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Note: e Charles Epps. Yes I do. I went to see him at the VA Hospital here in Amarillo shortly before he died. I also attended his funeral. I liked him very much. In fact I knew him much better than Uncle Huey. About all I remember about Uncle Huey was when I was small we would go fairly often to see Aunt Nell and Uncle Huey out on the farm. I remember him being in a wheelchair - the ALS and that he could not talk. My brother also died of ALS a few years ago. I remember that your mother played in the band in high school. She played the snare drum and I would see it sitting in the corner of the house. I wanted to get hold of that drum so bad I could hardly stand it, but would never dare ask. I remember that Aunt Nell and Uncle Huey had a small wooden box that sat in the window in the kitchen. It had a piece of white muslin cloth that was kept wet and hanging over the contents on the kitchen side and I think a piece of screen wire on the outside. This was their icebox. My Dad's parents had a similiar box as did some other of my Aunts and Uncles. Aunt Nell and Uncle Huey had milk cows and whole milk was what I was served at meals. I was used to pasturized milk ice cold and just hated the tepid milk from that little icebox. I don't think I was ever at Aunt Nell's house that she and my Mom did not shell blackeyed peas. She would always shell some and snap some others and would put on a big pot to cook early in the morning. She was a wonderful cook and I cannot forget the taste of her roast beef and brown gravy, blackeyed peas, mashed potatoes, fried corn and fried yellow squash. They ate well.
They collected rain water in a cistern behind the house and I was always fascinated when I would pull the wooden top off the cistern and their was usually a frog sitting on a piece of wood about eight feet down. My job wasn't done until I dropped a few pebbles on the frog before I slid the top back on. I don't know if we drank that water or if it was just for washing. The house they lived in always seemed to be a normal size, but when I was in high school, Uncle Charles and Aunt Nell, my Mom and Dad and I drove out to the house. I was shocked at how small the house had gotten. I think it is so funny how when you grow up things that you thought were large when you were small, are suddenly tiny. On Another trip to Sudan when I was in high school, Uncle Charles said come on son, lets go get a watermelon to eat tonight after supper. We went out to one of his pastures and parked on the side of the road and walked into the field. I thought all the watermelons looked fine and I immediately found one right next to the pickup, but Uncle Charles said oh no thats not a good one. We passed up hundreds of watermelons until we were 200 or 300 yards out in the field and he said here is one. It must have weighed 75 pounds. He said put that one up on your shoulder and we'll take it home. I did not dare to say anything, but I thought I was going to die before I got that watermelon back to the pickup. He never said a word, but about two or three years later he started laughing and asked me if I remember getting that watermelon. He knew as well as I did that we had passed up hundreds of good melons just so he could get a good laugh at my expense. He was a character.
Your Cousin, Jim
Note: Well Miriam, I think I did send that last photo to you after all. I'm sure I'm driving you crazy, I know I am certainly about to go over the edge. I remembered that you asked me if I remember Uncl
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