"It Could Never Happen to My Family"

I have three daughters..., all three are pretty, smart, talented..., and, apparently took after their mother..., not dad. They were good girls..., and grew to be wonderful young ladies. One by one, they learned to drive.., enjoyed high school proms.., graduated from college with good grades.., applied for, and landed good jobs. Along the way, they managed to get away from their dad long enough to date, fall in love, and marry three great guys. Life is perfect, you say? Sorry..., life is not always what it seems.

Yeah..., Dad liked the boys..., seems like we were always doing something together. One brought over a football..., I bought each of us a new baseball glove. Grandbabies began to spring-up like daisies. But...., a really big BUT..., one of the guys liked to "drink a couple of beers" after work. A couple?

Sometimes when we had family functions, he seemed to be a little unsteady on his feet. He would excuse himself, and go to the bathroom at odd times. And, he began to complain more and more about how everyone..., everyone mistreated him, and took advantage of him.

My daughter had never been around anyone with a "substance" problem. She didn't recognize any of the tell-tale signs of an alcoholic..., but everyone else was noticing. He showed up at her work, teaching school and coaching, with a strong odor of alcohol on his breath..., and stumbling around. At the end of the year, she was not rehired. Good evaluations..., but no explanation for her "pink slip".

The other two sisters had children by then..., and, were none too happy when the son-in-law with the "problem" wanted to whisk the babies over his head..., stumbling all the while. He was quickly losing those daughters' trust and confidence. As a family, we were slipping apart.

Then..., one day..., he "decided" to quit his job..., stay home..., and enjoy being with his wife through her first pregnancy. Problem was..., his wife was baby-sitting all of the surrounding neighbors children. My daughter was obligated to tell the neighbors..., now, she had no income.

The next nine months were an absolute nightmare of bills not paid..., feuds he had with neighbors..., trips to the emergency room because of alcohol poisoning..., extended stays in the hospital because of overdoses..., wrecked vehicles..., threats..., one fight between this son-in-law and one of the others..., more threats..., and constantly trying to stay on his good side, so that he would let me drive them to the hospital when their baby arrived. Somehow we managed. There were two trips to the hospital for false labor..., and then..., the big day, or night as it always is...,

A beautiful baby girl..., it was all worth-while..., mommy and baby were healthy....,

Then..., drunk as a skunk..., he wanted to drive them home, 50 miles, from the hospital. I refused. He was insulted; but, he apparently did not want to fist-fight in front of the hospital..., and that was exactly what it was going to take for him to get me from behind the steering wheel. And, home we went.., to the house that was already in the early stages of foreclosure.

I dropped them all off..., left my wife there to help with my daughter and her new baby girl..., I was finally ready to wash my hands of the entire mess..., I had accomplished my goal..., they made it home alive. I thought I was done?

The first night home, the man's own mother showed up with a fifth of whiskey..., to celebrate the birth..., they sat in the baby's nursery and drank whiskey straight from a bottle until my son-in-law passed out in the floor. My wife called...,

I drove over their like I was being chased by the devil himself..., I guess I was, come to think of it..., we loaded up mommy and baby, and took them home with us. In the morning he called..., wanting to know where his car keys were..., he never asked about his little family. He was in a hurry to be there when the liquor store opened. I cursed him..., he cursed me..., once again, he threatened to kill me..., and I hung-up on him.

My daughter decided she would stay with us until he went to rehab..., she and I had taken her husband to rehab on more than one occasion, only to be turned away because he was drunk and/or high when we got there. My other two sons-in-law offered to borrow enough money to pay his way to a private rehab facility. Instead of going to rehab, the alcohol and drugs went to an even higher degree of abuse.

Living separate became "legally separated". Separated became "divorced". There were awkward meetings/visitations. The baby learned to speak...,learned to walk..., became a little person..., threats became less frequent..., there were court dates to first fight over child support..., he did not want to pay..., my daughter didn't care...., she wanted nothing from him..., somewhere along the way, she finally stopped being in love.., it did not happen over night.

And then..., he died.

His organs could not withstand any more abuse.

There was no celebrating in our family...,

My daughter had been in love. She cared for him..., she had a baby with him. And now, she cried for him. We all cried..., we all loved him.

He will not see his baby grow to be a pretty, smart, talented young lady..., as I did. He will not see her in her prom dress..., will not teach her to drive..., will not watch her graduate from high school/college..., will not walk her down the aisle to give her hand to a young man who will love her with all his heart.

Someday..., when she is old enough..., my daughter will tell her daughter about her daddy..., that tall handsome, athletic young boy/man, who loved his daughter with all his heart..., that's all she will know, and all she needs to know.

Sometimes life just isn't fair...,

That's an old cliché..., but, what does it mean? If you are born into the American Kennedy Klan, it certainly doesn't apply to you. Old man Joseph Kennedy was a successful bootlegger during Prohibition.., converted his ill-gotten gains into Stocks on Wall Street when the market crashed..., when someone is selling their stocks for pennies on the dollar, somebody has to be buying. Joe Kennedy was the head of the Securities Exchange Commission..., did a little "insider trading", and lo-and-behold..., if your name is Kennedy, you never have to work an honest day in your life.

If you are born into a Royal Saudi family, you are born a billionaire. The world is your personal playground..., you can do whatever you like..., wherever you like..., and there's not a blessed thing anyone can do to stop you. Oh, I know..., most other Saudi citizens literally don't have a pot to pee in..., but if you are a Royal..., well, that's not really any concern of yours, is it?

Last week, Donnie Marcum died. If you're not from around here, the name probably doesn't ring a bell. I was his high school football coach.., for only one season. When the county opened a new high school in 1988, I went there as the head coach. The first day, this kid shows up wanting to play. I had coached his older brother in track & field a few years earlier..., his brother Mike was a terrific kid, so I thought, "Why not?" He was a senior, but maybe we could teach him enough to allow him to have a little fun. So, Donnie was now a football player.

Our first game, Donnie never got off the bench..., He was trying to play tailback, and we happened to have a couple of pretty good ones. We played very well, but we lost the school's first football game. The opponent was a great team, with a storied history in football, so we were encouraged to play them a close game.

Game two..., we traveled a good distance to our next opponent..., spirits and expectations were high. The kids played great, and we jumped out to a lead..., then, we began to have injuries..., it was hot, and our kids also were wearing down..., if the game didn't end soon, that team was going to stage a comeback and beat us. Finally, in the 4th quarter, our defense made a valiant stand, and stopped the other team just short of the goal line..., but, we got the ball back on our own 5 yard line. We were 1 point in the lead. We had already lost our starting tailback to injury..., on the 1st down, our second tailback was hurt..., we put in Donnie..., on 2nd down, we gave the ball to our fullback..., he was stopped for a loss...., now, we were on the 4 yard line..., we might not have room even to punt...,

I called timeout, and trotted out to the huddle..., I told the kids we had to move the ball away from the goal line, or the other team would block our punt, and we would lose. I turned to Donnie and told him to hold on to the ball with both hands..., run behind his fullback..., and just try to get us a couple of yards..., I was surprised at how calm he appeared..., serious..., all business...,

Our kids broke the huddle before I even made it back to our sideline..., I turned just in time to see the quarterback receive the ball from the center..., he spun and handed the ball off to Donnie..., Donnie took one short step.., cut to his right and sprinted toward the sideline..., he left everyone in his trail..., another sharp cut, and Donnie set out for the goal line, 96 yards away...., when he crossed the goal line for a touchdown, the other team was at least 20 yards behind...., that boy was fast...,

We won!

Donnie was a legend overnight..., he ran for many more touchdowns that year...., in the spring, he pitched against the best baseball team in the state..., we won..., and in doing so we won the District Championship...., anything Donnie setout to do, he finished..., always serious..., always calm.

A few years after graduation, we heard some awful news..., Donnie had a leg amputated..., he was only 21 and had circulation problems..., he was in danger of losing his other leg...., the kids at our school all remembered Donnie..., most of our students had been in middle school when Donnie roamed our halls, but the kids remembered him..., they all gave up their lunch money for a day, and donated it toward sending Donnie to the Mayo Clinic...,

The diagnosis?

Acute reaction to "nicotine"! Donnie was a smoker.

Donnie managed to keep his leg..., but, other ailments kept cropping up..., and he whipped them one by one....,

I had breakfast with Donnie a couple of months ago..., he was selling raffle tickets..., the winner would win a pistol. I don't think it was legal.., I bought 10 tickets. He was using the money to pay medical bills..., he didn't want to leave this world while still in debt..., the end was imminent..., and it was closing fast. This was one race that Donnie couldn't win.

And then...., he died. I didn't go to the funeral. I had already said goodbye over breakfast..., and that was how I wanted to remember Donnie..., the kid that nobody could chase down had run his last race, and tobacco won. Donnie Marcum fought the good fight, but in the end, tobacco won again. Tobacco always does.

Sometimes life just isn't fair....,  

Pigeon Forge, Tennessee holds a great many fond memories for me..., both as an adult, and as a young boy. It was a short trip from my childhood home in Kentucky, to the Great Smokey Mountains. My mom and dad would load-up my sisters, my brother, and I..., and off we would go toward a fun-filled week with about 20 of my mom's family in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge.

There would always be the annual trek over the mountains to Cherokee, North Carolina..., then days of fun exploring the shops & attractions back in Tennessee. My older sister, Sheila, and our first cousins Sharon and David, were allowed to go horseback riding into the mountains when we were finally teenagers..., a fact that usually drew fire from all the younger brothers, sisters, and cousins..., but, we were the oldest, thus the most trustworthy.

Once I had children of mine own, I was bound and determined to share some of the fun, and wonder, of the Great Smokey Mountains with my children, their cousins, and a few select friends. Dollywood and the Aquarium always seem to be the big drawing cards for the new generation.., but, we managed to work-in a few of the old attractions too. We made some terrific memories through the years.

Now..., I have grandchildren. With the fires burning in Tennessee, I worry about the folks who live and/or work there. I also worry about what memories my children's children might have the opportunity to enjoy...., what new memories my children might enjoy...., at my age..., I wonder if I will get to share their memories of Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Dollywood...., I wonder....,

"How They Make Angels" is Free for downloading on Amazon Kindle from 11/28/2016 thru 12/02/2016...., Please enjoy.....,

"How They Make Angels" is Free for downloading on Amazon Kindle from 11/28/2016 thru 12/02/2016...., Please enjoy.....,

The book, "How They Make Angels", is a story about several generations of Henderson Green's family, and their life along the banks of Harmon's Branch Creek in Southeastern Garrard County, Kentucky. The photo, circa 1880's, is of Henderson (On the right) and one of his 22 children, Peter (On the left).

This photo was taken in a small village, Paint Lick, that still exists today. The first volume of "How They Make Angels", 1850's thru the 1920's is available on Amazon as a Kindle electronic book; or as a paper back copy on Amazon and at the Dinner Bell Restaurant in Berea, Kentucky. The second volume, 1930's thru 1940 is under construction. The author had planned to release that second volume in time for Christmas, 2016..., but that is becoming more & more doubtful with each passing day. Obviously, the delay will cause the third volume, 1940's thru 1950 to be late as well. Please forgive the delay..., the author was a bit optimistic in his initial predictions.

Thanks for visiting our blog, "That's How They Make Angels"..., I hope you will give our book, "How They Make Angels" a look-see..., I believe you will enjoy the three volume series.