Hot Air Balloon Festivals in the Carolinas

Let's talk about hot air balloons!


Ever since I was little, I've wanted to ride in a hot air balloon.  I blame Mr. Bill.  I saw him ride in a hot air balloon on our little black and white TV once, just once, decades ago, and I was hooked.

Bill Norwood (aka Mr. Bill) was a local celebrity.  He starred on a children's show that aired early in the morning on Channel 13 (ABC Network) out of Asheville, North Carolina.  Mr. Bill is responsible for my early love of classical music as played on Bugs Bunny cartoons, and for many hickory switch stripings I suffered because of  shenanigans I did copying the Little Rascals and/or The Three Stooges.

Yes.  I blame Mr. Bill for a lot of trouble I got into, but Mr. Bill also gave me a "bucket list" desire to ride in a hot air balloon, so he is forgiven. 😉

Every year in October in the hill country of North and South Carolina, they have big hot air balloon festivals.

To view Balloons Over Anderson's festival schedule for October 2016 click HERE.

Usually about 25 or so balloons launch daily for three days in early October.  It is a festival atmosphere with food and craft vendors, carnival and balloon rides, live music, and such.  I've always wanted to go, and I plan to go when I retire and move closer to home. 

Statesville, North Carolina has Carolina Balloonfest every year in late October, so you can easily go to both of these events.  To view Carolina Balloonfest's October 2016 schedule click HERE.

This is another fun day with food and craft vendors, carnival and balloon rides, live music and such.  You can purchase an untethered ride on a hot air balloon of your choice at this festival for $250.00.  Better schedule in advance. 

If you are a little wary of untethered rides, you can buy a tethered ride for $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children age 10 and under.  

You need to buy tickets for the festival in advance.  It is always expected to sell out.

I honestly can't wait to do this!  I'm hoping maybe October 2017!  Cross your fingers for me.  😊

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Arthritis Information

One out of every 5 adults and approximately 300,000 children in our country right now have some form of arthritis. If you are reading this, there is a fairly good chance that you (or someone you love) are one of them. 

Normal and Arthritic Joints

I sure wish I had a magic wand to wave and fix your pain but I don't.  I do, however, know of a website, that might give you some helpful information.  It is the Arthritis Foundation's website, and you can access it by clicking HERE.

Did you know that arthritis sufferers can oftentimes predict the weather better than meteorologists?  It is true.  

Barometric pressure and suddenly lowering temperatures can cause your arthritis to act up.  There is even an online tool HERE that will predict if the weather where you are right now will affect your arthritis today.  

Some of you are probably saying, "Aw.  This article does not apply to me.  I'm too young to have arthritis."  Please re-read the first paragraph above.  Around 300,000 children in the US have arthritis right now.  Even babies can have arthritis.  It is just more common to have it as we age.

There are more than 100 different types of arthritis.  I, personally, do NOT like any of them.  Nothing good ever comes from arthritis.  Only pain.  

I only have osteoarthritis and bursitis at the moment. 
(-knock on wood-  NEVER let me say things like that!  It tempts the fates!) 

Bursitis wakes me up at night when I roll over in my sleep.  It hurts, and I HATE the steroid shots I have to take every few months and all the medicine I have to take, so I've been searching for alternatives to help myself.  

Here's what I've found so far (See below.).  The titles are pretty self-explanatory, but you can click the links for more information or to purchase the products if you like.  

All of these have such good reviews.  Some are books, some are gadgets, some are supplements, some are just helpful things like scissors that are easy to use when your hands hurt.  I hope you find something that helps you or someone you love!

1. The Arthritis Cure: The Medical Miracle That Can Halt, Reverse, And May Even Cure Osteoarthritis by Jason Theodosakis, MD
2. Jar Opener Bottle Opener Rubber Twister Grip For Seniors Rheumatoid Arthritis Products Aids For Hands Gripper Lid Twist Off Food Package Grip Quality Kitchen Gadgets and Tools Perfect Kitchen Set
3. Super Big Fat Pens for Arthritis and Hand Pain (5 pack)
4. Arthritis Diet: Anti-Inflammatory Foods That Relieve Arthritis and Reduce Joint Inflammation
5. Turmeric Curcumin with Bioperine Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant & Anti-Aging Supplement with Black Pepper for Best Absorption. Premium Joint Pain Relief. All Natural & Non-Gmo
6. Arthritis Gloves By Copper Compression Gear (Full Finger) 100% GUARANTEED - Relieve Symptoms of Arthritis, RSI, Carpal Tunnel, Swollen Hands, Tendonitis & More!
7. Yoga for the Rest of Us: Easy Yoga for Arthritis
8. 5 in 1 Multi Kitchen Tool - Bottle & Jar Opener, Screw Off Top & Pull Tab Assist for Prying Lids Off Without Straining Your Hands - Premium Kitchenware Gadgets by Mo+m Kitchen
9. Fiskars 8 Inch Premier Easy Action Bent Scissors
10. Men's Women's Pure Magnetic Copper Bracelet Arthritis Healing Therapy Cuff

If you use or know of any other "over the counter" things that really help arthritis, please comment below.  

My motto is, "Information is useless if not shared."

A "Love" Connection in Antioch Community

When I was a little girl, before my Daddy died, we used to go visiting family and friends all the time.  We visited so many people that I loved, but after Daddy died I pretty much never saw them again.  

Today's story is about one of those people.  Her name was Ella Jay McSwain Love.  She wrote her memory in my little girl heart so deep that it still shines there and makes me smile when I think of her.

Ella Jay's parents were Elisha and Mary Bell McSwain, my Great-Uncle Elisha and Great-Aunt Mary.   They lived way out in the country in the Antioch Community, which in reality is only a few miles from my childhood home, but to a little girl it was a very great distance to travel and those trips always smelled of adventure!

Part of the adventure was you never knew if the people you were going to see would be home.  Almost no one in our small town had telephones back then, so people would just show up to visit you or you'd show up to visit them.  Visitors were exciting and almost always made for happy afternoons.

We would all pile in the car (no seat belts back then) and off we'd go of a Sunday afternoon with all the windows rolled down to get the breeze.  Daddy would always drive, flicking his cigarette ashes out of the triangle shaped side car window, and Mama would ride shotgun with my baby sister on her lap leaving the rest of us to fight for space in the back.  

Uncle Elisha would almost always be sitting on his porch and you could see him from a great distance away as the road was straight and clear up to his door, which is rare in that hilly country.  We'd be on the look-out for him the minute we made the turn, and, sure enough, there he'd sit.  Big as life!

He'd throw up his hand in greeting, as we pulled in the drive and parked the car.  Daddy would always take off his hat, out of respect for his elders, as he approached Uncle Elisha on the porch.  

We'd all clamor over and Aunt Mary would appear and shoo us into the living room or kitchen so Daddy and Uncle Elisha could "hear themselves think" and talk without interruptions.  

We were a LOUD and happy bunch.  It is true.

Ella Jay was almost always there with her sons Forest and Leroy.  

Now.  My genealogist cousins (There are many.) are scratching their heads and pulling up ancestry.com to figure out how Elisha McSwain was my uncle, so I'll just tell all of you right quick.

Uncle Elisha was my great-uncle because he married my great-aunt.  

Aunt Mary was my paternal Grandma's half-sister by blood, but I didn't know that until I was grown.  A child sees people through the eyes of love and never questions blood until taught to do so, but, once grown, I discovered that my Great-Grandpa Bell remarried when his first wife died and had another family with his second wife.  Grandma was a "first family" child and Aunt Mary was a "second family" child, but if you asked them, they'd simply tell you they were sisters.  That is as it should be, if you ask me.

Half a sister?!  Bah!  No such thing. 

Now that I have the genealogists in the family at least a little bit satisfied, I'll tell you about Ella Jay.

For years I never knew that Uncle Elisha and Aunt Mary were Ella Jay's parents.  She seemed too young and happy to have parents so old. I was shocked when I eventually learned that Ella was only seven years younger than my Mama.  Ella looked so young!  Back then she could have passed for her sons' older sister instead of their Mama,  

Maybe it was her attitude that made her seem so young.  Ella was always smiling and happy, and she always wore bright red lipstick!  I thought she was prettier than a movie star.  

I'm pretty sure we generally saw her on a Sunday afternoon after church, which is why she always looked so pretty, but, then again, with that dark hair and pretty face, she probably would have been beautiful wearing a gunny sack.

My favorite memories of Ella Jay are those afternoons when she would help me play the piano. 

Uncle Elisha and Aunt Mary had an old piano in their hallway.  I used to beg to play it, but Daddy usually said, "No."  If Ella Jay was around she would give Daddy that smile and he'd shake his head and say, "Okay," and Ella and I would end up sitting down together at the piano and she'd teach me to play little tunes.  She was always so patient and kind with me.  I don't think she ever really knew how much that meant, but it meant the world to me and I never forgot her kindness.

Ella Jay had two sons, Forest and Leroy.  They would be there too, but they were 5 and 8 years older than me, so they usually ignored me and played with my brother, Gene, who was between their ages.  

I thought Forest and Leroy were dreamy when I was about 4 years old before I went through the "Boys? YUCK!" stage in elementary school.  But Daddy said I couldn't look at them like that because they were my cousins.  I remember whining, "But everybody is my cousin!!!"  

This was pretty true in my world back then and Daddy didn't have much of an argument against that statement.  He would just laugh and shake his head. We really do have a LOT of cousins.

Everyone I've mention to you this morning, except for me, have all passed away now.  But in my mind, they live.  I can see them so clearly.  Standing there in their 1950s clothes.  Young and smiling.  Happy days.  

Yes.  They live in my mind and now they'll live in yours!  Especially Ella Jay.  Forever young.  😗  With red lipstick.

Ancestry DNA and Family Secrets

For the past few years I've done a LOT of genealogy, so when ancestry.com had a sale on their DNA testing a couple of years ago, I ordered a test and had my DNA done.  Sadly, here are my results:



I say sadly because all the cousins showing up in ancestry.com are my real life cousins, so I was not adopted and I'm not really the love child of Howard Hughes or anything like that.  -sigh-

When I was growing up, we were very poor, so I spent a lot of time daydreaming about what it would be like to discover that I was accidentally mixed up in the hospital, and I should have gone home with my real parents, the King and Queen of England, whom I imagined happened to be secretly traveling in Cherokee County, South Carolina when the Queen had to give birth.

Oh yes.  I had a wild imagination back then.  I know my real life friends among you readers are shocked that I would daydream such a thing.  -grin-

Oh well...so...no rich people are going to show up to claim me.  Figures.

However, I did discover some interesting things.  One of my close DNA cousins is a very beautiful African American woman who was adopted at birth and is searching for her birth parents.  Well, she thought she was an African American woman.   Turns out she's my second or third cousin, which means someone in my family that I probably know gave this beautiful child up for adoption.

I wonder what other gossipy facts will be uncovered via my DNA?

As for my family tree, I've learned that I'm a direct descendant of both French and Scottish Nobility.  These were my several greats grandparents:

• The Marquis Jean Paul Frederick de Hulingues of the old French Province of Bearne and his wife, Isabella du Portal, who was a Lady in Waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici, and also,
• Laird David Ross, the second Laird of Balblair, Parish of Fern, near the town of Tain, in the shire of Ross, North Scotland (He succeeded to the estate of Balblair at the death of his father, Andrew, 15 Apr 1678.) and his wife, Margaret Stronach.

My direct line also boasts a physician, a judge, a founder of a town in Pennsylvania, ironmasters, farmers, preachers, soldiers, sailors, etc. etc. etc., but after my family moved to the mountains and hill country of the Carolinas, my family tree has secrets we just don't often talk about in polite company. 

I'm not that polite.

• My great-grandfathers were brothers.  
• One of those brothers had a third wife who was the other brother's daughter.  (The brothers did NOT speak after that. Thus explaining why my mother's people didn't like my father's people and vice versa...even though they were the SAME PEOPLE!)
• A Great-Great-Great Grandmother married twice.  One husband fathered both my father and mother's paternal line.  The other husband fathered my mother's maternal line.
• In my mother's maternal line, my great-grandparents were step siblings, but also cousins.

My family tree is very complicated. There are a LOT of cousins marrying cousins.

I may be my own Grandmaw.  😉

Honestly, the longer I live, the more I believe truth is much stranger than fiction.

There are also Birds in my family tree.  Seriously, but that is a story for another day.

Today I'm just wondering what other secrets will fall out as I shake my family tree?  Permanent official records may contain mistakes, but DNA does not lie.  I can't wait to see what falls out of this tree as the DNA technology becomes more sophisticated. Amazing.

Life just gets curiouser and curiouser....

Life Lessons - All things happen as they should.

Today I've been reflecting on life again. 

My very favorite time of life, so far, was my early childhood. 

Me. 1955.

Back then all my siblings were still at home.  All the dogs and cats and most of the people I had ever loved were all still alive and well.  I often got to visit a whole houseful of great-aunts and great-uncles who loved and spoiled me like grandparents. 

My world was new and I was not yet damaged by loss. I could still love with reckless abandon, and my biggest worry was that I might miss the neighborhood ice cream truck that night.

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Then the life lessons started.

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My great-aunts and great-uncles, whom I loved with all my heart, died...one by one. I had to watch them wither away. By the time I was ten I had attended at least six funerals of people I loved dearly, including my own Daddy's funeral, and I had watched many beloved pets die and be buried.

When Daddy died we lost everything to medical bills and funeral expenses, as Daddy had no insurance.  The big house, the business, the trappings of middle-class America, all gone. Mama had to go to work for $.90 an hour to support herself and her two remaining children still at home, my younger sister and me.

My first life lesson was: Loss
(NOTE: I HATE LOSS.)

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My school years were spent watching Mama work.  She would go to work, come home, do house work and yard work and gardening, go to bed, and get up the next day and do it all again. Year after year.

Mama would get the 4th of July week as a "vacation" every year, and she would spend that time cleaning out the closets, washing the curtains, and washing all our old metal blinds in the bathtub. 

We wore clothes Mama made for us, when she could afford to buy cloth, and hand-me-down clothes, when we could get them.  Mama would buy us one pair of shoes a year. 

We ate the food we grew in the garden until it ran out, and then it was mostly pinto beans and mashed potatoes with chicken on Sunday, if we were lucky.  Mama always made homemade biscuits or cornbread though, so we never went hungry.

There was no air conditioning in the house and no heat in the bedrooms. 

It was not an easy life.

My second life lesson was: Struggle
 (NOTE: I HATE STRUGGLE.)

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When I was 22, I had been married for several years. We had a lovely home and three precious sons, ages 4, nearly 2, and newborn. Those were happy years.

My third life lesson was: Love
(NOTE: I LOVE LOVE!)

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When my sons started school, I applied for and won enough academic scholarships to go to college. I graduated four years later at the top of my class.

My fourth life lesson was: Achievement
(NOTE: I LOVE ACHIEVEMENT!)

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My teaching years were over-shadowed by my failing marriage.  The marriage lasted 22 years.  The first 10 years were very happy.  I am thankful for that, but the marriage ended nightmarishly.

My fifth life lesson was: Betrayal
(NOTE: I HATE BETRAYAL.)

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In 1995 I escaped to Charleston with no job and only enough money to pay one month's rent.  I am still here.

My sixth life lesson was: Survival
(NOTE: Survival is okay.)

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As I contemplate retirement, I wonder what life lessons it will bring?
My hope is that my seventh life lesson will be: Prosperity!
 (NOTE: I believe I would LOVE Prosperity!)

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Life surprises me all the time.   I never know what will happen next, but I do know that all these life lessons were necessary.  I had to experience them in order to grow to be the person I am today. 

It is my belief that there are no coincidences in this life. All things happen as they should.

What life lessons have you learned so far?  What life lessons do you expect to learn?

I really hope I finish learning patience soon.  I hate patience.  It takes too long to learn!!!  😉 -sigh-

Weird, Wild, and Wonderful South Carolina Places You'll Want to Visit

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Todabut I did find the clip interesting. my birthday!!!  Happy Birthday to ME!

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Sometimes my friends and I like to do day trips to celebrate my birthday.  We don't go to the normal South Carolina tourist places like Myrtle Beach or Charleston or Beaufort or Table Rock, we go see odd and wondrous things!

Last year some friends and I went to the Button King Museum in lovely Bishopville, South Carolina.  We had THE BEST time.

The "Button King" is a man named Dalton Stevens. When he can't sleep he sews or pastes or somehow attaches buttons to things.  He's had insomnia a LOT, so he has all kinds of things covered in buttons. A car. A hearse. A toilet. A suit. A coffin. Etc. etc. etc. Seriously.  You want to see this place.

While we were in Bishopville, we couldn't pass up seeing Pearl Fryor's famous Topiary Gardens. Awesome!!

Pearl's story is immortalized in the DVD, A Man Named Pearl.  I first saw this on PBS a number of years ago, and I'm so very glad I was able to actually visit his gardens and see his work in person.  It is worth the trip!

Here are some of the snapshots I took during my visit to Pearl Fryor's gardens, but honestly, photos do not do this place justice. 

Go see if for yourself if you can!

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For my birthday today (Yay!) some friends and I are going to The Park Cafe for breakfast this morning, and then we are going to Cottageville, SC to see Bee City!  I'm soooo excited!  Bee City is a Honey Bee farm, petting zoo, and nature center.  Should be a lot of fun!

We might even stop by JW's Tire Station while we're in Cottageville to see the Tow Mater Tribute. 

Then, if the time works out, we hope to go to Ridgeville, SC to Duke's BBQ for some of the BEST barbecue around.  I sure hope time works out.  😊

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Here are some other great off-the-beaten-path things for you to see and do when you visit South Carolina.  I love places like these. Makes me want to travel more.

If you ever find yourself in Blackville, SC, you need to go visit God's Acre Healing Springs.

While you are in Blackville, be sure to stop at Miller's Bread Basket for some of the BEST Amish/Mennonite home cooking you'll find anywhere.

Can you tell it's nearly time for breakfast?  I guess I'm hungry.

Anyway....

Don't forget to go to Bowman, SC to see the UFO Welcome Center.  Watch this short video for more information on this one.  Wild, weird, and wonderful adventure for sure!!



NOTE: If you are easily offended, stop watching this after the first couple of minutes. I don't like the sex talk later in the clip, but I did find the clip interesting.

Operation Sea Dragon, USS Keppler, Vietnam, and My Brother, Gene - 1966-67

All three of my brothers were US Navy during the Vietnam War years, but this morning I'm remembering my tall,  red-headed, freckled-face, mischief-making brother, Gene, who was next to me in sibling order, and whom I miss so very very very much.

Gene Wayne Batchelor

My brother, Gene, always loved me...just as I am.  That is a rare and wonderful thing.  We had many adventures together over the decades, but today I'm remembering an adventure he had without me.

I'm glad I wasn't there.

Back in late 1966 and early 1967 Gene was a Gunner's Mate aboard the USS Keppler, a Gearing-class US Navy destroyer, whose assignment at the time was "Operation Sea Dragon."

USS Keppler

Operation Sea Dragon's mission, as I understand it, was basically to help keep North Vietnamese men and weapons out of South Vietnam.  They were on patrol, and they saw action.

The following is recorded in the USS Keppler's deck logs:

• December 6, 1966 the USS Keppler: 
• anchored on gunfire support station near Trung Phan, South Vietnam, maneuvered as necessary to maintain anchorage while firing at targets ashore.
•  December 7, 1966 the USS Keppler: 
• anchored in Da Nang harbor. 
• anchored off the Song Dua Dai River
• December 8, 1966 the USS Keppler:
•  anchored in Da Nang bay.
• December 11, 1966 the USS Keppler:
• rescued a downed pilot off the eastern coast of North Vietnam.
•  January 29-30, 1967 the USS Keppler:
• patrolled in the vicinity of the Song Giang river
•  January 31 to February 2, 1967 the USS Keppler:
• patrolled in the vicinity of the Kien Giang River 

During these patrols in January and February 1967, the USS Keppler destroyed or damaged 51 communist junks (A junk is a seagoing ship with a traditional Chinese design of square sails spread by battens, a high stern, and usually a flat bottom.).
 
The destroyer also frequently engaged enemy batteries on shore, and on March 11, 1967 a communist gun scored a hit on the USS Keppler's gun mount that was my brother, Gene's regular post.  Six crewmen were wounded.

The USS Keppler suffered a hit March 11, 1967.

Gene's shift had ended not long before the hit.  Gene's friend whose turn it was at the post was badly wounded.

Gene's body may have escaped that post without a scratch that day, but his mind, his heart, perhaps his very soul, were never the same.  He told me many times, "It should have been me who took that hit." 

That was never true, of course, Gene's shift was over.  It was not his fault his friend was hit. It was irrational of him to think otherwise, but Gene was 18 years old at the time and life had just shown him that he and his friends were not invincible.  The battleship could not protect them. The big guns could not protect them. Their lives were really and truly at risk.  

It was real.

Gene served his country in the US Navy until 1972.  After his honorable discharge from that service, he came home and tried to live a normal life, but he was never again the happy-go-lucky boy who went to war when he was 18.   

Gene ended up wandering from place to place for many years.  Never quite satisfied.  Never quite able to escape the demons that haunted him.  The silent screams of those men on those 51 communist junks were relentless.  He could never shake them. 

Vietnam was like that. 

No hero's welcome back to the states for the Vietnam vets.  Those sailors and soldiers and airmen and marines returned home to disrespect in all its various ugly forms.  They paid a very high price for their military service, and the carrying of that kind of stress shortened many of their lives. 

Gene died of a major heart attack in 2002 when he was 53 years old.  We and the US Navy carried out his final wishes. 

Gene's ashes were scattered at sea with full honors and a 21 gun salute by the US Navy from the USS McInerney, a guided-missle frigate, on July 1, 2003 at 27-47.6's6 LAT 072-46.8'w7 LON, Time 1030R.

May he rest in peace.

Modular House Plans

I've been looking at modular house plans again.  This time I found three little houses that would be PERFECT for me, and they can be built "Green" which would make me happy.  

These are from Mountain Brook Homes in Asheville, NC. 

I haven't priced them yet because the price may change between now and this time next year, but I really like the idea of any of these three little house plans.  It may boil down to which house would fit best on the lot I buy.  

The more I shop, the more I think going the modular route really makes good sense for me.  

Here's the first house plan:

 

I LOVE that it has an unfinished second floor.  I could use that for storage OR I could finish it and use it for guests or as an art studio or office space.  

Here's the second house plan:

 

This house would be a little larger than the first.  I love that it has two full baths and the split floor plan.  this would give my guests more privacy if anyone does visit me to stay the night after I move.  I can also make one of the extra bedrooms into an art studio or office space.

This one is admittedly a little big for just me, but look at that walk-in closet in the master bedroom!!!  I would LOVE that!  I'd have to have them move the garage up so that the door off the dining room would open into the garage and then add another door from the garage into the backyard for the dogs, but that should not really be a problem with this floorplan.  

It is hard to decide, and I may end up finding the PERFECT little house already built to buy, but a new house would be practically maintenance free for the first few years.  That is an attractive feature.

The more I look at these, the more I like the first one best.  It is little and has the potential for a LOT of storage on that second unfinished floor.  Two bathrooms would be nice, but I really only need one, and I could always add another one later when I win the lottery.  😉

Hmm...lots to think about.  

Which one do you like best?

Yes.  I will absolutely make myself crazy with this.  We will see what I do in the end.  Wish me good luck!!

The Humphries "Texas" Money: A TRUE Family Legend

My maternal grandmother's maiden name was Humphries.  All my life I've been told the story of the Humphries Money.  Sometimes it's called the Texas Money, but it is all the same money.

The money is real.  Hundreds of billions of dollars.

It all started with Pelham Humphries or William Pelham Humphries, as he's sometimes listed.  He was half Native American.  Born out of wedlock.  He moved to Texas from the Appalachian Mountains in the 1830s and was killed in a bar fight there leaving no heirs, which would not have mattered to any of his family back home in the hills if he had died with no land, but that was not the case.

In the mid-1830s Pelham Humphries was granted just over 4500 acres of land in what was then still Mexico but is now a few miles south of present day Beaumont, Texas on the west side of the Neches River.

Nobody thought a thing about it.  The land was pretty worthless at the time.  Mainly swampy grassland that nobody else much wanted.

Sixty-six years later on January 10, 1901 a well was drilled on that swampy grassland.  Black gold.  Texas tea, my friends.  Spindletop.  The first major gusher of the Texas Oil Boom.



Word travels fast, and it wasn't long till the Humphries family discovered that oil was being pumped from dear ol' Pelham's land.  

Hey.  Wait a minute! That land is rightfully ours! Pelham died with no heir.  The family cried in unison, "Give me my land!!!"

Can you guess what the oil companies profiting from that oil said?  Yup.  I'm betting your guess was right.

"Prove it's your land."

Spindletop just kept pumping and pumping money straight into the pockets of the oil companies, while ownership of the land has been fought in the courts for over a century now.

Possession is 9/10ths of the law.

Many newspaper and magazine articles have been written about this case, but they all mostly just spur arguments instead of settlements.  Google "Pelham Humphries" and you'll see.

The problem is with so much money at stake, there have been a LOT of fraudulent "family" claims, as you can imagine.

One of the more interesting comments I've read about it on blogs and/or forums came from a Charlotte, NC McCullar cousin's post in 2010.  It says:

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Question: Why did the family of Elijah Humphries (son of Uriah of Clarke County, GA.) file and win on Pelham Humphries' land per case 512 CL90 in 1901? Could it be because they were the legal heirs and had PROOF as to who Pelham actually was?

Why had the Governor George T. Wood of Texas already signed for the heirs of Jesse Humphries who fell at Refugio, Texas (Goliad time frame) to receive land in VanZandt, Texas per their claim as heirs of Jesse (brother of Pelham)?

Why did the judge down in Alabama become suddenly ill and die just prior to retiring from the bench and filing as administrator of the estate of Pelham Humphries? The same judge that as a young attorney had prepared the Revivor to Case 512 CL90 back in 1972? 

Why have the McCullars not been notified of any court action and when they received an anonymous phone call their attorney was found dead 45 min. after he stated on phone that he was leaving for Carter Co., TN. the next morning to STOP them? Many questions...

Just follow the money and you will get some of your answers. Start at Old City Bank in Houston in 1901, then check out The Federal Reserve and Jekyyl Island meetings 1912-13 (Warburgs, Rothschilds, Aldriches etc.) KW, SF, RL, VL all were trying to follow the money and EXPOSE this...they are all resting in cemeteries across the South this afternoon! 

Sad story of money, greed, lies, forgeries, fraud and just plain out meanness. The McCullars own a used tractor. What does WH and HP drive? 

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It is true that I've never been able to link Pelham Humphries in my family tree.  Of course, since he was born out of wedlock, I'm fairly certain my family would not have a record of him even if he was absolutely a half-brother. 

There are brothers named William Humphries and Jesse Humphries in my family tree from that time period, but no illegitimate siblings are listed at all.  

My Humphries family did come down from Virginia into the North Carolina mountains.  In fact, my GGGGreat-Grandfather, William Humphries, was one of the Over Mountain Men who fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain in the Revolutionary War, so we are definitely related to all those Virginia Humphries who are claiming Pelham, but I still can't prove a connection to any illegitimate children.

I guess we will have to wait until someone identifies a true descendant of Pelham Humphries without a shadow of a doubt and the rest of us will have to submit DNA to get our share. 

Now, I'm wondering how many Native Americans can legitimately claim that Humphries money through their DNA?  Pelham was half Native American if the history I've read is true.  They say he was not Cherokee, but they never said the tribe he was. 

I'd truly love for this to be solved via DNA.  It would warm my heart for the Native Americans especially to get their part of that money.  That would make me happy.  😊

It would also make me very happy to see big business have to give money to the heirs of Pelham Humphries since they actually never owned the land that filled their coffers with so very many billions of dollars.

Seriously.  History is more amazing than fiction. 

Thoughts About Spoken Poetry

Lately I've been thinking about poetry readings.  I've been to a fairly large number of poetry readings over the years, and I'm always surprised at how different poems sound when the author reads them.

You see, my inner voice and my outer voice don't always see eye-to-eye.  Much less my inner voice and another person's outer voice.  I'm always amazed at the difference.

I even surprise myself when I read my own poetry aloud.  For instance, this poem from my poetry book, Alice's Verse:

---

Addiction

Debbie said she was murdered
That little addict down the street

Little woman

20something - looked 50something
Limp oily hair
Smelling of yesterday's sex
...and cigarettes
...and despair

I used to always see her there
Hanging round the Taco Bell

"Hey, can I talk to you a minute?" she'd say
Her face earnest
Wary
Resolved

Rotten teeth

"You see, my baby girl, she needs some medicine..."
Her hands flit
Nervous
Eyes darting from side to side

"Could you spare...?"
Always the same
Day after day
Week after week
Year by year

"It's not for me. I wouldn't ask for me..."
having collected too many tacos
instead of cash

There was no baby, of course
No baby
No home
No family
No friends
No hope

I used to always see her there
Hanging round the Taco Bell

Debbie said she knew her
from years ago
Debbie said she was once a good girl
a nice girl
a girl next-door girl

A girl with wishes
A girl with dreams

Smelling of fresh clothes
waving in the sun

Smelling of sweet soap
and spring rain
and gladness

Debbie said she was murdered last night
That little addict down the street

---

Seems more hopeless somehow when I read it aloud:



I find that fascinating.  It also proves true of others' poetry, at least for me.

One of my very favorite spoken word poets is Marcus Amaker.  Here is a poem he's speaking aloud about homelessness.



I own a good bit of Marcus's poetry, but it just sounds better when he speaks it than when I read it.

Now I'm wondering if this would prove true for all the authors I love.

What if all the interpretations of Shakespeare that I've ever heard pale in comparison to the actual author's rendition? 

Wouldn't it be great if we had recordings of all the authors' voices?!  I'd sure LOVE to hear them!

I know my own mind can not do the poetry of great poets like Maya Angelou justice.  Nothing quite compares to her voice.

This is her reciting her poem, Still I Rise. 




See what I mean?  Her voice is just so powerful.

Just giving you something to think about today.

I hope to have time to write, read, and listen to more poetry when I retire next year.  I have really high hopes for retirement.  😄

My Original Huguenot Ancestors: A True Story

Many years ago my cousin, Vera, told me that I could join the Huguenot Society.  At the time I didn't think much about it.  There was no Huguenot Society in our small town in the Upstate of South Carolina, but I stored the information away in my memory.  It came in handy later in life, as is often true of random things.

When I moved to lovely Charleston, South Carolina in 1995, I realized that the French Huguenot Society of South Carolina is headquartered here, and Charleston has a lovely French Huguenot Church on the corner of Church and Queen Streets downtown. 

Seeing the Huguenot Church at first just gave me a "hmmm" moment.  It was years later, when I started studying my genealogy in earnest, that I became a member there, and, yes, Vera was right.  I can (and did!) indeed join the Huguenot Society.

I discovered that my paternal grandmother was descended from French nobility who were Huguenots.  Her French ancestors were the Marquis Jean Paul Frederick de Hulingues of the old French Province of Bearn and his bride, Isabella du Portal, who was a Lady in Waiting to Catherine de' Medici, mother of three kings of France: King Francis II, King Charles IX, and King Henry III. 

Jean Paul and Isabella's story is fascinating!  It begins in Paris, as all great French romances should, in my opinion.  

Paris is where they must have first met.  Our young Marquis would have visited the court with his friend King Henry of Navarre.  He must have first seen Isabella there.  

As was the custom in France in the 1570s, the young couple's marriage was arranged, but it seems it was also a true love match, as they escaped the city together to be married.  

Why did they escape???

Now.  Therein lies the story.

It was 1572.  Late August.  In France.  In Paris. 

Many of you will be thinking, "OH NO!!!  The St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre!" and you would be right.

In late August of 1572 King Charles IX of France ordered the assassination of Huguenot Protestant leaders in Paris, setting off an orgy of killing that resulted in the Catholics massacring tens of thousands of Huguenots all across France from August to October 1572.

It seemed like the perfect time to leave the country. 

Our dashing young Marquis rescued his Lady in Waiting and  escaped to Dieppe, France, a port city in Normandy, where they married.  

Immediately after the marriage they boarded a ship and left their beloved France to escape being killed for their religion.

The ship had planned to sail to England or Amsterdam in The Netherlands, but the winds blew the ship to Sweden instead, where the Marquis and his new wife, Isabella, were taken under the protection of the Swedish court.  They settled there and raised their family.  They had only one son, whose name is not known, but that son had a son named Lars (Lawrence) Huling.

Lars immigrated to America (Delaware) sometime before 1640 and married a young woman named Elizabeth Portallis.

Lars and Elizabeth had a son named Marcus Huling who married Brigitta Danielsson.

And so on and so on and so on until the little boy, Thomas, who was my father, was born in 1900.

Thus my family fell from the heights of European nobility to the little boy having to go to work in the cotton mill at the age of six to help support his family.  

I have no doubt that any and all of my family would still give up hearth and home in defense of faith, so a bit of that nobleman still lives in all of us, I think.

There is more to my family's story, of course.  Much much more.  

I'll tell you more.  By and by....

In the meantime, you might enjoy reading this account of what happened to Jean Paul and Isabella from: The Boyds By Elizabeth Boyd Henry Tennies – Page 390

The late Dr. William Henry Egle, State Librarian of Pennsylvania, in an article in the "Harrisburg Daily Telegraph," of February 11, 1882, gives this history of the Hulings family:

The Marquis Jean Paul Frederick de Hulingues, a distinguished Bearnese nobleman, who followed the fortunes of his prince and kinsman, Henry of Navarre in France, was one of those heroic men who defended La Rochelle and, finally, in April, 1572, accompanied Henry to Paris to be present at the nuptials of that prince with Marguerite de Valois, daughter of the cruel Catharine d Medici on August 18th. On the 24th of August, he witnessed the horrible massacre of St. Bartholomew (the massacre of Protestants), just as the Boyds were victims of the massacres in Ulster, Ireland, because they were Presbyterians.

The Marquis de Hulingues was one of the young noblemen who waited in the ante-chamber of the prince and his bride on that fatal eve.

He alone of all their personal attendants escaped from the Louvre, as by a miracle, through the gratitude of one of the Catholic soldiers. After various perils, he succeeded in reaching Dieppe. Here he was soon joined by this betrothed wife, Isabella de Portal who. Although a protégé and maid of honor of Queen Catharine, was a member of one of those rare old French families of Languedoc, descended from the Albigois, whose war cry and armorial device was renowned through Southern France.  Their name is inscribed in the “Book of Capitols”, which, like the “Golden Book” of Venice, contained the names of all the patrician families of the ancient nobility.

She was a native of Toulouse, and was rescued by a caprice of Catharine’s from the fate of her once powerful, but now persecuted family, and though carefully educated in the Catholic tenets, was secretly faithful to the (Huguenot) religion of her family. The Marquis and the Lady Isabella de Portal were privately married at Dieppe and sailed for England; but fearful of pursuit and the weather proving stormy, they were landed on the Danish coast. They afterwards proceeded to Gothenburg, Sweden, where they lived but a few years. They left an only son, whose descendants emigrated to America.

References:

Sir Robert Douglas, Volume Second 30-34. Charles A. Hanna THE SCOTCH-IRISH, (New York, 1902) (Reprinted, Baltimore, MD., Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc. 1985), Vol. II, 440-441, 466-467, 469, 484.

The American Genealogical Research Institute, THE BOYD FAMILY, (Arlington, Virginia, Heritage Press, 1973.) 4.

---

Here is a copy of our French Huguenot Liturgy for you.  Enjoy!

YOU Have the Power: Unsolicited Father's Day Advice

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads out there!

Today's post is a bit of unsolicited advice.  Stop reading now if you are easily offended.  (Don't say I didn't warn you.)

Daddy and Mama always taught me to respect and listen to my elders.  Now that I am old and opinionated, I feel the need to share what wisdom I've accumulated over the decades, and I'm hoping to receive from you a little of the respect I gave when I was young.  

In the advice below, I'm using the word he to describe children only because all my children were sons.  If you have daughters instead, please use she in place of he and her in place of him.  

Today's advice is for fathers, but it applies to mothers too, so everyone listen up!

Here goes:

Of all the gifts you will ever receive in this life, your children are the greatest. Cherish them, as they are your future and the future of this brilliant blue ball we circle the sun upon each year.  

Teach them well.

It is not enough to make sure they know how to read and write and know math and science and social studies and other subjects taught in school.  Schools can not teach your children their family history.  

If you, yourself, do not know your family history, ask your parents or grandparents, if you still can, uncles, aunts, or cousins, if you can't, and share those stories with your children. 

Oral history is a powerful thing.

There is power in words.  I think Patrick Rothfuss was on to something when he wrote, The Name of the Wind.  A name is a powerful thing.  

How you speak your child's name can wound or comfort him.  

How you speak about your parents and grandparents, your wife or ex-wife, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. colors your child's opinion of them. 

If you speak with pride, then your child will be proud of his family.  If you speak with bitterness or anger, then your child will feel those emotions towards his own family without ever really knowing them personally or knowing why he feels bitter or angry towards them.

Use words with caution.  Watch your tone.

YOU are He-Man.

YOU HAVE THE POWER! Use it wisely. Use your words for good.

Tell your children family stories.  The gift your children craves the most is the gift of your time and attention.

Sure.  It's fun to play video games or watch movies with your children, but don't forget to also interact with them daily.  Talk to them.

Tell your children what life was like when you were growing up.  Tell them about your parents and grandparents.  Tell them things that will make them proud.  

Tell them the family ghost stories.  Tell them about family Thanksgivings and Christmases.  Tell them about family pets you've loved and about the time you and your brother or sister or cousin or friend....

Share yourself.

Take them to visit your family so they can share their own stories later in their lives.  

Make history with your children.

Therein lies your immortality.

Some of you are saying, "Aw.  I already do all those things!!!" 

I love you the best.

Happy Father's Day! 

Now.  Go eat some barbecue and cake!

Doggie Daddies and Their Pups

Those of you who know me know I LOVE dogs.  Love love love love love dogs.  

Okay.  Truth be known, I love ALL animals, but today I'm thinking about Doggie Daddies, so I decided to share some videos of adorable puppies with their Dads. 

Happy Father's Day Weekend to ALL the fathers out there!  Enjoy!  😊

WARNING!!!  Major cuteness ahead.  Proceed with caution.

A Dozen Awesome Kitchen Gadgets!

Today I'm thinking about gadgets.

When I was young the coolest gadget I'd ever heard of was a Swiss Army Knife, but nowadays inventors seem to have gone wild with gadgets.  My favorites are geeky gadgets like this smart watch or this kid's smart watch, or this iFetch gadget that launches balls for your dog to fetch. 

Those things are amazing, but I love to cook, so today I'm going to talk about kitchen gadgets that I really hope to be able to purchase and use after I retire.  I'll have much more time for cooking then!

Hey.  A girl's gotta have some cool toys in her second childhood.  Right?  😗

Okay.  I admit I plan to purchase some of these before then and I'm putting them on my Amazon Wish List in case my friends and family can't figure out what I want or need as a gift!  😇  My birthday's coming up very very soon!  (Hint Hint 😉)

Here are the things I found interesting this morning:

1. Nessie Ladle
   This ladle is cheap and awesome and I'm going to buy one very soon if no one else buys me one.  I use ladles a LOT as I love to make homemade soups, so I know I'll use it. 
   
   
2. PancakeBot
   Whoa!  This thing is super cool!  It is a bit much for a retired person, but honestly I love geeky stuff like this.  You'll need to buy an SD card and have a computer handy to use it, but it prints pancakes!  You can go here for more information if you are curious.
   
   
3. Garlic Peeler
   I don't like peeling garlic with my fingers, so I added this gadget for you to see.  Pretty cool.  Over 200 people say it works, so I might buy one eventually. 
    
4. Waffle Bowl Maker
   This thing just makes my mouth water.  I imagine waffle bowls of ice cream on hot summer days sitting on my porch after I retire. 
   
   Yes.  I do like to daydream a lot.  Believe it and it will happen!
    
5. 5-Way Opener
   This gadget looks exactly like something I'll need for my arthritic hands in a few years.
    
6. Touchless Soap Dispenser
   I've been fighting with my kitchen soap dispenser lately, so I added this touchless one.  If it works, I want one!
    
7. Pineapple Corer Peeler
   I've always wanted a pineapple corer peeler thingy, but I'm thinking I really need one.  If you saw how I mutilate my pineapples when trying to cut a fresh one, you'd agree that I need one.  I always have to make pineapple chunks because I'm no good at cutting it any other way.  Slices would be nice sometimes I think.
    
8. Apple Corer Slicer
   I already have an apple corer slicer very similar to this one.  I actually use it all the time.  It makes short work of slicing apples for pies and such.  I LOVE mine, so I included it in my gadget list for you. 
    
9. Veggie, Zucchini Spaghetti Pasta Noodle Maker
   This gadget looked very interesting.  I might like one of these for sure.
    
10. Chip Bag Resealer
    This chip bag resealer is fascinating to me!  I LOVE chips, but I do NOT like stale chips.  If that thing works, I want one!
     
11. Electric Salt and Pepper Grinder Set
    This set looks awesome.  When I went to put it in my Amazon Wishlist, I discovered that it was already there!  I've been thinking about buying one of these for some time, I guess. 
     
12. Digital Instant Read Cooking Thermometer
    Last (but not least) I looked at this thermometer.  Recently a neighbor came to borrow a meat thermometer and I realized I had broken mine a very long time ago and had not replaced it.  All I had was a coffee thermometer, so I loaned her that.  When I do get around to replacing my meat thermometer, I think one like this one would be nice.  

That's it!  One dozen kitchen gadgets that might (or might not) be fun to play with in my second childhood.  

Pictures of the gadgets are below.  Let me know what you think!

This is my favorite!