Sit Down, John!

The above is the opening scene from the movie, 1776, the watching of which is a 4th of July tradition for the Rutledge Clan. It includes one of my favorite quotes of all time:

I have come to the conclusion that one useless man is a disgrace, that two are called a law firm, and that three or more become a Congress!

Happy 4th to all of you! And now I'm off to watch the movie!

BLUE-EYED PROGENY

The legend of Blue-Eyed Boys has stood the test of time. It has been rumored that when the first child, a son, was born to Daddy Ed and Swoots, he had blue eyes, as do many babies at birth.

As the first-born son he was named for his father. But, when his eyes changed from blue his name was changed to William Clyde. Then when the next son was born the same thing happened and his name became Wilmer Ray.

Finally, the blue pigment stayed and I became Thomas Edgar Rutledge, Jr. I can neither affirm nor deny this story. The fact remains, my eyes are still blue.

As an interesting adjunct to this legend, my first born son's eyes have remained blue and he is TER, III. Furthermore his son, TER, IV, has blue eyes.

Believe it or not!

Father's Day

IT'S SO NICE TO HAVE A DAD AROUND THE HOUSE
By Helen Steiner Rice

DADS are special people
No home should be without,
For every family will agree
They're 'SO NICE TO HAVE ABOUT' -
They are a happy mixture
Of a 'SMALL BOY' and a 'MAN'
And they're very necessary
In every 'FAMILY PLAN' -
Sometimes they're most demanding
And stern, and firm and tough
But underneath they're 'soft as silk'
For this is just a 'BLUFF' -
But in any kind of trouble
Dad reaches out his hand.
And you can always count on him
To help and understand -
And while we do not praise Dad
as often as we should,
We love him and admire him,
And while that's understood,
It's only fair to emphasize
His importance and his worth -
For if there were no loving Dads
This would be a 'LOVELESS EARTH'.


- Thomas Ed

Happy Mother's Day

to Julie, Susan, Lou, Sheila, Erin - and most especially to my own Dear Mom! My hopes that all of you have a wonderful, wonderful day!

driving daze

I distinctly remember a tale of young Uncle Billy Bob (before he was an uncle I believe) and an incident involving a pushbutton automatic transmission in a vehicle. Is it possible that this occurred at Laurelledge??

- Eddie

Thought for today

"I don't say I'm no better that anybody else,
but I'll be .............. just as good"

- Aunt Eller
OKLAHOMA