lFamily Reunion 2009
August 13, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I think we should plan to have a reunion every year. Granted, only a few people may make it. Perhaps different people each time. And maybe we would like to have one at ….say….christmastime one year. But right now, i’m beset by a bad case of nostalgia, and I want to go to Laguna Beach near Panama City, Florida next August.
I’m going to do my best to talk Luis into saving up some cash, and I’m going to find out from Joyce Thornton just exactly what Motel or Hotel or highrise, or whatever has taken over the little spot of land that the little cottage that my family and I lived in from February 1955 until October 1955. four or five of the photographs that my cousin, Babs, sent to me a few months ago were made at that little house. It really stirred my soul when I got those pictures. I NEEDED THEM! One of them had my daddy in it, and I didn’t even realize that, until Alex told me it was our father. Alex was eleven, and he was standing by the chair that daddy was sitting in. Daddy was wearing just a pair of shorts.
That’s all I have to say. I opt to make plans to hit the beach of Laguna next August (if it isn’t private by now).
And I don’t even like to go onto the beach anymore. I just like to sit on the terrace and watch the waves and listen to the seagulls’ cries. Maria is going to wonder why she has to go all the way to Panama City, when her beach is just five minutes away. And Mary Jo is going to wonder why I have to drive all the way to Panama City, when Daytona Beach is only eighteen miles away, and she and her husband and family drive from Macon to Daytona every summer….six hours away.
Uncle Fred Polhemus
August 10, 2008 | Items of Interest | Comments [8]
Do any of you Polhemus children know anything more about your uncle?
Everyone Write Some Memories
August 6, 2008 | Reunion 2008 | Comments [4]
It’s time to write some memories of our VERY MEMORABLE 2008 PAGAN-POLHEMUS FAMILY REUNION.
I will start at the beginning of what I remember. It’s difficult for me, because I just had to get up and go and find the T-shirt (thank you again, Lainie) to see what we HAD. It was a REUNION. A REUNION!!! I couldn’t even remember THAT!!
Luis and Jordan and I arrived at Beth’s house at about 4:00 on Saturday afternoon and caught her playing on her computer. She didn’t expect us so soon so she had to get up and throw a roast in her crock pot, and proceed with the rest of the delicious dinner that only Beth can pull off! I would never have believed that my skinny little freckled-faced cutie would ever have developed into the multi-talented 45-year old woman that she is today. She’s amazing! She’s a marvelous cook. She can sew, and is a wonderful mother to her two over-active, creative, wild, and hilarious boys. Ryder (10), and Dillon ( 7) are anything but run-of-the-mill average. Their antics can entertain you and crack you up all day long. Beth is married to a fine man. He’s a lot of fun, and a good addition to the family. Thank you, Paul, for opening up your home to Luis and me when we go to Birmingham. We appreciate it so much. We hope we’re worthy in-laws, and don’t get on your nerves too much!
Buddy and his four showed up at some point. There were lots of hugs and kisses and “I love you”s” and then the two youngest (Adam-Michael..12, and Ethan, 10…) went down into the cave where Dillon and Ryder dwell with their computer and TV and lots of toys.
Ben came in with Julie and their two darling little munchkins. Lily is five and Ben Parker three. Things really livened up. It was so exciting to see everybody. What a great family!! And we were only on the tip of the iceberg.
Next day, Sunday, we went to church. It was so sweet and delightful to see our old friends of long ago. Deann Giles was with her mother, Sister Hickman, who is apparently living with them now, since the death of General Hickman four years ago. Kathy Giles Pierce was with them in Relief Society, too. I saw Nancy Hyde, but talked to her just briefly, because she kept the nursery. After Relief Society, I went down to the nursery to see if the little chest that Luis built for it in 1973, when I was the Relief Society President, was still there. Nancy said that they had just gotten brand new things for the nursery (as I could see….beautiful things), and one of the Primary sisters took it home with her. I was disappointed, as I would loved to have it. But it was only a “thing”. We chatted with Brother and Sister Scroggins, and Brian Scroggins came up to say “hello”. So did Kim Norris and Pam Norris, and others. It was nice. But the Ward is huge, and I don’t know anyone. In contrast to knowing “everyone” at one time. I counted up one time the number of brothers and sisters that had died since we arrived in Birmingham, and to Birmingham First Ward, and it was something like 35 people. That was a number of years ago. I’m sure that many, many more have died since then. Already….Off the top of my head….I can think of Martha Lane, Doris and Buddy Walser, and Frances and John Gibson.
Sunday afternoon, we arrived at our Chalet at about six o’clock. We had Jordan with us, as Jani had elected to stay behind with either Brenda or Crystal. I can’t remember. She and Jordan were with us on the trip up to Birmingham. Poor little Jani was so miserable. She couldn’t get comfortable in the front or back seat. Anyway, we settled in, and went up to the restaurant to eat, after Carmen and Jason arrived. I think that’s the way we did it. I had Spaghetti, and it was quite good. We went up two or three days later, and I had the Seafood Platter. Yuk! I should have known that you don’t order seafood in the mountains. Crystal said the waitress warned her not to get it! I had no such warning. But I took half of it home, and Carmen was starving, so she glupped it down without noticing that it was bad.
Luis and I were very comfortable in our bedroom. I’m sorry that some of you were not so comfortable. Beth was really bold and courageous. She stuck it out for the sake of her two boys, who were having the time of their lives. Beth, I wish the boys could have been with us at the picnic. If we had known it was going to be so much fun, I’m sure that Bill, Buddy, and Lainie could have found room in the cars to take them home. The kids had a fabulous fiesta, and a roaring rumble playing football and baseball. The adults made up two volleyball teams and Carmen, Maria, And Crystal showed that they still had the power to blast their male counterparts good and proper. I don’t know about the score. I just know that I saw the gals serving that ball so neatly. And BRENDA! Fiesty little thing! The runt in the litter. She showed that she has lots of steam in spite of that poor little neck that hurts all the time. I think Darrell got stuck with Lexie, and nobody thought it was fair for his 6′4″ to be on either team. And Jaymi (spelling) was sent home with Bubba. My daughters and daughters-in-law have excellent spouses, and vice-versa.
Luis and I stayed in the cabin most of the time. I slept a lot, and don’t really know what was going on. I know that all of you were playing games of cards, and watching TV , and playing other games.
Luis built fires, and he fell asleep by the fireplace. We were dozing comfortably while all of you were playng in the swimming pool, or hiking somewhere, or playing in the other pool by the waterfall. Or maybe some of you were fishing, and we heard that some of you went horseback riding. Teyla told me the name of her horse three times, but old Nanna can’t remember it yet!!
Then their was the night of the Musicfest. Thanks to Buddy and Bill and all of the guitars, and Jacob singing (I was pleasantly surprised. I didn’t know my grandson could play the guitar and sing so well).
Teyla almost had to be spanked to make her get out of the spotlight, but she was cuter than Shirley Temple.
Altogether, it was just unbelieaveably successful. I hope that everyone enjoyed it as much as I did. We must stay close together as a family now. The grandchildren need to know each other. Austin, Jacob and Christopher are close in age. So are Bailey and Jordan. And Chelsea and Jani and Julia.
more pictures
August 6, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I cant put them under family reunion, I think you have to be an administrator
The Next Generation
August 6, 2008 | Check-in | Comments [2]
As you all know (even from experience after last week), Nancy and I are busy raising our three grandchildren. I say “our” even though they have no traces of my particular DNA about their persons. But I’ve been “grandpa” for five years now, and the District Court of the County of Harris, Texas, has granted me equal standing with Nancy as their legal guardian, so there you are.
I know I love them as much as I could ever love my bio-grandchildren.
We’re going to have to figure out how to get all this generation of kids together more often. Beth and I had talked in nonspecific terms about “trading hostages” during the Summers in the future, for instance having Dylan (and maybe Ryder, who definitely has his own thoughts on these things) come and visit for a couple of weeks, then sending them along with our boys to Birmingham for a couple of weeks.
I’m not sure how to work all that, but as Mother can attest, as well as Buddy and me who did have cousins on Bill Sr.’s side that we were privileged to be close to in our formative years, it’s great to have warm relations with your extended family. Mother had her McLure cousins, just to name a few, and I distinctly remember (as I mentioned during our whiffle-ball game) her dominating those Hollands as a slugger in their pick-up baseball games when she was in her late-20s.
Anyway, just a thought in passing.
Love to all.
ATTENTION, “UNCLE BUDDY”!
August 6, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
I really had fun with our all-too-brief music-making last week. Considering that we had no time to work anything up, that I’m a bit rusty because I tend to go a month or two between bouts of playing, and that the g’kids insisted we take a hike into the wilderness instead of allowing me to work on Jason’s song, I think we had a lot of fun.
I do have a pretty good recording set-up at home including all sorts of doo-hickeys that allow me to mic guitars and provide effects (esp. for the bass; I have a “BassPod Pro” that can model any sort of amp, ambience, etc.) and it would be fun if we could collaborate in putting tracks together for your next big CD. Playing live is always the most fun for me, but I just never get to do it because I never put together the “semi-pro” network that you have over the years, and most of the people I do get to play with are like me: family and job and church and etc. take up way too much time to put enough effort into sustaining it.
Anyway, send me any vocal/guitar/anything-else tracks you have and I’ll see what I can add.
I love you and miss you and wish we’d had a lot more time together. But what we did have was fun.
My little guys REALLY had fun with yours. They are quite taken with Adam, as you might expect, since he has the “adventurous streak” that my boys relish.
Love, again, Bro. Bill.
Bailey Did Make It On Sunday
August 6, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
These are very brief videos:
i actually have
August 6, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments [1]
I actually have a bunch of pictures somewhere in here but I think the files are too large and need to be crunched, so if someone can find them and crunch them and put them in the reunion blog that we be nicey!!!
Edouard’s Here!
August 5, 2008 | Check-in | No Comments
Tropical Storm Edouard has made landfall just to the east-southeast of Houston this morning, and is even at this moment churning it’s way STRAIGHT toward us. RIght now, they max sustained winds are at 65 mph, a few short of a Cat One hurricane, but we’re still in for quite a blow.
We should be getting a LOT of rain over the next day or so. I’ve stayed home today, because I didn’t want to go to work then just turn around and head home again.
Here’s hoping we don’t lose power or anything!
* * * UPDATE WEDNESDAY 6 AUGUST 2008 * * *
Well, the storm’s come and gone and left nothing much in its wake but a few blown-over beach umbrellas. As usual with our vaunted Mainstream Media, the hype and the build-up was W-A-Y bigger than the reality. I think we probably had some pretty good winds in the coastal areas between the Bolivar Peninsula just east of Galveston and Port Arthur, Texas, but there’s NOTHING THERE except a bunch of old beach houses, and they’re all up on stilts.
The storm surge MIGHT have been a foot or eighteen inches. Not enough to worry about.
We got about three inches of rain in our neck of the woods, although they DID get a lot more than that east of Houston proper. However, most of that rain fell in areas just adjacent to the bay, and so there really wasn’t much flooding of rivers further inland.
In fact, as the storm downgraded to a “tropical depression” and headed out over Austin and West Texas, it was more a blessing than anything else, since there has been pervasive drought there extending back several years. Those folks really needed the rain!
So, all’s well, the lights never even flickered out our way. I’m back in the office again today for the first time in ALMOST two weeks, given my hospital stay plus the reunion trip.
Love to all.
Bill
August 4, 2008 | Reunion 2008 | No Comments
I tried to click on family reunion but i have to come back here to post. I got 30 free prints from snapfish , so I ordered a collage as well. 
Okay
August 3, 2008 | Uncategorized | Comments [2]
I went through my photos today. I cropped and fixed them but I will have to say, I have the most beautiful nieces and nephews, its hard not to show them all. I had such a wonderful weekend, I am sorry I crippled christopher and Adam, but aside from that my nieces and nephews are the cutest things I have ever seen unless i am biased so when you decide on a site Bill let me know, not that the grownups aren’t cute but we don’t seem to make as cute as pictures as the kids.
PLEASE READ!! VERY IMPORTANT!!
August 2, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments
Rather than putting up photos, videos, etc., from the Reunion in the regular “Posts” area, let’s put up PAGES so they’ll be “set apart” for everyone to easily get to and enjoy.
I’m sure we’ll start seeing ‘em pretty quickly!
Love, Bill
* * * UPDATE * * *
Nah, forget it. I thought that it would be great to click on the “Family Reunion 2008″ page and see individual posts related to the reunion, but that’s not how it works. “Pages” only allow a single post. I’ll work in getting the stuff that Buddy put there back on the main page.
Everyone just make a post with the photos or videos you want to put up, and that’ll have to do.
Again, we had a bigger blast than we could have imagined, mainly because our g’kids had so much fun meeting and playing with their cousins, etc.