My friend Aprils' parents got a divorce and her mom couldn't afford to take care of the kids so the girls went to some kind of home.The mom got a job and after a few months took April home but not Claudia. She was 15 at this time. The group home went to the rollar rink one night and Claudia and some friends snuck out for a joy-ride. They were goofing around and had a wreck and she died. It was very sad to see her in that coffin. What a waste of a beautiful girl. I never saw April again and I've wondered what ever happened to her and her brother Lee.

It's strange how life goes good for a while and then bam!! It's over. And your left with all the questions, maybe if I would have done this or maybe if I had gone in a different direction. But it all boils down to we each have a day assigned to die and nothing can change that except in GODs
will. Satan is the one who heaps guilt on us so that we can't have joy in our lives. I'm sure her mom felt that it was her fault for not taking her home when April went . Things happen and it is something we have to live with and except.

Well my older daughter's wedding is coming up the 10th of Oct here at the ranch and we are getting ready. Her son and his new wife (Oct 3 ,newlyweds)will be coming from Italy so Two happy things at once. I can't picture him married. He was such a good baby and a good kid growing up and I know he will be a good husband and dad some day. He's decided to make the Air Force his career and in todays economy that's the way to go. Don't know Sarah but if he loves her so will I.

Oh yeah back to Kathy's Wedding, It will be outside in Oct so it's a guess to see what the weather will be. But we've got that covered too. Her fella is a keeper. We all love him already. So that's a plus. well gotta go for now. Have a great day and remember GOD loves you.

When I was 8 1/2 ,Mom met Harry and they decided to get married, it was a marriage of convenience cause she was tired of working and being poor. His family had money but that didn't mean he did. He owned a gas station in Algiers and we lived there for a few months then he left for Ohio where he got a job . So mom andi took a train from New Orleans to Cleveland Ohio. Lived in Mentor where I went to the 4th grade. I loved the fall there because of the colors and the crispness in the air. I walked about 6 blocks to school and then came home for lunch. Mom would make me a boloney sandwich and chicken noodle soup, which is still my favorite. Then I'd walk back to school. That was the first time I remember snow, and I loved it. We lived in an upstairs apt and the landlady lived downstairs with a door that opened at the bottom of the stairs. She had a habit of calling out" are you home? and then just walking up into our apt. Boy that made mom mad.
I had a friend down the next block named April Neubert, she had a brother Lee and a sister Claudia. Next to her house was an apple orchard where she and I would climb and eat apples for hours. Never got sick! It's funny how smells can bring all that back after all these years. Apples and autumn go together.

We lived not too far from Amish country and in the fall they would have apple butter festivals, and stir hot apple butter for hours and serve it to you on hot home made bread. Then later they had the maple syrup festival, You watched them tap the trees for the syrup and how it was processed and then they made candy. The Amish were wonderful people, so simple so easygoing. To bad we can't all have that attitude. Instead of every man for himself.

In the spring of that year we bought a house in Chesterland in a new subdivison. One acre with 3 bedroom no garage for & 17,500 That was my very first bedroom to myself and I loved it.
I went to West Geauga Jr High, there are my foundest memories. I was always happy at school because my home live was not always good. Harry and mom fought a lot and it got unbearable at times. When it was too bad I went to the woods across the street and sat on a log for awhile till I figured it was over. So school , my creek and my friends homes were my sanctuary in those years between 11-16.

Oh yeah I forgot to tell you about the time when I was 8 or 9 and mom and Harry sat me down and explained that he wanted to adopt me. I said "what does that mean? and mom said they would change my name to Harry's. Well that didn't set to well with me cause I thought they were going to call me "HARRY" and I told them I didn't want to change my name. It was years after that I told my mom and she got a laugh out of that one.
Oops I gotta go to town so I'll finish this up later. bye

Gramma Sam and I use to go to an old cemetary in New Orleans. All of the graves were built up with concrete borders in case of flood which happened many times in the early days. I thought it was a neat place to play. I never knew who was there that she went to see but I'd climb all over the walls and keep my self occupied.

One night we went to a funeral in someones house, yes that's what they did back then. they had food and visit, and here this cofin with a body in it is sitting there. It was called a "wake". When we left it was dark and we were walking down the street. I had no Idea where we were but then gramma got dizzy and sat down on a step. I ran up and knocked on the door to get help and a woman opened the door and told me to get that drunk off of her steps and slammed the door. That is the last thing I remember, the next thing was helping gramma to lay down on the sofa we had in the long hallway of our house. Soon Mr Sam came in and found us and got her to the hospital. She was in a diabetic comma and stayed there a few days. So how did I get her home? I believe in angels and I know they helped me. I didn't know about them then but as I look back on things in my life They were always there watching over my mom and me.

Once mom had to work across the river in Algiers and had to ride the ferry in the middle of the night. No coat in the winter. Remember , we barely made it from payday to payday, and if it weren't for mom's tips we wouldn't have. One Christmas there was a small Christmas tree on the bar for tips for the two girls to split and mom came in one night and all the money was gone. she never did find out who took it. Anyway she was depending on that for my Christmas. She came home and told Mr Sam I wouldn't have a Christmas because of what happened. He in turn told all the people in the building. She came home Christmas Eve and in the hall by our door was a great big tree with presents under it. She said she sat right down and cried..Mr Sam didn't know anything about little girls and he bought me a rocket launcher thing that made alot of noise. (once at Easter he left a case of solid chocolate easter bunnies outside our door. They were so rich and sweet I think I ate a couple over a couple months and mom gave the rest away.

As I said before, Mr Sam use to take me to the catholic church and I was about 7 . One day there were some kids walking down the isle with white dresses and the boys were all decked out in white. Mr Sam told me to go with them and do what they did. Soooo, me in my little red cordary shirt and pink sweater joined them down front at the alter. You should have seen the look on the Priest face when he saw me. I can still remember it. Anyway he gave me the wafer and I went back to my seat. no one ever told me why I did that but of course I found out years later. The important thing is to know that showed how much Mr Sam loved me, He was concerned for my spiritual being. (He tried) Later!!!!

Mr Sam and Gramma Sam were a GOD sent in my life. He was a short Italian pudgy guy always wore a white long sleeved shirt and a fordora hat. He had a laundry business in the front of the house and a small gas-station/deli somewhere . ( I was a little kid so I didn't know directions). We use to go crabbing on a pier he had and got bushel baskets full of crab that he would sell at his gas-station. Gramma Sam would sell snowballs (snow cones)out of the side of the building of the station. she made her own syrup. She stayed home alot and He did all the running. Sometimes he'd take me to the hugh Catholic church with him and I was awestruck by the beauty of the place. and the quiet. He took me but no one every told me about GOD or Jesus. I just knew it was a beautiful, peaceful place to go.

Mom worked nights and by the time I got home from school was gone and asleep when I left in the morning . So the only time I saw her was weekends and sometimes we'd get on the city bus and go to Ponchatrain beach for the day. On Saturdays when she had to work I'd go with her and sit in the back room of the bar/restaurant till noon and the porter that worked there would walk me around the corner to the movie house and drop me off for a few hours. great stuff.two movies and cartoons. Gramma Sam wouldn't let me watch cartoons at home cause they were too violent. Boy what would she thing now?

I got myself off to school every morning. I caught the city bus at the corner in front of the drugstore. One day my friend and I decided to take our bus fare and buy ice cream and walk home. On the way we stopped at the pet store and a couple other places. Needless to say it was a long time before I got home and when I did my mom was there cause gramma called her and told her I didn't get back from school . So she took off from work to come look for me. Ouch I remember that spanking! It's funny when your akid and you make a decison you really don't think of the consequences of your actions. Of course after having your own then you know what your parents went through. It not only scared her to death but cost her money for taking off of work.

That drug store on the corner was also where the doctors office was in the back of the store. And I'd come home from school and gramma Sam would say, your mom wants you to go get your shots. So I took myself off to get them by myself at 6 or 7 years old. This tells my age but I remember the soda fountain in the front of the drug store. Those were really neat, too bad they did away with them. ok more later.

Good Morning, I have so enjoyed reading the blogs of my two aunts and my uncle on their lives growing up. It really gives you a different perspective on a person's life and what they've been through and what shaped them into the people they've become. our hardships are what makes the person that we become. So I think I'll write some stuff so that you will know where I came from.

I was born in 1950 to two people that were young and very much in love. mom was 17 and dad was 24. Mom was always very independent and very jeolous, Dad was very good looking and outgoing and mom didn't know how to deal with that so they had problems. By the time I was almost 5 they separated, more like mom moved out while dad was on the truck and when he came home we were gone. We lived in Valley Park Missouri . I didn't see him again till I was 17.

From there we went to my Aunt Ritas house in Grand Rapids Michigan, Mom started traveling and went to New York. I stayed with my aunt for a while. I remember going to kindergarten with her. My cousin Val was a baby and I got a doll buggy for christmas and put her in it and took her for a walk around the inside of the house. When I got tired I put her under the table and went to take a nap and aunt rita got shook up cause she looked all over the house for her till she found her. oops! I loved my aunt Rita , she was always there when I needed her.

I remember staying with my gramma Edith and Grampa Chance a couple of times, he was funny, and I loved him very much. He wore bibbed overalls and a ball-cap and was bald headed and had no teeth, But he would chew gum with me and eat corn on the cob. and make me laugh.
My aunt Gene was a kid and still lived at home and she played with me like I was her little doll.

I stayed with my Uncle Bob and aunt Nell a couple of times but that wasn't great cause they had a little girl Becky and a baby Kelly and I ususally got in trouble for things that Becky did.

Mom would come back once in a while but didn't stay long. Finally we went to New Orleans when I was 6 and she found a job and we stayed with my grampa Blackstock for a couple of weeks till she could find a place for us to live. That was at 2316 Dauphine street.

Sam Pernicia and his wife Daphine owned the building and rented out rooms but only to seniors. NO KIDS ALLOWED. But after a while they decided to rent us a room. We had the room down the long hall next to the stairs to grampas apt. The bathroom was at the end of the hall and everyone used it. Really spooky at night cause It had a 60 watt bulb and you couldn't see anything. Mr Sam and Gramma Sam as( I called them) lived at the far end of the building. Houses in New Orleans are narrow but long. This house was already 50 yrs old in the 50's.

Mom found a job as a bar tender and needed a babysitter . We went through a couple that weren't great. One I almost choked to death on a piece of bacon and the other one hit me with a belt and the belt buckle slipped out of her hand and hit me in the forehead leaving a welt. So after that Gramma Sam said she would take care of me. and she did for three years and i loved her and Mr Sam. Ok enough for now. I will add more later. Have a great day

The neatest thing happened to me last January. When I was 6, 7 ,8 years old I lived in New Orleans and then moved away to Ohio and then at 16 moved back to New Orleans. We lived at 2316 Dauphine St and I have often wondered what happened to that old house, which is now over a hundred years old. It was a boarding house in the 50's and we had one room at the foot of the stairs with the bathrooom at the end of the hall for everyone to share.

Out of curiousity I put the address on the search and what a surprise to see the old house fixed up and turned into a Bed & Breakfast. I started sending notes back and forth the the fella who bought it and fixed it up. It was like walking back in time thinking about the place and made my memoires fresh. Except when he got it, it was leaning to one side and there was a big hole in the roof where the pidgeons made their nests. Thank GOD he saved it from falling. But anyway now my dream is to someday go spend the night there. SOMEDAY!!!!!!!

Well today I sang my first solo at this church, and it was pretty good. I use to sing all the time years ago but I never got over that scared,( with the throat closing up) feeling and even though I enjoyed it I just was toooooo sacred.

But lately we have been talking alot about stepping out of our comfort zone and When GOD askes you do something, make that move and do it it. So today was the first step. wow, I survived it without hyperventalating or passing out. So now I'll probably do it again.

To know me I am loud and sometimes overly friendly, which is way different then when I was a kid and very quiet and hid in the corner of the room. I felt that anything that would come out of my mouth would be stupid and so I didn't say much. But Baby look at me now! There is no stopping me. I'm a talker, and a hugger, . One thing I love to do is go to the nursing home where my mother-in-law is and just walk down the halls and talk to the folks and give them hugs. They love it! You should try it, you'd love it. Giving of yourself is the greatest gift you can give.

Last time I wrote it was about my Aunt passing on, did I mention how mad I got about it? well I was for a couple of days and I told GOD so. but when I was having one of my fits HE told me in a soft voice, "BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD. well I had to think about that a while. and I realized that HE is in control of everything and knows the plans he has for us. I know my aunt will be ok but was worried about my uncle , but HIS plans also includes taking care of unc. and I had to let that go and let HIM do HIS things.

Gotta Go for now. Take care and GOD BLESS!!

This is a difficult blog to write but I feel that I need to. Sept 14th I lost my aunt Donna. after being in the hospital in ICU for almost 5 weeks she was released from the body that tied her to pain and lots of equiptment, to a new body with a new freedon of soaring with angels. She was a wonderful person in this life and we will miss here beautiful smile and easygoing spirit.

I had a hard time excepting it but thought it through and I understand that as a Christian this is the ultimate reward for enduring this life. To be with GOD that loves us more then we will ever know.

I am singing a song at church this Sunday that says "I will not question the way HE leads", but I did and I heard HIM say" BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD." And so I have to hand HIM all my sorrow and Trust that everything is in HIS hands. And thank HIM for the privaledge of knowing this sweet lady. I love you Aunt Donna.

Hi again,, well this morning I woke up to the sound of rain and it was awsome, then I realized my windows were partly down and I made a mad dash to put them up. Whew! no damage. I love rain, the sound is so relaxing and the smell of the dirt when it first gets wet. anyone that know Redding know that we don't get much rain especially in the summer so this was very welcome.

It's funny how some parts of the country get no rain or not enough and other parts get toooooo much. where ever you live there is something,, east coast and gulf has hurricanes, mid had tornados, and the west coast has earthquakes and fires. No matter where you live you have to just not have fear and know that GOD will take care of you. So no matter what your fear is you need to learn to "LET GO AND LET GOD" take control. And HE will see you through.

In my blogs I will be talking about GOD. He is an improtant part of my llife. ANd I like to share HIM with others. When I was 17 I lived in New Orleans and would walk through the French Quarter late at night by my self, (IN THE HIPPY DAYS). How dumb was that??? But when you'r young you aren't smart enough to think of those things. I also had a motorcycle accident Sept 9 1967 that should have killed me and would have if I hadn't had a helmet on. I did not know There was a GOD then and wasn't concerned about it. However after I found HIM and realized HE was there and watched over me even when I didn't know HIM ,I loved HIM even more.

Ok, enough said for now. Have a great day . until later.

Hi all, well we went to Sacramento yesterday and came home last night. Which is a real challenge since we are both night blind and go to bed by 9. But we made it safely. so that's good. Our daughter sings in a band with her soon to be husband and they do quite well. They just replaced three menmbers and actually sound better. Also we went for a celebration for our granddaughter.

She has ADHD and has had a rough last few years stress got too much she started drinking and she decided on her own that she didn't want to be that way. So she joined AA and was very faithful to her meetings and made friends with people that helped her through because they knew what she was going though. There is a scripture in the Bible that says "we go through things things so that we can help others." And that is true if you haven't been in the situation you can't really understand someone who is in it. One of the ditties I 've picked up along the way says,"Failure is success if you learn from it." So needless to say we are very proud of her for taking the right steps to work things out. By the way she is only 17 1/2 so I think that is very mature thinking to realize she needed to do something before it was going to mess up her whole life. To bad some adults can't get it. So that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Everyone have a great day till next time.

Good Morning to all, Today is the 8th anniversary of 9/11 and it is on TV as a reminder so that we will do what we have to do to be sure it doesn't happen again. It's hard for me to understand how we were created by a GOD of love and yet there is so much hatred in the world . I remember the closeness we felt as a nation, flying our flag proudly and being united in a cause. where did that go? It's too bad it takes a tragedy to become one nation.

Before we leave this world we need to be able to look back and ask ourselves if we've done any good in the world . And if not there are many things we can do for others that will Bless someone. I save little ditties and one that I found said, "Smile at someone today it may be the only Sunshine the get". The golden rules says to treat others as you would have them treat you. I think that says it all. GOD BLESS you and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Hi well after everything is said and done I tried to get back to you. Thanks for helping me do this. we are going to Sac to hear the band and Kat wants us to stay the night and come back Saturday, except no one will be here for the dogs. and vern is such a homebody that he hates to sleep anywhere besides his own bed. So we'll see. Take care of yourself and get some rest. love ya. gail

Uncle James

Hi Unc, how's things I'm thinking over this communcation

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