I saw it first!

I was driving out of the parking lot today after work and saw a Palm Tree. It brought this memory back.

As a family we traveled to Florida to visit our grandparents (MomMom & PopPop) in De Bary, Florida. We had a few games that we played or rewards we got while we sat in the car for hours, about seven (7) hours.

I remembered two of them.

1) We would see who would see the first palm tree and the palm tree had to be in Florida.

2) If we were good, we would get to stop at Dairy Queen for a treat. An ice cream, usually a Buster Bar. Now, as we got older we pushed the limit and Aaron went beyond the Ice Cream and got Onion Rings or Cheeseburger.

This was a great memory to remember as I drove out of the parking lot in Thomasville, GA today where I glanced through my side window and saw a Georgia Palm Tree.

From a Family of Athletes...

A recount of a story told by Annette Stroud to Granddaughter, Sydney, after getting two goals in her first Soccer game of season this past Saturday.

Syd, congratulations on the goals! You do know that you are from a family of athletes. I played basketball, tennis and softball, even after high school . Willa and Connie also played as well as your Mama and Uncle Aaron on high school teams but my favorite story is about Tudy. She played in her day, with her children, and with her grandchildren up until the time she lost her leg. She had a great long shot! When I was in high school, a ball was knocked out of bounds at the half time and went into the bleachers near where Mama was sitting. The man that caught the ball knew that Mama played when she was young and threw her the ball as he hollowed, "shoot it Eliz-a-beth", she did and stripped the net from the half way mark, but 3 seats up in the bleachers. The crowd exploded with a standing ovation. Keep practicing one day you may be better than all of us. I love you. Gam-Mommy

Pick-a-nicking

Papa used to go to the store and buy us snacks. But he would not buy a candy bar for each person instead he would buy one (1) or two (2) candy bars and cut it into enough pieces for everyone to have some. He called it pick-a-nicking. One interesting thing about this was that he would not use a knife from Tudy's kitchen but his pocket knife. He would clean it off and slice the candy bars. I think it made the candy taste even better. He would usually get a Milky Way and Snickers bar.

Amen. I Love You!

Amen. I..... Love..... You...... is said as we squeeze hands around the kitchen table. This is another tradition that I was reminded of today at a meeting when we said a special pray where we stood and held hands for our loved ones.

It's a tradition

We just dropped Tudy off in Morgan, GA. What do we do everytime that we leave is get in the car and leave? It is a tradition... We roll down the windows, honk the horn and yell, "We LLOOOVVVVVEEEEE YOUUUUUUUUUUUU!" at the top of our lungs. Then we get a response from the door of a hand waving back. It's a tradition.

Weaning the children

Question: How were the Stroud children weaned?
Answer: All were weaned by Tudy and Papa.

~ Carmella was 2 1/2 when she was weaned. She was picked up in Mobile, AL when mommy and daddy had the bad flu. On the way home in Dothan, AL a hamburger and grits were purchased and was her first solid meal.

~ Aaron was picked up in Ocala, FL around the age 2 when he as weaned. His first meal is unknown but he did not have a problem with being away from his mom and dad. They were content with Tudy and Papa.

When it was time for David and Robby to be weaned, Mom had a Dr. that said, "after 12 months nursing becames a habit that is harder to stop."

~ David was just left with Tudy and Papa was 12 months. He did not miss mom and dad.

~ Robby was 12 months also when Tudy and Papa met our parents between Columbus, GA and Morgan, GA. The usual meeting place was Richland, GA however this day mom and dad were running late. So Papa drove past the meeting place; they met somewhere on the road near Cusseta, GA.

This is what Tudy was telling us as we drove home from a weekend in Columbus, GA. Those that got to hear this were: Tudy, Carmella, Aaron, Carrie, Sydney, Brianna and Kai.

Shit-ippey

My memory has been jogged by the posting of the "All in the fam" story today. Mom (Annette Stroud) was off to college. She tells the story like this:

It was a huge auditorium full of students in her first class for college. The professor was having everyone introduce themselves. When it came to mom, she stood up and said, "Annette Shippey". The professor said, "What is your last name?" She responded, "Shippey". He said, "What is it again?" She responded, "Shippey". He said, "Spell it". As she responded, she realized in the middle of saying it again that he had asked her to spell and so this is what came our of her mouth, "Shit-ippey". I would assume the room went up in a roar because it was the late 50's.

This is one to add to the postings of mom and her cursing.