Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell Feb.26, 2007

When I last left you I thought this article would be about how we pulled off the surprise party for Vickie. Instead it is bittersweet- Yes; we did have a nice party for Vickie and had some good family time. Then we got the call about Chad Marsh being killed in action in Iraq. Chad was our cousin and about 3 weeks older than Jeff. I got home as quick as I could when I found out that the service would be on Monday.
Bittersweet- Yes, it was a terrible thing to lose Chad and there will be a hole in all of our hearts- but when we saw and experienced the love and patriotism that our country, state, county, and city has shown our families we were in awe. The sound of the Patriot Guard coming was eerie and a seeing them ride into the cemetery in formation and almost every bike had a flag attached to it. It was welcomed sight and we knew that our family had made the trip safely. All of the flags and the people holding the red, white and blue waving in the breeze at the cemetery was a beautiful scene. And when the family gathered around the open grave and the flags came in from all sides it made me feel safe and protected, a feeling that some people in this world have never felt.
Vickie and Randy went to the service in Wichita. Vickie said she cried from Harper to Coldwater. Randy had the honor of riding his Harley in the Patriot Guard so she was by herself in the truck. Not only was her heart breaking for Janet and family, but when she saw the streets lined with the young and old alike waving their flags or their ball caps placed respectfully over their hearts in every town between Wichita and Coldwater touched her. Little old men that could hardly stand - stood as straight as they could with the look of reverence. Little old ladies, humped over in their wheelchairs waving their little flags. Small children looking somber and waving their small flags was just a little more than she could take. Farmers stopping along the road holding their ball caps, or cowboy hats, over their hearts while the funeral procession went by - brought back memories of Dad and his love for his country. And when she arrived in Coldwater and saw what her home town had done and all of the work everyone had done she was astonished.
Bittersweet- Yes, the protesters did show up at the service in Wichita. But because of the Patriot Guard and owners of adjoining property would not allow them to spread their poison. For this again, it makes me proud to be an American.
When Randy was being briefed on what to do when riding with the Patriot Guard they asked him, “When someone asks you how many missions have you been on, what will you say?”. Randy replied, ‘this is my first one, so it would be one”. They said, “No, - you say too many”. And that is true, one is too many- too many indeed.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell Feb. 13, 2007

It is official the Killdeers are here! Last week I saw our little feathered friends running around the stock tank. I bet they wished that they had waited a little while longer.
It is so cold out today that I am thinking about taking the dogs with me to feed the cows. I hate the thought of them outside in the cold wind. Taking Jake in the pickup is an experience since he would like to drive. And Josie does not travel well, she gets a little sick.
When I was little I went with my Granddad Cary to feed his cows. He had quite an array of animals that went with him. He had 2 or 3 cats and a dog- all of which thought that they were to ride next to him. One cat would sit on the top edge of the seat around Granddads neck, while the others would try to get as close as they could to Granddad. Granddad fed square bales and he would get in the back of the pick-up while it was in ‘granny’ gear and throw out the feed. He had a piece of rubber that was bolted to the floor of the pick up and a hook on the other end. He would turn the wheel so the truck would go in a large circle and he would pull the choke out just enough so the truck would not chug. When he had finished throwing out the feed he would jump off the back and catch up with the pick up and go to the next pasture.
Dad usually had a couple of dogs that went with him. Dad would do the same as Granddad except he did not have the rubber on the floor - we had baling wire. Dad would wire his steering wheel to the gear shift. Sometimes he would sit the dog in drivers’ seat and the dog would put her feet on the steering wheel and it looked like the dog was driving. Dad was such a clever man.

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

Country Gal by Vanita Blundell Feb. 6, 2007

I am sure some of you are wondering how the hypnotism turned out. Some of you maybe are unaware that I, along with 12 other people, consented to let ourselves be hypnotized as a fund raiser. It was an interesting experience. It would have been easier to “go under” if I was not in front of 150 people. And tuning out the audience was, for me was extremely difficult. Just as I was feeling really relaxed my mind went to “what on earth are you thinking?”. I think that if I wanted to use hypnosis as a tool to lose weight or some other vice it would be effective. Only if I was in an office alone with the hypnotherapist. I found out a little more about myself- I have a stronger will than I thought I did. I guess what I am saying is that if I do something silly in public I would like for it to be my idea and not someone else’s.
We watched the Super Bowl Sunday. The main reason I watch is the commercials. They were alright - but I was a little disappointed that there were fewer advertisers than usual. We were frustrated with the half time show. Of course, everyone has a solution- ours is that we would like to see the High School and College and Professional - National Champion Cheerleaders do a routine and the High School and College National Champion Marching Band do a routine. We think that would a lot more entertaining than what they have had in the past few years.
I have had a report that they have heard the Killdeers. As most of you remember my dad always looked for the little bird around the twentieth of February. This means they are early this year and maybe just maybe spring really is around the corner.