Country Music

(I am posting my little essay by special request of my brother, Philip May.)

April, 2002

The unexpected warm weather motivates us to open all the windows in the house and a whole new world of “country music” begins.  It has been thirty years since I have experienced Spring, with all its wondrous sights and sounds, so I am acutely aware of things I probably took for granted when I was growing up.  Also, having Ed, the city dude, here makes me notice things I’ve never noticed before.  There is quadraphonic sound featuring birds, farm machinery and the mooing of many cows.

The morning concert begins precisely at 6:45 a.m. when the banty rooster gives his first LOUD crow  - -  right under our open window.  (We are living with Mother while having our house built.)  How does HE know it’s 6:45???  He is like a snooze alarm and continues with this cacophony throughout the morning.   My mornings of sleeping in until 7:30 or 8:00 are over for now!

The mockingbird is the most entertaining bird as he loudly and cheerfully imitates every bird’s song imaginable.  The crows grating “ca-ca” is quite distinctive and the turtle doves with their soft cooing are soothing to the ears and nerves.  The noisy blue jays seem to always be arguing about something!  The nuthatches, snow birds, sparrows and bluebirds chirp cheerfully.   It is a never ending concert throughout the day with birds from all sides of the house. 

Every so often we hear the unmistakable sounds of farm machinery rumbling by.  I can often identify which are tractors or four wheelers.  The man who rents Mother’s farm, Linden Rhodes, has been busy moving cows around into the various pastures.  First, he brings them from his farm, takes them into the barnyard and vaccinates them - that causes one type of mooing.  Then he puts the new mothers with their calves (Ed calls them “little cows”) out in the pasture.  Instead of having a sheep dog to herd the cows or using the old fashioned method of running after them, Linden uses his four- wheeler to guide the cows and calves into the place he wants them.  It is frightful to hear (and see) him back up full speed and zip around to achieve his goal.

There are now about 25 sets of cows and calves in the field right behind Mother’s house.  Linden has 25 more cows, which he calls “springers”, ready to give birth at another farm.  After he gets the cows into the desired pasture, much mooing begins. Sometimes, it seems to be the mother calling her calf to “get its little self across the field” for lunch.  Other times it seems to be conversation among several cows.  At times, it seems they are mooing to cows in another field.  Then there are those who just moo and moo and moo for no apparent reason.     

     The toughest time is later in the summer when he separates the cows and calves  -  that always causes several nights and days of desperate bawling from many distressed mothers and babies - all at the same time.  That’s enough to make you feel so sorry for them in spite of being annoyed at all the noise when you’re trying to sleep!

Experiencing this forgotten country music is proving to be a great joy for me.  I awoke at 3 a.m. and experienced yet another sound sensation of the country  - absolute quiet - no cows, cars or birds.  We seldom experience silence in this day and age.  

       This has been a revelation to me.  Just think, all those years I thought I didn’t like “country music”!!

Fun Family Photos

Family funny - Notice their expressions, especially Peter's.
Do click on this one to see a larger view.  Bet you'll laugh!

This is my great grandmother, Emma Swank May (above on the right).  Isn't her hairdo (below) interesting?  Daddy always said he liked her little earrings and it does appear she's wearing them, which was rather unusual for those days.

I haven't figured out when people started smiling for photos.  All the really old ones have people with very stern expressions.

Walker H. May's baby picture.  Different, huh?

Will Walker ever get a break?  Notice the lace collar and bow.

Walker and Clarence went "fishing".  Looks more like frogs to me!  I think this picture is neato!

Walker Henton May, Jr.

He was a darling, red-headed, freckled little boy and.....

I'd say this little cutie pie turned into quite a "fox"!  Wouldn't you agree?

Little M.E. (I was always called Mary Elizabeth when I was young) looking puzzled as to why Cousin Stashia Ann was crying.  I can almost hear Grandmother laughing.

Talk about a shy, little cutie pie!  Oh, Anita!

Just let it all hang out and get comfy, OK?

Anita at attention as a youngster.

Anita in college! 

The May summer "swimming pool".  What could be more fun than swimming in a tub?

Speaking of cute, let's hear it now,  "Awwww".

Daddy, Phil, and Perky enjoy some TV.

The studious one.

You can wear whatever you like as long as you practice!

 

A Teddy Bear (Phil) holding a teddy bear! 1972

 Philip's wild perm days!

Phil, The Ham

Ed was very impressed when Phil shot out the window behind the lunch table one Sunday and within 10 minutes got 3 groundhogs!

Like mother, like daughter?

Like mother, like daughter?

Look at "Legs" here!

One reason I moved to Puerto Rico was so I could play tennis every day, which I did!   Were my legs really that slim?

Cousin Stashia in her silly stage!

Ellen and April Krull with Aunt Mary

Auntie Mary being a good sport.

 "Perchers" at the May picnic

We used to fight to have a turn to comb Grandmother Freeman's hair.  She was a good sport, wasn't she?

Aunt Mary, hitting the bottle again?

 
When Levi was about 3, we went out to eat.  When the waitress asked him what he wanted, he said,  "I'll have the American fish."  We'll never know how he came up with that!



Photoshop Fun

 

 

Uncle Bob's boyhood suit.

Levi in Uncle Bob's suit. 
He appears to be thinking,  "Ok, I've done my duty.  Can I get out of Uncle Bob's %#$ suit now?"

My two personal favorites are saved till last!

Cousin Bobz Freeman entertained us as kids with his monster walk.  We're glad to see that he hasn't lost his special talent!

A May family "fun album" would not be complete without this world-famous shot.

The names have been omitted to protect the innocent!

Forgotten Photos

......this post could also be called "New-to-Me Photos"....either I'd seen them before and forgotten or I have never seen them.  Nevertheless, I hope you will be entertained.

My paternal great grandfather, Henry Franklin May

Grandmother was always shy in public and quite particular about dressing "so as not to call attention to herself."  Seeing her various fashion statements in the photos below were unexpected and delightful!

Those glasses are pretty wild, aren't they?

Grandmother was a small, high-strung, hard-working lady but even then, it appears she was hiding behind Grandaddy.

I had to look twice at this one to see if it was really Grandmother!  Wasn't "Junior" (Daddy) a cute little thing with his soup-bowl haircut?

She was always slim.

Pretty snazzy, huh?  She probably made all these outfits herself.

A Mother with her baby boys.

Cutie pie, Daddy, with his cousin, Lois Ritchie.

Here's a photo I've never seen.  It's Grandaddy and Grandmother Freeman with Mother and Aunt Mary.  It was in 1942 and just might be the day he took them to college at Mars Hill.  As always, he looked away from the camera.

The Freeman home was started before the Civil War and finished after the war ended.

We loved coming here to spend a week or two each summer.  The steps in the front hallway creaked so it was nearly impossible to sneak around in that house!

The library is the room people like the best.

The books were mostly Grandaddy's law books.  We called that fainting couch a psychiatrist's couch.

Grandmother Freeman, Aunt Pat, Aunt Callie with Cousin Bets Norman the day she married Buck Miller.

Cousin Bobz and Marilyn Freeman visiting Aunt Mary in 2005.

Here's another surprise picture....Philip with Uncle Robert.

 Uncle Robert almost always wore a hat.

A cute pic of Mother and Aunt Mary having fun -- maybe it's their high school graduation?

I did not remember that Stashia and Aunt Ginny visited in North Carolina.  But, here's Stashia getting a pony ride from Cousins Bill and Bobz (then called Alex).

Those granite front steps were the social hub for family and visitors during the summer.  Below - Aunt Ruth, Aunt Ginny May, Aunt Pat, Aunt Mary, and Grandmother Freeman.

Back on the farm when Anita was an infant.  I guess the man beside Daddy was Uncle Bob but I thought they were about the same height. (About 1950)

The Mays always took family pictures at our annual Christmas Day gathering.  Philip and William (Bill) must have been playing the part of Napoleon.

Oh, the hours we did spend playing in the sand-pile, which was made out of an old tractor tire.

The May grandchildren had some good fun at sleep-overs!

We always had our birthday parties together.  

 I remember the parties but not this one with the hats.  Weren't we cute?

Here's a picture of Uncle Bob, Aunt Ginny, Stashia, William, and Patty that I'd never seen.  Notice Patty's doll dress matches hers and obviously Patty is quite proud of her.

2nd Grade at Mt. Clinton School.

Mrs. Chappell, my mentor, innovated many new activities.  I'd forgotten that we were in the newspaper!

It was fun to see Mother and Daddy through the years.
We found this pink hat when we were going through things.  Now I wish we'd saved it but we couldn't keep everything!  1967

This was at my first wedding in 1979.  I made Mother's dress.

Mother and Daddy came to visit us in Florida.  I was always dieting because I thought I was fat.  I'd love to be that slim again!

When I lived in Puerto Rico, Anita and Phil came to visit (about 1972).  I don't remember where we were going but we surely were gussied up!

 Too bad this wasn't in color.  I had an orange blouse, Mother had a dark red dress and Anita's dress was aqua.  I remember they had Daddy stand on a book so he would be taller than me.

Even though clearing out the farmhouse and buildings was a lot of work, all the trips down memory lane were a lot of fun and made it all worthwhile.