I want to vent just a little bit about my experience and after thought about yesterdays adventure with my older brother and cousin to the family cemeteries. If you are not interested in my thoughts feel free to stop reading now and like or not I wont be offended. Reality one yesterday is how weird it is to know, but suddenly realize we (my brother and sister) are the oldest generation living in my family. Wow! Being an orphan brings lots of realities home! We first traveled to Xray. Charles and I had great conversations about what had changed on the route during the passing years, Mr Hasslers Bluebonnet Farms- his pride Walking Horse and Angus cattle farm, is totally changed and now fronting a Walking Horse Estate development, Harold Wayne Hampton RIP, and the memories of going down the old landfilled road- me to Dads Erath County Coon Hunters Associations Saturday night events, and Charles riding with the Police Department and Highway Patrol and going to shoot at old wreck cars that were dumped there for their shooting fun- er I mean practice. All the while making our cousin who was raised in the city suffer though what relative lived where (not his side of the family) and turn here! LOL At Xray cemetery. For the Luttrell and Crain side of the family (my moms folks). We were pleasantly surprised that it was not in worse shape than it was. But that being said I must now admit that even though my kids and grandkids last visited the family plots back in May for Memorial Day and placed little flags on our veterans graves (Aunt Betty Army-WWII, Uncle David, Navy- WWII, and Cousin in law Dick, Army WWII) we had not ever been there to work on the plots. Years of neglect of the cemetery keeper just mowing, never edging and never even sweeping the curbs and stones was more than evident. Two of the markers had sunk into the ground. One so deep we had to dig it out to see anything more than a name. SHAMEFUL!!! Lesson learned here- all these folks who are represented by these pieces of marble or granite with MY families names on them we diligent about keeping the plots looking nice. They never depended on or expected the grounds keeper to straighten there house. So my pledge- I will do better. I will go out more than once a year to check on things and I will never go again without being prepared to clean the grass and weeds from the headstones and curbs marking my four generations of wonderful folks!! We move on the Lingleville. More memories on things we had done and people we have known on that road. :) and, Wow, how even the roads have changed through the years. Now for the Roberts and Haggard side of the family (my daddys peeps). Here we concentrated more on the past three generation because thanks to the pavillion that was built in the middle of what suppose to be our familys plots- we are separated a tad. down the hill are my parents and William Cecil and Kyle dads old cousin. I raked silk flowers and was glad to see the grass burrs Ashlea, Kay and I have been trying to weedout were not so bad this time. Charles again did the edging and weed eating. I wish it was humanly possible for me to give back what these three (Mom and Dad and Willie) gave me in their life time! But since I cannot - then showing respect and dedication to their final resting place will be my honor. Up the hill lies my granny and granddad and Aunt Bettye (Gary and Larrys mom), Uncle Cecil and Granddads parents. Up the hill one more row are the brother to my granddad and his wife who left three kids that my granny and granddad help raise. Clifton was killed by a drunk driver coming home after serving in the navy. We always thought it ironic that a terrible war could not take him out during the years he served, but crossing the road to get to the bus station to come home and a drunk driver did it in seconds! Another lesson from memories of our fallen family- never take today for granted. I love my family. We were not law makers, but we were not law breakers. We were not on the pages of your history books, but there are great and wonderful stories and significant happenings with them all. And truth be known, my heart has a little of each one of them engraved deep into the person I am today. In closing I will challenge each of you- take time for the dead. Show your respect for who and what they were to you when they were alive. Good, bad or indifferent- you would not be who you are IF it were not for sacrifices and lessons learned from your family.
Posted on: Wed, 30 Oct 2013 15:25:10 +0000
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