Billy Sherman Was a Horse!

This morning, at Waverly church, my sweet Miss Inez had the greatest story for me. It was about a horse named Billy Sherman. During the Civil War.in November 1861, a local regiment was raised in Lockport...Lockport is near Niagra Falls, New York The regiment was Battery M and part of the 1st Regiment New York Light Artillery and was mustered out of Rochester and sent to Washington to defend the Capitol. The key player of this story...was the Chief Bugler, Pvt. Lorenzo Pratt of Wilson. Pratt served in the War three and a half years and was one of the lucky ones...he lived to tell about it. According to the Niagra Historical Society, "he and Battery M saw action in almost every major battle including Bull Run, Antietam, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, Chattanooga, Peach Tree Creek, the March to the Sea, and the campaigns of the Carolinas. During the Battle of Chattanooga in November 1863, Pratt captured a Confederate horse whom he named “Billy Sherman” after the famous general who had marched to the sea. Billy was a dark bay and stood 15 hands high. Pratt rode his new horse for the duration of the war and proudly brought him back to Wilson in June of 1865. Lorenzo Pratt finally returned to his life as a farmer on the Wilson-Burt Road. Billy became his chief workhorse as well as a much-loved friend. Every year on Decoration Day (now Memorial Day) and other patriotic holidays, Billy would be decked out in equestrian military regalia and join in the local parades. He was a favorite attraction with children and with the aging members of the GAR (Grand Army of the Republic). Age caught up with Billy too, but he was still working three days before he died on September 1, 1887. It was estimated that Billy was at least thirty years old when he passed away. An Army blanket was placed over his body and an American flag over his head. A poem about Billy was read aloud and then he was buried on the farm of his beloved master, Lorenzo Pratt. For many years, the Pratt family maintained Billy’s grave and the GAR placed a flag there every Decoration Day. Gradually however, those guardians either moved or passed away. Billy’s grave was almost lost to history, until, on September 1, 1973, 86 years after his death, the Wilson Historical Society placed a boulder with a historic marker on the side of the road not far from his final resting place. The marker is located on north side of Wilson-Burt Road about a mile east of the village of Wilson. It also includes three flags, the American, the Confederate and the Tennessee state flag." I don't know about you, but I thought that was a touching story....a good one for Sunday.

Plans Dashed - Sigh!

Kathryn called me last night, very sad. It broke my heart to hear the anguish in her voice...when I asked her what was wrong she told me she had just caught up on my blog..."Oh!" was all I could think to say. It occurred to me that all week my posts were a bit on the morbid side. so I thought last night I would write a happy one today. I thought I would write a lovely post about how wonderful my weekend was going to be. The key word here is WAS. You see,This week was my anniversary....and since there was not a free night to celebrate we thought we would do something special on Saturday. It was going to have to be early because I have a bowling board meeting at 5....that puts a crimp on Saturday night as a special night. Anyways, we were going to a scrapbooking session on Friday night from 6 - 12 at Rocky Creek Church and become scrapbook fiends....We were both looking forward to the weekend...and were so excited. I keep up with the Whistlestop Cafe blog and thought...how fun...something we have never done...this restaurant is the one in the Fannie Flagg book, Fried Green Tomatoes; It is famous! I emailed the restaurant...got specifics...and made the plans. Frank and I were both delighted about spending Saturday in B'ham. The best laid plans of mice and men....I got an email at work on Friday that postponed the scrapbooking session until next Friday night....ok...no biggie...but I should have known....the weekend was doomed. Frank got home about 5 with news that he had to work on Saturday. It seems it is the last day of deer hunting season and the other guy wanted to be off so he could go. Only in the South does deer hunting trump an anniversary. Sigh...so here I sit, with Frank at work, I COULD be cleaning house...but I don't want to. I COULD be scrapbooking...but I don't want to...I thought I would post...and let you in on how my weekend is going so far....LOL...I am not concerned...after all an anniversary...is just a date....we can celebrate it anytime....I am learning that lesson these days...Thanksgiving, Christmas, Anniversary...heck even a birthday is just on a day....a state of mind....you can party all year if you want to. So..with that said, rain pouring down outside (wouldn't have been fun in B'ham anyways), a little J.T.(James Taylor) on the stereo...if it were five o'clock...I would have a Margarita...and wish myself a Happy Anniversary....as it is...I am in my p.j.'s, with a cold Diet Coke...blogging. Who would have it any other way! Happy Saturday to you all!

Dream a Little Dream...

When I was a teen, I loved the Mama's and the Papa's. I would spend hours in my room crooning out their songs, "Dedicated to the One I Love," "California Dreaming," and "Monday, Monday." You see, I was a beach girl...the only problem was, I was an east coaster and they were talking about the west coast...thus began my fascination with the Pacific Coast. The biggest draw to the west coast was I thought if I could just get close to Mama Cass I would have arrived. I loved the sound of her voice and wanted to sing just like her...especially the sound of Dream a Little Dream. She was the greatest. I was devastated when before I could get to California...Mama Cass died. My world was rocked. So, today....as you listen to my first song on my play box...close your eyes and think of one of the greats....Mama Cass Elliot. I did not know a whole lot about Mama Cass then, but today we have internet...so I went searching for Cass facts...and I want to share with my readers some things I found on the Cass Elliot website. I did not even know there was one until I went surfing around on the web. Did you know that she was not always Cass Elliot....she was actually born Ellen Naomi Cohen on September 19, 1941 in Baltimore, Maryland. I guess Mama Cass has a better ring to it than Mama Ellen. Anyways excuse my digression, "she grew up in Washington D.C. and in her senior year of high school, she performed in a summer stock production of "The Boyfriend" at the Owings Mills Playhouse where she played the French nurse who sings "It's Nicer, Much Nicer in Nice." After this experience Cass into the world of performance. "She made a splash in New York and began an acting career, competing with Barbra Streisand for the Miss Marmelstein part in "I Can Get It for You Wholesale" in 1962. She toured in a production of Meredith Wilson's "The Music Man." Elliot also produced a play at Cafe La Mama in New York." (from Cass Elliot website)
"By early 1963 she had met up with Tim Rose and John Brown and formed a folk trio initially dubbed The Triumvirate, yet later known as The Big 3 when Brown was replaced by James Hendricks. The Big 3 were a progressive and innovative folk trio who recorded two albums and made appearances on The Tonight Show, Hootenanny and the Danny Kaye Show. In 1964 the group had begun to fall apart and it metamorphasized into a foursome called "Cass Elliot and The Big 3" which included Canadians, Denny Doherty and Zal Yanovsky (Tim Rose had left at this point). Soon this foursome became The Mugwumps who operated out of The Shadows nightclub in Washington. They released a single for Warner Brothers and stayed together through the end of 1964, until they too began to disintegrate. Cass Elliot began to work as a solo single in Washington, D.C." Ever listen to the lyrics of the Mama's and Papa's song, Creeque Alley? It is very historical....but I am getting ahead of myself...
"At this point Denny Doherty had joined John and Michelle Phillips and the three were performing as The New Journeymen. Soon they left for the Virgin Islands where Cass subsequently joined them and the four began to sing together in mid-1965. Thus the superstar group The Mamas and The Papas was born. From 1965-1968 the Mamas and Papas recorded a series of top ten hits including "Monday, Monday," "California Dreamin'," "I Saw Her Again," and "Dedicated to the One I Love.""
"The group's last hit was a launching number for Cass Elliot. "Dream A Little Dream Of Me" became Cass' theme song and beginning in 1968 she embarked on her own short-lived but solid solo career. Her distinct voice had always emerged from the groups in which she sang." This woman could sing....and in every single group she sang in or with...her's was the voice that stood out. What a singer. So, it was with great sadness when on July 29, 2974...I woke up to find out that Mama Cass Elliot had died. She was only 33 years old. How sad. The newspapers...reported many different causes for her death...some of them were not pretty...I think the one that bothered me the most was that it was reported she choked to death on a ham sandwich. As a larger person...anytime food is attributed to anything bad in our lives...it comes out negative. Mama Cass was no exception. I was delighted when I discovered that the cause of her death was NOT a ham sandwich(she had not even eaten one that day), or drugs( you have to remember the times), but it was something very serious...that had probably plagued her for a long time....Mama Cass was dead at 33 from myocardial degeneration due to obesity...and the world lost one of the greatest singers of all times. Everytime I hear her voice...I remember a time....when I was younger...and the world was different...and I close my eyes...and dream a little dream...

January 28th, 1986 was a Very Sad Day

On January 28th, 1986 I was at home with a sick child. Kat was 5 and had the flu. While she slept peacefully on the couch, I watched late breaking news and cried silently where I sat. Why was I crying? I was crying because right before my eyes I watched the Challenger explode just after liftoff , killing everyone of the seven astronauts aboard. This was the 10th trip for Challenger and included a teacher from New Hampshire...her name was Christa MacAuliffe. I had never met her, but had followed her career...because I too was a teacher. Christa MacAuliffe was among the astronauts as part of a new Teacher in Space project. The Launch was shown live on CNN and many schools set up televisions for children to watch due to the involvement of a teacher in the shuttle. I sat at home, holding my sleeping daughter and crying silently. Christa MacAuliffe was the only name I knew on this particular flight....later I would find out that the other crew members were Michael J. Smith, Dick Scobee, and Ronald McNair, as well as Ellison Onizuka,Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik. A warning was ignored that certain equipment on the ship was vulnerable at new temperatures...a warning was ignored...and right before our eyes...the Challenger ceased to be. I grew up watching take offs from Cape Canaveral/Kennedy. I loved them. I loved watching the rockets drop the boosters, I loved the thought of going to space...the unknown...I wanted to BE a Christa MacAuliffe....but right then...I was glad I was safely tucked in the confines of my own house...and could wake up tomorrow and hold my daughter....again. The lives of the astronauts were over...and now...twenty four years later....do you remember the names of the astronauts that died...reaching for the stars? Christa MacAuliffe is still a recognized name in the world of educators...because just like in life...she is still encouraging us to reach for the stars.

James - Student Under Fire

I have taught for over 20 years and over those years I have had some interesting characters in my classes. One of my most interesting and troubling students was James*(name changed). When I attended the SunBelt Writers Project at Auburn University we had to write a program about someone who had shaken our belief system. I chose James.

Ode to James
James enters the classroom, surveys all present. Sees his buddy Fred and a playful puppy is ther for the day. This day is a rare one, Fred doesn't come much. James is a child in a man's body this day. He seeks constant attention and stroking from me and leaves me drained at the end of the hour. This was one of the good days.
His Fila shoes and fade are status symbols of his project life that seems a million miles away this day. His clothes, clean but few, are the outward signs that he is stylin' with the best. Oh, James, the outside is only a small part of you. I wish you understood that today.
Then comes the day when Fred does not appear and James enters the room like an angry mastiff tossed into too many gambling arenas for entertainment.
Untouchable, snarling, unfeeling, angry, hurt, with a mouth as big as all outdoors. He pushes into the room. There will be no learning here today.
I pass his desk and he reeks of alcohol. I must deal with this breach, but will I lost him in the process? His large, dark, question eyes haunt me day and night.
I know there is something special beneath this facade of contradictions. At my bleakest moments, feeling like a failure, James looks into my eyes and with his lopsided smile, assures me that we are OK...at least for today...and that is enough to hope for. With James it will always be one day at a time.

Happy Anniversary!

Today, January 26th, seven years ago I got married at the end of the Arbor Service at First United Methodist Church. It was a perfect day. My daughter, Kat and our good friend Robert stood up for us. Behind us, was a congregation of wonderful people who came to share in this wonderful event. So, bear with me a bit....I want to let my sweet Frank know how special that day....and every day since has been.

When You Found Each Other
When we found each other,
we gained the finest prize:
companions to share life’s joys,
a friend who lightens burdens,
whose company is always a comfort.
When we found each other,
we embraced the love we had dreamed of,
the source of endless pleasure
and memories to treasure.
May this anniversary remind us
of how precious that day was,
when we found each other.

I love you baby!

Simply Charming

Throughout my lifetime I have gone through series after series of collections. Of course, they all depend on the age I am at the time, and what I where my interests lie. For example, when I was 10 I collected Barbies....of course I really did not COLLECT them...I got them to play with. Yes, even though I was a TomBoy....I was also a closet Barbie Doll player. Later in life it was music prints, glass apples, lighthouses, angels,...as a matter of fact, I told my mom one year that I was no longer collecting lighthouses any more. She seemed shocked and asked me what I was going to collect? Like...you MUST collect SOMETHING....so I said, "One hundred dollar bills." She did not think that was too funny. I, on the other hand, thought it was a scream. I quit collecting when it becomes not fun anymore. I started collecting lighthouses by getting a small statue every time I went to a lighthouse...BUT, then the world started giving me lighthouses...and it no longer meant the same thing. When I was in high school my mom worked for Yetta Oakes Antiques in Palm Beach....I would go and help uncrate stuff and put it out for display. I loved the smell of the antique store...and I loved the stories I would invent for the different pieces of collectibles we unwrapped. For graduation...Yetta gave me a set of four gold rimmed glasses. I remember the day they came in from an estate sale in upstate New York...I loved them then...I love them now...but that is a different story....One day, in a rag-tag box...came in a plate, salad plate, and cup...it was Christmas green....and square! I loved it. I asked Yetta about it and found out it was called Charm. It was not anything pricy...but it was pretty. My paycheck that week brought the square stuff home with me. I am not an avid collector of Forest Green Charm....but I have a solid selection of the stuff. If I find a piece, and it is within my budget, I add it to my collection.

Years later I would discover Forst Green Bupee and Bupee Swirl glasses. They really do make a pretty tablescape and with my 10.00 Family Dollar store Christmas dishes...they make my inexpensive offering...on a table look like something straight out of Martha Stewart Living. I love it! It is especially beautiful...with some green candlesticks, not Forest Green, I found at a Thrift Store, and the green footed punch bowl, complete with 12 cups, my mom found in Tyler, Texas. I do so love to set tables up.

I think the Charm is simply Chah - ming...don't you? I have often thought about adding the Ruby Red dishes to the green....but then...I think....Nope...I am a Forest Green kindagirl and would not have it any other way! Happy Antiquing!