New Years Eve's to remember

New Years Eve never really was a huge holiday in my family even when I was a kid!! I do remember we were allowed to stay up past midnight and our big night was to take my mothers pots and pans out of the kitchen..with big spoons and bang them until our little hands were numb...We also greeted the new day with a display of clanging lids...pounding like cymbals...any kind of noise, yelling, emotion was allowed that night and we seemed to do our share!! But as wild and crazy as those New Years Eve's were, the most memorable were the ones I spent after I was a Christian...We would attend "Watch Night Service" at our church. Our pastor, Ron Bailey, would spend the evening greeting everyone and then we would pray the New Year in at the Altar...On our knees, we would as a church, lay our requests, praise, and adoration of getting us through the past year unharmed and blessed to laying our new praises, and adorations to God for a new and upcoming year...We prayed for one another, we prayed for our families...People just prayed out loud as the Spirit led and it was a wonderful warm time of fellowship. We spent the entire evening with worship, singing and at midnight we all were on our knees...desiring all that God had for us!! Opening our hearts to listen to His voice and lay on our hearts His direction for our lives during another up and coming year...After the service..some families went home, or invited a few friends over for snacks or late supper...But most of us with small families decided to finish off the night with entertainment...Some years we went all night bowling, some years it was roller skating, always a wonderful time of fellowship with the families of those you loved and spent many hours with during Sunday and Wednesday services...It was a family, a family of believers..a family of like people that laughter, excitement and enjoyment filled the night...A magaical night that ended with the sun rising, babies sleeping and parents heading home after a long cold winters night of excersize of one form or another...Those were the most precious times seeing another year in with people around me that I loved and loved me!!...Those days have passed and memories of a closer tie to people you knew... will never be broken...For those days and times I am thankful for the close and warm fellowship!! A fellowship that only God and his love can present...Only on a special day like a NEW YEAR!!...I will always remember the fun, the joy and the love we shared year after year!!!

All about Christmas

It's been too long, I've been away and now I have to catch up!...Visiting, holidays, and a busy life have dragged me away from my daily blogging...Christmas Eve is too important not to share some good memories. So here we go..

When we lived in the trailer park, back in the early 50's...We had a small edition built onto our little, blue, round trailer. It was white and the size of one room. This served as our living room and this is where we set up the Christmas tree. Every year, not one thing ever appeared until Christmas Day. No decorations, no presents, no wrapping, everything was just a normal day...Then on Christmas Eve, magically, everything came into play. The world turned into fantasyland. When you awoke you anticipated the wonderous sights of blinking lights, presents under the tree, stockings full of goodies. All done in one night..That was the miracle of Christmas..Besides the baby Jesus, the secular Christmas was as much of a miracle to a little kid!! The wonder of it all...and it happened all over night. Santa had arrived and he did all of this magically...One Christmas my father hid the Christmas tree , the same one he just picked out and bought home on Christmas Eve, behind this little room so we would not see it...Then after we all were in bed asleep, on Christmas Eve my mother and father dragged it in, set it up, and decorated it...all over night. However, this year, our tree would not see a New Year. Christmas morning everyone woke up..parents very sleepy!! My sisters and I anxious to open presents and mull over the ones we saw just sitting under the tree...My mother reached to plug the lights on. All big colored bulbs, multi colored and glowing. These big, old, colored lights created alot of heat. After the screaming of how beautiful everything was and the wonder of a cold, crisp, Christmas morning a strange but yet familiar odor began to flow throughout the little room we sat in. It was not pine! All crowded in this room, now with a decorated Christmas tree, parents, three girls and all the presents...this repulsive smell came spewing out into what should have been the wonderful smell of a holiday morning. Cinnamon rolls, coffee brewing, breakfast cooking...No, instead it was the familiar smell of CAT PEA!!... Oh no, the entire house began to smell like cat pea...Obnoxious cat pea...Had a cat snuck back in the middle of the night and sprayed his scent on our Christmas tree...Apparently so! We all walked around with our thumb and finger clenching our nostrils...and saying...EWWWW!!!...Hurridly, my mother unplugged the beautiful lights that shined all around the room and gave a glow of light and a spirit of warmth. Suddenly our Christmas that year turned into a fiasco. The smell permiated the entire house...the heat of the lights brought the strong smell out and about. There was no way of containing it...Not now, not ever!!!...My father, insisted the tree had to go! We could not live smelling that odor for weeks. So before we even were able to look and see what was on the tree...the undecorating began...The garlands, balls, lights, icicles, and finally the tree was dismantled and dragged out to be placed back in the fresh air for all the neighboring cats to enjoy...and it could smell all it wanted...Thanks to a random act of a roaming cat..our Christmas morning turned out to be one of the most memorable I can ever remember...There are others that come to mind but this one was the one that will always stick in in front of wonderful Christmas memories...We ran the train, we opened our presents, and we enjoyed the rest of the holiday, but without a Christmas tree...Oh well, it didn't quench our spirit...We just went on and were thankful ...when the tree exited...so did the aroma of the fresh, the undeniable, scent of CAT URINE went too...and the rest of Christmas went on without so much as a twitch, but it sure was a story to be enjoyed. It brought many a smile to those we loved that wonderful Christmas Holiday!

The day of the tent worms

I don't know how many summers we spent going up to Kennerdall. Two, three maybe four but each time there was excitement of some kind...My mother and Mae used to go out in the aluminum boat and fish. They had their fishing licenses on their hats and loaded with bate and poles...One time I specifically remember they returned with nearly 30 suckers..They had little pink mouths that stuck out..they were on stringers and when they returned they were still alive and breathing...It seemed to be a big joke that all they returned with was a stringer of sucker fish. I remember, Frank caught a huge cat fish (he used to go out late at night with a lantern to capture helgramites. I think these were flying bugs)...This fish looked like a whale to me...It was so big they put it in the spring until they could clean it...That catfish looked at least 6' long...I remember when they skinned it, they had to pull the skin off with pliers and it was tough..I remember when Frank killed it...they put a spike on top of it's head and drove it down through it's skull. It boinged back like rubber. Over and over again he tried to penetrate that skull. Finally it broke and the fish died...Those memories stayed with me for a life time...One time my Dad caught a bass and while cleaning it, I watched him...and as he was cleaning it he told me of all the parts he removed...one of these was the fish's heart. I asked him if I could have that heart...He laughed and cut it out and handed it to me on my hand...I also remember watching it beat...right there..it throbbed in the palm mof my hand...I held it until the movement stopped. I felt so sad!!..I knew that we would eat the fish, but for the heart to be beating in my hand, made me feel death. I felt the actual death of that fish!! It is hard to explain...but I think compassion dripped into me drop by drop for the first time!!....But the thing I remember most was when I collected a paper bag full of tent worms..I thought they were so beautiful and wore so many beautiful colors on their backs....I spent all day collecting them and putting them in the bag to take home...I have no clue why!! But, I remember packing to go home and my father saying, they better not get out...with a laugh as we drove away...I laid the bag down behind my fathers seat as we started home. Soon, I fell asleep. The bouncing of the van opened the bag one bump at a time. The tent worms..crawled out. All over the van and of course up the back of my fathers seat in the car...Suddenly, I heard him yelling and I woke up!! The tent worms had escaped and entered the back of my fathers neck and his shirt...Not to mention, I was the victim of a huge scolding...and a possible spanking..That I don't remember...I remember only twice, did my father actually spank me ..but the spanking I remember most, happened long after this episode!! Needless to say, my family wasn't in a very good mood trying not to kneel or step on the worms...If you did the squish exuded a bright green goo....Needless to say...IT WAS A LONG TRIP HOME!!

My first funeral

When we used to spend the weekends in Kennerdall at Mae and Franks cottage. Everyone looked forward to Friday. We didn't have any pets at that time and for some reason I received an Easter baby duck. It was a little yellow fuzzy duckling and I named him Quack Quack. I really don't remember where he came from or why I had him, I just remember the day he died!!...We were in the trailer park and getting ready to leave to head up to Mae and Franks. When a neighborhood dog, came and attacked poor little Quack, Quack....He shook him, I screamed and the duck was in peril, the dog dropped him and ran. My mother doubted he would live. I picked him up and we put him in a box. We took him with us that weekend. Quack Quack died. I cried. The drive seemed long, I remember and I spent most of it looking at the duck. Wondering how you could be alive one minute and the next minute you were dead...What amazed me is he could be up and running and enjoying life and then because of one grab and a few shakes he lay silent and dead!!...It was so sad, He didn't do anything to that dog. He was just a wonderful duck. I could kiss his head and he liked it....His feathers were so soft and he was old enough to have white, soft feathers ....He was full grown by a few months and now he lay dead!!...When we got up to Mae and Franks I ran and told Mae, we all agreed we would have a funeral for him. They were so kind to know of my sadness...Everyone laughed but it was heart breaking for me...This was my first experience with death...Frank dug a small hole, right along the path that went down to the river...I could even today, take you to the exact spot where Quack Quack lay...We lined the hole with big green leaves and flowers....We slowly and with much love laid Quack Quack in the hole and we covered him with leaves and flowers....finally after saying goodbye. We covered him up with the dirt that laid on the side of the hole...I watched while the dirt fell over him and went to the bottom of the hole and fell onto the leaves...Finally one shovel at a time. We no longer could see him. The dirt covered him completely...I felt such a feeling of loss and despair...I lost a very good friend...My pet duck!! My Quack Quack...We took a few branches and shaped them into a cross and wound dandelion stems in and out of the wood where the cross met. Gracefully we posed it into the soft dirt at the head of the grave...It was done. My Quack Quack was gone, his life was finished and I was without his love...and he was without mine...I spend much of that weekend watching that grave...Every time I walked by, I said a little "Goodbye Quack Quack"....My first loss of a loved one...I remember so strongly every detail...Things that happen to us during our life are a precursor to prepare us for times we may have to experience..Times that help us get through bigger and stronger feelings of loss...How good God is to let us feel emotions and prepare us for what we might need before the day we need it!!

Mae and Franks cottage

Our drive to Kennerdall was a regular weekend event...Our summers were consumed with packing clothes, food, and games stuffed into my fathers old red van...with Curry Radio and Television..painted on the sides. We would leave on Friday night. It took an few hours. After the clock with the ears...(half way)...we took winding roads that soon led us to a crossroads..and an old general store...called May's...up about 5 steps and into a creeky wooden floor. We walked around and tried to beg stuff out of our folks for the weekends...Sometimes without much sucess...After we went into the store..the road led down and wound around the tall hills lines with fir trees and mountain laurel...It just smelled like fresh, cool, moist air. We drove down until the road seemed to end. But actually the road just ran right through the creek...through a large concrete tunnel. The tunnel supported the railroad tracks that ran to Erie...through the tunnel the mountain crystal clear water ran wildly through the tunnel...The water was rushing from the mountain to the Allegheny River in Kennerdall.Driving through the tunnel, the van rocked and swayed...slowly we drove right through the water and came out on the other side...The road lifted right out of the water and slowly turned from mud to dry dirt. We followed that road for about a mile. Past cottages, trees, and wild animals crossing in front of us...Owls sat in the trees looking down at us...We finally saw the post with the red reflector on it and knew we were finally there...Piling out, stiff and needing a good run...we were greeted with a smile and a warm Hello. Mae and Frank had no small children. Frank had a daughter to his first wife that died...She was grown. He married Mae and they had none. So, I think we made their weekend less than a quiet boring weekend. We came full of noise, laughter, and as much confusion as we could muster....The cottage had a little porch, with a screen door that banged when you let it go. Inside one big room with a cooking stove, sink, table and chairs. With some faded red curtains on wires...the curtains were pulled open but shut when the kids went to bed....The adults stayed up and played cards or just sat and talked...The beds were bunk beds three high. Both sides were double mattresses...so the cottage actually slept 12 people. Frank built them and the top bunk you couldn't even sit up without hitting the ceiling..but it was fun...a ladder leaned on the side to crawl up and down...In the morning, the mist laid over the river and up on the tree filled mountain. Huge bolder like rocks lined the river bank on the other side....nothing but bushes, trees, and rocks...We could watch the deep come down to drink out of the river. There was a spring of ice cold water coming off the mountain sides. We washed our faces in a metal basin...and a pitcher of ice water and red soap....Lifebouy!! After getting washed and dressed. Everything was damp and the mist covered everything outside..Brushing teeth and spitting out side was just fun!!! Then Mae made breakfast. The smells of the sausage..and bacon, eggs, and pancakes...all wonderful memories...of our weekend days in the mountains..On Sunday afternoon, everyone cleaned up, got dressed and off we went home. Stopping always at the Dairy Queen south of Butler on Route 8...Sometimes things that take you away from the norm of life are memories to last for a lifetime....

The beginning of weekend to Kennerdale

Memories are a wonderful tool. We shouldn't dwell on them, but it seems to help form us into the person we are!..I think the Buddists believe we come into this world as a clean slate...whatever person we turn into it is our fingerprint. How we are raised, our circumstance, and things that come to us through the years....I personally believe, when we appear out of our mothers womb..Our personality is truly branded upon us. We are the person we are and will be. I also believe many things will form and knead you into the person you are...But, I also believe we are led by a loving God, the one who did make us...good or bad, healthy or sick, alive or dead...It is all in the entire plan...I know things that happened to me, I am sure, helped form me into the person I am. But with all that stripped aside, I still am the person God made me!! In his image..looking at the BIG picture!! During the time we lived in the trailer park. We met a a lady with our same last name, Curry. Her name was Mae...When my sister Jetta, was born, my mother had diaper service. Now for those of you who have never heard of it...A truck used to come to the door. There was a little diaper pail, with a smelly good thing, in this diaper pail, after having the diapers rinsed out in clear water...they were picked up by the delievery man. These dirty ones were replaced with new, fresh, clean, white cloth diapers...I realize many of you have no clue that anyone did this. They used to wash, bleach, rinse and hang them out in the sun...line after line after line...I myself was priviledged to do this for many years..(six kids later)...Pampers were just invented in the late sixties...and they were very expensive...you used them only to go out!! There were many days, I would run out of diapers visiting my mothers house and she would pin a kitchen towel on the baby. Well back to new friends. The diaper man went to the wrong Curry's. He visited Mae's house...She informed him she did not have any children, let alone a baby...This led her to believe another family in the park had her same last name...Frank, her husband, and Mae became our closest friends. They had a camp in Kennerdale. North of Pittsbrugh along the Allegheny River. It took what seemed a very long time to get there..When we got to Butler, I would remark, "Look, we are half way there, there is the clock with the ears". That clock still stands!! We went to their camp every weekend!! A trip away from the trailer park...A trip to the country was a wonderful treat..and full of so many memories...The door opened for us, to learn new things and be apart of God's wonderful back woods exsistence. Some thing we knew nothing about!! But, are going to learn!!!

Stories of curiosity..over the top!

The real strange thing about curiosity is it can be good or bad!! It can be benificial or very harmful!!..I recall many of my curious times...when I was little. One time in particular was when, we were still living in the trailer park, I put a snake under a car tire and when the car went over the snake it smashed it and there were about 1,000 babies in the snake. It was amazing to see all those little snakes that just came squishing out of her..We had no clue that the snake was with baby snakes nor did we anticipate the way we would feel when we saw her squished. I must admit, it was an amazing experience...See the snake dead, squished and also seeing all these babies dead that came out of her..It made me feel so sad, even though we picked through them and spent time investigating the slaughter, it stuck in my mind and it always makes me feel sad when I think of it....Another times we got together and captured wasps and bees in jars with other insects like lightning bugs, praying mantisis, and other beetles. Waiting and watching to see, after a battle of the bugs, who would still be alive. Which bugs would survive and win the battles...these were all curious things we felt important..Other things, I am not proud of doing, is ripping the lights out of those poor little lightning bugs and wearing them as rings and taking the lights and smearing them on us while we glowed in the dark....I think all kids have a bit of sadist in them...and it all falls under the heading of curiosity... It also takes on the physical. I was about six years old and behind the wash house there were wire clothes lines strung from concrete poles. There must have been about 20 of them or more...these lines looked like tight rope lines...tempting me to walk them...so I shinned up the concrete pole and walked the wires...I was very active and had a remarkable sense of balance as well as rythum...I attribute that to my dancing lessons, tumbling, ballet etc. So I saw no problem to attempt to walk on the wire...they were pretty thick and seemed stable enough to walk across, so I did. One day while tightrope walking my mother came looking for me and found me walking the wire...She always told the story of how she held her breathe and didn't dare yell at me....fearing I would lose my balance and come tumbling down while splitting myself into...But, that never even entered my mind. Looking back now, I can't believe I was as brave and unfearful as I was...I still am unfearful...and do many things that other people would not even think of doing...and I have no problem attempting or doing it!!! I just think I can do anything.....if I try and fail, I try again...I am one of those people, I guess, when the door closes....I don't think of shrinking to the corner and forget about it...Instead of looking for a window to crawl out ....I just knock the door down and go through without hesitation!!! I know this is a God given talent for I didn't know what God had in mind for my life...I needed to be ready to accept things that were going to be presented to me...in the future...Little did I know, what God had in store!!! But He and He alone could prepare me what I was going to have to face!! I thank Him for preparing me...and giving me the tools to survive!!