The Memories I Have

I watched the two part documentary about the Jehovah's Witnesses and it opened up some memories. I am thinking that this will take up several blog posts as my memories are coming back but not in any particular order.


I was first exposed to the Jehovah's Witnesses when I was around 3 years old and we were still living in Memphis. Larry and Cindy Landry began studying with my mother. I really do not remember much yet but I do remember when the Landry's lived out by the Memphis International Airport -- we could watch the planes take off and land. I remember they had three sons -- Bruce, Paul and Todd -- and one daughter Cathy. Most of my memories center around Cathy and her actions. Cathy had a son out of wedlock -- the father was Gary Armour. The only thing I remember about him was when Cathy took me, but not her son Curtis, to his apartment -- he had a waterbed.


My mother moved back to West Helena in May 1974 and we lived with her parents for a time. Later on we rented an apartment owned by a doctor and my mother generously let Cathy and her son move in with us. Cathy took advantage of my mother's kindness and was abusive towards me when my mother was at work. I also remember Cathy and my mother holding little get-togethers and have friends over -- Earnice and her son Larry would come over to dance to the music on Soul Train. Also during this time my grandad would come by and take me to the basketball games at Phillips Community College, where he was a staff member. This was before he became abusive to us.


Later on, we all moved into a two-story Helena Housing Authority apartment. During this time are basically the only memories I actually have of my dad and his adopted father Emerson George dropping me off at home after a visit. Also during this time Cathy was dating one of the Donald brothers -- this may have been before the two congregations split to become Helena and West Helena congregations. Anyway, she would take me on her dates but I do not remember Curtis going on the dates. One of the dates was to the drive-in movies in Memphis -- the movie was about a monster in a recording studio (it may have been Phantom of the Paradise but I am not 100% sure of that).


Later on Cathy met and married David Vallun. They held the marriage ceremony at the Kingdom Hall in Memphis that we had originally started out going to. I was the flower girl. I remember the reception was also held in Memphis and when we went to leave, we found we had a flat tire. Dennis Williams, Barbara's brother changed it for us. Later on Cathy had two other kids.


Around the mid-1980s Cathy showed up again in our lives and once again took advantage of my mother. They started up a maid service together and Cathy totally screwed my mother over. My mother had to pay for everything and we were living in the projects while Cathy did not have to spend a dime of her money and lived in a very nice house in a very posh neighbourhood in West Helena!!!


Cathy now lives in Claremore and is acting like she is such a good person. Who knows, maybe she has changed but she is apparently still a Jehovah's Witness and refuses to speak to me.


Next time I may write about Ardena Perkins, who pretend to be one of the 144,000 and have everyone intimidated into believing her!!!

Thoughts on the Westminster Dog Show

The Westminster dog show has once again come and gone. And once again there was griping and moaning about the winner from those unknowledgeable armchair judges who thought that this was a dog popularity contest and that audience applause determined the winner. But the complaining was not nearly as bad as it was last year when some dogs had to be excused due to conflicts of interest with the particular judges. People who know nothing about dogs or dog shows really should not comment until they get more education on the subject. The judge can only evaluate what is in front of him on any particular day. That being said let's move on. The Hound group is not my particular group but there were a couple of breeds that I did take a fancy to. The Afghan Hound was a nice dog. I have not seen an Afghan that good since Tryst of Grandeur showed many years ago. The Portuguese Podengo Pequeno is a really adorable dog and could be on my short list if I ever entertained getting another dog. I also looked with particular interest at the Treeing Walker Coonhound since my grandfather trained and hunted with that breed. My dad kept Dachshunds but that is not a breed I would consider due to the numerous back issues the dog can have due to it's body shape. The Whippet won the group and was a nice dog. I took a nap during the Toy and Non-Sporting groups so I only saw a few of those dogs. The Herding group was one of great interest to me since I used to train and handle German Shepherds, which are some of the best type dogs on the planet!!! The German Shepherd in the group was a brother to the Best In Show winner from 2017 but, while I did really like him, he just did not wow me like his sister Rumor did. I muted the tv whilst the Belgian dogs were on because the announcers always get it wrong. Every other registry in the world has them as one breed with four varieties (Groenendael, Malinois, Tervuren and Laekenois) but the AKC insists upon them being three separate breeds with the Laekenois not being officially recognized but does seem to be in the Miscellaneous group now. The Shetland Sheepdog won the Herding group. The Sporting Group began night two and for the second year there was this little heart thief of a breed there -- the Nederlandse Kooikerhondje. I had the very first rescue of this breed in the USA. They are really great little dogs and I really would not mind having another one. I also looked with particular scrutiny at the Pointer -- not too bad but still not like Karlyn was. My girl Karlyn was very properly structured and is really a dog I wished I could have been able to get as a puppy, she was just that good and had the best tracking nose I had ever seen on a dog. The Golden Retriever was a really nice dog and a breed that would be on my short list if I wanted a big dog. The Irish Water Spaniel did not want to be examined and after two attempts by the judge to examine it, the dog had to be excused from the ring. I felt really bad for the handler because that is something I went through before because my dog just did not like the show ring -- I had people in Arkansas making nasty comments about me and my dog and they started a rumor that my dog tried to attack the judge, which was untrue because my dog just looked at the judge, who was acting extremely arrogant and pompous towards the dogs and my dog was not of the type to tolerate that behavior and intimidated the judge. The Working Group included the Doberman, a breed I am definitely familiar with since my mum was heavily involved with this breed when I was growing up. I grew up knowing about such great dogs as Hotai Copper Tattoo and Marienburg Sun Hawk. The Doberman was a nice one and was a son of a previous group winning Doberman who just recently passed away. The Rottweiler was also a nice dog and was a huge change from previous ones that looked like barrels with legs. The Terrier Group was the last main group before Best in Show. The Australian Terrier would be on my short list for another dog in the future. I had one as a kid and they are great little dogs. The Wire Fox Terrier won this group. The Best in Show class is the last one that picks the winner of the entire show and there was a very good line-up. Naturally people are once again carping about the winner -- this year the Standard Poodle won. I saw one person on Twitter posting about how racist the judges were since a black dog never won -- I hope this person very quickly shut his stupid mouth since the Spoo was black!!! So far, the griping about the winner is nowhere near as bad as it was last year but people still need to get a clue about dog shows!!!

Certain Lifestyles

I used to enjoy watching Doctor Who but lately they have been using the show, as well as other shows such as Torchwood and even Sesame Street, to cram a certain lifestyle down people's throats and those who refuse to accept this or to speak out against it are labelled as "bigots" and accused of "hate crimes"!!! Those who speak out are also attacked and told that "God loves everyone" and "Jesus accepts all". Some even go so far as to make the claim that Jesus embraced this particular lifestyle. While everyone has the free will to live as they desire, they must also realise that there are consequences that go along with whatever choice they make. Those who live in such a manner that violates God's laws will suffer such consequences unless they repent and change their lifestyle. Certain scriptures, such as Romans 1: 26-8; 1 Corinthians 6: 8-11; Leviticus 18: 22 and 20: 13, are completely dismissed. These scriptures refer to those who live such perverted lifestyles and what will happen to them if they refuse to repent from living such a debased, immoral life. While God does love the sinner, he does NOT love the sin, especially when the sinner insists upon continuing living in their sin!!! It is God's wish that everyone repent and come to him but he knows that there will be those ones who are hard-hearted because they do not want to change. Since that is the case, one should not feel bad for their destruction as they made their decision -- which was to live as a servant of evil. My younger brother is one who lives such a lifestyle and he will pay the price. I love him, he is my baby brother, but I do not approve of his lifestyle and I certainly do not think he is the best type of role model for my nephews!!! Choosing God was the best decision I could have made as I no longer feel the rage and hatred I used to have towards people. I am still a constant work in progress but I have a good, solid hope for the future. To Be Continued...