Kissin’ Kuzzins: Rebelling against my daughters
Published 9:13 am Wednesday, May 9, 2018
By Dickie Dixon
Belated Birthdays May birthdays: 7th: Edwina Hughes Mills, Susie Parker Bruce
For Posterity’s Eyes May birthdays: 10th: Jackie Dixon Lowery, Meagan Rose, Raven Anderson, Julie Courlas Wilke, Larry Ray Ellis 11th: John David Rowin 13th: Mary Kay De Stefano 16th: Trae Trevathan 17th David Treadaway
“Rebelling” against my daughters: On May 9, 2012—almost four months after my wife passed away—I rebelled against my daughters and flew to Paris, France and the Loire Valley for eighteen days. My wife had died on January 12th in my living room of congestive heart failure before 911 could get there, and my two beautiful, sweet daughters unintentionally were smothering me. A couple of times a day they called to check on me and see how I was doing. The other phenomenon impinging on me was the unexpected: Many do not read the obituaries in the newspaper. For months afterward, friends and acquaintances would express their sympathy. Of course, I did not need to be reminded that she was gone.
So, I ran away from home, deciding that, whether my daughters liked it or not, by gosh, I was going to France. For three publications in the past I had written a bed and breakfast article called “Bed and Breakfasts I Have Known”; so, I booked my lodging primarily in those. I did not go with a group, and I let Marti Chalker at Holiday Travel book my trip for me. After flying I think it was 2500 air miles overnight to Paris, I arrived at my hotel; the next day a van came and picked me up to go with the others to Monet’s Gardens and Versailles. The next day I went to the Louvre.
On Saturday the 12th, I picked up my rental car and drove to Orleans, where my car was stolen after being on the street only four hours.
I left for Varennes-sur-loire to stay in a 16th century manor I had rented, after missing my stay in a b & b on the Cher River. Next I stayed near Saumur and Fontvraud (where the remains of Eleanor of Aquitaine are interred), then it was to Angiers and Chartres.
Remember I was utterly alone; I had gone by myself. The caveat I am sending is simply this: Don’t ever rebel against your daughters, especially if they love you. Being alone, from a grief point of view, was therapeutic: I realized how empty my life would be without my daughters. So I “repented” of my “rebellion”, called them, and told them I loved them. Just wanted the readers to know how my life was, when I was “rebelling” against my daughters.
Save the Date! (1) A panel discussion from among the 1963 Lufkin High School State Baseball Championship team possibly with others will discuss their 1963 season, when they speak to the Angelina County Genealogical Society at 4:00 p.m. on Monday, May 21, 2018 in the Community Meeting Room of Kurth Memorial Library on 702 South Raguet Street in Lufkin, Texas (75904). Refreshments and desserts will begin at 3:30. For more information, call Dickie Dixon at (936) 240-8378, or e-mail him at dickie.dixon@hotmail.com
(2) Bob Flournoy will discuss “The Sawmill Community of Manning,” when he speaks to the Angelina County Genealogical Society at 6:00 p.m. on Monday, May 21, 2018 in the Fellowship Hall of Keltys United Methodist Church on 1867 Old Mill Road in Keltys, Texas (now a part of Lufkin [75904]) For more information, please contact Rev. Cindy Doran at (936) 852-4123 or Dickie Dixon at (936) 240-8378, or email Cindy at keltysumc@hotmail.com or Dickie at dickie.dixon@hotmail.com
(4) A request from the author: On Saturday, April 21, 2018 I spoke on “Where the Houses Went” at the Camden Sawmill Reunion in Camden, Texas at Pine Grove Baptist Church. If you or your family rented one of the sawmill houses or know someone who did, or you or your family bought one of the sawmill houses or know someone who did, please contact me at (936) 240-8378 or dickie.dixon@hotmail.com I understand some of the houses may have been torn down.
For book reviews/notices please send a complimentary copy to Kissin’ Kuzzins P. O. Box 151001 Lufkin TX 75915-1001
Send your queries to Kissin’ Kuzzins P. O. Box 15-1001 Lufkin TX 75901 by email to dickie.dixon@hotmail.com or by phone to (936) 240-8378
