Sentimental Sunday The Hero Was Concerned About His County Early

At an early age, the Hero was drawn to politics and righting the wrongs of the world.  At Jr High age, he listened to the news.  One night he heard someone talking about communism in the world and its dangers.  He was distraught his history teacher had not spoken of this.  The second night of listening, he heard about a film that he could get that was for informing the community about the dangers of communism.  He was fired up.
He began by asking his history teacher if he could have an after school meeting that it would be about current events regarding communism.  The answer was yes as long as there was a supervisor there.  He called the number he had gotten from the radio, and arranged for someone to come to the school the day scheduled and show the film.  He made up a letter explaining about the film and asking for permission for the students to come to it, and sent it out to their parents.  The responses came back positive, and the stage was set.
Unfortunately for him, someone, I don't know if he ever knew who it was, called the principal's office and complained and asked for it to be stopped.  It must have been someone of influence, because they had him cancel the film showing and suspended him a couple of days for organizing it.  He was dumbfounded and could not understand why his parents would not stand up for him. (When he told me about this, he was still perplexed as to why when there had been notes of consent, and there had been full disclosure that this happened. )   He did not remember who he had been listening to but even at adulthood, he said the message had made a mark on his understanding of the danger to his beloved United States of America.

I have searched for what film it could have been and have decided that the film was probably from the John Birch Society or Young American's For Freedom, which was started in Houston.  Which ever, the Hero was conservative and never deviated in his belief that there was a fight against evil for this country.  He wanted his children to have freedom, and the ability to choose.  That was a decision made when he was in Jr High.  I never even thought about it in Jr High.  He was a man of deep convictions.

Sentimental Sunday ... The Hero Was a Prude

I discovered that the Hero was a prude when he made a fashion mistake for "me".  
When we were dating, he always made chatter of being worldly when he was young and how into the social groups he was.  I thought for sure he was a man of the world when we were married. On the other hand he chose a girl from a small town in Oklahoma. 
We lived when the new fad of "Hot Pants"  came to the fashion world.  Trying not to blush here, but the Hero always thought I had good looking legs, so it was natural to him that when the Hot Pants came out he took me to purchase a pair.  The emphasis here is He took Me out to purchase them. 

Hummer in Hot Pants.

I wore them over to his grandmother's where we celebrated Mother's Day with my parents and his, all was fine...other than my dad rolling his eyes.  About a week later, he took me out to eat at a nice restaurant.  At his suggestion, I wore the Hot Pants.   He escorted me in with a beaming smile.  At some point during the evening, I excused myself to the powder room.  I was surprised when I came back to see him looking furtively around the room.  Of course, I asked what was wrong.  His answer set me back in my seat.  "All the men in the room are looking at you."  That of course was not true, but someone must have, because then and there he decided I wouldn't wear the Hot Pants out again in public.  His wife wasn't going to be "looked" at in a "lewd" manner.  I am smiling as I write this because you have to know that I was lucky he didn't pull the table cloth off and wrap it around me as we left.   

You have a wonderful day, I did just writing this.  He was so cute and wonderful.

Sentimental Sunday... The Hero Made Sure His Grandsons Were Texan

When my daughter was pregnant with her last child, the Hero was distraught that his grandchild was going to be born in Idaho, not Texas.  (oh mercy).  When she discovered, she was having twins. He was really beside himself, and began to scheme.
In his mind, if they were born over Texas soil then they would still be Texans.  This was important for him.  He decided he would send a bag of Texas soil to them.  Redbeard could put the bag on the floor, then they would be born over Texas soil. 
When I went up to stay and help the month before they were born he made sure the bag of soil was in my suitcase.  He extracted a promise from the couple that they would do as he asked.  They were game,  Redbeard thought it would be fun.

The twins were born over the bag of Texas soil.  Redbeard was so excited when he looked out their hospital window and saw the Texas Flag flying over the Texas Roadhouse on the next block.



This should have been enough for the Hero, but no... He wrote to the Governor Rick Perry's office and told them about the soil, the flag, and asked if they could be made honorary Texas Citizens.  Lo and Behold...   They said yes, and sent certificates to the twins.
They are honorary Texans to carry out their grandfather's wishes that they be born as close to Texas as he could get them.

Got Dirt?

This is not the bag, but it is just like what he sent.  He was so funny.

Sentimental Sunday... A Slice of Life from the Hero Stories

 

Slice of Life has given the prompt this week to write about 'If I could turn back time.'

That is a dangerous subject for a widow, but I have a wonderful comforting story that goes with the prompt.
When the Hero and I had been married two years, we came to a point in our marriage that many young couple face.  Our goals and interests had pulled us in separate directions.  He was involved in creating products for his dad's building materials company and an helping it grow.  I was involved in nursing school and becoming a professional.  We had a little daughter that we both loved dearly, but struggled to focus on family time.  We felt our relationship falling apart.  A friend invited us to go to a new movie that was out.  We thought great! We haven't been on a date in ages.  We went.  Three hours later we were sitting on our couch at home crying for what we thought was a lost marriage.  (Don't ever go to a movie about a broken marriage ending in divorce to bring yourselves together.  Not a good thing.)   We looked at each other and wondered if we would ever be the same.
Divine providence, God, whatever name you want to put with it, played a hand in our lives.  A few weeks later, the Hero was asked to go to a business meeting in El Paso which was 600+ miles away.  He wanted to go, but decided  he would only go if his family could go with him and the trip would be by car.  His dad hem and hawed then conceded. 
There are many stories that came out of this trip, but the most important that we shared with everyone was the discovery we made and never let go of.
In the long trip to El Paso, ( anyone who has traveled across Texas knows... it is a LONG trip) we began to visit.  We started sharing what our hopes were for our work, for our child, for our individual life and together.  We actually talked the entire trip out to El Paso only to stop to sleep.  In gaining insight into each other, we began to feel the love we had for each other blossoming again.  We saw the person we had married again.  It was exhilarating.  We were excited.  The Hero got food poisoning, and didn't make it to all his meetings, but we had plenty of one on one time together and with our little sweetie.  It was heart expanding to experience our family becoming the core of our lives again. 

By the time we made it back to Houston, we had turned back time to start over again.  We were one again, with the resolve to never let our relationship deteriorate again.  Our discovery was to share, to talk, to spend time together, not letting that which was not most important interfere with the most important.  It worked for another 35 years until the Hero left this life.  I am grateful for that time and for a Heavenly Father that provided the opportunity, a Hero that desired wholeheartedly for his marriage to be whole, my heart was there also.  He is missed.  There might be a better way to write the story, but it is very near and dear to my heart, and I am stretching trying to write about it.  Hugs.