Family Pride

When I talk of our family I mean not just my grandparents. I want the sweet wonderful great aunts to be where I came from. Their son's and daughters that thought of us often and knew my grandmother had her hands full.The family members that did well take great pride in the family name. Thing is the egos in our family have always been huge. It really didn't  matter, everyone of them were proud of their name.
When addiction is mentioned or protrayed to me; what I saw growing up was far worse than the average drunk. Today although I may not be exposed to the bars or heavy drinkers; I see nothing as bad as it was growing up.Often when we talk we say that it is the blood;  makes them so strong and prosperous or as I do because of blood don't drink often, because I could begin to like it. This makes me worry more when my girls drink socially. It is highly possible that they are more prone to addiction.
     Back to the generation born in the late eighteen hundreds my grandfather and his son's took the cake. Mayorn and Nancy, my great-grandparents had nine children. Two sons and the rest were girls.One son Red was a somewhat of a drinker and mean but not to the extent that his brother Abe was. Abe being my daddy's father. This was the branch of the tree that was soaked with wildcat whiskey. My grandfather's  sisters children that is where my family pride comes from; although not perfect, but good to me.
     Our family gene pool held many things that can make you excel in many ways. There was ego, passion, pride, good looks and the desire to have money. These things can be used for the betterment or the down fall of any person. What outsiders saw many times was the obvious. Sometime it was a drunken fit for the whole Corum Hollow to hear. Sometime it was a car ran in the ditch. Then there were a couple of fires. Oh yeah, and there were affairs. On a better note there was a good cotton crop, the church services we attended, how nice we looked in clothes that were handmade, and the help lent out to the struggling farmers surrounding our home.

     I realize that reading my stories, some of you may get the impression that some people I was surrounded by were bad very bad people. It is easy to judge others, especially if their actions are mainly motivated by selfishness and addiction. We do come into the world as infants with a desire to be fed and held. This is the beginning of the human characteristic; putting self first. As we grow, live and learn thank goodness that most of us, realize that putting others first makes you feel good. Even the worst of the worst had their moments of giving me something that I could carry with me and use in a positive way. Watching them screw everything up, may have even been a good thing for me. I find humor in many of the things they did; although at the time it wasn’t all that funny.
     I want to explain each of these events and the people in a way that it is understood how I gathered wisdom from each of them. How people even when they seem terrible can make you forget the bad that they did by trying to make it right or look right. I repeat this often and here it is again, better than my words can express.......It is funny to me how many are quick to say they don’t care what others think seem to be the ones that try harder to impress people.


“There’s one sad truth in life I’ve found while journeying east and west-the only folks we really wound are those we love the best. We flatter those we scarcely know; we please the fleeting guest, and deal full to many a thoughtless blow to those who love us best.’~~~Wheeler Wilcox