19	Fall	97
PO Box 522	PAMPA, TX	79066-0522
Volume 7	of the family, by the family, for the family	Issue 2
806 669 6009	Little Brown Building | Recuperating | Busy Summer Train | On Vacation | Refrigeration? | What if!	puzzler@pan-tex.net

That Little Brown Building Driving down a road recently, I spotted an old outhouse back behind where a home used to stand. It, of course, brought back memories of being down at the farm with Grandma and Grandpa. And, I might add, those outhouse memories weren't all that great. Being a little girl back then, I would put off going down that trail to the outhouse just as long as possible, because once inside, my imagination would go crazy. I remember opening the door slowly to make sure I would be the only living thing in there. And once positioned, didn't you ever imagine that there could be something down in that bottomless pit that would reach up and grab you? Not only that, but there was a crack at the bottom of the door and anything could come crawling in. It was at that point that I was thankful that my feet didn't touch the floor. However, it was then that the thought occurred to me-just where was a person supposed to go if something did crawl in? But my worst dilemma came when I had finished my job and was more than ready to leave. How in the world do I reach for some of that paper when I have to keep both my hands on this wood to keep my body from falling into that deep hole? That was when I hollered, "Grandma-a-a-a, help Grand-ma-a-a-a!" And I always hoped she would hurry, because those Granddaddy long legged spiders were always heading down the wall in my direction. Nancy Patterson Nancy Patterson Recuperating in Amarillo I came back from vacation, happy to be home, exhausted and with an intestinal virus. The virus probably had been laying dormant or my immune system was using all it's resources battling the virus, I contracted a bacterial infection. My husband mad a wonderful mother hen. I teased him about waking me up to see if I needed anything. Pay back for waking all those patients up with jolly greetings and a smile to inform them I came from the lab to draw their blood. Bob and I are currently working on a closet. It is coming along slowly. It requires a lot of thinking, since we don't have a blueprint for it. But, he needed somewhere other than a door knob to hang his clothes, ha. He does excellent work, but he measures from every direction and when something is off, he wants to dismantle the whole thing and start again. This old house has settled in fourteen directions, so nothing is square or plumb. A weekend project has stretched into several week ends. We do most of our projects as a joint effort and for the most part, we have fun with them. Sometimes, we don't get a whole lot done. When building something, he studies the design, uses templates and cuts each piece to fit, puts it up, measures and cuts the next piece, etc. I don't have that much patience. I plan, layout, measure and cut the whole thing out, then put it together and hope for the best. Of course his work looks much better than mine. I have so many projects in mind, Bob stays in tither. He seems impressed with all the "good" ideas I come up with. He just can't do them as fast as I can think of them. But, alas, the pocket book can't handle them that quickly either. I have something else to hang on the wall. I received an award at work recently. It was actually dated July, 1997. We had "Employee Appreciation Day" a few days ago with our supervisors performing duties at the grills and serving lines at a cook out on the front lawn of the hospital. Many of us received awards of some type or another. The interns are monitored by qualified M.D.'s, but the hands-on experiences of the support staff assists with their education, also. I was commended recently for demonstrating aseptic techniques for the observing interns. I was drawing blood for cultures, and it quickly became apparent that one of the interns was going to question the why's of every step of the procedure, so I began explaining what I was doing and why as I done it. In the department, I got a letter of appreciation for being a consistently dependable, hard working and valuable employee. This accompanied the notification that the Laboratory Director had okayed an annual pay raise. And some of my suggestions were used in the recent renovation remodeling project. I got the general lay-out and window that I wanted. I have spent a lot of money on shoes, trying to find the support I needed to help alleviate my foot pain. Then one day, as I was vacuuming the vinyl floors and nooks and crannies, I dropped the wand across the top of the foot that was hurting so bad, right on the place where it hurt the worst. I saw stars mixed with black spots. It hurt so badly, I could hardly breath. The pain gradually subsided and a short time later, I suddenly realized it was no longer hurting-at all! The only logical explanation I can think of is that one of those little foot bones was out of joint and when that wand hit it, it knocked it out of place. It hasn't hurt like that since then. Another sign that God takes care of people that are too stupid or hard headed to take care of themselves. He certainly knows how to get ones attention. I thank Him for his persistence. I can remember when my foot first began hurting so badly. I had been working off a ladder quite a lot and remember wondering if this was how "fallen arches" occurred. I got a card from Virginia recently with a picture that looked so much like a baby red Gretchen, I had to go awaken her from her nap and give her a hug. Speaking of Gretchen, her introduction to "the" cat was hilarious. She always loved cats - as long as they ran and she could chase them. And then came Sam, weighing in at about 25 pounds and as big as 3 normal cats. Well, Gretchen gave Sam several opportunities to run. He didn't seem to get the message so she was going to give him a nudge (after sniffing carefully to make sure he really was a cat). Just as she made her move, he looked at her and gave her a baritone "yeow?" Her reflexes are lightening fast and she's quite vocal. On her second "yip" she was already behind me then realized she hadn't even been touched. Now, she enjoys napping with Sam, if no one is watching. Monta Holderman Busy Summer Lindy and Curt are doing well. I saw them a week ago. Lindy started staying with a 93 year old lady 7 days on, then 7 days off. It's not really hard work, but very confining. She thought 1 week at a time would be okay, but 2 weeks straight would be too much. Curt is working for a pipeline company based out of Elk City, OK and likes his job really well. Tessa finally got her drivers license about a month ago and we're all excited about that. The Dr. said she had that carpal tunnel problem with both her wrists. It won't do any good to fix her wrists, however, until she changes jobs, so Tessa is trying to decide what to do. Sissy, Herb and Connor are trying to adjust to school starting back. up Herb works for Federal Express and has been extremely busy since the UPS strike. Sissy is taking Connor to a day care center this year. That has been hard, because most days, they were up recently, Sissy had a cold and Connor was trying to cut some teeth, but we enjoyed having them immensely. Ben, Janna and Genna moved to Moore OK in July. It's never fun to move, but it was good to visit with them for a couple of days. Ben has his same job, Janna became a manager for Hobby Lobby and Genna likes her new school. Richie and Judy just recently returned from a trip to New Mexico. Judy also stays with an elderly lady and had taken the lady to New Mexico for a few weeks. Richie met her up there and they vacationed for about a week before returning home. Their kids and grandkids are all doing good. Chandler is 19 months old now and is really blowing and going. Baylee is 4 months old, weighs 17 pounds and is really tall for her age. Jerry and Teresa hosted a surprise 16th birthday party for Chandra on August 23rd in their back yard. She had a big party and everyone had a great time. They had enjoyed their trip to Idaho for T.J. and Virginia's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party so very much. They think now that they need a travel trailer for those long trips. Then on August 28th, Jerry and Teresa got remarried and took a trip to New Mexico, so they have had a very eventful summer. My little family is doing well also. Randal and I have been on a low fat, low cholesterol diet for a few weeks at the suggestion of our doctor. Randal has cut down his portions as well. He and his dad have been busy getting Randal's 1938 Farm-All tractor running for an Antique Tractor Show later in September. Heather was blessed with a promotion in her job in August. She will stay in Austin for now. Rhett is still working 2 jobs and just began his final year at WTAMU in Canyon. I think I have survived the beginning of school woes of a school secretary. People keep saying next year will be easier. I sure hope they are right. We've heard from Amy a couple of times this summer. She drives a feed truck and takes care of the baby calves at the feed lot where her boyfriend Monty is the manager in Kansas. They work long hours but like it much better than they did in Hereford. Hope everyone of you have an enjoyable fall season. Please take care. Love, Nancy The Train! I was cruising down the road the other day when I met a coal train. I noted that I was going 75 mph and timed how long it took to get from the front of the train to the back. After a minute I had traveled the full length of the train. I turned around and tried the same experiment (same velocity) and found it takes four times as long. How long was the train and how fast was it going? (Hint: assume the train had a constant velocity) Answers to appear in the next issue provided I don't forget, however, you could write or call to find out or ask if you got it right. On Vacation There is not as much exciting news from Idaho in this edition the Watts Family Newsletter as there was in the last issue. We have had a very good summer, lots of company, a prolific garden and lots of pretty flowers. The last of our company was in August when we had our niece (on the Patterson side of the family) Vickie Nelson and her husband, Larry, from Wheeler. Shannon and Kenneth and Barbara and Dennis really showed them lots of our part of the country. They spent a very long day in Yellowstone Park, a day in Jackson Hole and another day visiting a nuclear reactor at the A.E.C. Site then on to the Craters of Moon National Park. Larry and Vickie really enjoyed themselves while they were here and our whole family enjoyed them very much. Shannon is doing well and almost into her sixth month of pregnancy. That kid will be spoiled rotten with four grandparents and three great grandparents all living in the vicinity. Instead of rocking horse to ride it has a rocking bull! Black Angus, of course. We will know in a few days if it will be a cowboy or cowgirl! Kenneth is already playing the role of a proud daddy. Barbara and Dennis have finally slowed down long enough to enjoy the rest of the summer after having been so busy in the spring helping Kenneth and Shannon get settled in their new home, preparations for Dennis' niece's wedding in Klamath Falls, OR on June 21st and all they (Shannon, Kenneth and Roger) did for our 50th Wedding Anniversary party on June 28th. They attended a Norwood family reunion in Northern Idaho the end of July. Roger is fine - is flying international trips out of Chicago now instead of New York. Mostly he goes to Anchorage, Mexico City, Germany, France and England and sometimes to South America. He will be on vacation the rest of this month and into October. We plan to visit him for a few days in early October. Hopefully, he will send an article to the newsletter on his travels in the near future. Associate Editor, Virginia Patterson Refrigeration? While we lived on the "Davis" ranch around the late 30's and early forties and before refrigerators and freezer's were around, dad would salt down a hog in the late fall and butcher a beef. The beef would hang in a shed and mom would slice off what she needed each day. When spring rolled around, the beef, if any was left, would spoil in the warmer weather and the salt pork would turn rancid. A few old setting hens would provide fryers later but there would be plenty of meatless meals in between. However on Sundays for dinner dad would bring in a young jackrabbit. Now here is the kicker. He didn't own a 22 rifle and shot gun shells cost a nickel each. so expensive that the shotgun was used only for a coyote that came too close or a skunk in the hen house. Anyway, he would walk quietly through the pasture until he spotted a rabbit young enough that he could out run and catch it. One Sunday morning, late spring, the young rabbits were faster than he was. He managed to catch one though and when he got home he announced that he wouldn't chase another rabbit even if we all went hungry. I think that for Christmas, the older boys received a 22 rifle, single shot bolt action that stayed in the family many years. Also it provided the rabbits in the early spring for a number of years. Kenny Dale What if! I was just thinking the other day. What if the family insured themselves for their automobiles. Imagine if you will cruising down the highway in your jalopy when you notice red & blue lights flashing in your rear view mirror. You proceed to pull over, set your hazards flashing, put it in park, roll down your window and have the following conversation with the officer now walking up to your side. You: "What seems to be the problem officer?" Officer: "I clocked ya doin' 75 here in a 65 mph zone! I'll need to see your driver's license." You hand him your driver's license. "I'll also need to know who your Insurance Company is." You: "Watts Insurance!" Officer: "Are you trying to be funny mister?" You: "No sir, honest, Watts Insurance!" Officer: "Insurance is protection for when you get into an accident, heaven forbid. It also happens to be mandatory in these here parts." You: "Well officer, I know what insurance is. Here are my insurance papers and please note the company's name is 'Watts Insurance'." Officer: "Well why didn't you say so?" On second thought, maybe we better not suffer countless Highway Patrolmen and women from such confusion. Folks driving by would surely be curious why an officer of the law has a puzzled look on his or her face. Roy A Watts

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