Food For Thought

October 28, 1919

92 Years Ago Today........

My Grandfather, Sibley Trest Richerson, was born!

My Grandaddy, bottom center with his Father, Grandfather, and Great-Grandfather

My Grandaddy was born in Stockton, Alabama to John Leslie and Bessie Mae Richerson. 

He is the second oldest of four children. 

He only had 3 years of high school education.

He was inducted into the Alabama High School Baseball Hall of Fame.

He married in 1940 and had 2 children.

He was a fireman. 

My Grandaddy, on the right, with an Army buddy.

He enlisted in the Army in 1943 as a member of the 2061st Engineer Aviation Fire-Fighter Assigned to the 406th Fighter Bomber Group, P-47, of the 9th Air Force for Duty.

He received a Dear John letter while overseas. 

He married my Grandmother in 1949. 

They had 3 children.

Total he has 5 Children, 12 Grandchildren, 9 Great-Grandchildren. 

My Dad, Uncle, Grandfather, and Uncle

To have seen everything he has seen! 

Such a great man!

Happy Birthday Grandaddy!!

Hoot Noggit!

Grown-Up Field Trip: Part 1

 A few months ago, I had several close friends come to me with questions about my birthday:

What do you have planned? 

Well, nothing yet.

What do you want to do? 

Maybe just a dinner or something. 

and then the questions followed with 

Because I have a wedding/wedding shower on your birthday.....

Oh....

With the first friend, I didn't think much of it but then when #2 and #3 came around I started to get a little upset/disappointed. Don't my closest and most loyal friends know that they are to leave October 22nd open forever and always? 

Instead of sulking about the situation, I decided to plan a trip to Plymouth, Massachusetts. Yes, of all the places to plan a birthday celebration, I chose Plymouth. With my love of genealogy and my connection to the area, I was determined to go, with. or without. anyone! At first, it was just going to be me on this lovely voyage but then my mom worked her magic, and was able to get off work, so she and my youngest sister were able to join me! 

The weekend started out great with a major victory for my brother. They were the big upset win over the undefeated East Paulding Raiders. The final score was 29-23! 


I can honestly say, the entire visitor section was beaming! We were all so proud of our Greyhounds! 

My Brother and his team mates singing the fight song after their victory!

Our flight the next morning was at 815 and we made it into Boston around noonish. We walked through Quincy Market to see all the yummy foods before sitting down for lunch at Wagamamas. I first fell in love with Wagamamas when I studied in London during Jan Term. The food is fresh, delicious and quick!  And just my luck, they have one in Boston! My meal was just like I remembered and what made it even better was that mom liked it too! 

Pretty view of South Quincy Market

After lunch, we drove to our hotel in Plymouth, checked in and immediately hit the road again to see the sites. Our first destination: Plymouth Rock. 

I was warned before I left about the size of the rock. "It's not very big, you know!" or "Don't be disappointed when you actually see the rock." I was realistic however; I knew that pieces of it had been chipped away by souvenir seekers and that it had been moved several times, especially during the Revolutionary War. There is still something to be said about seeing the rock, though. Maybe it means more to me because my 9th Great-Grandfather was the 'first' to step on it but I still thought it was flippin cool, in the words of my father! 

THE Plymouth Rock

After we saw the rock, we moved on to the Mayflower II. The Mayflower II is a replica of the originial that sailed almost 400 years ago. The ship, in comparison to the amount of passengers onboard (102), was tiny and with the rough seas that they endured, the Captain probably kept them all underneath for their protection. We learned the next day, that there was supposed to be a second ship, The Speedwell, going over but the Captain did not agree with what the Pilgrims were seeking (religious freedom), so he rigged the masts incorrectly and played dumb, leaving the ship unsailable and making everyone merge onto one ship, the Mayflower. 

The Mayflower II

Our first day was a little rushed because we had an early dinner reservation at the Plimouth Plantation for their Harvest Dinner. Yes, we're strange, we know. I was actually a little disappointed that dinner was inside! We have done an Irish dinner inside a castle before and so I was totally ready for that setting. I was prepared for dinner in a Pilgrim house or even just outside with a table and bench. The food was actually good and their was a lot of it! It was all family style and you were only given a pewter plate (salad size), a steel knife (with rust) and a soup spoon. I'll be honest with you, at lunch before we left Boston, we kept saying "Eat as much as you can because you don't know if dinner is going to be any good." Well, we were stuffed at the end of the night, which happened to be just after seven. 

Our menu for the Harvest Dinner

Because of our early morning wake up call and with much of Plymouth already closed, we decided to call it a night for the day. Eleven hours later though, I did not regret our decision one bit! For now we were rested for our official and exciting full day ahead!

Thursday Night Football

Growing up Southern is a privilege, really.  

It's more than where you're born, it's an idea and state of mind that seems imparted at birth.  It's more than loving fried chicken, sweet tea, football, and country music.  

It's being hospitable, devoted to front porches, magnolias, Moon Pies and Coca-Cola...and each other. 

We don't become Southern - we're born that way.

In our family, football has always been a part of our lives. My father was the All-Star, hotshot high school quarterback who later played a stint of college football at the University of Georgia. My sister and I grew up tailgating at the Sigma Nu house in Athens and now, my baby brother is a starting offensive lineman at Pope High School. 

My brother started playing football for Pope in middle school. From the beginning, it was evident that these boys were going to turn it around for the school. Sure enough, last year was the first time in over 10 years that Pope went to the playoffs!

My family is very involved in my brothers football career. My dad started out coaching the boys in middle school and my family has been at every game of his varsity career (minus when I missed last year for my birthday which I'm still getting grief about!). My family is also very vocal when it comes to the football games. 

My sister 

Image Courtesy of Marietta Daily Journal

This week, our game was featured on the WSB-TV Thursday night televised "Game of the Week". Our opponent was Sprayberry High School. The winner of this game would solidify their position in the playoffs for this year. Last year at Sprayberry, we won with 14-13 so this game was definitely going to be a good one! And it was! 

At half-time, the score was 14-6 Sprayberry, thanks to a last minute 73 yard touchdown from Sprayberry at the end of the second quarter. There had already been 2 turnovers on Pope's end and one for Sprayberry. No movement in the third quarter but Pope came back though in the fourth quarter to win the game with 16 seconds to go with a final score of 27-21. 

My baby brother, #72, starting Offensive Lineman

Image Courtesy of WSB-TV

So proud of my brother and the Greyhounds!!

Happy Birthday Lisa!!

 Today is my Mom's Birthday!

My mom and her father, John C. Reynolds ca. 1959

My mom and her mother, Lieselotte Balser Reynolds, Easter 1961

Today, my mother celebrates another year of her life! I personally, am very excited that she was born today! I don't think I could have asked for a better mother!

She is kind, loving, funny.

She is an amazing cook!

She is a white tornado when it comes to throwing a party together!

She loves her husband and her family.

She is pretty much the most wonderful woman I know!

My mother in elementary school

My parents a frew months after their wedding, 31 years ago, Happy Birthday Mom!!

1985 the "first family" is complete

My mom and me, Lake Martin, AL. UGA/AU Game ca.1991

Mom and all of her kids, Me (1), Sean (3), Caroline (2), and Claire (4)

Happy Birthday Mom!