Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Thanksgiving

Wednesday - November 25, 2009

Giving Thanks

For the hay and the corn and the wheat that is reaped,
For the labor well done, and the barns that are heaped,
For the sun and the dew and the sweet honeycomb,
For the rose and the song and the harvest brought home --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the trade and the skill and the wealth in our land,
For the cunning and strength of the workingman's hand,
For the good that our artists and poets have taught,
For the friendship that hope and affection have brought --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

For the homes that with purest affection are blest,
For the season of plenty and well-deserved rest,
For our country extending from sea unto sea;
The land that is known as the "Land of the Free" --
Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving!

~Author Unknown

Wishing all a very Happy Thanksgiving with family, friends, and all who may gather together to give thanks for the many blessing bestowed upon you this year!!! God has been good to His children and will always be there for all!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Isn't She Precious?

Wednesday - November 18, 2009

We are so thankful that we know how to use the computer and have figured out how we can save and then share pictures of Cora. Jeni and David do a great job posting new pictures of her so that we might see how much she is growing and changing each and every day. Capturing Cora smile with a camera has not always been an easy feat! :) The following pictures were taken by Jeni and David, and I hope you enjoy looking at them!



















Thank you Jeni and David for posting pictures!!!!!

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

My Road - Was It The One Less Traveled?

Tuesday - November 16, 2009

Many of the post I've written have come from the heart in which I thought some would appreciate, like, or agree with. I felt many times I would get a response about the post. Guess I was wrong! I'm not writing to win an award or a pat on the back, but to share with family and friends what might be going on in our lives. But I do know someone reads the blog - according to the counter - so that is good! I just hope that some of the things that have been written, a picture, and even a memory will touch your hearts in a positive way!!!

There are many things weighing heavy on my heart, some of which I will share, other I have chosen not to. God is the only one who knows all my worries, thoughts, hopes, and dreams. I will say that I worry about my family - all have their own individual obstacles to endure and hopefully overcome. I pray that God is with them and will help them through all that in front of them! My prayers are that they all will be able to accept and go forward with whatever God places in front of us all. HE is the ONE in charge!!!

Naturally, one that I worry about is Mom. She is 89 and at times thinks she's 29!!! She can literally at times out work the grandchildren and does it without complaining!!! He generation knew nothing but hard work. They had only themselves to depend on when work was to be completed, because each person had their own responsibilities. She has worked hard her entire life, and she still feels that is the way it should be. Recently she was told by the doctor to keep her feet elevated to help with the swelling. This has been one of the hardest things for her to do. She has followed the doctors orders for the most part! It is so hard to see her wanting to be doing things she did all her life, but doesn't have the stamina to keep up the pace as she use to! She does great, and we try to let her be as active as she can without over doing! How do we decide what is too much and what's not. We let her decide. Her body is telling her, and we watch for the signs!





Dink is another one I worry about - he has been trying so hard to regain what the stroke took away from him. HE and Rhonda both have been relentless with do his therapies even though they have taken a hiatus from the St Mary's Therapy due to the potential of being exposed to all who may have the flu. Rhonda is constantly with Dink, and I worry about her as well. Both are working around and over obstacles many of would never dream about enduring!

I could name all my family and why I worry about them, but the good Lord knows why. I love them all, and will always pray for them.

One little fellow who has caused much worry for Bill and me is Toby. He is our 13 year Old Boston Terrier - just in case those who read this didn't know that bit of information! :) Toby is now under pain management for the rest of his life. How long that will be is in God's hands. Bill and I can not think about that day we know is approaching sooner than later. Some may say, "what's the big deal? It's just a dog! " No, Toby is NOT just a dog. He has been our companion, our friend, our buddy, and our "babee" for the last 13 years! He has loved us unconditionally and has appreciated all we have done and given him throughout his entire life. It will be a very sad day for us when we no longer hear his bark to go outside; his staring at us when we eat awaiting one tiny bite - which the vet said he could have; the piglet sounds while trying to locate the last crumb dropped on the floor; and the snoring when he finally settles down for the night!! He is and has been the best friend we have ever had.



Those I haven't mention should know they are on my mind as much as those I have mentioned!! Bill, David, Jeni, Cora, Mike, Debbie, Laurie, and ALL my nieces and nephews to name a few more!!!!! Some days I just want to crawl under the covers and not come out until all I love have overcome all that faces them and that they are the happy side of the road of life!!!!





Have you ever thought about what life would be like had you chosen a different path? I think human nature has probably caused most of us wonder a little about that! What if I had taken that other path, where would I be and what would I be doing????? Even with all I worry about, I believe I have taken the right paths - I worked at a job that I loved more than I disliked; I have a family I love and would never trade for anything; and most importantly I have God who loves me when I'm up and when I'm down.

Robert Frost wrote a poem called:

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

I don't know if I took the "road less traveled" or not, but it is the road in which has given me much more to be thankful for even with the worries I might have!!!

Saturday, November 14, 2009

WE ARE . . . . . MARSHALL

Saturday, November 14, 2009

39 years ago tonight will be etched in the memories for thousands of people from the Marshall University community. The plane carrying most of the team, coaches, staff, and fans, hit the hillside as they approached the Tri-State airport. All aboard the plane perished that fateful night. I remember that night, and remembering thinking this can't have happened. Many of the players had been or were classmates of mine at MU. Many were friends with John because he was taking the athletic classes in which most of the team was taking!

As I looked over the names of the coaches, players, and the fans, I shudder when I realize at how many I actually knew or had some special connection. The players such as Ted Shoebridge, Michael Blake, Marcelo Lajterman, Allen Skeens, David Griffith, and Barry Nash were members of some of the classes I had taken or were taking in education. Our family's medical doctor and his wife were on that plane, Dr. Joseph and Margaret Chambers. They had three daughters in which two were MU cheerleaders! Dr. Joe's father had been our pediatrician. We knew them well! Other fans on the plane were the parents of many who attended the same high school as I had.

It still makes me shiver when I think back about that night. I was watching my grandmother, who was living with us after my grandfather had passed away earlier that year. Mom and Dad had friends up and they were playing rummy in the kitchen and eating the cheese, pickle, and a cracker tray I had fixed. The boys were milling around watching the game and what ever we had on TV to entertain Mammaw. Then we got a phone call. The daughter of the lady visiting us called and said a plane had crashed out at the airport. Then they interrupted the program on the TV to say a plane had crashed and that there was the fear it was the Marshall plane!

Many people around town jumped into their vehicles to rush out to the airport to see what they could do to help. My brothers also went out to the crash site. Needless to say, there was nothing that could be done! What it did do was embed memories of that fiery plane crash in the minds of all who rushed out to be of assistance - including my brothers!

It was a very long week for the community. Funerals were being planned with many here in Huntington, while others were being sent home to Ohio, Alabama, New Jersey, and Georgia just to name a few of the states. Coach Dawson tried his best to attend all those funerals, because he had recruited many of those boys to come to Marshall. Each funeral had a representative from the coaching staff as well as a surviving team mate who had not been on the plane due to a variety of reasons.

The first day back in one of my classes, there were three black roses on three separate desk scattered about the room. The roses were placed on the desk of three of the players who had been on that plane! That was one of the hardest classes to concentrate in I believe I have ever had!!!

This tragedy did not just touch the lives of those who live in Huntington, or who went to Marshall. It also touched the lives of many sports fans from across the nation, and most definitely the family and friends of all aboard that plane. The flight crew, the coaches, and the players were from all around the United States. They all may be gone, but they will never be forgotten!


The 1970 Team and Coaches
The Coaches:

Rick Tolley – Head Coach
Al Carelli – Offensive Line
Jim “Shorty” Moss - Offensive Coordinator
Deke Brackett – Kicking Coach
Frank Loria – Defensive Backs
Carl Kokor – Defensive Line (was not on the plane)
Red Dawson – Defensive Coordinator (was not on the plane)
Gail Parker – Freshman Coach (was not on the plane)
Mickey Jackson – Offensive Backs (was not on the plane)

The Players:

Jim Adams
Mark Andrews
Michael Blake
Dennis Blevins
Willie Bluford
Larry Brown
Thomas Brown
Roger Childers
Stuart Cottrell
Rick Dardinger
David DeBord
Kevin Gilmore
David Griffith
Arthur Harris
Robert Harris
Bobby Hill
Joe Hood
Tom Howard
Marcelo Lajterman
Richard Lech
Barry Nash
Pat Norrell
Bob Patterson
Scotty Reese
Jack Repasy
Larry Sanders
Al Saylor
Art Shannon
Ted Shoebridge
Allen Skeens
Jerry Stainback
Robert Van Horn
Roger Vanover
Fred Wilson
John Young
Tom Zborill
The following players were not on the plane:
Tony Barile
Richard Brautigan
Jon Calvin
Dickie Carter
Ed Carter
Jack Crabtree
Dave Cyrus
Ed Deeds
Greg Finn
Dennis Foley
Fred Gaudet
Wes Hickman
Frank James
Felix Jordan
Gary Morgan
Pete Naputano
Paul Oden
Nate Ruffin
Jim Sly
Mike Swartley
Richard Taglang
David Withers

Other Athletic and Football Staff:
Charles E. Kautz – Director of Athletics
Gene Morehouse – Sports Information
Jim Schroer – Head Trainer
Donald Tackett – Assistant Trainer
Gary George – Student Assistant Statistician
The following were not on the plane:
Ed Starling – Assistant Director of Athletics
Jim Hodges – Business Manager
Eugene Jones – Assistant Football Manager
Gerald Sieber – Assistant Football Manager
John Hagan – Equipment Manager
Mervin G. Black – Assistant Equipment Manager
David W. Byrd – Student Equipment Manage
Joseph Wortham – Student Assistant Statistician
The Fans:
There were twenty-four of Marshall’s most diligent supporters who went with the team on that fateful trip.

Charles M. Arnold
Rachel Arnold
Donald Booth
Joseph Chambers
Margaret Chambers
Shirley Ann Hagley
Ray Hagley
Arthur L. Harris
Emmett O. Heath
Elaine Lois Heath
Cynthia Jarrell
James Jarrell
Kenneth Jones
Jeff Nathan
Brian O’Connor
Michael Prestera
Glenn H. Preston
Phyllis Preston
Courtney Proctor
Herbert D. Proctor
Helen Ralsten
Murrill Ralsten
Parker Ward
Norman Weichmann

The Flight Crew:

Captain Frank Abbott
First Officer Jerry Smith
Stewardess Charlene Poat
Stewardess Patricia Vaught
Charter Coordinator Danny Deese
The Headlines


The fountain which was designed as a memorial for the 75 who lost their lives. There are 75 points on top of this fountain! Each year on November 14 the fountain is turned off for the season!

WE ARE . . . . . . . MARSHALL

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veteran's Day - The Tear In His Eye

Wednesday - November 11, 2009

The following is a poem written after witnessing the heinous acts that took place on 9/11! I watched the news with disbelief - how could this be happening??? There was an image of a veteran standing and looking on as the hundreds of rescue workers were trying their best to find survivors. Tears were streaming down his face as he stood silently watching what was taking place in front of him. My thoughts were: was he crying because of what had taken place on US soil; was he crying because he lost loved ones and friends on that fateful day; or was he remembering when he and his friends had made sacrifices so our freedoms and lives would be out of harm's way? I really believe it was a combination of all!

To the veteran who shed tears; to the veterans of all ages; to all the veterans who have gone on to their heavenly home; and to all those active members of the Armed Forces - THANK YOU for doing all you've done and are doing to preserve the freedoms we hold as Americans. Without the sacrifices of all the brave men and women (and their family), I would not be able to write this poem or blog. We do not live in a perfect place, but we do have many freedoms that citizens from other countries do not!

The Tear in His Eye

The veteran represents a nation proud and strong;
Inspiring her to do what is right and not what's wrong.
Sadly he sits, and we are wondering as to why
This soldier of old has a tear in his eye.

Watching with disbelief so quietly, brave, and tall;
The nation he fought for is together for the good of all.
This obscured enemy will eventually learn about defeat
As God guides his nation back on her feet.

This veteran has witnessed her sufferings in the past,
Wars, assassinations, and the Oklahoma blast.
Now, we need not wonder why there's a tear in his eye,
As he watches the devastation that started in the sky.

The lives lost in Pennsylvania, Manhattan, and DC
Will not have died in vain, on this we all will agree.
So, to the veteran with the tear glistening in his eye,
We ask that you not worry on us you can rely.

The battles he fought helped mold us today;
The tear in his eye will now be wiped away.
His nation will comfort this veteran of old,
As the facts of what happened begin to unfold.

Phyllis Sue Hardin