Recently in Family Category

The Sistoid Unit, my sister, called me today.  (That isn't what horrified me.)  She asked about some footwear you wear over your shoes so you can walk easily on snow and ice.  I had mentioned them to her when I traveled in the Canadian Rockies back in April of 2009.  In Banff I had to purchase them at the hotel to be able to walk at all!  Record snow falls and ice made walking treacherous, for a southern boy. The problem when the Sistoid Unit called:  I couldn't remember the name.  I could only recall "crampons."  These were not exactly crampons.

Since I couldn't remember the name, I did a quick search on my blog.  I was horrified to realize that I didn't blog about that trip!  Only one post, some time later, which features a pano made up of 16 photos (4 gigapixels) I shot of a beautiful scene?!  Fortunately, I at least published a couple hundred pictures from the trip, which was gorgeous, in an album here at tt.us.

I knew I had shot a picture of the Yaktrax, their name, when I was hiking in Johnston Canyon.  (The top picture is what the lower waterfall looks like when it's not frozen, as it was when I visited.) Those who hadn't worn any special footwear found walking in the canyon so precarious that they were sliding along, holding on to the rails.  When no raise were present, which was most of the time, they would slide along the ice on their rear ends.  Quite the sight!!

So, for my future state of deeper senility, here is a link to the Yaktrax, pictured below, at REI.  I loved them, and they were reasonably priced.

Nostalgia.  The good old days.  The old ways.  Back in the day.

We tend to remember the past all packaged up as warm and glowing.  This morning, for no discernible reason at all, I had a flash back memory from my childhood.  I was a young child visiting my great Aunt Hester—my mother's mother's sister.  My great Aunt Hester had very poor eyesight and had also had cataract surgery.  In those days, the result was very thick glasses that made your eyes look like saucers!  My Aunt Hester, as was so frequently the case, was sitting on the sofa (with the omnipresent National Inquirer at one end) in her den with a flaming wall heater, leaning forward, offering us something good from the kitchen.

While my mother, sister, and I were visiting my great aunt during the day, it was dark outside.  I then recalled that we frequently visited Aunt Hester and Uncle Shelley when it was storming outside.  My mother has had a lifelong fear, no phobia, of lightening.  Most of the visits to Aunt Hester were during thunderstorms.  My mother can't stand to be alone in a thunderstorm.

My great Aunt Easter, the other of my mother's mother's sisters lived too far away to go visit her during a thunderstorm.  My mother wouldn't drive that far—keep in mind it was probably less than 5 miles.  We frequently visited my Aunt Easter and Uncle Frank (pictured to the right), but my father had to drive us that far.

Then I recalled that we would also visit my cousins during thunderstorms, until they moved from up the street to Gulf Breeze.  Naturally, Gulf Breeze was too far to drive, and you had to drive over the 3 mile bridge, which, of course, my mother considered an utter impossibility in those days.  When my cousins lived up the street, several times a summer we would all pile into the car and drive over to the beach.  But Aunt Helen had to do the driving.  It was even further than Gulf Breeze and required traversing two bridges!

How quaint:  not driving too far.

Then I recalled a trip we took with my grandparents.  We had to drive through Atlanta.  Talk about traumatic:  four lanes of cars on I-285 in those days.  Every time a car passed us, naturally my grandfather drove slower than the flow of traffic, my grandmother, sitting in the back seat, would brace herself for a wreck while running her hand down my mother's leg with a sharp inhaling sound.  My mother's leg was raw by the time we got to the hotel in Atlanta.  No, our final destination wasn't Atlanta.  We were heading to South Carolina to visit my great, great Aunt Sophia (pictured to the left wearing a sweater with my grandmother), but the trip from Mobile to Atlanta was a huge journey to us back in those days.

My final morning recollection of the good old days was the fact that my grandmother, who lived to be 92, my great Aunt Easter, who lived to be 77, and my great Aunt Hester, who lived to be 99 (may all of their completely beautiful souls rest in peace) never drove a car, not even once, in their entire lifetimes.  So I guess it shouldn't be considered too odd that my mother never really drove very far.  She was adventurous because she actually would drive!

How quickly times change.

We just returned from a very short visit to my hometown of Pensacola.  My FC, favorite cousin, Susan, came down for the visit as well.  We had a wonderful time filled with laughter, good seafood, and great political talk (the FC and I are on the same side of the political coin).  I don't know, it seems the dispersants used in the Gulf, made all of the seafood especially flavorful.  Actually, we made sure none of the seafood we ate came from the Gulf.  This picture, click to enlarge, was taken by the HU at the Oar House, one of my favorite Pensacola establishments.

My cousin and I walked down to the Gulf during a recent visit home. There just is no more beautiful beach on earth!

I had a great visit with the family. My cousin, Susan, came in from Birmingham. She is such a hoot. I hadn't seen her for a really long time.

And we also got to spend some time with my Aunt Floyce, another relative I hadn't seen in forever.

My sistoid unit is having a big birthday tomorrow; so, we got to celebrate the big event. (I have to rub it in since I already went over the hill!)

What a delight!

Last night was Halloween. I've commented before about the large number of children in the neighborhood. Well last night was a classic example: certainly over a hundred children came to the door and confiscated 5 large bags of halloween candy.

Why is this a blast from the past? Not since I was a child trekking the streets for Halloween have I seen so many children out on Halloween night! But, Halloween isn't what it was when I was a child. After leaving the front door, the kids were on the cell phones reporting where all the "good candy" was to be found!

Blast Two
My grandmother loved her Avon products. She used an off white Avon cold cream ever night. It had a very distinctive, soft, pleasant smell that I always associated with my grandmother. I purchased and used a cleaning product in the house yesterday that has that exact same smell.

Certainly, smells are very powerful ways to bring back memories. And this smell brought back the delightful memories of one of the most loving people I ever have known!

She is terrified of lightening. But it's beautiful. Even though you have seen it strike right next to you several times in your life, even thought you've seen it strike the house a few times, even though you've seen a ball of fire rolling around the carport from its strike a time or two, have you ever seen it in slow motion?

Click the plate above to listen to one of my favorite anthems of thanksgiving: Now Thank We All Our God from the album Te Deum And Other Church Music by The Cambridge Singers

The sistoid unit was very upset that I forgot her birthday last year. Well, even though I didn't forget it, she didn't get the emailed birthday card. So here is a whole post dedicated to saying,

"Happy Birthday!"

The font, color, and size may not show up in most browsers. Let it be recorded that this post is the first and only use of any other font and color in a post on timtyson.us!

I just spent a few days in Pensacola visiting mother and the sistoid unit. I hadn't been for at least two years. Time flies by quickly.

We went down to the beach. I was very surprised about several things:

• The road along the beach on the island itself is still closed on the way to Navarre--some 3 years after all of the hurricanes. I suspect it was closed at the point where the National Seashore started, part of the National Parks Service.
• At the other end of the island, when we got to the Fort Pickens gate entrance, it too is closed. Yes, another National Seashore Park. Has the federal government chosen to just completely abandon our national responsibility to the Parks' budget? Naturally, since the parks are not a profit center, this is not one of "W's" priorities. Perhaps if Halliburton could get a no-bid contract to restore these parks...
• Shockingly, even with a heat index of 110º, the beach was basically dead. Perhaps because the kids were back in school?
• The major restaurants on the island are no longer open for lunch. They all open at 4:00pm. What is this all about? This is a major vacation destination. Has the vacation industry suffered so badly from the storms?
• The work on I-10 looks no further along than when I was last in the city some 2 years ago. In fact, I must confess it actually looks like it's regressing.
• The images on Google Earth of Pensacola were obviously shot shortly after the hurricanes as you can see hundreds and hundreds of blue tarps atop the houses with roof damage caused by the storms.

Maybe it was just because of the infernal heat, but the whole town seemed sleepy and sluggish. Several areas of the city seemed to be experiencing major economic hardship. On a positive note, I had forgotten how delightful rush hour is in my hometown! And, of course, visiting the family is always good.

Some of the pictures included here: the foundation footers for a house is being dug in the historic section of old Pensacola. Third picture down: Here you see "archeologists" at work sifting through the dirt to make sure no artifacts of any historical significance are lost. Fourth picture down: Interesting flower in the front yard of a home on Historic Seville Square. Fifth picture down: The lobby of the historic Pensacola Train Station turned Crown Plaza Hotel. Sixth picture down: A rose in my mother's front flower bed. Bottom screen shot: Google Earth of downtown Pensacola.

I'll post more pictures from the trip in my photos section when I have more time.

I stumbled upon this photograph on the internet. Boy did it bring back unexpected memories from my childhood. I saw this cardboard contraption advertised in the Boy's Life magazine. My father ordered it for me: instant submariner in a box--sort of literally! As a child I was fascinated by submarines. Do you remember Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea?

If you know me at all, you know that Thanksgiving is my most favorite holiday! Perhaps I love it so because, as a child, our home was always filled with all of our friends and family: Daddy, Aunt Easter & Uncle Frank, Aunt Hester & Uncle Shelly, Mamaw & Papaw, all now living only in our memories, filled our hearts with their love and laughter. Their memories still fill my life with happiness frequently celebrated but most assuredly during this holiday.

And then there are my favorite hymns. I include these wonderful renditions from my music collection, not for the taking, but so that you too may join in a celebration of the deepest gratitude for all that is good, all that is love, all that is kind. To play the selection, click the plate above the title to serve it up. (The links are only active during the season.)

Now Thank We All Our God from the album Te Deum And Other Church Music by The Cambridge Singers

Now Thank We All Our God by S. Karg-Elert

Now Thank We All Our God from the album Virgil Fox Encores by Virgil Fox

Prayer of Thanksgiving from the album America, The Dream Goes On by John Williams

I promised my mother I would touch up the picture I took of her when I was visiting her in Pensacola during the Memorial Day weekend. Done! I'm getting pretty good at this. I would put up a before and after picture, but I suspect she would then bring my life to an untimely end. You know, that whole, "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out of it, too!" idea.

So here is the new picture. Clicking on it will enlarge it.

I made a very quick trip down to Pensacola over Memorial Day weekend to see mom. I actually drove down Saturday and back home on Monday! It just seemed like I hadn't been home in so long.

I am still amazed at how young the neighborhood looks again. All of the large old trees were destroyed by Hurricane Ivan. Now just the small trees remain, which is how the neighborhood looked when I was a child growing up there.

At any rate, I had a great visit. On Sunday we piddled around town and the beach taking some pictures, including one of mom. I haven't linked these to the USA photo album yet, so the photo in this post is a direct link to 31 pictures I took during the trip.

Lovin' the new camera! Enjoy...

Lucky, one of my mother's tiny white toy poodles, is getting old and cantankerous.  He apparently is barking all of the time--no, really, non-stop!  Talking with mother on the phone has become rather annoying.  He doesn't seem to want to eat either.  So my mother is having to hand feed him to coax him to eat.

As he is getting very old for a poodle, she thought something might be wrong with him and took him to the vet.  She was right.  The vet diagnosed Lucky as being depressed and prescribed an antidepressant for him!  Amazingly, when he takes his pill he is much better.  Dear god in heaven!

Uncle Gordon has had a very serious heart attack followed by a quadruple bypass. Mother was planning on coming up to Atlanta for the Christmas season but has canceled those plans to stay with Aunt Floyce. I'm sure they would appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers.

One's mother must always have at least one birthday wish from Paris. Mine got hers today. I called her from the Champs Elysée just in front of the Arc de Triomphe at 5:00PM Paris time, 10:00AM in Pensacola.

So here's mom's birthday call on her 70th birthday!

Then a couple pictures at sunset from the top of the Arc de Triomphe:

I've had a busy, productive day thus far. I just decided to take a break and run get a quick bite for lunch. The cloudless, 65º day is marked by the distinctive angle of sunlight only seen in the Fall. Gorgeous!

As I pulled into the fast food restaurant, suddenly and unexpectedly I caught the very distinctive glimpse of my grandmother in an elderly lady peering out of the window taking in the beautiful day. Aside from my grandmother, I have never seen anyone hold her head in that way: held slightly back, tilted slightly up and to the side, gazing up...with a gentle smile on her face and her mind in a beautiful, peaceful place. This was a look I knew well. My grandmother always had this expression when, as a child, I would play the piano for her.

The experience was so unexpected, so uncommon, so powerful. My eyes instantly filled with tears. For just one second, I was with her again. This post celebrates the love that is her memory.

Ruth Cleveland Tyson
March 5, 1903 - March 4, 1995

Mom is fine!

Happy birthday to the Sistoid Unit!

Mother thought I had died or something since I have not posted for a bit. She wondered if her computer was working. It is. I've just been busy, busy, busy.

Yes mother, I am alive.

To view the slide show of many of the Epcot, 2005, pictures, click here.

My sister is at home recovering satisfactorily from the medical procedures she had performed yesterday.  The problems are not yet resolved.  She may require surgery in the near future if medication does not address soon her health issues.

Missy, probably my mother's favorite family pet, pictured below on the left, unexpectedly died Sunday, February 20, 2005, at home. She had been at the vet's office and hospital recuperating from eye surgery. The vet was going to be out of town for the weekend and didn't want her left alone. Mother brought her home for the weekend, and she died of congestive heart failure on Sunday. She lived with diabetes and Cushings diseases for several years but appeared to be a very happy little dog, despite her difficult ailments.

Mother, Missy, and Lucky, January 1, 2000
(Click to enlarge)

Missy was a very loving, sweet-tempered little dog that wanted to constantly lick on those she loved. She brought my mother a lot of love and happiness. She, like all of our family pets, was a good pet and will be terribly missed. Mother has been so upset by this she waited until today to call me. My mother loved that little dog, and that little dog loved my mother!

Today I finally felt well enough to make contact with other earthlings.  Since I hadn't heard from mother in a couple of weeks I thought I would give her a call.  The last time I talked with her she had this horrible flu mess.

Well, heavens.  She still has it!  --and much worse than I did.  She has had it almost a month now!

Missy, one of her white tiny toy poodles, has had eye surgery and will be in the hospital for 10 days.  Everyone will be relieved to hear that she is doing well. 

Despite being seriously ill with the flu, mother dutifully goes to the animal hospital every day to let Missy lick on her.  Missy would probably die if she couldn't lick on her family members.  (I personally find it annoying, but...) 

Missy really is a very sweet little dog and has earned special favor with her doctors--a husband and wife team I think.  They actually take Missy home with them at night instead of leaving her in the hospital.  She has many serious ailments but appears to be a happy little critter.  So, mother tends to her medical conditions.*

Now, in a fever-induced state of delirium, mother has this very day taken ownership of yet another little poodle!  A lady that works at the house knew an 80+ year old widow who just died.  She loved her little dog, and the extended family was very upset they wouldn't find a good home for it.  Well, 2 + 2 = 4.  Cindy now lives with Missy and Lucky.  I guess I can get used to the idea of another dog at the Florida homestead, but that name has got to go!

Mother says Cindy has taken to her as if she were her former owner.  Lucky is bitter about the whole thing.  And this may send poor Missy 6 feet under when she finds out.  Stay tuned...

*I tell everyone that almost everyone in my entire family is (or was when they were living) a diabetic--including Missy, the dog!  Mother has to give her shots every day!

President Nixon departed on his historic trip to China.  I was a kid. To commemorate this historic event, I started calling our siamese cat, who was officially named Sassy, her new nickname: Mao Tse-tung.  It stuck.  Eventually everyone was calling her Mao Tse-tung.

Sassy was one of my family's favorite pets.  She lived to be almost 20 years old!  She really was much more like a dog than a cat.  She would do many crazy things:

• retrieve paper wads when you threw them
• meet me and my sister at the front door everyday when we got home from school.  Come to think of it, she would meet my father when he got home from work as well.
• leap out of nowhere and grab on to your ankles with her paws forcing you to stop and pick her up or drag her along as you continued to walk
• leap out of nowhere and grab on to your ankles with her paws and start gnawing on the back of your ankle as if bringing down her prey in the wilderness
• unexpectedly leap from the floor up to your shoulders so she could ride around the house on your shoulders
• the above appeared to bring her much joy in life as it seemed to be her daily ritual.  You would find Sassy on someone's shoulder as often as you would see her walking on the floor.
• always jump up and sit in your lap the minute you sat down
• sit in very high places: on top of the refrigerator, on top of  the curtain rods (OMG), on the back of the sofa
• if you put your opened hand up over her face (the same gesture one makes when reaching to pet a cat's head) she would put her ears back, show her teeth with quivering lips, hiss viciously, and then attack you.  The closer the open hand to her face the more vigorous and dramatic her display.  You really thought she was going to take your hand off!
• the above “attack” was always in good fun as she never was trying to hurt anyone.  However, unsuspecting house guests were duly terrified.  She, like a dog, loved a good tussle with a human.
• She would “gallop” as heavily as a horse around the house when she got in some bizarre mood.

Sassy had several names throughout her lifetime.  Daddy called her “Fraz” a derivative of “Sassafras”--a take off on Sassy, which she was!  She would carry on lengthy conversations with you.  All you had to do was meow back, and she was ready to talk.  Mother called her “Fuss Box.”  I also called her “The Beast of the Ungodly”--who knows why.  And then there was the period of time I called her Ozimandious, for the obvious reasons.

I learned later in life that Sassy was not your typical siamese cat.  She was so incredibly personable and sociable, always wanting to be with people.  She died of old age curled up in my mothers lap with mom petting her.

Sassy sitting up high
(Click to enlarge)

And all of this came to mind because Richard Nixon went off to China in 1972.

Last night would have been my parent's 50th wedding anniversary.  As it turned out, they spent 42 years together before my father died rather unexpectedly in 1997.  Here's a celebration to commitments that last for 42 years!

Talked with mother today.  All of the test results that have come back thus far have been negative.  Only one remains, which was scheduled for this afternoon, the MRI.  She said she was feeling better, but then who wouldn't if they were pumped full of demerol and morphine?!

She anticipated being released from the hospital this afternoon.

Mother had a terrible headache while we were all home.  At that time we thought she had pulled a muscle in her neck.

Apparently it has become much worse.  Wondering if she has had another stroke, she has gone to the ER.  The hospital did a spinal tap.  Thank heavens she doesn't have spinal meningitis.  They are running tests to see what is causing the intense pain. 

I'll post when I hear more information.

I'm excited! My cousin, Tracy, and her husband just brought more hope, Mallory, into this world!

(Click to enlarge)