Now THAT was a "Thanks Given"

We spent Thanksgiving at my brother's new house in Orlando this year. He invited us all down for Thanksgiving, his treat. He just bought a big house on a beautiful lake and even has a twenty four foot Sea Ray. We were all excited!

Sometimes a lake house is a bit of a walk from the house,  not in this case.

We went down in shifts. My sister, my daughter and I left first on Tuesday around noon. We drove thirty minutes and stopped for lunch...you  gotta love driving with women.

We ate and gassed up the car and headed out for real. My  daughter posted on Facebook  we were leaving and immediately got two or three warnings about bad weather and to drive careful.

That turned out to be a HUGE understatement.

My sister started out driving as the rain began to fall, just a drizzle at first. After about an hour or so she asked if I would drive a while and I said sure.

My Cotton luck kicked  right in around Tifton, Georgia and rain began to pour in buckets. The wind was crazy, the people driving were crazy and then the lightning was crazy. Her defroster only semi worked but the windshield was still hard to see out of and I was a nervous wreck. I hated to be a sissy and tell her how much I despise driving in the rain, especially since she was the one who letting us bum a ride down with her. So I'm in the slow lane, forcing myself to go fifty when the first lightening bolt hit that seemed like it was twenty feet away. My nerves were shot and kept hoping to see an exit sign. We finally saw one and told them I had to stop for a minute. We pulled into  the first gas station and I pulled up next  to a pump even though we had a full tank. (The pumps had a roof over them)

We went inside and the young girl inside said  they were under a tornado warning. I asked where the rest room was, looking around the store when she said "Sorry, they're around the side of the building."

My  daughter and I made  a run for it staying as close as we could to the side of the building and opened the door to the nastiest rest room I think we have ever seen. It was so disgusting I was worried about even squatting but I did, since  that last lightning bolt  about made me pee in my pants.

We  went back around the side and entered the store again. I told Massey  to buy me a coke, handed her some money and tried to calm my nerves outside as I watched the rain blow sideways. My sister went to the restroom next and  came back to announce  she had seen  cleaner rest rooms in Cuba while on a mission trip.

Feeling braver I got back into the driver's seat and off we went again. I got on the highway and the guy behind me started honking. I looked down and saw I was going 40 MPH so I took a deep breath and kicked it up to 55.  Not ten minutes later while Cin was talking on her cell to her husband I heard a thump coming from the fast lane and saw a car hydroplaning then spinning in circles headed straight for the front of our car. It was close enough for me to touch it out the window. I slowed down so it wouldn't hit us and the driver over corrected and started spinning back the other way. The car hit the median and came to a stop against the inside wall facing oncoming traffic. Massey called 911 and I just kept going, praying someone didn't slam into the wrecked car facing traffic. By this point my nerves were completely shot, then it got even worse. The lightning was downright frightening every time it cracked and I saw something on the median wall up ahead. As we got closer we saw it was a huge boat sitting on top of the wall with it's trailer still in the lane of traffic and the car that had been pulling it a little further down. Needless to say I once again started praying for an exit sign. For some reason idiot drivers feel it necessary to put their hazard lights on which only confuse the cars behind them. We limped to the next exit and I was still shaking when we got out of the car. The windshield was so smudged up from us trying to wipe it clear you could barely see out of it so we went to a Dollar Store and bought some windex and paper towels. By the time we got the windshield clear the rain had slacked up but I still handed the keys back to my sister. Tag, you're it.

At least the rest of the drive was uneventful although we didn't pull into my brother's driveway until almost eleven. My brother asked us if we wanted a drink and told him I'd wanted one since Tifton, three hours back.

Chris had gone grocery shopping with a detailed shopping list my sister had sent him and the kitchen was stocked with everything we needed to cook the Thanksgiving dinner. He also had a full supply of anything you might think you may want to drink. Water bottles, Snapple, plenty of wine, red and white. All kinds of beer, scotch, vodka, tequila and all the mixers...things were looking up!

The next morning he worked a half a day and we went out for a couple of last minute items we'd forgotten about. We were driving back home when a flock of tiny white birds fluttered in the sky above the car. Just as we noticed them, a huge Bald Eagle swooped  into the flock of tiny birds. It was the most amazing, tremendous bird I've ever seen and was so close we could see it in detail. You certainly don't see a Bald Eagle every day!

Chris got home around noon and took us out on his boat. it's a beautiful boat and large enough for him to take out in the ocean. We backed out of the slip and I shouted out "Take off, Sonny Crockett!" and he did!

There was a cool little canal leading to the next lake over and we tooled through it. It was absolutely beautiful.

The like the great Uncle he is, said "Your turn to drive, Massey" even though she had never driven a boat in her life. She was put- zing along when Chris leaned over her shoulder and gunned the engine.

Cin and I stayed in the back and left Massey and Cap'n Chris up front.

It was a beautiful but windy day and we had to hang onto our hats but had a great time. By this time our next crew was on the way down, Tim and Cindy's son, Casey. Massey and Chris left to go pick up a Honey Baked Ham and brought us all back subs for dinner. Cindy and I got busy doing some chopping and preparations for Thursday. we got most all the casseroles put together and a lot of little things out of the way.

We played cards after dinner around the huge dining room table Chris bought since we were having Thanksgiving at his house. It seats ten easily.  It was nice just being with my brother and sister again. Massey got to see first hand how funny we all (think we) are when together, especially when it's cocktail time.

Tim and Casey rolled in around ten and the party started over again.

Thanksgiving morning Massey went to the airport to pick up Cin's husband who flew down and the party grew even larger. The boys played golf and Cin and I got busy cooking. Let's just say we outdid ourselves.
Menu: Turkey and dressing with Giblet gravy
Honey Baked Ham
Green beans with new potatoes
Collard Greens
Sweet potato casserole
Potato salad
Squash casserole
Hash brown casserole
Green bean casserole
Deviled eggs
Heavenly hash
Sweet potato biscuits

Chris' next door neighbor and his girlfriend joined us for dinner and the feast started. Everything turned out great and we totally stuffed ourselves. A bunch went out on the boat after dinner and we got everything put up into the fridge.

We played cards after dinner and some watched football. Cin taught us a new card game, Nertz. You have to get the hang of it first but turned out to be a pretty fun game. Once again the beer, wine and cocktails flowed freely. Some more friends of my brother's were dropping by later on and my other nephew (Griffin) and his girlfriend were flying down around seven to join us. Griffin's girlfriend is a cutie pie,  Hawaiian and they make a really cute couple.

Around eight or so we had probably six or seven of us around the huge table playing cards and the football games were blaring out in surround sound on the huge flat screen in the living room and were partying up a storm when the kitchen door opened and Griffin's girlfriend appeared to appear in the door way while my sister and I shouted "How'd you get here, Jamie?" (We were supposed to send either Massey or Harvey to pick them up) When Griffin didn't walk in behind her but some dude we had never seen did, finally realized it wasn't Jamie but another one of Chris' friends dropping by with her boyfriend. The girl was very pretty and just happened to be from Laos. When you're partying it up, playing an intense card game and the room is loud, Hawaii and Laos are (so it seems) easily confused. The girl looked at Cindy and me like we were idiots but soon enough we were all laughing again. The leftovers came out of the fridge and we started over.

Jamie and Griffin DID arrive after Harvey went and picked them up and party number three started. More food was eaten and Chris shot off massive fireworks from the dock. It was an awesome Thanksgiving.

The next day we all went out on the boat again. Casey got to drive this time and we stayed out for quite a while. When Chris asked Griffin if he wanted to drive the only thing Griffin asked when he took the wheel was "How do you make it go fast?"  We survived, came home and ate more leftovers. We had enough food to feed a small army.

That night after watching football games we decided to play games. We started with Charades, boys against girls and all laughed ourselves silly. Then my sister and I wanted to play Kangaroo; it's a game my parents used to play at church socials. The only ones who knew how it worked were Chris, Cindy and me.

Short version: everyone continues what they are doing, playing cards or watching TV. I say to my sister, "I'm clearing the air and sending you a message." Nobody much pays attention but the thing is who ever talks next is the unknown Kangaroo. After a couple more minutes go by I ask Cindy if she received my message? If she is sure she knows who the first person to speak was after I cleared the air she says she has the message, if she's not certain (maybe two people spoke at once) she says she hasn't received it and I clear the air again. (Let's just say it was Griffin who spoke first when I cleared the air) A couple more minutes go by and I ask her if she got my message? Once she has the message, we send her out of the room. I begin pointing at different people in the room and say "Kangaroo" and from outside the room she repeats back "Kangaroo." Finally I point to Griffin  and say to her outside of the room "Kangaroo, who am I pointing to?" and she says "Griffin."  I wish you could have seen their faces...they thought we were magicians! A couple of them tried it, always failing then Cindy and I would do it again, this time with her clearing the air. By the third time we did it they were all guessing different ways they thought we were doing it.  Finally Griffin's girlfriend caught on and we had another few rounds including her. It's a great party game.

By Saturday we had just about eaten and drank Chris out of house and home but he was a terrific host the entire time. The boys played golf again and us girls had a movie day.

Sunday morning Chris had to work (we thought he was probably just sitting around the corner in his car waiting to see us finally leave) and we cleaned up our mess, put all the sheets and towels on to wash and bagged up the mounds of trash bags we had filled in the garage and headed home.

Tim, Massey and I were in the lead car with Cin, her two boys and Jamie behind us in another car.(Harvey flew back home early)

Chris, always the nice guy had bought us each a Sun Pass for the cars so we didn't have to pay any tolls and sailed through quite a few long lines of people heading home waiting in line to pay the tolls. It easily saved us over thirty minutes.

We were sailing along in Gainesville, Florida. Tim was driving. We were in the passing/fast lane when we heard a loud "BAM" and Tim yelled "Was that us?" We were still rolling along but we saw a tire tread behind us. About then Massey said she smelled the burning rubber so we pulled off into the tiny emergency lane by the center median. Casey stopped behind us in their car. The entire tread had blown off. Cars were whizzing by going eighty and were literally about four feet from the car. It was the passenger side back tire.

Cindy backed her car up about thirty feet or so and put her flashers on. The boys started getting the spare out and cars kept right on whizzing by, making my sister and me nervous wrecks. I made Massey get out of the car and stand far into the grassy median. Cindy and I walked well down past her car behind the car with the flat. She stopped there and I continued down about another twenty feet. As the cars approached I waved my hands frantically down in an effort to tell cars to slow down. Cindy was motioning for cars to move over a lane to give us more room to change the tire. For the most part people were fantastic and although we caused a small traffic backup with our antics at least it slowed most all the cars down.

Of course there is one in every crowd. As Griffin was wrestling with the tire iron with his back no more than three feet away from passing cars, one idiot blew his horn as he passed going at least seventy. You can't fix stupid.

We got the little donut spare on and then had to  manage to pull two cars out of the center median back into the fast lane of traffic, no easy feat with every one and their brother returning home from Thanksgiving holidays.

We finally got back into the lane and maneuvered all the way over to the slow lane. I was just happy no one had gotten hurt or killed. Then we had to find a tire place open on a Sunday afternoon, Thanksgiving weekend.

Three hours later we were finally back on the road after having to put almost two hundred bucks on my sister's credit card. Tim and I are going to help pay her back but you can't drive one of these donut tires on the interstate, especially for two hundred miles so it was the only option we had.

So the trip down was horrible and the trip back was scary but the in between was marvelous! I guess that's what they mean about taking the good with the bad. We didn't get Massey back to her dorm until almost ten and got home around eleven.  We had been shooting for seven.

So all in all it was a "Thanks Given" to remember. I give Thanks I didn't get anyone killed while freaking out in the torrential thunderstorm on the way down and I give Thanks no one got killed changing the tire by a packed out holiday weekend interstate fast lane. I give Thanks I have such a wonderful brother who was an ultimate host to our crazy band of misfits. I give Thanks for days of fun and laughter with the ones I love. I give Thanks to the two who had to stay home for work and couldn't go with us but took care of all our pups, eight in all.

Most of all I give Thanks that all these people love me, it's a wonderful feeling to be loved and as the song says, 



Love, love, love.

There's nothing you can do that can't be done.
Nothing you can sing that can't be sung.
Nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game.
It's easy.

Nothing you can make that can't be made.
No one you can save that can't be saved.
Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

Nothing you can know that isn't known.
Nothing you can see that isn't shown.
Nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be.
It's easy.

All you need is love.
All you need is love.
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need.

All you need is love (all together, now!)
All you need is love. (everybody!)
All you need is love, love.
Love is all you need (love is all you need).

This is all that's left of the Leach clan but we're all still as close as we were on this old station wagon. There are so many families who don't get along or even speak to each other much less love each other.

I give Thanks I'm one of the lucky ones.
Til Next time, a VERY grateful COTTON

All Set To GO !

I just got home from work. Had a great shift, some friends came in to eat with me and I had another table of regulars from my old place and the night ran smooth as silk.

Last night I was counting my money stash for the beach trip and starting worrying about how much gas was going to cost me. Gas alone was going to take a big chunk and after buying four new tires for the trip I was already riding on empty.

"Think Cotton..."

I didn't have to think long. "Bingo" I had an answer.

When Massey and I first starting planning this trip I was worried about driving to Destin on four tires that were balder than my father in law's head...and trust me that's pretty bald.

As usual I always look to my immediate family when I need help. My brother who has helped me more than I imagine he wants has a spare car that he bought. I told Massey, "Let's do this. Call your Uncle and give him 2 options: #1 Buy me four new tires and let me pay him back five dollars a week. #2 Let us drive his spare car to Florida."

Luckily I scrambled enough money together for new tires and a front end alignment. After running off the road a couple of years back when I was running my mouth instead of paying attention, my car survived but the front end alignment didn't fare so well. When I drive the car it shakes so bad that I have to hold the steering wheel like a vise so it doesn't jump out of the column.

Four new tires and a smooth riding vehicle is now at my disposal for the trip but it really put a dent in my already dented bank account.

Last night I decided to bite the bullet and email my brother, who is probably already in the first stages of a law suit disowning me as a relative.

You know me...I made it all cutesy and funny and said that I was considering driving Massey to Florida on my John Deere but we wouldn't get there until Labor Day. I told him as long as I hadn't asked for anything in a while (ha ha) I thought he might want to fill up my car with gas for the trip down.

When I was smack down broke and out of a job my brother gave me a gas card to put fuel in our cars so that Tim and I could both at least go seek employment. I returned the card in the mail with a "Thank You" note and still intend on paying him back... or maybe just signing off on the documents his lawyer is drawing up disowning me from being a blood relative.

Just like I knew he would ...he emailed me...called me , left a voicemail and a text.

For Pete's sake he isn't even in town but working in Orlando this week! He has a friend staying in his condo and had them leave me the gas card under the welcome mat.

Massey went with me after work tonight to pick the card up and now we are "Set like a tight perm."

I have the greatest brother and sister in the world who would do anything for me and often have.

I was joking with Massey tonight and said "We got all we need now. We can eat at every Citgo station we see when we get hungry. We can feast on those big pickles they keep in a jar and I've always wondered about those pickled eggs and pig's feet that seem to be a staple down South. We can buy one of those hot dogs rotating around on a spike and try some of those peanuts they boil in the parking lot and pick up some pre packaged sandwiches that look so tasty next to the cash register."

I wonder if you can buy lottery tickets with a gas card?

Wouldn't that be great if I hit the jackpot and could pay him back in one fell swoop!!

I am TOTALLY kidding!

But it feels great to have a brother that doesn't bat an eye at helping his sister out ONE MORE time. A brother that graciously makes my trip feasible and treats me to a weekend away. I need this weekend more than you can imagine and now my big bro has made it happen.

No wonder he is moving back to Orlando.

One more shift at work and Massey and I are headed to the sandy shore not having to worry about gas money and only worrying about what the heck will happen to me if my brother ever decides to get married and have kids of his own. How will he manage to keep taking care of me and MY kids?

Maybe I'll give him a vasectomy for Christmas. Do you think urologists take Citgo cards?

All excited about our girl's get away. I work a day shift tomorrow and will cut grass when I get home so I won't come home to a jungle. I'm already worried about leaving "Goyd" in charge of the house and dogs.

I'll have to be sure and stop at a Citgo and pick him up a souvenir.

Til next time..."Coastal Bound Cotton"

And I Thought I was the Funny One...

You have to click on these photos so you can see just how much my bachelor brother enjoys quality time with my kids. The look on his face says it all..."Vasectomy, please."

He is the only one of us without kids...guess the six kids between my sister and me are enough for him. I LOVE the picture of him with Zach squeezed between his legs with a flyswatter as a weapon while he TRIES to enjoy to enjoy a book...Classic "Chris."

EVERYONE loves my brother and I can say that with confidence. He is hands down one of the funniest people I have ever known...and that's A LOT coming from me!

I remember when I was about 19, there was a bar called Modine's by the airport, in the old Scott Hudgens building that was packed every weekend. Sometimes you couldn't even MOVE in there. This was back when the legal drinking age was 18 (what the hey were lawmakers thinking?) I was there and my brother, with all his cronies. There was a guy with his girlfriend behind my brother...shoving into to him relentlessly trying to squeeze by. Finally my brother turned around and collared the guy, saying "Hey buddy...you push me ONE more time and I'm going to kick your girlfriend's ass."

We all cracked up. The guy seemed puzzled, the girlfriend looked frazzled and they both retreated, wondering what had just happened.

When I was a couple of years older I was dating a guy that had passes to a private party for Channel 5 at Harrison's (I think) on Peachtree St. in Atlanta. It was a great old establishment across the street from Bennihanna's. My brother went with us. One of the meteorologists...I think Ken Cook, was at the party and my brother sidled up next to him and remarked casually "Those were some pretty amazing cumulus clouds out there today."

Ken Cook just looked at him and walked off but WE all had a good laugh. I remember one of the female anchors was pretty hot and my brother remarked she looked hot til you heard her hacking up a lung with that smoker's cough.

A few years ago we were all on vacation together . My family, my sister's family and all the kids with their friends in tow. Chris, Massey and I snuck off to drive to Destin to go to the local Wal Mart. Massey was riding shot gun with Uncle Chris and I was in the back seat filing my nails. Chris was asking Massey for help with directions and as we passed a strip mall he asked what a sign said. It was a branch of the banking company F.N.B. Massey sweetly said "That was the FNB." Chris quickly retorted "Watch your mouth little lady." Massey never got the joke but I cracked up. Ole Chris is a quick wit.

Chris is the most honest man I know. He picks on me relentlessly and when I think I can't take it anymore, he does something so sweet that I want to kiss his cheek. He loves my husband who is a complete opposite of me. He is as pale white as I am Native American Indian dark. On our last trip to Florida together as a family...Tim got so sunburned from a morning out at the beach, while I turned a nice bronze. When we went back to the house, Chris was loading up the golf clubs in his Porsche so he and Tim could go play eighteen holes. Chris said "Come on Red Snapper, it's almost tee time."

Massey stills laughs about that one.

When Tim and I hit rock bottom this past year...my family got us through, with the help of many, many friends. My brother would come to eat with me at my old restaurant and leave me an exorbitant tip. When I lost my job and had NOTHING...he loaned me a gas card and got us from place to place .

He is a carbon copy of my father...even the cadence of his speech reminds me of "Diddy." He's like a father AND a brother to me.

He came in to eat at my new place tonight. I told the owner that my brother had come in to eat for the first time and he asked "That is YOUR brother at table 201?" He probably said that because I weigh 95 pounds, my sister a little over 105 and my brother is a brusque guy. Not fat but a stocky guy. I told the owner to come meet him and when we approached the table I introduced them. My brother shook hands with the owner while I said how much I had appreciated the owners hiring me. Chris didn't miss a beat and said "Well I didn't know you hired the handicapped, but thanks for doing it." The owner immediately said "Yeah, that IS your brother."

I lost my Mom when I was seventeen. I lost my Diddy when I was in my early forties. They both left me in good hands. A sister that is incredible and a brother that is a comedienne, a father figure and a really great guy.

He is transferring back to Orlando soon (probably to get away from me and my sister) but we know where to find him. He lives 15 minutes away from Walt Disney World and Universal when he is living in Orlando and has a bachelor pad that my family all squeezes into when we take the kids there. He saves us almost a thousand dollars on accommodations for a four day trip and we remind him why he doesn't want kids...HE HAS OURS !

I love my brother dearly, I don't tell him that enough but in the way that suits me best.. I will tell him with words. I hope he knows how much he means to me. Just being around him is a pleasure, having his love is a bonus and knowing that without litagation he can't disown me is the thing that I bank on!

Til next time...COTTON

Oh Brother Why For Art Thou Here?

Had to be at work for a meeting at 8AM. By the time it was over the doors were open for business at 11AM.



During the meeting my cell phone began buzzing in my back pocket. The server next to me reached for hers and I quietly told her it was mine. I looked discreetly at my phone and saw that it was Massey calling. I put my phone back in my pocket only to hear it buzz again...this time with a text: "When are u coming home?" I put it back into my pocket once again only to hear it buzzing again not five minutes later with a voice mail. After two hours they gave us a bathroom break and I took the time to call Massey back and see what was the emergency was.

She wanted to know where the throat spray was...her throat was really sore. For Pete's sake...I am at a meeting in Peachtree City and the throat spray is somewhere in the house in Newnan. Should she ask her dad who is in the living room or should she call me in a meeting at work where the Vice President of the company that I work for is speaking to us about a million dollar renovation of our store?

If you have a teenage daughter, I guess you already know the answer to THAT question.

So back to the draining, droning meeting I went. My doofus co worker (the one who most likely owns an UZI) asked the most inane and idiotic questions time and time again adding at least thirty minutes to the meeting. I started to say "You know, you probably won't be here that much longer so don't bother with the stupid questions."

If I could have been sure he hadn't already brought the UZI into work with him , I would have said it, but since I am the only currently employed person in our household, I just bit my tongue and continued to screen my constant texts from Massey.

I went home after the meeting to see Massey sprawled across her death bed. Cleopatra came to my mind the minute I walked into her room. She is such a drama queen that I never know when it is actual pain or just the angst of a 14 year old girl making everything more dramatic than it needs to be.

She did had a slight fever and I gave her some Advil and a glass of water.

I cleaned house for the two hours I had to spare before I had to be back at work at 3:00. My manager had already called and wanted me to go by the Newnan store to pick up some Swiss cheese and to go bags. That meant I had to leave thirty minutes before I planned to.

Zipped by the Newnan store and went to work.

My husband told me last night that his brother was coming to stay with us for a night from St. Augustine. That is why I went home and cleaned like a demon.

What the HEY...one more person to feed, that is JUST what I need. I felt like asking my husband if he might want to ask his brother to bring a friend? Maybe by that point we could get some help from "Hosea Feeds The Hungry."

I love this brother in law...he is my favorite of the five brothers that my husband has...but this is not the greatest of times for an impromptu visit.

With the house clean enough for a man (that doesn't take much) I flew back to work my 3 to close shift.

When I came home, I almost started crying before I pulled into the drive.

I had already thought about the parking...Tim knows I get ticked if people come over and block my entrance to the garage. I am not picky about a lot of things (well maybe I am ) but I hate it when people come over and park like no one else has to get into the garage .

I keep my space clear in the garage so that I can pull in , get out of my car and walk four feet to the kitchen door.

Tim "Kinda" helped me...KINDA.

I pulled into the driveway with my headlights shining on the horrible tracks I had left in my side yard when Zach's friends had made me squeeze out of the garage the other morning running late for work and got stuck in the mud.

I pulled in and my brother in law had driven a van up from St. Augustine...an "Econoline." It was the size of van that a church would use to go pick up invalids or orphans.

Guess where he had parked it to give me access to my garage?

Not on the street...like a sane person. He had pulled it into my FRONT YARD....you know , the one that has seen five inches of rain in the past three days.

I could see the tracks where he had backed up and re positioned the big clunker (Dang, just park it once if you're gonna "F" up my whole front yard.)

I was sick about it.

I truly love this man and he is a great brother in law...but doesn't ANY man notice how trim, neat and carefully cut I keep my yard...and maybe parking a Shuttle Van in my grass may cause some damage to MY lawn?

While I was cleaning the kitchen tonight my husband came downstairs and I told him that I almost broke into tears when I came home and saw the Land Yacht on my grass. He said he would go tell his brother to move it and I said "NO...I'll look like a bitch."

I mean the damage is already done..I told my husband to just ask him to park on the street tomorrow...so I can get a landscaping rake and try to save what I have LEFT of a yard.

Why is my life this way?

Am I just destined to ALWAYS have something to write about?

I thought the horse messed up the football field on Friday night...You should SEE my yard now...Maybe Princess Senoia brought "Chief" over for a tromp while I was at work.

It sure looks like it.

Til next time...COTTON

My Big Bro

As long as I am persecuting my family, I thought that I would include my brother. He is the middle child in our line-up. My sister was the oldest, after; came Chris to be followed by the unexpected surprise of me. He has always been a brain... (maybe he was adopted). I remember my first day in high school. The morning announcements came over the intercom... "Chris Leach... please come to the office." I thought.."how cool is that to have your brother's name called out ..first thing on your first day?" It turned out NOT to be a good thing, and over that year, I heard it called quite frequently. He was in the ROTC program for military, and wore a Nazi helmet when the actual military came to "inspect the troops" It goes without saying , that he flunked military. He also was the instigator in most of the pranks that went on in our school. Pulling fire alarms, taking dissected frogs from the Biology department, and stretching them over the water fountain spigots in the hallway... He was suspended after the first girl fainted. He was suspended again, when he pulled down all the fire doors in the school, and banged on them from the other side " FIRE. FIRE. get OUT !" Of course this was in the seventies, and things were not quite as crazy in the REAL world. I remember when we had a newspaper drive to collect papers. He and a couple of his friends took the wheels off of a cheer leader's car and left it sitting on a stack of newspapers. Needless to say, my parents found out about the local Police Department and their willingness to let let young people go to the release of their parents. ( Thank the Lord he is not growing up in today's times). He was an amazing tennis player( a gift he got from my Dad), and a really intelligient guy. He fluffed his way through high school, and went on to Georgia Tech. After beating one of the tennis team's members.. ( who was royally ticked), and deciding after my mom's death that he was ready for the working world.. He began a career in the freight business. He has climbed every ladder, made every move to another state that they have wanted, and is an envied, respected man in his company. From a GOOF to a boss... and my hat goes off to him for his achievements. His humor is still there, and it is unrelenting. He tortures all of his nephews, and recently his niece, to no end. It can be verbal abuse, or physically tickling them to death, or just pestering the crap out of them. But he is an ABSOLUTE great guy. Every Christmas Eve, he goes shopping for the kids at the ATM, and they are ALL always THRILLED with their present.... Let me add that he is a BIG spender. He reminds me of my Dad so much that it makes my heart ache.. My Dad was the greatest man that I have ever met on this Earth, and my brother is a very close second best. He let's me remember my Dad through him, and see what a totally blessed person I am to have the family that I have.. and although he can be a pain in the ass sometimes.. HEY !! That sometimes reminds of my Dad too !! But I have loved and love them both. My life would not be complete with out them . He is the greatest guy I have ever had the chance to meet and know, and just for the fact that he loves me and my kids... is the greatest feeling that a sister can have about a bachelor brother, that I hope has kids one day; that I can love, abuse and torture like he has mine... but my kids LOVE their Uncle... and I love him too