The Great Pumpkin Mystery

I never knew my Grandma Riley, as she died before I was born. Many times I wish that I had been given the opportunity to know her. In the 59 years that I have lived, I don't recall anyone ever having a negative thing to say about her. She was adored by all that knew her. She died while World War II was in progress. My dad was in the Army and stationed in the Philippines at the time. This is my grandmother's obituary that was sent to my dad following her funeral. You can enlarge it enough to be able to read it by left clicking on the picture. It has always saddened me to know that my dad was so far away and not able to be home to say his final good byes to his mother.

Now my Grandpa Riley was a horse of a different color. I already told you of his side line business, of making moonshine. I remember being told that he at one time was a sheriff in Johnson County, KY (I think that is the county) some time before my dad was born. He lost that position for some reason and migrated to southern Ohio. It was here that he bought up a huge amount of land and called himself a farmer. Which he did do some farming, but most of his revenue came from moonshine and gambling. He opened a little country store and ran gambling in the back rooms on the weekends. Although he was still living when I was born, he died when I was only four years old, so I don't remember much about him.

pictured right to left, back to front

Mary Liming Riley, Joseph W. Riley, Jeanette Riley, Rebecca Riley McClay

Mary McClay, Maxine Riley, Joseph L. Riley (My Dad)

I truly enjoyed any stories that Mom or Dad shared with me about family and long ago days when they were young. One story that Dad told me was when he and my aunt Maxie were about the age they were when the above picture was taken. One day Grandpa Riley called Dad and Aunt Maxie out to the barn and pointed out a couple of feed sacks that was full of pumpkin seeds. He told them he wanted them to take the seeds and plant them. He pointed out what field to plant them in and sent them on their way. Dad said they took their time getting there and weren't in any hurry to plant seeds once they reached the field. He said they sat the seeds down and played around for a little while. Aunt Maxie told Dad that they better get busy because if they didn't get those seeds planted they were going to be in big trouble. Dad had a better idea and asked her if she really wanted to spend the day planting seeds. Not many children see that as the perfect way to spend a day. Picking up the pumpkin seeds, they carried them to the far end of the field where the woods started that led down to the creek. Just inside the edge of the woods was an old tree stump that had pretty well been eaten out by termites and woodpeckers. It was then that Dad shared his idea with Aunt Maxie. They dumped every one of those seeds into the stump and covered them with some dirt so they wouldn't be noticed by someone passing by.

Weeks and weeks went by and the day finally came when Grandpa Riley decided to take a walk down to the pumpkin field and check on the progress of those pumpkin seeds. Of course, not the first little sprout had popped up out of that ground. He made a few more trips to the field after that and found still no pumpkin vines. He just wasn't buying into the possibility that all of those seeds were bad. It was while he stood there pondering the question of why those seeds weren't sprouting anything, that he noticed something growing out of an old tree stump. Checking it out closer, he discovered it to be pumpkin vines. Dad said that he and Aunt Maxie were given the worse whipping they had ever had. He also said that after that they never skimped on any chores they were given to do.

Have a Great Weekend..........
~Jo

Birthday Thank Yous

I did indeed have a Happy Birthday not only yesterday, but on Friday too. I was treated to a birthday celebration with J.D., my children and grandchildren on Friday evening. As soon as Tersie got home from work, she and the girls joined us at Chris and Melody's. I thought it was wonderful that Britt was able to be there. She has a very busy life. Of course Seth Day is on Fridays so J.D. and I were already there. Chris got home early because they got rained out at work and even Alley Oop got there for the weekend a little earlier than usual. Melody and Chris offered to cook anything I wanted. Hmmm...... I thought of the one meal that I seldom fix, but have enjoyed since I was a child. We had Sloppy Joes, corn, and chips. That was followed by my birthday cake with a very few candles on it. I think they were afraid to use 59 candles for fear of the smoke detectors going off. Riley and T-Bear helped me blow out the candles. I opened my cards and then opened the gift that I had been teased with for weeks before from all of them. It was a digital picture frame. I loved it.

'Jo 1952'

I had an appointment with my ENT doctor on my birthday. There were signs on all of the doors to be sure to wish Dr. Cosenza a Happy Birthday. I thought that was pretty neat. For my birthday gift he told me that the medication he has me on for the acid reflux seems to be doing the job, because he couldn't see any irritation to my throat. After leaving his office J.D. treated me to lunch at the Olive Garden. It just doesn't get much better than that. From there we headed home to the mountain with a quick stop to pick up medication. It seems as if the older I get the more I enjoy the peace, quiet and comforts of home. Thank you to my husband, children and grandchildren for making my birthday special. I also thank all of you that left birthday wishes for me here. A special thank you to Pea since she is the one that let everyone know it was my birthday...... You can't get much by her. :-)

'Joe and Bertha Riley 1935'

This is a picture of my parents taken around 1935 just prior to their wedding day April 11th. It was taken along Camp Creek here in southern Ohio. Grandpa Riley ran his still down by the creek where it was nice and wooded and not very likely to be stumbled upon. If you are able to click on the picture to make it larger, you will see that my mother is holding a gun on my dad. Not two weeks after they were married, my uncle came running into the house telling Grandpa Riley that the law was on their way and they had found out where the still was. He in turn sent my uncle and my dad to tear the still apart and hide everything. It might have worked if they had done what Grandpa told them to do. Instead, as they were tearing things apart, they got into one of the jugs of moonshine. Needless to say this slowed things down quite a bit. My uncle got antsy about the law showing up and took off, leaving Dad there alone with the still. The law really did know the location of the still, they did show up and they questioned Dad about the ownership of the still. Being the loyal son that he was, he claimed ownership of it. The sheriff kept telling him that they knew it belonged to Grandpa and if he insisted on claiming that still as his it would mean he was going to do time in prison for it. So it was, that two weeks after my parents were married, my dad went to prison for six months. My Dad died in 1978 and my Mom in 2001. Tomorrow would have been their 73rd wedding anniversary.

Have a blessed day!

~Jo

Welcome

I have a doctor's appointment this morning, but wanted to take a few minutes before we dart out the door to introduce everyone to a newcomer in the neighborhood. Writer Jen stopped by the other day for a visit and left a comment for me. I am so glad she did because I followed the link back to her cyber home and was pleased with what I found. Jen is a wife and mother trying to follow her dream. Her dream is to write a novel. I know many of us have thought, "I should write a book!" Yet usually nothing ever comes of it. Jen has said it out loud and made a verbal commitment to doing this. I wish her luck and plan on being there to encourage her as she takes steps to make that dream come true. Why not stop by her little home on the web and get to know her and offer her some encouragement.

Welcome to the neighborhood Jen!

Have a Blessed Day everyone.......... ~Jo

Springtime Wonder

It is such a beautiful day out today. We have the doors and windows all open and there is a soft breeze circulating through the house. With camera in hand I strolled around the yard this morning and took a few pictures which I thought I would share with you. I even threw in a springtime poem for good measure.

The sky has never looked so blue

Never a breeze so sweet

Flowers burst forth in brilliant array

As April comes to greet.

The trees stand tall in their glory

Tender leaves cover limbs once bare

Yards filled with laughing children

Can you match the splendor there?

There is nothing quite as pleasant

As a walk in springtime hours

The bees even harmonize with life

As they drift among the flowers.

A golden rainbow after a storm

Beauty beyond compare

A taste of heaven here on earth

With green grass everywhere.

God softly whispers to us

As gentle rains caress

The countryside with drops of life

In such pure tenderness.

And if you listen close enough

I'm sure that He'll impart

The freshness of spring upon your soul

And a flower in your heart!

Written By:Marilyn Ferguson©1987

Meaningful Monday

"I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," "he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I'll admit to it. There have been times when walking or driving behind an older person I've gotten impatient and upset. I've huffed and zoomed around them because I was in a hurry to get nowhere. Perhaps I'm more aware of it now because I see myself there one day soon. Today I saw myself in this old man's shoes and it caused me toslow down, stop and ask for his forgiveness.

He was about five or six people ahead of me. I was in a hurry and saw him as an obstacle. I've seen people get off the end of an escalator and stop dead in their tracks, gather their things and suddenly there's a pile up of angry people behind them. You can't stop an escalator full of people behind you. Like the Energizer bunny, they keep on goin'.

This man was well aware of the challenge. He tried desperately to step aside. Fumbling with his small packages, struggling to gain his footing, youcould see how troubling this was for him. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me! I don't mean to hold you up," he said as he struggled to get off the escalator.

I suddenly saw this in a whole new light. It was like I was watching my future. I felt sorry for him. I felt sick to my stomach because this man was apologizing to everyone, when we should have been helping him and calming his fears.

One by one, people zipped around him. I heard a few angry comments whispered as one lady passed by him.

I saw me.

By the time I got to him he was just about steady on his feet.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know there was more," he said.

"No, sir. No more with me," I said. This really hit me hard. I realized right then how sad it was that the world was in such a hurry. That, of course, included me. But...no more with me. Count me out.

This wonderful man paid his dues. For whatever time he had spent on this earth, he most likely walked many rough roads and too many important miles. Now he should be apologizing for moving slower?

My heart ached as I looked into his eyes. I wished that I could see what he had seen all those years. His face weathered from life itself, was creasedAnd wrinkled. The small soft pockets under his eyes and the gentle lines that curved up and around them told me he had many happy moments, too. Those were traces left behind from laughter and a smiling, happy man.

"My friend, can I help you with those things?" I asked.

Hesitant at first, he finally said, "Well, yes, thank you!"

I placed my hand under his left arm and walked with him a safe distance away from the rush of people.

"So what are you shopping for, sir?"

"Oh, just a little something for my neighbor. She's a young mother raising kids on her own. She's always so nice to me. I thought a box of candy for Mother's Day..." he said, stopping suddenly as he searched his inside pocket of his sport coat.

"Do you need something?" I asked.

"Oh, no. Here. I think I have it right here. I always carry them with me," he said. Then pulling out a hand full of papers he shuffled through them and handed me a business card that read: "John A. Pomicter Friend to all...enemy to no one! I said a prayer today and you were the answer. Thank you!"

"That's for you," he said. "Thanks for stopping tohelp an old man."

"My friend, you helped me. I discovered that I was unhappy with the world and I was part of the problem. Now I'll be part of the solution. No more with me!"

"Then this was meant to be," he said smiling.

"You know God sends me gifts every day and always at least one special person. You were my gift for today! Let's go get some chocolates, my Friend."

-- Author Unknown