Who was Jesse?....a poor boy...who grew up to be....

The Chicken Plucker (great story)



A DREAMER AND HIS DREAM



Let me tell you, Jesse hated this job. And you would too, I imagine, if you had to do it. Jesse was a chicken plucker. That's right.

He stood on a line in a chicken factory and spent his days pulling the feathers off dead chickens so the rest of us wouldn't have to. It wasn't much of a job.



But at the time, Jesse didn't think he was much of a person.

His father was a brute of a man.

His dad was actually thought to be mentally ill

and treated Jesse rough all of his life.



Jesse's older brother wasn't much better.

He was always picking on Jesse and beating him up.

Yes, Jesse grew up in a very rough home in West Virginia .

Life was anything but easy.And he thought life didn't hold much hope for him.



That's why he was standing in this chicken line, doing a job that darn few people wanted. In addition to all the rough treatment at home, it seems that Jesse was always sick. Sometimes it was real physical illness, but way too often it was all in his head. He was a small child, skinny and meek.

That sure didn't help the situation any.



When he started to school, he was the object of every bully on the

playground. He was a hypochondriac of the first order.

For Jesse, tomorrow was not always something to be looked forward to.



But, he had dreams.



He wanted to be a ventriloquist.

He found books on ventriloquism.

He practiced with sock puppets and saved his hard earned dollars until he could get a real ventriloquist dummy.



When he got old enough, he joined the military.

And even though many of his hypochondriac symptoms persisted, the military did recognize his talents and put him in the entertainment corp.

That was when his world changed.



He gained confidence.

He found that he had a talent for making people laugh, and laugh so hard they often had tears in their eyes.

Yes, little Jesse had found himself.



You know, folks, the history books are full of people who overcame a handicap to go on and make a success of themselves, but Jesse is one of the few I know of who didn't overcome it.

Instead he used his paranoia to make a million dollars, and become one of the best-loved characters of all time in doing it!



Yes, that little paranoid hypochondriac, who transferred his nervousness into a successful career, still holds the record for the most Emmys given in a single category.



The wonderful, gifted, talented, and nervous comedian who brought us Barney Fife



was



Jesse Don Knotts.



NOW YOU KNOW, "THE REST OF THE STORY"

If I had a Grandmother....................

There is nothing in the world more precious than the heart of a child. The purity of innocents as new and fresh white snow mixed with the determination of a strong carnal will, packaged with more energy in their little finger then a grandparent has in their whole body. Oh, to be able to bottle that stuff up to sale! Yet how very rich a grandparent already is even without the bottles. I am a grandmother, someone to make the memories, someone who bakes cookies and shares candy when no one is looking. Etched in my mind the visions of what a grandmother would have been if I had shared that experience as a child. A place to go where Christmas Trees "could be lit" all year long and candy canes flow everywhere. A happy place of sweet smells liked homemade bread, baked gingerbread and cinnamon rolls. Toy trucks and dolls stuffed inside the Christmas tree, toy trains on the tables and visions of glass candy jars with lids which made no noise. Maybe just a picture of my grandmother's kisses if I would have had one. I am a grandmother and in many sense of the word, another mother one who teaches and reads to the sweet innocent children that looks up to me. I don’t look down at them; I get down on one knee and look into their eyes. Things look different from their level; a sea of knees is what they see. I plan my legacy ahead of time while am able to see their faces and enthusiastic wide eyes of wonder. Yes my home is a Toyland, starting in November through January. With musical toys that move and sing all at knee high level, gum drops and canes fill the rooms. Toy trains and candy cane ribbons adorn the extra big table that even a child can sit at. I set out the good china and silverware everyone has a placemat with their name. The house turns into a magical place for children of all ages for I think I am the biggest one of all. And the saddest one too, the day everything goes back into the boxes for it’s my favorite time of year. I would keep each room of the house decorated with the innocents of children all year long just because I love the way it make me feel to see those faces which grow every year. If I would have a grandmother I hope she would have been one like I have imagined. For we come into this world naked dressed in innocent and it is that way we will leave for you can’t take your wealth and worldly goods with you. You only need the heart of a child and the faith that goes with it.

Building memories that last for a lifetime..................

Building memories that last for a lifetime is a very important part of a childhood experience. As grandparents, we have chosen to take this part seriously and every year since our youngest grandsons have been born, we have dragged them off heading for the yearly Tractor Show. This means a breakfast out where can order anything thing they want (as long as they can eat it). Then trip down memory lane to see hundreds of old tractors and learn how these were a very important part of America’s history. From cutting wood to chucking corn, these wonderful machines are on display for one weekend a year. Steam engines that run with wood/coal burning stoves and though big as trains, they creep around the tractor show for hours giving rides and educating the public on years past.

God bless America land that I love.....

Let's take the time we use to pour that extra cup of coffee and pause....Let's remember those that are no longer with us due 911 so many years ago. The mommies and daddies that never made it home from work that day. The children that have been without the kisses and hugs from those loved ones. The city that forever changed the world that will never be the same.

I have spent the better part of my life devoted to ....

I have spent the better part of my life devoted to securing a safe and natural environment of many children. It was through my own personal memories of unpleasant daycare experiences that I was able to drawback from. A first hand understanding of what it was like in someone else’s home unwanted personally but wanted financially. As a dollar bill in a wallet, I was in the care of a barefooted-stout woman with children of her own. Ironing other people’s clothes for coins, she would stand by the window overlooking the back yard where I spent most of the time. There was a large black belt hanging near the window where she stood. Though I do not remember her using it, there was a reason for its presence. As my mother would drive away early in the morning, I was placed outside while her children eat a warm breakfast inside. They did not have to be outside in the cold that early in the day. At lunchtime her children eat something different then “babysitting kids” for we received peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with water every day for lunch. It all does not sound like must now but I remembered ever moment of those few days I was in her care. She may not have been a bad person but I remember a question asked by my mother, “Well, what do you think”? In front of her, what was I to say? I did not know what to say, maybe if she had asked me that in private after the interview I would have told her what I really thought. As children, I believe that a lot of times, they will tell us what they think we want to hear and too afraid to say how they feel. I know there is a need out there for the working mother, put in a position to find someone to care for her children. Wisdom comes from the aged and the experienced. I hope this new blog serves as a tool as I continue to update material

Love is a gift one can share with each other. It can be in the form of a smile or a kind word even a cookie right out of the oven to a little child. Their little minds work differently then grown ups. It is the things they "don't remember" that will count later. Like the fights that they didn't have to listen too. The fear that was not there, when they find out what it is. They are at an age where we the grown ups can make a difference in a child's life and change who they may turn out to be. We are the ones that make that difference. Each child is a gift and it may not be your child but they are still a gift from God and they should be treated as such. Don't make bad memories. I can remember being very young and while the baby sitter's children where inside eating a warm meal we were outside when our momma drove away. peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with water everyday...while her children ate something different. I remember that and bringing my own lunch from home and having to set in another room to eat alone because of it. It took me 4o years to enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwiches ....That's the kind of babysitter I was not going to be...I was going to be the mother away form mother...the other mother and so I was.

Simple tips for interviewing a child care provider.............

So how do you know it's the right home for your child? Well coming from someone who knows....follow these simple tips. #1 Interview: Very important....not only are you interviewing her..but she is interviewing you, at least she should be. She needs to see if your child will fit in with "her family" or is all about the money?
Look around the house...is it neat or "too clean"...that's a red flag...and you should ask or wonder why. What I mean by "too clean" is this...... is there toys about the house? Evidence that children live there or stay there. If there is no evidence of children living there..then you need to re-think some things regrading your interview....where will your child be kept when your away?  You can't have white carpet and watch children in your home...unless you have rules.. find out what those rules are. As a childcare provider for many years take my word for it...at the end of a long day...who puts all that equipment away? We don't! We clean it, ..stack it, move it but we don't remove it. If a home is in order, clean and homey that's great..it should be. If she can handle all those children and keep a clean and orderly home...she's a hard worker. #2 Is her heart into it? You know  there are some people who are teachers..."for a living"..and they shouldn't be..because they don't even like kids, much less the time it takes to teach them. It's all about the money....the paycheck....and honestly your child is "the money" to some. Make sure you watch the first impression she has with your child, even a baby. Does she get on their eye level to speak to them? Does she talk "to" them or "at" them? You want the "other mother"....someone who will love your child and treat your child the same as her own while your away. Any thing less is unacceptable. #3 and #4  coming up soon.....