A Hero Story 'How We Met'

I got a bonus today for cleaning and organizing my genealogy boxes.  I found my calender for 1969.  I was not a journal keeper in those days ( not that I am a 100% better now), but I would jot down what happened on each day and occasionally make a comment.  On September 27, 1969(can you believe it was just 2 days and 41 years ago), I wrote:  'Met the Hero and his roommate.'

That I was my third day of a new job at Methodist Hospital Cafeteria as a check out girl working 11pm to 7am.  One of the Hero's best friends was my trainer.  At midnight, a large group of my trainer's friends came in to visit with him (and get free drinks) because it was his last night there.  The Hero was among them.  Oh, I forgot to say, my trainer was from Saudi, and all his friends with the exception of the Hero were Arab.  Turned out, in college the Hero was Vice President of the Foreign Students Association.  They were a fast talking group.  The Hero was introduced, and his friend advised me he was in the middle of a divorce.  The Hero looked so sad and very thin, but handsome because he was in his military uniform as he had just arrived from camp.  Very appealing. ; )
Later, we shared our thoughts with each other.
Me: "He is handsome, but Divorced! Could I go out with a man who was divorced?"
Him:  "She has pretty eyes, looks like someone I would like to get to know."
Well, grandchildren, there you have it. The exact date and place and circumstances as well as thoughts around your grandparents meeting.  A night we celebrated always.

Sharing a Slice of Life #18: Random Picture Day

Our challenge was to take a picture at random from our picture box and blog about it.  Go over to Sharing a Slice of Life to join our fun.  I just read SouthernArkies post about her picture of a sewing room.  What a memory.
If you have visited before you know, I blog about my Hero, my husband every Sunday.  As it happens the Hero is in this picture. 

The picture was taken in my Uncle Ed's kitchen on his farm in Pawnee, Oklahoma about 1973.  The jacket the Hero is wearing was one that I had sewn for him.  He loved it and wore it out.  Also pictured is my dad sitting at the table, and my Uncle Ed standing and rubbing his eye. 
It is a standard kitchen, but it represents what I had always hoped for but never achieved in my own home.  Everyone migrated to the kitchen to visit.  I never had a kitchen to sit in.
When I was growing up, the living room was for formal guests, only family or close friends were invited beyond.  The kitchen was the place you sat down at the table and had a cup of something, and visited.  Old times were talked about.  Card games were played here.  Needs and challenges were discussed. Sometimes tears were shed.   It represents closeness, family, and love. 
The Kitchen, a place where the body and soul were seen and fed. 

Sentimental Sunday The Hero and Plumbing

We lived in Houston for the first few years of our married life.  The first house we bought was a small 2 bedroom house in the Heights, with an enclosed back porch, and an unattached garage.

My dad was a frequent visitor as he was disabled (remember he broke his hip on his amputated leg).  We turned the back porch into a guest bedroom for him. There was one problem. He did not like coming through our bedroom to get to the only bathroom, so the Hero decided to fix him a shower and toilet in the workshop in the garage.  He could then just walk out to the bathroom without coming through our room.  This sounds easy enough.  The Hero worked hard and got everything installed in time to proudly show it to my dad the next time he came to visit. 
The next morning the Hero and I left for work. That evening on arriving home, I found my dad in a bit of a tizzy.  Yes, that is a good word for it.  My daughters loved on him and he was better after a bit, so I asked what happened during the day.  "Well," says he, "I went out to my bathroom to go to the potty.  Sat down and not a second later I was being showered by hot water.  I had to 'jump up' and escape."  (I started to smile.) "It wasn't funny.  I couldn't get my pants up very fast and I got soaked!"  (I had tried to keep a straight face, now I giggled.)  "Oh, all right, I know it sounds funny, but it is a good thing the Hero wasn't here or I would have gotten him for sure!"
Of course, you know, that he was lying in wait for the Hero when he got home.  First thing the Hero heard when he walked in the door was "You soaked me in the garage bathroom!"

He was baffled. "What are you all talking about?"  After the story was told, he went out to the garage to investigate what had happened.  He came in with sheepish look on his face and said, "I guess I forgot to glue that joint after I checked to see if it would fit. Sorry."
My dad wasn't a harsh person, but he never let the Hero forget that he had not glued the pipe and when repairing the plumbing on the farm he would say, "and this is how you glue the pipes."  ; )
We would all laugh.
Grandchildren, while your granddadE was not proficient in plumbing, he was able to learn to do the basics and always tried to grow in knowledge.  Never be afraid to learn something new.
Love you.

Sentimental Sunday Early Hero Story How Babies are Made

When our first daughter became old enough to explain the facts of life to her, the Hero told me the story of what happened the night his father talked to him.
He was about 8 years old and the family was at the dinner table having a spaghetti dinner. His oldest sister was sitting across from him and having a conversation with their mother about a young man at school.  The Hero decided he would join in with the conversation and said, "I know how babies are made.  The boy kisses the girl and they swap germs and the baby is made."  His sister just stared at him and his mother stifled a giggle.  All of a sudden, he felt his father's hand on his shoulder and a quick, "Come with me, we are going to have a talk."  He quietly followed his father into the living room, and received the "talk."  He would always give a giggle and a wink when telling the story and say, "I guess it was okay.  We have six children."
Funny Bunny wasn't he.  ; )

Wordless Wednesday Missouri Maple Tree

Sharing a Slice of Life 'JOBS'

I will fall back on my father for this post.  I have pictures of him at work.  Nice to have.
As I have told you many eons ago...(exaggeration for emphasis) in a post on how my did never gave up, I admired him greatly.
In his early life he worked for the railroad(for a different post), farmed, and construction. I will, for this post, concentrate on after his leg was amputated.
He was grateful and to my knowledge never complained about going to work.  When his stump on his amputated limb would "scald", as he called it, he would go to work in pain.  I never saw him  call out sick.

His job started out as a maintenance man over the big boiler that supplied the steam heat to the entire Central State College.  I remember going down to the boiler with sandwiches and drink with my mom for him in the evenings. 


The boiler was huge.  Lots of gauges, the roar of the fire, it was awesome for a girl of 9. At least it was all with natural gas, and  not back when they had to "stoke it with wood".
 
When an opening came as Supervisor in the Air conditioning department, he had the knowledge from his school, and the confidence of his employers because of his work ethic.
He got the position. For nine years he worked in the A/C department of the College. He became friends with most of the professors and kept their home units working too.  He loved his job.  It was of great loss to him when he broke his hip bone of his amputated leg and had to retire as disabled.
Life is good when you love your work.

Sentimental Sunday The Hero and The New Baby

The Hero always tried to keep a sense of humor when things were not as he thought they should be.  When our 4th child was born, it was a particularly long labor, and we were concerned.  Of course I am not really sure if the Hero and the doctor knew it was a long labor because they amused themselves swapping army stories across my bed as I experienced the back labor.  LOL
Back to the Hero.  When I was finally close to delivery, the doctor had to push the baby back up the birth canal to reposition its head.  That wasn't pleasant.  It had been back labor because the baby's head was positioned wrong. 
After he repositioned her, she was born in 3 minutes.  I was ecstatic and the nurse was also.  My baby girl was beautiful and she was in my arms!  While the Hero was happy too, he couldn't resist a bit of humor.  "Oh, my," he said,"she looks like she's been hit in the head with a brick."  (Because of her position, the frontal skull was pressed down and the back was pushed up.  Just in case you didn't know.)

He laughed for years as he would tell about how he had thought the nurse was either going to murder him or toss him out on his head.  Rightly so, Milly was beautiful.

Follow Friday Professionalism Journey Starts

Graphics Fairy image

I am getting so excited!  I am starting with PROGEN Study group in a week, Labor Day put our group off a week starting.  The book "Professional Genealogy" is WOW. Since I have embarked on this journey, I have come across some neat wonderful examples of professional genealogists.  I am doing this to become better, not sure about doing someone else's genealogy for money. I have always believed in documenting sources, but this is a whole new dimension for me.

For Follow Friday I would like to suggest a marvelous blog that I have come across that many of you probably already know about, Heather H Doherty (click on her name to view her blog).
She is a lot of fun on twitter, and I love the educational aspect of genealogy she features. 
If I were to be a professional genealogist, I would love to share like she does.

Sharing a Slice of Life 'School Daze'

Interesting that Texasblu chose the topic "School Daze'' for this week's prompt.  Ancestry.com just came out with US High School Year Books.  I was so hoping that the Hero's school might be on there, but it is not.  I did find my 1963 year book.  It was really amazing to me to find that I had forgotten so much of my high school.  I posted some pictures on FaceBook for my old school friends and they were excited to remember the times.  Some came back with immediate memories, I was really in awe.  I guess I was in a hurry to graduate and the interim just flew by.  Here are some of the activities I was in.  I was disappointed the freshman band wasn't included.

Edmond High School 1963

This is me when I was 14, a freshman entering the world of High School.

(remember you can click to see the pictures larger)
This is the Junior Classical League.  It was for those studying Latin.  One of the members remembers a toga party and going in a sheet.   I vaguely remember that.  I am on the very end sitting down.

First Aid Club

This was the First Aid Club.  Can you tell I wanted to be a nurse.  I made it.  I am in the middle in white.

Edmond High School Band Uniform

I had to include this.  I learned all I know about music in Band from Jr High through High School.  I had fun, loved playing the French Horn, and marching.  Precision marching was so intricate that it would fascinate me and still does if I catch a good marching band.


I have given you a peak at my freshman year in High School. While I was busy with activities, I learned most of my English Grammar in Latin this year, and began to appreciate the social order of human beings.

Wordless Wednesday Butterfly Flower 'Clerodendrum ugandense'

'Clerodendrum ugandense' Butterfly Flower