Summer in the South.

We who are native Southerners, which is state of mind as much as it is a place of birth, are well familiar with the concept of global warming.

In South Florida where I grew up it typically started by mid-April, and in most years would extend well into October.

The technical term we used then was "Summertime" however.


I well remember one occasion where my mother took a thermometer out into our back yard in direct sunlight in August to see whether the temperature that the Chamber of Commerce proclaimed was indeed 89. Shortly thereafter the thermometer shattered from the heat!
So much for that particular misinformation!

We didn't have air conditioning until I was a Senior in High School, and then it was only a couple of rather ineffective window units placed in the louvered glass windows that were common in our Cinder Block homes of that era.

But they were a far sight better than the old metal fans we had for 'cooling' prior to that.
All they were good for was that we kids could yell into them from behind and listen to the bizarre things they would do to our squeeky little voices.
Hey, Nintendo hadn't been invented yet, we had to amuse ourselves!

No one could really get a good nights sleep then, you were soaked all night long.
It never really cools off in Florida in the summer like it does here in the Carolinas.
Your sweat when you sleep, when you arise, and soon after you towel off from your morning shower your start the entire process over.

Lovely memories, those!
No wonder our mothers, most of whom were stay at home back then, were short tempered and lacking in patience with we heathen kids.
I don't remember a June Cleaver among them.
At least my mom never wore a cocktail dress and pearls when she did her daily chores.

But we had many ways to entertain ourselves and beat the summer doldrums.

The corner drug store was only a couple of blocks away, and was owned and operated by a wonderful French Canadian man by the name of Rene'. He even delivered prescriptions to those in the neighborhood who could not get out to pick them up.

It was a wonderful place to hang out, and Rene seemed to enjoy having us around.
He knew all of us by name, and he knew our parents if we did get out of line.
Candies galore, Mary Janes, Sweet Tarts (the giant ones that one could make last an entire day), Sugar Daddies, and a host of other wonderful tooth rotting specials were available for a nickle or a dime.

We all knew when our favorite comics were due each month.
When I was in grade school they were only a dime, and when they increased the price to 12 cents we all screamed. But we still bought them by the skein.
The Batman, Superman, the Archie Series, and later on Spiderman and the Fantastic Four were favorities.
It's hard to imagine now, but WWII was only 15 to 20 years removed during our childhood.
Desert Storm is 16 years in the past from us now!
My male buddies and I liked the War comics of the era.
Sargeant Rock and Easy Company was our favorite.
I just recently realized that series was based on the Easy Company of the 506th P.I.R./101st Airborne that is depicted in "Band of Brothers"
We didn't know we were getting some history thrown in with our cheap amusement!

The Coke machine kept the drinks ice cold, unlike today, and in bottles.
In my opinion they never taste as good in either cans or the plastic bottles of today.
We saved the bottles until we could redeem them to buy, surprise!
More Coke and candy! What a country!
Diet Coke? You've got to be joking! The way we all sweat (OK, perspired for you faint at heart) we never worried about too much weight.
And we had a diversion for amusement that is totally unfamiliar to most kids today.
It was called "Playing Outside".
A mysterious concept to be sure.
First one opened the break in the wall most houses still have.
It's called a "Door".
Then one went through the door into "The Outdoor World".
And we actually played baseball, football and basketball, on real fields, and on real asphalt courts. I would leave home right after breakfast for the local elementary school field, come home for lunch, and then stay out playing ball until supper time.
And quite often after supper we were out in the street playing touch football until it was too dark to see the ball.
Our thumbs may have not been particularly well developed, but we for the most part had no problem in keeping ourselves from porking out.
Sometimes we just ran, for the sake of running, and when not running we rode "bikes"
Not the ones most folks have in their homes now, when they don't have clothes hanging on them they are "ridden", but the rider never gets out of their room.

No, these bikes actually moved from place to place, and we had to deal with flat tires, scraped knees, dogs nipping at our heels, etc.
And also the occasional bully, when we strayed into the wrong block.
Speaking of bullies, and looking back now I realize some of them were actually thugs.
Our parents didn't always bail us out when we encountered them.
And I don't ever remember anyone being led out of elementary or Junior High in handcuffs for fighting, either.
We were expected to learn to take care of ourselves in normal circumstances.
And our teachers, including the principal and coaching staff had a unique solution of their own for dealing with bullies and those that started fights.
It was called a "paddle", and they administered it effectively.
The reaction to a paddling when your little darling received one from the parent of that day was to determine whether it was warranted and fairly delivered.
If so, the next event in the sequence was commonly another paddling (or 'beatin, as Bill Cosby calls it) at home!

The fear of one kept most of us out of trouble.
I never got one in school, and neither did any of my chums.
And none of us have ever spent a night in jail, either.

All of the parents in our world conspired against us.
If they saw one of us doing something we shouldn't, our mom's knew about it before we even got home.
They dealt with it themselves normally.
The most serious offenses got you the dreaded "Wait until your dad gets home!"
That was akin to being told that Christmas had been cancelled, at least for you.


Mr Lizard, one of the many sneaky reptiles and other creatures that allow us to live here on their lot.














But, I digress. It was hot! And it's hot here today, the air temp will reach 99 or so.
And I have my A/C going as I write this.

But we played outside anyhow.
My own dear mother, when she had enough of us on any given summers day
(normally by 9:00am she had reached that point)
would shoo us outside, and then lock the door on us!
"Find something to do! If you are bleeding or need to use the bathroom let me know.
Otherwise stay outside and play!"
When we got older and complained about boredom she would put us to work.

Queen Felicia tells me that her punishment from Nana for admitting boredom on a summer's day was to be put to task ironing.
She hates ironing to this day, and avoids it like a tax audit.
"I'm doing it, but I ain't liking it!"

Me, there was always something to do around the yard in Florida.
By the time I finished mowing the front and started on the back, the front had already grown back.
And now I do the yard work for exercise and to maintain my sanity (What is left of it)
Go figure!

Simply put, it is supposed to get hot this time of year, especially south of the Mason Dixon line.
Go out and enjoy The Creators world anyway, and then come back into the cool and have a cold drink.
Watch less T.V. (unless it's baseball of course), listen to your favorite music, walk, sit on your deck and porch, and get yourselves a grill if you don't have one.
There is something primal and grounding about cooking over charcoal (my apologies to Hank Hill, but propane does not give food the proper flavor).
If you're lucky enough to have friends and family in the area, hang out together and enjoy life.

Teach your kids to play ball, and take those confounded computers and video games away from them!
They do retard their social skills, their imagination, and they also make them fat little couch piggies!

If you have musuems in your area, take them!
They are air conditioned, and they might even learn something accidentally.


The Queen during a recent visit to the Mariner's museam in Newport News VA., talking to her sister K on the phone.
She didn't know I was lurking underneath the exact replica of the U.S.S. Monitor playing Candid Camera.


Give them a book to read.
(please, no more Harry Potter! How about Mark Twain, C.S. Lewis, H.G Wells, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, etc)
In short, let them play and develop their own imaginations.
I know that we can't simply let them go off on their own, as we could those forty some odd years ago.
It isn't safe, there are too many perverts and evil folks lurking about.
That is a reality, and a great sadness to me.
But there are far worse investments in your future than sitting there in your favorite lawn chair under a shade tree with a cold drink and a good book while you watch your kids play.

We could all do more of that.

Happy Summer everyone!

"We hold these truths to be self evident....."

All Americans should be familiar with these words, and those that follow.





They were written by a 33 year old Virginian by the name of Thomas Jefferson.
The son of a surveyor who was responsible for many of the earliest explorations and survey of Western Virginia, then the edge of the wilderness of the American Colonies, he was a young unknown among giants.
Benjamin Franklin, John and Sam Adams, George Washington, John Hancock et. al. were some of the most gifted and impressive people our nation has ever produced.
How was young Tom from Shadwell chosen to pen the most important document in American History?
Franklin said (and I paraphrase) "You write better than I do."
All of the founders had input into the writing of The Declaration of Independence, but on the whole it was Jefferson's words.
For a full understanding of the entire process, read the draft in "Jefferson" writings.
All of his changes and exclusions are noted, and the list of grievences that are normally left out of most modern public printings are there. (The Preamble is the familiar portion, Specific Charges Against the King is normally not printed.)
After all, it was built up frustrations with The Crown that prompted the document and the resulting war of independence.
The Declaration and the Constitution laid the framework for our "Experiment In Democracy".
Slavery, Women's Suffrage and many other issues are still being dealt with.
Four times in his career Jefferson put forth the notion to abolish slavery, while a young legislator, here during the draft of the Declaration, while Governor of Virginia and during the debates on the Constitution.
What would he have done personally if his advice had been heeded, being a slave holder himself? That is one of the great questions of history.
But our founders gave us a great gift, at great risk to themselves and their families.
As Franklin said "Gentlemen, we must hang together or most certainly we will all hang individually!"
Most of the signers of the Declaration suffered greatly, many of them exhausting their entire fortunes and their health for the cause of Liberty.
We celebrated the Fourth by attending a wonderful Concert and Fireworks display at Lake Benson park on Tuesday night in Garner, where we first lived here in NC.
The North Carolina Symphony provided wonderful music, including a medley of Big Band hits from the WWII era in addition to traditional patriotic fare. That was our community celebration.
On Weds night we as a family went to the neighborhood burger joint which rests on a hill overlooking our town of Clayton, where we were able to see the municipal display without the crowds and traffic.
Ariel provided the patriotic music with his iPod plugged into the sound system on his truck (Old Ben would have approved, I think!) and we sat on the hood in the parking lot with a few other astute families and oohed and ahhed at the distant pyrotechnical show.
We will only have him at home for perhaps one more Fourth (last year he was at basic training) depending on his Army duties, so this one was special to Mom and I.

Happy Independence to our family and fellow Citizens of the Greatest Nation on Earth!
God Bless America continually, as long as we remember Him!

Here follows the Preamble of the Declaration of Independence.

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that, to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed; that whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it and to institute a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its power in such form as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence indeed will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and, accordingly, all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object, evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government and to provide new guards for their future security. Such has been the patient sufferance of these colonies; and such is now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former systems of government."

The photo and text are taken from a Rand McNally textbook printed in 1936, which was owned by my Aunt Rosalie while a student at Concord College.

July 1st-3rd, 1863, Gettsyburg, Pennsylvania

Perhaps the seminal event in American History ended today in a wheat field in the sleepy seminary town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania in 1863.
General Robert E. Lee knew that a major victory was needed soon, in order to force the Federal Government to sue for peace.
His previous attempt to invade the North at Antietam/Sharpsburg Maryland ended in a tactical draw, but a strategic defeat for the South.
It was only a matter of time before Abraham Lincoln found a competent General to lead the Army of the Potomac, and their numerical and industrial superiority crushed Lee's army and ended the rebellion.
I will not rehash all of the details involved in this great battle here.
More than any other historical event, Gettysburg is known to even the most disinterested and casual American student, and it is still studied in every war college and military school in the World.
During my only visit to the National Park some six years ago, several Senior officers from our own War College were guiding a group of foreign officers around the park.
We saw National insignia from recognizable NATO allies, and also some from nations that surprised me, such as Egypt.

Many scholars will say that the battle, and the war was in fact lost when General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson was killed by an errant shot from one of his own men right after his most magnificent victory near Chancellorsville VA at the battle of the Wilderness in May of that year.
While scouting ahead with his staff to locate the exact postion of the Federal's as was his habit, a young Confederate 'Picket' let loose a minie ball from his rifle, hitting Jackson in the left shoulder. The wound itself was not that serious, but it cost Old Jack his arm, and then his life due to pneumonia.
General Lee is reputed to have said "he has lost his left arm, but I have lost my good right arm"

I agree that had he been on the scene on July 1st, he would have seized and held the high ground at Little Round Top that his successor failed to recognize as significant.
As it occurred, a young college professor from Maine with no prior military experience by the name of Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain did indeed grab that ground, and heroically held it until the rest of the Corps came up to support him. At one point, out of ammunition he ordered a bayonet charge downhill, which was considered suicidal by the standards of the day.
It so startled the Confederates that they broke and ran.

The second factor that doomed the Southern invasion and insured they would lose the war was the absence of General J.E.B. Stuart, the dashing but impetuous commander of the Confederate Calvary.
Some are now saying that the gallant but suicidal charge on July 3rd of General George Pickett and his Virginia troops was meant to commence simulaneously with an attack by Stuarts entire Calvary Corps from the rear, catching the Federal "Fish hook" defense in a classic pincers movement.
The normally reliable Stuart was supposed to have served as Lee's eyes and ears, identifying the position and strength of the enemy army. Then, according to recent viewpoint he was to swing behind and attack from the North just as Pickett launched his charge.
As it was on July 3rd he was fighting for his life with a larger Federal Calvary Corps, and provided no intelligence to his commander at all.
J.E.B. had become quite enamored in seeing his name in the Northern papers, his exploits by that time already legendary.

This new theory is interesting, but I don't know that I lend much credence to it.
I think Lee felt he had no choice but to commence his attack, as a fighting withdrawal posed too high of a risk as deep into Pennsylvania as they were
After all, his boys had never let him down now, had they?

Most southern historians and others who should have known better blamed the defeat on General James Longstreet, who in fact advised against the attack.
Old Pete was far ahead of his time, and was instead a proponent of defensive warfare and attrition.
But no one would place the blame on the commanding general, even when Lee himself took the responsibility for the decision solely on himself and offered to resign because of the defeat.

That evening it started raining, and the Confederates started their sad retreat.
Lincoln was so furious at General George Meade, the commander of the Army of the Potomac for failing to pursue and then destroy Lee's Army that he soon after sacked him.
While the North was winning at Gettysburg, General Grant was ending the siege of Vicksburg MS, a great victory that doomed the Western Confederacy, and split the fledgling nation in half. Grant was soon to be given the command of the entire Federal Army in the field.

Had Meade chased Lee as he should have, the war would have been over by the end of 1863, instead of dragging on into the summer of 1865, costing thousands more lives and injured men, and insuring the total destruction of the South.

Perhaps President Lincoln would not have been murdered, and reconstruction as he intended would have circumvented the many decades of suppression and Jim Crowe racism that our nation endured, and in some cases still endures.

If Stonewall had been at Gettysburg, and Stuart had forgone glory hunting and done his job instead?
Vicksburg would have still fallen, and the Confederacy would have still been split, outnumbered and almost totally berift of modern manufacturing.
And they still would have had no viable Navy with which to break the blockade.
I do not think the British would have interceded with their Navy on behalf of the South, although they probably would have recognized the Confederacy as a legitimate Government.

Perhaps Lee would have swung around to attack Washington from the north, as historians have argued for generations.
But to what purpose? The city was the most fortified on earth, and Lee would have been attacking a superior force with no supply or reinforcement hope.
He would have placed his victorious army in the postion to be annihilated.

Most likely he would have mopped up what was left of Meade's army and beat a hasty retreat back into Virginia. And then he would have waited for diplomatic recognition and the public outcry from the Northern press which was certain to follow.

"The Lost Cause" was indeed just that, doomed to failure from it's outset.

Slavery was an abomination that had to end, and firebrands in the deep south would never agree to any gradual abolition and ending of it.
Virginia and North Carolina most likely were willing, but when Lincoln called out the troops the issue was decided.
Northern abolitionists were also not willing to negotiate, and Northern Industrialists knew there were millions to be made from the military if war commenced.

So there you have it. The most bloody war American's have ever fought, and that against one another.

Visit the battlefield to see first hand what occured there. The self guided tour should serve nicely, especially if you either tune in the radio for commentary, or buy one of the tapes.
While standing on the road across from the Bloody Angle where Pickett's Corps formed before his charge I could see what he saw over 135 years before.
The field behind him would have hidden his men while they formed up from the Yankee's view across the field in their defensive works.
But I could also see their height advantage, and the idiocy of a full frontal attack across that open field of a mile's length. The snake fence that stretched across the middle is still represented, Pickett's troops had to stop and tear it down while under heavy canister and small arms fire before continuing.
While I stood there pondering, two people on magnificent white horses galloped across the field, reminiscent of the Southern Cavaliers of days gone by.

There are more resources available that I can list here.
My absolute favorite historical fiction of all and the one others fall short of is "The Killer Angels" by Michael Sharra. There is a movie of the same name.
Bruce Catton is considered to be the pre-eminent Cival War Historian, and Carl Sandburg's work is notable.
More recently Shelby Foote, and two professors from Virginia Tech's history department, James Robinson (seen on screen during Ken Burn's excellent documentary of late), and James Davis, who is married to my late Uncle Pat's widow Sandi are considered to be the top experts in that era.

The National Park Service site is www.nps.gov/gett/

Garden Art Show Entries

Welcome to Queen Felicia's entries to the
Wazoo Farms Garden Art Show!





She likes to add 'Critters' to her various areas, both real and imaginary!


















Hanging plants tend to last here until October, as long as you remember to water them daily.
That can sometimes make travel difficult.














Whimsical fairies and a naughty angel with one wing (Felicia, mayhaps?)
adorn the front flower bed. As does our cement Cardinal.
We have an entire colony of Cardinal's living in the wooded berm next to us.
It is really enjoyable to sit in the front room and identify the various generations
of birds feasting at our tray feeder in the Crepe Myrtle tree.
































Many of her plants attract both Butterflys and Bees



The Andirondack chairs are a birthday present.
We will move them in the back to the Firepit this fall.

The Pepper Garden on the side of the garage.
We normally have enough to get us through the winter.

Our stone bunny rabbit. He eats less than the others.
















































As with all garden's, her's is a work in progress.
A lot of her ideas depend on her yard boy,
AppDaddy and the relative strength of his back!
















The front pond was my first big addition. Quite a challenge digging through our rock hard sandy loam and stone soil.

We plan on adding one in the back, but that will be above ground.
No more digging!


This lizard was showing off. We have a variety of different reptile species, including snakes.


They do get your metabolism up when they appear unexepectantly.















Our favorite critter Csonk posing for the jacket of his first novel. Very intellectual!

























The Pine fell during a bad storm, and still thrives.










































The chickens and ducks lazing at the pond.













Thanks for visiting Felicia's garden!

"Yesterday", when we learned to "Twist and Shout"

For Father's day, AppDaddy was treated to an outdoor concert by his tribe.
We had never been to this relatively new venue, although I had heard many good things about it from friends.
The small amphitheatre was nestled amongst the pine trees in a public park in Cary.
A winding path through the trees had us charmed before we even got to the site.
And, wonder upon wonder, you are allowed to bring in your own food and drink (wine included), coolers and even comfy lawn chairs!
Being newbies, we did not realize the extent people went to insure maximum comfort.
We saw portable tables, complete with tablecloths and flowers, folding recliners, etc.
The SummerFest series is sponsored by our excellent NC Symphony Orhestra.

Saturday's program was "Classical Mystery Tour".
The original members of the Broadway production "Beatlemania" joined the orchestra to perform a wide range of Fab Four hits with the symphony backing them.
Complete with period costumes, it was the closest most of us ever came to seeing the Beatles perform live.
After the orchestra did a symphonic introductory medley, the four 'lads' walked on stage, dressed in the dark tailored suits that the Beatles wore in the early "Ed Sullivan" era.
Playing duplicates of their original equipment, Rickenbacker guitars and such made the sound authentic.
After playing a couple of 4/4 Rock and Roll classics, including "I saw her standing there", everyone but the "Bass Player", Paul's doppleganger left the stage.
After introducing the acoustic song he was to play as "the most famous and recorded song in history", he played and sang the first line from "Feelings". This gag was right from the real Paul McCartney's live tour, and drew a big laugh.
Of course he then did a beautiful version of "Yesterday", a lovely introspective song that Paul wrote when still in his teens.
Then the other three came back on stage wearing the Sgt Pepper outfits they wore on the famous satellite broadcast from Dec of 1967, which was the first live world wide broadcast.
After "Paul"rejoined them, they did a spot on version of "All You Need is Love".
The orchestra matched the original performance note and nuance for note, it was quite spectacular. During the original broadcast, and on many of the Beatles period recordings they were joined by the London Philharmonic.
Many of you youngsters may not realize that after 1965, the Beatles stopped touring.
Most of their works from that point on were never performed by them live.
A lot of their recordings did involve symphonic orchestration and unique sound effects, so reproducing them live is a real challenge.
The NC Symphony did a masterful job, and the "Classical Mystery Tour" are fabulous musicians in their own right.

I was treated to hearing some of the best songs from their catalog, which I never thought I would hear properly performed live.
"Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band" followed by "With a Little Help From my Friends" opened the second half.
Then came "Penny Lane", "A Day in the Life", "Eleanor Rigsby", "Lucy in the Sky", "Ob-La-Di", "Hello Goodbye" and the wonderful "I Am the Walrus", where the orchestra really shined to name just a few.
The lyrics from that song are WEIRD, even for a sixties piece, and it was funny to watch some of the oldsters look at one another when "John" sang them.
Many of the songs that were performed Paul does not do in his live tours, because he didn't sing the lead on them originally.
"Yellow Submarine", "Here Comes The Sun" and "While my Guitar Gently Weeps" are among those done in addition to some previously mentioned.
After doing a couple of their solo post-Beatles hits, "Imagine", (complete with the white suit and fake beard and longer hair that John wore in the early seventies) and a killer version of "Live and Let Die" from the Bond movie where the orchestra was really able to cut loose, the encore portion of the show started.

A point of reference is needed here. Cary is one of the more upscale communities in the RDU area, with some of the most restrictive neighborhood appearance and HOA codes.
We were among the youngest couples in attendance, and Ariel was probably one of only 100 or so under the age of 25.
During a couple of the old numbers we saw people get up and 'dance' a bit, but it was a pretty staid crowd for the most part.

But after "Paul" did "The Long and Winding Road", and then went right into "Hey Jude", some of the folks turned up their pacemakers a bit.
They used the same stage banter that Paul really uses in his shows, getting the ladies to sing in rounds, then the 'fellas'. It gets everybody involved and loosened up, and it really is a fun song for an audience to get into.
Kind of my generations anthem, even though the lyrics don't really have an intrinsic meaning to them.

Then came the obligatory leave-the-stage-the-show-is-over encores you expect from concerts.
When they came back on stage they sucker punched us.
The Beatles liked to use several old fifties rock standards for their encores, such as "Kansas City" or "Hey Hey Hey"
These guys started by getting the crowd to respond to "Hey Hey", and then went right into
"Twist and Shout!"
Shades of Ferris Bueller, the place went nuts!
What is probably the greatest live rock and roll classic of them all was performed flawlessly, and nobody was still sitting down acting stuffy anymore.
Some of those folks hadn't moved like that since the Kennedy administration.
Queen Felicia herself was "dancing like a spinning top", her bemused son looking on.
The old folk aren't as old as you think lad, we can still rock when properly motivated!
They closed with "Money Can't Buy me Love", and all of us would have stayed as long as they wanted to keep playing, but alas that was really it.

I had a fabulous time, felt like I was 18 again afterwards. What better Father's Day gift could a man have, his family with him and back in his youth at the same time!

Check out their website www.classicalmysterytour.com

They have a few songs for download posted.

Note, they will be in Baltimore right after Thanksgiving with the Baltimore Symphony.
You will not regret going, and take the kids, they will love it! (Especially Merry!)

Peace out, brothers and sisters!

Follow up

My Grandad Arthur H. Harvey, Paw-Paw, with my sister Lily December 1956, she was about six months old.

Born and raised in WV, he married my Grandmother Ollie Garten in 1914.
My Aunt Bee (Bernice) was born in August of 1915, and my Aunt Rosalie (Lee) in July of 1916.
My dad was born in May of 1921.

My grandmother taught school before they married and was responsible for all three of her children's literacy. My Aunt Bee just finished sixth grade, my Aunt Lee went to teachers college, now Jr College and taught school herself for 40 years.
My dad did go to HS, but did not have the chance to go to college after WWII.
He went right to work, and was a well respected cival engineer and concrete expert in his industry.

My grandad, with mom, me (age three) Lily, six months, and Aunt Bee, in late '56, early '57

Life during the period after the World War and the Great Depression was harsh.
Both of my grandfathers were carpenters and builders by trade.
During the building season, they were away from the farm plying their trade.
My granddad Harvey worked for the Stotesberry Coal Mine, building structures and forms that were sent down into the mines.
Granddad Cupp was a mason as well, and worked on houses and other structures.
My grandmothers stayed behind and ran their farms and raised their young'uns alone.
And all of that without electricity, or indoor plumbing!

My dad told of watching his father pick up a barrel of nails under each arm, and carrying them over to where he needed them.
Each could weigh as much as 200#.
He was still a powerfully built man in his later years.


We kids with our PawPaw and Aunt Bee, at the farm March of 58.
I am 3 1/2 here, my sis is almost two.

This is a rare picture of him laughing.
He did not laugh much after my grandmother passed in Sept of 1951.
He never remarried.

Quite a character in his younger years and a bit of a ladies man to boot.
I have a picture of him as a teenager with two rather attractive young ladies.
My Aunt always told me they were his aunts, dad told me years later that they were actually a couple of his lady friends.
After my Aunt Bee passed, we found a box of picture post cards that my Granddad and Grandmother sent back and forth to one another during their courtship between 1912 and 1914. She had quite a personality, I regret I never had the privilege of knowing her.

I knew my Grandmother "Granny" Cupp well.
She passed just before Ariel was born.
She remains a major influence on my life. Grandparents are a blessing to have.

I found this picture of my father with three of his buddies taken in Oregon in early spring of 1942, right after they finished basic training.
He told me the other three boys were all killed in combat in either N Africa or Italy.
Dad is in back with his arms around his comrades in arms.
They never got to be dad's themselves.
There are always the few who sacrifice for the many.

Father's Day 2007

If we are really fortunate, the family chain that stretches through the generations between a father and his children remains unbroken.

My Grandfather A.H. Harvey is the first man from the left, top row. He is holding my Aunt Rosalie, about two years of age. My Grandmother stands to his immediate left.
The old gent in the front row with the child on his lap is my great grandfather, John S. Harvey.
He is holding my Aunt Bernice on his lap, age three.
My own father was yet to be born, this picture circa 1918.



Dad and I, probably in early 1954.
This was taken in their first apartment in Princeton WV.







Dad closely resembled the only picture I've found of his namesake James S. Harvey, my gggrandfather, his great grandfather.
James S. was a LT on Stonewall Jackson's staff and survived the War Between the States by many years, but he did not see any of his own grandchildren.

One of the great regrets of my life is that Dad did not live to see his own grandson..




My maternal grandfather, L.J. Cupp.
A fine man by anyone's standards, he saw all of his own grandchildren but the three youngest.
He was a man who loved God, and lived like it.



This picture circa 1954, taken in at their place in Narrows VA.
That is yours truly standing on his lap.
I remember him taking great delight in sitting whichever grandchildren were around in his easy chair on Saturday morning and watching cartoons with us.
He loved to laugh, and he loved to make us laugh.

I could not lay hands on a picture of me and my Granddad Harvey, "Paw-Paw"


On November 22, 1986 when Dr. Wells said
"Dad, you've got yourself a boy!"
I joined the ranks of proud fatherhood myself.
Parenthood is not for the faint of heart to be sure,
but nothing I accomplish in life can equal being a dad.

I hope to be a granddad someday.
I will spoil my grandchildren, but also hope to be a source of strength and family history and oneness to them as well.




We cleaned up OK I guess.
I was much smaller and had darker hair then.
We dads earn every gray hair the hard way.

The first time your offspring barfs all the way down your back as you try to race down the hall to the bathroom you start earning your stripes.
And that after drinking grape kool aid.





Worrying over every cold and fever, scratched knee or 'boo-boo' fades as they get older.
"If you're not bleeding or no bones protrude just keep playing" is a sentiment most of us have heard in our youth.
And used ourselves with our own.

Father's pass on all sorts of things to their sons.
Not the least of these are the love for worthy athletic teams.




My boy is still infected with an inordinate love for all things Miami, even though he's never lived there.

The one thread that kept us together throughout the tough late teen years was our mutual love of sports.
We were able to go to the U.S. Open here in NC a couple of years ago.
Still plan on hitting a Super Bowl and World Series.
And if Miami ever makes it the a BCS college football championship again that is high on our list.

Some of the best memory's we have are from the Little League youth sports years.
He didn't know anything about baseball when we started at age six, and I sure didn't know anything about coaching.
We learned together.
Several All-Star teams were in our future, he earned his spot playing and I coached a couple of them.

Long road trips to watch him play High School football were a part of our lives.
Then dad becomes a spectator, and has to bite his tongue and let someone else do the coaching.
"What's wrong with that coach, doesn't he know that he's a linebacker, not a defensive end!"
Of course we never critiqued any of his coaches. Riiiight!

Everything we are told by our elders about the passage of time is true.
It vanishes like a mist, speeds by us like a starship, faster than light.
One day your little one looks up to you, both literally and figuratively.
The next he won't walk anywhere near you in the mall, lest someone he knows sees him and gets the idea that we are related.

Then slowly, and inexorably they will come back around.
"Dad, what do you think about this, or should I do that?"

And then one hot humid summer day you sit in the bleachers at Ft Jackson and watch him take the Soldier's Oath along with 800 other young men and women, thereby becoming a Soldier and Warrior like your father and forefather's before him.
And you ask the inevitable question, "Where have the years gone?"
How did he get so tall and strong, and how did I get so gray and decrepit?"

Time, my childen, time.
Use it well, love your children, and devote yourself to them.
Your job can wait, weekend golf can wait, the rest of your extended family can wait.
Buying them stuff is not a substitute for doing things with them.
They'll forget all of those things, they will remember events where you took the time for them.

"Train them up in the ways of the Lord, and when they grow old they will not depart from it"
And they will do so with their own children, your grandchildren.


Ariel and I last Christmas.










Next on his agenda is Airborne Training this summer.
Only four semesters of college remain, then the full time Army.

Indeed, where have the years gone?