The Coward of the County...

Yep. Still nothing. No phone calls. No e-mails. No letters. Nothing. Nada. They have not contacted me in form to address my questions. How glorious. It is amazing to me that they still hold their heads up, while committing such a gross neglect to the family of an officer of this county. Not even return my calls. Not even send me a letter if they were too cowardly to speak to me on the phone.

Everyone considered him the coward of the county.
He never stood one single time to prove the county wrong.
His mama named him Tommy, the folks just called him yellow,
Something always told me they were reading Tommy wrong.

He was only ten years old when his daddy died in prison.
I looked after Tommy 'cause he was my brothers son.
I still recall the final words my brother said to Tommy:

"Son, my life is over, but yours is just begun.

Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand:

Son, you don't have to fight to be a man!"

There's someone for evr'yone and tommy's love is Becky.
In her arms he didn't have to prove he was a man.
One day while he was workin' the Gatlin boys came callin'.
They took turns at Becky... there was three of them!

Tommy opened up the door and saw his Becky cryin'.
The torn dress, the shattered look was more than he could stand.
He reached above the fireplace and took down his daddy's picture.
As the tears fell on his daddy's face, He heard these words again:

"Promise me, son, not to do the things I've done.
Walk away from trouble if you can.
Now It won't mean you're weak if you turn the other cheek.
I hope you're old enough to understand:

Son, you don't have to fight to be a man!"

The Gatlin boys just laughed at him, when he walked into the barroom.
One of them got up and met him halfway 'cross the floor.
When Tommy turned around they said, Hey look! ol yellows leavin'.
But you coulda heard a pin drop when tommy stopped and locked the door.

Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him.
He wasn't holdin' nothin' back; he let 'em have it all.
When tommy left the barroom not a Gatlin boy was standin'.
He said, this ones for Becky, as he watched the last one fall.

Twenty years of crawlin' was bottled up inside him.
He wasn't holdin' nothin' back; he let 'em have it all.
When tommy left the barroom not a Gatlin boy was standin'.
He said, this ones for Becky, as he watched the last one fall.

And I heard him say,

"I promised you, dad, not to do the things you've done.
I walk away from trouble when I can.
Now please don't think I'm weak, I didn't turn the other cheek,
And papa, I sure hope you understand:

Sometimes you gotta fight when you're a man".

Kenny Rogers-

The Tinman

Summer is ending, school is beginning. I ended the last weeks of summer by first getting my first ever case of poison oak. My eyes swollen shut, arms, legs, covered. I tried all of the over the counter aids, nothing worked, as I slowly watched myself swell like a balloon. I finally went to immediate care and got the shot. Good choice. If I ever look at poison oak again, I am going down and getting the shot. I recommend the shot. I love the shot. Cleared up enough to drive over to see him, only to come home to the stomach flu. Now that I am at the end of that one, it is time to get some walking in for the Tinman. Yes we are doing it again. Not as much fanfare as last year, I think it snuck up on all of us, but I think we have 5 relay teams and 3 soloists signed up. (I think the Mehoff family will be there too, not in the count) MAC is coming down from Portland to swim for us again, and we will again break out our shirts and celebrate him. His life and his love of life. An important thing for his girls and for all of us to be reminded of. So if you are there, come and see us. We won't be hard to miss.

School is Here!

It has been a busy summer. I can't believe that school is about to start. It just doesn't seem possible that another school year is starting and he won't be there. H is going into first grade. She is excited, thrilled, and can't wait to be back with all of her friends. E moves onto another year of preschool, this time with N as her teacher and she is equally exicted. Of course I am excited for them. I happy that someone else will have a turn to entertain them, as they have their father's energy and it can be exhausting being the only one on deck. Especially H, she has her father's blue green eyes, his smile, his quickness to laugh, and also his relentless energy. She literally bounces down the hall, cannot stand still and have a conversation with me, watches TV by bouncing herself like a pinball off the livingroom furniture. Something I know all too well. I lived with it for the last 20 years. A friend once called me and during the course of our conversation, she asked where Eric was. I told her I had locked him outside. "Locked him outside??" She was confused. "Locked him outside!" I confirmed. I told him that he had to play outside for awhile, because I was getting ready for company and he was bouncing off the walls in the house driving me nuts. Oh he ran from door to door making faces for awhile, before giving up and finding something else to entertain him. Now I am raising his daughter without his help. She is him. Entertaining, infectious, happy, athletic, outgoing, amazing.