Theodore Woods, Good folk

Mama said, "Some people are too good for their own good." She meant it as a compliment.  Did you ever know someone who was so easy going that some folk abused their generosity?  I have a feeling that these words are being read by a few who fit in those shoes, being kinda abused or easy, that is.

The first girl I liked, Betty, up in Valdese, never knew it. In my teens my first girlfriend that 'knew' I liked her, was Margaret Woods. We went steady. Her dad, Theodore Woods worked in the Climax Cotton Mill. He had moved from the mountains to Belmont for work. He always owned a 2 ton flatbed truck. On weekends he hired out to move folk. He took Harold his son, and a couple mill hill boys for work on Saturdays when he wasn't working in the Mill.

More than once after a full day’s work, the one moved would ask, "Theodore, what do I owe you?"  His words were always the same no matter how many time he had been burned,  "Well sir, I gotta pay these boys and put gas in the truck, whatever you think is fair."

More than once he was handed a $5 bill, Or heard, ‘I will see you after my next check.’  He always said, "Thank you sir, and God Bless you!"

(Theodor's Truck, he loaned it to the church anytime it was needed. He gave many a hay ride to the mountains for the church kids to see the fall color or just to see the mountains he loved.  That is my dad with the pony and Floyd Summey with the bike. Floyd was another man easy to love and remember!)

I never once heard him complain.  

Margaret and I broke up. She started dating Buddy. I started dating Sherry. I joined the Marines, Buddy's daddy moved the family to Mississippi (His dad was a preacher like my dad.).  Theodore moved his family to Detroit and we lost track.

Theodore's son Harold, a local good guy and sports star, went on to play in the Majors. A couple years ago he was inducted into the Belmont Hall of Fame. I had a chance to talk to Harold and mentioned the moving truck. He said yeah, dad's little book of jobs is one of their treasures, 'Dad never complained about those unpaid moving jobs.’
 Theodore and Liza raised a good family, and were honest folk.
There are many folk in this world unheralded for their generosity, but I believe they rest in peace!
Nite Shipslog

Theodore's family car was the Jeep wagon. He treated the Jeep with care. He was proud of that dude!

Time again, but just a little later.

I honestly cannot remember when I built a house last. I worry about my memory at times. In all honesty, I will probably never build another. I still use that word 'probably' modifying the word 'never' just a little, because I cannot force myself to say I am through. My General Contractor's License application for 2017 came two months ago. In my younger years I whipped it out, filled in the blanks, had it notarized, wrote them a check and mailed the application 'registered mail'. This is the latest I have ever waited.  Last night I gave in and 'done the deed'. All it needs is the check and notary.

I have never built a house that I did not drive some of the nails.  It wasn't necessary. After the first few houses, I always had reliable carpenters and sub-contractors. So I know if I wanted to now, I could put a crew together and just watch!  You can smell the dirt and wood as you watch, at any age, methinks.

Other contractors I knew called it a 'rat-race'. That was seldom true for me, I loved it. I am loving what is here to do. Some folk and family (I think) see me as just trying to prove something.  In a way I am. It is a personal challenge to overcome problems that arise.

Maybe I am wrong, but I don't see myself as much different as the average human. Everyone's challenges and problems are different, but as long as your mind is alert and you are physically able you want to keep doing what you love, even if it is playing Bingo, climbing a mountain, walking on the beach or shopping for your OWN groceries and clothes. For some it is simply continuing to drive their own car and reading the paper.

Times change, I bought milk yesterday that will last until next year?..WOW... So, after my 78th birthday next year, if I get an e-mail saying, "Jack, got some plans for you to look over, Just your type of house, can you get to it?"   

I can think, ‘my license are still good in North Carolina!’

You know? That would be a great way to spend a summer.  LOL (Right Sherry?)

Nite Shipslog

Me 'n this LaSalle wuz born the same year 1939!

Gifts

Gifts have always been important and a part of Christmas, especially for kids and young folk ........

But..... as the years pass gifts have become less important since we generally get what we want (need) as the year passes.  We really do not need anything, nor want much.  To us life is a gift, each day we awake is a wonderful gift of life that many of our family, peers and parents did not have, some never lived to see the years we have.  What we do enjoy is giving to our family, and see the joy in their lives.

I still love to hear of the gifts received and exchanged. I enjoy seeing the glisten in an eye when it was 'just what they wanted'. Yep there were those times in our lives also, and they were great.

  

We had been married a couple years before I learned that some of my friends went pretty deep in debt to give gifts to many in their families.  I learned that from a fellow Airman was complaining the end of January that the credit payments were eating into their normal expense money. Do you have that problem, he asked.
I said no, we make it a practice not to get anything we can't pay for. 

(Shirl and Jim displaying her 'Christmas' . Shirl does this each Christmas at different churches)

Sherry worked in a hosiery mill before we were married. The Mill had a 'Christmas saving plan', they would take $5 (or some amount agreed on) from her weekly check and save it until Christmas. I am not sure if they paid interest or not, it was more a favor for the workers.

Corey & Alura

Chase, Maddisson, & Bridger

That practice stuck with her and rubbed off on me and we began saving from the first of our marriage. At times it was fifty cents, but it was saved.

Presently Christmas day + a few days are quite different from our childhoods. Unless it was raining, every kid on the block was out enjoying the Christmas presents. Scooters, wagons, Skates, air rifles, bikes, balls, jump ropes, dolls, cowboy cap busters, etc.  We were outside.

(This was our last Christmas with the family except Corey & crew)

BTW those Skates were roller skates. Where I came from, NC, in all my years I saw a pond frozen hard enough you could walk on, ONCE. NO ONE had ice skates, we just ran from the bank and jump on the Mill Pond and see who could slide the furthest and still be standing. LOL

Things are different for sure. Many gifts are electronic, and are indoor actions.  There is not a thing wrong with that, we would have enjoyed those also, if they had existed!  LOL

I hope you had a Merry Christmas, WE DID!

Nite Shipslog

The 1942 Chevrolet.  There would not be another Chevy until 1946, after WWII

The small decisions.

I am sorta of a weird person (In a lot of opinions) I think my body will tell me when something is VERY WRONG.  Lately I have what is a symptom of a cold (runny nose), I also sound funny, Sherry says I sound like I have a cold. I might have, I have tendency to sneeze also. BUT the biggest irritant is severe dizziness at times.

I have heard folk complain of dizziness, and I wondered why. I have felt dizzy, but it was momentary and an inconvenience, nothing to complain about.  BUT, but this time it is what I would consider 'violent' and I lose some balance but not presence of mind. The room spins rapidly. Before when I was 'dizzy' it was a slow reaction.

I have learned to watch for it and am not caught off guard, standing or sitting up too fast. So I return to the previous position and wait a minute and do the same maneuver slowly and I do okay.

Now something to clarify: One side affect of the Cochlear Implant, that I have never experienced before, is dizziness. So with two implants the possibility is doubled.  Something about the estuation tubes being blocked easily, and this is the first time I have had cold symptoms since the implants.  My thinking is "take it easy and in time (a couple weeks) it will go away." Don't jump on me, I think we all sorta dr. ourselves, don't we?  LOL

I only mention it for something to write about. I am empty.  OUCH, no one has ever accused me of that!

Another subject. We bought a TV for the new house. When  Sherece was down, Mark told her that We had bought a 'smart TV'. I had no idea there was such a thing. So she set it up for Net flicks.  Sherry and I have watched two movies, I still cannot understand all that is said, but enough to follow a plot.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, we did.

Nite Shipslog

1965 Chevrolet

It is Christmas (almost)

Christmas eve and I played with hard concrete again. This is the bathroom floor and outside wall that will partly be removed to get plumbing into the house.

This is looking thru the window that will also be filled in.

HOWEVER  this entry is not about work. It is about:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL 

that read this Shipslog.  I mean it seriously I appreciate you that read and leave and also you that read and comment.

This is our little Ceramic Tree we have used for years in the motor home. It was made by a dear friend Paul Gesek, who patiently taught me ceramics.

I bought the little tractor at Frankenmuth, Michigan.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

From our house to yours.

Nite Shipslog 

'THE' Christmas of my youth

Senility has been a smooth transition for me.  I took that from a friends Blog.  Probably not original but seems to fit. I am at the stage I do that joke thing about old folk: I start a job, see another that needs doing and start it, see another one and…. ETC

Twice this week I did this. At times it is fun…. LOL

Not this one of course, My brother Jr had this one when he came back from WWII

Yep, I really do that. After finishing some job I will see tools I had out and remember I was doing something else earlier that day.

It is hard for me to think Christmas is just a couple days away. The spirit of Christmas is now what I enjoy. Seeing the kids excited and thinking of ‘yesteryear’.


In less than a month I will be 78 years old. That means at least 75 Christmases I was old enough to know about the baby Jesus and Santa Claus.  Of course Santa is much more important at the early age. But I remember 1945 more than any other Christmas of my life. That year Dad bought me a used 20” Indian make, bicycle. I think that is strange because I went with him to buy it. He gave $3 for it (a fortune to me) but he wouldn’t let me ride it and took it home and hid it. I had no idea where. But there it was cleaned up and shiny on Christmas morning, Santa had brought it.

(This one without the lite horn box, chain guard and luggage rack.)

Yep, I was that gullible, Shirl had already taught me to ride. When we lived out in the country.  She had a bike.  So I could already ride. (There are times big sisters are sweet! Thanks Shirl!! ) LOL  I about rode the tires off that bike on Christmas around and around the block. We lived inside the city limits of Burlington, NC and there was a side walk all the way around the block. By the end of the day I could ride with ‘no-hands’.

Of all the Christmases of my life that one stands out, I was 6 years old. Now I see a 6 year old and wonder if they will remember something that happens at 6 when they are in their 70’s.

MERRY Christmas to all, remember, Life Is Good!

Nite Shipslog

 MERRY CHRISTMAS

Old Plumbing repairs ain't no fun.

Of all the trades I am intimately familiar, plumbing is the most unpredictable. Installing new plumbing, even repairing new plumbing 1-5 yrs old is okay, and usually a cake walk.

Some plumbers get a laugh

Anyone who has repaired ‘ancient plumbing’ 20-30 yrs old knows you cannot give a reasonable estimate on repairs if you are charging for time and parts. Over half the time when you change or ‘fix’ one thing, in the process, something else will go bad. Just moving drain lines a fraction of an inch when replacing a simple trap under your sink can create a leak in old pipes.  I have actually ‘touched’ one of the old metal traps and it broke. The only thing left was the paper thin chrome coating, the metal was gone.

The old galvanized water line does the same thing, but they usually just have calcium and rust build up so you are only getting a very small hole to feed your drinking water through. Finally it just stops.

Plumbers did not accept the plastic or PVC plumbing at first, but today most realize it will outlast the older metal plumbing.

Our motor home is a 2000 model, so the plumbing is 16-17 years old.  Also as Jerry Lee Lewis sang, “A whole lot of Shaking going on.” Over the 100,000+ miles. Last night It started with a sink that refused to drain. I spent approx. 12 hours before I was through with the simple job. LOL

I really don’t mind, but for many years I haven't been able to lift my hand above my shoulder with a tool in my hand that weighs over a pound. I have to figure ways to assist myself, and cheat.  I have used both hands to put a drill on a latter, then propped my arm on a plank to drill over my head. LOL  I exercise my arms when we get groceries. Sherry stands in the motor home and I try to left the lighter bags up to her.

Even in the UK, they want a laugh!

That is not complaining, we all do what we have to do to extend our limitations.  Sometimes I come up with some dillies.

Anyway the job is done, no drips, new traps and some new PVC pipes added.

That plumbers crack is a fact, especially in the last 10 years

Life is good. I look forward to tomorrow.

Nite Shipslog

There has always been the plumber's truck.

Another way to look at it

….

I have been plumbing in the motor home, so I am gonna use the canned entry. I liked it.

I read that a guy looked at a Corvette the other day and said I wonder how many people could have been fed for the money that sports car cost.

The owner replied I am not sure, but it fed a lot of families in Bowling Green, Kentucky, who built it, it fed the people who make the tires, it fed the people who made the components that went into it, it fed the people in the copper mine who mined the copper for the wires, it fed people in Decatur IL, at Caterpillar who make the trucks that haul the copper ore. It fed the trucking people who hauled it from the plant to the dealer and fed the people working at the dealership and their families.  BUT,... I have to admit, I guess I really don't know how many people it fed.

That is the difference between capitalism and welfare mentality.  When you buy something, you put money in people's pockets, and give them dignity for their skills.  When you give someone something for nothing, you rob them of their dignity and self-worth.

Capitalism is freely giving your money in exchange for something of value. 

Socialism is taking your money against your will and shoving something down your throat that you never asked for.

The owner finished with: I've decided I can't be politically correct anymore.  (I never was, actually!)

That is another way to look at an expensive purchase….  I am looking at some things different after I read that.

Nite Shipslog