October Birthdays

This time of year always makes me think of my family.  For some reason our women folk decide to have babies in September and October.  My Great-Grandmother, younger brother, nephew, an uncle, and an Aunt were all born on October 30.  I know most people think of Halloween during this time of year but I always think of Birthdays and family celebrations.  So, I would like to share my birthday memories with you.

I don’t recall when they brought Kelly home.  I was three so I do vaguely remember looking into his bassinet.  He had the absolutely awfullest curly hair you ever saw.  To the point that people thought he was a girl.  I even got into trouble once because I informed a man that mistakenly thought he was a girl, that no as a matter of fact he was not a girl, but a boy.  And that he was name for my Great Grandfather Keller.

It never failed we would go somewhere and people would say something like “oh what a pretty little girl”  I think I had my own “Boy name Sue” complex for him!  I blame my mom for that!  You could finger curl his hair, and she would.  He hated it so much that to this day he wears it so short you can see his scalp.  If you can’t it’s too long!

I don’t know which of his birthday’s I remember the most fondly.  Mom has always decorated birthday cakes.  I think there are two that were Kelly’s that stand out to me.  The first was an Fall based theme.  It was a road, split rail fence, with autumn colors.  She even made frosting pumpkins.  I think the most fun cake that he had was I giant Cheeseburger.   I saw it and had to laugh.

The birthday’s of his that I remember the most?  The ones that I missed.  I joined the Army at 19 and left home.  I remember sitting in my Humvee looking at the calender, and then my watch thinking about what I was missing and wishing I were home.  So for all the birthday’s I missed little brother this is to let you know that I did think about you, missed you, and wished I could be with you.

My next favorite birthday was my great-grandmother’s .  Foda White was born on October 30, 1900 in Olin, NC.  She was 4′-11″ tall and my dad often says that if you soaked her in oil all day fully clothed she might come out weighing 100 lbs.  I stop and think about everything that she experienced and wished that I could have talked to her more about it.   She probably knew and was related to Civil War Veterans.  If I have my facts straight her brother was a Marine in WWI.  Her son served in WWII.  She owned a car in the 1920’s.  She obtained a college degree in 1922.   She lived during The Great Depression.   All of her children were born at home.  Three of her great grandsons served in the US Army during Desert Shield and Desert Storm.  But for all of that we knew her simply as Maw Maw.

Maw Maw was 70 years old when I was born.  We loved to go visit her in her big old ramshackle farm house.  It was a place of wonder.  Books and dust and old toys everywhere.  She wasn’t dirty, just…dustily cluttered.

She would often babysit the three of us boys and our cousin Randy.  We weren’t bad boys, just very active and prone to try things as all boys who live in the country will.  She’d often find us up a tree, in a creek, or messing around in my grandfather’s dairy barn.

She was ingenious though.   We came to visit her once and found her sitting on the back stoop churning butter.  By hand.  She instructed us to take turns churning while she fixed us lunch.  She kept the four of us busy for quite sometime making sure that butter turned out just right.  I have often told that story with fondness to family members.  My dad finally heard the story and I could not for the life of me figure out why he was laughing so hard.  He finally gathered his composure and said, “Son, her grand-kids got together several years before and bought her an electric churn.  She was just keeping you out of trouble!”

My favorite story about her is one that her son, Noel Kent, tells.  He was a teacher in Roanoke, NC and would come down to visit Mama and  do things for her as she needed.  He’d stay the night and leave early the next morning.  By this time Maw Maw was in her early 90’s and had shut down the majority of the house and only lived in the back two rooms of a very large farm house.  He arrived as usual entering through the back door.  Maw Maw was no where to be found.

He called out for her and became worried when he could not find her.  He listened and realized that he was hearing a noise coming from the front of the house.  As he made his way towards the noise he realized that it was indeed my great-grandmother but was unsure if she were laughing or crying.

Uncle Noel Kent finds himself at the front door and then hear’s his mother giggling like a little girl.  He turns and looks up the stairs.  He stares in disbelief as he watches his mother swing her leg over the banister of the stairs yelling “Wheee!!!”  as she rode it all the way to the bottom.

That’s my blood ya’ll.

When I turn 90 I fully plan on finding the biggest Bannister I can find and yell “wheeee!!!” all the way to bottom in her honor….and dare ya’ll to say a word!

Happy Birthday Maw Maw!