Month: July 2022

My wife has roots in the rural south near the college town of Hattiesburg, Mississippi. My father-in-law, James, went to the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a double major in Math and Physics. He was a brilliant man with a strong work ethic and many talents, who unfortunately passed away well before reaching the average age of people born in the early 1930’s. I always felt fortunate to have married into his family. He knew he didn’t want to have as many children as his parents had, and so (as the story goes) when Sarah (my future mother-in-law) delivered three daughters in a row, two years apart; James said, that’s it; we’re calling her Jamie. (His father, Roy, was a well-respected farmer, who had enough boys that he and his wife, Lilly Mae, gave two of them the first name Roy.) Roy Sr. was so well known in the area that an oat variety was named after him. (I am not giving away last names here, because I haven’t asked the family’s permission, and I always try to focus on the story while protecting the privacy of the people. I will tell you it is possible to find the family name, if you read this Mississippi State University scholarly article; but you will have to look hard.  Anyway, if you have read this far, it is likely you are family, and are wondering why I haven’t gotten to Dottie Belle yet! I will… I promise.)  

James, it turns out, was not destined to become a farmer. With his degrees and a commitment to the army, the government assigned him to the U.S. Explorer 1 project; where he met and worked with the famous rocket scientist, Wernher von Braun. James was very proud of where he was from, but also humble. He loved his family and seemed to enjoy having me walk the land he helped plow when he was a kid to help his father with the chores and walk the land he purchased from farmers who were retiring from farming that he had planted with pine trees as a young man. He treated me well, as did the rest of his family. To this day, a little more than forty years after my first introduction, I still feel welcome and enjoy learning about the family history from different perspectives.

That brings me to the title of this post. Dottie Belle was James’s older sister. She passed away at the age of 93 on July 11th. She lived a full life. She was especially kind and welcoming to my wife and I, and James’s grandchildren. We were honored to drive to the services from our home in Virginia, to pay our respects and to hear the stories of a life well lived, retold (in superb fashion with both humor and love, I might add) at the services by her pastor for many years, and her granddaughter, Dana.  It was good to hug Liz, James’s only surviving sibling, and talk to Millard, Liz’s husband, who built a house on the same road as the church, next to the old barn and Pecan trees that meant so much to the family. It was good to gather at Linda’s house (Dottie’s daughter) to reminisce with cousins and friends and eat comforting southern food provided by members of Dottie’s church; a church and cemetery built on land donated, in large part, by Dottie’s ancestors. Dottie Belle was a true treasure to the community. Dottie is now buried next to her husband Ray. May they rest in peace.

The picture above is of the aptly named Great Smoky Mountains. If you are wondering why I chose the photo, it was a place that was special to Dottie and Ray. They camped there for many weeks during the summer season to escape the Mississippi heat and humidity.  We visited the park on our way back to our home, as a tribute to Dottie Belle and Ray. We will return again. 

To see a few more photos of our travels to and from Mississippi click here. On the way there, I added an other state capitol visit in Montgomery, Alabama. Though I was hoping to, I did not make it to Jackson, Mississippi. It will have to wait. I still have a dozen left to visit.

We were told when we purchased our new condo that our balcony would have one of the best views on the lake during the Independence Day celebration. The first year we were living here, the show was canceled due to the pandemic. This year they were predicting rain, but it held off and there was quite a show! It actually went on each evening for several days, although officially the revelry was only supposed to happen for one night. I am not really a big fireworks fan. I guess I worry about safety, environmental costs, as well as financial costs, and the analyst in me says it isn’t worth the bang for the buck. My wife likes them and I like the challenge of photographing them. So, above you see a photo from the 2022 show from our balcony. If you would like to see more click here. Photos are slow to load, so unfortunately I can’t provide you with the highest quality images through this platform and your experience may depend on your internet connection.

I grew up in the suburbs, but my cousins grew up in (what was) a rural area not far from Manassas, Virginia. They owned property on Broad Run, which joins the more famous Bull Run to form the Occoquan river, a tributary of the Potomac. My Uncle Werner, though he was in the steel fabrication business, fancied himself a gentleman farmer. On their property, they kept a few cows and chickens, but what I remember most were the horses. Since my dad only had one sister, and his brother died while serving in the Navy during World War II, and my mother was an only child; we spent a lot of time with our only first cousins. Elise was the oldest. She and her father were also the most interested in horses. My dad must have had an interest in horses too. He would bring us to watch Elise compete in horse shows when she was young. Later when she got old enough she would go out with her father on fox hunts. On at least a couple of occasions, my dad brought me to see the two of them, with their fox hunting buddies, and a bunch of hounds, go off in pursuit of the crafty critters. We didn’t see any of the chase, but it was still a spectacle to see them all dressed up in their fancy gear heading out behind all those barking dogs. I don’t think we stuck around past that part of the event but it left an impression. 

I guess the point is, I was a bit interested. I liked visiting my cousins. My uncle and Elise seemed to enjoy getting us up in the saddle. I maintained that interest in horses, and when my children were young, I, with the support of my wife, exposed them to the noble animals. There is something about the relationship between man and horses that, in my opinion, can instill confidence and a love of nature in children. I never got to go to horse camp growing up. I’m not sure there was such a thing where I lived; but, my wife thought it would be a good idea to sign some of our grandchildren up at the local equestrian center at the Water’s Edge Country Club down the road.  She thought it would do them some good and they would have fun. I think they had more fun than they even imagined, judging by the question they asked at the end of the camp; “Can we do that again sometime, Nana?” They had a lot of activities besides just riding the horses and they made new friends.

I have seen horses said to have paint, and I have seen people do paintings of horses, but I have never seen a horse used as a canvas for paint. To view the public photos click here. To view the private photos (with a password) click here.