Finding Direction: The Wind Vane Chronicles

Tom gave me a diamond solitaire engagement ring on Valentine’s Day the winter we were married.  Those were happy days nearly 19 years ago, but today is even better!!  Here’s a photo of how we looked then:

We may have a little more gray in our hair these days (at least one of us – ha!), but our hearts are just as young and free and overflowing with love for each other.  Our love expands and blooms all the time in our happiness and joy and spreads to everyone around us.

Y’all fill my heart with happiness, too, by being such good friends to me.

Sorry to not have been around here much these past two weeks.  Rebecca has been here with us and I’ve been spending a lot of time with her.  Please excuse my absence from you all and the break in my Arkansas stories.  I plan to be back with them Monday, so stay tuned.

In the meantime, seeing as how tomorrow – the Lord’s Day and first day of the week – is also Valentine’s Day, let me wish each of you, from the bottom of my heart, a happy Valentine’s Day!  I hope your day tomorrow is joyous and full of love and laughter!!

Many blessings to each of you who read these words.  Dee

Before we get to today’s short post, here’s what the business was in the other side of the building housing McClain Furniture Store, founded 1905:

We all thought it was funny and couldn’t quite figure it all out.  Maybe Greg would like to enlighten us as to why a furniture store and embalming company would occupy the same building and why there was just an embalming company to begin with, rather than a full fledged funeral home.  Care to do so Greg?  Enquiring minds want to know.  I sure do, anyway.

When we left downtown Cotter, we went down by the White River.  It was a really interesting spot, and we spent some time there that late Sunday afternoon.

We took a lot of photos, three of which I’ll show you today, but more next time.  This first one is of the three Andrews brothers congregated to share stories about climbing the steep mountain just across the river from where we were on the west side.

Tom, as you can see, “borrowed” my old scooter that Dickie used on the trip as they had a quiet moment together.

However, as was the case the entire trip, in the next photo we see Dickie & Jimmy in a heated discussion – with constantly differing opinions – about where something or other occurred.  More about that next time, along the river side.

They were so funny!  I don’t think they agreed on one thing.  Or maybe just one, at the most.

One last photo before I go today.  I know it’s been a long time, so I don’t know if you remember how I started this entire series last November.  (See here.)   (Yikes, Dee Ann, are you that slow and long-winded in your writing?!  Good grief!)  Cotter nowadays refers to itself as the trout fishing capital of the USA, and from what we saw and experienced, it sure enough is!

We were down by the river about an hour or so, I suppose, and watched flat boat after flat boat come in off the river loaded down with fish – Rainbow trout, German trout, speckled trout . . . all kinds of trout.  And all of them had caught their limits within an hour or two!  Honest!  Wow!

There are all kinds of cabins, lodges & cabins, rentals, state parks, on & on around Cotter where even a less than avid fisherman can go stay, rent a boat, catch his/her (I LOVE to fish for trout – when I can catch them) trout limit and then have a guide clean them, cook them and serve you and all your guests for either lunch or dinner, depending on how early you get out on the river.

The White River is stocked regularly, and I don’t feel bad for the fish (very much liking fresh fried Rainbow trout!!).  Tom is not a fisherman at all, but I would really love to go back up there one of these days and partake of such feasts for two or three day.

I’ll close for today by showing one lady I took a photo of as she showed me one of she and her husband’s limit of trout they had caught over just the hour and a half before!!  They came over nearly every weekend, she said, to catch trout to eat back at home fried (and froze the rest).  If we had such in the big creek down behind our house here, I would think that I was in trout heaven!!  Behold:

Mmmmm, Mmmmm!!  Boy, that looks like good eatin’!!

That’s it for today, but there’s plenty more good stuff to come next time, when we resume our Andrews memories tour.

Cheers & many blessings to each of you today!  Have a great, safe weekend!

Dee

P. S.  It just dawned on me.  I think I’ve figured out the answer to my own question for Greg about the embalming company/business.  But I want to wait and hear his comment first, and y’all’s, as well, okay?!

Why do YOU think it was an embalming business without being either a casket company or full fledged funeral home?  Comment!

Dee

Who’s watched “Cinema Paradiso” yet?  Anyone?  If so (& when so) you must comment on what you think about it!!  Please.

I’ve seen it probably 10 times and still cannot keep from bawling my eyes out at the end when . . ..  Nope.  You’ve got to see the movie.

I especially think of Tom when I watch the movie because of the magic of his movies filled boyhood and teen years.  I’ve shared with you before long ago (if you’d like to read or re-read those posts, I’ll give you the links – just comment) about how Tom and his older brother Jim ended up living with their dad in Biloxi actually IN drive-ins and movie theaters!  If you’ve not read them, you might want to do so.  It was more in the times of John Goodman’s movie “Matinee.”  (Seen it yet?  It’s terrifically funny – as were some aspects of Tommy’s and Jimmy’s lives then.)

I left you with a question last time (surprise, surprise), and y’all have some great answers about what two distinct businesses founded in 1905  were housed in the same building we passed around the corner from the Paradise Theater.  But, none of you were correct.

Remember the photo (check the last one in my last post?  There were two plaques in front – one on each side of the double door.   As we looked at the store (now an antiques/gift shop), we saw this one to the left of the door:

Well, guess what?  I’m not yet going to tell you what the sign to the right side said.  You’re going to have to guess, again, for next time, when I promise to reveal the other sign after you’ve guessed some more, now with a big hint(?) – or not.

Remember, I said the two businesses were disparate in nature by a long shot.  Although (another little hint), in some sort of twisted way of thinking, the one – furniture store – could be of use in the other, but not with typical furnishings as we think of furnishings for a business.  Totally perplexed now?  Think out of the box, so to speak.  Or, perhaps I should say “in” the box, for yet another huge clue.

Moving on.

Last time I promised you photos of Tom’s mom and dad and here they are.  His mother, Glenda, was very beautiful.  She was slender and tall – about 5′7″ or 5′8″ – and had reddish blonde hair.  This photo was taken of her not long before she married Tom’s dad:

Tom’s dad, Lewis, was good looking, as well, and according to everyone who ever knew him, a real charmer of the ladies, despite being short (about 5′5″ or so, Tom says, whereas Tom is 6′2/12″) and more “robust”:

Tom calls him more of a vivid character, than anything, with his twinkling blue eyes that sparkle with mischief.  When I was working on his photo yesterday, Tom was here and I couldn’t help but see a strong similarity between them when it comes to the mischievous looks and charming personality.  Tom actually much more strongly resembles and takes after his mom’s family, but still . . . there’s a definite way about him that is very much like Lewis was.

One last photo before we head down the street next time to the White River and famous Rainbow Bridge.  There, we’ll find lots of stories from Cotter “yesterday,” as well as lots more stories about Cotter today.

But first, here we are hanging out on the street corner in Cotter, just down the block from McClain’s Furniture store and ????  It was a gorgeous day and we were having a blast, as you can see.

Cousin Oliver stands at the left, with Dickie’s wife Joyce on the bench behind him.  Jimmy’s wife, Arlinda is next to her.  The three of us standing in the middle of the picture (l to r) are me, Tom’s tall sister, Debbie, and Tom.  Behind him are Jimmy and Dickie on their scooters.   We roamed the empty Sunday afternoon streets soaking in the atmosphere and nostalgia.

Then we drove over to the river, where we’ll begin next time.  (Okay, right after the revelation of the “other” business in that building near by.)

Cheers and many blessings to each of you today!  Dee

If I tried to show you photos of all of the different places the Andrews boys lived during the 8 years they were in north central Arkansas, I’d have to do a large photo album.  And, it wasn’t just during those years.  Between the three of them (not counting their oldest half-brother, long dead) and their much younger sister, Debbie . . . but I’m getting ahead of myself . . . there were a multitude of houses.

For today, we’ll just cover some of the highlights.

Here is the second house in Cotter they remember well.

Dickie remembers this one because he was working with a gun toward the back of the house and shot a bullet through the back side window.  The windows look original and he wanted to go find the hole he shot in the pane, but we were afraid to venture into the strangers’ yard, ya know?  Might still be some gun owners inside.

Things moved a bit downhill from there.  The next place we photographed is one of the other places they lived “downtown.”

They lived in one side of this blue building and their mom ran a cafe in the other side.  She actually worked in cafes all around town at various times and we photographed several of them, all still there, but various other kinds of stores/offices now.

Finally, a year or more after their parents’ divorce, they moved to a small building next door to the Paradise Theater that until recently had been a pharmacy.  That building has now been restored and is named the “White River House.”

This is where the story gets interesting, weaving in pertinent Andrews memories/history as well as connections to today.

Jimmy, who had had polio by then (when he was 10, remember), was a young teen and mostly living in a hospital up in Missouri where he had many, many major surgeries, was home for a short visit.

He began to share with all of us (just what we all needed to know) that their dad, who was traveling all the time, came “home” one night for a visit, as well. A few months later, their mom sent Tommy & Jimmy to live with their dad for a while down in Pass Christian, Mississippi.  Tom even went to school down there while he was there.

When the 10 year old Tommy returned to Cotter to his mom, again, he found she had adopted a baby girl she named Debbie.  She told him she had always wanted a daughter, so adopted Debbie, despite the fact that she was by now 45 years old, divorced with two young sons and very poor.

Tom accepted his mom’s story, not knowing any better, but the years proved that Debbie bore a striking resemblance to their mom and that their dad, who was 66 when Debbie was born,  remained on the sidelines at a distance.

Yep – he was 66 when Debbie was born.  He was 56 when Tom was born, and Tom’s oldest half-brother, Leonard, long deceased, was born about 1915 to their dad’s first very young wife.  Their dad – Tom’s dad – was born about 1989.  (Do you realize that Tom’s dad was the same age as my grandmother, born in 1890?!   Tom has done extensive historical research, but has not been able to ascertain exactly when or where his dad was born.

He knows that it was somewhere in Illinois, that his dad was born the youngest of a second grouping of children, after his dad’s (Tom’s granddad, who was born well before 1850 – I don’t recall the actual date) first wife died and he remarried, and that his dad left home when he was about 14, never to return and totally losing touch with his family.

Tom’s mom was their dad’s third young wife and he was married to her the longest.  Their mom was in her early 20s when she married their dad, who was 20 some years older.  I’ll post photos of them next time when I can get them out of their frames and scan them after I figure out how to use our new printer/scanner, etc.

Tom’s family history is incredibly different from anyone else’s I know.   He and his brothers all think they had the most glorious childhood, ever, despite the fact they were dirt poor and on the verge of being “nomads.”  I’m constantly amazed at how well they all turned out, so steady and true in their ways.  Great family men, all, who’ve raised terrific kids and done very well financially – considering.  But, more about all of that later . . . maybe.  (You interested?)

To end, I leave you with a picture “puzzle” for next time.  Look at the photo below and guess what two historical businesses it housed, both begun in 1905, one on each side.  I’ll reveal the answer next time, which will have a very interesting connotation for one of you readers!

Isn’t this fun?!

Cheers and many bless

Have you watched Cinema Paradiso yet?  Or John Goodman’s “Matinee?  You gotta go get ‘em!!

Here’s a good reminder.  Before we continue our story, here’s one last look at the Paradise Theater today in it’s sad state, although still loved by the guys:

You can see why Tom couldn’t find it his last trip to Cotter.  He’d remembered it being large and majestic.  A proud Paradise Theater most grand.  But, let’s move on.

The “boys,” including cousin Oliver, lived in Cotter for over eight years.  “Tommy” was the youngest, at 2, when they moved there.  Cousin Oliver was 5, Jimmy was 7 and Dickie was 17, going on 18.

Times were good when they moved there in 1946.  WWII was just ove, it was a big railroad town, and business was booming.  (See here.  You’ll be glad you did.)  There was even a big railroad roundhouse at the edge of town.  Anyone remember those?

The U. S. government was also employing masses of workers to build the Bull Shoals Dam on the White River just north of Cotter.  It was an impressive project, employing hundreds and hundreds of people, taking several years to complete.   It was started in 1947 and completed in 1951.  President Truman came to Cotter on the train to dedicate the dam and Tom remembers seeing him.

But, then, times got tough.  Workers left in droves and the railroad roundhouse shut down.  Tom’s dad fell on hard times, as well, and lost both the Paradise Theater and one he owned in a nearby town.  He kept running and managing theaters, though, driving around to several different little towns in the area, having four or five he ran over the years.

Mr. Andrews also had to make trips to Memphis and other places in managing the theaters he did and was gone a lot.  Tom’s parents divorced when Tom was eight, but they stayed in Cotter for a couple of years longer.

As the tides of fortune came and went, the Andrews family moved around within the town a lot.  So, when we were there we had to tour all around town to try to find them all.  There were so many and of such diverse nature that the boys had trouble recalling them all, needing cousin Oliver’s input, as well.

The main one they remembered was their first.  Here it is with Oliver (l.) & the “boys” standing in front.

Here are a couple more views.

As you can see, it was a typical frame house of the times.  The elderly man who lives there now welcomed us all in when the boys knocked on his door to explain the commotion out front.  Although the man is very proud of him home and how well he’s taken care of it, the boys were most disappointed that all of the rooms and walls had been moved around and changed for other uses.  Nothing was in the same place, although they had fun remembering exactly how it was and what was where.

I thought two of the most delightful remembrances were of the neighborhood.  (Besides where all of the girls lived, as all four of them seemed to have plenty of girlfriends!  I was not surprised, since they were all very good looking as boys and quite charming, even then, I hear.)

The first was the culvert down the hill, under which Oliver and Tom remembered playing, using it as their tunnel.

The second I mentioned before.  The scary church high on a corner just like the one picture below up from the house . . .

except that the “scary” one has a big tower rising over the vestibule with high dark green/blue/red very Gothic stained glass windows, as well large Gothic windows all around.

According to Tom, when he was little, he & his mother walked several blocks to the First Baptist (Southern Baptist, it declares proudly on the front) Church . . .

and had to pass the  scary church.  Tommy, being curious, asked his mom why they didn’t go there.   The Methodists worshiped there, she told him, but the way she said the word “Methodists” as they passed, along with the looks of the building, little Tommy was most uncertain about and suspicious of Methodists for many years to come.

There are a lot more houses and stories in Cotter, but I’ll save some of those for next time.  As you think back on your young childhood, do you have memories like Tom’s and his brothers and cousin?  Places you played, things you mistakenly thought, the size of things around you?

Share some of your childhood memories with me (& Tom) today.  Please!!

Stay tuned.  Lots more to come.  (Can you believe we did all of our tour in four days and it’s taking me three months + to tell it?)

To be continued . . .

My all time favorite foreign film – by far – is “Cinema Paradiso” (Paradise Theater), a 1988 Italian film that was the winner of more than 19 awards, including the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in 1989 and Special Jury Prize at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival.

If you are a movies lover, you absolutely MUST not only see this film, but buy it to add to your collection, however small or large, to watch over and over whenever you are in that certain  mood when no other film will suffice.

Anyone who has ever been to movies as a child and been charmed by the magic upon the screen will fall in love with this charming, nostalgic tale, chronicling one child’s journey into adulthood as a passionate lover of films.

What does this movie have to do with our Andrews’ memories tour to Cotter, Arkansas last fall?  This movie could chronicle Tom’s childhood there from the time he was 2 until he was 10 (1946 to 1954) when he, too, became a passionate lover of film at The Paradise Theater, which his dad owned.

The theater was built and opened in 1931.  Take a close look, because it’s hard to recognize today:

The theater is still there today, but not in quite the form it was then.  In fact, when Tom went to Cotter for a few hours about 10 years ago while on a business trip nearby, he could not find the “big” theater he remembered from his childhood anywhere.  Until he stood down the street on the corner and looked back to see there were two small doors in the front of a small building in the middle of the block.

Here it is now:

The ticket booth in the center is long gone, as well as the upper small windows (see it brand new, above).  The owner of the hardware store to the right in the photo owns the Paradise Theater and wants to restore it.  (It looks like a monumental task to me, and one I highly doubt shall ever be done, sadly.)  He showed us all the information he had on it and let everyone peek in from the front and back.  It is too fallen into decay and disrepair to be able to enter safely.

Here’s the historical marker on the front:

I have a photo of Tom standing next to it, but the look on his face is too sad to share.

Here’s a view from the back.  Notice the square hole in the middle of the photo that goes down to the basement.  See it?

The side wall of the theater was to the right above, and the screen just to the left in the photo, running from the top of the photo to the bottom (the theater was “sideways”  from the front of the building).  When Tom was six years old, he was in the theater with his little friends and told them he could disappear around the right side of the screen and “magically” come out the other side (which sounds impressive when you’re six years old).

He disappeared all right.  He went running lickety-split around the back of the screen and promptly fell through the open trap door to the basement, splitting open his chin on a nail and knocking him out cold.

When he came to, the movie was running and he staggered up and out, blood streaming down his shirt from his chin, crying loudly as he stumbled up the aisle.  He could have been a creature from a sci-fi/horror movie of those days.  (Another great film that those of you growing up in the 50s and 60s during the cold war/early sci-fi films must see is John Goodman’s 1993 “Matinee.”  It is hilarious, taking place in south Florida during the Cuban missile crisis when Goodman – a film promoter – comes to town to wire all of the seats in the local movie theater for a sci-fi film “Mant” – a radiation induced part man/part ant.   Rent it today!)

His mom had to take him over to Gassville to the hospital (remember those two posts here & here) to have several stitches in his chin.  To this day, he has a scar and a bit of a crooked chin (which just makes him that more endearing).

This will be it for today.  To get the full experience of Tom’s growing up in The Paradise Theater beyond what I’ve written here, rent the two movies I suggest above.  You’ll be glad you did.

Next time, we’ll further tour Cotter, seeing the houses the boys lived in there, along with the “scary’ Methodist church up on a corner near one of their homes.  Stay tuned.

To be continued . . .

[Note:  Have had a very busy week, including being gone all day yesterday to see a neurosurgeon.  Am having to have neurosurgery on Tuesday Feb. 2 on my left arm.  So, for today, an interlude.  Back to Cotter next time.]

Scripture to ponder today:

“But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

James 3:17, The King James Version

And, here are some wise words, I think.  Consider these as well:

“To really know a man, observe his behavior with a woman, a flat tire and a child.”

Unknown

What do you think about James’ definition about wisdom from above?  When I think of how so many “Christians” offer only condemnation to others when they have fallen, rather than grace, kindness and the attributes above, I am heartsick.  Would I practice in my life – always – all of the attributes above.

What are your thoughts on the thought for today about how to really know a man?  What do these things make you think of and do you think they are accurate?

Let’s have some good discussion today, dear friends.  I need to hear from you!  Many blessings to each of you today!  Dee

The most recent post on the Memories Tour was on Dec. 15th, about the hospital in Gassville, AR, if you missed it.  I said in that post I was going to be posting more regularly about the “tour,” and haven’t done one since.  That’s Christmas for you.  (That’s my story, and I”m stickin’ to it.)

The nine of us (4 Andrews, 4 spouses & 1 cousin) loaded back in the 15 passenger van across from the old Gassville hospital and headed west for about 8 miles to Cotter – the main focus of the entire trip.

All the guys (Tom, his two brothers, Dick & Jim, and their cousin, Oliver) were astonished at how much the “old roads” had changed between all of the little towns we visited.  They were once two lane, rather derelict roads that weaved and curved now straightened out into four lanes with shoulders.  Thus, the guys could not and did not recognize any thing or any place at all from their growing up years.

Then, when we arrived close to where Cotter was “supposed” to be on the road, there was a sign to turn off the main road to go way down the old two lane/no shoulder road into the valley where the “village” of Cotter, population 921 souls,  still is – just off the “beaten path.”

We stopped on the way down to see the “Rainbow” car bridge (in the background) and the train bridge over the White River.  You will also notice by the road the famous “low Arkansas red bushes” that the women had been gushing over . . . all of us had been admiring along the roads for the past two days:

There was a historical plaque near where this photo was taken that is of great significance to the entire Andrews Arkansas Memories Tour of 2009 (hereafter referred to as AAMT of 09) because of some of the detailed information it gives, so I post it below.  But, out of curiosity – AND to see how closely you’ve been paying attention throughout this AAMT of 09 – when you read the plaque below, can you figure out what the most significant part of it is for the Andrews brothers and cousin?  Comment after the post and let’s see well you really know the Andrews clan!  The winner(s) might even get a prize!

We drove on down into the edge of town, where one of us took a photo of cousin Oliver by the town’s neat display sign:

Then we began rambling the roads to get the layout of all of the significant places we wanted to go . . . as well as the “boys” could remember.  Which was a ton better than I could have probably remembered, but I’m not sure.  I haven’t been back to where I lived from 2 years old until 10 years old – in St. Louis, Missouri – ever.  Just like the Andrews boys had not been back.  Maybe I should get Tom to take me on a childhood memories tour this year, you think?

Here’s a view of the town.  It was lovely:

What surprised me the very most was that it was so hilly!  Whenever Tom had talked about living in Cotter and where things were “down the street” or in relation to his house, etc, I always envisioned flat streets.  I suppose in thinking about it, I saw a “West Texas plains” or South Mississippi kind of town, with nary a hill anywhere.

I was amazed at how they had to walk up and down hills everywhere to “go to school,” “go downtown,” or even “go to church” down the street and around the corner.

We spent several hours in Cotter on a gorgeous fall afternoon and I can’t wait to show you more pictures and tell you the tales and shared memories that with each.  The very next post will be all about what I’m having you guess about for today.  S0 . . . whether you get the answer correct, or not, you’ll want to come back because you will be in for some big surprises, I guarantee.

Cheers & Many blessings to each of you today!  Dee

[Note:  I'll start back on the Arkansas Memories Tour of 2009 next week.  There are a lot more stories to tell from that tour, the next chapters being all about when "the boys" lived in Cotter, AR.  For today - thoughts on this "new" year.]

Every January I take stock of my life a little differently than most people do, who make resolutions.  I pick out a word for the year by which I want to define my life.

This year’s word is “Calmness” and/or “Serenity.”  As in the Serenity Prayer (see below).  Most of us know the first few lines as AA’s motto, but I doubt that many of you know (1) that Reinhold Neibuhr wrote it, or (2) that there are more lines to the prayer.  Very significant lines, I think.

We all have times of turbulence and turmoil in our lives, and my life is no different.  The past six months of my life have been especially stressful and demanding.  There have been moments when I have had no clue as to what to say or do next and have completely let myself fall apart, I’m afraid.

I’ve determined in my heart to try to remain much more calm and serene this year in the face of all struggles, anger of others, and strife.  I seek wisdom from our Father in all things and pray that He does grant me serenity.  I want to speak in a softer voice, using self-control and patience to bring assurance to all with whom I speak.

Please pray with me that God will help me in these things.  Maybe you can (will, I hope) give me some suggestions about how to carry out this “purpose” in my life.  (Like just talking with y’all, right?!  All of you calm, totally “together” friends, who would never dream of saying anything distressing to me – right?!)

As for you – what word would you most like to have as your guiding force for this year?  And why?  Please share with me today so that I will not feel alone in being the only one who needs to work on such things in my life.

I leave you with the Serenity Prayer, in full:

The Serenity Prayer
	God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time; Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him Forever in the next. Amen. –Reinhold Niebuhr In loving memory of Fr Bertram Griffin — 1932-2000 Requiescat in Pace
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Proverbs 3, 5-6