then go to Programs and open Microsoft Works Word Processor. Thinking at that moment “I’ll do it in the morning”. As I lay there in bed, after reading, in the dark, I was thinking…oh lord, I bet his apartment got a lot of water damage, or a tree in the complex broke and fell on his section of the complex…going through the roof…and flooding. [He just bought all new furniture and a plasma TV, etc. etc. etc.] Everything was damaged by wind and then rain coming in!!! The word is catastrophizing! Conjuring up the worst situation ever in my head!!
Well, the next morning, Wednesday, my .exe file wasn’t working properly or I clicked on the wrong thing or something. Somehow the .doc wouldn’t open. I called him at his office and he wasn’t there. Tried his cell phone and he didn’t answer so I left a message. He does a lot of traveling around the south part of Texas for his job as investment advisor…so, in turn, he never returned my call during the day.
I get home from the beach, and finally, I got Word to open. And I could now view the damage from Eduoard. I was expecting the worst. I have to admit I was anxious, not knowing what I would see….
It was one photo. The damage. The whole shebang of what the storm and the wind damage was like for him……….
ROFLMAO!!! I’m sorry to report that his prized possession – now extinct, was reported a total loss. Call the paramedics [withdrawals]…contact the insurance company….file a claim!!!
[The turd...he really had me going!! I had visions of all kinds of loss. But I'm happy to say, I got a big kick out of his humor!!!!]
~…end of Eduoard Saga
[comment link below my show n tell for this week]
We oftentimes go to the art museum. Art being a favorite subject of mine. One time just a few days ago, they had a special exhibit where the artist took photos of local ranch hands [young and old] and transformed his work onto tintype enlargements. The old style photos. Done with modern equipment. It was fascinating. Beside each ‘new’ tintype, the ranch hand, in their own words, described what ranching was to them. I remember one younger girl said “It’s like being in your own world…able to take your favorite horse, go out onto the ranch land and be one with nature, no worries of anything…just be yourself”. Sounds good to me.
So, this exhibit got me to thinking about what I have—
Inside this plastic bag, under a plastic covered photo album page is a family heirloom treasure for me. Now, granted, I only know who ONE is…the others are all ‘alien’ to me, I still treasure having them in my possession. You see when both parents died, my youngest older brother ‘inherited’ the family albums. Which is okay by me, since he’d be the one to carry the family name on through more generations [he had one boy...and that boy, my nephew has had three sons and still going *You wonder if they know what's causing all the births? LOL*] Anyway, at one time months after dad died, Bud and I were with my brother, just talking. And one thing lead to another – you know how it is; the family albums came out. During our gab session and reminiscing of the ‘good ol’ days’ we came upon these. I remember mom showing them to me and telling me they’re all kin. I was young and I looked at these tintypes and thought to myself….they look like bandits from the old west; the kind you see in movies and Gunsmoke!! Well, when my brother opened the page and I saw them, I pleaded with him to give me just the one that meant more to me than I thought for him. There were less than a dozen of them, but like I said, “They’re kinfolk.” He ended up giving them all to me…..
Oh, and if you’re interested, the right column, 2nd one down is [now I hope I get the generation correct] my Great Great Grandmother, Ann. My great grandmother named her child after her grandmother, Ann [the tintype]. When I was born, my mother named me Ann after MY grandmother – but added the “i”. And then, you guessed it, I named my daughter after HER grandmother [my mom] Irene. Nifty, huh? Confusing when doing genealogy work? Yes!! Most definitely.
The others, I have no idea who they are [the one to the left of Ann looks like my uncle tho, Arlo - so I'm sure they're ALL related to me somehow]…but the bottom right reminds me of the REAL Butch Cassidy [the famous train robber in history...you don't suppose?.....] *kidding
