Sentimental Sunday The Hero and The Bandit; The Beginning

 I am helping to prepare for the NGS Conference in Salt Lake City, UT on 28 April–1 May 2010.  As a result my posts are being fee and far between.

This is my Sentimental Sunday post on The Hero Stories for the grandchildren.

In 1979, my hero and I moved to the country to help my parents.  My father had just had a heart attack and was not able to build the farm we had helped invest in.  The hero had never lived or worked on a farm.  We had been studying about living self sufficient on a 5 acre farm.  This seemed logical to do.  My father needed help and we wanted to see if we could do it.  The first duh...no house.  The second duh...the hero had to drive 54 miles one way to work and didn't get back home until after dark.  Things were not rosey.

My father had bought a cow for milking and some chickens.  He decided that we needed a red bone hound to keep the coyotes away at night.  Jake stories will be a later visit.  After a few years and two more cows, Jake passed away and left the hero looking for one: a herding helper, and two: his own dog.
A neighbor found an abandoned Blue Heeler at a farm that had been repossessed, called the hero and asked if he would be interested in taking it.  The hero went over and fell in love. Because of the patches over his eyes the family decided to call him Bandit.  Bandit and the hero were of kindred spirit.

Of course, we hadn't any idea how to train our newly acquired puppy, but we had great hopes when we read about the breed.
The first "trick" the hero attempted was to teach Bandit how to "sic 'em".  He decided that that was an important directive in the country.  Wild Pigs, loose animals, you name it and it would wander through.  Unfortunately, Bandit did not catch on.  When the hero said "sic 'em", Bandit would turn and run up to the hero and start barking.  Never did figure out what was going on in his mind, but we would all howl in laughter and Bandit thought he had done something good.  The behavior never changed through his life. 
The other trick was to teach Bandit to "fetch".  This activity was one which Bandit loved.  Unfortunately, he was also a very aggressive and active dog.  The hero was never sure what shape the object thrown would come back in.  A ball even a hard ball would be nearly chewed in half in a few days.  A stick, even a piece of Two by Four, would be splinters by the time it got back.  Sticks were quickly banned in fear Bandit might swallow a piece of wood. 
These two became the best of friends and many a night the hero would fix a blanket down on the floor in the living room for Bandit a bed, but Bandit's favorite bed was the hero's army jacket.  This was not too bad, unless Bandit had been rolling in something unsavory in the fields.  That was Bandit's favorite passtime.  To find something really stinky to roll in.  It earned him his nickname...stink dog. 
Wish we had more pictures of him, but many of my pictures were ruined and many things we just did not catch on film.
Next time Bandit, The Hero, and the Cows.

Tombstone Tuesday Spellings

 

This tombstone gave much information.  He was a mason.  He served in the Civil War and her children spelled her name with a C....documents were in K

Sentimental Sunday The Hero Posts

My grandchildren have been asking for stories about their granddadE.  As I thought about how to deliver, I received a reminder about Sentimental Sunday posts from Geneabloggers.  I had my ah ha moment.  I can make Sundays my day for granddadE posts and they will have their stories.

A Soft Hearted Hero

 My hero, my husband was a soft hearted man.  You wouldn't know it, if he began talking in generalities, as one is prone to do,  making sweeping statements about race, countries, etc.  He did not live that way.  A case in point, was a call we received late one night about 2 years after we were married.....

A black man, who worked at his company, called late in the evening.  Aaron Johnson was prone to drink.  This evening he had caught his shirt on fire when putting a log in the stove.  He was in pain and could not drive.

The hero and his dad were the only 'family' that Aaron had.

Accordingly, the hero drove to Aaron's home and took him to Houston's emergency room for the poor.  He could have left him sitting there and come home, but it was not the hero's way.  He sat and soothingly talked to Aaron to keep him quiet until it was his turn to be treated.  Aaron clung to the hero and begged that they let him stay with him.  Since the hero was a army medic in the reserves, they allowed him to stay. 

I was not there, but my hero cried when he arrived home that night because he felt that his friend had been mistreated.  The staff had not waited for the numbing medication to go into effect and immediately began scrubbing off the burnt skin to clean it before applying the bandages. All he could think of was Aaron sitting and shaking in pain and shock with only his voice for comfort.   His perception of their behavior was that they were punishing Aaron for being drunk.  Who knows the truth.  It was the busiest ER in the state.  They may have lost their ability to show concern by midnight.  What ever the case was, I have never forgotten the compassion, concern, and love my husband showed for another less fortunate than himself.

When his father sold the company, the hero's first concern was that the deed for land which they had purchased for Aaron to build a home had been signed over to Aaron and not any longer in the the company's name.

That is a soft hearted man.
'A great way to be', my grandsons and granddaughters. 

Wordless Wednesday a New Heirloom

Tombstone Tuesday Missing Dates

This is what happens when you are the last of your family and your sons don't think dates are important. She died May of 2000, alone.

52 Weeks to Better Genealogy Challenge #4

I am not able to go to the library because I am helping my daughter with the rascals above right now. She is still a month and a half from her due date and has been put on bed rest. I am not complaining, nor bragging, it is just a fact.

I will have to write about this challenge from experiences I have had in the past and recently at the library I have been writing about in the previous challenges.

A few years ago, my mother wanted to know facts about the county she was born and hoped her birth was written about in a county newspaper in Oklahoma. The county was Custer. I looked in the inter-library loan book to see if the newspapers were on microfilm. They were and they were in the Clinton Public Library. I contacted Clinton Public Library. They said the films were available for loan. After filling out the necessary paperwork of request and costs, the films were ordered. They arrived 2 weeks later and I was busy searching the May 1928 editions. Sure enough, because they were twins, my mother and her sister were written about as number 12 and 13 in their family. Unfortunately, I only made a copy for her and now because of her dementia, haven't a clue where it might be. The process was easy and results were satisfying.

The more recent experience was for someone else. As I was visiting with the librarian, my eyes were drawn to a book on her desk. The title was "History of the Ballew family in Virginia". I was excited because a friend by the same name had just begun to research his family. I noted the card on it that indicated it was on loan. I then asked if it was to go back soon and if the person who had ordered it would mind if someone else were to look at it. It was due back in a week. It was on loan from a Michigan Library. The person who had ordered it was finished.
I quickly called my friend and the next morning he came down and found it was about his family and the librarian taught him about the inter-library loans. However, he went a step further and contacted the authors and ordered the book.

You never know what is going to happen when you go into the genealogy department, looking at the new books, visiting with the librarian, checking out things that can travel from afar to be within your vision, and if the librarian is so inclined the public library can arrange to be able to order films from the Salt Lake Genealogy Library also.

Is it any wonder my family would shake in dread when I said I was going to the library, they knew I was lost to them for the day. It has been a good thing.

Thank You Lori at 'Genealogy and Me'

Lori at Genealogy and me was gracious in bestowing an award for my supportive comments on her blog. A Blogger's Best Friend Award how special.

What she doesn't realize is, it should be me giving her an award for such informative and enjoyable posts. I have learned much last year from fellow genealogy bloggers. I am thankful for finding them.

The special idea around the genealogy awards is you pass the thought along. I really a greenie at the area of blogging so everyone has been encouraging and helpful by posting. I am very appreciative of their comments.

The developer of the award 'Bandit' "A Blogger's Best Friend Award" shall be given to your most loyal blog readers. Thus, the award should be given to a follower of yours who takes the time to comment regularly on many of your posts. In addition his or her blog should be creative, funny and always entertaining. Upon receiving this award, pass it along to two fellow bloggers who fit this criteria. To choose just two is a very hard task. To me, if you stop by and make a comment you are great friend. Thank you to all.

On with the award, I must sent one to Lori of Stories of My Ancestors. She has not only commented encouraging words, but she has also given instruction which has been gladly accepted.
The second I will give to Linda at Flipside . She has been a regular commenter.
Thank you again, to Lori at Genealogy and Me and to those that do encourage.