My Slow Takes (vol. 44)

1. The photo below is one of many located at Pavel Kosenko’s blog. I was intrigued by this farmer and his family and wondered what ever became of them. Some research brought me to the following blogs:      "Somewhere Else Altogether" and "Shorpy."

The Jack Whinery family photographs are at multiple sites with many comments. The information is sparse but I did learn about the difficult times in Pie Town, New Mexico. The Pie Town Council has a website here.

"September 1940. Jack Whinery, Pie Town, New Mexico, homesteader, with his wife and the youngest of his five children in their dirt-floor dugout home. Whinery homesteaded with no cash less than a year ago and does not have much equipment; consequently he and his family farm the slow, hard way, by hand. Main window of their dugout was made from the windshield of the worn-out car which brought this family to Pie Town from West Texas. 4x5 Kodachrome transparency by Russell Lee, Farm Security Administration."  

Pavel Kosenko blog

2. We surprised my mother-in-law Lucy for her 90th birthday on Saturday evening. Dee told her we were taking her to dinner and when we showed up at the restaurant family and friends greeted her, singing happy birthday. She was surprised, overwhelmed, emotional and happy. The biggest surprise was a telephone call from her son Pat who told her to turn around and he and his wife Judy were standing behind her. 

Pat, Lucy and Dee

3. Easter Sunday was a beautiful day. We went to 9:15 Mass and I was pleased to see the large number of people who were there. Father Jim welcomed  everyone and his homily was inspiring and warmhearted. This was his first Easter week with our parish and he was thankful to be part of our family. We had our traditional Easter egg hunt with the grandchildren and enjoyed Dee's manicotti with Sunday sauce. 

4. Wednesday night Dee and I went to our son Eric’s hockey game. A while back I wrote about going to his son Justin’s game. This was a little different in that the players were much older. Eric’s team is the PogMoThoin and they played the Cougars. Both teams are in the over 35, “Grumpy Old Men’s League” of short Pump, Virginia. They have three 20 minute periods and two officials. We enjoyed watching and it was nice to see no altercations, arguments or delay of game. The players seemed to be having fun and enjoying just playing. We were treated with a great goal by Eric which he scored late in the third period. 

The games are played late at night so there are no crowds and seating is free. Family members seemed to be the only ones in attendance.

5. There was a Championship game that Justin played in last week. Dee and I missed the game but Eric provided some pictures. Justin’s team won.

Winning the Championship

6. Lions and tigers and "a scorpion?" Oh my! We have no scorpions in Richmond, Virginia but we do have other arachnids.