Res Ipsa Loquitur

Her letter, and the bio of the woman she was writing to, remind me of my mother and her Aunt who lived near Limestone. We moved from that area of Arkansas when my Mom was in her late 20's, but they wrote letters to each other, similar to that one, nearly every week for almost 40 years. We also took Mom back to visit her family nearly every year, and always stayed with that Aunt. She made us feel that we had returned home. She worked constantly - cooking, scrubbing, chopping, planting, weeding, canning, and never quit talking. The place always looked great, inside and out, and I remember every meal I ever ate there. On top of that she took care of anyone who came near her and needed assistance. I'm taking a long route to the point, but it is, throughout the years, I was at her home during several military actions, Vietnam and the Gulf War primarily, and several intense global situations. My whole family is very reserved, even with each other, so I didn't really have conversations with her about wars, but I was aware that she knew every relative and neighbor who was in the military and might be in danger, and she worried about them constantly as she relentlessly kept her part of the world in order and ready for anything. They are both dead now and I haven't been back there (Limestone or the memories) in several years.

Sounds just like my paternal grandmother. The only reason I know her thoughts about my dad going to war is that I stayed with her a lot when I was a kid & I always bugged her to tell me stories about my dad...and everyone else I knew.

When I read that letter, I heard it in her voice. She's been gone a couple of years now, and I still miss her terribly.

I just looked up Limestone on the map. Why shoot, you were just a hoot & a holler away from where I grew up (outside of Marshall, between Baker & Landis sorta). If you ever get homesick, I highly recommend the Staymore series of books by Donald Harington. They're set in the same general area you're talking about. "The Architecture of the Arkansas Ozarks" is the best one I've read so far, but they're all excellent.

That was wonderful to read, partly because of the memories it dredged up in me. Makes me think of some of my Aunts. It also makes me curious about my heritage, as my Paternal Grandparents came up to South Dakota from Missouri.

Rita, dear, thanks for sharing that. And install the Google toolbar immediately. It has the best popup killer I've seen yet.

Already use the Google toolbar, I was just warning the unwary. I love the way it pops when it kills an ad. It sounded like popcorn popping when I went to that site.

Keith, I'd bet me'uns & you'uns is kin if we looked hard enough.

Thank you Rita. The area is beautiful and I do miss it, but have lived here for so long that any kind of obstruction to the horizon (such as trees or hills) soon makes me uncomfortable. I've ordered "Architecture of the Ozarks" and "Cockroaches of Stay More" as an introduction to Mr. Harington.

I can see how it would make you claustrophobic, it does me at times too. Let me know what you think about "Cockroaches". I haven't read that one yet.