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Above not for reunion

Win this Spread by Gerry at the Bryant-Burdett Reunion November 10, 2002, Tampa, Florida

GERRY'S CROCHET DONE AS BIRTHDAYGIFT FOR VIRGINIA AUGUST 2002

THOR

I cleaned house for this woman. She had found this puppy and had looked on local bulletin boards, called local vets, and watched for lost and found ads in the paper to no avail. Kathy had at least twenty cats. This pup was giving the cats such grief that Kathy locked him in her barn. He just lifted the barn latch and the race was on again. I had come over to clean her house, and she told me of her dilemma. She asked if I would be willing to adopt him. That was the most beautiful German Shepherd I think I had ever seen. He still had his baby down. I knew as young as he was to figure out how to lift a latch, he was a very intelligent dog. I took the little critter home. That night I took him to my bedroom and closed the door. I was prepared to get up the next morning and clean the mess up. Well sometime in the middle of the night he woke me up whining. I got up and turned the light on. He was at the door acting frantic. I opened the bedroom door, and he rushed out straight for the front door. I was more in awe over this little guy. I soon found out that he was an alpha male. As long as I had him on a leash he performed like an old pro, but if he wasn’t on a leash, he didn't even stop in my yard. He learned to take evasive action if he heard profanity. He also loved children, and he would head straight to the neighbor's house where there was a young boy.

My bedroom was his safe haven. He stayed under my bed. One day I heard whining and went to investigate. Thor had outgrown his hidey hole. He was stuck. I got my camera and snapped a picture before I lifted the bed so he could get out.

Gerry Johns Fay-More Christmas Memories

I remember that Virginia’s bear Gladly, my donkey and Martha Nell’s elephant were Christmas gifts. My donkey was sort of a rose color with a green yarn mane. I don’t know what happened to him, but I do remember that Mama and Jim sat up after the rest of us had gone to bed making them so that we would have something for Christmas.

After I had my four kids they would examine the Christmas gifts, shaking and pinching them. Gradually they would figure out what most of them were before Christmas morning. One Christmas I had an idea. I assigned each kid a number, which I wrote down in the back of my address book so I wouldn’t forget who was what number. Then I put tags on the gifts with each kid’s number instead of name. They didn’t crack that code, and come Christmas morning they had some surprises.

MUSINGS THROUGH THE EYES OF AN OLD OLD OLD WOMAN

Musings through the eyes of an old old old woman (or is it just old old?] Lets see, my son is thirty and my daughter-in-law is twenty eight, and they are old, so I must just be old old.

Why is there a can of dog food on my table in my shop/bedroom? Oh yes, now I remember---I brought it in so I could read the list on the table of the ingredients.

There is a cat brush on my table. Why is that there? right, Boomer [the cat] was visiting with me as I crochet. I looked at her and thought what a beautiful cat, so I decided to brush her. You see I refer to her as [the cat] and not [my cat] because every cat lover knows that a cat is never owned. If it suits them, they will grace you with their presence.

I move the dining room chairs . I look at all the spots on the upholstered seats and wonder how many my grand children put on and how many my great grandchildren were responsible for. I should recover them but looking at the spots brings back such pleasant memories of meals shared.

Gee, I got half the floor mopped; but, lets see---that was last week, or was it the week before? Should I remop the first half or should I mop the second half? 2-12-02

CHRISTMAS

by Gerry Johns Fay

When we were kids I remember going to Aunt Isabelle’s for Christmas dinner. We must not have had much to eat, so we ate there. When Jim got a job working on a dredge boat he came in with Christmas presents for all of us. He brought beautiful baby dolls for me and Virginia. Mine was blonde and hers was red headed. Before that our dolls had been legs off of cast iron wood cook stoves. We would dress them up and make cradles out of round oatmeal boxes. We would cut half of the round box out, put the cardboard end back on, and they would rock that way.

During the time I was divorced and living in the woods with Erik, my son, here in Washington, I didn’t want to have anybody feeling sorry for me. Erik had gone to Florida for Christmas visitation with his father. I made myself a Christmas dinner, and when Virginia called to ask me to come for dinner I told her I had fixed mine already. She and Mindy brought all of their food down to my trailer, and we all had dinner there. The place was packed with food and people.