Volume 3 , Issue 3

Luck and the Peas

OK! OK! OK! I think the week is finally catching up to me. It is coming back in flashes. Let me see... Looking back to the beginning of the week we saw some of that white, wintry, fluffy stuff they call snow. No Icy stuff this time. AND... NO! I did not make a snowman!

The snow lasted for a couple days before it melted. A reader in the western mountains reported in that they had more than 13 inches of snow around the beginning of the week, and it continues to fall. That should make the snow-skiers happy, huh? I need some firewood for these cold wintry days & nights. Anyone out there have a cord of good firewood they would sell me?

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Beautiful Snow

The snow measured anywhere from 7" to 13" deep. In front of the garage door, where I haven't walked or driven, it was 11". In the drive right in front of the front door, it was 7". On the northside, towards the west, it was 13". The high today was about 26 degrees, but it's down to 18 already. We may get more snow this evening, tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday. I love the views from my rec room windows and would spend more time up there, but I love my fire and my living room, too ... and my kitchen and my bedroom and my stairs... I'm going to get serious about shopping for a camera so I can send you pictures of this beautiful snow. [more]...   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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Southern New Year's Tradition

"Greetings from the South! I thought I'd take a minute to tell the story. It seems that eating black-eyed peas on New Year's Day is mainly a Southern tradition. Here's why....... During the Civil War, the Union soldiers would often raid and pillage the Southern farms. It was a common practice to burn the crops, but the Yanks would always leave the feed crops to use for their own horses. At that time, black-eyed peas were grown in the north as a feed crop for livestock. (Some Yanks still call them "cow peas".) As as result, this particular crop was left alone. After the takeover of the farms, the soldiers would use the farm houses as headquarters for their operations. The women and children would be forced to flee into the woods. After the residences were abandoned by the soldiers, the farm folks would come out of hiding to re-inhabit the homes. Since the soldiers would take the food from the houses, the only thing left to eat was "cow peas". Occasionally, some bones or undesirable cuts of meat would be left hanging in the smokehouses. Forced to survive on what was available, the women would take the peas and meat scraps and boil them into a soup. This tasty dish was often the only thing that kept them alive until their sons and husbands returned from battle. Considering themselves lucky to be alive, they gave the credit to the lowly peas. From then on, the black-eyed pea was eaten to bring good luck at the beginning of each year, and has since been known as "the pea that saved the South. Hope you enjoyed the story. I'd be curious if anyone has a different version." -- tully@brightok.net [more]...   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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Wilkes-Barre Crusade

"I am enjoying your tales of Oklahoma. I wish you had some of Duryea, Pennsylvania. I have been searching for my grandfather (actually his burial site) for years. Death records for 1895 burned and no one has any record of where he was buried. I am continuing my search. Have some names of people who do research, and am trying to find someone who can read tombstones by going to all the cemeteries. I cannot climb the hills, and over the old stones, in some of the real old cemeteries. Going to go back to Wilkes-Barre (where I grew up) this summer and search some more. W-B. is close to Duryea. Would be a nice closure. He died at age 21, in some type of an accident. My grandmother (maternal) was widowed at age 20, with 2 children, and another on the way." -- Lanie, eberg@pouch.com [more]...   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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White Buffalo Photos

"Hi, Linda! Thank you for the pictures of the white buffalo. Such an animal seems most unusual and an emblem of spirituality. We hope that efforts to restore buffalo to the plains are fruitful. They are symbolic of the growth of early America perhaps more than any other thing. Along with many others, we have enjoyed your histories of Oklahoma and the backgrounds of the people there. Although our family background is from the Boston and eastern Pennsylvania areas, and many of the traditions are quite different, the common threads are the years and federal government during which the development occurred. So many of the roots seem to be the same, especially eking out a living during difficult economic times." -- Joel & Lanie [more]...   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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History of Social Security

"This is pretty painful. Perhaps we are asking the wrong questions in this election year. Our Senators and Congressmen do not pay into Social Security, and, of course, therefore they do not collect from it.

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Stuff Happens

I've learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today, life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow [more]...   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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Apply for Your Social Security

Social Security Online... Halter announced that, People will now be able to apply for Social Security retirement benefits online at their convenience. So, if you are 61 years and 9... Description: This is the official web site of the Social Security Administration with information on retirement. [more]...   |  View or Add Comments (0 Comments)   |   Receive updates ( subscribers)  |   Unsubscribe

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