MORE ON ROOK

May 26, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

In my last blog, I mentioned that my late husband, Ralph and I had played the card game, Rook, with a couple who we met at a Florida fish camp back in the 1940's.  Our friend, Kym, commented on the blog and it brought back more memories from the days of the 1950's and 1960's when we played Rook with relatives and friends.

I asked Barry to research the card game, Rook, on the internet.  According to the information that he found, Rook was sometimes referred to as "Christian cards" or "Missionary poker".  Rook playing cards were introduced by Parker Brothers in 1906 to provide an alternative to regular playing cards for those in the Puritan tradition who considered the face cards in a regular deck inappropriate because of their association with "Gambling" and "Cartomancy" (fortune telling).

I would like to hear from anyone who still plays Rook, or who has in the past.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

FLORIDA VACATION IN THE 40'S

May 20, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

This time of the year here in the deep South, brings back memories of vacations in the past.  I have never traveled to exotic, foreign lands and at age 87, I don't plan to in the future.  I wish Barry had the opportunity to visit some of the places he watches on TV.  Maybe one day he can do that.

I've been letting my mind wander back over my summer vacations, such as time spent at my paternal grandparents Tennessee farm.

When my late husband, Ralph was young, he was in the U.S. Army's Signal Corp to install and repair radar equipment in the Pacific during World War II, when radar was a secret weapon.  So, he had traveled much more than I had.  I had never been to Florida and longed to see the ocean.  So, we planned a July vacation in Florida.  Ralph loved to fish and I wanted to enjoy the beach.

Our first vacation was spent a few days at a fishing camp inland and the remaining time at Daytona Beach and the ocean.  The month was July in the late 1940's and our old car didn't have an air conditioner.  The temperature was in the 90's, and we didn't bring any water with us.  I wore shorts and a shirt.  Heat was blasting us from the car's floorboard.  I remember wringing sweat out of my shirt.  Then we saw a concrete black building with a large sign reading, DRINKS, FOOD & GAS.  We stopped and entered the building and felt the air conditioner blast us.  We sat at a table and a waitress brought us glasses of ice water, the best drink I ever had.  We ate a sandwich and then we were on our way to the fishing camp.

We stopped at a little store and bought a few groceries.  The fishing camp was located around a pretty lake.  The cabins were clean and nice but no air conditioner.  While Ralph signed up for a boat and so forth, I prepared a meal.  I had bought a small chicken to fry.  I had never cut a whole chicken into pieces before and I cut some odd looking pieces.  By the time Ralph came inside, I had our meal almost ready and I was a nervous and very hot wreck.

Ralph enjoyed fishing with a young man who was staying with his wife at the camp.  At night, we played Rook with the young couple.
Finally, we were ready to go to Daytona Beach and the ocean.  We had fun until the end of the week.  I can't swim.  Fortunately, Ralph could.  I got caught up in a large ocean wave and he rescued me.  After that incident, I waded in the water at low tide.  It was a fun vacation.

A few years later, we moved to Treasure Island, Florida, to a duplex on the beach and I spent a lot of time on the beach and met some interesting people.  They seemed amused by my accent.  One woman from the North asked, "Is that Southern?"  Years later an expert on accents told me I have an East Tennessee and North Georgia accent.  I've been told my accent is as thick and sweet as sorghum molasses.

While living on the beach, our son, Barry was born, after 12 years of marriage, so we called him our "miracle baby."  When he was 3 years old we returned to North Georgia.  We missed the mountains, family and friends.See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

OUR BEAUTIFUL PLANTS

May 14, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

I had always heard that rose bushes were difficult to grow.  So, I never bought one.  When Tam became my caregiver and much more, she invited Barry and me to visit her and her parents home.  She lives in an adjoining apartment, and they had many knock out rose bushes.  Barry and I admired them and Tam gave me a red knock out rose bush.  Barry researched roses and gave our bush tender loving care.  This spring the bush is healthy and has many roses.  Barry cut a couple of them and put them in a vase in my room.  He keeps the bush fertilized and watered, and it is growing more every day.

The patio plants Barry recently bought are thriving with his tender loving care.  I told him last week when I've passed on I hope he will continue to care for the house plants.  Our season cactus is the largest one I've ever seen.  The asparagus fern I started with a seed in 1978 is also very large and pretty.  The peace lily blooms constantly.

Barry and I were talking yesterday about how different our yard is now from the way it was when we moved here in June 1978.  Our house is situated atop a mountain foothill.  There were only a few trees and the house was extremely hot.  My late husband, Ralph, went out in the woods and dug up saplings and planted them in the yard.  He also planted shrubbery and took good care of them until he became ill with Parkinson's, then Barry took over.  Now the yard is shaded with large trees and shrubbery.  It's not only pretty now but gives us privacy.

With the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II coming up, you may find my novel, Catch The Brass Ring, set on the home front of the war, interesting.  It is also a wartime love story.  The book can be purchased through Amazon, Kindle.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told To Tam.)

MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD ILLNESSES

May 8, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

Today, Tam and I was recalling childhood illnesses after she told me that her two granddaughters have "pink eye" this week.  I think I had all of the ailments except whooping cough.  The very worse one I remember was the mumps when I was 14 years old.  My family and I lived in a rural area of Georgia.  This was in the 1940's and the only doctor in the area was an older man.  He came to our house to examine me.  His diagnosis was "mumps".  I felt really bad and looked hideous with my swollen cheeks.  The old doctor took a jar of coal black cream from his bag and applied to my cheeks.  He told my mother to continue applying the cream until the swelling was gone.

I wasn't about to let my boyfriend see me with swollen black cheeks.  So, when he came to see me, I kept the door closed.  We would slip notes to each other under the bedroom door.  I finally healed and was elated to be well again.

I think the most painful condition of my life was in 2002 when I had shingles.  I felt worse than I ever had and during that period my husband, Ralph, passed away.  A few weeks later Barry had the shingles, too.  That was an awful time.

Thank God, those times are in the past.  And, I pray that the good Lord will keep us healthy in the future.

See you nest time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)

THOUGHTS ON THE PAST FEW WEEKS

May 4, 2015

By Olivene Godfrey

This morning, I admired the wall of trees at the edge of our front lawn.  There used to be a fence at the property line.  Over the years small saplings grew and are now huge trees.  The trees are of different species and the limbs are crooked and soar above our house.  We think the trees have character.  We live in an area the forest service designated "Windy Gap".  The wall of trees definitely keeps our house, and Barry and me, safe when the winds hit our property.  When the trees shed their leaves in the fall, we have the gorgeous view of the mountains again.

I had an enjoyable visit with Bobbi Butler, a long time friend and her friend, Candace Deal.  Candace writes a blog and also writes a column for the Georgia Writers Association's newsletter.  She interviewed me for a column for the publication.  She promised to send Tam and me a copy of the column.

Last week, Barry drove us to Calhoun for an appointment to have my blood checked.  I didn't see the doctor on that visit.  My blood work was very good.  Barry and I and the doctor, believe the good blood test is because of the high dosage B12 supplement every day.  Despite several serious health problems, the B12 keeps me feeling well most of the time.  I haven't needed a booster shot in quite a while.

I want to thank my friends, Kym and Annie for their comments on my blog.  It's rewarding for me to get feedback from the blog.

Barry went shopping yesterday for pretty flowering plants.  They look pretty on the patio.  A large red geranium is Barry's mother's day gift for me.

See you next time.  Comments welcome.  (As told to Tam.)