I have been atravelin this past year. Been down in Hampton, Georgia and built the stage and booths for Cracker Barrel at their race at Atlanta Speedway. Still got burned rubber falling out of my hair and still got chills from the sight of the B-1 bomber that buzzed the place at the end of the Star Spangled Banner. What a show! Then got sent off to test my northern speech in Bloomington, Indiana where I built another Cracker Barrel. There I got introduced to sprint racing from a sub whose sons raced on Friday nights at a dirt track. Still got dirt from that comin’ out. Then as I got paroled from there I got sent to Raleigh/Durham, NC to finish a Waste Management administrative building and transfer station. Nothing like the early morning smell of tons of garbage to clear out your sinuses. Anthrax…kid stuff!!!
While on these jobs, Susan came up and we got to go visit Niagara Falls and Kitty Hawk on weekend trips. Always impressive what diversity we have in this country. When you see the pictures of Afghanistan, what a glorious place we live in. Susan has been working on home projects for the year so we won’t have such a tax burden this year (as she explains it to me!) She had Carrie’s wedding (more later on this) and then she has been working on this kinfolk book since. Tried hard to tie in a Kennedy or Gates into the tree, but they kept jumping out. Think our tree was a persimmon. Oh well.
Melissa and Keith are still up in Charleston with Sarah and Racheal. Melissa started a new job after spending the summer being entertained by all 4 kids. She had to go back to work for the mental health benefits. Still hope they get to come back closer to home in the future.
Madison and Kyle, our testimonial to our age and senility have been busy this year. Kyle is always in a sport of one kind or another and Madison tried her hand at a pageant again. She came in as 1st runner up in the Miss Apple Seedling pageant. She had the wave and the blown kiss down pat along with her southern sashay of her dress. Kyle has been helping me in my shop when we have time and is picking up the use of my scroll saw, much to Susan’s distress. I’ve noticed both their accents starting to develop and rival my own so I won’t feel ridiculed when the Floridians take over the hills from us.
Carrie gradiated this year from Appalachian College and started work for Fireside Log Homes in Ellijay as an administrative assistant. I’m tryin’ to get on as her assistant but she won’t share her desk. She and Ryan got hitched this year and are currently shacking with us till they get their house set up on their property on the other side of Ellijay. Ryan is a liquid floor engineer (concrete finisher) and works around Gilmer County (lucky him).
Susan’s mom Alma is still busy with her sewing and has also become a real puter gamer since her son John gave her a computer this year. At 80, she has learned a whole new sense of how to be frustrated by a machine, which could cause the Pope to swear. She isn’t on the net yet, we will work up to that as her sailors terminology increases.
Well that wraps up a brief review of what the kin and we have been up to this year. All in all was a kinda so-so year while we were all in kinda a stupor and numb after 9/11. I was in Bloomington working on a floor tile that was broken, heard the news and I left and went to my trailer and watched till late in the night and grieved. Been a hard year to smile and be positive, and I promise to be more upbeat next year. Hope all y'all have survived this year and have come out ready to make this comin year a good un. Please drop us a line by snail or e-mail, call or come and see us. I’ve still got plenty of honey do’s on the list and can used the help. The list grows exponentially you know.
To all our friends,
Merry Christmas from Buddy Susan and the rest of the known Tidwell kinfolk.
