The Rock Wall

In case you didn’t notice, the sons or the two big bosses at the elevator died within about a week of each other. When Dad started to work there when he was 19, the No. 1 boss was Bill Jackson. His son, JT died last week.

No. 2 boss was George Barker. His son, Brent died Sept. 2.

He was 86, the other was 76, JI’s son-in-law, Jerome Sally, spoke at his graveside service Kimball tended. He said they heard that JT had fallen but he couldn’t get much information over the phone so he drove to El Dorado Springs from Kansas City. He saw JT walking own the street. He told JT “We heard you fell.” Typical JT said, “Yes, but I got back up.”

We made it to the Miller/Boultinghouse reunion Sunday. Good crowd. Cousin Charles, No 2 in the Boultinghouse clan, helped get me out of the car, onto my walker and into the dinning room. I waited for Kimball to fill my plate. She knows what I can and will eat.

I got to talk to Cousin Bill for the fist time since his stroke several years ago. I asked his middle name. For some reason I thought it was Billy William. Nope. It is Billy Russell. Makes sense. His dad was Uncle Russell.

Didn’t have any trouble with the name of his baby sister, who is a year older than me. She was named after Uncle Russell’s sister, Murnith, and Aunt Reba’s sister, my mom, June. That’s why when I got to the door of the dining room, I hollered, “Hi, Murnith June.” She’s the youngest of five and still a year older than me.

The fairly new great-grandson Don and Karen Boultinghouse wanted to see so bad was running everywhere using styrofoam coolers as drums.

The crew was good to come by and speak to me since I wasn’t mobile. I couldn’t tell you all their names but I knew they were family.

Some years it has been cooler on the third Sunday in September and the boys got a football game going. Either they are getting older and smarter. Or the heat had something to do with it. Once Mom and Dad, Margaret and I were at the Ingram home in Louisburg, Murnie, Margaret and I were running and playing. I couldn’t understand why Murnie’s older brothers, Stan and Jerry, were more interested in taking naps after lunch. Now I know. Also, Murnie and I got sent away from the table for laughing. We came back, sat down, took one look at each other and got up and left. Nuthin’s that funny any more.

It was good to see the family Sunday.

One year, we forgot to go to the reunion. Be sure to remind me next year. If you’ll jog my memory right after the first of the year, I’ll put it on my calendar.

I lost an email about a cure for tinnitus. If you have it or get it, please send it to me. I went to order some of the pills and my computer ate it. It’s run quieter ever since. KL