Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Martha's 50 TH birthday.



































































July 21 1959 was a day I will never forget. I was working from midnight to eight AM in the morning. When I came home Bubba was upset and said she was spotting blood, I said I will call the Doctor at 900 AM. I called him and he said that is normal, nothing to worry about so she said OK. She woke me up a couple of hours later and said I don't care what that Doctor said some thing is not right. She was in a lot of distress. I called him back and he told me to take her to the hospital and he would meet us there. He went into a consultation with other Doctors and came out and said that the Mother and the Baby were poisioning each other and would have to be seperated. He said it was very serious and if they had to make a decision as to save the Mother or the Baby they would save the Mother as you could always have another child. After what seemed an eternity of waiting he came out and told me every thing was good and that I was the Father of a beautiful little girl.






















Her entrance into the world was any thing but routine. I could write a book about her from that time forward. I will just say she was a great baby, if she cried you knew you better check her out because other then when she had a problem she was a happy, laughing, smiling, little girl.






















Her teenage years at times were a challenge as we didn't always agree on things, like curfews, chores, the use of Dad's car, etc. LOL But with the help of her wonderful Mother we survived it all. LOL






















She met and married Jimmy who was and still is a wonderful son-in-law. Bubba used to joke with Martha telling her she hoped nothing ever came between her and Jimmy as she would have a tough time deciding on which one to support. LOL






















Their daughter Jessica came into their life in 1990 and life was good. Martha and Jimmy were a big part of our business until we sold them them in 1997. Their life was good, happy, busy, just a normal All American Family until May 2004 when she had her major stroke. It has been a hardship on her and them for sure but thank God she has the personality of her Mother, she suffered a lot of health problems the last few years of her life and never let it change who she was and Martha has pretty much done the same thing, she loves her family and friends very much and in spite of her serious problems mostly remains upbeat and happy.






















She has been so excited the past few days as she has recieved a ton of cards, phone calls, roses, visits from some family and friends, some of whom she hasn't seen or heard from for awhile. She has totally enjoyed it all, on behalf of her, Jimmy, Jessica, Joan, and I we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making her 50 TH birthday so special, it'sbeen a long time since I have seen her smile and laugh so much, Love to all.












































Friday, July 17, 2009

From Griffin's baby shower


What a handsome boy


Love of a Mommy for a son


Nana, Carter, Griffin, & Barb


Barb & Christopher


Father, Daughter dance


A very happy day


Not only Mother & Daughter but best friends also


Barb, my daughter Martha & Griffin


Barb, Brett, & Carter


Looking good


Beautiful young ladies


Christopher, Jake, Carter, & Barb


Mom and her loving daughters


Sisters and friends


Barb & Janet


Follow up to my tribute to my beautiful wife Joan

When I first thought about doing a BLOG I had no idea what I was going to do with it. As it turns out I have ended up doing a lot of tributes to a lot of people. Now I want to do one to our daughter Barbara.

When Joan and I got married I not only got a beautiful wife but two beautiful daughter's also. Janet and Barbara. Joan and I got married in November of 2001, sadly on Christmas Eve 2002 due to a tragic automobile accident Janet was called home to spend eternity in Heaven.

At her Memorial Service I did a eulogy for her, I did not know they were doing an audio tape of the service and when I heard it played back I said Wow here I was saying all those nice things about Janet and a lot of them I had never said to her. Sure I had told her I loved her and what a wonderful Mother she was to Christopher but a lot of other nice things I said about her I realized I had never said to her. Ever since then I have tried to let family and friends that I love know how I feel about them now. So I think that is where the whole idea for these tributes came from. Today I would like to do one to Barbara.

Barb was a wonderful sister to Janet. She is a wonderful daughter to Joan, she is a wonderful wife to Brett, she is a great Aunt to Christopher, loves her family very much, is a wonderful friend to so many and has been a wonderful daughter to me also. When her and Brett got engaged they invited Joan and I to a really nice evening at the Boca Hotel & Club, great dinner, and a nice tour of the club. She then suprised me by asking me if I would walk her down the aisle when her and Brett got married and I said would be honored. It was a beautiful wedding with family and lots of friends. As we were getting ready to walk down I could tell she was about ready to start crying so I told her to just imagine that all of the guests were naked, she said I don't think I would like to see that but it made her laugh and lightened the mood. It was a wonderful wedding and reception.

Now after saying all that let me say what I think really makes her so special. She is A GREAT MOTHER. Carter and Griffin are two very lucky boys to have her as a Mother. She is a totally caring and loving Mother. She has done a teriffic job with Carter, she has been a soccer Mom, a t-ball Mom, a swimming Mom etc. She has been totally involved in his life. She scouted around and found a great pre school for Carter. Any one who has ever seen them interact together know what a great bond they have formed and how much they love each other.

And then along came Griffin, he got off to a bit of a rough start, she has had to take him from doctor to doctor, spent many sleep less nights with him, watched over him like a hawk to protect him from germs and any thing else that could be of harm to him and it has all payed off as he is coming along great now after all her tender loving care.

She has done all this without neglecting Carter. With all the attention she has had to give Griffin she has also not faltered in her care of Carter. Due to her great Mothering Carter has become a very loving and protective big brother.

Last but not least I would like to thank Barb and Brett for allowing me to be very involved with both Carter and Griffin and allowing me to become the Papa I always wanted to be.

I love you Barb.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

Joan, A great Wife, Mother, Nana, Sister, Aunt, Friend


Last picture taken of Janet


Christopher, Carter, & Griffin, Nana's pride and joy


Griffin, Carter, & Christopher, Nana's pride & joy


Her newest pride, Griffin


What a beautiful Nana


Remember secret to a happy marriage, both partners crazy


What a loving Nana


loves fun and excitement


A great step mother always doing nice things for Martha


Not just a great Mom to Barb, but also her best friend


Being crazy on a cruise ship


A Tribute To My Beautiful Wife

I never know what might happen to give me the idea for my next BLOG. Well this weekend gave me my thought for this BLOG. Joan left on Friday for Clearwater Beach to spend the weekend with her Dear and long time friend Edna. No matter how much I tell myself to never take any thing for granted I realize that some times I do just that, I know at times I probably do take Joan for granted. Being alone for a couple of days and having quiet time to think made me realize the million or so reasons why I should never do that.

My wife of 39 years Louise ( Bubba ) Jackson passed away in March 9 of 1998. I was not handling her death very well. You never get over losing the people you love but I think the first year is probably the worst, all the firsts you go through alone, the first holidays, the first birthdays, etc. Thansgiving was a tough day, but December of that year was especially hard. Early in December I went to the cemetary to talk to Bubba, I said Dear I have been praying for some relief from the pain of your loss and nothing seems to be working. I said I know God is very busy but if you get a chance to talk to him would you ask him if there is any way he could do some thing for this lost soul on earth. Martha, Jimmy, & Jessica were living with me and none of us even had enough Christmas spirit to ever decorate, it was not a plesant Christmas.

A few days after Christmas I went to the mail box and there was a Christmas card a few days late. I opened it and it was from Joan. Bubba and Joan had been friends for years, they bowled together for a long time. I had met Joan through Bubba but didn't really know her. I did remember she came to the the viewing to pay her respects. My reaction was WOW, she was Bubba's friend, Bubba is gone and she didn't cross me off her card list. I thought about it all weekend how nice a gesture that was. On Monday I got Bubba's address book out and looked and Joan's phone number was in there. I said I just have to call her and thank her for the card. We ended up talking for an hour. I knew she had lost her husband, they were teen age sweet hearts just like Bubba and I. As I was hanging up I said you probably have not told me any thing I haven't heard from other people but its like I was hearing it for the first time as I knew she had been through the loss of a spouse just like I had. I asked her if I could call her again and she said I could, I waited a couple of weeks and called her again, another hour just flew by again. I said I have a friend in the hospital in West Palm Beach, I am coming over to visit her this weekend could we continue this conversation over dinner and thank God she said yes, little did I know that was to be the start of a beautiful relationship.

We started dating a short time later and as they say the rest is history. Right away I noticed what a great Mom she was to her daughter's, a great Nana to her grand son Christopher. A wonderful and caring friend to so many. She was friends with people of all age groups, small children to senior citizens. I saw the great relationship she had with Amy, a widow in her eighties, Amy's family all lived out of the area and Joan was like a daughter to her, it was beautiful to see.

When I first started thinking of doing a BLOG I was given advice telling me you need to keep them short, can't be done when you are telling a story. LOL

I really could go on and on about Joan but I will close by saying what a great lady she is. She has had a lot of tragedy in her life, her husband passing away young and leaving her with two teenage daughters, who she did a great job of raising , losing her oldest daughter Janet in a automobile accident on Christmas Eve 2002. Joan never puts herself first, every body else, including me first, family , friends, every one first before her self.

A great thing about a BLOG is gives me the chance to tell the world how much I Love and Respect her.