Louisiana emails her friend in Alaska after Anna writes her a second letter in a day.
Wednesday, the 15th of September, 2004, 5:45 p.m., C.S.T.~
Dear Anna:
You don't know how hard your letter made me laugh; in fact, I am still chuckling at the comments you made about your Uncle Hiram and also the one about my husband. But the picture I used was NOT of my husband: and besides, I am NOT married to Little Jimmy Dickens! LOL Jimmy Dickens is just a hair taller than I am; my husband is very tall! My husband is over 6 1/2' tall! (Don't you remember meeting him at the AASK picnic a few weeks ago? He was the very tall man, skinny, and good looking, the one on the crutches! My husband's name is NOT Jimmy Dickens; my husband's name is Bill! LOL) But I WILL say this: my husband DOES play guitar and sing; but he is NOT any Little Jimmy Dickens! LOL (My husband also plays the fiddle, Cajun accordion, and banjo.)
I also loved the comments you made about the grizzly bear looking like your Uncle Hiram! I laughed unitl I thought my sides were gonna' split! LOL He sure was a cutie, though (the bear); saw some bears while we were in Alaska this past April, but we knew well enough to stay away!
My daughter Ronee' HAS sung on the Grand Ole Opry, I am glad to say: she has been on there a few times, and she was very well received. We were so proud of her! We have been on the Opry too, as a family unit; and so you are writing to some stars (and you didn't even KNOW it! LOL)! I sing myself, but I mainly play music. My singin' isn't anything worth writing home about! I mainly play the pedal steel guitar (I have played pedal steel since I was 13, just after learning how to walk again; my mama's brother taught me!), the Cajun accordion (my daddy taught me that one!), and the fiddle (again, taught by my daddy!). I also play piano and organ (I learned those from my daughter, Starlight Melody; she was a very good little teacher!). My son, Johnny, has also "sung solo" on the Grand Ole Opry, and like Ronee', he was very well received; but he doesn't seem to be into music as much as is Ronee'. He loves to sing, but he has to be in the mood whereas Ronee' enjoys it all the TIME!
Most of my kids play an instrument or two (but some, like Johnny, Ronee', and Barbara--also Gemini--) play more than one. We do have a band, and we call ourselves "The Singing Sandusky Family Cajun Band", but we perform only when invited. We mainly play at country, gospel, Cajun, or bluegrass festivals, and some citywide events; but we have really never had any national exposure, nothing like Johnny or Ronee'. Both Johnny and Ronee' have performed nationwide, and they have both been on television, more than once. I am also happy to say that Johnny and Ronee' have both opened for some of the biggest and brightest stars in country music, including the likes of Alan Jackson, Reba McEntire, Ronnie Milsap, Garth Brooks, and Loretta Lynn. Some of the girls in my family also clog-dance, and they are part of a clogging team called "The Little Dixie Cloggers". They have performed at festivals too across the south, and they always have the best time, kickin' up their heels! :)
Thanks for the congrats on our books; and thanks for asking about what we write. I write inspirational and true -life stories based on what I have seen or experienced, and my daughter, Ronee', writes mainly children's or inspirational style stories. She just did her first inspirational/autobiographical book, based on her own life, and I did my first book along that vein, too, but mine is more autobiographical. It's about our family and how our family came to be, as seen through my eyes. The book I am working on now is a collection of stories that I and some of my fellow nurses have done, and I am putting them all together in one book. My husband is going to do a inspirational book about international adoption (our family's story, "Part Two", if you will! LOL), and my son, Johnny, is thinking of doing a children's book about a super hero who so happens to be physically disabled. He's been toying around with the idea, and the more he thinks about it, the more he wants to do it; so I am not going to stop him!
That would be great if you could get my kids something from Alaska. They would love you forever for it! LOL That is sweet that you and Bob want to get my kids something; you don't have to do that! We may be struggling at times with bills or money, but God somehow always provides, and we are very happy with our lives! God has been so good to us, and we are blessed to have such a caring network of friends and family! So many people aren't that fortunate, and for that, I can thank my lucky stars that we DO have a Loving God who serves us and takes care of us whenever we need it! :)
Well, dear Anna, I must go; I have to feed Jodie her "supper". About time for her tube-feeding, and then it is beddy-bye for her! The kids get up early for school (they are up by five), and I have to go to work by six; so I am up before the sun myself! The only one who really gets to sleep in is my pepere' Armand and his wife, my step-maman, Therese! Bill sometimes gets up with me, but on the days he works, he gets up and stays up, so he doesn't go back to sleep, just in case he sleeps through the alarm and is late to work! (He's only done that once, and he's never done it since.) He works from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon, sometimes as late as six, depending on how busy Wal*Mart is.
(Usually, Wal*Mart IS pretty busy, so he usually doesn't get off until 4 or so. But there HAVE been days where Bill has gotten off as late as six, like during the holiday shopping season. This is usually the norm then.)
Until later, Anna, take care, and God bless you and your lovely family always! Love you all!
~As always, your friend, Louisiana Mayrah in Tennessee. :)
P.S.: Since you put a bear on your last letter, I am putting a picture of one of Tennessee's native critters, the mockingbird, on my letter to you. They are nature's "mimickers" (they can impersonate many different birds or even cats meowing; it's hilarious!). But they are MEAN; they can divebomb you if you so as much look at them the wrong way! LOL I have been divebombed by mockingbirds before, and here I am going, "EWW, EWW, EWW! Get AWAY! Get AWAY, you nasty ole' thing!", and I am beating at 'em with my cane! LOL It's hilarious! For a lady on a cane, I can move pretty fast, especially if a nasty ol' bird is chasing after me! LOL It's really quite a sight! LOL
It's almost Christmas. Lynn Basil is writing her last book about a secret entrance into the magical doll land of Sha Bebe that she loves so much. Bagannos have taken over the world! Lynn finally meets her dolls in real life. Can she write in a Secret
Let this coming of age story of a boy named Bean take you back to a simple time. Set in a small southern town in the 1960's, encircled by a river and gleaming white cotton fields.
Wednesday, the 15th of September, 2004, 5:45 p.m., C.S.T.~
