Reddick Family Web

Nobility, Humility, Loyalty

Time warp

by

Anachronism at Paso Robles: Horse-drawn carriage at a stop

The timing of our occasional visit to Paso Robles coincided with the date of our 50th wedding anniversary. We stayed in a hotel, visited with Don and Dianne, had one dinner with Roger and Betty, drove by the Riverside Property, and visited with Jaime and Melissa. On one of the days, Katie, Madeline, and Gavin came up and we drove out to Morro Bay. We had a few moments with Ron and Nancy Johnson, who live next door to Don and Dianne.

But one unique thing about the trip that was unique brought a smile to us all. Late in the afternoon we were saying our goodbyes to Don and Dianne when a horse-drawn carriage stops at the sign where Merry Hill Road / Fresno Street intersects with 12th Street. We all smiled and waved … and then reflected on the moment. Most wonderful was that it didn’t even seem that far out of place.

A glorious celebration

by

JJ just looked great. I spent almost all of Friday, March 25 with her (it was flurrying Friday, not spring at all). I spent much of Saturday with her, Peter and Yvonne, Mike and Lynette, Sister Faith Margaret, and a few close friends before the 2 p.m. party.

Julia Jane Nehls at birthday cake with Sister Faith Margaret
Julia Jane Nehls at birthday cake with Sister Faith Margaret

During our visit, JJ gave me some photos, and I recorded almost two hours of her talking about them and the people in them. She remembers our great grandma (her “Grandma Daly”) well. She confirmed for the record Mom’s account of the 1933 trip to the World’s Fair. On that occasion, Ed and Goldie drove a ’32 Ford coupe. They picked up cousin Ruth before leaving Ohio. The girls rode in the rumble seat all the way to California where they picked up Dottie, then 15. Ruth would have been about 13, and Julia 12 in the summer of ’33.

The five of them then drove from California to Chicago, the girls in the rumble seat the entire way. Julia said, “we had a lot of fun.” When she was alive, Mom described with great relish this adventure. The morning they got to the World’s Fair, Ed lined the girls up and gave each one of them a twenty dollar bill, and said “we’ll see you right here at three this afternoon.” Then Ed and Goldie went their way, and the girls went theirs. Chicago. Three girls off on their own.

After the fair, they all went back to Ohio where many people in South Charleston remarked how much Dottie looked like Goldie. Some even mistook Mom for her aunt.

It was great to hear Julia confirm the story. She also gave me about 20-30 pages of Daly family history stuff that I hope to work on this summer.

Julia still has one dog (named “Cats”) and an assortment of feline companions.

At the end of the party Saturday, I bid my farewells, and drove back to Columbus joyous I had had time to spend with cousin Julia.

Riley breaks a leg – really!

by

Riley Daly Lane, 3, broke her right femur (thigh bone) Thursday, Oct. 16, at her home in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Riley, her sister Jenna, mother Heather and dad David rushed to an emergency facility in Moncks Corner for X-rays and triage before being taken by ambulance to the MUSC Children’s Hospital in Charleston where Riley and Heather spent the night.

Riley poses for Grandma Nancy in the park near her home.
Riley poses for Grandma Nancy in the park near her home.

Doctors were studying Friday morning whether it would be necessary to pin  the bone back together or whether a cast would be adequate to stabilize the bone. Either way, prognosis is that Riley will be immobile for about eight weeks and have to be carried everywhere she goes.

Heather said the girls were watching The Invincibles on television and got into the spirit of the video. They had stripped down to their “My Little Pony” underwear and were pretending to be superheroes. In that company, they were jumping off various parts of the sofa in the den onto pillows on the floor while mother worked in the adjoining kitchen.

Mom said she heard a “slap” and at first thought one sister had slapped the other. However, she quickly realized that slapping was out of character for these two sisters, and she said the “slap”  didn’t sound exactly like flesh on flesh. “When I heard the screams that followed, I knew something was wrong.”

Riley whooshes down a slide in the park.

The family did a last minute reassignment to get David relieved of duty on base, and then they raced to the Monck’s Corner emergency room attached to Trident Hospital. Preliminary reports indicated the fracture was complete, and that raised fears an operation and pinning would be necessary.

Friday, Dr. Hooker, whom Heather compares to her own sister Laura (soft spoken, sweet), placed a half-body cast on Riley. On her left side it extends from ankle to waist. Then it goes down to the knee on the left side.

Grandpa Randy was pondering Friday morning whether this is an example of media effects, uses and gratifications or some other mass communication theory.

Storm recovery

by

Tonight we walked more than five miles to find a decent restaurant “nearby” that was open. It is really bizarre to stand within a Graham Harrell or Mark Sanchez pass of Burger King and Pizza Hut and not be able to see either one at night. Block after block is still dark.

Tree limbs and litter lined up Monday for city pickup.
Tree limbs and litter lined up Monday for city pickup.

So we set out toward the Bellaire district about 5:30 p.m. Still dark all the way down Holcombe to where it becomes Bellaire and beyond. I knew there were plenty of restaurants down at Rice Village, and guessed that they would have electricity. So we started down Kirby. Before we got to University, we were encouraged to see that traffic lights, even though they were mostly just flashing red, were illuminated.

It was difficult to resist the temptation to jump into the first open restaurant we found. But we found several. In many cases, there were lines. Found a nice little Chinese (Hunan) place called “Cafe Chino.” Then we walked back past the old Rice Stadium to Main and then back to the hotel.

Today’s News: MD Anderson is still on an “emergency only” basis — as are most hospitals and clinics —  until Wednesday. I am not an emergency (yet). Houston Hobby Airport and Southwest were scheduled to start “limited” service today. We have decided to wait until we hear SOME thing from MD Anderson before we move along.

Three days after Ike, scenes like this were common.
Three days after Ike, scenes like this were common.

I wrote a piece for KOHM news about the aftermath of Ike. You can read it and see some of my photos here.

We got power to our room late Sunday (47 hours after we lost it) and air conditioning back late Monday afternnon. Nancy has finished reading one book (Robin Cook thing) and has started on Michener’s Alaska. It’s funny what being without TV will force you to do. Because the hotel is running on a borrowed standby generator, we don’t have TV. Don’t have ice either. That means Nancy is without two of her best creature comforts.

Downpour

by

Lubbock received 8 inches of rain on Thursday! Yes, 8 inches in one 24 hour period.  Thats a record for Lubbock, and probably doubles our total rainfall for the year.  Our rain is coming from the Pacific not Ike.

Jones-ATT reflection pool after downpour
Jones-ATT reflection pool after downpour

The city mayor and county sheriff both declared Lubbock (City and County) in a state of emergency. The school district’s superintendent then decided to cancel all classes for Friday.

It has been rainy here for the past couple of weeks, and just before school started Aiden commented, “I wish it would rain so hard that they would cancel school.”  Friday morning when I woke him up and explained the school cancelation He exclaimed, “My dream really did come true!”