Knowing The Rules

Brendan always liked pushing the limit when it came to rules in high school. He studied the rule book and knew them by heart. He carried the rule book with him for proof and was ready to negotiate. 

The seniors were taking a trip to visit one of the colleges. Brendan showed interest in going but was told he could not go because he had not taken the college entrance exams. He informed the counselor that it was not necessary to have taken the exam but only needed to be signed up to take it. He pulled out the rule book for proof. The counselor had no choice but to approve Brendan's request to join the class. 

Brendan was all smiles as he was telling me this and added the counselor was not going to be happy with him the next day. When I questioned him why that was he laughed as he said "tomorrow he has to help me fill out the application for the test." 

I believe that rule has since been changed. However, Brendan did accompany the class on all college trips. Way to go Brendan. Stand your ground!

Knives And Forks

On one occasion my sister had a pot luck with several friends and family. Christopher was about six. I thought I had everything he liked on his plate. While walking back to sit down I looked around and Christopher was not behind me. He was back at the food table. 

As I approached the table  I could see my brother was speaking sternly to Christopher. He was correcting Christopher for using a bad word. My brother told me what was said. 

It was a misunderstanding. After laughing, which my brother did not appreciate, I looked  at Christopher and explained we ask for a knife and fork. In case you missed it by brother thought Christopher asked for a 'f*****g knife. 

Grandpa's Shoelaces

Grandpa wore the men's dress shoes with the two or three holes for laces. On Monday nights he bowled and came home late. If it were raining or snowing he would take his shoes off by the back door in the kitchen. 

On those few nights he left them in the kitchen he would wake up the next morning to find them next to his bed with the laces taken out of the holes and placed in the shoes. He thought it was funny and always asked one of us three if we did it as a joke. Of course we did not. This went on for a while. 

One night he decided he was going to stay awake to catch the culprit. Which he did. He came home, left his shoes in the kitchen and went to bed. Only that night he slept with one eye open. Shortly after going to bed he had the surprise of his life. 

The culprit ... our Old English Sheepdog, Andy. He would bring the shoes up one by one place them by his bed then sit there and take out the laces. Grandpa was always amazed there were no bite marks or drool on them. Nobody guessed it was the dog. 

After that when Grandpa came home and it was wet he would take his shoes off, wipe them dry, and carry them upstairs. I always wondered if Andy would think to himself ~ I guess you can teach an old human new tricks.

Queenie Takes Fifth Place

When we moved to Arkansas I was hoping we could raise some animals. Some chickens for eggs. Possibly a pig. Towards the back of our property there was a pig pen. It would need some tender loving care before it could be used. I remember talking to Betty and she thought it would be a problem for the boys being so young to raise an animal and then eat it. I told her it would not. I would simply scold the boys for leaving the pig gate open then tell them to sit down and eat their pork chops.

Junior year of high school Brendan got involved in FFA. We had our pig. Brendan named her Queenie. Brendan was out there every day working with the pig. I loved watching the pig. I always thought I was a country girl trapped in a city girls body. Brendan did have two Boa Pythons but that is not exactly the type of animals I was thinking of.

County Fair time came around. Time for Queenie to enter the fair. She took fifth place. I was proud of Brendan since this was his first pig. After the fair Queenie was with us for about a month before she was slaughtered. Nothing beats home grown pork. (You should have seen that coming from the comment above.)

My Son The Eagle Scout

Brendan joined Cub Scouts at an early age. Unfortunately the small town where we live interest was low and the Pack folded.

With help of friends he was able to join a Pack in a nearby town. Brendan worked his way up the ranks to Boy Scout.

After several years, some obstacles, and hard work Brendan earned the required badges and completed the necessary tasks and projects to become an Eagle Scout.

I was so proud of him at his Eagle Ceremony. He lead his last Opening Ceremony as a Boy Scout and the Closing Ceremony as an Eagle Scout. Of course I had tears in my eyes as I remembered what he went through to achieve the highest rank of Boy Scouting. Congratulations Brendan.

A Blindfolded Strike

One of Grandpa's stories that he loved telling was when he was on a bowling league. Most bowlers will know what a beer frame is. When all but one bowler on a team get a strike in a single frame that person has to buy the team a round of drinks.

There was one man who ended up on the team that the others did not care for. He was a replacement for someone who had to drop out. They all hoped he got stuck buying rounds. On this night two bowlers had strikes. This man did not strike. It was up to Grandpa for the drinks.

They all cheered him on. Grandpa made a gesture of bowling blindfolded. The man yelled out "if you get a strike blindfolded I'll buy doubles." Grandpa accepted the challenge.

Once Grandpa was on the lane with his bowling ball someone came to blindfold him. Grandpa said he could feel the looks as the bowling alley became silent. He knew everyone was focused on him.

A strike!! He did it. The whole bowling alley broke out in applause. Grandpa said you could tell the man was not happy but he kept his word and bought doubles for the team. People talked about the blindfolded strike for years.

My Brother Is The Conductor

Christopher worked on a small railroad here in Arkansas. He was able to go to work with someone for two days then again for a week during the summer. They liked him and offered him a job after high school. Graduation was Friday he moved out Sunday and started work Tuesday. Of course he started at the bottom on the track gang and went on to locomotive mechanics before becoming a conductor and eventually an engineer.

One time while visiting he surprised Brendan by telling him he could ride on the train with him. They left early that morning with plans for me to meet up with them at Subway. It is hard to explain but due to track conditions and bridges that particular train could not go very fast. What took them several hours took me a bit over an hour to drive.

When I arrived at Subway I went in and bought a drink. I asked the girl if the train had already come by. She said no. After waiting about an hour I told her I was not familiar with the area and asked her which direction the train would be coming. She pointed though looked at me strangely and said "Mam you do know this isn't a passenger train, right?" I laughed as I explained to her that my son worked on that train and was giving his brother a ride.

A few minutes later I heard the whistle of the train. I stood there watching for it to come into view. As the train inched closer I could see Brendan waving to me out the window. Christopher hopped off the train walking beside it as it crossed the intersection. I did tell you it moved slow. We knew the train could not stop but would slow down enough for Brendan to get off. Christopher had just a few minutes to say goodbye before having to jump on the last car as it passed.

My eyes started tearing as the train came closer. I can not explain the feeling I had this being Brendan's first train ride and having Christopher as the conductor. I was so proud of him. Christopher asked me why I was crying. I just told him ... "it's a mom thing" Brendan could not stop talking about his train ride. He was so excited.