Snookums

It seems like I have known Tony forever. I guess we’ve been friends since 1997 when I first got into real estate. He was a loan officer and also a good friend. Oh, did I mention that I’m old enough to be his mother? Well, anyway, I had the buyers for a property and they were ready to continue their paperwork with Tony. I can’t remember all the details but I remember Tony and I were going to wait at McDonalds until I got a counter back from the listing agent. The listing agent came in and asked if Tony and I were married….. We looked at each other and kind of laughed. I thought is he nuts? So after the listing agent left, Tony looked at me and said “Snookums, do you want some more coffee?” It has been our joke ever since. Tony has since found the woman of his dreams! Susan is such a wonderful wife and mother. I helped them find their “dream house.” Tony is not a loan officer anymore, and I really miss that. Thank you Tony for your great sense of humor and also being the good friend you’ve always been. DR

Eddie

I was 16 years old and I had gone to spend the night with my best friend, Diane. Yeah, they called us the two Diane’s. She was a blonde and my hair was jet black. She lived up the hill from me. We always went straight through the park to get to each other’s house. Well, this particular night, Diane’s mother was at work and her grandmother, Momsie really didn’t care what we did. Well, not that we ever did anything bad. For one thing, I was scared of my shadow. Diane had her boyfriend come over and he brought “Eddie” with him. To this day I do not know Eddie’s last name. The thing I do remember is the song, The Lion Sleeps Tonight. Yeah, another song to remind me of a time and place. Eddie wore a black leather jacket and was he ever cute. I never saw Eddie again after that night. It was a fun night. We didn’t do anything except some hugging and kissing which was a biggie for me back then. Oh Eddie, I wonder what ever happened to you? DR 11/9/12

Veteran's Day - 2012

Today I’m remembering that my dad served in World War II. I’m really thankful that he did because I was able to get him VA benefits for him and my mother when they were in assisted living. I remember when I first started the process my dad said you won’t ever get anything. I asked him if he had ever tried and he said yes. I asked him when and he said right after he got out of the service. I laughed and told him that he didn’t have me to get them for him. He said he didn’t care, I wouldn’t get anything. Well, it was a long process. You wouldn’t believe the hours and hours I put in—not only on the computer trying to fill out forms but also going over to the VA center at Eastgate. There were many days that I got over there before 8 a.m. and stayed minimum of 4 hours. It was worth it though. Because of the VA benefits my mother and dad were able to be taken care of properly. I wanted to be able to take them into my home, but my husband had also gotten ill at the same time. At first when everyone got sick, I have to admit that I felt sorry for myself. I kept asking myself, why me? Why is all of this happening to me and then I realized that it wasn’t “me”. I was the person here who could take control and know what to do and do what was right for each one of them. Yes, at times it hurt. At times my dad who had never raised his voice to me in my life took all of his frustrations and hurts out on me. I was a Daddy’s girl and he always defended me about any and everything. Charles helped me as long as he was able to and he would ride with me to assisted living. It meant a lot to just have him in the car to help me with my emotions after I left both of them. My mother was in her own little world while my dad had complete control of his senses. He couldn’t deal with all that was taking place. Because the VA benefits kicked in I no longer had to do their laundry every week. I was able to pay assisted living to take care of that. I remember one time I walked in with about 4 laundry baskets that I had folded—just for my mother—and a man asked if I did laundry for everyone. I had to laugh and tell him that was just my mother’s laundry. All I ever told my dad is that I did get VA benefits for him and my mother. I never told him how much. It took me a year to get them started and the VA went back to day one to start the checks. The first check got me out of a financial bind with their own personal money. My parents weren’t rich by any means, but my mother was very good with money. I just wish I had listened better when she was taking me with her to take care of their financial affairs. My mother never knew that everything was okay as far as money was ooncerned, she was just happy that she was being taken care of. When I took her to assisted living she thought she was in a huge house and had maids who were cleaning and cooking for her. Oh, the beauty of our minds! Thank you VA for making life so much easier not only for me but for my parents! DR – 11/11/12

My Life is Like a Song

Sometimes I feel like my life is like a song. Somebody will say something and I automatically think of a song. Seems so crazy, but I put so much humor in everything I do, it’s really just like me to have a song for everything I do. I can hear a song on the radio and I automatically think of a time and place in my life. Sometimes it’s a very good memory and sometimes it brings back a heartbreaking time in my life. When I was growing up, I don’t believe my mother or dad ever heard my voice. I had everything in my room—telephone (rotary), tv (black and white, by the way), my Voice of Music hi fi as it was called back then. We were so poor and I didn’t have a clue that we were. I felt rich because I had everything I needed. My mother gave me $3 a week, but I had to have supper on the table every night and keep the house clean. I also sewed aprons for my mother to sell to her fellow workers. I did a little bit of everything to make money. I also made all of my clothes from the time I was 10. When I got to high school the girls in my home economics class didn’t like to sew so I brought home lots of collars, or sleeves, whatever it was we were sewing at the time. I charged 25 cents per collar or sleeve. Looks like the teacher would have wondered why they all looked alike. When I talked on the telephone it was usually to help somebody with math, or some subject. I was so shy that if you looked at me I would turn blood red. I know, I know nobody believes that at all today. People wonder what happened to the person who never opened her mouth. I had to make a speech at our ninth grade commencement and I thought I would die. If I had an oral book report in English, I would throw up and throw up the night before. I just couldn’t do it. This remained to be the case for me in my adult years until I married Charles. I remember I had gone to Huntsville, AL for a big meeting where I was recognized for recruiting five women in one month into a company I was involved in. When I stood up and was going to speak, my mouth moved, but nothing came out. I was so embarrassed. I wanted to crawl under a table. I cried all the way home. Charles told me it was okay that I would stop being that way. He always told me how smart he thought I was and one time he even said, “you’re way smarter than I even thought.” He encouraged me and I guess all of his encouragement paid off—or maybe he just created a monster! I remember how afraid I was to do anything. I wanted to go to a big meeting in Dallas, TX called “Celebration” and Charles told me that I needed to go by myself. He told me if he went I would cling to him and not talk to anybody. So, I kept talking about having to fly to Dallas by myself and a woman that I worked with told me she would go with me to that thing in Dallas if we would go to Southfork. At that time the tv series “Dallas” was very popular. I told her yes we would go. I’ll never forget the look on Charles’ face when I got on that airplane. He knew that I had not slept for two weeks before that trip. My friend told me to close my eyes and hold her hand, that it would be all right. As soon as the airplane started down the runway and began takeoff, I started smiling and I told Cherry that I thought I was going to love to fly. I did become a frequent flyer. I flew to Dallas several years every six months—by myself. I loved to fly. Charles told me he was going to teach me to be independent and I believe he did a good job. I still have those times that I cringe inside, but nobody can tell. When I hear Kool and the Gang when they sing “Celebration”, yes it reminds me of my trips to Dallas. That was always the theme song. I think of the first time I flew to Dallas everytime I hear it. That trip was so exciting. I really believed that I could be up on that stage the next year and win a fur coat. I called Charles and told him and he got excited too. I was telling him what he wanted to hear. The next year I was on that stage. Nobody knew if I was in Top Ten or not, but I knew that Charles believed I would be. He told me when number 11 came out, he clapped, he shouted and another husband said, oh I bet you’re proud of your wife. Charles said, Hell no, my wife has won a fur coat. He said when number 10 came out, he thought she didn’t make it by the skin of her teeth, then number 9, and I was number 8 out of 50 states. I still have my Blue Fox Fur with my signature monogrammed on the inside. They had to stop giving furs because of so much controversy but to me it means a lot. It showed me that with persistence and encouragement, you can do anything. The time came that I gave that part of my life up and I got into real estate. I remember during the training I got into my car and called Charles and told him I just didn’t think that I could do this. I was crying. He calmly told me to put my car into gear and come home. He said I have invested a lot of money in you and you can do this. I’ve been in real estate since 1997. I have my broker’s license in both Tennessee and Georgia. I was even a Managing Broker at one time. I became the Managing Broker over a man who had owned and managed a real estate office for almost 40 years. I remember that first Christmas I gave him a thank you card for all the help he had given me. He came to my office and said that he had not done a thing. He told me that I was smart on my own and he would even ask me for advice. He will never know how much that meant to me. It was during that time that my life fell apart. The three people closest to me all got sick at the same time. Another story, another time. It seems my life with Charles was a time of learning. He was my teacher. I have many stories I can tell about him. He had that warped sense of humor that I tend to also have. He was not a people person. He was the kind of person that the more you were around him, the better you liked him. I knew the “real” Charles. Well, my life is still a song. I’m hearing new melodies. I look forward to each day now. I have the optimistic view that good things are going to happen. What songs am I hearing? Guess that will be for another time.

Beat It

The year was 1988. I needed a new car. We looked everywhere, and finally Charles asked me what do you really want? I told him I had always wanted an RX 7. He checked the prices and he told me that an RX 7 was out of our price range, and he gave me a number that we couldn’t go over. Right now, I don’t remember what that number was. After that weekend, there was a huge ad in the newspaper from Scenic City Mazda. They used to be on Rossville Boulevard, and guess what, there was an RX 7 advertised under Charles’ quote to me. He was still working at TVA downtown then, and I called him and told him that God wanted me to have that car. He told me he would meet me at the dealership at noon. I took the ad with me. You see, they only advertise one car at the sales price in the newspaper but they put the VIN number in. The salesman told us that there wasn’t an RX 7 there for that price. But, I am very persistent, and I found it! The salesman asked if we wanted to take it for a test drive and of course I said yes! That salesman really trusted us because only 2 people could ride in that car. It was gray with kind of a dark red interior and of course had the 5-speed shift in the floor. As I started the car and proceeded to go to the road, Charles asked me what I thought, and I looked at him and I said, “I think I’m in love!” Of all the cars I have had in my lifetime, that RX 7 was my favorite. I kept it about 10 years. I guess you’re wondering why I put the title as “Beat It”. I used to play Michael Jackson’s Beat It and it was great to shift gears to. I listened to “Beat It” in my car the other day, and it brought back my memories of getting my RX 7 and how much I loved to drive it. It’s a wonder I never got a ticket because it was so easy to do 100 mph in that car. Funny how a song can bring back “fun” memories DR 10/30/12.

Susie

I don’t think I have ever met anybody like Susie before. She is one of the funniest people I have ever been around. She is also one of the busiest persons I’ve ever been around. She’s up at the crack of dawn and last night she was still up at midnight when I left her house doing of all things, making pumpkin bread for her company. She called me this morning to tell me that she had already made two more loaves of bread, which was time consuming since she had only one loaf pan and each loaf required an hour to bake. She had already made ready for company coming tonight and she had timed herself to finish her housework to get ready to come to Chattanooga to meet some old friends for lunch. I tell you, just hearing what she does every day wears me out. She has more energy than the energizer bunny. But one of her qualities I love is that no matter what the circumstances may be, she can laugh and when she laughs it is contagious! You can’t help but love her! Everybody in her hometown knows her and they’ve even asked her to run for Mayor. I don’t think she can fit that position into her busy schedule. Susie also helps her daughter with her granddaughter who is a special needs child. She is 10 years old now. It is so heartbreaking and that’s the only time you will see Susie start to shed tears and then she will think of something funny and there we go again. I just have to tell you that I had been feeling depressed. Well you might say I was having a Pity Party and I was definitely the star! Susie had asked me to come down so I did. We went to a high school football game—I have never been to a football game in my life! I didn’t dress warm enough and we took the blanket we were sitting on and decided to cover ourselves up with it. Well, not only was the game interesting, by the way the home team lost, but one of the players for the visiting team was hurt. It was very emotional to see that entire visiting team from a Christian high school get down on their knees and pray for their injured fellow player. The ambulance came and took him to the field where Life Force from Chattanooga came to get him. I still don’t know what happened to him, but I do hope he is ok. Susie was worried about me because I had not eaten supper (that’s what we say in the South) and so at 10 p.m. central time we’re at the Cracker Barrel. We were out by the time they closed. Susie took me back to her house with instructions to call her as soon as I got home. I called her and told her my ride home was uneventful until a policeman followed me with flashing bluelights. I knew I was under the speed limit, for a change, and it scared me. He pulled alongside me and asked if I was ok that I had been weaving a bit. I told him I was ok and he told me to be careful. I was weaving because I was trying to see why he was following me. Thank you Susie for such a fun filled night that was so full of laughing at nothing. I can’t wait to do it again. DR 10/27/12

Miracles in My Life

There have been many miracles in my life, but for now I will only touch on the major ones that have happened. I’ll never forget the Sunday night in church I prayed for a baby. My pastor had just preached a message on faith and I bowed my head and said, oh God I’ve been praying about this all wrong and now I am thanking you in advance, because I know you’re going to give me a baby. I don’t know how, when, or where but I know that you will grant this request. The next day I found out about an evangelist named Lester Roloff and he had the Rebekkah Home for Girls in Corpus Christi, TX. I told my husband that we needed to go to our pastor’s house immediately and try to call this man. He said, oh we need to pray about this and I said I prayed yesterday and this is my answer. Well to shorten this story quite a bit, my husband prayed that we would have a healthy baby and I prayed that I wanted a brown haired, blue eyed little girl. And today my little brown haired blued eyed little girl has two sons of her own. I believe in praying in detail. I’ll never forget the day that I stopped into a little furniture store in East Ridge and started chatting with the owner about my husband who was going in two weeks for tests at Vanderbilt for a heart transplant. Suddenly he said he was supposed to pray for my husband and I was “standing in his place”. He said the virus in his heart was still there and he was going to cast it out. Needless to say, that frankly scared me to death. I was frozen and could not move. After that prayer, he said he needed to pray for me that I would have peace,. He told me that in two weeks the doctor would tell my husband he would not need a heart transplant. He wanted me to come back and see him when we returned. I thanked him, asked him what church he belonged to and I hit the door running. I must say that after the first day of tests they cancelled all the tests for the next day. The next day his doctor told him that they didn’t know what had happened, but he did not need a heart transplant. He lived another 14 years after that, and I’m so thankful that someone had the courage to obey God and pray for that person. Now, here I come to what I would like to be a miracle. Some may think I am silly, but here goes. My husband died 2-1/2 years ago. I’m lonely. I don’t want to replace the man I was married to for 25-1/2 years, nobody could ever be like him. He was a unique person. He was good to me, taught me to be independent, made sure I had no debts except for utilities, taxes, and just the major things that have to be paid. So back in September, I asked God for a man to come into my life. Not just any man, like I said I do pray in detail. I asked God that he be tall, salt and pepper hair, good looks, professional, a caring and loving person. You need to pray in detail because I really don’t want someone that can stand under my arm, bald, dumb—well, you see what I mean. Will God answer my prayer? I don’t know. I hope He does. I’ve also thanked God for this man and I don’t know how, when, or where this will happen. But I do know that God does not make any mistakes. He may have already answered my prayer. I’ll let you know.