00:00:00.017 --> 00:00:07.557
<v Wayne>My name is Wayne Blanchard, and I married Anne Thornton on August 28, 1965.

00:00:08.457 --> 00:00:10.237
<v Wayne>Welcome to the beautiful party.

00:00:12.097 --> 00:00:16.397
<v Mark>Our visit with Tony Brock was so much fun that we're continuing the theme of

00:00:16.397 --> 00:00:20.357
<v Mark>talking to others who knew Grandma and Grandpa as Uncle Donald and Aunt Catherine.

00:00:21.017 --> 00:00:25.237
<v Mark>Uncle Executive Producer Andrew arranged this visit with Wayne Blanchard,

00:00:25.237 --> 00:00:29.357
<v Mark>who, like Tony, comes into the picture via one of Grandma's siblings,

00:00:29.637 --> 00:00:32.937
<v Mark>her brother, Gene Thornton, by marrying Gene's daughter, Ann.

00:00:33.677 --> 00:00:38.697
<v Mark>It's also special to me because Wayne is my godfather and one of my dad's favorite friends.

00:00:39.417 --> 00:00:43.897
<v Mark>He was also the best man at my parents' wedding. It meant a lot to hear stories

00:00:43.897 --> 00:00:47.737
<v Mark>about the two of them in their younger days and confirm a few memories I had,

00:00:47.977 --> 00:00:49.817
<v Mark>including the infamous ball and chain.

00:00:50.797 --> 00:00:53.317
<v Mark>Friends and family are beautiful indeed.

00:00:54.477 --> 00:01:00.097
<v Mark>Hello, Wayne, my godfather, who I hadn't thought of that until we knew we were

00:01:00.097 --> 00:01:02.337
<v Mark>going to talk. Do you remember that you're my godfather?

00:01:03.257 --> 00:01:07.397
<v Wayne>I remember. It's in my Bible, but it's September 20th.

00:01:07.637 --> 00:01:14.417
<v Wayne>But I didn't remember what year, and I think your mama said 65 to 66.

00:01:14.797 --> 00:01:15.297
<v Mark>67.

00:01:16.077 --> 00:01:17.757
<v Wayne>67. Close.

00:01:18.117 --> 00:01:20.737
<v Mark>Close enough. In the late 60s. It was close enough.

00:01:21.497 --> 00:01:21.737
<v Wayne>Yeah.

00:01:23.937 --> 00:01:31.537
<v Mark>So, growing up, one of my memories about my dad is that you and he were quite close back in the day.

00:01:32.497 --> 00:01:32.977
<v Wayne>Right.

00:01:33.377 --> 00:01:38.877
<v Mark>Did you meet him before Ann, or after? When did you meet my dad?

00:01:40.797 --> 00:01:45.577
<v Wayne>Basically, probably, you know, when I met Ann. We was on the 8th grade of St.

00:01:46.177 --> 00:01:50.037
<v Wayne>Joseph's. And we'd call for it. She went to Tula, and I went to McGill.

00:01:50.577 --> 00:01:56.537
<v Wayne>And then I don't know if it was through the family, the Stills,

00:01:56.837 --> 00:02:01.477
<v Wayne>and the Thorns meeting together on some kind of reunion.

00:02:01.697 --> 00:02:03.697
<v Wayne>Or from Edmund High School, you know.

00:02:04.117 --> 00:02:09.697
<v Wayne>But we ran around a lot, you know, after high school and everything.

00:02:12.197 --> 00:02:17.357
<v Wayne>So, I mean, we did things, you know. We played basketball. We played tennis.

00:02:18.217 --> 00:02:24.657
<v Wayne>Different things. Uh, he worked at, we both worked at Alabama Dry Docks at one time or another.

00:02:25.397 --> 00:02:30.597
<v Wayne>And, uh, soon as we get off work, sometimes we'll go straight to tennis school

00:02:30.597 --> 00:02:33.597
<v Wayne>and play tennis, you know, for a couple of hours.

00:02:35.157 --> 00:02:41.277
<v Wayne>And we all played basketball with different people, Terry Nash and some other friends.

00:02:42.197 --> 00:02:45.397
<v Mark>And, and you were involved in my parents' wedding, weren't you?

00:02:45.477 --> 00:02:46.937
<v Mark>Were you not the best man at the wedding?

00:02:48.372 --> 00:02:53.572
<v Wayne>I think so. At that time, I was having to go to Louisville, Kentucky.

00:02:54.432 --> 00:03:00.952
<v Wayne>So it was kind of a—we had to get going because we was going with another couple at that time.

00:03:01.272 --> 00:03:07.612
<v Wayne>You know, I had to go there and train welding and different things to do with

00:03:07.612 --> 00:03:09.172
<v Wayne>the passenger cars and everything.

00:03:09.832 --> 00:03:15.832
<v Wayne>I was up there nine months, but it's supposed to have been longer than that.

00:03:15.832 --> 00:03:21.232
<v Wayne>But I got called up to go to boot camp. I was in the National Guard.

00:03:21.752 --> 00:03:27.712
<v Wayne>You know, everything works up. I started trying to get to work.

00:03:27.892 --> 00:03:29.752
<v Wayne>Uncle Gene was trying to get me on at the railroad.

00:03:30.252 --> 00:03:32.232
<v Wayne>And I was working at State Docks.

00:03:33.792 --> 00:03:40.212
<v Wayne>So I came home one day from work. I had a letter saying, greetings, you've been drafted.

00:03:43.072 --> 00:03:45.872
<v Wayne>So and i i was wondering what

00:03:45.872 --> 00:03:49.112
<v Wayne>i was going to do so i walked down i

00:03:49.112 --> 00:03:52.892
<v Wayne>wrote down to fort whitey and i walked in

00:03:52.892 --> 00:03:55.932
<v Wayne>man i was talking to a guy one of the sergeants in

00:03:55.932 --> 00:03:58.952
<v Wayne>there and he said well what did you do in high school

00:03:58.952 --> 00:04:01.752
<v Wayne>were you in the bowling pool or something i said no i

00:04:01.752 --> 00:04:04.492
<v Wayne>was in the high school van he said

00:04:04.492 --> 00:04:08.852
<v Wayne>really i said yeah he said well go on down there and go down to the basement

00:04:08.852 --> 00:04:16.532
<v Wayne>so he saw you crazy so i went down there talked to him and it was the 31st dixie

00:04:16.532 --> 00:04:24.152
<v Wayne>division band there you go so he signed me up as a percussionist and then i uh,

00:04:25.772 --> 00:04:30.992
<v Wayne>i think the next day i got called by the railroad and asked me if i heard from,

00:04:31.592 --> 00:04:33.552
<v Wayne>anytime. I said, no, I told him a lie.

00:04:34.632 --> 00:04:39.612
<v Wayne>So they hadn't hired me. So he hired me on the 25th.

00:04:40.672 --> 00:04:45.092
<v Wayne>No, I joined the guard on the 23rd, went to work on the 25th,

00:04:45.132 --> 00:04:46.952
<v Wayne>and I got married on the 28th.

00:04:46.952 --> 00:04:52.672
<v Mark>I'm going to ask one more question, I think, about my dad.

00:04:53.952 --> 00:04:56.872
<v Mark>Again, if memory serves, and Mama's there, she may remember it too,

00:04:56.972 --> 00:05:02.172
<v Mark>but But were you not involved in the ball and chain that got put on his ankle?

00:05:04.092 --> 00:05:04.572
<v Wayne>Yeah.

00:05:06.932 --> 00:05:09.772
<v Wayne>I don't remember who brought it, but we put it on him.

00:05:10.892 --> 00:05:15.152
<v Mark>Well, he got that thing off and it stayed in their closet for decades.

00:05:15.852 --> 00:05:16.872
<v Wayne>I know. Yeah.

00:05:18.098 --> 00:05:19.438
<v Wayne>He showed it to me before.

00:05:21.178 --> 00:05:24.158
<v Mark>I don't know. I don't know where it is. I would love to know where it,

00:05:24.158 --> 00:05:26.678
<v Mark>I don't know if mama still has it or it disappeared over the years,

00:05:26.778 --> 00:05:28.618
<v Wayne>But that, okay.

00:05:28.718 --> 00:05:31.558
<v Mark>Well, that gets me up to speed on the things I remember back then.

00:05:31.578 --> 00:05:36.798
<v Mark>So let's talk about, um, how you came to be part of the beautiful party as we call the show.

00:05:37.238 --> 00:05:41.458
<v Mark>Um, how did you meet Ann? Uh, and when did y'all start dating and when did you

00:05:41.458 --> 00:05:44.058
<v Mark>meet her family and what do you remember about all that?

00:05:45.018 --> 00:05:51.418
<v Wayne>Well, like I say, it was at St. Joseph's Grammar School over there on St. Louis Street.

00:05:52.358 --> 00:05:57.438
<v Wayne>And she just started seeing each other. I guess she liked me,

00:05:57.538 --> 00:05:58.438
<v Wayne>too, because we started.

00:05:58.798 --> 00:05:59.478
<v Mark>At least a little.

00:06:00.118 --> 00:06:06.758
<v Wayne>Yeah, a little bit, you know. So we started dating, and then I guess I would go over to her house.

00:06:06.758 --> 00:06:13.318
<v Wayne>I lived on Carolina Avenue, and I would either ride a bike or walk to Tango

00:06:13.318 --> 00:06:17.238
<v Wayne>Drive from there, and that's a pretty good walk, you know.

00:06:18.318 --> 00:06:23.938
<v Wayne>I got to meet Uncle Gene, and of course, he was like a bear, you know, at that time.

00:06:24.338 --> 00:06:26.878
<v Wayne>You know, you didn't know how to take them, you know.

00:06:28.098 --> 00:06:33.758
<v Wayne>In fact, one time he was there, and he said, well, you got to go. I can't leave you here.

00:06:34.338 --> 00:06:38.738
<v Wayne>when we was there with another boy and another girl and he said well i'll ride

00:06:38.738 --> 00:06:40.378
<v Wayne>you home and i said no i was mad

00:06:40.378 --> 00:06:46.998
<v Wayne>i said no go on and go i walked home they were old a couple people home.

00:06:46.998 --> 00:06:51.918
<v Mark>Well i was a little kid he was a frightening man and then you know as you get

00:06:51.918 --> 00:06:58.098
<v Mark>older you realize that that's that was by design but he was just the sweetest fella i mean all

00:06:58.098 --> 00:06:59.418
<v Wayne>Barking nobody yeah.

00:06:59.418 --> 00:07:01.398
<v Mark>I'm sure he could bite if he needed to but

00:07:04.538 --> 00:07:08.958
<v Mark>all right so that that got go how long so all the way through high school no

00:07:08.958 --> 00:07:11.018
<v Mark>other folks and then yeah we uh

00:07:12.489 --> 00:07:17.729
<v Wayne>Through eighth grade and through high school. And we got married. I graduated in 64.

00:07:17.969 --> 00:07:23.249
<v Wayne>We got married in 65. So we was ready to do our thing.

00:07:23.449 --> 00:07:28.989
<v Wayne>You know, we put things on the layaway at Bell's House. I don't know if you

00:07:28.989 --> 00:07:30.089
<v Wayne>remember. I remember Bell's House.

00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:30.289
<v Mark>Yeah.

00:07:30.809 --> 00:07:36.929
<v Wayne>Yeah, we got a bedroom, furniture, sofa, and stuff. And we lived in an apartment

00:07:36.929 --> 00:07:38.349
<v Wayne>right on Gosselin Street.

00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:41.769
<v Wayne>It's right behind the Carmelites, if you remember.

00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:43.029
<v Mark>Yeah, I remember the Carmelites.

00:07:43.369 --> 00:07:46.929
<v Wayne>Yeah, well, there was an apartment right off of Gosselin Street.

00:07:47.689 --> 00:07:52.389
<v Wayne>Mr. and Mrs. Johnson ran the thing. So we was there, and a couple of other,

00:07:53.149 --> 00:07:56.289
<v Wayne>a couple of Bud brought us.

00:07:56.469 --> 00:08:00.049
<v Wayne>I was in the band with him and our rock and roll band.

00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:05.729
<v Wayne>And he moved in there, and another friend, his cousin, Clem,

00:08:06.409 --> 00:08:10.229
<v Wayne>he moved in. And we just kind of hung out there for a pretty good while until

00:08:10.229 --> 00:08:14.249
<v Wayne>I had to go to Louisville, Kentucky, like I say.

00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:21.609
<v Wayne>And it was an awakening thing because we had Ashley at the time.

00:08:23.189 --> 00:08:30.209
<v Wayne>And so I was in Fort Ord, California, when my middle daughter, Pam, was born.

00:08:30.209 --> 00:08:36.809
<v Wayne>I didn't see her until three or four months, you know. So, and I stayed with

00:08:36.809 --> 00:08:40.429
<v Wayne>my mom and dad, you know, while I was gone.

00:08:40.709 --> 00:08:45.209
<v Wayne>So, it was a waking up thing because when I was in the guard,

00:08:45.209 --> 00:08:48.369
<v Wayne>I was only making like $65 a month.

00:08:48.969 --> 00:08:51.529
<v Wayne>And my car note was $62 a month.

00:08:52.809 --> 00:08:57.429
<v Wayne>I had a brand new 64 Comet Caliente. Yeah.

00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:00.869
<v Wayne>Paid $2,900 for it.

00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:05.129
<v Mark>You had to make three bucks a month go for it then I guess huh yeah

00:09:06.409 --> 00:09:10.649
<v Wayne>My gas back then was 25 26 cents a gallon you know.

00:09:11.109 --> 00:09:11.509
<v Mark>Yeah

00:09:13.093 --> 00:09:16.473
<v Mark>How long were you in the Guard in the service?

00:09:17.413 --> 00:09:18.113
<v Wayne>Six years.

00:09:20.573 --> 00:09:24.793
<v Wayne>We met every month down at Fort Whiting.

00:09:25.333 --> 00:09:30.513
<v Wayne>We had a warrant officer who was our CEO, Mr. Lawrence.

00:09:30.773 --> 00:09:34.473
<v Wayne>He got a bus that we traveled in. Painted it gray.

00:09:34.953 --> 00:09:41.353
<v Wayne>He was an artist and he painted on the side of it 31st Dixie Division Band.

00:09:41.893 --> 00:09:47.493
<v Wayne>We had gray helmets with Dixie flags on the side, you know.

00:09:48.793 --> 00:09:54.593
<v Wayne>And we would go to Camp Shelby every year for two weeks for our summer camp.

00:09:56.933 --> 00:10:02.833
<v Wayne>And we would be there, and he wouldn't take no crap off none of those generals or majors.

00:10:03.093 --> 00:10:06.453
<v Wayne>You know, they'd say, Major So-and-so wants y'all to be over here at this time.

00:10:06.553 --> 00:10:11.853
<v Wayne>He said, well, you tell Major So-and-so, we'd be there when we get ready, you know.

00:10:13.093 --> 00:10:21.073
<v Wayne>He was pretty good until we had to go. They moved us to Montgomery, Alabama.

00:10:22.853 --> 00:10:29.853
<v Wayne>Before that, we marched in Laura Lee Wallace's funeral right down the main street.

00:10:30.813 --> 00:10:32.293
<v Wayne>We led the parade.

00:10:35.353 --> 00:10:44.113
<v Wayne>After that, they moved us to Montgomery, changed the name. and would become the 151st Army Band.

00:10:45.153 --> 00:10:51.093
<v Wayne>So I finished my, I think it was the last three years there,

00:10:51.833 --> 00:10:55.033
<v Wayne>going back and forth every weekend, you know, month.

00:10:56.893 --> 00:11:00.753
<v Wayne>So it wasn't as good as when we first started out, you know.

00:11:00.933 --> 00:11:01.593
<v Mark>Things change.

00:11:02.053 --> 00:11:03.533
<v Wayne>Things change. Yeah.

00:11:03.813 --> 00:11:10.393
<v Mark>So do you have a recollection of meeting Uncle Donald and Aunt Catherine as

00:11:10.393 --> 00:11:13.053
<v Mark>part of the family connection when you were getting to know everybody?

00:11:14.113 --> 00:11:19.373
<v Wayne>Well, just coming over to the house, you know, going in there and meeting them.

00:11:19.753 --> 00:11:23.493
<v Wayne>Meeting Catherine Muxley, you know. She was sweet.

00:11:24.850 --> 00:11:28.250
<v Wayne>And he kind of reminded me of Uncle Gene a little bit, you know.

00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:33.650
<v Wayne>He wasn't always happy to me, it don't seem like.

00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:40.170
<v Mark>No, but we're learning more about the group of grumpy old men that were back then.

00:11:40.510 --> 00:11:42.650
<v Wayne>We're probably going to turn into that for a while.

00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:45.550
<v Mark>Oh, no, not us. We wouldn't do that.

00:11:49.670 --> 00:11:56.450
<v Mark>Well, good. So just tell me all about the family. So you talked about Ashley and Pam.

00:11:56.610 --> 00:12:00.490
<v Mark>Of course, I was in high school. I think Pam and I are in the same grade.

00:12:01.110 --> 00:12:02.030
<v Wayne>I think so.

00:12:02.370 --> 00:12:03.070
<v Mark>Ashley's older.

00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:05.630
<v Wayne>Well, Pam was born in 67.

00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:11.770
<v Mark>Yeah. So we would have been in 66. And then y'all had a gap before the third, right?

00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:13.250
<v Wayne>Like seven years.

00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:13.910
<v Mark>Yeah.

00:12:15.770 --> 00:12:19.650
<v Wayne>And while you're talking about your mom and dad meeting them,

00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:23.310
<v Wayne>I don't know if you remember, but you had a Halloween party there.

00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:28.230
<v Wayne>In my band, we came and played there at the Halloween party. Do you remember?

00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:30.930
<v Mark>No, I don't. On Fairway Drive, y'all did that?

00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:32.570
<v Wayne>Yeah, in the backyard.

00:12:33.090 --> 00:12:36.890
<v Mark>I don't remember that. Yeah. I remember, I don't remember it,

00:12:36.930 --> 00:12:40.530
<v Mark>but I remember somebody else, we were doing one of these talking about your band being there.

00:12:40.530 --> 00:12:44.690
<v Wayne>I think Jerry might have had some pictures that he showed once before.

00:12:45.290 --> 00:12:49.650
<v Mark>I'm a little partial to rock and roll bands. I did that through college and

00:12:49.650 --> 00:12:53.310
<v Mark>after college until I just didn't have time to keep up anymore.

00:12:53.310 --> 00:12:55.830
<v Mark>but how long did you play in that band?

00:12:56.870 --> 00:13:03.190
<v Wayne>Well, let's say probably my junior year until about two years after we were married.

00:13:04.090 --> 00:13:09.490
<v Wayne>Yeah. I played with, my first band was, we called The Lancers,

00:13:09.710 --> 00:13:13.310
<v Wayne>and it was more of an instrumental type.

00:13:14.190 --> 00:13:17.450
<v Wayne>And then I played with Herbert Zagaby. Oh.

00:13:17.970 --> 00:13:22.370
<v Wayne>And we called himself The Monterey's because he lived on Monterey Street. There you go.

00:13:23.110 --> 00:13:27.910
<v Wayne>Yeah. We played with him and Junior Petway and Charles Broad,

00:13:28.030 --> 00:13:29.190
<v Wayne>of course, he was the lead singer.

00:13:30.130 --> 00:13:36.690
<v Wayne>And Gary Williams, he was another singer. And believe me, you heard of the Righteous Brothers?

00:13:37.150 --> 00:13:37.470
<v Mark>Mm-hmm.

00:13:37.990 --> 00:13:42.030
<v Wayne>Well, they was dead on the Righteous Brothers.

00:13:42.270 --> 00:13:43.510
<v Mark>All the harmonies and everything?

00:13:43.850 --> 00:13:48.650
<v Wayne>All the harmonies. And to be surprised, Charles was the deeper one and Gary

00:13:48.650 --> 00:13:50.130
<v Wayne>was the higher one, you know.

00:13:50.790 --> 00:13:55.510
<v Wayne>so they did good we did good we moved out I mean we traveled around we played

00:13:55.510 --> 00:13:59.390
<v Wayne>at the NCO club all over the place you know during our time,

00:14:00.170 --> 00:14:06.570
<v Wayne>so we had fun but then you know children come along and go and everything I

00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:12.430
<v Wayne>just had to give it up we tried a couple times so they called me to sit in a

00:14:12.430 --> 00:14:16.170
<v Wayne>couple times when one of their drummers couldn't make it you know so,

00:14:17.577 --> 00:14:21.997
<v Wayne>I even played one time with Frankie Lowry. You remember Frankie Lowry?

00:14:22.037 --> 00:14:22.737
<v Mark>I remember the name.

00:14:23.217 --> 00:14:26.737
<v Wayne>At the Stark Club? No.

00:14:28.517 --> 00:14:33.717
<v Wayne>Frankie, he called me up one time, and I sat in with him, and he is the filthiest,

00:14:34.217 --> 00:14:37.017
<v Wayne>nasty-talkiest person. You don't want to know.

00:14:38.257 --> 00:14:40.097
<v Wayne>And I said, well, I ain't doing that again.

00:14:40.717 --> 00:14:41.877
<v Mark>But could he play?

00:14:42.757 --> 00:14:43.917
<v Wayne>No, he just sang.

00:14:44.337 --> 00:14:47.017
<v Mark>Well, that's his playing. Was he good? Yeah.

00:14:47.897 --> 00:14:51.777
<v Wayne>It was pretty good. It's kind of like Willie Nelson, you know.

00:14:52.657 --> 00:14:53.377
<v Mark>Willie's okay.

00:14:54.057 --> 00:14:54.297
<v Wayne>Yeah.

00:14:55.677 --> 00:14:59.077
<v Mark>So when's the last time you had a pair of drumsticks in your hand?

00:15:02.077 --> 00:15:11.437
<v Wayne>I can't remember. But we belong to what a club called the Swing Time Club. It ain't what you think.

00:15:11.717 --> 00:15:15.617
<v Mark>I know. I always thought that was when I grew up and remembered that name.

00:15:15.617 --> 00:15:18.357
<v Mark>I always thought, I wonder what they were really doing in that club.

00:15:19.277 --> 00:15:25.357
<v Wayne>Yeah. They said parties and everything. They had a party at the Brooklyn Field.

00:15:27.137 --> 00:15:30.957
<v Wayne>It was at a pool there. I can't exactly remember.

00:15:31.757 --> 00:15:35.717
<v Wayne>And they had the Atmore State Prison band there playing.

00:15:36.977 --> 00:15:40.977
<v Wayne>And that was probably the last time I had drumstick because I played a couple

00:15:40.977 --> 00:15:43.157
<v Wayne>of sessions with them during that.

00:15:43.157 --> 00:15:46.317
<v Mark>So is that the late 70s, early 80s, somewhere in there?

00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:49.080
<v Wayne>Yeah, I would think.

00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.220
<v Mark>Well, I encourage you to get back on the kit.

00:15:55.140 --> 00:16:01.460
<v Wayne>My shoulders and my, I can't stay up long with my arms and everything with my shoulders.

00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:05.420
<v Wayne>I had rotator surgery and other ones bad. I need a replacement on here.

00:16:05.900 --> 00:16:08.260
<v Wayne>So things are just wearing out.

00:16:08.420 --> 00:16:09.860
<v Mark>I guess that happens.

00:16:10.140 --> 00:16:12.780
<v Wayne>One or two songs, slow songs.

00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:16.320
<v Mark>Yeah, you don't have to play with anybody. Just be fun to play.

00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:19.320
<v Wayne>Yeah. what did you play.

00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:22.540
<v Mark>So i started playing bass was

00:16:22.540 --> 00:16:25.660
<v Mark>the first thing i played we went to school and my

00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:29.240
<v Mark>roommate's parents had divorced and his

00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.560
<v Mark>mom remarried and put all of their furniture in storage

00:16:32.560 --> 00:16:35.880
<v Mark>and so we went to college dad had a trailer and we went and picked everything

00:16:35.880 --> 00:16:40.300
<v Mark>up so everything in the house was his except my bedroom furniture and the tv

00:16:40.300 --> 00:16:45.100
<v Mark>went out the first summer we were there and he was playing guitar and keyboards

00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:48.200
<v Mark>and didn't really care about the tv so So I knew he wasn't going to fix the

00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:50.680
<v Mark>TV. So I asked him to teach me how to play something on the guitar.

00:16:51.680 --> 00:16:55.260
<v Mark>And then I asked him what we needed next. And he said a bass.

00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.940
<v Mark>And so I asked mom and dad for the bass for my birthday that year.

00:16:59.180 --> 00:17:03.800
<v Mark>And I don't, you know, dad went and found some, an old, cool old PV amp and

00:17:03.800 --> 00:17:08.460
<v Mark>a cabinet and took me to MMI music and bought my first bass.

00:17:08.620 --> 00:17:09.480
<v Mark>And that's how I started.

00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:09.940
<v Wayne>Yeah.

00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:15.000
<v Mark>And then from there, we just, you know, you just learn stuff and play a little

00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:18.260
<v Mark>guitar. I keep, there's a guitar sitting there and a ukulele,

00:17:18.260 --> 00:17:22.940
<v Mark>and that's what I do in between meetings during the day to loosen up a little bit.

00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:27.340
<v Mark>So I've always been shocked that something I'm that mediocre at has brought

00:17:27.340 --> 00:17:30.780
<v Mark>me so much joy because I'm a complete hack and just mediocre,

00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:32.620
<v Mark>but I sure have fun doing it.

00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:33.120
<v Wayne>Yeah.

00:17:34.540 --> 00:17:41.660
<v Mark>But I haven't played with the band since 96 or so, 97, somewhere in there.

00:17:44.161 --> 00:17:45.621
<v Mark>any of the kids musical

00:17:45.621 --> 00:17:52.621
<v Wayne>Nope none of them bam's got a good voice but she she don't do nothing with it

00:17:52.621 --> 00:17:58.201
<v Wayne>you know of course she was in the choir at mcgill and patty was too patty was

00:17:58.201 --> 00:18:01.221
<v Wayne>too well that's something yeah so.

00:18:01.221 --> 00:18:06.061
<v Mark>Tell me about the kids so ashley pam and patty how how are they where are they? What are they doing?

00:18:06.841 --> 00:18:11.381
<v Wayne>Ashley's here. She's got Nicholas, the oldest one.

00:18:12.541 --> 00:18:16.141
<v Wayne>And then Brooke is another girl.

00:18:16.621 --> 00:18:24.241
<v Wayne>And Nick lives in Roswell, Georgia. And he has two girls. A five-year-old and a two-year-old.

00:18:25.321 --> 00:18:30.061
<v Wayne>And in fact, they just got back from Disney World. They was able to go there

00:18:30.061 --> 00:18:31.621
<v Wayne>right after the hurricane.

00:18:32.641 --> 00:18:36.601
<v Wayne>They had tickets and everything. He said, there's a little trouble getting there,

00:18:36.761 --> 00:18:37.861
<v Wayne>you know, a lot of traffic.

00:18:38.281 --> 00:18:44.541
<v Wayne>But I guess Disney World is self-supportive. You know, they got hotels and all kinds.

00:18:44.701 --> 00:18:46.941
<v Wayne>I guess they got their own generators and whatever.

00:18:47.181 --> 00:18:50.041
<v Wayne>But they was able to go there and enjoy it, you know.

00:18:50.821 --> 00:18:55.361
<v Wayne>And then Pam, she's got three. Brianna's the oldest one.

00:18:57.361 --> 00:19:05.961
<v Wayne>And Lane and then Jacob. I said, Brianna, she moved down here and lived with us for a while.

00:19:06.901 --> 00:19:10.841
<v Wayne>She said, where they lived, she said, there's nothing, no way you can find a

00:19:10.841 --> 00:19:14.661
<v Wayne>job up there. I am and I live in the part of Tennessee.

00:19:15.081 --> 00:19:20.321
<v Wayne>It's on the Ocoee River. They live on, got a chalet on the Ocoee River.

00:19:21.221 --> 00:19:25.581
<v Wayne>And she came down here, got a couple of little mediocre jobs,

00:19:25.581 --> 00:19:29.921
<v Wayne>and then she went to Hostel and applied to Hostel and went to welding school.

00:19:30.121 --> 00:19:32.781
<v Wayne>So she's welding at Hostel right now.

00:19:32.961 --> 00:19:33.461
<v Mark>Outstanding.

00:19:34.961 --> 00:19:43.121
<v Wayne>And Lane, he works for FedEx for a pretty good while, and he wanted to change,

00:19:43.161 --> 00:19:44.841
<v Wayne>so he put in an application.

00:19:44.841 --> 00:19:51.181
<v Wayne>And he went to, I can't remember what part, but it's up towards West Virginia.

00:19:51.181 --> 00:19:55.901
<v Wayne>and he's a manager of Hillandale's Chicken Farm.

00:19:56.381 --> 00:20:01.081
<v Wayne>He does all the billing and all the shipping and all that stuff.

00:20:01.601 --> 00:20:07.421
<v Wayne>And in college, he learned to speak Spanish, so they have a lot of Spanish people

00:20:07.421 --> 00:20:10.561
<v Wayne>working there, so he's able to communicate with them pretty good.

00:20:10.601 --> 00:20:11.221
<v Mark>That's a skill.

00:20:11.801 --> 00:20:20.181
<v Wayne>At that point, about it. And then the youngest one, Jacob, he works for DHL.

00:20:21.061 --> 00:20:27.201
<v Wayne>He works for them. He's managing an office in DHL County in Martinsburg,

00:20:27.481 --> 00:20:30.681
<v Wayne>up that way close to his old brother.

00:20:32.278 --> 00:20:37.398
<v Wayne>And then Pam's husband, Brett, he retired. He was in the Coast Guard for 20

00:20:37.398 --> 00:20:43.618
<v Wayne>years, and he retired from that, and he went into the kind of like the NCIS,

00:20:43.898 --> 00:20:44.938
<v Wayne>but it's the Coast Guard.

00:20:45.838 --> 00:20:50.978
<v Wayne>Got into that, went to school for that in Georgia, and he went to Washington,

00:20:51.118 --> 00:20:55.018
<v Wayne>D.C., and he was in Homeland Security up there.

00:20:55.198 --> 00:21:03.518
<v Wayne>So he retired about, oh, three or four years ago, And they moved from where

00:21:03.518 --> 00:21:08.078
<v Wayne>they were in Hoppus Ferry, West Virginia.

00:21:08.378 --> 00:21:11.098
<v Wayne>And they moved to Benton, Tennessee.

00:21:11.418 --> 00:21:15.178
<v Wayne>That's where they moved. And they're right there on Ocoee River.

00:21:16.058 --> 00:21:20.518
<v Wayne>So they get to see a lot of rafters come down the raft right there.

00:21:22.178 --> 00:21:23.258
<v Mark>Sounds peaceful.

00:21:23.778 --> 00:21:27.658
<v Wayne>Yeah. It's real nice. A lot of stiffs, you know.

00:21:28.778 --> 00:21:33.538
<v Wayne>Pam says, my knees are too bad for me. Once I get inside, I'm staying inside.

00:21:36.278 --> 00:21:39.558
<v Mark>All right, so that's Ashley and Pam and their groups. What about Patty?

00:21:40.398 --> 00:21:45.818
<v Wayne>Patty, she got on and she's got a stepson.

00:21:46.258 --> 00:21:50.558
<v Wayne>He was in the Marines. He got out in the Marines. He married.

00:21:51.678 --> 00:21:54.538
<v Wayne>They got three kids, a girl and two boys.

00:21:56.218 --> 00:22:03.358
<v Wayne>and he got a medical discharge. He was actually in Baghdad, Gordon-Hemisin and everything.

00:22:04.978 --> 00:22:10.158
<v Wayne>He had rescue the women that was in Africa. I don't know if you remember that.

00:22:10.598 --> 00:22:13.398
<v Wayne>It was hospices or something. They had to go get them.

00:22:13.838 --> 00:22:18.958
<v Wayne>He actually got shot in Baghdad, but he had his vest on.

00:22:19.738 --> 00:22:24.798
<v Wayne>He didn't. He had a lot of disabilities, so he got a total disability,

00:22:25.218 --> 00:22:30.238
<v Wayne>and darn if his wife didn't go ahead and join the Army and went to boot camp,

00:22:30.598 --> 00:22:34.938
<v Wayne>she wanted to be an air traffic controller.

00:22:35.758 --> 00:22:40.038
<v Wayne>And so she got to go. She heard her back.

00:22:40.438 --> 00:22:44.158
<v Wayne>But she got to go to air traffic controller school.

00:22:44.638 --> 00:22:48.638
<v Wayne>But then she got out and she just didn't do it, you know.

00:22:49.038 --> 00:22:55.458
<v Wayne>So they just buying a house. They just bought a house out in the country off of, out towards Wilma.

00:22:56.158 --> 00:22:58.938
<v Wayne>Going to fix it up, a lot of farmland and stuff.

00:23:00.298 --> 00:23:05.298
<v Wayne>And then Patty, of course, she's got a son. Gabriel is his name.

00:23:07.218 --> 00:23:10.898
<v Wayne>And Patty works at John H. Carter.

00:23:11.198 --> 00:23:14.818
<v Wayne>She's been there a pretty good while.

00:23:14.998 --> 00:23:19.098
<v Wayne>She started out as calling people on the phone and stuff like that.

00:23:19.098 --> 00:23:24.958
<v Wayne>And now she orders all the big vows and stuff for Chevron Chemical and all the

00:23:24.958 --> 00:23:26.438
<v Wayne>different chemical plants.

00:23:26.638 --> 00:23:29.118
<v Wayne>She does good. She's going to have a good retirement.

00:23:29.858 --> 00:23:31.718
<v Mark>Oh, good.

00:23:33.548 --> 00:23:38.068
<v Mark>You got maybe one more, two more stories about my dad and you when y'all were younger?

00:23:38.988 --> 00:23:43.128
<v Wayne>No, like I said, we just ran around. We didn't get in trouble.

00:23:43.368 --> 00:23:49.028
<v Wayne>I remember one time, Ford even finished I-65.

00:23:50.368 --> 00:23:52.608
<v Wayne>And do you know where Braswell Stable is?

00:23:52.988 --> 00:23:53.888
<v Mark>I think so.

00:23:54.748 --> 00:23:57.928
<v Wayne>Okay. Well, there's a bridge there, you know.

00:23:58.468 --> 00:24:05.728
<v Wayne>And, of course, I wasn't a great swimmer. But we went down 65. It was all red clay.

00:24:06.588 --> 00:24:09.768
<v Wayne>And I was in the comet, and we were just flying up and down there.

00:24:10.368 --> 00:24:13.888
<v Wayne>And we stopped at the bridge, and I said, come on, let's jump in.

00:24:14.328 --> 00:24:17.428
<v Wayne>I said, are you crazy? I said, you don't know what's down there.

00:24:17.488 --> 00:24:20.528
<v Wayne>He said, ah. And he jumped in. He said, come on, jump in.

00:24:20.948 --> 00:24:25.908
<v Wayne>And I was never much of a good swimmer. So my dumb ass jumped in,

00:24:25.968 --> 00:24:29.288
<v Wayne>you know, like frozen dead.

00:24:30.628 --> 00:24:37.308
<v Wayne>but he said it wasn't that bad was it no it wasn't that bad he.

00:24:37.308 --> 00:24:40.168
<v Mark>Was never never one to miss an opportunity to do something

00:24:40.168 --> 00:24:46.448
<v Wayne>Uh no of course i remember he remember he had the bmw of course he had that

00:24:46.448 --> 00:24:54.808
<v Wayne>old mobile first remember the 442 yeah yeah and he loved the bmws too well.

00:24:54.808 --> 00:24:59.188
<v Mark>He had two He had two cars that I remember before the BMW, the gray Ozenbill.

00:24:59.308 --> 00:25:02.308
<v Mark>He called it the gray ghost. And then he had a green Monte Carlo.

00:25:05.468 --> 00:25:06.108
<v Wayne>He would have.

00:25:06.108 --> 00:25:12.268
<v Mark>Had the Monte Carlo around. We were living in Morningside Manor.

00:25:12.988 --> 00:25:15.748
<v Wayne>Oh, I remember that. Do you remember the parachute? Yep.

00:25:16.548 --> 00:25:20.408
<v Mark>When he closed in the garage. Mostly I remember Mama loving the cockroaches

00:25:20.408 --> 00:25:23.248
<v Mark>that would find their home up there in the parachute.

00:25:24.473 --> 00:25:26.073
<v Mark>But I remember those two cars.

00:25:26.493 --> 00:25:29.593
<v Wayne>But he's talking, people come to my house and go in the den,

00:25:29.793 --> 00:25:34.233
<v Wayne>and he said, Don Lee, look at your ceiling. And it's got glitter all in it.

00:25:34.713 --> 00:25:39.953
<v Wayne>And your daddy talked me into putting that glitter in when I added onto this house, the glitter.

00:25:40.133 --> 00:25:42.773
<v Wayne>So it's glitter all up in the ceiling, you know.

00:25:43.533 --> 00:25:45.073
<v Mark>You can't hold that against me.

00:25:47.213 --> 00:25:52.533
<v Wayne>Joe watched me drive in the theater. No, I never did go to the drive-in.

00:25:53.233 --> 00:25:57.653
<v Mark>Wait a minute wait a minute now that's that's for my somebody helped him cut trees down

00:25:58.353 --> 00:26:04.013
<v Mark>between our house because we could see the bamma drive-in screen really from

00:26:04.013 --> 00:26:07.873
<v Mark>our dining room and backyard and somebody helped him go back there and cut some

00:26:07.873 --> 00:26:12.373
<v Mark>trees down so we could see it better but i'm thinking that might have been terry nash but it

00:26:12.373 --> 00:26:13.853
<v Wayne>Might have been it wasn't me yeah.

00:26:14.313 --> 00:26:16.633
<v Mark>At least you're denying it at this point they

00:26:16.633 --> 00:26:20.633
<v Wayne>You know of course you know you and him both within the insurance business,

00:26:20.933 --> 00:26:24.113
<v Wayne>and he sold me policies, you know.

00:26:24.453 --> 00:26:30.093
<v Wayne>And I had a policy that was a cash value, and another one was a term.

00:26:31.793 --> 00:26:37.693
<v Wayne>And he talked me into getting a disability rider, you know.

00:26:38.533 --> 00:26:45.333
<v Wayne>So I said, well, okay. So in the long run, when I got hurt on the railroad,

00:26:46.173 --> 00:26:51.313
<v Wayne>I got the disability rider and called him. He told me to call him.

00:26:51.913 --> 00:26:54.493
<v Wayne>I didn't have to pay the premiums on none of them.

00:26:55.453 --> 00:26:58.813
<v Wayne>So I got out of that and got a cash value. Then he told me, he said,

00:26:59.133 --> 00:27:00.393
<v Wayne>Wayne, it's been 10 years.

00:27:01.233 --> 00:27:05.533
<v Wayne>Call him and tell him if you convert the other one over to a cash value.

00:27:06.533 --> 00:27:11.213
<v Wayne>And they did. So both of them were drawing cash value. You know. Beautiful.

00:27:12.833 --> 00:27:15.753
<v Wayne>Ains gonna have a little of money when I'm gone. There you go.

00:27:16.253 --> 00:27:22.353
<v Mark>I'm sure it won't be anything enough to replace the love and the companionship that you provide her.

00:27:22.793 --> 00:27:23.713
<v Wayne>Oh, probably not.

00:27:27.393 --> 00:27:31.493
<v Mark>All right. Well, this has been good. I really appreciate you doing this.

00:27:31.673 --> 00:27:34.353
<v Mark>We're trying to branch out and hear some other parts of the family.

00:27:34.713 --> 00:27:39.313
<v Mark>We'll get this put up soon and maybe we'll chat again or maybe Ann wants to

00:27:39.313 --> 00:27:41.673
<v Mark>chat and tell some more family stories.

00:27:42.353 --> 00:27:42.833
<v Wayne>Okay.

00:27:43.273 --> 00:27:44.853
<v Mark>All right. Well, thank you. We appreciate it.

00:27:45.133 --> 00:27:45.773
<v Wayne>All right, Mark.

00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:56.232
<v Music>


00:00:08.457 --> 00:00:10.237
<v Speaker0>Welcome to the beautiful party.

00:00:12.097 --> 00:00:16.397
<v Speaker1>Our visit with Tony Brock was so much fun that we're continuing the theme of

00:00:16.397 --> 00:00:20.357
<v Speaker1>talking to others who knew Grandma and Grandpa as Uncle Donald and Aunt Catherine.

00:00:21.017 --> 00:00:25.237
<v Speaker1>Uncle Executive Producer Andrew arranged this visit with Wayne Blanchard,

00:00:25.237 --> 00:00:29.357
<v Speaker1>who, like Tony, comes into the picture via one of Grandma's siblings,

00:00:29.637 --> 00:00:32.937
<v Speaker1>her brother, Gene Thornton, by marrying Gene's daughter, Ann.

00:00:33.677 --> 00:00:38.697
<v Speaker1>It's also special to me because Wayne is my godfather and one of my dad's favorite friends.

00:00:39.417 --> 00:00:43.897
<v Speaker1>He was also the best man at my parents' wedding. It meant a lot to hear stories

00:00:43.897 --> 00:00:47.737
<v Speaker1>about the two of them in their younger days and confirm a few memories I had,

00:00:47.977 --> 00:00:49.817
<v Speaker1>including the infamous ball and chain.

00:00:50.797 --> 00:00:53.317
<v Speaker1>Friends and family are beautiful indeed.

00:00:54.477 --> 00:01:00.097
<v Speaker1>Hello, Wayne, my godfather, who I hadn't thought of that until we knew we were

00:01:00.097 --> 00:01:02.337
<v Speaker1>going to talk. Do you remember that you're my godfather?

00:01:03.257 --> 00:01:07.397
<v Speaker0>I remember. It's in my Bible, but it's September 20th.

00:01:07.637 --> 00:01:14.417
<v Speaker0>But I didn't remember what year, and I think your mama said 65 to 66.

00:01:14.797 --> 00:01:15.297
<v Speaker1>67.

00:01:16.077 --> 00:01:17.757
<v Speaker0>67. Close.

00:01:18.117 --> 00:01:20.737
<v Speaker1>Close enough. In the late 60s. It was close enough.

00:01:21.497 --> 00:01:21.737
<v Speaker0>Yeah.

00:01:23.937 --> 00:01:31.537
<v Speaker1>So, growing up, one of my memories about my dad is that you and he were quite close back in the day.

00:01:32.497 --> 00:01:32.977
<v Speaker0>Right.

00:01:33.377 --> 00:01:38.877
<v Speaker1>Did you meet him before Ann, or after? When did you meet my dad?

00:01:40.797 --> 00:01:45.577
<v Speaker0>Basically, probably, you know, when I met Ann. We was on the 8th grade of St.

00:01:46.177 --> 00:01:50.037
<v Speaker0>Joseph's. And we'd call for it. She went to Tula, and I went to McGill.

00:01:50.577 --> 00:01:56.537
<v Speaker0>And then I don't know if it was through the family, the Stills,

00:01:56.837 --> 00:02:01.477
<v Speaker0>and the Thorns meeting together on some kind of reunion.

00:02:01.697 --> 00:02:03.697
<v Speaker0>Or from Edmund High School, you know.

00:02:04.117 --> 00:02:09.697
<v Speaker0>But we ran around a lot, you know, after high school and everything.

00:02:12.197 --> 00:02:17.357
<v Speaker0>So, I mean, we did things, you know. We played basketball. We played tennis.

00:02:18.217 --> 00:02:24.657
<v Speaker0>Different things. Uh, he worked at, we both worked at Alabama Dry Docks at one time or another.

00:02:25.397 --> 00:02:30.597
<v Speaker0>And, uh, soon as we get off work, sometimes we'll go straight to tennis school

00:02:30.597 --> 00:02:33.597
<v Speaker0>and play tennis, you know, for a couple of hours.

00:02:35.157 --> 00:02:41.277
<v Speaker0>And we all played basketball with different people, Terry Nash and some other friends.

00:02:42.197 --> 00:02:45.397
<v Speaker1>And, and you were involved in my parents' wedding, weren't you?

00:02:45.477 --> 00:02:46.937
<v Speaker1>Were you not the best man at the wedding?

00:02:48.372 --> 00:02:53.572
<v Speaker0>I think so. At that time, I was having to go to Louisville, Kentucky.

00:02:54.432 --> 00:03:00.952
<v Speaker0>So it was kind of a—we had to get going because we was going with another couple at that time.

00:03:01.272 --> 00:03:07.612
<v Speaker0>You know, I had to go there and train welding and different things to do with

00:03:07.612 --> 00:03:09.172
<v Speaker0>the passenger cars and everything.

00:03:09.832 --> 00:03:15.832
<v Speaker0>I was up there nine months, but it's supposed to have been longer than that.

00:03:15.832 --> 00:03:21.232
<v Speaker0>But I got called up to go to boot camp. I was in the National Guard.

00:03:21.752 --> 00:03:27.712
<v Speaker0>You know, everything works up. I started trying to get to work.

00:03:27.892 --> 00:03:29.752
<v Speaker0>Uncle Gene was trying to get me on at the railroad.

00:03:30.252 --> 00:03:32.232
<v Speaker0>And I was working at State Docks.

00:03:33.792 --> 00:03:40.212
<v Speaker0>So I came home one day from work. I had a letter saying, greetings, you've been drafted.

00:03:43.072 --> 00:03:45.872
<v Speaker0>So and i i was wondering what

00:03:45.872 --> 00:03:49.112
<v Speaker0>i was going to do so i walked down i

00:03:49.112 --> 00:03:52.892
<v Speaker0>wrote down to fort whitey and i walked in

00:03:52.892 --> 00:03:55.932
<v Speaker0>man i was talking to a guy one of the sergeants in

00:03:55.932 --> 00:03:58.952
<v Speaker0>there and he said well what did you do in high school

00:03:58.952 --> 00:04:01.752
<v Speaker0>were you in the bowling pool or something i said no i

00:04:01.752 --> 00:04:04.492
<v Speaker0>was in the high school van he said

00:04:04.492 --> 00:04:08.852
<v Speaker0>really i said yeah he said well go on down there and go down to the basement

00:04:08.852 --> 00:04:16.532
<v Speaker0>so he saw you crazy so i went down there talked to him and it was the 31st dixie

00:04:16.532 --> 00:04:24.152
<v Speaker0>division band there you go so he signed me up as a percussionist and then i uh,

00:04:25.772 --> 00:04:30.992
<v Speaker0>i think the next day i got called by the railroad and asked me if i heard from,

00:04:31.592 --> 00:04:33.552
<v Speaker0>anytime. I said, no, I told him a lie.

00:04:34.632 --> 00:04:39.612
<v Speaker0>So they hadn't hired me. So he hired me on the 25th.

00:04:40.672 --> 00:04:45.092
<v Speaker0>No, I joined the guard on the 23rd, went to work on the 25th,

00:04:45.132 --> 00:04:46.952
<v Speaker0>and I got married on the 28th.

00:04:46.952 --> 00:04:52.672
<v Speaker1>I'm going to ask one more question, I think, about my dad.

00:04:53.952 --> 00:04:56.872
<v Speaker1>Again, if memory serves, and Mama's there, she may remember it too,

00:04:56.972 --> 00:05:02.172
<v Speaker1>but But were you not involved in the ball and chain that got put on his ankle?

00:05:04.092 --> 00:05:04.572
<v Speaker0>Yeah.

00:05:06.932 --> 00:05:09.772
<v Speaker0>I don't remember who brought it, but we put it on him.

00:05:10.892 --> 00:05:15.152
<v Speaker1>Well, he got that thing off and it stayed in their closet for decades.

00:05:15.852 --> 00:05:16.872
<v Speaker0>I know. Yeah.

00:05:18.098 --> 00:05:19.438
<v Speaker0>He showed it to me before.

00:05:21.178 --> 00:05:24.158
<v Speaker1>I don't know. I don't know where it is. I would love to know where it,

00:05:24.158 --> 00:05:26.678
<v Speaker1>I don't know if mama still has it or it disappeared over the years,

00:05:26.778 --> 00:05:28.618
<v Speaker0>But that, okay.

00:05:28.718 --> 00:05:31.558
<v Speaker1>Well, that gets me up to speed on the things I remember back then.

00:05:31.578 --> 00:05:36.798
<v Speaker1>So let's talk about, um, how you came to be part of the beautiful party as we call the show.

00:05:37.238 --> 00:05:41.458
<v Speaker1>Um, how did you meet Ann? Uh, and when did y'all start dating and when did you

00:05:41.458 --> 00:05:44.058
<v Speaker1>meet her family and what do you remember about all that?

00:05:45.018 --> 00:05:51.418
<v Speaker0>Well, like I say, it was at St. Joseph's Grammar School over there on St. Louis Street.

00:05:52.358 --> 00:05:57.438
<v Speaker0>And she just started seeing each other. I guess she liked me,

00:05:57.538 --> 00:05:58.438
<v Speaker0>too, because we started.

00:05:58.798 --> 00:05:59.478
<v Speaker1>At least a little.

00:06:00.118 --> 00:06:06.758
<v Speaker0>Yeah, a little bit, you know. So we started dating, and then I guess I would go over to her house.

00:06:06.758 --> 00:06:13.318
<v Speaker0>I lived on Carolina Avenue, and I would either ride a bike or walk to Tango

00:06:13.318 --> 00:06:17.238
<v Speaker0>Drive from there, and that's a pretty good walk, you know.

00:06:18.318 --> 00:06:23.938
<v Speaker0>I got to meet Uncle Gene, and of course, he was like a bear, you know, at that time.

00:06:24.338 --> 00:06:26.878
<v Speaker0>You know, you didn't know how to take them, you know.

00:06:28.098 --> 00:06:33.758
<v Speaker0>In fact, one time he was there, and he said, well, you got to go. I can't leave you here.

00:06:34.338 --> 00:06:38.738
<v Speaker0>when we was there with another boy and another girl and he said well i'll ride

00:06:38.738 --> 00:06:40.378
<v Speaker0>you home and i said no i was mad

00:06:40.378 --> 00:06:46.998
<v Speaker0>i said no go on and go i walked home they were old a couple people home.

00:06:46.998 --> 00:06:51.918
<v Speaker1>Well i was a little kid he was a frightening man and then you know as you get

00:06:51.918 --> 00:06:58.098
<v Speaker1>older you realize that that's that was by design but he was just the sweetest fella i mean all

00:06:58.098 --> 00:06:59.418
<v Speaker0>Barking nobody yeah.

00:06:59.418 --> 00:07:01.398
<v Speaker1>I'm sure he could bite if he needed to but

00:07:04.538 --> 00:07:08.958
<v Speaker1>all right so that that got go how long so all the way through high school no

00:07:08.958 --> 00:07:11.018
<v Speaker1>other folks and then yeah we uh

00:07:12.489 --> 00:07:17.729
<v Speaker0>Through eighth grade and through high school. And we got married. I graduated in 64.

00:07:17.969 --> 00:07:23.249
<v Speaker0>We got married in 65. So we was ready to do our thing.

00:07:23.449 --> 00:07:28.989
<v Speaker0>You know, we put things on the layaway at Bell's House. I don't know if you

00:07:28.989 --> 00:07:30.089
<v Speaker0>remember. I remember Bell's House.

00:07:30.209 --> 00:07:30.289
<v Speaker1>Yeah.

00:07:30.809 --> 00:07:36.929
<v Speaker0>Yeah, we got a bedroom, furniture, sofa, and stuff. And we lived in an apartment

00:07:36.929 --> 00:07:38.349
<v Speaker0>right on Gosselin Street.

00:07:39.329 --> 00:07:41.769
<v Speaker0>It's right behind the Carmelites, if you remember.

00:07:41.769 --> 00:07:43.029
<v Speaker1>Yeah, I remember the Carmelites.

00:07:43.369 --> 00:07:46.929
<v Speaker0>Yeah, well, there was an apartment right off of Gosselin Street.

00:07:47.689 --> 00:07:52.389
<v Speaker0>Mr. and Mrs. Johnson ran the thing. So we was there, and a couple of other,

00:07:53.149 --> 00:07:56.289
<v Speaker0>a couple of Bud brought us.

00:07:56.469 --> 00:08:00.049
<v Speaker0>I was in the band with him and our rock and roll band.

00:08:01.209 --> 00:08:05.729
<v Speaker0>And he moved in there, and another friend, his cousin, Clem,

00:08:06.409 --> 00:08:10.229
<v Speaker0>he moved in. And we just kind of hung out there for a pretty good while until

00:08:10.229 --> 00:08:14.249
<v Speaker0>I had to go to Louisville, Kentucky, like I say.

00:08:16.689 --> 00:08:21.609
<v Speaker0>And it was an awakening thing because we had Ashley at the time.

00:08:23.189 --> 00:08:30.209
<v Speaker0>And so I was in Fort Ord, California, when my middle daughter, Pam, was born.

00:08:30.209 --> 00:08:36.809
<v Speaker0>I didn't see her until three or four months, you know. So, and I stayed with

00:08:36.809 --> 00:08:40.429
<v Speaker0>my mom and dad, you know, while I was gone.

00:08:40.709 --> 00:08:45.209
<v Speaker0>So, it was a waking up thing because when I was in the guard,

00:08:45.209 --> 00:08:48.369
<v Speaker0>I was only making like $65 a month.

00:08:48.969 --> 00:08:51.529
<v Speaker0>And my car note was $62 a month.

00:08:52.809 --> 00:08:57.429
<v Speaker0>I had a brand new 64 Comet Caliente. Yeah.

00:08:58.769 --> 00:09:00.869
<v Speaker0>Paid $2,900 for it.

00:09:01.769 --> 00:09:05.129
<v Speaker1>You had to make three bucks a month go for it then I guess huh yeah

00:09:06.409 --> 00:09:10.649
<v Speaker0>My gas back then was 25 26 cents a gallon you know.

00:09:11.109 --> 00:09:11.509
<v Speaker1>Yeah

00:09:13.093 --> 00:09:16.473
<v Speaker1>How long were you in the Guard in the service?

00:09:17.413 --> 00:09:18.113
<v Speaker0>Six years.

00:09:20.573 --> 00:09:24.793
<v Speaker0>We met every month down at Fort Whiting.

00:09:25.333 --> 00:09:30.513
<v Speaker0>We had a warrant officer who was our CEO, Mr. Lawrence.

00:09:30.773 --> 00:09:34.473
<v Speaker0>He got a bus that we traveled in. Painted it gray.

00:09:34.953 --> 00:09:41.353
<v Speaker0>He was an artist and he painted on the side of it 31st Dixie Division Band.

00:09:41.893 --> 00:09:47.493
<v Speaker0>We had gray helmets with Dixie flags on the side, you know.

00:09:48.793 --> 00:09:54.593
<v Speaker0>And we would go to Camp Shelby every year for two weeks for our summer camp.

00:09:56.933 --> 00:10:02.833
<v Speaker0>And we would be there, and he wouldn't take no crap off none of those generals or majors.

00:10:03.093 --> 00:10:06.453
<v Speaker0>You know, they'd say, Major So-and-so wants y'all to be over here at this time.

00:10:06.553 --> 00:10:11.853
<v Speaker0>He said, well, you tell Major So-and-so, we'd be there when we get ready, you know.

00:10:13.093 --> 00:10:21.073
<v Speaker0>He was pretty good until we had to go. They moved us to Montgomery, Alabama.

00:10:22.853 --> 00:10:29.853
<v Speaker0>Before that, we marched in Laura Lee Wallace's funeral right down the main street.

00:10:30.813 --> 00:10:32.293
<v Speaker0>We led the parade.

00:10:35.353 --> 00:10:44.113
<v Speaker0>After that, they moved us to Montgomery, changed the name. and would become the 151st Army Band.

00:10:45.153 --> 00:10:51.093
<v Speaker0>So I finished my, I think it was the last three years there,

00:10:51.833 --> 00:10:55.033
<v Speaker0>going back and forth every weekend, you know, month.

00:10:56.893 --> 00:11:00.753
<v Speaker0>So it wasn't as good as when we first started out, you know.

00:11:00.933 --> 00:11:01.593
<v Speaker1>Things change.

00:11:02.053 --> 00:11:03.533
<v Speaker0>Things change. Yeah.

00:11:03.813 --> 00:11:10.393
<v Speaker1>So do you have a recollection of meeting Uncle Donald and Aunt Catherine as

00:11:10.393 --> 00:11:13.053
<v Speaker1>part of the family connection when you were getting to know everybody?

00:11:14.113 --> 00:11:19.373
<v Speaker0>Well, just coming over to the house, you know, going in there and meeting them.

00:11:19.753 --> 00:11:23.493
<v Speaker0>Meeting Catherine Muxley, you know. She was sweet.

00:11:24.850 --> 00:11:28.250
<v Speaker0>And he kind of reminded me of Uncle Gene a little bit, you know.

00:11:29.870 --> 00:11:33.650
<v Speaker0>He wasn't always happy to me, it don't seem like.

00:11:33.870 --> 00:11:40.170
<v Speaker1>No, but we're learning more about the group of grumpy old men that were back then.

00:11:40.510 --> 00:11:42.650
<v Speaker0>We're probably going to turn into that for a while.

00:11:43.110 --> 00:11:45.550
<v Speaker1>Oh, no, not us. We wouldn't do that.

00:11:49.670 --> 00:11:56.450
<v Speaker1>Well, good. So just tell me all about the family. So you talked about Ashley and Pam.

00:11:56.610 --> 00:12:00.490
<v Speaker1>Of course, I was in high school. I think Pam and I are in the same grade.

00:12:01.110 --> 00:12:02.030
<v Speaker0>I think so.

00:12:02.370 --> 00:12:03.070
<v Speaker1>Ashley's older.

00:12:03.610 --> 00:12:05.630
<v Speaker0>Well, Pam was born in 67.

00:12:06.590 --> 00:12:11.770
<v Speaker1>Yeah. So we would have been in 66. And then y'all had a gap before the third, right?

00:12:12.190 --> 00:12:13.250
<v Speaker0>Like seven years.

00:12:13.750 --> 00:12:13.910
<v Speaker1>Yeah.

00:12:15.770 --> 00:12:19.650
<v Speaker0>And while you're talking about your mom and dad meeting them,

00:12:19.950 --> 00:12:23.310
<v Speaker0>I don't know if you remember, but you had a Halloween party there.

00:12:24.230 --> 00:12:28.230
<v Speaker0>In my band, we came and played there at the Halloween party. Do you remember?

00:12:28.750 --> 00:12:30.930
<v Speaker1>No, I don't. On Fairway Drive, y'all did that?

00:12:31.190 --> 00:12:32.570
<v Speaker0>Yeah, in the backyard.

00:12:33.090 --> 00:12:36.890
<v Speaker1>I don't remember that. Yeah. I remember, I don't remember it,

00:12:36.930 --> 00:12:40.530
<v Speaker1>but I remember somebody else, we were doing one of these talking about your band being there.

00:12:40.530 --> 00:12:44.690
<v Speaker0>I think Jerry might have had some pictures that he showed once before.

00:12:45.290 --> 00:12:49.650
<v Speaker1>I'm a little partial to rock and roll bands. I did that through college and

00:12:49.650 --> 00:12:53.310
<v Speaker1>after college until I just didn't have time to keep up anymore.

00:12:53.310 --> 00:12:55.830
<v Speaker1>but how long did you play in that band?

00:12:56.870 --> 00:13:03.190
<v Speaker0>Well, let's say probably my junior year until about two years after we were married.

00:13:04.090 --> 00:13:09.490
<v Speaker0>Yeah. I played with, my first band was, we called The Lancers,

00:13:09.710 --> 00:13:13.310
<v Speaker0>and it was more of an instrumental type.

00:13:14.190 --> 00:13:17.450
<v Speaker0>And then I played with Herbert Zagaby. Oh.

00:13:17.970 --> 00:13:22.370
<v Speaker0>And we called himself The Monterey's because he lived on Monterey Street. There you go.

00:13:23.110 --> 00:13:27.910
<v Speaker0>Yeah. We played with him and Junior Petway and Charles Broad,

00:13:28.030 --> 00:13:29.190
<v Speaker0>of course, he was the lead singer.

00:13:30.130 --> 00:13:36.690
<v Speaker0>And Gary Williams, he was another singer. And believe me, you heard of the Righteous Brothers?

00:13:37.150 --> 00:13:37.470
<v Speaker1>Mm-hmm.

00:13:37.990 --> 00:13:42.030
<v Speaker0>Well, they was dead on the Righteous Brothers.

00:13:42.270 --> 00:13:43.510
<v Speaker1>All the harmonies and everything?

00:13:43.850 --> 00:13:48.650
<v Speaker0>All the harmonies. And to be surprised, Charles was the deeper one and Gary

00:13:48.650 --> 00:13:50.130
<v Speaker0>was the higher one, you know.

00:13:50.790 --> 00:13:55.510
<v Speaker0>so they did good we did good we moved out I mean we traveled around we played

00:13:55.510 --> 00:13:59.390
<v Speaker0>at the NCO club all over the place you know during our time,

00:14:00.170 --> 00:14:06.570
<v Speaker0>so we had fun but then you know children come along and go and everything I

00:14:06.570 --> 00:14:12.430
<v Speaker0>just had to give it up we tried a couple times so they called me to sit in a

00:14:12.430 --> 00:14:16.170
<v Speaker0>couple times when one of their drummers couldn't make it you know so,

00:14:17.577 --> 00:14:21.997
<v Speaker0>I even played one time with Frankie Lowry. You remember Frankie Lowry?

00:14:22.037 --> 00:14:22.737
<v Speaker1>I remember the name.

00:14:23.217 --> 00:14:26.737
<v Speaker0>At the Stark Club? No.

00:14:28.517 --> 00:14:33.717
<v Speaker0>Frankie, he called me up one time, and I sat in with him, and he is the filthiest,

00:14:34.217 --> 00:14:37.017
<v Speaker0>nasty-talkiest person. You don't want to know.

00:14:38.257 --> 00:14:40.097
<v Speaker0>And I said, well, I ain't doing that again.

00:14:40.717 --> 00:14:41.877
<v Speaker1>But could he play?

00:14:42.757 --> 00:14:43.917
<v Speaker0>No, he just sang.

00:14:44.337 --> 00:14:47.017
<v Speaker1>Well, that's his playing. Was he good? Yeah.

00:14:47.897 --> 00:14:51.777
<v Speaker0>It was pretty good. It's kind of like Willie Nelson, you know.

00:14:52.657 --> 00:14:53.377
<v Speaker1>Willie's okay.

00:14:54.057 --> 00:14:54.297
<v Speaker0>Yeah.

00:14:55.677 --> 00:14:59.077
<v Speaker1>So when's the last time you had a pair of drumsticks in your hand?

00:15:02.077 --> 00:15:11.437
<v Speaker0>I can't remember. But we belong to what a club called the Swing Time Club. It ain't what you think.

00:15:11.717 --> 00:15:15.617
<v Speaker1>I know. I always thought that was when I grew up and remembered that name.

00:15:15.617 --> 00:15:18.357
<v Speaker1>I always thought, I wonder what they were really doing in that club.

00:15:19.277 --> 00:15:25.357
<v Speaker0>Yeah. They said parties and everything. They had a party at the Brooklyn Field.

00:15:27.137 --> 00:15:30.957
<v Speaker0>It was at a pool there. I can't exactly remember.

00:15:31.757 --> 00:15:35.717
<v Speaker0>And they had the Atmore State Prison band there playing.

00:15:36.977 --> 00:15:40.977
<v Speaker0>And that was probably the last time I had drumstick because I played a couple

00:15:40.977 --> 00:15:43.157
<v Speaker0>of sessions with them during that.

00:15:43.157 --> 00:15:46.317
<v Speaker1>So is that the late 70s, early 80s, somewhere in there?

00:15:47.500 --> 00:15:49.080
<v Speaker0>Yeah, I would think.

00:15:49.500 --> 00:15:52.220
<v Speaker1>Well, I encourage you to get back on the kit.

00:15:55.140 --> 00:16:01.460
<v Speaker0>My shoulders and my, I can't stay up long with my arms and everything with my shoulders.

00:16:01.620 --> 00:16:05.420
<v Speaker0>I had rotator surgery and other ones bad. I need a replacement on here.

00:16:05.900 --> 00:16:08.260
<v Speaker0>So things are just wearing out.

00:16:08.420 --> 00:16:09.860
<v Speaker1>I guess that happens.

00:16:10.140 --> 00:16:12.780
<v Speaker0>One or two songs, slow songs.

00:16:13.700 --> 00:16:16.320
<v Speaker1>Yeah, you don't have to play with anybody. Just be fun to play.

00:16:16.740 --> 00:16:19.320
<v Speaker0>Yeah. what did you play.

00:16:19.320 --> 00:16:22.540
<v Speaker1>So i started playing bass was

00:16:22.540 --> 00:16:25.660
<v Speaker1>the first thing i played we went to school and my

00:16:25.660 --> 00:16:29.240
<v Speaker1>roommate's parents had divorced and his

00:16:29.240 --> 00:16:32.560
<v Speaker1>mom remarried and put all of their furniture in storage

00:16:32.560 --> 00:16:35.880
<v Speaker1>and so we went to college dad had a trailer and we went and picked everything

00:16:35.880 --> 00:16:40.300
<v Speaker1>up so everything in the house was his except my bedroom furniture and the tv

00:16:40.300 --> 00:16:45.100
<v Speaker1>went out the first summer we were there and he was playing guitar and keyboards

00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:48.200
<v Speaker1>and didn't really care about the tv so So I knew he wasn't going to fix the

00:16:48.200 --> 00:16:50.680
<v Speaker1>TV. So I asked him to teach me how to play something on the guitar.

00:16:51.680 --> 00:16:55.260
<v Speaker1>And then I asked him what we needed next. And he said a bass.

00:16:55.440 --> 00:16:58.940
<v Speaker1>And so I asked mom and dad for the bass for my birthday that year.

00:16:59.180 --> 00:17:03.800
<v Speaker1>And I don't, you know, dad went and found some, an old, cool old PV amp and

00:17:03.800 --> 00:17:08.460
<v Speaker1>a cabinet and took me to MMI music and bought my first bass.

00:17:08.620 --> 00:17:09.480
<v Speaker1>And that's how I started.

00:17:09.920 --> 00:17:09.940
<v Speaker0>Yeah.

00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:15.000
<v Speaker1>And then from there, we just, you know, you just learn stuff and play a little

00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:18.260
<v Speaker1>guitar. I keep, there's a guitar sitting there and a ukulele,

00:17:18.260 --> 00:17:22.940
<v Speaker1>and that's what I do in between meetings during the day to loosen up a little bit.

00:17:23.140 --> 00:17:27.340
<v Speaker1>So I've always been shocked that something I'm that mediocre at has brought

00:17:27.340 --> 00:17:30.780
<v Speaker1>me so much joy because I'm a complete hack and just mediocre,

00:17:30.980 --> 00:17:32.620
<v Speaker1>but I sure have fun doing it.

00:17:32.940 --> 00:17:33.120
<v Speaker0>Yeah.

00:17:34.540 --> 00:17:41.660
<v Speaker1>But I haven't played with the band since 96 or so, 97, somewhere in there.

00:17:44.161 --> 00:17:45.621
<v Speaker1>any of the kids musical

00:17:45.621 --> 00:17:52.621
<v Speaker0>Nope none of them bam's got a good voice but she she don't do nothing with it

00:17:52.621 --> 00:17:58.201
<v Speaker0>you know of course she was in the choir at mcgill and patty was too patty was

00:17:58.201 --> 00:18:01.221
<v Speaker0>too well that's something yeah so.

00:18:01.221 --> 00:18:06.061
<v Speaker1>Tell me about the kids so ashley pam and patty how how are they where are they? What are they doing?

00:18:06.841 --> 00:18:11.381
<v Speaker0>Ashley's here. She's got Nicholas, the oldest one.

00:18:12.541 --> 00:18:16.141
<v Speaker0>And then Brooke is another girl.

00:18:16.621 --> 00:18:24.241
<v Speaker0>And Nick lives in Roswell, Georgia. And he has two girls. A five-year-old and a two-year-old.

00:18:25.321 --> 00:18:30.061
<v Speaker0>And in fact, they just got back from Disney World. They was able to go there

00:18:30.061 --> 00:18:31.621
<v Speaker0>right after the hurricane.

00:18:32.641 --> 00:18:36.601
<v Speaker0>They had tickets and everything. He said, there's a little trouble getting there,

00:18:36.761 --> 00:18:37.861
<v Speaker0>you know, a lot of traffic.

00:18:38.281 --> 00:18:44.541
<v Speaker0>But I guess Disney World is self-supportive. You know, they got hotels and all kinds.

00:18:44.701 --> 00:18:46.941
<v Speaker0>I guess they got their own generators and whatever.

00:18:47.181 --> 00:18:50.041
<v Speaker0>But they was able to go there and enjoy it, you know.

00:18:50.821 --> 00:18:55.361
<v Speaker0>And then Pam, she's got three. Brianna's the oldest one.

00:18:57.361 --> 00:19:05.961
<v Speaker0>And Lane and then Jacob. I said, Brianna, she moved down here and lived with us for a while.

00:19:06.901 --> 00:19:10.841
<v Speaker0>She said, where they lived, she said, there's nothing, no way you can find a

00:19:10.841 --> 00:19:14.661
<v Speaker0>job up there. I am and I live in the part of Tennessee.

00:19:15.081 --> 00:19:20.321
<v Speaker0>It's on the Ocoee River. They live on, got a chalet on the Ocoee River.

00:19:21.221 --> 00:19:25.581
<v Speaker0>And she came down here, got a couple of little mediocre jobs,

00:19:25.581 --> 00:19:29.921
<v Speaker0>and then she went to Hostel and applied to Hostel and went to welding school.

00:19:30.121 --> 00:19:32.781
<v Speaker0>So she's welding at Hostel right now.

00:19:32.961 --> 00:19:33.461
<v Speaker1>Outstanding.

00:19:34.961 --> 00:19:43.121
<v Speaker0>And Lane, he works for FedEx for a pretty good while, and he wanted to change,

00:19:43.161 --> 00:19:44.841
<v Speaker0>so he put in an application.

00:19:44.841 --> 00:19:51.181
<v Speaker0>And he went to, I can't remember what part, but it's up towards West Virginia.

00:19:51.181 --> 00:19:55.901
<v Speaker0>and he's a manager of Hillandale's Chicken Farm.

00:19:56.381 --> 00:20:01.081
<v Speaker0>He does all the billing and all the shipping and all that stuff.

00:20:01.601 --> 00:20:07.421
<v Speaker0>And in college, he learned to speak Spanish, so they have a lot of Spanish people

00:20:07.421 --> 00:20:10.561
<v Speaker0>working there, so he's able to communicate with them pretty good.

00:20:10.601 --> 00:20:11.221
<v Speaker1>That's a skill.

00:20:11.801 --> 00:20:20.181
<v Speaker0>At that point, about it. And then the youngest one, Jacob, he works for DHL.

00:20:21.061 --> 00:20:27.201
<v Speaker0>He works for them. He's managing an office in DHL County in Martinsburg,

00:20:27.481 --> 00:20:30.681
<v Speaker0>up that way close to his old brother.

00:20:32.278 --> 00:20:37.398
<v Speaker0>And then Pam's husband, Brett, he retired. He was in the Coast Guard for 20

00:20:37.398 --> 00:20:43.618
<v Speaker0>years, and he retired from that, and he went into the kind of like the NCIS,

00:20:43.898 --> 00:20:44.938
<v Speaker0>but it's the Coast Guard.

00:20:45.838 --> 00:20:50.978
<v Speaker0>Got into that, went to school for that in Georgia, and he went to Washington,

00:20:51.118 --> 00:20:55.018
<v Speaker0>D.C., and he was in Homeland Security up there.

00:20:55.198 --> 00:21:03.518
<v Speaker0>So he retired about, oh, three or four years ago, And they moved from where

00:21:03.518 --> 00:21:08.078
<v Speaker0>they were in Hoppus Ferry, West Virginia.

00:21:08.378 --> 00:21:11.098
<v Speaker0>And they moved to Benton, Tennessee.

00:21:11.418 --> 00:21:15.178
<v Speaker0>That's where they moved. And they're right there on Ocoee River.

00:21:16.058 --> 00:21:20.518
<v Speaker0>So they get to see a lot of rafters come down the raft right there.

00:21:22.178 --> 00:21:23.258
<v Speaker1>Sounds peaceful.

00:21:23.778 --> 00:21:27.658
<v Speaker0>Yeah. It's real nice. A lot of stiffs, you know.

00:21:28.778 --> 00:21:33.538
<v Speaker0>Pam says, my knees are too bad for me. Once I get inside, I'm staying inside.

00:21:36.278 --> 00:21:39.558
<v Speaker1>All right, so that's Ashley and Pam and their groups. What about Patty?

00:21:40.398 --> 00:21:45.818
<v Speaker0>Patty, she got on and she's got a stepson.

00:21:46.258 --> 00:21:50.558
<v Speaker0>He was in the Marines. He got out in the Marines. He married.

00:21:51.678 --> 00:21:54.538
<v Speaker0>They got three kids, a girl and two boys.

00:21:56.218 --> 00:22:03.358
<v Speaker0>and he got a medical discharge. He was actually in Baghdad, Gordon-Hemisin and everything.

00:22:04.978 --> 00:22:10.158
<v Speaker0>He had rescue the women that was in Africa. I don't know if you remember that.

00:22:10.598 --> 00:22:13.398
<v Speaker0>It was hospices or something. They had to go get them.

00:22:13.838 --> 00:22:18.958
<v Speaker0>He actually got shot in Baghdad, but he had his vest on.

00:22:19.738 --> 00:22:24.798
<v Speaker0>He didn't. He had a lot of disabilities, so he got a total disability,

00:22:25.218 --> 00:22:30.238
<v Speaker0>and darn if his wife didn't go ahead and join the Army and went to boot camp,

00:22:30.598 --> 00:22:34.938
<v Speaker0>she wanted to be an air traffic controller.

00:22:35.758 --> 00:22:40.038
<v Speaker0>And so she got to go. She heard her back.

00:22:40.438 --> 00:22:44.158
<v Speaker0>But she got to go to air traffic controller school.

00:22:44.638 --> 00:22:48.638
<v Speaker0>But then she got out and she just didn't do it, you know.

00:22:49.038 --> 00:22:55.458
<v Speaker0>So they just buying a house. They just bought a house out in the country off of, out towards Wilma.

00:22:56.158 --> 00:22:58.938
<v Speaker0>Going to fix it up, a lot of farmland and stuff.

00:23:00.298 --> 00:23:05.298
<v Speaker0>And then Patty, of course, she's got a son. Gabriel is his name.

00:23:07.218 --> 00:23:10.898
<v Speaker0>And Patty works at John H. Carter.

00:23:11.198 --> 00:23:14.818
<v Speaker0>She's been there a pretty good while.

00:23:14.998 --> 00:23:19.098
<v Speaker0>She started out as calling people on the phone and stuff like that.

00:23:19.098 --> 00:23:24.958
<v Speaker0>And now she orders all the big vows and stuff for Chevron Chemical and all the

00:23:24.958 --> 00:23:26.438
<v Speaker0>different chemical plants.

00:23:26.638 --> 00:23:29.118
<v Speaker0>She does good. She's going to have a good retirement.

00:23:29.858 --> 00:23:31.718
<v Speaker1>Oh, good.

00:23:33.548 --> 00:23:38.068
<v Speaker1>You got maybe one more, two more stories about my dad and you when y'all were younger?

00:23:38.988 --> 00:23:43.128
<v Speaker0>No, like I said, we just ran around. We didn't get in trouble.

00:23:43.368 --> 00:23:49.028
<v Speaker0>I remember one time, Ford even finished I-65.

00:23:50.368 --> 00:23:52.608
<v Speaker0>And do you know where Braswell Stable is?

00:23:52.988 --> 00:23:53.888
<v Speaker1>I think so.

00:23:54.748 --> 00:23:57.928
<v Speaker0>Okay. Well, there's a bridge there, you know.

00:23:58.468 --> 00:24:05.728
<v Speaker0>And, of course, I wasn't a great swimmer. But we went down 65. It was all red clay.

00:24:06.588 --> 00:24:09.768
<v Speaker0>And I was in the comet, and we were just flying up and down there.

00:24:10.368 --> 00:24:13.888
<v Speaker0>And we stopped at the bridge, and I said, come on, let's jump in.

00:24:14.328 --> 00:24:17.428
<v Speaker0>I said, are you crazy? I said, you don't know what's down there.

00:24:17.488 --> 00:24:20.528
<v Speaker0>He said, ah. And he jumped in. He said, come on, jump in.

00:24:20.948 --> 00:24:25.908
<v Speaker0>And I was never much of a good swimmer. So my dumb ass jumped in,

00:24:25.968 --> 00:24:29.288
<v Speaker0>you know, like frozen dead.

00:24:30.628 --> 00:24:37.308
<v Speaker0>but he said it wasn't that bad was it no it wasn't that bad he.

00:24:37.308 --> 00:24:40.168
<v Speaker1>Was never never one to miss an opportunity to do something

00:24:40.168 --> 00:24:46.448
<v Speaker0>Uh no of course i remember he remember he had the bmw of course he had that

00:24:46.448 --> 00:24:54.808
<v Speaker0>old mobile first remember the 442 yeah yeah and he loved the bmws too well.

00:24:54.808 --> 00:24:59.188
<v Speaker1>He had two He had two cars that I remember before the BMW, the gray Ozenbill.

00:24:59.308 --> 00:25:02.308
<v Speaker1>He called it the gray ghost. And then he had a green Monte Carlo.

00:25:05.468 --> 00:25:06.108
<v Speaker0>He would have.

00:25:06.108 --> 00:25:12.268
<v Speaker1>Had the Monte Carlo around. We were living in Morningside Manor.

00:25:12.988 --> 00:25:15.748
<v Speaker0>Oh, I remember that. Do you remember the parachute? Yep.

00:25:16.548 --> 00:25:20.408
<v Speaker1>When he closed in the garage. Mostly I remember Mama loving the cockroaches

00:25:20.408 --> 00:25:23.248
<v Speaker1>that would find their home up there in the parachute.

00:25:24.473 --> 00:25:26.073
<v Speaker1>But I remember those two cars.

00:25:26.493 --> 00:25:29.593
<v Speaker0>But he's talking, people come to my house and go in the den,

00:25:29.793 --> 00:25:34.233
<v Speaker0>and he said, Don Lee, look at your ceiling. And it's got glitter all in it.

00:25:34.713 --> 00:25:39.953
<v Speaker0>And your daddy talked me into putting that glitter in when I added onto this house, the glitter.

00:25:40.133 --> 00:25:42.773
<v Speaker0>So it's glitter all up in the ceiling, you know.

00:25:43.533 --> 00:25:45.073
<v Speaker1>You can't hold that against me.

00:25:47.213 --> 00:25:52.533
<v Speaker0>Joe watched me drive in the theater. No, I never did go to the drive-in.

00:25:53.233 --> 00:25:57.653
<v Speaker1>Wait a minute wait a minute now that's that's for my somebody helped him cut trees down

00:25:58.353 --> 00:26:04.013
<v Speaker1>between our house because we could see the bamma drive-in screen really from

00:26:04.013 --> 00:26:07.873
<v Speaker1>our dining room and backyard and somebody helped him go back there and cut some

00:26:07.873 --> 00:26:12.373
<v Speaker1>trees down so we could see it better but i'm thinking that might have been terry nash but it

00:26:12.373 --> 00:26:13.853
<v Speaker0>Might have been it wasn't me yeah.

00:26:14.313 --> 00:26:16.633
<v Speaker1>At least you're denying it at this point they

00:26:16.633 --> 00:26:20.633
<v Speaker0>You know of course you know you and him both within the insurance business,

00:26:20.933 --> 00:26:24.113
<v Speaker0>and he sold me policies, you know.

00:26:24.453 --> 00:26:30.093
<v Speaker0>And I had a policy that was a cash value, and another one was a term.

00:26:31.793 --> 00:26:37.693
<v Speaker0>And he talked me into getting a disability rider, you know.

00:26:38.533 --> 00:26:45.333
<v Speaker0>So I said, well, okay. So in the long run, when I got hurt on the railroad,

00:26:46.173 --> 00:26:51.313
<v Speaker0>I got the disability rider and called him. He told me to call him.

00:26:51.913 --> 00:26:54.493
<v Speaker0>I didn't have to pay the premiums on none of them.

00:26:55.453 --> 00:26:58.813
<v Speaker0>So I got out of that and got a cash value. Then he told me, he said,

00:26:59.133 --> 00:27:00.393
<v Speaker0>Wayne, it's been 10 years.

00:27:01.233 --> 00:27:05.533
<v Speaker0>Call him and tell him if you convert the other one over to a cash value.

00:27:06.533 --> 00:27:11.213
<v Speaker0>And they did. So both of them were drawing cash value. You know. Beautiful.

00:27:12.833 --> 00:27:15.753
<v Speaker0>Ains gonna have a little of money when I'm gone. There you go.

00:27:16.253 --> 00:27:22.353
<v Speaker1>I'm sure it won't be anything enough to replace the love and the companionship that you provide her.

00:27:22.793 --> 00:27:23.713
<v Speaker0>Oh, probably not.

00:27:27.393 --> 00:27:31.493
<v Speaker1>All right. Well, this has been good. I really appreciate you doing this.

00:27:31.673 --> 00:27:34.353
<v Speaker1>We're trying to branch out and hear some other parts of the family.

00:27:34.713 --> 00:27:39.313
<v Speaker1>We'll get this put up soon and maybe we'll chat again or maybe Ann wants to

00:27:39.313 --> 00:27:41.673
<v Speaker1>chat and tell some more family stories.

00:27:42.353 --> 00:27:42.833
<v Speaker0>Okay.

00:27:43.273 --> 00:27:44.853
<v Speaker1>All right. Well, thank you. We appreciate it.

00:27:45.133 --> 00:27:45.773
<v Speaker0>All right, Mark.

00:27:45.840 --> 00:27:56.232
<v Music>