Doug's Robot made completely of school bus parts.

Robot is 15 feet tall erect, about 10 feet tall crouching. Arms, legs, hands, fingers and head move, talks, Shoots foam "bullets" from Gatlin gun on left arm. Cycles through "act" every 15 minutes. Corporate office saw pictures and is taking it to Michigan to use in promos and school safety presentations.

CATCHIN' UP AGAIN 10-03-09

Wow! It's been a whal since I put anything on this here blog.
NOW
Not a bunch of new stuff goin' on. We continue to walk. Mostly around La Fortune Park. 3.2 miles in 1.3 hours. Since we are keeping Stone on Mondays and Fridays now, we use this as an excuse for not walking the trails on those days. But we make up for it on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. On Thursday we walk in the morning and work the food bank for 3 hours in the afternoon. The food bank served about 300 families during the month of September and it will probably serve even more each month until the economy turns around. Park Plaza is the workingest, givingest congregation I have ever seen. The food bank is just one of a whole bunch of things People do at Park Plaza. We just praise God that He has given us the will and the way to glorify Him in this way.

I have been asked to coordinate part of the new "Furniture" mission the church will be starting soon. We will pick up used furniture, refurbish it and give it to those in need. I will coordinate the pick up and delivery schedule. Others with vehicles will do the actual transporting of the furniture and still others will work on the cleaning and minor repairs. There are also plans to open a clothing outreach store in the new building we have leased next to the church property. It already houses the church offices, Iglesia de Christo, Deaf church and counseling service and will house the furniture and clothing outreach. The food bank, at least for now, will remain in the main church building.

Stone and Ryan are growing like weeds. I can only assume that Megan is doing well since her parents are not speaking to us. David & Nichole are going to the Dominican Republic to work with their missionary friends Kyle and Vicki Graham for a week. That's coming up in two weeks and we will get to keep Ryan for part of that week. It's a blast to watch Stone and Ryan play together. They were both here yesterday, laughing and chasing like a couple of otters.

Doug and Nic have been busy with there work and some extra-curricular activities.Nic is working on the body of his car and will soon have it looking like new. We are going this morning to an open house at Doug's work where he has built a 15 foot tall robot out of spare bus parts that talks and squats and bends at the waste and flexes its arms and fingers. Can't wait to see that.

THEN
What started this session is that I woke up about 4 AM thinking about a chore I had in my youth. When we first moved to the farm and Daddy was trying to make a living "off the land", we had 2 mules and some farm equipment he used to work the land to raise crops. He tried peanuts and corn and some other things but nothing seemed to do much good on the sand hill where we lived.

In the summer, when Daddy was working in the field, Mother would draw some cold well water, put it in a mason jar, wrap it in a wet dishtowel and send me the quarter mile to take the water to my Dad. When I arrived to where he was working, he would take a big drink of the still cold water and I would bury the remainder in the sand under a shade tree at the edge of the field.

This made me think about Christ's admonition about a cup of cold water for a prophet and the song we sing about "just a cup of water". This made me think of the song from the much maligned musical full-length cartoon/live of Walt Disney's "Song of the South" If my memory serves me, Uncle Remus, the main character in the movie, sang a song about "It's what you do with what you got, and never mind how much you got, that pays off in the end." I guess that goes along with the "Widows Mite" too don't it. Since my mind and strength have both gone south, I'll have to be satisfied with sacking groceries and singing hymns and periodically writing in this blog to glorify God. Hallelujah anyway.

This Week

This week has been more active than I expected. This is Wednesday and we have walked every day although I wasn't up to snuff and just walked about half a mile. Ellen did the whole 30 minutes. This week we walked at Hunter Park next to the Creek Nation Toll Road, around the apartment complex and today walked on the west side of LaFortune Park. It's a good place to walk with lots of shade and the west side is fairly flat so I don't have to go up and down the hills no matter so slight.
After we got back from our walk, it rained for about an hour and a half which was very welcome. The weather man says the rest of the week will be dry and warmer. Tomorrow Ellen and I will work in the Food Bank in the morning.
Ellen will take care of Ryan in the afternoon so Cole can help get ready the "Just Between Friends" sale at the Fair Grounds. I will work with another volunteer from church in the Food bank Thursday afternoon. This mission touches many lives and I hope to make it more evangelistic with some "God bless you's" and some printed material telling the recepients of God's love and desire for them. Stone has been in school this week but I haven't heard how it is going.

DOINS

This morning was pretty busy. Started at 7:30 walking the east side of LaFortune Park from the library to 61st street and back to the library. Lots of walkers and joggers out in the cool of the morning. Saw a few jogging groups of 10 to 20 people. Lafortune has a number of walking trails around the golf course and some are shaded. We walk most mornings besides Sunday. This was our second walk at laFortune.

After the walk we went to the Savoy Cafe on S. Sheridan for breakfast. The Savoy used to be downtown. We burned about 200 calories walking and added about 500 in biscuits and gravy. Oh well.

Next we went to Philbrook Museum and spent the rest of the morning looking at the art exhibits. Philbrook was donated to the City of Tulsa by oil man Waite Phillips, brother to Phillips 66 founders Frank and L. E. Phillips. Probably one of the largest and most plush residences in Tulsa.

After Philbrook we went to the Walmart Superstore on S. Lewis for groceries and then home to collapse from 4 - 6 P M.

Tomorrow is Sunday. After morning worship we may go to the Olive Garden for lunch and spend the last of the gift cards we got for leaving Skiatook. Some people will go to any expense to get rid of you (lol) We have really enjoyed the gift cards and cherish the memories of all the friends who thought of us when we moved.

Next week is pretty empty so far. Stone starts to pre/pre/k Monday so we won't get to take care of him on Fridays until next summer. Maybe he'll be kicked out of school and we will be able to have him again. (lol) I hope he enjoys going to school but it's a thought.

Thursday afternoon I am scheduled to work at the church Food Bank. It's a good work that helps around 150 to 200 families a week who are in need of food. Each family that comes in gets two grocery bags full of dried and canned food to help them get by.

ME AND THE BOYS

MY TWO(GRAND)SONS




For those of you who don't have Facebook, here's a shot of Stone, Me & Ryan taken 08-14-09 at our apartment. We have been keeping Stone every Friday for some time but he will begin school Monday. Cole and Ryan came over to play with Stone yesterday afternoon. Stone couldn't wait all morning. It was a real blast to watch them play together.

STONE

PIC TAKEN 7-5-9

BUSY DAYS

Thursday we helped at the Food Bank at Park Plaza. Worked from 12:30 to 3:00. Helped probably 15 or 20 people with food.

Friday morning Stone came for the day. We went to McDonalds for breakfast. then we went to Hunter park on S. 91st. They have a lot of cool slides and things for the little kids to play on. They also have a splash pad with 6 or 8 water features. Stone had a blast.

After we got back home, Ellen took Stone dawn to feed the ducks and walk around outside. Doug had said that he, Shonn, Hunter and Stone were going to Branson Friday evening. Doug came to pick up Stone about 4PM. About an hour later Doug called and asked if Stone had taken a nap. We said yes, about an hour. Doug said Stone went to sleep right after they got home. Guess he got worn out with all the going and doing with us.

RYAN WALKS

MY GRANDSON, RYAN, JUST TOOK 4 STEPS UNASSISTED. COURSE STONE IS RUNNING ALL OVER THE PLACE. HE'S 2 1/2. IT'S GONNA BE KATY BAR THE DOOR NOW. I TOLD NICHOLE (RYAN'S MOTHER) TO REMINDED ME IN SIX MONTHS HOW EXCITED SHE WAS WHEN RYAN STARTED WALKING.

NOW AND THEN 7/6/9

Things are slowing down now. We got to keep Stone Friday. Saturday evening we went to Doug's in-laws house for burgers and then went to watch fireworks display near the River Walk. Sunday was nice. We picked up a lady from our congregation who doesn't have transportation who uses a walker and has numerous physical problems. Went to Qdoba's for lunch with Nichole & family. Sunday afternoon I had a bout of Montezuma's revenge and so I stayed home from evening worship. Ellen said it was very good. Today Ellen, Cole & Ryan went to the Oxley Nature Conserve by the Zoo. Ellen wasn't impressed. I stayed home just in case the Aztecs made a return visit. Little queasy but made it O K. Weather has been nice the last few days but it is forecasted to be around 100 this weekend.

THEN

That wagon became my treasured possession for many years and I had many thrilling rides down the steep hill road to the west of our property.

The wagon did cause me some discomfort once when I was six or eight years old. My father and brother had torn out the flue, a brick chimney to which you could attach a stove pipe for a wood stove, on the north side of the house between the two large juniper trees. The brick lay in a big pile in the front yard. Mother said she would give me two dollars (no small amount at a time when you could go to the movies for a dime)to move and stack the brick in the back yard.

Not being an industrious individual, I was not overly excited about the task. I did however understand that my mother's proposition was was actually "do it for two dollars or do it for nothing but you will do it!" It must have taken the better part of a month and much griping from my mother for me to earn the two dollar.

GOD BLESS AMERICA

NOW
It's the 4th of July 2009, 233 years after the establishment of "One Nation Under God". The "under God" part came almost 200 years later but the idea is in the writings of the writers of the Declaration of Independence and other papers and statements of the time.

Today we wonder how much longer we will remain a nation under God and ultimately a nation at all.

But today I will enjoy the blessings of liberty promised to "ourselves and our posterity (that's you and me) given by God for as long as it lasts.

We have been so blessed in being able to have most of our children and grandchildren close and also enjoy the blessings of being able to be retired and foot loose.

Last week we saw Nichole and her "boys" and Nic and Christa. We checked on getting involved in some work at church (food pantry & remodeling youth room) and continued our walking regimen

This afternoon we are going to Doug's in-laws for burgers and to watch the fireworks displays.

God has continually blessed our lives in amazing ways and for no justifiable reason on our part. He does it in spite of us. It's a love without end amen!

THEN
(not our house, just a picture)

As stated before, our "new" farm house can only be described as "rustic". We often called it six rooms and a path (viz: Mother & the wasp). There were no "conveniences". No electricity, gas, no in-door plumbing, and no insulation other than the linoleum on the kitchen floor and water-stained wall paper on the walls and ceilings.

When my maternal grandmother "Mama Wright" came to visit us before I started to school, she would entice me to take a nap in the afternoon by laying on the bed with me on our backs and, like children on a summer hill, and look at the multi-shaped water-stains on the ceiling wallpaper and imagine them to be people, animals, cars, ships and other things.

If I tend to repeat myself, please forgive me. I tend to wander sometime and insert memories when they come and then repeat them when they come up chronologically.

As I remember, it was a cold, grey, November day when my family and my mother's parents (Gaga & Mama Wright) went to see the new farm for the first time. I can still see the house as we approached it from the highway to Dallas, turning off at Havell's store at Corinth then on to Shady Shores Road for less than a mile, turning left at the Shiloh Cemetery and winding around to Jackson's corner, left again up the sandy road on the northeast of our land, past a grove of Blackjack oaks and Boise-De-arc (horse apple)trees that lined both sides of the road and then ... the house.
The Boise-De-Arcs and Blackjacks formed a curtain that hid the house until the last minute when it popped into view. The house was a grey, story-and-a half with two nearly twenty foot tall juniper trees flanking the windows on the front upstairs and down. In the front yard was a Chinaberry tree. The house stood a good two feet off the ground and was supported by tree stumps and stacks of large sandstone rocks. This made it possible to crawl under the house from any point and also for the yard chickens to find relief from the midday sun in the shade and cool sand under the house.

My early recollecions of the arrangement of the rooms in the house are confused in that I can't remember where the kitchen was when we first moved in. I believe it was in the southeast corner of the house. My confusion is due to the fact that the kitchen location was changed two or three times before the ultimate loss of the house.

The summer after we moved to the farm, I turned four years old. I am pretty sure the kitchen was in the southeast corner at that time with a south door leading to the back yard. On my birthday I came down for breakfast (Jimmy and I slept upstairs in the south bedroom and Sherrill had the north upstairs bedroom). Sherrill and Mother and Daddy sang "Happy Birthday" to me. Mother said they got me something for my birthday but I had to share the inside of it. About that time Jimmy came around outside to the kitchen door pulling a red wagon with a two-foot long watermelon in it. So I got the wagon and shared the watermelon with the family.




It wasn't just any old wagon. It was a bright red Radio Flyer with PNEUMATIC WHEELS! Most wagons and tricycles at that time had solid, hard rubber wheels. My wagon had wheels filled with air just like a car! It was one of my most treasured possessions in my childhood and one of my most treasured memories to this day.

NOW AND THEN 6-9-9

NOW - Great week last week! Getting settled into the life of leisure. Suddenly realized the other day that I have been without gainful employment for 2 whole months. Ryan and I have a new game. I shake my arms and head like an idiot (easily done) and Ryan roars with laughter. Some people are so easy to please. Ryan is on the verge of walking but just hasn't decided the risk is worth it yet. He took one step from granma's hand to mama's hand the other day. It was a great and fearsome adventure.

Saturday we went to the Village Inn pancake house across from LaFortune Park for breakfast. I had bacon, eggs, pancakes and hashbrowns. Ellen had strawberry crapes. Then we went to the Cherry Street Farmers' Market. Very yuppy don't you know. We got some cranberry bread and some fresh salad greens. After that we walked up Antique Row on Cherry Street (East 15th Street) and bought a couple of books at the "Aquarian Age Message and Spiritworks." My book is on the Bible as history and Ellen's is about the guns of the Civil War. Then we went to the Tulsa Rose Garden. Lots of beautiful roses. The were having a show of cactus plants. We saw some really weird cacti.

Sunday we went to worship at the Park Plaza congregation, of which we are now members, and got our picture taken for the church directory. After Bible class (worship first at 8:30 then Bible class at 9:45 or Bible class at 9:45 and worship at 11:00.) Since Ryan likes to get up early, David & Nichole go to early worship and since we want to see that at every possible occasion, so do we. I'm not sure it's scriptural but the Lord will understand too. He also had kids.) we went to lunch at Applebys with about 5 other young couples. (LOL).

Today Ellen went shopping with Nichole and I played PC Mahjongg and napped.


THEN-

Siblings: I have a total of 3 siblings. 2 older and one younger. I could tell a lot about them but it would be from my view and you need to hear it from theirs. Any way, this is my story. My brother, James Allen Broyles is 5 years my senior and died of cancer in 1990. My Sister, Sherrill Elaine Giddens is 3 years my senior and lives near her daughter in Trenton, Texas. My sister, Susan Elizabeth Gembler is 10 years my junior and lives with her husband Bill in Fort Worth, Texas.

In January 1933 Franklin Roosevelt became President of the United States. The country was deep in a depression. In March 1933 FDR closed all the banks to reorganize them, fend off a run on the banks and establish the Federal Depositors Insurance Commission.

THIS PART IS BROUGHT FORWARD FROM A PREVIOUS POST FOR CONTINUITY

My brother Jimmy was born March 3, 1933 and FDR closed the banks the next day. My brother was born at home and my parents could’t get to their money in the bank to pay the doctor. Mother said the doctor was drunk when he delivered Jimmy and was supposed to come back later and finish the job. He never came back, Jimmy never became Jewish and I don’t know if the doctor ever got his delivery fee or not.

Many people were out of work. My father had lost his job (probably delivering beer) and jobs were hard to come by. He got up one morning and went out to find a job. It got later and later in the day and my mother got worried about what might have happened to him. Many men in that day were robbed and left for dead, walked away from their families out of frustration and hopelessness or even committed suicide not being able to face their failure and inability to provide even the basic needs of their families.

Mother was distraught and called her father, my grandfather “Gaga” asking if he could help find my dad. Gaga checked around to see where they were hiring and found my father at the bottom of a hole deeper than he was tall digging footings for the buildings at the state fair grounds. My father said you can always find a job if you are willing to work.

Daddy was always willing and rarely went more than a day or two without work.

By this time the economy had improved and the family was financially stable. In another three years I came along and by the time I was two three years old we had settled in to our life on Mentor Street.

The Second World War was raging and Daddy was a Neighborhood Air Raid Warden. He had a white metal helmet with an emblem on it designating him as an o-fishul Air Raid Warden. When there was an air raid, Daddy and his fellow wardens would patrol the neighborhood at night to see that everyone’s shades were pulled tight so that no light could be seen and that no subversives were signaling the Axis powers to drop bombs on Mentor Street.

Around 1942 my parents, the son of a sharecropper and daughter of a small businessman, decided that they should go “back to the land”. After an undetermined time of searching, they found a farm in eastern Denton County about 40 miles north of Dallas and 6 miles east of Denton. Two miles north of State Highway 76 (Now US 35E) and near the small community of Corinth.

I remember the cold winter day when we drove to the farm from our home in Dallas to show Gaga and Momma Wright the farm. It was a gray dreary and we came to the farm from the east. My first sight of the house was from a break in the trees that lined the sandy road .

The farm was described legally as “80 acres, more or less” no matter what Gene Brown says. It had a 60 year old farm house (6 rooms and a path) with a hand dug 20 foot deep well at the edge of the back porch that had never gone dry in over 60 years. About 10 yards from the back of the house was an outhouse with a honeysuckle trellis in front. Helped kill the odor in the summer. The privy drew flies and the honeysuckle drew wasps and yellow jackets.

Mother couldn't resist swatting at the wasps and yellow jackets and once when she went to use the facilities a wasp got in to the privy and Mother began to swat at it. The wasp got mad and Mother decided to retreat. As she pulled up her slacks the wasp dropped into the opening and stung her on the hip. The result was a football sized swelling, very painful and lingered for many days.

West of the privy and just east of the lane that went from the driveway to the barn was a semi-submerged, sand stone root cellar. The cellar stood at the base of a large mulberry tree. I once built a tree house in the arms of the mulberry and lived many an exciting adventure in my mind.

At the entry to the driveway stood an ancient oak tree. Sherrill says she saw it recently and it is not as large as we remember it. I know it was to big for me to get my arms around and once Daddy hung a block and tackle from one of it’s lower branches and pulled the engine out of a ‘30 something Pontiac to work on it.

The farm also had a barn with hay loft, corn crib and milk shed. There were 2 small ponds and about 1/3 to ½ of the acreage was in black jack and post oak.

When we moved to the farm there was a crop of peanuts in the field which belonged to the previous owner. That was probably the last successful crop ever planted on the land. My dad, at various times tried to raise peanuts, corn and chickens with little success.

After two or three years Daddy went back to work in Dallas selling beer. He would get up early in the morning, drive to Corinth and catch a Continental Trailways bus to get to Dallas and bus back to home after dark and a full day of humping cases of beer.

I think we lived on the farm from the time I was 4 to my freshman year in college.

Being the third and youngest child for ten years, I learned to avoid the wrath of my older siblings and entertain my self at and early age. Living on an 80 acre farm during a time when perverts didn't come out to the country to bother people, I was free to roam and play afield as long as I was in earshot of my mothers beck and call.

Now and Then 6-4-9

NOW - Great week this week. Got to babysit Stone last Saturday and Irish (Ryan) M-T-W of this week. Getting settled into the congregation at Park Plaza. I said today that I guess the 80/20 rule (20% of any group does 80% of the work) still applies. It seems like Park Plaza church has so much talent and activity but I guess the reality is that there is more to draw from in 20% of 1000 than in an average size congregation. Our work here is certainly blessed by God but so is the work in a 50 member or a 150 member congregation. Here we find such a thrilling number of knowledgeable older members who have not retired from the Lord's word and so many young families who are willing and enthusiastic about serving the Lord that it almost takes your breath away. Ellen and I are getting ready to jump in and find our niche in the work here.
Had lunch today with the Neals, Garrisons, K. Frick and Ron Falcon and Rachael and Jake. It was great to see our old friends and catch up on life in Oklahoma's biggest "town". Oh well, everyone needs something to brag about.

It just dawned on me how much I use forms of the word "enthusiastic" in talking about the Lord's work. Looked it up and found that the root comes from en-Theo, Greek for in God. Hop we can all stay enthusiastic (in God.)

I HAVE MADE SOME ADDITIONS TO THE "THEN" SECTION OF THE MAY 30 BLOG AND INVITE YOU TO GO THERE TO SEE THE ADDITIONS

THEN - My mother, born Elsie Maude Wright, unlike my father, on of two children of an independent business man and his wife, the daughter of the Chief of Police of Natchez, Mississippi before the turn of the century. While my father, as a child, was learning humility and labor without complaining, my mother was learning that she had aristocratic roots and that any obstacle could be overcome if you talked loud enough and long enough. My mother always believed that she was really the daughter of a 19th century aristocrat born out or time, kidnapped and sold to commoners and condemned to suffer the drudgery and humiliation of being the wife of a noncommittal, spineless, underachieving blue-collar worker. My mother learned as a child to play the piano, participate in dramatic plays and recitations and take pride in her history and nation. As a child she was influenced by her hot tempered jealous father who was, in the 1930's and 40's a Grand-Master Mason and active member of the Klu Klux Klan. The Klan at that time was not only actively against afro-Americans but also against Catholics, Jews and other minorities that might threaten their (the Klan's) scion-economic status and power.

Bigotry and prejudice were a way of life in my upbringing and that of my parents. It was so ingrained in my life that I was either not aware of it or thought it was "the way things were." It was not until I got away from home that I realized how unrealistic and hurtful my beliefs and attitudes had been. While I have struggled to not pass on these errors, the first 20 years made a great impression on my mental processes and I still catch my self acting out my early teachings.

Now and Then

NOW - Everything going well. Have had nice weather for last week or two. High in the 60's and 70's. Much warmer today but still nice. Getting settled into the apartment. Cole has come over a number of days and she and Ellen have been sewing about 30 or so small dresses and short pants they will give to some short term missionaries to take to our missionaries in the Dominican Republic. It is reported that the small indigenous children in the Dominican have few garments to wear. The girls have limited clothing and the little boys go about in their all together.

We have had the opportunity to babysit for Stone and Ryan at different times. They are both very good boys and easy to care for. It's amazing the difference between a one year old and a two year old. They are both exceptional for their age of course but Ryan ( 1 year old) has not started walking yet but is standing without assistance. He has a limited vocabulary but is picking up new words all the time. Stone is 2 years old runs and climbs everywhere, has many words in his vocabulary although he is not making sentences yet. He sits at the table and eats with a fork and is fascinated with hand tools and Bob the Builder.

THEN - I just came across my record book in which I was writing my autobiography. This work is specifically for my heirs (not having anything of worth to bequeath to them) so anyone else can skip over these insertions with my apology.
It will be easier for me to start over again and transcribe the contents of the record book than to try to edit and blend what I have already put in the blog with what is in the book. I ask therefore that you bare with me through the first few years of my chronicle so that I can catch up on what I have written.

The title of these memoirs is "No You Can't....You're Too Young" (From Pearl Harbor to the Moon And Beyond)

The writing gets its title from and dedication to my (much) younger sister, Susan Elizabeth Broyles Gembler who always thought she could remember things that happened before she was born.

CHAPTER 1 pg. 1

It was one of those sounds that grabs your teeth in such a way that you clinch them tightly together in order to keep them from being yanked out by the roots. It ran down my spine like a thousand electrical wires attached directly to the nerve endings. It crawled like phantom spiders up and down my flesh and made me shudder involuntarily.

Such is my first memory. The memory of a 3 year old digging with a tin shovel in a neighbor's sand box and of scraping against a rusty tin can hidden just below the surface of the sand and of hearing the sound of tin on rusty tin similar to fingernails scraping on a chalk board.

I was born in Dallas, Texas on July 14, 1938 and my early memories are of the time when we lived on Mentor Street in Oakcliff, a section of Dallas populated mainly by lower to lower middle income families beginning to be upwardly mobile during the Second World War. (My mother told me later that the First World War was thought to be "The War to End All Wars". Since the beginning of WWII, Korea, Vietnam and now the Middle East conflict(s) we have begun to realize that God is right, "there will be wars and rumors of wars but the end is not yet")

ADDED 6-4-9
Our house was a small (though it seemed very large at the time) frame house with a single car, dirt floored garage. The only thing I remember about the interior is that there was an archway between the living room and the dining room and a door that swung both ways between the dining room and the kitchen.

I have images of sitting in the dining room at lunch listening to Mother’s soap operas and eating Campbell’s Cream of Tomato Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The radio soap operas, 15 minutes I think, included: Our Gal Sunday, Portia Faces Life, When A Girl Marries, Just Plain Bill and Stella Dallas. There was one called ----- Back Stage Wife but I don’t know if that was Stella Dallas or someone else.

Other early memories include my mother making me a Porky Pig Halloween mask out of a brown paper bag so that I could go to a Halloween party with my sister (she loved taking me --- Not!) Two little girls that lived down the street gave the party. I remember bobbing for apples and a Piñata I think.

We had a red bull calf that was staked out in the empty lot to the west of our house. I had to cross the lot to get to a friends house and the calf would try to run and butt me when I crossed the lot. I was terrified of the calf.

On the east side of our house lived Mr. Johnson, a Dallas Fireman, who had a big stallion in his back yard. The horse got in to a shed or garage where the oats were kept and foundered on the feed. I remember going with my dad one evening and keeping a vigil with men of the neighborhood as the horse slowly died.

I also remember the time the city paved the street with tar. The tar came in large rolls wrapped in heave paper. When needed, it would be chopped into manageable chunks and put into a cooker, which melted the tar so it could be spread on the street. Until it was used, the cylinders stood unguarded by the side of the street waiting for little boys to gouge are cut off chunks and chew it like gum. I don’t know whether this was a macho thing or whether we thought it tasted good. We did it either way.

My dad had a friend who lived nearby named “Cub” Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell had worked in Panama in Central America who came back with tales of seeing donkeys being swallowed by Boa Constrictors.


At the time of my first memories our family consisted of my Father, Mother, older brother Jimmy (James Allen), older Sister (Sherrill Elain) and me (Teddy Lawrence)
my legal name is Teddy. I was supposed to be named after Theodore Lawrence, the male lead in Little Women. My mother thought I was too small for such a big name and so shortened it to Teddy. My Father, Clarence Eggar Broyles, was the oldest son of a share cropper named James Ernest Broyles and his wife Roxie Eunice (nee Jones.) My Grandfather James Ernest had come as an infant from Tennessee to Texas.

My father, who his children called "pumpkin" when we were small, terminated his formal educating in the seventh grade in order to earn a living and help support his family of two adults and 5 children. Most of what I know about my fathers childhood is that he picked cotton, got into fights in school (beginning the first day of the first grade) and got a piece of fruit (apple or orange) and a half of a cedar pencil for Christmas.

Next time: Enter Mother

Catch Up

In the last week we have:
Sold house, (Money's in the bank)
Moved into our apartment
Heard that friend/brother Joe Pruitt died from heart attack
I went to Dr. for treatment of gout.
Ellen helped Nichole get her flowerbed cleaned and planted
Ellen sewing dresses for missionaries to give to girls in the Dominican
Ellen making summer togs for grandsons (Dorcas, Dorcas, Dorcas)
Spent Saturday with Doug and family. Got to play with Stone.
Gout almost gone.
Still haven't located some items from the move.
Had 2 flats last week. Found out that tire stores in Tulsa (Hibdons, Goodyear,
Firestone) don't charge anything to fix and remount flats. (Tate Brothers
in Skiatook charged $10)
Ellen got hanging basket of Impatiens and other blooming plants for large pot in
front of apartment.

A New Place for Our Home

We have found a new place for our home. We now live at the Ridge Park Apartments on S. Yale in Tulsa. Our address is Ted & Ellen Broyles, 4904 E. 76th St. #607, Tulsa, OK, 74136. I will take some pix and add to the blog later. We have so many great friends and brothers and sisters in Christ who took time out of their busy lives to help us pack, load, unload and unpack our belongings in our move. It is impossible to thank them enough for their time and efforts. We have told God how much we love them and how much we love Him for sending them to us.

A GREAT WEEKEND

It just gets better and better! Thursday and Friday evenings we went to the Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop. Saw Nic & friend, David, Nichole & Ryan and heard some great singing and preaching. Ellen came by Friday to go to lunch and told me we had a contract on the house. The realtor came by Friday evening, explained the contract and we signed the papers. Deal should close around the middle of May which is also when I'll get my retirement. It snowed Saturday and we just stayed in all day and did practically nothing but do crossword puzzles watch basketball on TV eat and sleep. Sunday the snow was melting, we went to Bible class and worship, ate out at Senor Salsa's (Ellen's favorite local eatery) and spent the afternoon watching basketball and napping. Went to Marion & Mildred Thompson's house for small group meeting Sunday evening and enjoyed every one's company and Bible study.

I have one more day of work before I retire. Projects keep piling up waiting for me to have full time to devote to them. On the list now are fixing the loose trim on the outside of the house, spraying the yard for weeds, cleaning and seasoning my collection of cast iron cookware to give to Doug and cleaning my collection of camp lanterns to give to Doug.

Doug is hot on the trail of my ancestors for his son. He calls me almost daily to ask about how someone fits into the pedigree or tell me about something he has discovered about our progenitors. It makes me feel good (a la Lance Alrunner) to see him so excited to learn about his predecessors.

RYAN IN SPRING

HOME

After WWII actor Yul Brenner was commissioned to go through the Displaced Person camps and photograph and interview the residents. These were people who for political reasons or fear for their lives had left their homes and wound up in a camp set up by the United Nations to care for those who had no place to live.

On one such trip, Brenner came across two young brothers, one about 14 years of age and one about 12. Brenner asked them "how it felt to have no home?" To which the older boy said, "We have a home, we just don't have anywhere to put it."

WHERE IS YOUR HOME?

EIGHT DAYS TO FREEDOM

Quiet weekend. house showed twice. Once with 10 minutes notice. scramble, scramble. No word on results. Ryan and parents went to see David's family this last weekend. Fell and bumped his head again. Now I can blame any damage on the other grandparents. "He was fine when he left MY house."

Doug has started an illustrated Broyles family history. If anyone has anything they would like included, contact Doug at "Doug.Broyles@Navistar.com" This includes text and photos.

Ask and it shall be given to you.

Yesterday I hinted for a picture of Stone and today Ellen sent me two!

TODAY

Busy, Busy,been trying to get the house ready for inspection by lender if we ever get a solid bid. Lots of touching up. Cleaned out the garage. Ellen painted the garage inside walls. Doug patched the hole in the water heater closet. Today the dry wall guys are finishing the garage ceiling and we're getting a second bid on new siding. Hope we have some money left over when we get through selling the house. Getting it ready is costing a bundle. We hauled out all the stuff we don't want to move to Tulsa or won't fit in a small apartment and had the kids come up and go through it. They, unfortunately, did't want much of it either. Left some behind that they will get later. Doug took a lot of my mothers papers. He called me today and talked for 15 or 20 minutes about what he had found, how he got to know his grandma better and how he wants to concolidate her writings and give anyone intrested a copy. Nic is leaving for a ski trip to colorado on thursday. Pray for safety and fun. He tells us he is seeing someone. I asked him if it was "dead people" but he assured me she is alive. Grandson Ryan is growing. Has 3 Teeth now. I was trying to feed him when the kids came up for the give away, turned my back on him and he fell out of the chair on his head. Scared me to death. Guess he's alright but I just knew id damaged him for life.



Here's Ryan in his St. Patrick's Day green get up. See the teeth?

Grandson Stone is really maturing. He came with Doug to the give away and latched on all my screwdrivers and some pliars. He loves tools. He repeats words, knows everyones name and gives hugs when he's in the mood. Don't have a recent picture of Stone to blog (hint, hint)

2 more weeks until i retire. it's like driving off a cliff with your mother-in-law in your new cadillac. Mixed emotions.

-30- for now.

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The Vessel

A vessel tarnished, broken, useless,
Was thrown on the trash heap one night.
And was found by the Master Potter,
Searching through the 'rejects of life.'

When He found this dirty old vessel,
He looked at it closely, and saw
It contained an inherent beauty,
In spite of it's obvious flaw.

He carried it back to His workshop,
His trained eye could already see,
An object of beauty and honour,
That it was intended to be.

He repaired and cleaned the old vessel.
Polished to it's natural shine
Became once more a thing of beauty,
Was truly, 'one of a kind.'

My life was that broken old vessel,
Battered, ruined, thrown away.
I lay there, no hope of recovery,
Till the Master found me that day.

He loved me, He cleansed me, redeemed me;
Adopted me as His own.
Gave to my life a brand new meaning,
Brought peace, where once there was none
by Gertrude Jefferies

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Friday, March 13, 2009

REAL FAITH GETS ACTIVE

James 2:25-26 In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead. (NIV)


The Bible can make 'good people' feel uncomfortable. Rahab was a prostitute in Jericho, but, despite her immoral lifestyle, she believed what God was going to do. Because she believed, she also acted to protect the spies who had been sent by Joshua, and did not hand them over to the local officials. She risked her life to do that, but her actions demonstrated that she really did believe what God had said to her (you can read the whole story in Joshua 2:1-20, 6:15, 6:22-23).

You do not need a good track record of pure living and religious observance to find faith in God - otherwise many would have no hope. Jesus invited despised tax collectors, unclean lepers, foreign women and prostitutes to put their faith in Him. Because faith is a whole-person encounter with Jesus, their actions showed that they believed. Anybody, however immoral or criminal can trust Jesus, and find that they are not only welcomed but also forgiven and cleansed. Their real faith will show itself to have arms and legs as well as a heart and a mouth: people will be amazed what they can do with Jesus.

Although we may not like to be conspicuous as a Christian at work, there will be times when we will either stand up for Jesus, or deny the faith we hold. Sometimes you cannot stay anonymous; the circumstances may demand that you must speak or act so that you are clearly identified with Jesus and Biblical truth. By doing so, you may have to risk your reputation, promotion or even your job. But the Bible says, "Those who honour me I will honour, but those who despise me will be disdained" (1 Sam 2:30). So, whenever the Lord allows the test to come - be ready to stand up for Jesus, whatever the cost ... because He will honour you in due time!

Simple Faith

*************************************************************
This has been one of my favorites since I was a kid.
HOME
by Edgar Guest

It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home,
A heap o' sun an' shadder, an' ye sometimes have t' roam
Afore ye really 'preciate the things ye lef' behind,
An' hunger fer 'em somehow, with 'em allus on yer mind.
It don't make any differunce how rich ye get t' be,
How much yer chairs an' tables cost, how great yer luxury;
I ain't home t' ye, though it be the palace of a king,
Until somehow yer soul is sort o' wrapped round everything.

Home ain't a place that gold can buy or get up in a minute;
Afore it's home there's got t' be a heap o' livin' in it;
Within the walls there's got t' be some babies born, and then
Right there ye've got t' bring 'em up t' women good, an' men;
And gradjerly, as time goes on, ye find ye wouldn't part
With anything they ever used -- they've grown into yer heart:
The old high chairs, the playthings, too, the little shoes they wore
Ye hoard; an' if ye could ye'd keep the thumb marks on the door.

Ye've got t' weep t' make it home, ye've got t' sit an' sigh
An' watch beside a loved one's bed, an' know that Death is nigh;
An' in the stillness o' the night t' see Death's angel come,
An' close the eyes o' her that smiled,
an' leave her sweet voice dumb.
Fer these are scenes that grip the heart,
an' when yer tears are dried,
Ye find the home is dearer than it was, an' sanctified;
An' tuggin' at ye always are the pleasant memories
O' her that was an' is no more -- ye can't escape from these.

Ye've got t' sing an' dance fer years, ye've got t' romp an' play,
An' learn t' love the things ye have by usin' 'em each day;
Even the roses 'round the porch must blossom year by year
Afore they 'come a part o' ye, suggestin' someone dear
Who used t' love 'em long ago, an' trained 'em jes' t' run
The way they do, so's they would get the early mornin' sun;
Ye've got t' love each brick an' stone from cellar up t' dome:
It takes a heap o' livin' in a house t' make it home.

From the book "A Heap o' Livin'" ©1916
Thanks to Mary Repass-Friend for this poem

jabez

Today's Verse

Perfect! - Matthew 5:46-48
"If you love only the people that love you, then you will get no reward. Even the tax collectors do that. And if you are nice only to your friends, then you are no better than other people. Even the people without God are nice to their friends. So you must be perfect, the same as your Father in heaven is perfect." (ERV)

Disaster Repair

Wow! That was a mess. Guess I'll quit while I'm not too far behind.

New Blog

Just checked out Janice Garrison's new blog. She is so talented and creative. I encourage everyone to check it out at gatheringrubies.blogspot.com/

Just Thinkin

March is a mixed bag. My brother Jimmy was born 03/03/33, my little sister Susan was born 03/14/48. Jimmy is gone now. I miss him. he was a unique guy. Susan lives in Ft. Worth. We used to talk for hours on the telephone. Now I can't hear so our communications have dropped a great deal. Susan too is very special and I wish we could be together more. Susan's birthday reminds us that our mother died in March and was buried on Susan's birthday. Mother and Susan were very close and it makes the annual birthday celebration bittersweet. Happy birthday family and know that we love you very much.

Update

Doug came up yesterday (03/09/09) and worked on the house. Trying to get it ready to pass lenders inspection. More to do than I thought. Kids are invited up next Sunday afternoon to identify what they want before we have a garage sale and get rid of everything we don't want.

Then and now

David ( Cole's husband) is back from London. Cole had a dr.'s appt. yesterday. ryan is going to have surgery soon on hernia and finish his brit milah. Ellen found my journal I started some years ago to leave my story to posterity. It got me through Jr. High. I will try to copy it to the blog and continue the story with High School and on. We had a great week and a half having Cole & Ryan staying with us. Ryan is growing and changing by the minute. He makes elephant trumpting sounds (Ryan, what does the elephant say) he gives open mouth kisses and waves hi - bye. In the words of Forrest Gump: "He's so smart Jenny."

VIP visitors

Nichole's David has gone on a business to London (Eng.) for a week and a half and Nichole and Ryan are staying with us. Great fun! We get to see them every day and play with Ryan every day. He's still young enough that i can rock him and sing songs (Byoh baby, fox popped out, Go tell aunt Sally, All my trials) and watch him learn and grow. Doesn't get much better than this in this life.



Have had a few nibbles on the house but no real bites. Time is running out. I will retire in about 40 days. Will post again soon.

Ryan is better

See below, Nichol says Ryan is playing with his toys and has NO fever. Praise the Lord!

Ryan

Nichole called last night. Ryan is running a high fever, is conjested and has a bad cough. At nine months he has a hard time understanding all this. Please pray for him.

Visitors

David, Nichole & Ryan came to see us Saturday. Nichole wanted to use Ellen's sewing machine to finish a baby quilt she was making. David volunteered to install the new ceiling light/fan in the living room. I sure am glad and grateful that he came. It took an engineering degree and way more patience than I have to get the light/fan put together and hung. We are very blessed to have such a great son-in-law.

Ryan showed off all his new talents of pulling up, crawling and being a charmer. Shortly before they left, he began to run a fever. Nichole called later to confirm his fever and say that she didn't get to baby sit Stone because of Ryan's fever. I think Doug and Shonn got Grandpa Jim to take care of Stone so they could go to the show as they had planned. When we get moved to Tulsa it will be a lot less complicated.

House for sale

Things are moving along in the realestate market. We had 2 lookers last week. The one who looked friday night came again sunday evening with 4 cars of people. Haven't heard from realitor yet but looks promising. God will do what God will do.

Update

All's well up here. Had a "looker" at the house. They wanted a bigger yard. We keep wavering between and apartment a rent house or a foreclosure. It's all mote til we sell what we got. morning temp was 17 degrees. 'spose to get up to 45 today. wupee!

Ellen

I guess Ellen is some better. She went to work this morning and called me from Walmart at lunch.

TIME MARCHES ON

Wow! Ryan has gone from dragging himself across the floor with his arms to crawling on all fours and standing alone in less than a month. It's the Broyles genes.

I have 60 days until I retire. It's kind of scary. Were doing it on a shoe string and still don't know what we'll have to pay for housing. I like the idea of maintenance free apartments but don't like the idea of living elbow to elbow with 1000 people of varying lifestyles. I give it to God and know that he will lead if we will follow.

Our house has been on the market for less than a week so we have no clue what's going to happen there.

Please pray for us to make the right decisions and recognize God's will in our lives.

MORE MENTOR MEMORIES

I just remembered some more folks on Mentor Street. Across the vacant lot where the red bull calf roamed was and elderly couple named Jeters. He was a large man who wore overalls and let me sit with him on their screened in porch.

The other neighbor was an ooooold, stooped lady who lived behind us. She raised a garden and the bull calf helped himself to the vegetables. She would run out of her house screaming, chase the calf out of the garden and complain to my parents. The bull calf couldn't have cared less. Eats is eats.

WE MOVE TO THE FARM

In January 1933 Franklin Roosevelt became President of the United States. The country was deep in a depression. In March 1933 FDR closed all the banks to reorganize them, fend off a run on the banks and establish the Federal Depositors Insurance Commission.

My brother Jimmy was born March 3, 1933 and FDR closed the banks the next day. My brother was born at home and my parents couldn’t get to their money in the bank to pay the doctor. Mother said the doctor was drunk when he delivered Jimmy and was supposed to come back later and finish the job. He never came back, Jimmy never became Jewish and I don’t know if the doctor ever got his delivery fee or not.

Many people were out of work. My father had lost his job (probably delivering beer) and jobs were hard to come by. He got up one morning and went out to find a job. It got later and later in the day and my mother got worried about what might have happened to him. Many men in that day were robbed and left for dead, walked away from their families out of frustration and hopelessness or even committed suicide not being able to face their failure and inability to provide even the basic needs of their families.

Mother was distraught and called her father, my grandfather “Gaga” asking if he could help find my dad. Gaga checked around to see where they were hiring and found my father at the bottom of a hole deeper than he was tall digging footings for the buildings at the state fair grounds. My father said you can always find a job if you are willing to work.

Daddy was always willing and rarely went more than a day or two without work.

NOTICE : CORRECTION - WE LIVED ON MENTOR ST. NOT MARSALIS.

came along. By this time the economy had improved and the family was financially stable. In another three years I came along and by the time I was two three years old we had settled in to our life on Mentor Street.

The Second World War was raging and Daddy was a Neighborhood Air Raid Warden. He had a white metal helmet with an emblem on it designating him as an o-fishul Air Raid Warden. When there was an air raid, Daddy and his fellow wardens would patrol the neighborhood at night to see that everyone’s shades were pulled tight so that no light could be seen and that no subversives were signaling the Axis powers to drop bombs on Mentor Street.

Around 1942 my parents, the son of a sharecropper and daughter of a small businessman, decided that they should go “back to the land”. After an undetermined time of searching, they found a farm in eastern Denton County about 40 miles north of Dallas and 6 miles east of Denton. Two miles north of State Highway 76 (Now US 35E) and near the small community of Corinth.

I remember the cold winter day when we drove to the farm from our home in Dallas to show Gaga and Momma Wright the farm. It was a gray dreary and we came to the farm from the east. My first sight of the house was from a break in the trees that lined the sandy road .

The farm was described legally as “80 acres, more or less” no matter what Gene Brown says. It had a 60 year old farm house (6 rooms and a path) with a hand dug 20 foot deep well at the edge of the back porch that had never gone dry in over 60 years. About 10 yards from the back of the house was an outhouse with a honeysuckle trellis in front. Helped kill the odor in the summer. The privy drew flies and the honeysuckle drew wasps and yellow jackets.

Mother couldn’t resist swatting at the wasps and yellow jackets and once when she went to use the facilities a wasp got in to the privy and Mother began to swat at it. The wasp got mad and Mother decided to retreat. As she pulled up her slacks the wasp dropped into the opening and stung her on the hip. The result was a football sized swelling, very painful and lingered for many days.

West of the privy and just east of the lane that went from the driveway to the barn was a semi-submerged, sand stone root cellar. The cellar stood at the base of a large mulberry tree. I once built a tree house in the arms of the mulberry and lived many an exciting adventure in my mind.

At the entry to the driveway stood an ancient oak tree. Sherrill says she saw it recently and it is not as large as we remember it. I know it was to big for me to get my arms around and once Daddy hung a block and tackle from one of it’s lower branches and pulled the engine out of a ‘30 something Pontiac to work on it.

The farm also had a barn with hay loft, corn crib and milk shed. There were 2 small ponds and about 1/3 to ½ of the acreage was in black jack and post oak.

When we moved to the farm there was a crop of peanuts in the field which belonged to the previous owner. That was probably the last successful crop ever planted on the land. My dad, at various times tried to raise peanuts, corn and chickens with little success.

After two or three years Daddy went back to work in Dallas selling beer. He would get up early in the morning, drive to Corinth and catch a Continental Trailways bus to get to Dallas and bus back to home after dark and a full day of humping cases of beer.

I think we lived on the farm from the time I was 4 to my freshman year in college.

STEP ONE

Friday the 23rd we met with Kathy Macintire, the realtor who is listing our house. We now have a sign in our front yard saying, in effect, that we are moving to Tulsa as soon after April 1st as we can. Between now and then we have to get signed up with Medicare on me, finish some minor repairs on the house and find an apartment in Tulsa that will be in a location we want at a price we can afford. It’s getting a little spooky but we are really excited about retiring, moving our membership to Park Plaza and being closer to the kids.

It’s really been cold today. I don’t think it got up to 35 degrees all day. Bobby Johnson, a brother at church, gave me a nice red sweater that is too large for him. I am sure I will have plenty of opportunity to wear it before spring

IN THE BEGINNING

I haven’t found my unfinished autobiography yet. Hopefully it will show up when we start getting ready to move. In whatever case, I guess I’ll start over in case it doesn’t show up.

My earliest memory is a sound. The sound of a tin toy shovel scraping against a rusty tin can buried in a sand box at our house on Marsalis Street on the southern side of Dallas, Texas. I was about 3 or 4 years old and playing with a neighbor boy in a pile of sand west of our house.

Our house was a small (though it seemed very large at the time) frame house with a single car, dirt floored garage. The only thing I remember about the interior is that there was an archway between the living room and the dining room and a door that swung both ways between the dining room and the kitchen.

I have images of sitting in the dining room at lunch listening to Mother’s soap operas and eating Campbell’s Cream of Tomato Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The radio soap operas, 15 minutes I think, included: Our Gal Sunday, Portia Faces Life, When A Girl Marries, Just Plain Bill and Stella Dallas. There was one called ----- Back Stage Wife but I don’t know if that was Stella Dallas or someone else.

Other early memories include my mother making me a Porky Pig Halloween mask out of a brown paper bag so that I could go to a Halloween party with my sister (she loved taking me --- Not!) Two little girls that lived down the street gave the party. I remember bobbing for apples and a Piñata I think.

We had a red bull calf that was staked out in the empty lot to the west of our house. I had to cross the lot to get to a friends house and the calf would try to run and butt me when I crossed the lot. I was terrified of the calf.

On the east side of our house lived Mr. Johnson, a Dallas Fireman, who had a big stallion in his back yard. The horse got in to a shed or garage where the oats were kept and foundered on the feed. I remember going with my dad one evening and keeping a vigil with men of the neighborhood as the horse slowly died.

I also remember the time the city paved the street with tar. The tar came in large rolls wrapped in heave paper. When needed, it would be chopped into manageable chunks and put into a cooker, which melted the tar so it could be spread on the street. Until it was used, the cylinders stood unguarded by the side of the street waiting for little boys to gouge are cut off chunks and chew it like gum. I don’t know whether this was a macho thing or whether we thought it tasted good. We did it either way.

My dad had a friend who lived nearby named “Cub” Mitchell. Mr. Mitchell had worked in Panama in Central America who came back with tales of seeing donkeys being swallowed by Boa Constrictors.
Next time: MOVING TO THE FARM

Thursday Group

Ellen & I spent yesterday evening at the home of close friends & bro./sis. in Christ Larry & Janice Garrison. We are in a group of about a dozen Christians who meet every Thursday night at someones home for fellowship and Bible study. We have been meeting for about 2 1/2 years and have become very close and supportive. We will miss the group and may have to come back on Thursday night once in a while. I know that we will make many new friends at the Park Plaza but we will cherish the memory of our family here. (These are silver, those are gold)

The realtor is supposed to come by this afternoon to talk about listing the house, selling price, need for improvements etc. The closer we can get to $100,000 the better. Pray for us please.

This is my daughter "Cole" who got me started on blogging. Ain't she purddy? She's purddy inside too. It's pretty grainy because I cropped it from a picture of my extended family. Maybe she will put a photo on her blog site so I won't have to use this one. Huh? You think?

Well, now I'll have to edit this sense my purddy daughter put in a new pitcher. Hits purddy tho ain't it?

Guess I opened a hornets nest with my first blog. I thought most people here knew by now that we were planning to move to Tulsa. Seems I was wrong. Haven't found my autobiography yet. It's buried in some box of books somewhere. Hopefully I will find it when we move. Sure don't want to start all over again. That covers a lot of territory. (almost 71 years)

phurst thyme

I have no idea what i'm doin but my daughter told me to get a blog. i'll b doin my lif story soon. This is my youngest grandson Ryan. His mama made me do this. He's 9 mo. old and just started to crawl. nothing is safe anymore.