IMMIGRANT DAUGHTER #20

I would like to take this opportunity to tell you something about the family pets that helped raise our children. Some are humorous and this will give you a bit of a break of everything being so serious about our life.

I already told you about dogs: Debbie, Midget and MIssy. There is one more story about Missy. She was a good traveler because she just wanted to be with the kids in the back seat. Going home we had developed a habit of stopping at the end of Radio Road for a frozen custard. Mind you, we could have fixed a cone at the luncheonette before we left, but it's not the same.

Number two child always shared hers with Missy because she was an easy touch. There came a time when Missy would not just lick, but bite the custard, leaving the child with just the cone and crying. So we had to end up buying the dog her own. The people who owed the stand became friends. He drove one of the large back-hoes that dug out the lagoons and was a customer of the luncheonette.

for us at home was a Siamese cat whose name was "Satchmo" that ended up being called "Sam." The Siamese cat is an Oriental breed with short, smooth hair on a large slender light colored body with dark colored paws, ears and face and with bright green-yellow eyes. This cat was ever bit as eccentric as Siamese cats were given credit for. Our cat climbed up the drapes to get to the valance and would just wait for the dog to come by so he could pounce on her. Never a dull moment!

I finally changed the drapes for venetian blinds to keep the cat from assaulting the dog. This was before Missy. When this cat was outside, he climbed up the street lights and found out quickly the light shields were too hot from the sun. She would howl to no avail and finally got down and did not do that again! This cat was not dumb, and for the life of me, I can't remember what happened to Sam. I guess when my kids read this, they will remind me. I guess this forgetting comes on a little with age.

We dog-sat my brother's boxer, named "Baron." He was old for a dog and one day he ran into the hallway wall hitting the wallon both sides. We took him to the vet and the vet said it was a seizure and it would not bet better and that each seizure would last longer. He advised putting him down, which we did. My brother could not be reached at that time, and when we told him what happened, he said he was aware of the problem and was glad we made the decision for him.

C loved boats and the water, so we always had a boat starting with a pontoon boat that had a canopy that we put on the lake. C was always thinking of me, knowing I wasn't too sure of the water, so he was thinking of safety first, knowing if I was scared I just would not go. It was not his choice of a boat, because it was not a boat, but we did well and enjoyed the lake. One night after going to the lake we came home and, lo and behold, no Missy! We had just forgotten her at the lake while we were packing up the car. She had gone off to do her business, and we did not notice she was not in the car until we got home. So I put the kids to bed and C went back for Missy, who was patiently waiting on the pontoon.

C had a ruddy complexion that burned easily even on a cloudy day. I asked him how he survived in the Navy so long aboard ship, and he remarked, "You get used to it and do what you have to do, especially when you like the water."

When he went out he always wore a large brimmed canvas hat and covered his skin with sun shield. In fact, I still have his hat; I just couldn't part with it.

We purchased a Boston Whaler to pull behind the care that made any water available for the kids to water ski. Number three child was the best water skier. She got up in the skis the very first try. I don't have to tell you where I was: When I tried, you guessed it, in the water! I could never get up on the skis! But I loved watching. I never really cared about going that fast in the water or car.

One time when we went to the lake for the day taking food and umbrella to set up on the beach, so Missy and i could enjoy ourselves, too. When C and the kids came to shore to rest and eat, C got the bright idea to pick MIssy up and wet her. She did not like that at all! She swam to shore and came out shaking off the water, walking on the shore line and finding a place where the fishermen left some fish skin and bones. They were smelly and yuckey then she rolled in them. She came back to where we were and found C's clothes and rolled back and forth on them and got up and looked at him as if to say, "No, there!"

One Anniversary while living in Dallas, C came home with a smooth-haired fox terrier as my gift. He figured Sandy would be good company for me because by this time the kids were grown and in college. He had been given a promotion, and his had 12 men who he had to supervise. This caused him to be out of town during the week, and he thought I needed a dog. Sandy was a pedigreed dog with a name that was too long to remember, so I called her "Sandy."

In the next door house a single girl rented the upstairs, and one night she was raped and no one heard a thing, so that is why I was given Sandy. She was a great watch dog as all terriers are yappy. I worked downtown Dallas for an insurance company. I would ride the bus back and forth to work and I left Sandy in the house and she never had an accident. She must have had the largest bladder possible to hold it all day.

One time we had a thirty-foot Chris Craft that we bought that needed a lot of elbow grease to make it presentable. C had to get the engine reconditioned because that needed professional mechanical work. When we put it in Lake Texoma, it served us well. WE had many enjoyable days on it, and Sandy loved to jump off to swim when we were anchored close to shore. Sheloved to get on top of a tire tube while we were in the water. We slept on the boat many weekends, coming home tired but still looking forward to the next weekend. More about that later. Until then, I am Immigrant Daughter.