The winter of 1960 was extremely snowy and we always listened to the children's TV show Ranger Hal in the morning on snow days to see if Fairfax County would cancel school for that day. I was thirteen and my Mom was in the last two months of her pregnancy in January and February. If it was a snow day Mom would get out the sled and she and I would walk from Ardmore through Warren Woods and Westmore subdivisions down Maple Street to Main Street (Rt. 236) to the 7/11 to get bread, milk, and potato chips and coke. My Mom had developed a craving for potato chips and cokes during her pregnancy that lasted the rest of OUR lives. In this day and age of pregnant ladies not doing anything that would put the baby in jeopardy I can't imagine now how my Mom, great with child, would walk in the snow on unshoveled sidewalks to the store but you do what you must. It was a fun adventure for me walking in the snow with my Mom and I'll always remember it fondly.
1960 was a Leap Year and my Mom went into labor on February 29th much to her consternation. Uncle Claude came out to stay with her till Daddy came home from National Airport (now Reagan) to take her to the old Alexandria Hospital on Duke Street where all us kids were born. We were sent off to school all excited and anxious. My Mom was determined that her youngest was not going to be born on February 29th and only have a real birthday every four years so my Dad had to convince her to get out of the car at the hospital and go in. As it happened though Mom had a long labor and early in the morning on March 1, 1960 Daddy called us from the hospital to tell us IT'S A GIRL!! Mom's labor was long because the baby was breach and came bottom first. Mom had a wonderful doctor whose name I don't know now but in this day and age they would probably have given her a Cesarean.
Now for the naming of the baby. I had a good friend at school whose name I admired-Kimberly Ann Christensen-who was new to Westmore Elementary as I had been the year before. I had never heard the name Kimberly before and was in love with it and convinced my parents to name my new baby sister Kimberly Ann. As it turned out there must have been a million baby girls named Kimberly born in 1960 and the decade following. My own daughter is Kimberly Robin.
The birth of my baby sister completed our family with me the oldest, Linda next twenty two months younger, and my brother Fred who was about five years younger than me. My baby sister is thirteen years younger than me and that's the same age difference as my maternal Grandmother and her older sister. Imagine that.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Monday, December 19, 2011
CLEO
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| CLEO IN A SUITCASE. |
The Irish family moved out in the middle of the night running from creditors per the wife's American mother and went back to Ireland leaving Cleo. Rod found her mother sitting on the front stoop crying and helped her clean up the mess they had left behind. In the garage Rod found some curious paraphernalia and suspects his neighbor was assembling Tech9s for the IRA. We were taking care of Shawn's black lab at the time so Cleo "went down the street" as she didn't like dogs.
When Tara the lab went to live with Shawn and her family Cleo started coming by again. After a while she would come in and spend the night but leave the house when I went to work in the morning. One morning I called her and she came to the door like usual, looked outside, then turned around and went back into the house. She was ours... or... we were hers!!
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| CLEO DISCUSSING HER DAY WITH ME! |
She had a flat head and ear tufts and looked rather like an Abyssinian with the agouti coat. One day my husband and I were standing out front and the Mail Lady came down the street. Cleo got so excited and greeted her and wound around her legs and meowed to her. The Mail Lady gave us her story: she had belonged to a family years before on a street behind us who moved away and left her bowls on the porch and Cleo behind. That's when she became the neighborhood cat. The Mail Lady used to carry treats for her and knew her well.
Cleo was very old and she finally got a tumor which we had removed but it took her. I still miss her so much and even though Rod and I have and had other cats no one will ever take her place.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
CHRISTMAS PRESENT
Internet and stores are the usual way to make dreams come true and to make their day.
A fedora for Daddy ala Indiana Jones is just what he needs in the sun when he goes.
Sister loves writing a journal at night so a diary with key will be her delight.
Could there be any doubt what brother desires a remote controlled airplane that flies without wires.
Little Boy likes a sled for the the hill when the weather outside brings snow and a chill.
I'll wrap each present in red paper and bows and place them with love 'neath our tree that glows.
With delight I'll watch as they open their presents and I'll thank my good fortune for all of life's essence.
Merry Christmas to you, Merry Christmas Tra La! Peace, joy, and love is my wish for you all.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
A NAME'S A NAME ALL THE SAME
I don't know whether this is a Southern thing or whether it's just peculiar to my family or whether it's the same for anyone who is named for someone else. So many people in my family go by their middle name because they happened to be named for someone. Either that or they are a "Big" someone or a "Little" someone. I have both in my family.
I'll talk about being named for someone first because that directly affects my daughter and has caused her some consternation all her life. First of all her name is Kimberly Robin, named for my baby sister who I named for a friend in seventh grade who I loved and had never heard the name Kimberly before-Kimberly Ann. My sister was born in 1960 and I know, there are a million Kimberlys in that generation. Robin says she didn't know her first name was Kimberly until second grade when all the kids in class had answered present to roll call but her. This she says is probably because I always told the teacher "Kimberly is her first name but we call her Robin". Okay, the "family" all called her Robin so as not to confuse her with her Aunt Kim six years older than her.
In high school Robin had friends who new her as Kim and friends who know the family and called her Robin. Robin went to a huge high school where there were thousands in her class not hundreds. She was walking with this one girl who knew her as Kim and the girl actually said to her "Do you know that girl Robin who has all the designer jeans?" The poor girl was talking about Robin but didn't know it. BTW Robin only had two pairs of Calvin's--it happened in the early eighties when designer names were all the fashion.
Okay here's other members of the family. Daddy was Curtis Marshall, Jr. called Marshall by all his family when he was growing up. Marshall was for his Grandfather who was George Marshall. When he left the farm he was known by all the new people in his life and by all his Marine Corps buddies as Curt. Momma and all her family called Daddy Curt. Momma was named Virginia Lorraine and called Lorraine by all her family because her Mother was Virginia Anna (actually Anna Virginia in the 1910 census!).
Now my brother is named Curtis Fredrick and is called Fred but that never created a problem because Fredrick was for Mom's Dad who had already passed when he was born. However, here is where the bigs and the littles come in because Fred's son Michael Fredrick was called "Little Fred" because he looked so much like his Dad from the beginning and my brother hereafter was called "Big Fred". My sister Linda wasn't named for anyone but Mom's brother's girl was called Little Linda and when we refer to them now together they're big and little. Big Linda and Little Linda are both Grandmothers.
I'm not named for anyone, my name is Sandra Lee and I'm not a Big or a Little, either. However, I know my Mom wanted to name me Diana Lynn when she was carrying me and Dad said no that it sounded too much like a movie star (there was an actress by that name at the time) and then I find out years later that my husband's first wife, who I always heard called Diane, was actually named Diana Lynn. Horrors, that's too much of a coincidence for me. I do like to think, though, that my oldest Grand Daughter Alexandria Mae, called Ally, was named after me although unintentionally. Sandra is a diminutive of Alexander as is Alexandria.
Of course, I forgot to mention Uncle Boo, who was Daddy's baby brother, and whose real name was Lawrence named after one of his Uncles. He came by the nickname Boo because when he was tiny he used to mimic the sound of the milk separator up on the farm. booboobooboo! I know there's probably more instances but I think you get the idea.
I'll talk about being named for someone first because that directly affects my daughter and has caused her some consternation all her life. First of all her name is Kimberly Robin, named for my baby sister who I named for a friend in seventh grade who I loved and had never heard the name Kimberly before-Kimberly Ann. My sister was born in 1960 and I know, there are a million Kimberlys in that generation. Robin says she didn't know her first name was Kimberly until second grade when all the kids in class had answered present to roll call but her. This she says is probably because I always told the teacher "Kimberly is her first name but we call her Robin". Okay, the "family" all called her Robin so as not to confuse her with her Aunt Kim six years older than her.
In high school Robin had friends who new her as Kim and friends who know the family and called her Robin. Robin went to a huge high school where there were thousands in her class not hundreds. She was walking with this one girl who knew her as Kim and the girl actually said to her "Do you know that girl Robin who has all the designer jeans?" The poor girl was talking about Robin but didn't know it. BTW Robin only had two pairs of Calvin's--it happened in the early eighties when designer names were all the fashion.
Okay here's other members of the family. Daddy was Curtis Marshall, Jr. called Marshall by all his family when he was growing up. Marshall was for his Grandfather who was George Marshall. When he left the farm he was known by all the new people in his life and by all his Marine Corps buddies as Curt. Momma and all her family called Daddy Curt. Momma was named Virginia Lorraine and called Lorraine by all her family because her Mother was Virginia Anna (actually Anna Virginia in the 1910 census!).
Now my brother is named Curtis Fredrick and is called Fred but that never created a problem because Fredrick was for Mom's Dad who had already passed when he was born. However, here is where the bigs and the littles come in because Fred's son Michael Fredrick was called "Little Fred" because he looked so much like his Dad from the beginning and my brother hereafter was called "Big Fred". My sister Linda wasn't named for anyone but Mom's brother's girl was called Little Linda and when we refer to them now together they're big and little. Big Linda and Little Linda are both Grandmothers.
I'm not named for anyone, my name is Sandra Lee and I'm not a Big or a Little, either. However, I know my Mom wanted to name me Diana Lynn when she was carrying me and Dad said no that it sounded too much like a movie star (there was an actress by that name at the time) and then I find out years later that my husband's first wife, who I always heard called Diane, was actually named Diana Lynn. Horrors, that's too much of a coincidence for me. I do like to think, though, that my oldest Grand Daughter Alexandria Mae, called Ally, was named after me although unintentionally. Sandra is a diminutive of Alexander as is Alexandria.
Of course, I forgot to mention Uncle Boo, who was Daddy's baby brother, and whose real name was Lawrence named after one of his Uncles. He came by the nickname Boo because when he was tiny he used to mimic the sound of the milk separator up on the farm. booboobooboo! I know there's probably more instances but I think you get the idea.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
BEACH MEMORIES
My family's beach trips were always to Mayo Beach. Three cars drove for the day trip and I got to ride with my Grandfather in his big rust colored Hudson. Aunt Bell and Uncle Bill drove their dark green Hudson and Daddy and Momma drove their little cream colored Dodge Coupe--I'd love to have that car now and I have a picture of it somewhere. The Hudsons looked like big fat beetles and had back seats like couches to a little girl. You had to drive from Virgina through Washington, D. C. and into Maryland because there was no National Capital Beltway!! I remember passing the big barns in Maryland and being told there was tobacco drying in them. You could always tell when you were getting close to the beach 'cause the sky got bigger and wider and grass got sparser and by this time we kids were so excited we were giggling and laughing with our faces pressed against the window.
The kids were me, my younger sister Linda and my baby brother Freddie. I remember my sister and I had matching one piece bathing suits in red gingham with bloomer legs. Mom would slather us with lotion and in the afternoon make us wear t-shits so we wouldn't sunburn but I remember resisting one time and I got pretty red. I loved going in the water it was warm and never higher than my waist and I got to float in a big inner tube. Daddy would try to teach me to swim but I was always afraid to try and that stayed with me into adulthood. My husband always says "those who are bound to hang need not fear water" I think he's quoting Mark Twain. I loved the big bath house with showers on the outside but I never seemed to be able to get all the sand off and always felt gritty. There were swings for after lunch and a tall pole with rings on chains that fascinated me but I could never get the hang of it.
Lunch was always cold fried chicken made by my Grandmother. There was always cold sweet tea in a big one gallon cooler, potato and macaroni salads and sliced home grown tomatoes and rolls and watermelon brought in big coolers and baskets. Cookies were the perfect dessert for a beach picnic. Once my Dad stopped at a little market and bought Tru Ade which was a non-carbonated soft drink that came in orange and grape with orange being our favorite. Years and years later I was at Cobb Island with my good friend from work staying on her boyfriends boat and we found Tru Ade in a little market....nostalgia. There were slot machines up on the hill in the back of the building where swimsuits, towels and umbrellas were rented... after all we were in Maryland and gambling was legal.
The last time I was at Mayo Beach was the day after school ended in the 7th grade. My Mom's best friend Ocie and her daughter my best friend Pat and our sisters and my brother and Ocie's sister who drove and her kids all piled into a big station wagon. This time my baby sister Kim went with us she was only 3 months old. We had a wonderful day and I'll treasure it forever. My son-in-law Rick says that Mayo Beach is not like it was in my day and not a place to go to now. I'll remember the way it was always and the fun we had.
The kids were me, my younger sister Linda and my baby brother Freddie. I remember my sister and I had matching one piece bathing suits in red gingham with bloomer legs. Mom would slather us with lotion and in the afternoon make us wear t-shits so we wouldn't sunburn but I remember resisting one time and I got pretty red. I loved going in the water it was warm and never higher than my waist and I got to float in a big inner tube. Daddy would try to teach me to swim but I was always afraid to try and that stayed with me into adulthood. My husband always says "those who are bound to hang need not fear water" I think he's quoting Mark Twain. I loved the big bath house with showers on the outside but I never seemed to be able to get all the sand off and always felt gritty. There were swings for after lunch and a tall pole with rings on chains that fascinated me but I could never get the hang of it.
Lunch was always cold fried chicken made by my Grandmother. There was always cold sweet tea in a big one gallon cooler, potato and macaroni salads and sliced home grown tomatoes and rolls and watermelon brought in big coolers and baskets. Cookies were the perfect dessert for a beach picnic. Once my Dad stopped at a little market and bought Tru Ade which was a non-carbonated soft drink that came in orange and grape with orange being our favorite. Years and years later I was at Cobb Island with my good friend from work staying on her boyfriends boat and we found Tru Ade in a little market....nostalgia. There were slot machines up on the hill in the back of the building where swimsuits, towels and umbrellas were rented... after all we were in Maryland and gambling was legal.
The last time I was at Mayo Beach was the day after school ended in the 7th grade. My Mom's best friend Ocie and her daughter my best friend Pat and our sisters and my brother and Ocie's sister who drove and her kids all piled into a big station wagon. This time my baby sister Kim went with us she was only 3 months old. We had a wonderful day and I'll treasure it forever. My son-in-law Rick says that Mayo Beach is not like it was in my day and not a place to go to now. I'll remember the way it was always and the fun we had.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
THE RICHEST SHELTON KNOWN
In my Grandmother's family there's the story of a lost brother. Brian was one of eight children. Uncle Claude was Grandmother's oldest brother and he was a Washington, D. C. Policeman. Then there was Aunt Lena who went through nurse's training at St. Elizabeth's Hospital which was the mental hospital for Washington, D.C. and where she met her husband my Uncle Ed. Uncle Burl was a local builder in Fairfax, Virginia in the 1940's-50's and built my parent's home on Popes Head Road along with five other houses on the road and renovated the old schoolhouse they had all attended into a home which my Aunt Margarette's family still owns. Uncle Kline I believe drove a cab in Washington, D.C. Uncle Harry was a Washington, D. C. bus driver. My grandmother, Virginia, worked at the torpedo plant in Alexandria, Virginia during WWII and then followed her boss Mr. Parks to the Veteran's Administration after the war which was an all new Federal Agency. Aunt Margaret worked in a nursing home for years. My Great Grandmother Rose Anna Spenser Shelton was the third wife of Charles Shelton who had lost two previous wives to untimely deaths. Great Grandmother Rose raised the children produced by those marriages and my Great Uncle Oscar was one of those children. He loved her very much and always stayed close to his younger half brothers and sisters.
I'm not sure how Brian fits in age wise, whether he was between Claude and Lena or after Lena. I understand from my Grandmother that he was a big strapping boy and way mature for his age. He didn't get along with my Great Grandfather and it was said that Great Grandfather picked on him. I vaguely remember hearing that he had been institutionalized for a bit and when he came home he got in a terrible row with his father. After the quarrel the last anyone saw of him was when he was heading across the fields to Fairfax Station having told his Father and anyone else who was there that he wouldn't come back until he was the richest Shelton known. He hopped the train at the Station and never returned. (I understand train hopping was sport to the boys in my grandmother's family.) Grandmother said that her father tracked Brian to a circus in Baltimore, Maryland and he went there to bring Brian home but the circus people helped him hide. He had joined the circus as the strong man and he was only seventeen years old. Great Grandfather came home without him.
My Great Uncles and Aunts believed all their lives that their missing brother was Jack Dempsey. Jack Dempsey was known as the Manassa Mawler. Manassas, Virginia was the biggest town down the railroad line from Fairfax Station. He looked and talked like Brian. Aunt Lena's children were offered scholarships from an anonymous person when they were in school and she believed they came from Jack Dempsey (Brian). My Uncle Oscar went to a Jack Dempsey match and stood at the ring saying "come home, Brian, come home" and Jack Dempsey didn't acknowledge him. In this day and age would my uncle have been seen as a stalker? My grandmother had a bow tie that she said was Brian's but it's been lost over all these years.
In the early 1970's I worked for Sears Service Center on 19th Avenue in San Francisco, California. A person who was retired from there used to come to visit all the time. His name was Jack Downey and he had been a professional boxing referee in the day and had known Jack Dempsey. I told him about how my family thought Jack Dempsey was their long lost brother who had run away from home and he told me there was a hotel bar or restaurant somewhere with a picture of Jack Dempsey's parents. I Don't remember where the bar was, somewhere in California, but he thought my relatives were in error. I never pushed for any more information nor have I read any biographies or autobiographies and maybe I should have. In writing this I just wanted to record what my older family members thought and not to try and prove anything.
My Great grandmother waited all her life for Brian to come home.
I'm not sure how Brian fits in age wise, whether he was between Claude and Lena or after Lena. I understand from my Grandmother that he was a big strapping boy and way mature for his age. He didn't get along with my Great Grandfather and it was said that Great Grandfather picked on him. I vaguely remember hearing that he had been institutionalized for a bit and when he came home he got in a terrible row with his father. After the quarrel the last anyone saw of him was when he was heading across the fields to Fairfax Station having told his Father and anyone else who was there that he wouldn't come back until he was the richest Shelton known. He hopped the train at the Station and never returned. (I understand train hopping was sport to the boys in my grandmother's family.) Grandmother said that her father tracked Brian to a circus in Baltimore, Maryland and he went there to bring Brian home but the circus people helped him hide. He had joined the circus as the strong man and he was only seventeen years old. Great Grandfather came home without him.
My Great Uncles and Aunts believed all their lives that their missing brother was Jack Dempsey. Jack Dempsey was known as the Manassa Mawler. Manassas, Virginia was the biggest town down the railroad line from Fairfax Station. He looked and talked like Brian. Aunt Lena's children were offered scholarships from an anonymous person when they were in school and she believed they came from Jack Dempsey (Brian). My Uncle Oscar went to a Jack Dempsey match and stood at the ring saying "come home, Brian, come home" and Jack Dempsey didn't acknowledge him. In this day and age would my uncle have been seen as a stalker? My grandmother had a bow tie that she said was Brian's but it's been lost over all these years.
In the early 1970's I worked for Sears Service Center on 19th Avenue in San Francisco, California. A person who was retired from there used to come to visit all the time. His name was Jack Downey and he had been a professional boxing referee in the day and had known Jack Dempsey. I told him about how my family thought Jack Dempsey was their long lost brother who had run away from home and he told me there was a hotel bar or restaurant somewhere with a picture of Jack Dempsey's parents. I Don't remember where the bar was, somewhere in California, but he thought my relatives were in error. I never pushed for any more information nor have I read any biographies or autobiographies and maybe I should have. In writing this I just wanted to record what my older family members thought and not to try and prove anything.
My Great grandmother waited all her life for Brian to come home.
Friday, December 2, 2011
CHANNELLING ROSIE
Very early on the morning of June 30, 2002 I woke up, rolled over, and started singing to my husband "Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes, love never made a fool of you, you used to be so wise". I said to myself "good grief, Sandy, where did that come from?" then I rolled back over and went back to sleep. Later that morning I was sitting in front of the TV with my coffee watching CBS Sunday Morning when they announced that the day before, June 29, 2002, Rosemary Clooney had passed away. I freaked out....OMG!!!! I'm channelling Rosemary Clooney!!!!! George Clooney's Auntie!!! The only connection, other than loving the movie "Holiday Inn" (White Christmas) and her singing, was that my Grandmother worked for The Veterans Administration in the 1950's and had said a niece of Rosemary Clooney's also had worked there and that Rosie had put her through college. This is the only time anything like this has ever happened to me. It was a strange experience, it makes a good conversation piece, but I hope it never happens again!
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