Lenora's Stroke

Lenora suffered a stroke Tuesday, July 7. As I understand it she and Wayne were eating and he noticed that she was not handling her food well. He realized that she may be having a stroke and rushed her to the hospital.
She has been in the hospital for several days waiting for additional tests to be performed. She is talking well and appears to me at least that she does not have typical severe stroke symptoms. She is tough, has to be after raising five boys.

No More Pie

I remember staying at Lums Chapel for a few days one time and at lunch time, Grandaddy, Uncle Herschel, and the boys, Boots and Jim, came home. I had been there at the store playing or something, anyway we all set down and ate lunch. There were five of us at the table, after eating a pie was brought to the table. Grandaddy took the pie, using his knife he cut the pie into thirds and took a piece, he then passed the pie to Jim who took a third and passed the pie past Janice and me to Boots who took the last piece of pie. Janice started crying, I don't remember her saying anything for a while, just crying. Grandaddy said thee is no more pie. Then when Grandaddy was finished, he had kept a few bites of pie on his plate and gave it to Janice. I even got a bite to. Janice was still not happy nor was I, but we were grateful for getting a little pie. I went back outside and played with Tippey the large Collie and Janice did the dishes, the boys left for the field in the white Dodge pickup.

My foot surgery

I had foot surgery May 27th to repair a broken foot from a motorcycle accident last year. They rebroke the heel bone and the bone it attaches to in several places then ground the bones to fit together and inserted a three inch screw angling into the heel up towards the instep. It waas done at the VA hospital and they are to cheap to provide nice pictures like Billy Wayne has. Plus I feel as usual when compared to Billy Wayne, I came in second place, he has two screws and I only have one. I hear he is back to work but still having some pain. That'll teach him to swing from the top branch.

Lizards, Horny Toads and Snuff

This is for all the cousins who played at mama and papa's. I remember when I was perhaps five or maybe six and we would go to Littlefield on Sunday afternoons. It seemed that we were always lucky because Billy Wayne, Terry, Lonnie, Kenny, and Janice were there. I'm sure it wasn't luck but at that time it didn't matter. We would go to the field and chase lizards and toads. Man were they fast. We would chase them and sometimes someone would actually catch one. The toads would swell up and the lizards had a habit of losing their tales. Anyway we would run and run until we couldn't run anymore, then all go to the old white house. I think it had a red brick porch or something like that. Maybe I'm confusing several old houses but we sure had fun. I remember one time we all were tired and went in the house and started playing in the floor wrestling around, anyway someone turned over a can of some black stinky syrup. It wasn't syrup! We were quickly told to get out of the house. It was years later when I asked about it and found that someone, I won't mention names, dipped snuff.
Does anyone remember Grandpa Smith? That was his name wasn't it? I remember him eating with a knife.

Ride Home On The Milk Truck

I was staying at Mommy and Grandaddy's (Hershel and Erma Leta) in Lums Chapel for a week during summer when I was about eight years old, between second and third grades anyway. About the middle of the week I wanted to go home and was told that no one could take me home until the end of the week. Early the next morning I decided to go home so I started walking on Hwy 385 towards home. I really hadn't gotten too far and was in front of a house when a lady came out to get her mail as I walked past. She asked me where I was going and I told her Sundown. She convinced me to come into her house for some cookies, never turn down cookies, anyway about an hour or so later I confessed that I had come from the store. She loaded me up and took me back to Lums Chapel. Mommy met me there and was mad! She said that Boots was driving up and down HWY 385 looking for me. Anyway that evening after getting the cold shoulder from everyone but Janice who thought it was cool that I almost excaped. She was mad that I hadn't taken her with me. The next morning they woke me up early and when the Foremost milk truck stopped to deliver milk they asked him to take me to Sundown. It was great, we made many stops and I helped him load milk into crates. When we finally got to Sundown, Mr. Ross the store owner, called mom to come get me. She was madder than mommy had been. She kept telling me how bad I was for embarrassing her. But nothing could take away the great memory of helping the milk man.

The Tree Slide

We visited Plainview often and once when we visited Uncle Wayne and the boys had built a tree slide. It consisted of a cable from the fork in the tree to the base of another tree, at the time it seemed a really long way. I wanted to slide down and climbed up behind Billy Wayne, he grabbed the pipe that the cable ran through and Whoosh, there he went, all the way to the other tree. Uncle Wayne and dad, Uncle Jr, stopped him before he hit the tree. It now was my turn, I balked, Terry and then Lonnie went around me, I was scared and embarrased that I was too sissy to slide down. I climbed down the tree after a while and sulked around the rest of the afternoon. I was a coward, a real sissy. It was terrible, anyway later in the evening I knew I had to make the slide, I couldn't stand it any longer. I walked out and climbed the tree, the pipe was at the bottom, I climbed down and tried sliding the pipe up but it wouldn't stay. I found a piece of rope and tied it to the pipe and climbed the tree again, then I pulled the pipe up to me. I was ready, I had to do it. I pushed off and slid down the cable, however, no one was at the bottom to catch and stop me. Yep, I hit the tree. I didn't care I did it. I ran inside yelling that I slid down the tree slide. My mom saw me and was very upset, I didn't know it but I had scraped my face a little. Anyway Billy Wayne, Lonnie and Terry and I ran outside and slid down the tree slide until after dark.
By the way did you know that Billy Wayne was run over by a car while I think riding his bike. You'll have to get the story from Tarzan Billy himself.

Hi to all my name is kenneth aka kenny. There are many good memories over the years between marvin, billywayne, terry, lonnie, gwen and others . I am currently living in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am current licensed massage therapist, and enjoy helping people feel better. A Short note Denise just had double knee replacement on May 5. I will add more at a future date, by for now.

Growing up Tisdale, huh? I got a few stories about that. One time Terry decided to walk out to Lums Chapel from Mama and Papa's house. I was maybe ten or eleven and went with him, not realizing just how far ten miles ( or however far it is) really was. I remember we found a buffalo nickle and a hole in the side of a bar ditch that Terry said might be badger hole. Anyway, I was really starting to get tired and regretting coming along. Terry told me, "If we keep this pace, we can do one mile an hour". Or something like that. It didn't make Aunt Irma Leta's house any closer for me. I have no idea how long or how far we actually walked, we were definitely out in the country. Just when I thought I might start to cry, a miracle occured. Janice and her boy friend, I think his name was Bruce, drove by and they stopped to pick us up. I was SOOOO happy. Forever after, in my book, Janice is an Angel.

I remember one time riding with Aunt Irma Leta and Uncle Herchel out to thier place and Uncle Herchel told me he had an airplane engine in his truck. It was an old white Dodge. I never did get a look under the hood, and I always wondered how he could have gotten a great big airplane engine under there. At the time it never dawned on me that he was pulling my leg.

Almost all of my other Tisdale stories would, of course, involve the same two suspects. Ricky and Terence Tisdale. I used to spend a couple of weeks each summer with them on the farm. We would build forts out of hay bales in the loft. They had a hole going one summer. Deep enough to need a ladder to get in and out of. I helped move into the "new" house. The rope swing in the barn is STILL there. Hoed some of the hottest, longest rows of cotton in the state of Texas. Learned that the only thing a dull hoe is good for is clubbing a snake. Tricks with electric fences. Details of that story and many others are, and forever will be, classified!

If your name is Tisdale, or your maiden name was Tisdale, or your family is part of this big Tisdale family, you need to get out to the farm. That's kinda like the ancestral home.
As far as I know Uncle Johnny still has his grand dad's hat hanging in the "old" house.

Uncle Awbrey's "Red River"

Uncle Awbrey had a cabin at Red River, New Mexico. I think it was Red River. Nikki or Karen might correct this if I am wrong. Anyway we visited them at the cabin when I was maybe 12. The day we arrived, it was late in the day and I had to go to the bathroom. The cabin wasn't completed yet, no indoor plumbing. Nikki told me to follow the road signs. I wasn't certain what she meant but I was used to the pasture so I started up the trail looking for a good tree. Then I realized the "road signs". There were miniature signs cut and labeled appropriately, you know, yield signs cut in a triangle etc.... The signs directed me to a latrine behind a large tree, anyway I felt better going down the trail than I felt going up the trail. dad woke me early the next morning and we went hiking looking for deer. We saw a doe with a fawn that morning, really pretty. It was a nice visit.

Rabbit Hunting with Dad

I remember hunting rabbits with my Dad, R.L. (uncle Jr) while growing up. The .22 we had was not in the best of shape, actually the single shot .22 bolt ejector was broken, Meaning after firing the shot you slid the bolt back, used your pocket knife to dig out the spent casing, turning the rifle upside down to let the casing fall out, then uprighting the rifle, digging a new shell from your pocket and closing the bolt, then you were ready for the next shot. All total about a minute of time between shots, for rabbits, trust me if you missed, the rabbit was either long gone or hiding so well behind the mesquite tree that there was no shot to make.
Anyway we had a blast. Especially when Billy Wayne, Terry and Lonnie came to Sundown. We would all go out with Dad and Uncle Wayne. We would all get in the back of Dad's 1948 Ford pickup. Ride around on lease roads in the pasture, stopping for rabbits. Often once a shot was made we boys would all leap out of the pickup, for some reason it was called "pile out" and race for the rabbit, sometimes finding that the shooter missed or whatever but having a great time. For you animal lovers the ranchers encouraged us to kill the rabbits, they ate the grass that the cattle needed of course the ranchers due to not wanting to have a cow accidently shot wouldn't actually say "go get em" but wouldn't go ballistic when they stopped us and asked what we were doing there.
I also remember Kenny coming severl times with Uncle Bill. Now Uncle Bill was a good shot. He was in the Korean war and was wounded there. He once told me that after being wounded it was two days before he made it back to an aid station. Anyway he was a good shot. He could bring the .22 up and fire, that quickly and hit the rabbit every time. I was told that he actually shot a crow from a high line wire while the car was moving, not surprised.
There are stories of Boots, Jim and Jackie coming to town also, they all pal'd around with Linvell, of course they were all many, many years older than I was, okay, perhaps too many many's but they were older. Dad told me that all of them were in Sundown once and one evening at supper mom had supper when everyone was finished, Jackie asked if mom was going to keep the peas or not, anyway as the story goes he finished the bowl of peas.

Sad news

As Marvin said Jim's wife Betty died in her sleep during the night April 10th. Boots and I went to Grand Prairie Sat. afternoon. There is no known cause of death at this time. If we find out more we will pass it along. She was not ill and had no know health problems. The funeral was Tues April 20th. Marvin, his daughter Tara, Carolyn, and Linvell came for the service. Amy, her husband Curtis, and Corey came up from Houston. Victoria and her husband Aaron have been a rock for Jim during this time. As sad as the occasions was, we all went out to eat together that night. We enjoyed being together and having fellowship. I know Jim would appreciate your prayers for him during this time.
Janice

Billy's Screwed

I don't know about anyone else but I sure am glad those screws are in Billy's arm and not mine.

Betty Barker

This is merely an update to let everyone know that Betty Barker, Jim's wife passed away Saturday April 11. Janice Kay will provide more information when she returns home from Grand Prairie.

Amy Tisdale

Amy is my third kid, 17 years old and a junior at Sundown High School. She is very interested and talented in the performing arts and has received "Best Actress Award" five times in a row. She will be performing "Street Car Named Desire" in Lubbock at LCU this afternoon. This will their Area Competition for OAP. She is playing Blanche DuBois and thinks that this is her most challenging and exciting role yet.

Tarzan Billy

Sunday, 2/15/09, ~4PM

Was installing outdoor lighting in front yard so folks can see to walk from the driveway to the porch. Attempting to get back onto ladder out of tree when the limb I was holding on to broke. Went down like a sack o taters. No bounce whatsoever. Broke right arm clean in two between the elbow and shoulder. Will see Doc today, the 25th, to schedule installation of hardware fasteners. Said something about a rod as a dowel in the hollow center of the bone. Seems to me there’ll have to be a couple screws or roll pins to hold that in place.

Just now getting to where I can walk semi normally. Lower back, right cheek, upper right leg is an impressive shade of burgundy to purple to black and ever-changing.

I lost a hard drive last Tuesday so have been rebuilding/restoring since then. Slow to type with left hand only.

More l8r
Billy Massey, Lake Brownwood, Texas

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Here's a photo Debbie took at the doctors office the other day. It shows my latest "gadget". Installed on 3/5/09.

Family News

Uncle Awbry passed away, he was 90 years old. I remember mom and dad taking us to visit him, Karen Nikki when they had a cabin I think it was at Red River NM.

Billy Wayne broke his arm recently, fell out of a tree. He will need surgery. I'll ask him to update everyone when he can type.