We all missed Mike when he’d ship out for months without communication. When he got home none of us could get enough of him. Popcorn, the cat, and Belle, the dog, would follow him everywhere. They’d wait outside the bathroom just in case he was trying to make a getaway. Here they are happily snuggling just after he returned in 1990. Nothing better than a nap with dad after a long separation.
Can you spot Aaron among Granpa Mac’s pumpkins? LOL! This was 1994 on the McAllister’s Michigan farm. Aaron’s orange jacket (his ‘go Vols clothes’ as he called them) just made it too irresistible not to put him there among the pumpkins. I think we picked the best one that year don’t you?
Looking back it looks as if I gave him a Glasgow-Heath-Ledger-Joker-Smile – I didn’t mean too. But it’s Aaron at 2 in 1995 as a Scarecrow all happy after a very successful haul of candy trick or treating.
Welcome to pre-K for Aaron in 1995. He was a scarecrow and signed up to bring the Halloween cake for his daycare class. Back then he went to Milestone EduCare in Kalamazoo, Michigan. I was more Martha Stewart-y back then so instead of doing what a sane mother with a job would do – order one from the bakery I made it. I have to say to this day I am proud of how the “Monster ARGGGHH!!” (make claw like hands beside your face while saying it) cake turned out. I do not want to know what it looked like when 8 3 yr olds and 2 teachers were finished. I like to remember it as it was. I’m sure no one else remembers, not even “Monster ARGGGHH!!” Aaron but I remember it fondly as my BOO! Cake.
Belle was our dog for 19 years. She was a sweet smart mutt that definitely had some golden Lab in her. Now that the Carolina Dog is becoming a recognized breed I have to say that Belle fit them very well and was from South Carolina. As you can tell from this photo she was game for anything – Even costumes. So kick off Halloween with the fun spirit of Belle!
Here Mike’s father, Len, helps him make a Jack-O-Lantern in 1969. I have to admit I love the old dial wall phone in the back. Ours was yellow in the kitchen by the basement door. Theirs was olive and next to a door way. Then there’s Jack-O-Lanterns they are looking good don’t you think?
This is my mother’s mother’s father – Charles A Temple. He was born without a middle name so he chose A because it made his initials CAT. Given my love of cats I like that but that’s about all I’ve heard of the man I like. He dominated people getting his way. He played favorites with his children my grandmother being his favorite. He liked to put on a show and leave his wife to do the work at the store. Nothing there endeared him to me beyond an apparent fondness for the word cat.
He was a judge for part of a term. He was on a jury that determined a claim by a mining company against the Smokey National Park when the park was being established. He died of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Joseph Berry Bradford, my great-grandfather. A very small picture cropped from a group shot of a man who I know little about. First I’ll have to be honest, my great-grandmother was his mistress and later his wife. The group shot is of them with their children. (more…)
Lately my poor mom has been going through a hard spot. She fell and severely broke, shattered really, her leg just above the knee. She had surgery on it putting in plates and screws. She is healing marvelously but not fast enough for her. She is not back in their home town in a transitional care facility excelling at physical therapy. Only she can’t put weight on it yet and can’t go home until she has two feet. So she is frustrated and spending her birthday in the transitional center. So cheer her up and send her birthday wishes over on her Facebook.
Continuing on the sharing of my great-grandfathers here is my mother’s father’s father – Lavator. He didn’t use his first name which at times is given as Milo, Miles, or Milas. His sons, my grandfather and my Unkie both agreed Milas is correct, as one of their brothers was Milas and his son is Milas too. (more…)
Mary Louise Eklund 