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REATHA MARIE (JOHNS) ALBURY

NELLIE/WM>ALTA BURDETT>REATHA

Lloyd Albury (Nellie/Wm>Alta Ruth>Reatha, wife of Lloyd) has undergone surgery for colon cancer. He is recovering well, and the prognosis is very optimistic. He should be resting comfortably at home soon. 05/27/2006

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As I was writing you a while ago, I had a phone call on the voice mail from Felicia . Felicia said she had let Dylan stay with Mikey and yesterday afternoon they had left the baby with Kevin's mother and gone to pick Dylan up. He didn't want to go home, but she told him he had to because a hurricane was coming. As they were going home, a car ran in front of Kevin. Kevin hit the brakes, which ran him off of the wet road. The car hit a culvert and went head over heels and landed upside down. Felicia said as she looked back, the back windshield was out and she didn't see Dylan. She said he was hanging upside down in his seatbelt. When she got him out, and they were on the edge of the road he asked her, "Was that the hurricane?" 8-18-2004 Sent by Cheryl Albury P (Nellie/Wm>Alta Ruth> Reatha>Cheryl>Felicia>Dylan)

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The letter Lavida posted today was one of the most touching things I have ever read.....It's funny what kids remember...I don't remember the birthday party, but I know we used to celebrate a lot of birthdays when we lived on Bird Street in the 1960's. My neighbor, Gail, loved to make special cakes, so we would all get together for parties. Her daughter, Threasa, was the little neighbor girl. However, I wonder about Lavida's perception of things in other areas....I have never thought of myself as soft spoken and doubt my kids have either...

One time Erik (Nellie/Wm>Alta>Gerry>Erik) told me something he remembered from living at our house in Dover when he was six or seven years old that brought tears to my eyes....I still laugh when I think of the time I had him pick up the grapefruit that had fallen on the ground which was a considerable amount... There was an electric sub-station close by the grapefruit tree, and he was pitching them over the high fence that surrounded it.....Just so happened a friend of ours was inside the fence working, but Erik did not see him.....After a few grapefruit came sailing over the fence, a booming voice came from that direction, "What you doing boy!!?" Poor little kid.....

I still feel bad when I think of the Easter they were there....It was decided Cheryl (Nellie/Wm>Alta>Reatha>Cheryl) , who was living in an apartment, would do the Easter eggs for Erik and Felicia (N/W>Alta>Reatha>Cheryl>Felicia) who was about a year old. She was working long hours...She put the eggs on to boil and thought to lie down for just a minute to rest. She woke up with the eggs hitting the ceiling....We did not have any eggs that year for the kids.....I feared it marked Erik for life, but guess it didn't....One wonders how the time they spend with kids affects them...as they perceive things differently than we do. We never know unless they tell us later.... Thanks, Lavida for telling me....Aunt Reatha

AUNT REATHER

Yes, I said "Reather", because as a child, listening to all of my relatives with their very southern accents, that is how it sounded to me. As a little girl, being extremely shy and timid, Aunt Reather (i.e. Reatha Johns-Albury) was the quietest and most soft spoken person that I knew. I enjoyed visiting her home sometimes in the summer, and when I was 7 she gave me a surprise birthday party inviting the little girl next door and my cousin Mindy. She had a piano, and she let me "play" on it. (I never did really learn how). And she made the best roast and potatoes that I have ever had. At her house was the first time that I ever had thousand island dressing. I remember that I loved it very much. She always took me to church with her, and I loved staying with her in the summer so that I could go to vacation bible school. The other day while visiting the web site, I wandered into Aunt Reatha's page and saw looking back at me her beautiful face from 1965. It reminded me how angelic she looked. Don't get me wrong, ALL of those girls were knock down gorgeous! But Aunt Reather just seemed to have some intangible quality that just made it seem like she had been kissed by God. I have all of these memories of her, and I wanted to be sure that it was written down, in case for some reason one day I can't remember. Aunt Reather, I love you. Lavida 7-15-03

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Subject: The twist

Life has a strange way of taking twists and turns. One such involves the May Day story Virginia told. Although I had long since left Thonotosassa Elementary School as my place of formal education, I attended the May celebration there. There was not a lot to do in Thonotosassa, and any social function was well attended. We had plays, put on by the students, carnivals and talent shows at the school. When the accident happened with Virginia, I was in a place where I heard the impact and was on the scene a few seconds after it happened....As everybody rushed to the scene, I was visibly shaken when I saw who it was...We all stood around in shock as the ambulance came and took her away...I do remember hearing that the man who had hit her went to the hospital to see her and that he had a large family

Fast forward a year or two. I attended Brandon High School in the 10th grade and became bosom buddies with a girl who went there....Some time during that year, she told me she would like for me to meet her boyfriend's brother.... I was attending another function at Thonotosassa School, in the fall I believe, when I heard someone call my name. I turned to see who it was and saw my bosom buddy with a boy. She introduced me to him, and from that meeting we began to date....Not long after she asked me, "You don't know who he is, do you?"...Innocently, I said, "No." She told me that it was his father who had hit Virginia with his car....She told me he felt so bad about the accident...that he loved kids, had twelve or thirteen of his own...I had no ill feelings toward the boy or his father, realizing it was an accident.

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Reatha with Janet & Ray Smith (Nellie/Wm>Thelma>Janet) Reunion 2002
Photo by Barb Burdett S

SERENDIPITY
Spring Lake, Florida

THE MOVE

Stuff! Just stuff!! Lots of stuff!! What a tremendous amount of 'stuff' we accumulate over the years. One is not motivated to evaluate the necessity of all this 'stuff' until a move is undertaken.

We put the 'stuff' into categories: 'Functional Stuff'- Furniture, appliances, tools, dishes, linens. 'Memories Stuff'- Stuff that has been given to you or has some special meaning associated with it. "The Someday We Might Have a Use For It Stuff"- This is stuff that you no sooner throw away, than you need it. " The It would cost us a lot more to replace it now Stuff."-You don't ever use it, but if you ever needed it, you would have to pay a lot more for it.

It's perfectly logical to see how most of the 'stuff' fell under the heading of "Necessary", so most of it made the move. We had four or five large, box trucks full of 'stuff' to move, plus what we could cram into the van, car and truck. And then there were the pets; a few cats, Pepper our little black dog and Bear the chow dog, who had been given to me for Christmas one year over Lloyd's objections. These definitely fell into the "Necessary" category.

The move to Spring Lake was overwhelming. We had two weeks to be out after the closing on the house, I was working, and it was the middle of August. Anyone who has ever been to Florida in August, knows the heat and humidity are almost unbearable. We were moving from a large, two story house to a mobile home (without air conditioning) and a shed. 'Stuff' was put in every nook and cranny. The shed was packed solid right to the door. Some things had to be put outside and covered with plastic, as there just was not room for all the 'stuff'. But we were going to build a house, so thought we could cope. Our coping skills were put to the ultimate test.

The kitchen was a woman's nightmare, scarcely any counter top area, although the table was close enough to the stove and sink that by positioning your feet just right and stretching, it could be used like a counter top. I could not find my large pot, or many of the essentials, but right there within reach were our winter coats and the Christmas decorations. I did not find my make-up for two weeks. This was not a problem, however, as in the heat, it would run right off of one's face, and I did not leave the place for weeks, if not months. Then when we began to build, it was an experience no human being should have to endure.

PART TWO COUNTRY LIFE

Before moving to Spring Lake, we would come up on weekends, put the hammocks out under the trees, and bask in the quiet and solitude. Thankfully, we had built the small shed during that time. Living here, the traffic and hustle and bustle of Hillsborough County, which increased every month and through the years had gotten almost unbearable, was far removed. I was grateful to be away from it and here where few cars went by on the road all day. Being able to retire added to the feeling of being liberated. As I soaked up the seclusion and the wonders of nature, I began to revive, until I am almost normal after ten years of living here.

GOD'S CREATION The first morning I went down the long driveway to get the paper, there was one lone morning glory hanging from a tree. I felt it was there to welcome me. I now took time to enjoy nature and saw many very small birds flitting about high in the trees. I noted there were different varieties, but did not know if they were finches or not. Woodpeckers using their jack hammer beaks to get bugs out of the trees were entertaining. There seemed to be an abundance of these birds, and many of them were much larger than I had seen before.

Most evenings at dusk, we went outside to enjoy the quietness and listen to the night sounds. Who wanted to be cooped up in a mobile home? with no air conditioning? Just as dark settled in, we would hear the hoot, hoot, hoot of the night owls with their scary sounds. In the distance, we could hear the whip-poor-wills calling to each other. Lightning bugs flitted about. Looking up into the night sky was exhilarating as God's handiwork was displayed before us. There seemed to be so many more stars and they were much closer. It is a marvel what real darkness does for the night sky. The cats and Pepper gathered around, sharing our company and the enchantment of the night.

I still marvel at the sights and sounds of nature which are so abundant here. The trees areon the front of the property, and the hill and pasture are on the back, so from my kitchen window, I have a clear view of the sky. I have watched large, fluffy, white clouds drift across the blue sky, and enjoyed the evening sky ablaze with beautiful red streaking across the vast expanse. I have observed dark, threatening clouds, with ominous streaks of lightning and booming thunder, as a storm builds.

In the mornings as I look out across the pastures, I see mist covered hills. As the sun begins to spread it's rays, I see diamonds on the trees and grass. How thrilled I was the first time I looked out the kitchen window and saw the bluebirds with their tangerine colored breast. I had only seen them in pictures before and did not think they came this far south. I have always thought of them as "the bluebirds of happiness". One winter there were five or six that darted about, lighting momentarily to eat the small seeds from a tree in the back yard. On several occasions, I went outside to try to capture them on film, but I was disappointed as my presence scared them away. They come only rarely any more as we have so many cats. I really miss them. Little cottontail rabbits, feeding on the green shoots have been spotted on my way to the mailbox. Sometimes they would continue to eat, but other times they darted for their home in the thicket near the road. One day just as I started down the driveway to the mailbox, I stopped in my tracks as I saw a flock of wild turkeys turn into our drive from the road. There were several adult birds and many little ones. They came just a short distance, changed their minds, turned and went back out on the road. Soon, they disappeared in the woods, which are just a little ways down the road and across from us. Other times we have seen two or three together as we made our way down the tree covered, graded road heading south.

PART THREE-We Were Not Alone

Each spring we watched as small birds looked for places to build their nests. Many times they chose the supports on the front porch. When we saw the baby birds begin to fly, we kept close watch to keep the cats away from them. I remember one time a bird was raising her young in a nest she had made in the hanging pot right outside the front window. The babies were getting older and beginning to flutter in the nest. One of the cats was on the window sill watching the motion. I left her as I did not think she could reach the nest. Quick as a wink, the cat leapt from the window sill. Hanging on the edge of the pot with her front paws, she swung back and forth until she fell. She never tried that trick again.

One day, we were watching out for some baby birds who had jumped out of the nest and were fluttering in the air for a short distance before falling to the ground. Out of nowhere, one of the cats jumped on one of the little birds. Lloyd ran outside, and rescued the bird from the cat's mouth. He locked the cat in the shed until all the baby birds were secure in the trees in the front.

A short time after moving to Spring Lake, we noticed signs of animals digging. Then we spotted a couple of armadillos rooting in the yard. They would come out in the early morning hours and root for grubs and worms. When their rooting became destructive to the yard and flower beds, I tried everything I could think of to discourage them. I even planted moth balls just under the dirt to keep them out of the flower beds. Nothing worked. Finally, in order to have any plants, Lloyd put up low fences around all the flower beds. Many times we could hear Pepper, the little dog, deep under the low shed where they lived, furiously barking at them. She dug holes under it in her pursuit and would come out with her nose covered with dirt. It did not seem to bother the armadillos. We have watched them raise their young. Early one morning, I saw a small one nosing around in the yard. Shortly afterward, I saw two, then three. The mother had triplets that year. We delighted in watching them as they made their rounds in the early morning, hunting for food. When the young ones were old enough, the family disappeared for a while. We decided they took the young off somewhere and left them to begin their own lives. Weeks later, I noticed an armadillo in the yard grubbing for worms. I never had the heart to try to run them off as I had never seen one before moving here, and I liked watching them. Lloyd called them, "Opossum on the half shell".

 

PART FOUR

One day at noon, Lloyd and I were sitting at the bar eating lunch (this was after we moved into the house). I looked out the window, and running along the fence line was a large, red fox. We did not have time to get the camera and get a picture of him as he was running at a pretty good clip. As Lloyd hurried outside, the fox turned and ran across the ridge up in the pasture, to quickly disappear. A resident opossum lived under another shed. Sometimes, Pepper would stick her nose in the opossum's entrance to his home under the shed and bark continuously at him. Didn't seem to bother him either, as he continued to live here. After Pepper died, many times in the evenings just after dark, the opossum would be seen out on the back porch eating the left over cat food. The cats would just lie on the picnic table or banister and watch as the opossum ate their food. For a few months, there was a racoon who lived under the back deck. But after a while he had just moved on.

I always look forward to the spring here as the flowers burst forth and the trees shed their old leaves and put on new green ones. The fields and ditches along the highways are covered with phlox, the azaleas are ablaze with color, and throughout the woods dogwoods can be seen. And I know the cuttings will root into new plants.

But I believe I like the fall more, as the oppressive heat and humidity leave, and the air takes on a cool crispness. In late August, early September, the morning glories cover vines, trees and fences along the roadsides. The raintrees fill with yellow bloom, which shortly turn into pink blossoms They always remind me of Aunt Reatha, as she had several of these trees in her yard. The fields turn golden, and the leaves change, some red, some yellow, adding color among the greens and browns.

Large rolls of hay are stored on the edges of the fields. Several times in the fall, Lloyd has put bales of hay on the large trailer and we have gone for a hayride after roasting hot dogs over a fire and drinking the hot cider my friend always makes. Some of the kids usually come up and we have a few friends over to share the fun.

One time as Lloyd took a haywagon full of kids and the young at heart for a hayride up the hill in the pasture, two large birds, which I believe to be sandhill cranes joined us. They kept a safe distance and stood down by the fence. They were so tall that their bodies stood almost as high as the four feet high fence. Every winter, we have some in the neighborhood, and you can hear them making their strange noises as they fly overhead.

One of the most enchanting experiences I have had was to ride in the hay wagon after dark, down the tree covered road, woods or pastures on both sides, on around several curves and suddenly there was a full moon hanging low in the eastern sky as it began to rise over the lake. Lloyd drives the truck or tractor with the lights off for these hayrides. On one of these rides it was very dark and we were put putting along, laughing and talking. All of a sudden there was a loud commotion beside us and all the kids screamed. Truthfully? I think everybody screamed. We finally determined it was some of the cows come to inspect this intrusion into their domain. The small cemetery is next to the lake, and one time as Lloyd was pulling the hay wagon by, he made noises like ghosts to try to scare the kids.

For me Spring Lake with all the little creatures, tree covered lanes, picturesque pastures with either horses or cattle, enough space to accommodate the families without being too close, friendly, but not intruding people, is a wonderful place to live. I have been blessed. COMING: The domesticated animals. First will be the cats.

 

 

 

PART FIVE
DOWN ON THE FARM - CATS

Cats are some of the most intriguing and entertaining creatures ever created. Their different dispositions become evident when there are several living together. As Lloyd has had a lengthy love affair with them, we have had some unusual and touching experiences with the ones who have made their home with us. We have seen snobbery, clannishness, and also heartwarming displays of motherly love. They have shown endearing affection for humans. Because of their clannish inclination, any time a new cat came to live with us, the other cats did not want to have anything to do with it, to the point of moving away when the new one tried to eat. Many of them stayed segregated for life; only their offspring would associate with them. We have learned that all cats have their own cat-anality. You can't call it personality.

THE ARISTOCAT

An elderly neighbor called to tell us a cat had taken up at her place, and she did not want it. She knew we had lots of cats and wondered if we might take another one. In trying to talk me into taking this young cat, she kept assuring me that it was a beautiful cat with nice manners. She said she thought it was a female, which I like better as they stay at home and do not get all beat up from fighting with other cats.

I put forth my most convincing arguments to Lloyd, all the neighbor had told me about the cat, in an effort to get him to just go "look" at the cat. Finally, he reluctantly agreed, protesting we did not need another cat, we had enough. We drove over on the next road, down the long, winding drive, and knocked on the door of a house that looked like a motel. When the lady brought the cat for us to see, it was love at first sight for me. I saw what unusual beauty and appeal she had. She had green eyes, long black fur, a large, fuzzy tail and a light gray furry collar around her neck. We discovered she had six toes on each front paw.

This beautiful creature had the art of enticement down to a science. She turned all her cat charms on Lloyd, rubbing against his legs, and settling comfortably in his arms when he picked her up to scratch her neck. That was his first and last mistake where this cat was concerned. Any resistance he had melted. I did not have to do anything to convince him that we should take her. Once she was in his arms, using her wiles on him, he agreed she could go home with us. Lloyd fixed her a place on the screened porch and she was content. Later when he felt she had settled in, he decided she needed to explore the outdoors and get to know the other cats.

PART SIX-THE ARISTOCAT

That evening when he put food out for the cats, this beautiful stranger made herself right at home on the picnic table. But the other cats were having no part of this intruder. They backed away from her and sat a distance apart, just watching her. She ignored them, eating until she was full and then sat down to wash her face and paws. Finally, she jumped down from the picnic table, which had long been the domain of the cats, and slowly walked off. She has continued to get this treatment from the other cats, but she has held her head high, oblivious to the shunning. She has endeared herself to us, and that is all that matters as far as she is concerned. She carries an air about her that suggest she is above all their pettiness. Lloyd took her right away to have her fixed. When he went to pick her up that evening, one of the persons working in the cat hospital had her in her arms, carrying her around. She told Lloyd that she was a smoked Persian, and the six toes is one of the characteristics these cat have. She said that every day they do these operations, they pick a cat of the day and Stealth was the one for that day. Several times I have attempted to take pictures of her. Since she is black, I have tried to put her against a complimentary background. She refuses to stay where I put her, so the pictures leave much to be desired. Just this week, I was trying to get a picture of Lloyd with several of the cats. She refused to sit with the rest of them. Went off a distance, lay down, began cleaning herself and ignored all our pleas for her to get in the picture. Two or three times, I picked her up and gave her to Lloyd, only to have her squirm until she was free. She returned to the same place and completely ignored us. Lloyd named her Stealth, as we find her in the house and never see when she makes her way in. I call her the Aristocat.

PART SEVEN - THE GRANDMA CAT & OTHER CHARACTERS

The old grandma cat was the start of many of the cats we have. She tried to have as many as she could before Lloyd took matters in hand and had her fixed. As she got older, and there were more and more cats, she began to shun them. When the food was put on the picnic table, she would not eat with them. We obliged her need for some space, and began to put her food on the floor in a pie plate. One of her kittens, Mama's Baby, who was grown by this time, would eat with her. But if any of the other cats came up to eat in her plate, she would hiss, throw a quick left hook, and run them off. When she is lying around or sitting on the kitchen window sill, if any of the other cats try to share her space, she either runs them off or just moves. It is as if she has disdain for this bunch of cats. She seems to have forgotten, she is the cause of many of them. One of the offspring of this cat was a calico who I named Callie. She is an easy going, sweet natured cat who loves to be held and petted. When we are outside working in the yard, she follows us wherever we go, and when we stop to do something, she sits at our feet, looking up into our face, waiting for some show of affection.

Many of the cats go to the mailbox with Lloyd when he goes out. On one occasion when he was taking video pictures of an armadillo rooting in the yard, several of the cats had gathered around to watch. Finally, the Grandma cat took matters in her own paw, ran and jumped on the armadillo, who shot straight up in the air, making a hissing noise. At this commotion, cats scattered everywhere. When the armadillo landed on the ground, he looked around, returned to rooting up the yard for a minute or so, thought better of his decision, and took off for his hiding place under the shed, running between Lloyd's legs.

Scarface was another cat who just took up with Lloyd. We never knew where he came from, but he had some battle scars. It wasn't long before we knew why. Scarface became a bully, so he had to go.

Lloyd has a reputation in the neighborhood because of his love for cats. Well, everyone knows what happens when you get a reputation like that? Every time a stray cat shows up at someone's house, Lloyd gets a call to see if he will take it. He usually does, in fact, I can't remember him refusing a cat. We have had some characters given to us because of this. One of the neighbors up on the hill called one day to say there was a young cat in a tree down by the road and wanted to know if Lloyd would see if he could get it down. Lloyd named her Spider because of the way she would bow up and jump sideways across the yard. She entertained him many times with these antics. As she matured, she got bigger and bigger and became more aggressive. I remarked to Lloyd that I had never seen a female cat who would fight with the male cats before. One day, he had to examine Spider for fleas, burrs or something and he came in and told me, "Guess what? Spider is a he." That explained this cat's out of character behavior.

Another one was a cat a young man at church got Lloyd to take. Then he brought a cat home from church that was nearly starved to death. That cat, Tiger, has been so grateful that he rescued her, that she loves him dearly. She is another one who doesn't care what the other cats think of her. There is food here, this is her home, and she is staying. She has even taken over the kitchen window sill which was the domain of Grandma cat.

STRAY
Lloyd's love for cats was demonstrated by his taking in one of the ugliest cats I have ever seen. One day she showed up at our place. She had nothing as far as beauty was concerned; she was all mingled in color, but he fed her as she was famished. He just could not stand to see an abandoned cat starving. Cats know if they can get that far, they are usually home free. Once you feed a stray cat, that cat is yours for life. So this cat, Stray, belonged to him for the rest of her life. When I questioned him about adopting such a cat, his response was, "I felt sorry for her, she didn't have a kittyhood."

PART EIGHT - MIDWIFERY

The old ugly cat had a kitten which he named Yellow. She and her daughter, Little Girl, were especially close and looked so much alike that I could not tell them apart. Early one morning as I looked out the kitchen window, I saw one of the yellow cats sleeping in the flower bed with a newborn kitten asleep on her. When Lloyd got up I told him about the cats, saying, "That is unusual for a cat to have her new born kitten right out in the open like that, they usually hide under something." Lloyd looked at her and said, "That's not her kitten, she's been fixed."

We kept watching her, knowing when the sun came up and it began to get hot, she would probably move, and he hoped she would lead us to the true mother of the kitten. In a little while, she got up, picked the kitten up in her mouth and began to head toward the sheds. But she did not go under either shed. She went on through the neighbor's fence and into his back yard. There Lloyd found Little Girl with a couple more kittens. She was up under the neighbor's bush hog mower deck. Lloyd quietly slipped all the cats out and put them in a box on the porch. This particular neighbor hates cats, and many times has been heard turning the air blue at them. It seems that certain of our cats like to taunt him by either crossing his yard, getting on his truck, or sleeping in his azalea bed.

When Little Girl had her next litter of kittens, she experienced problems. A few days before they were born, she began to hang around Lloyd, so he fixed her a bed on the screened-in porch. Late one evening, as she began to try to have her kittens, she was having a difficult time so Lloyd had to assist her. He called me to bring the scissors, and we had to cut the umbilical cord on one of them. Being nervous, I cut it too close to the cat's stomach and it began to bleed. We were both upset and cast about how to stop the bleeding. We decided to smear Vaseline on it, which we did and then left it with the mother to keep it warm through the night. Early the next morning as we went to see the kittens, expecting to see this one dead, we saw that Little Girl had licked all the Vaseline off the cat's belly, but there was no bleeding. Opossum, which Lloyd named this cat because of the way it looked, is still with us.

When Little Girl became "with kittens" again, a week or so before they were due, Lloyd fixed her a bed on the screened-in porch. One evening as I was outside watering the plants, she started calling to me, with a distressing meow, begging me to come in to her. I kept talking to her through the screen, but she kept up her pleading. I finally went in and told Lloyd that she was probably going to have her kittens, and she wanted one of us with her. When we were, it seemed to comfort her. When Lloyd realized she was having problems, he examined her and found that the kitten was trying to come butt first. He performed the services of a midwife and helped her have it. This kitten was named Elena after a friend's little girl. One of us was in and out petting her and talking to her as she spent two or three hours delivering these kittens. She had four kittens, Elena, Slowpoke and two males, Fuzzy and Buddy. These male cats were so beautiful. Yellowish orange with large fluffy tails, but after that Lloyd had her fixed. She had too much trouble having her kittens...TO BE CONTINUED

PART NINE - THE PERSON/CAT CONNECTION

Little Girl had too much trouble having her kittens. I took Fuzzy as mine and paid special attention to him. Sometime after he was grown, he disappeared. Lloyd looked for him for over a week, under the sheds, in the junk by the sheds, in the thicket, in the neighbor's yard; but could not find him. One morning when the food was put on the picnic table, there he was like nothing was unusual. He had not lost any weight, so we knew he had spent the time at somebody's house. He disappeared a few more times, only to reappear. Finally, when we went on vacation, he disappeared and we never saw him again. I guess he found a home he liked better.

This summer the mother Yellow died. Just two weeks later, Little Girl died also. One account which shows the love they demonstrate was a mother and daughter who shared the rearing of their kittens. Later, the daughter had another litter, and only one of them lived. One day, Lloyd found her dead. Before she died she had taken her kitten and placed it with her mother.

Slowpoke got her name because when she and her litter mates, who were raised on the porch, began to be let outside, she lazily took her time going out every morning. The two other kittens would come when I called them and bound outside. But I always had to wait on her to take her sweet time getting up, as she stretched her legs, and then moved slowly towards the door.

Sometimes when we go outside at night to look at the stars or a full moon, several of the cats, Callie, Slowpoke, Stealth, Tiger would go with us, rubbing on our legs, the younger ones running around, jumping at leaves and at the older cats. Many of them get a head scratch as Lloyd picks them up, talks to them as he scratches behind their ears. I talk to them and sometimes they answer back, in kitty talk of course. On several occasions, we have tried to take pictures of the different cats. They act just like bratty children; will not stay where you place them, move just as you snap the picture. I tried, unsuccessfully, to get Slow Poke to let me take her picture. She absolutely would not let me hold her, and ran out the door. I took her picture on the run.

It does get pretty cold where we live. Every winter Lloyd would put cardboard boxes on the front porch, which faces south, and fill them with hay for the cats to sleep in. All winter, the porch was a mess. Finally, I convinced him to build them a house on the back porch where 'their' picnic table sits. He built them a motel, with different compartments, and filled it with hay. Now they have their own living quarters, complete with 'their' picnic table. We have learned one never owns a cat, they just take care of them and get to share love with them.

 

 

 

 

The picture of the quilt was my first finished one, except for a backing....Every decade I have started one, but never finished it....I have some things done with material of Cheryl's maternity dresses, and in the one I sent you, there are pieces of some of my dresses and one of material of Felicia's maternity dress. 9-24-02

THE JOYS OF GRANDCHILDREN
BY REATHA ALBURY

LtoR Jim Johns, Bill Johns, 2 church girls, Reatha, 3rh church girl in Darby, Florida circa 1948