Big Al's 60th

Remember a year or so ago, when I asked you to pray for my aunt Alice? And then I was pleased to inform you about a year ago, that she was declared cancer-free.

Well, I think it's pretty cool that today she turns 60 & has outstanding health. That's a thanks to God, that's for sure.

My aunt is well known for being creative & being an excellent story-teller.
When I was young, not only did she built great forts & decorate cakes like nobody's business, she could spin a tale better than a spider.

I figured she'd think it was fun if I interviewed her on her big day. I know I'm happy to preserve some of these memories...

How did you get the idea for your MAGGIE & BAGGIE stories?

I can’t remember how I got started telling the Maggie/Baggie Stories but it was when we lived on Drewel Court and you, Jeremy, Chris and Jason were small children. I had plenty of time to make up stories for all of you and I did too. All of you loved my stores. Daddy dated a woman named Maggie who we all loved. She was so sweet and also treated us good. She was playing with Jason one day and he was in his swing and she was down on her knees in front of him making him laugh. That is how I got the name Maggie for the story. But I am not sure when the story actually began or how I got the idea . But in my memories of Maggie, she was so sweet and that is why I named the good little girl Maggie. The name Baggie fit the bratty, mean little girl perfectly. I couldn’t think of another name for the mean girl, so I gave her the name Baggie.

Have you ever considered publishing children's stories?
No. But I wish I had at least written the stories down.

What was the wildest thing we did, as kids,that stands out in your mind?
So much fun was had sliding down our steep hill in the back yard on Drewel Court . We’d take boxes and flatten them out and slid down the hill and we could really go fast. But one day you took Jason part way up the hill on a bicycle and he got on and you gave him a push and he learned to ride a bicycle with no training wheels. He was only four. But we had fun playing hide and seek in the house and I used to act like a Tiger and you all would be so excited because you’d be hid and I’d be growling real loud and looking for you. Do you remember this? We had a lot of fun also at Drewel Park , but I can’t say it was wild.


What is your best memory of growing up w/ mom?
We would play for hours outside and never get tired. We made a house one day in the edge of the woods by our house and it had a wooden floor but no walls. We spent a lot of time with our favorite cousins, Jack and Bill and they were like brothers to us. Some of our best memories were walking to our little two room school in Sherman and the fun times spent there. It was about a mile. Sometimes on the way home, we would just strike out walking through the woods, never knowing where we’d end up. We just walked in the direction we thought our house was. Somehow, we always ended up pretty close to our house.

Do you have any memories of your mom?
Yes, I remember my mom and have several memories, although I was not quite four when she died. I remember one day back in Portageville when she was picking cotton and they took all the cotton and put it in the back of a truck. They told me that I rode the back of Mama’s cotton sack, but I can’t remember that. But I do remember the cotton all piled up real high in the back of the big truck and your mom and I jumped in the cotton. I remember Mama drove a truck in the cotton field one day and a man on the back of the truck fell off when she let out on the clutch too fast and made the truck jerk. I remember her laughing real hard over it. The man didn’t get hurt when he fell off. And I remember she was sick and in bed for a long time. One day your mom and I were arguing and getting rowdy and she told one of us to get a switch and she threatened to give us a spanking with the switch, but she didn’t. One day she was cutting up a chicken in a big dish pan and I was standing in a chair watching her. The chicken was a fresh chicken (one that you wring the neck and take feathers off yourself) anyway, there was blood in the water as she was cleaning and cutting the chicken up. I started crying because I thought she cut her hand and she explained to me that she didn’t cut her hand but it was chicken blood. I remember the day she died and everyone was crying. That is about all I can remember about Mama, wish I could think of more.

What is the best thing you remember about Grandpa?
Your Grandpa was quiet, kind and humble and would never argue with anyone. And he was above all honest. One of the best things he did was to make sure his family was always in church. We went real often (four times week) and we loved going.

Thank you for the answers... and the memories... hope your day is as special as you!