Friday, July 31, 2009

One more

One last family tidbit, then I think I'll move on to something else before I get depressed. I'll do the family cemetery post around Halloween- totally appropriate.

I was reading Muddy Water's post about her dad and it reminded me of Uncle Gem (yes, I spelled his name correctly)

Uncle Gem moved to Tennessee to work on the atomic bomb. I am assuming he worked in some kind of assembly type of plant. None of us know what he did exactly; he wasn't allowed to say. Before he died it must have weighed heavily on him soul because he often tried to justify it- 'Had to get them 'fore they got us.' He say that over and over. Then he'd say the bomb was a terrible thing, lots of people died.

Every time we asked him what he did, Gem would say, 'Can't ye!' And we'd say 'But it's over now.'

Gem would lean in close and whisper 'It's never over.'

A Little Clarification

I thought I should clarify a few points-

My father's last name is not Hall. My grandmother was a Hall before she married.

My great-grandfather had three wives and children by each wife. My grandmother was the oldest. PLEASE do not ask me to name the rest. I don't even know how many children there were or who belongs to which wife. The Halls make no distinction between half, step, and bastard siblings.

My mother is the youngest of five. Her father is one of 13 children. My mother has 81 first cousins. Again, don't ask me to name them. Almost all married, had kids, and a few repeated the process often.

My mother's siblings are
Francis who married Tommy. Tommy used to be married to my cousin Bernice. Tommy's brother was married to Bernice's sister Dorothy. I'm not listing their children because that comes to Bernice's two, Francis' three and three of the five married and had kids. Again, the Newsome family makes no distinction between birth mothers and step-mothers.

Shirley who never married, has no children and still lives in the same house she was born in.

Fay is married to Yogi and they have two children, Susan and Rebecca. Susan is on her second husband and has no children. Rebecca is also on her second husband and has two children, one by each man.

Roland first married a woman who cheated on him. They divorced and she must have dropped off the planet b/c no one ever mentioned her again. Roland then married Beverley, who is a total bitch, but I think she was truly devoted to him. They have four children, Chris, who committed suicide in 2000, Todd, married to the bitch Christy, Kim who used to be married to Shane, and Brooke. I don't know if Brooke married or not. I don't know if any of Roland's children made him a grandpa.

My mother is Sue and she is married to Jack. I grew up in the house that Jack built. I am an only child. I have never been married, and I have no children.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

The Real FreeDragon

* I simply cannot write a post about my identity (or lack thereof) without using real names. I'm going to try to avoid using last names and my real name. All the people in this post are real. All events are real. I trust no one wants to invade my privacy.

My uncle died a week ago. The funeral was last Wednesday. My mother does not get along with her family. I don't know why. I think mainly it is a case of jealous self-centered people trying to one-up each other and as none of them can ever let anything go things got way out of hand. I'm not sure this mess is fixable.

My mother debated going to the funeral. Her brother had a stroke and lived for a few days in the hospital before dying (this is also the same way my grandfather died) She did not go to the hospital. My mother is annoyed with the only sister she is on speaking terms with for not giving regular updates. My father asked Mom, did you ask Fay how he was doing? And she said, I shouldn't have to ask!

I'm not going to get into that debate. I think both Mom and Fay could be a little more considerate of each other. But I digress. On to the funeral.

As Mom didn't get to set things right with her brother before he died, she decided she should go to the funeral. But once she got there, Christy, Uncle Roland's daughter-in-law, asked Mom to leave!

I didn't witness this event. Dad told me about when he picked me up for the Hall Family Reunion (more on this in a minute, it ties together, I promise)

As the story goes, Christy asked Mom to leave so Mom went to Carmen's house which is next door to the cemetery (and it's a small, private, family cemetery. We have rules. I should write another post about it. I've got a lot of blog fodder all of a sudden) At some point, either during the service or soon after before the mourners left, my father's friend Calvin walked over. He has a business nearby and he knew my uncle and he knows Dad, so he wanted to pay his respects. Before he got settled into a chair he had heard the story of Sue getting kicked out of her brother's funeral.

I really think it was a terrible thing for Christy to do. First, it wasn't her place. Now if my uncle's wife, Beverly had asked Mom to leave, it still would have been in poor taste, but I think Beverly would have more of a right. Even if Beverly was sitting under the tent saying, GOD! Why is she here?! I still don't think Christy should have said anything. Also, Mom has never done anything to the girl, nor has she ever said a word against her. I wouldn't know Christy if I saw her on the street. I think I briefly glimpsed her ten years ago before she married Todd.

Also, it think it was so horrible, so trashy, so low class because funerals are for the living. The dead does not care what the above ground folks are doing. The funeral is so the living can have closure. Part of why I took AJ's death so hard is I did not attend a funeral. There was nothing to cement in my mind that she was gone. Sometimes I still forget and I think about calling her. We attend funerals so that we can close the door. Honoring the dead person is secondary. It's a close second, but believe me, the living come first.

I suppose you are wondering where I was. I was ignorant of it all. Mom did call and tell me Roland had a stroke and that he was at St Francis, but she didn't call to tell me he died, to ask me if I wanted to attend the funeral, or to tell me what that bitch Christy said. I sent both my mom and Aunt Fay sympathy cards. I haven't heard from either one. Yep, this is a strange bunch.

So I learned everything after the fact, nearly a week later. Dad took me to New Site for the reunion. Mom never attends. Long, long time ago, like before I was old enough to go to school, my parents had a fight. Dad wouldn't go to Granny's house for Christmas. Since all the Christmases I remember were at Francis's and Tommy's house, this must have been long ago indeed. Mom said that if Dad didn't go to her mother's house she would never go to a Christmas at his mother's house, or a reunion, or party either. And she hasn't. Can we say stubborn?

Anyway, up to New Site we go. It's a long ride because there are no straight roads in Tallapoosa County. I mean none. It's a small place but you'll spend an hour getting there. This is my second reunion. I don't really know this family either, not because we don't get along, but because I just wasn't around them growing up. Dad mainly hung around his cousin Joe who was his best friend. Joe's daughter Kathy was close to my age. Everyone else was either too old or too young to play with. Joe kept the family informed of Dad's doings and since we're all spread out across the state, I rarely saw anybody.

This means I am unknown. A few people know me, Kathy, her sister Pasty, and their mother Leola, of course. Vicky remembers me after awhile. Mark Allen thinks he knows me, but he has me confused with someone else. He'll say something that makes no sense to me and I'll say, I'm Jack's daughter. Then Mark Allen laughs, remembers me and refuses to say who he thought I was.

My dad is perhaps the easiest person on earth to get along with. Everybody likes Jack. So at the Hall family reunion, by default, everybody likes me. My relatives are actually glad to meet me. I am famous simply for being the child of a good man.

The Newsome Family Reunion is a lesson in Cold Shoulder. Nobody knows me there either. Usually I see someone eye balling me. I look like Roland's daughters, but he only has two, so clearly I'm not his child. I'm too young to belong to Fay or Francis. Shirley doesn't have children. I see the wheels turning and I know they've gone down every branch, listed every cousin, and I don't match up with anybody. Finally they'll say, Are you kin?
'Yes, I am Roland and Dessie's granddaughter.'
'Who's you're mother?'
'Sue.'
'Who?'
'Glenda Sue. My father is Jack. We live in Salem. My mother is the baby of the family.'
'Oh. You're that one. She named you after her father and and brother, right?'
'Yes.'
There ensures an awkward silence in which my poor cousin tries to figure out how to get away from me before I give them Sue cooties or something and I try to figure out which cousin hates my guts on sight. Sometimes they just walk off. Sometimes they mutter something about eating, or checking on a child but whatever excuse they use, they make a beeline for their family and in a few minutes an entire table of strangers are staring at me. I quit going to the Newsome family reunion when I was in junior high school.

I felt greatly disoriented when I finally got back home after the Hall family reunion. I've moved back to my father's family's home and I didn't even know it. My cousins are all around me. Dad must have pointed out two dozen houses. 'The Prices lived there.' 'Used to fish here.' 'Pap lived here.' 'Mom's best friend lived right here.' 'You know Ponder's Plant Farm? They got started right here. Family still owns the place. I went to school with the oldest boy.' And on and on. I feel like I belong, but I've never seen it before. It's like being adopted and after you're grown up someone is nice enough to point out where you were born. Maybe they throw in a tidbit about knowing your birth mom. It's nice to know but does knowing change the way you grew up?

Likewise, does cutting off family that despises you make you mean? Or am I better off for not being in the middle of that mess? I grew up around my mother's family. What could a child possibly have done to be so disliked? Can I be forgiven for it? If I am does that hurt my mother? What if she is not forgiven, too? Then what? Do I reject family love in favor of motherly love?

There's something inherently wrong in being named after people who don't like you. It makes your very existence a bone of contention with them. When my grandfather had his stroke I was 22. I sat beside his hospital bed because I thought I ought to. He twisted around and made strange noises. I grabbed his hand. His hand was not at all like I expected. It was rough. He calmed down a bit, so I held his hand then realized with shock it was the only time in my life I had ever done so. Since I didn't go to the hospital when my uncle had his stroke I don't know what his hand is like. I don't know if that is vital information or not.

I really don't know who I am. I can't be daughter of Jack but not Sue. I was trying to explain this Kevin. I really wasn't doing a good job. This isn't easy. I don't have words for some of it. Finally Kev kissed my forehead and said, You're my girl.

That might be enough.

Friday, July 17, 2009

It Really Does Work

I started being happy about Rhino's departure on a Monday. She came in rather late and left early. She did the same thing on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Thursday her computer crashed so she got mad and left. She was out Friday, as well as the following Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. She came back on Friday and I barely saw her. In fact, it is almost as if she disappeared. I hardly ever see her. I rarely hear her now. Before her annoying screech of discontent drifted upstairs and through my closed office door. Now I can forget about her for long stretches of time. The accountants are circling her cleaning supplies, counting, counting, recounting...something is not adding up! Even Kevin has noticed a difference- he says Rhino tries to stay away from him. Before she would coming barrelling down the hall mowing down anyone fool enough to be in her way. When they happened to meet near the Break Room she stood back and let him pass. Amazing. Her husband has been strangely absent as well. Each time I walk past her I smile. I feel light. She glares at me like my very existence bothers her. I smile more. Think positive thoughts!

Monday, July 6, 2009

Red Rhino

About three years the company I work for experienced a hostile take-over by the Missouri Mafia. Of course, it wasn't really, that's just what we have come to call it.

Our VP wanted a promotion. To achieve this he split his job in half and made a position for a VP of Production and a VP of Sales. He became Sales. He hired a man I'm going to call Ubu to be VP of Production.

Ubu made all kinds of promises- he could get the scrap down to 2%. He could raise profits. He could do this and he could to that- and he could do it all in 2 years.

As soon as Ubu was hired he hired his wife, his best friend, the best friend's wife, and ten more people. We were not hiring at the time. Ubu simply brought in a whole crew of people from his old job in Missouri and gave them paychecks.

Now some of these people are alright. They just wanted better paying jobs and more affordable housing. I don't have problems with ALL of them, just the best friend (who's on drugs) and Ubu's wife.

We call Ubu's wife Red Rhino. She is a rather obese woman. I'll admit she's lost some weight- now she can fit through the door like a normal person. She has a horrid shade of red hair, some henna concoction gone very bad.

The job Ubu gave her was customer liaison. Red Rhino took one look at the paperwork involved, pawned the grunt work off on a temp, and then declared herself Head of Housekeeping.

Red Rhino averages spending $5,000 per week. She buys a staggering amount of 409. She buys light bulbs. She bought toolboxes for the pill-poppin' BF and then bought all the tools to go in it. She got motivational posters for our hallways and bathrooms. She had a table specially made to replace a perfectly good table just because she didn't like the way it looked. Red Rhino is pushy, rude, bossy, and now she's after my job.

Nearly a year ago I was fed-up with my job. I asked Ubu if there was anything else in the plant that I could do. I wasn't aware of it at the time, but Ubu went in the morning production meeting and made fun of me for asking for a promotion. However, it worked out good for me b/c if Ubu hadn't been an ass word of my discontent wouldn't have reached the ears of Fierce Leader.

What Fierce Leader didn't know was Ubu intended to put Red Rhino in that position b/c she wanted it. She too dumb to keep her personal checkbook balanced, but she wanted the job so her husband decided it would be OK for her to manage a million dollar inventory.

After Fierce Leader hired me Ubu conspired with my old boss to keep me in my sucky job. They deliberately didn't hire my replacement b/c part of the deal was I would train the new person before I left. They delayed me by a week.

Next the BF took to hiding parts and keys and supplies. I managed to find everything. He often tells me to order parts that don't exist or he gives me the wrong part number. I printed out all the emails and give them to my boss so Fierce Leader would know it wasn't my fault. A word of advice here- when you are trying to screw someone over DON'T WRITE ANYTHING DOWN! It can and will be used as evidence later.

Now Red Rhino has grown impatient and since I just won't do anything that could get me fired, she's making up lies about me.

She's told Fierce Leader that I take too many breaks. (The cameras have proved otherwise.) She said I stole things from her office ( I was out the day she said I did it.) Then she said I over-ordered cleaning supplies (The purchase orders show there's only one fool ordering cleaning supplies and her initials are RR)

I've tried banishing the woman in the past but nothing really worked. So I completely rearranged my thinking on the subject. I decided to believe Red Rhino is leaving. I didn't try to figure out where she is going or why, I just believe she's leaving for good. I am very happy about this. Every time I see her I think, She's leaving soon. Then I smile. I feel good for the rest of the day. This is the power of positive thought. And it's working. Ever since I started this experiment Red Rhino has left work by 11am.

Think good thoughts and good things will happen!