Laddie

When I was 7 or 8 years old, my Dad brought home a puppy. He was a yellow Mountain Cur, which he got from one of his fellow workers at the hardwood flooring mill. I was a huge Lassie fan at the time, but you can't name a male dog - Lassie (little did I know back then). Instead, we named him Laddie.

Laddie's first night at our house wasn't the greatest. He was missing his mother and litter mates. His howls echoed in the Oaks and Hickories of our yard and adjoining woods. The little dog house with the leather hinges on the door wasn't where he wanted to be. And Mom's NO DOGS IN THE HOUSE rule wasn't about to be broken. I talked to him through the rough cut lumber until he settled down and we both went to sleep. Dad picked me up and carried me back to bed.

Laddie was the best friend the only boy in the neighborhood could have. While sisters were doing their thing, Laddie and I kept all the squirrels and rabbits nervous. That first summer as we both grew up and in devotion to each other was the greatest. The next year, Dad went to work in the meat department of Lentz Cee Bee. Laddie was one lucky dog... Bones to chew on and "out of date" packaged meats as his evening meal. When Dad drove up, Laddie knew there was something special waiting for him.

Laddie had one bad habit - he loved to chase cars, especially those that headed west on the dirt road in front of the house. When he heard a car round the curve at the Charles Creek Cemetery, Laddie would make his way to the corner of the house. When the car was at our driveway, off he would sprint. He wore a path through the weeds and grass parallel to the road and then down the bank to the red clay and limestone gravel.

"Sic'em Laddie" was all I had to say to get him running into the Woods on the east side of the house. He wouldn't return until he found the tree where a squirrel had taken refuge. He took to his nature of hunting, even though we hunted with him only occasionally. Any wild animal was his prey and game.

Skunks are everywhere in Middle Tennessee. Drive very far at night and the unmistakable scent of an unhappy skunk will quickly fill the interior. The earlier 70's were also the time of a great Rabies epidemic. Skunks and foxes were the main carriers and news reports told of various domestic animals being attacked.

One afternoon, as I walked out of the back door, Laddie got between me and the tire swing that hung from the huge Oak by the clothes line. He wouldn't let me pass. As I moved to the right, a small black and white figure jumped out of the tall grass at the edge of the yard. It hissed and started toward us. Laddie grabbed it and slung it back out of the yard and gave chase. I could hear the yelps of pain as the sharp teeth tore into Laddie's flesh. I ran into the house and called Uncle James (Mom and Dad worked late on Friday evenings). He arrived in just a few minutes. His .22 rifle in hand, the told me to stay in the house and he followed the sounds down in the Clay Gullies. Moments later, two shots rang out. The skunk was no more and Laddie limped home behind Uncle James.

When Mom and Dad got home, Laddie was still licking his wounded legs. I told Dad how Laddie had protected me and kept me from walking right into the skunk's path. Dad said, "Son, you should be proud of Laddie. He did what he was suppose to do. But there is something I've got to do now." Dad explained that even though Laddie had his Rabies Shot, they weren't as effective as they are today and Laddie was suffering from injuries.

Dad retrieved the Mossburg from his closet and Laddie, even in his pain, jumped to his feet and was ready to hunt as Dad stepped on the back porch. They walked together to the Clay Gullies. A single shot ripped through the night and my heart.

Forty years later, I still fondly remember the smell of the yellow fuzz ball that rode home in the front seat of a Skyblue Chevy. I can wait to see ya at the Rainbow Bridge!

Happy 75th Anniversary

The following is taken from a term paper written by Melody Brown-Brogdon on May 5, 1987 for her high school U.S. History class. I know no better words than these:

On May 20, 1933, they were married in the home of Judge Thomas. The wedding was a small one and the dress was only a simple one without all the lace, but Mildred would have preferred it to any “fancy dress”

They never had a honeymoon, and she says she didn’t want one after they were married. They moved in with his parents...

For 75 years now, the house on the hill (or very close-by) has been her home. Maurice and Sarah were born within the walls of that simple abode. Thomas and Elton were born in the house that would have stood in front of the Goat and Chicken Pen. Only Sandra, the baby, was not born at home.

For 30 years now, Daddy Frank has been gone (May 9, 1978). I have heard her say many times, "Not a day goes by that I don't think of him".

So as Brooke and Kyle say their vows this Saturday, the best I can wish for them is to follow in the footsteps of Mildred and Frank Brown...

edit to add: While eating dinner at our house this evening, Sarah asked Mama if she knew what today was??? She didn't. But she did remember much about that day. Those that were in attendance were her father and brother Slatton, also Judge Thomas's son. Her mother and sister Catherine went to a Saturday night Prayer Meeting. It was after dark when they arrived at Judge Thomas's home. Catfish and old times, made for a great meal!!!

"Dinner's Ready!!!"

When the clock strikes twelve, the dinner bell would ring them all in for dinner. In the traditional south, the noon time meal is dinner - not lunch.

And you have supper in the evening, not dinner.

The old bell has stood in the same spot as long as any one can remember. When Mama married Daddy (75 years ago - May 20, 1933), the old bell was old even then. The children, as they grew up in the late thirties and forties, were warned not to pull on the rope for fear that the bell pole would break and fall. And yet, it still stands proudly on the south side of the house. Flanked by Pecan and Dogwoods, its silence speaks volumes. The witness the old bell could toil out if it had voice. The history of the farm recorded in the rusty patina.

Flowering Crab Apple

As we drove on the golfcart Saturday afternoon, I was taken back some 40 years and around 300 miles to the north. The pair of Flowering Crab Apple trees were planted to the east side of the house in Daylight. Oscar Womack had given Dad the trees when they were just skinny sticks. They served as the outfielders when I would toss a ball into the air and strike it with the bat that Uncle James turned for me on his lathe. Their scent would fill the yard as bees would gather pollen and nectar. The sweet/sour marble sized apples of fall give me my taste for lip puckering foods today. And the jelly... buckets of Crab Apples stewed down with enough sugar to give you an instant case of insulin shock, place into pint jars and placed into the kitchen cabinet for spreading onto a hot biscuit.

I wonder if they are still standing?!?!

Thirty-seven years ago

Info from Wiki:

17-11-70 (US title 11-17-70) is a live album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1971. The recording was originally popular among bootleggers which, according to Gus Dudgeon, eventually prompted the record label to release it as an album. It has been said that the release by an eastern bootlegger of the whole sixty minute aircast rather than the forty minutes selected by Dick James Music significantly cut into the U.S. sales of the live album.

Track listing
all songs by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, except where noted

• "Take Me to the Pilot" – 4:57
• "Honky Tonk Women" (Mick Jagger, Keith Richards) – 4:07
• "Sixty Years On" – 5:55
• "Can I Put You On" – 7:22
• "Bad Side of the Moon"– 6:10
• Medley – 18:27
  "Burn Down the Mission"
  "My Baby Left Me" (Arthur Crudup)
  "Get Back" (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)

According to longtime NYC radio DJ Dave Herman (who can be heard at the beginning and end of the album), Elton John cut his hand at some point during the performance, and by the end of the show, his piano keyboard was covered with blood.

Just Ducky

Actually, it's a buck-and-a-quarter quarterstaff. But I'm not tellin' HIM that.



Ho! Ha-ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust! *sproinggggg*!

Free Bird

Lynyrd Skynyrd's legend is grounded in a plane crash that occurred 6:52 CDT on October 20, 1977, three days after the release of Street Survivors. A chartered Convair 240, N55VM, carrying the band between shows from Greenville, South Carolina to LSU in Baton Rouge, Louisiana crashed near a forest five miles northeast of Gillsburg, MS (N31 04.317 W90 35.950). The crash killed singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist/vocalist Steve Gaines, vocalist Cassie Gaines, assistant road manager Dean Kilpatrick, pilot Walter McCreary and co-pilot William Gray. Other band members were injured, some very seriously. Drummer Artimus Pyle crawled out of the plane wreckage with several broken ribs, but was ambulatory, as were road crew members Kenneth Peden Jr. and Mark Frank. Of the 26 on board, 20 survived the crash.

The official NTSB accident report reads, "The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of this accident was fuel exhaustion and total loss of power from both engines due to crew inattention to fuel supply. Contributing to the fuel exhaustion were inadequate flight planning and an engine malfunction of undetermined nature in the right engine which resulted in higher-than-normal fuel consumption."



History of the Flight:

On October 20, 1977, the L&J Company Convair 240 registration (N55VM) operated as a charter flight to transport the Lynyrd Skynyrd Band from Greenville, SC to Baton Rouge, LA. The aircraft was owned by the L&J Company of Addision, TX and the flight crew was employed by Falcon Aviation of Addision. A lease agreement had been entered into by Lynyrd Skynyrd Productions, Inc. and the L&J Company for the period October 11, 1977 to November 2, 1977.


At 05:30 local on October 18, 1977 N55VM had arrived at the Greenville, SC downtown airport from Lakeland, FL. While on the ground at Greenville, the aircraft had been refueled with 400 gallons of 100 octane low lead fuel.On October 20, 1977 at 17:02 local, the flight had departed Greenville Downtown Airport for Baton Rouge, LA. The pilot had filed an IFR flight plan by phone with the Greenville Flight Service Station.


The route of flight was to be V20 Electric City, direct Atlanta, direct La Grango, direct Hattiesburg V222 McComb, V194 direct Baton Rouge. The pilot requested an altitude of 12,000 feet and stated that his time enroute would be 2 + 43 and that the aircraft had 5 hours of fuel on board. The pilot was also given a weather briefing.The flight was initially cleared as filed, except the pilot was told to maintain 5,000 feet.


Shortly after take-off, the flight was cleared to 8,000 and was asked to report when leaving 6,000. When the flight reported leaving 6,000 it was issued a frequency change. The pilot did not adhere to the 8,000' restriction and continued climbing to 12,000. The flight was allowed to continue its climb to 12,000 and the clearance was so amended.After reaching 12,000, N55VM proceeded according to flight plan and at 18:39:50 was cleared to descend to and maintain 6,000.


This clearance was acknowledged. At 18:40:15 the flight told Houston Center, "We're out of one two thousand for six thousand."


About 18:42:00 the flight advised Houston, "Yes sir, we need to get to an airport, the closest airport you've got, sir!" Houston Center responded by asking the crew if they were in an emergency status.


The reply was, "Yes sir, we're low on fuel and we're just about out of it, we want vectors to McComb, post haste please, sir!"


Houston Center gave the flight vectors to McComb and at 18:42:55 advised it to turn to a heading of 250 degrees. The flight did not confirm that a turn was initiated until 18:44:12.


At 18:44:34, the pilot of N55VM said, "We are not declaring an emergency, but we do need to get close to McComb as straight and good as we can get, sir!"


At 18:45:12 the flight advised Houston Center, 55 Victor Mike, we're out of fuel!" Center replied, "Roger, understand you're out of fuel?"


The flight replied, "I'm sorry, it's just an indication of it." The crew did not explain what that indication was.


At 18:45:47 Houston Center requested the flight's altitude. The response was, "We're at four point five." That was the last recorded communication between N55VM and Houston Center. Several attempts were made by Houston Center to contact the flight but there was no response.


At 18:55:51 another aircraft reported picking up a weak transmission from an (ELT) emergency locator transmitter.The aircraft had crashed in heavily wooded terrain, during twilight hours at an elevation of 310 feet and at latitude N31 04.317 longitude 90 35.950 near the town of Gillsburg, MS.

With the time gaps, speed of the plane and the flight path - it seeems to me that the pilot over shot the McComb airport and crashed some 10.5 miles away.

"To me, there's nothing freer than a bird, you know, just flying wherever he wants to go. And, I don't know, that's what this country is all about, being free. I think everyone wants to be a free bird." - Spoken by Ronnie, in an interview, while fishing.

"I'm as free as a bird now,
and this bird you cannot change." - From the song, Free Bird.

If the South would've won we'd a had it made,
I'd prolly run for President of the Southern States.
The day young Skynyrd died, we'd show our Southern Pride,
If the South woulda won we'd had a it made.

lyric: If The South Woulda Won by Hank Williams, Jr.

Another Year

On a Friday afternoon, 55 years ago today, in the living room of Ruth Higgins...

Mom and Dad said their vows!!!

Daylight, Tennessee

The old post office/general store is most likely no longer. It wasn't looking so structurally sound some 31 years ago when the photo was taken.

Sherry was working for the Southern Standard, the local newspaper, at the time. She was taking photos, developing and printing in the lab on High Street. I was about to enter my freshman year at MTSU, when I asked her to take a photo of the old run down building. We drove down the steep hill on the dirt road that then ran parallel to Charles Creek. It was the same path that the school bus took right after picking us in the mornings. I remember that I purposely sat on the left side of the bus so I could gaze at the old boards.

When the green shingle house was built in spring of 1960, none of the mail coming to our home had a Zip Code affixed along with the Route 1, Daylight address. The Postal Zip Codes were established for the entire country on July 1, 1963 and sometime before that date the move was made to the main Post Office on the Court House Square in McMinnville. Along with Centertown, Ivring College, Dibrell and other small operations - the postmasters then became letter carriers. Two generations of the Womack family delivered the mail for as long as our family lived on "Route 8".

And yes, that is a tree growing through the roof.

Uncle Bratten

Bratten Benjamin Woods

McMinnville resident and Cannon County, TN native Bratten Woods, age 71, was born April 22, 1936 and died July 25, 2007 at NHC Healthcare McMinnville following an extended illness. The food manager at Bi-LO and a member of the Church of Christ, he was the son of the late Sherman and Nora Haley Woods.

In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by one brother, Dorren Woods and two sisters, Helen Woods and Jean Stembridge.

He was married in 1974 to Linda Sue Hall Woods of McMinnville.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by one daughter, Dana Woods of McMinnville; brother, James Woods of McMinnville and sister, Robbie "Ronald" Fults of Manchester, TN.

Neices and Nephew - Bernice, Bob, Sherry, Beverly, Regina, Stephanie, LeAnn and Christy.

Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, July 27, 2007 in High's Chapel with Garland Robinson and Ray Weddington officiating. Burial will follow in the Trousdale Cemetery. Visitation will be held from 2:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. Thursday and from 10:00 a.m. until time of service Friday at High's.

Most of my memories of Bratten includes James. Mainly because James and Bratten were always working together on the farm. They worked "in town" and would arrive home within five minutes of each other.

• Building the Barn


• Building the Garage (it was call the garage, even though there was never a vehicle park in it - it was full of wood working equipment). It is from these experiences that I obtain my interest and love of construction and woodworking


• Feeding the cows in the afternoon


• Playing catch with a real baseball and glove for the first time. James and Bratten bought them for me!!!


• Watching the bulldozer dig the pond


• Being careful not to tip over the "tin cans" at the ends of the couch


• Driving the tractor


• Riding in the new red Pickup Truck to Whitlock's Grocery to get the item needed by Granny to finish preparing supper


• Sitting with Bratten and/or James instead of Mom and Dad during worship services


• Wrigley's Spearmint Gum that had extra flavor added by osmosis

James and Bratten - March 25, 1951

Pythagorean theorem

It is one of the first formulas you learn in Geometry.

And using this equation to square a foundation or a deck is one of the easiest things you can do to ensure that you end up with perfect right angles or SQUARE CORNERS.

Start in one corner.
To apply the rule, start at stake B and measure out 3 feet toward A. Mark the string.

Beginning again at stake B, measure out 4 feet toward C. Mark the string.

With a second pair of hands and starting at your 3-foot mark on string A, pull a tape measure to the 4-foot mark on string C.

This diagonal measurement should read exactly 5 feet. When working alone, put a stake on the outside of the string at the 3-foot mark on A and tie a string to the stake. Mark this string with a 5-foot measurement. Now, pull the string so that the 5-foot mark lands on your 4-foot mark on C.

If the distance between A and C doesn't measure 5 feet, then move A or B out or in until it does.

When the measurement between the two points (A & C) reads 5 feet, your layout is square!

My Geometry teacher (Mr. G.L. Dotson) back at WCSH would be proud...

Or not...

31 years ago

Hank Aaron was the featured guest on the pregame show before tonight's Braves/Cardinal match up. He hit his last and 755th Home Run on July 20, 1976 at Milwaukee County Stadium. "The Hammer" was traded by the Braves to the Brewers after the 1975 season.

Hammerin' Hank only played for two teams in the majors: The Braves and the Brewers.

Milwaukee Braves became the Atlanta Braves in 1966 - an event that brought Major League Baseball to the southeast and young boys in Middle Tennessee to following the happens in Fulton County Stadium. Kevin Prater (one of my best friends growing up) and I discussed games, players and stat - usually after church services.

As Hank narrowed in on the record held by Babe Ruth in the early 70's, interest peaked even more. Saturday's afternoon schedule of NBC's broadcast of the Game of the Week included the Braves. There wasn't national cable channels way back then. And with only one chance per week to see live baseball, it was a extra treat to be able to see a few more from our "home town" team. Even though Atlanta was 200 miles away.

Now there is some guy that is within two Home Runs of Hank's record.

I've got ten words to say about that:

MayPop

Maypop (Passiflora incarnata), also known as Purple passionflower, is a fast growing perennial vine with climbing or trailing stems. A member of the passionflower genus Passiflora, the Maypop has large, intricate flowers with prominent styles and stamens. One of the hardiest species of passionflower, it is a common wildflower in the southern United States.

The fleshy fruit, also in itself called a Maypop, is an oval yellowish berry about the size of a hen egg; it is green at first, but then becomes orange as it matures. In this species, the yellow mucilage around the seeds of the fruit is sweet and edible, however it is quite seedy and mostly benefits wildlife.

I remember the field just to the west of the house in Daylight, TN. It was full of the purple flowers and green eggs. Very few of the fruit made it to maturity with me around. I would seek out the orbs and apply pressure with the bottom of my tennis shoe...

POP!!!

The sound of the air escaping from made for entertaining a young boy on a hot summer day.

"Passion" does not refer to love, but to the Passion of Christ on the cross. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries discovered this flower and adopted its unique physical structures as symbols of Crucifixion.

For example: the 72 radial filaments (or corona) represent the Crown of Thorns. The ten petals and sepals represent the ten faithful apostles. The top 3 stigmata represent the 3 nails and the lower 5 anthers represent the 5 wounds.

In North America they are also called the Maypop, the water lemon, and the wild apricot (after its fruit). Native Americans in the Tennessee area called it ocoee, and the Ocoee River and valley are named after it.

All of the sudden, I feel OLD!

It was twenty FORTY years ago today,
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band...




Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
(Lennon/McCartney)
Released June 3, 1967

Look at us, we're walking

I have mentioned the song in the Remember When Post and the blog about Metro's first steps after his accident . And I got to thinking... Do I remember all the lyrics? A Google search confirmed my fears --- I got most of them.

Look at us, we're walking,
Look at us, we're talking,
We who never walked or talked before.

Look at us, we're laughing,
We're happy and we're laughing,
Thank you from our hearts forevermore.

But there are so many other children
Who only speak with a silent prayer
For those of us who haven't been so lucky
We hope and pray you will always care.

And someday they'll be walking
Someday they'll be talking.
Imagine walking to the candy store!

But the fight has just begun
Get behind us everyone
The hope will make our dreams come true-
Thanks to you, thanks to you.

< s h u t t e r >

Remember When...

Kuhn’s 5 & 10 and Lay’s Five and Dime were where you really wanted to go on Saturday morning. The hardwood floors would squeak up a storm as you walked the aisles in Kuhn’s. King's Department Store. Fraley's Furniture. Cook's Department Store and the fire that destoryed it. Cedar shavings on court house square. Turning the handle on the parking meters.

Miss Nancy on Romper Room

Boyce Hawkins, Bob Lobertini, George Goldtrap (with his flipping chalk) and Bill Hall were the T.V weathermen

Marcia Trimble’s name was used as a reminder to be home when you were told to be home

Roma Pizza, Dean’s Dairyland and the lunch counters at City Drugs and Stewart’s Pharmacy

“Look at us we’re walking”

Getting ready for school while watching Ralph Emory and hoping Snow Bird would show up and Keith Bilbrey would name your county

The smell of the library and the Elkin's Hardware Store

WBMC, WAKI, WLAC and KDF

Purity Dairies cow said "it must be nice to be wanted".

Avalon Dairy and 8 ounce cartons of milk

Weekday afternoons of: Dialing for Dollar and The Big Show

Huell Howser, Oprah Winfrey and Pat Sajak before they went on to bigger things

Field trips to the Park Theater and Warren County Airport or if you were really good - Cumberland Caverns!!!


Cooper & Martin, HG Hills, Lentz Cee Bee

Warren County Livestock and Agricultural Fair

S&H Green Stamps and Top Value Stamps

McMinnville Central Bulldogs and McMinnville City Rebels

Sonic to Dean's Dairyland and back again, and again, and again, and again, and again...

Grand ol' Ladies of the South

The Old South is full of them. Some are better preserved that others. Show cases of "old times there". I can only imagine the tales walls could tell and the history that passed by the Main Street out front for nearly two centuries.

This specimen is in a sad condition. The Corinthian columns are decaying at their bases. The side protocol is caving in under it own weight. The front balcony is infested with honey bees (they were swarming around the broken boards).



We peeked into the windows. There is indications of someone working on the old place. The floor are clean. The inside is clear of any real damage. The stairs (both the front and rear) appeared to be in decent condition, no warping or missing treads. The kitchen is void of any evidence of any meal ever being prepared. It is like the old girl is being prepared for a grand ball some time in the distant furture.

It is going to take a lot of work and money to redress this Southern Lady!

I can't help but wonder... What kind of homes would have been the norm if the War of Northern Aggressions had turn out differently?

Chief Noc-A-Homa

And when we started talking I could not believe my ears,
You said you were a Braves fan even through the rotten years.

My Kind of Girl, Collin Raye


92 years old she is…


Back in the days when the only television reception available was an antenna (the higher you can get it the better the reception – and that wasn’t the greatest), Mama Mildred would watch the Braves games on WTBS, but just barely. The picture was fuzzy at best. If it happened to be during a peak in the sunspot cycle, you could forget it. Channel 17 from Atlanta was pumping some megawatts in the days before cable, and way before satellite dishes. Turn the rotary just right. And when the snow on the screen was so bad that it was not viewable, she would listen to the games on the radio. Mama got hooked on the Braves.

When she finally gave in and got hooked up on the Dish Network, she was like a kid set loose in a candy store. But there was the problem of when and what station would be carrying the broadcast of the next game. Sissy did the first list about 8 years ago. I have done the years since. Date, opponent, stadium, start time and channel number are printed out for each month of the season. Seven crisp sheets of paper are now placed on a clip board beside the lift chair.

With good coaching, pitching, fielding and hitting – I will get to print out an eight sheet come October.

63 Years and 1 Day

Sometime last week, the bulb in Mama's security light went out!!! So, I called the Little Ocmulgee E.M.C. to have it replaced.

"How is the account listed?"

I gave her Mama's name.

"Is there another name?"

I gave her Daddy's name.

"I don't see that one either. What's the phone number?"

I gave her Mama's phone number.

"Would it be listed as W. F."

I replied, "Yes, that was her late-husband's initials."

"Oh, is he deceased?"

"Yes, ma'am... Several years ago."

"She needs to come in and apply for service in her name. And she will be eligible for his Capital Credits. It will probably nice little amount."

So after lunch, we drove downtown to the office. Out of curiosity, I asked when the orginial membership was started.

Tammy replied, "February 18, 1944." I think my jaw nearly hit the counter top!!!

Sarah was a negative six months old. I would imagine that the only use for electricity back then was for lighting the night. Cooking was still done on a wood stove, heat came from the fireplace that is now covered over and hot water was a pot on the stove. I wonder how long afterwards Daddy got them a radio...



Later, we drove around the country-side - taking a bunch of photos and listening to Mama tell of the days of covered wagons and cotton fields. Mama's enjoy her President's Day ride... but not nearly as much as we enjoyed listening to her!!!

23 years...

Brandi was just a few weeks old. One of my least favorite daily tasks was lessen by my decision that day. I would grow a beard. The bristles grew in red. Red versus the brown of the thick mass of hair that grows on my top of my head. Well the red has given way to grey and white over the past few years. So much so that my beard was almost invisible when I trimmed it on Saturday evenings for Sunday services and on Wednesday mornings.

I didn't cut it all! I left the moustache - it has been part of me for 30 years. I don't think I would even know how to shave my upper lip! And I also left a goatee. What I shaved away was the the whiter portions.

So what caused me to part with something that has been with me almost half of my life? I'm still not sure!

By the way, what is this short stubble all over my face? I forgot what is was like to have a five o'clock shadow!