Hero

The following story was sent me by a cousin and genealogy researcher,it was research for a book that Perry's Great Aunt Sadie Jones Allen,was working on before her death (more closet research)
The manuscript was called Potpurri---this story involves our GG Grandfather Benjamin Perry Jones---the Story is called Hero.

My Grandfathers military career was not a brilliant one.His stories of the Civil War were not the usual ones and I was quite a big girl before it dawned on me that it wasn't necessarily modesty which accounted for the non-heroic roles he seemed to play in them.
Grandpa was a slight,stooped,bearded man when I knew him.His beard was white,as was what remained of his hair.He was an extraordinary good business man and when I was born into the family,quite a wealthy one.But first of all he was a family man.He sired a large family and till the day of his death,at 86,he was the true patriarch.
He grew up just before the Civil War started.His father had died and left a widow with several children when he was a small boy.They were not of the wealthy southern aristocrats of literature,who sat on the galleries of southern mansions and dipped mint julips.Instead they lived a hard life,one jump ahead of starvation and worked from sunup till sundown to keep body and soul together.Grandpa had little education:he had a shrewd mind and at an early age spent much of his time figuring how he could outsmart fate,make a good living,and avoid as much manual labor as possible.He married young and when he and his Betty had produced two sons,the Confederate States of America was created.Fort Sumpter was fired on,and the country was involved in the Civil War.
Grandpa wasn't too excited about the situation,he owned no slaves and he had been pretty satisfied with the status quo.However,though reluctant to leave his family,he finally decided that it was his duty to enlist in the Confederate Army.
After a year in service he had by one means or another acquired little cash. He was eager to go home and see about Betty and the children,so he hired a substitute to take his place.While he was gone the substitute was killed. So offically,my Grandfather was killed in the Civil War-a hero who gave his life for the Confederacy.Years later he enjoyed telling of it as he sat surrounded by many children and Grandchildren who had appeared on the scene during the years after the war ended.
One day when I was a small girl,I ask my Grandfather,"How many Yankees did you kill in the war?"He thoughtfully stroked his beard and with a twinkle in his blue eyes,said"Well,I killed as many of them as they did of me!"

Back in the early 60's we were on one of our many early evening fishing trips to Lake Berry--in Winter Park Florida--My dad his first cousin Bubber and me.
We saw the lights flash on Bubbers car and knew they were there to pick us up.
There was no boat ramp on Lake Berry, we just slid our 18 ft. river Batou into the lake and hauled it back up the bank when we were finished fishing.
We arrived back at shore and were suprised that Bubbers mother, my Aunt Louise were there waiting for us-along with Aggie, Bubbers wife. Aunt Louise was a pistol-she was old even then--and would eventually live to see her 100th birthday in the year 2000.
We got out of the boat and Aunt Louise had everyone picking grapefruit off the trees by the lake--she even sampled some and said UMMM Good. We had fished that lake a long time but never bothered the mans fruit--not Aunt Louise--she was down from Ga. for a visit and that grapefruit looked really tempting.
The trunk of Bubbers Oldsmobile was filling up fast when a voice came out of the darkeness--are yall enjoying stealing my fruit?
That shook everyone up a bit--and the man spoke again and we honed in on where the voice was coming from--there sat the owner of the property --sittin on a tree stump--he had watched the whole thing and no one saw him.Aunt Louise walked over to the man introduced herself and said--Honey stolen fruit is by far the sweetest. I don't know if he was disarmed by her deep southern accent or what but he said yall just take it with my blessings--and Aunt Louise got his address and said she would send him some Pecan Divinity that she makes. The Codger

My father actually learned how to fly an airplane when he was a little boy--but didn't have a license--so when we moved to Maryland around 1952--he decided to take care of that and get all his different flying licenses--private-instrument-rating--commercial-instructor-and seaplane and multi-engine---to accomplish all this he had to take a second job for Sealtest Dairy repairing their refrigeration equipment--so by day he was foreman of GreenSpring dairy and by night Sealtest---and there was one great advantage with Sealtest--they gave him an 8 hole icecream feezer and he kept it stocked with all the favorite icecream creations--you don't think our house was popular in the neighborhood!!
My dad not only got all his licenses he became wing commander for Civil Air Patrol--and was always involved in search and rescue--one night we got a call at home that a small jet was having engine trouble and might not make the lighted field it was trying for--The airstrip near our house was not a lighted field--but dad said he had flare pots in the storage building of CAP for emergency--and I got to go with my dad and line the field and light these flare pots to give the pilot an alternate emergency place to land--he didn't have to land there but it looked good and I feel he could have set down there safely.I was proud as a little kid to assist my dad that night.
thats a wrap tonight--later Gator

There was a small market just across the field from the school--it was owned by an older gentleman named Mr. Poole--I met him on my countless trips to get odds and ends for mom--she didn't drive--so I was her errand boy---one day 4 big boys beat me up and took the money mom gave me--but that only happened once--after that I took dads 357---just kidding!~
Mr. Poole loved to talk baseball--and so did I--and we had one thing in common--we hated the Yankees--we cheered for everyone who played them--actually--we really respected them but you know--those darn Yankees!!!
I hung out a lot with Mr. Poole---Something happened after Summer vacation--we were gone somewhere--and Mr. Poole saw a UFO in the sky above his store--they did a write up in the paper and various people started making fun of him--it was so embarrassing to him that he sold the store and moved away---I was really upset about him leaving--he was such a nice old man and a friend of mine. I would grow up and actually have a UFO sighting as well--but I ain't movin!! later The Codger

I had arrived in kid heaven on earth and to this day my favorite place, South River Park--Edgewater Maryland---
I had the coolest kid in the place to show me the ropes--furthermore--the school was awesome----When I arrived I transferred in as a last group reader and the poorest writer in the class--my teacher set about to change all that--and by the start of third grade I was in the first group in reading and was an outstanding cursev writer--and my problem with pronouncing S's was over--
The teacher figured out I liked to draw--and darn if she didn't let me do a mural on butcher paper the length of the classroom with a prehistoric scene with all the Dinosaurs---
I also got to plant tomatoes out side the window of the classroom--and go out and care for them. I loved that school--one of the teachers read to us and actually acted out via different voices the charactors in the books---she instilled in me a love for reading.
The school also taught a lot of American history and state history of Maryland--which I found very interesting--we also did a lot of crafts and various games to build our bodies and coordination--out on the playground.We had plays in the auditorium--in one I was an indian and was supposed to kidnap the lady settler--but I missed the edge of the stage and fell off of it--about 4 feet to the floor--the crowd laughed--I didn't hurt myself.
Nancy set about to dee-citi-fi me--first that little sweetheart taught me to swim--no kidding----first she taught me the dog paddle and then the Australian crawl---and the day I could swim to the diving platform which was over my head was my graduation day.
She tried to teach me to dive but I was total clutz--nothing graceful about me---Nancy would go on to be a champion AAU swimmer---
more at a later time The Codger