Around the House

They are laying another railroad track beside the one behind my house. Possibly extending the Telford siding track so they can run longer trains. Whatever it’s for, it can’t be good for we who live so near the tracks.

I wonder what gives with the tulip poplar trees around my house? Their leaves are very small compared to normal and so are the blossoms. Probably something to do with the weather changes we are causing.

Bear Bears Hardship in Mate Search

I read an article about a young bear leaving its home in the Polish Tatra mountains and traveling across country into foreign lands in search of romance. I wonder if the bear checked the internet first; there is probably a dating site for them such as Bear Zoosk or Bear Match.com, and for bears of faith there is Bear Christian Mingle where God Himself will show Bro Bear the sow of HIS choice. Amen.

For Medicinal Use Only

I use cannabis whenever I can get it. It is illegal in Tennessee but I choose to ignore that and use it for RA pain. I’ve known since the 70s that it helps control pain but much of the weed we had back in the day wasn’t powerful enough unless I consumed a lot of it. Today, it certainly is strong enough to control some heavy discomfort for several hours at a time, especially if it is cannabis oil baked in cookies or brownies or such, One thing for sure, it beats eating prescription pain killers made from opium which can be very habit forming and even deadly.

Thank You

“Thank you” and “You’re welcome” are more conversation than some people are able to muster.

If you keep yourself bottled up within yourself, no one will savor the fine wine which is you.

With all the media hullabaloo about cops beating and sometimes killing unarmed and non-threatening people, are you now afraid to summon the police even for a non-violent matter? Do you fear you or a family member may be harmed or even shot by the police as a coincidence of your call for help?

Thank you for reading my blog.

Elvis

Rare daytime sight

If Elvis were still alive he’d probably be dead now.

Cloudy, mild, and pleasant day in the hills.  A typical late May I suppose. Just finishing drinking a Dr. Enuf pop … delicious. I believe the sodas are addictive; probably the caffeine. Something else I’ve become addicted to is Tootsie Pops. I like most of the fruit flavors except for banana.

Gaining ground on my eyesight. I now have two-to-three  hours each day when I can see fairly well. I went for three months without being much able to use the PC, watch TV, or read. I am finally back to perusing a book that Maggie recommended about a Canadian journalist’s look at America and its policies in the past decade. Very good reading.

Ain’t it hard to believe we are in the middle of the second decade of the 21st century? Seems like just a year or two ago when the popular press tried to horrify us with tales of certain doom and gloom pending the arrival of the year 2000, or Y2K as it was widely known.

Around the Homestead

My worst drawback in entertaining the boys is they don’t yet understand my dark sense of humor. Sammy just says “Papaw’s crazy” but Mason may be catching onto me a bit. Sunday he pushed me down into a chair and when I squalled like I was in agony, he grinned. Jaden–whom we now call ‘Little Bear’–growls and shakes his finger at me.

We’ve had a very warm spring so far; a slight case of dogwood winter has been the only setback. Temps have been around 90° (32°C) a few times.

I’ve finally got Carolyn to making biscuits again. I sure missed them the several years she didn’t bake them. I don’t pressure her too much for them because it causes her to get out of her comfort zone of baking her favorite canned biscuits or worse, light bread.

Sam

Thoughtful Sammy

Bloomin'

Pensive Mason

Eyesight is slowly improving.

Blackberry briars are in bloom as well as tulip poplar trees. My blossom left many springs ago but I still feel like sowing some seed.

Jake Phillips and the Jones House

A bit of History on the
Theodore and Kate Jones house
of Union Church Road, formerly known as
Headtown Road and before that, Fairgrounds Road

Preliminary Information
In the wee hours of Sunday morning, May 14, 1916, a shot rang out and a man was left dead on the floor. Details are not known to me but the tragedy apparently occurred during or directly after a poker game. Who fired the shot and for what reason, I don’t know. However, the victim was 36 year old James Oliver, a husband and a father of four young girls.

The House
The frame house was built on property—where it still stands—by a local grocery merchant named Jacob (Jake) Phillips and expressly built for the use of the widow of James Oliver and his daughters. Beside the house, Jake built a grocery store which was run by him or others until about 1940. I don’t know the date the house was built but the information may be on record in Washington Co. Courthouse.

I have no idea why Jake built and deeded the home for and to the needy family unless it was from the goodness of his heart. Earlier in his life, he had been married but I think the union wasn’t long lasting. There were—and still are—rumors in the family that Jake sired a daughter out of wedlock and that the child may have been one of the Oliver girls. I have found information to contradict the last part of the hearsay but a daughter actually was born by another a local woman from an affair. I know the names of the alleged mother and child but I will not reveal them.

Some of the Oliver family lived in the house until the Jones family bought it in the late 1940’s. I remember two of the daughters from yo youth, one married a Truelove and the other married a Bulla. Jake is buried in an unmarked grave in the Union Church cemetery just a few yards from the house.

I See

Been off the new RA med for a few days and I can tell that my vision is improving. Of course, the disease is running rampant in me but it still beats losing my eye sight. I have been able to do very little lately; I am happy that I can see well enough to again write this blog.

Anxious to see the boys tomorrow. Jaden has finally taken up with me and demands lap time which Mason jealously guards; I don’t know how the pecking order will turn out. Mason is wanting a Spider-man bicycle like Sammy’s because Sam wont allow anyone but himself to touch his. Sam wants a big wheel, too. Maybe I can hold him off until his July birthday.