December 17, 1966

Jackie and I were excited on this date. It was the wedding day of our first born child, Nancy Ann. From left to right in the picture is Charles Elbert Monson, Nancy Ann Wright, Robert Wayne Wright, and Jackie Lois Monson.

Bob and Nancy were a very good looking bride and groom. They have been a joy for Jackie and I. So have their two boys and two girls.

Replace new chair with new chair.

I gave the acid test to the chair that was delivered Monday. I slept in it all night. Not great. I had tested a larger chair on my shopping trip last week but did not think it would fit in my trailer. The chair was only three inches wider but much more comfortable so I had it delivered on Tuesday. I slept in the newer new chair last night and it was much better. I am glad that I exchanged chairs. I hope to sit in my chair for some years.

This picture is with available light (no flash). The flash rendered the color cherry red when the color is really maroon. Do you feel like you know enough about my chair?

Ethan Newberry, Soccer Player.

Boy it was hot last Saturday at Ethan's soccer game at Chenault Park in Monroe, Louisiana. You can see that Ethan toughed it out. I wish that I was that tough! I am proud to be Ethan's Great Grandfather.

My New Chair.

This is a picture of my new chair. This scene looks like the nerve center of the civilized world, huh? On my left is my Apple Pro Mac laptop. On my right is my desktop with Windows 7. Of course my iphone is always on hand.

I had several days of agonizing over the color of my new chair. It was available in red and black. I chose red but was immediately deep in second thoughts. This chair is a big part of my life. Quite often I have to sleep in my chair. (Cough, trouble breathing.) I am in it a lot. There is a good chance that I will die in it.  It is the center of my living area.

I liked the red but thought; is it a sissy, gay color? Black would be manly and not show spots as much as the red. But I am glad I went with red. It looks good, huh? Anyway, I am so tough that I could have a pink chair if I wanted to, huh?
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Dubach the Dogtrot Capital of the World

Did you know that Dubach, Louisiana is the dogtrot capital of the world?

It must be or the above sign is incorrect.

The dogtrot house above has been moved to here and reconstructed. It is very old. Dogtrot houses were used a lot in this area of North Central Louisiana.

This is a photo of the house and the people who lived there in 1920. Notice the different roof.

During the Dubach Chicken Days there was "Picking on the Porch".

These gentlemen are great musicians. I really enjoyed the music.

Dubach Chicken Days

Growing chickens is a big part of the economy of Dubach. The town has an annual festival devoted to chickens. Dubach is about 30 minutes north of Ruston.

There are many booths and activities,

One of the activities is a struct, crackle, and crow contest. The object is to best imitate a chicken. This is a picture of three finalists. Note the great wing action.

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This girl was the winner. Must have been an oriental chicken. She is justifiably proud of her certificate.

Fender Bender-My Fender!

I parked in my usual spot and was attending the morning meeting of the Jefferson Corner Liars Club. I was about finished with my coffee and about to go to water exercise class when I was called to the counter. It was a little after 6 am.  A young man (a driver for the gasoline delivery company) told me he had bad news for me. He had moved my car with his truck!

The move left some ugly wrinkles in my car.

The body shop said that they could repair the damage for $4127 and two weeks shop time.

New Mexico Ladies won 3 straight!

They are going home to Las Cruces smiling. I have seen the Lady Techsters win every volley ball game I have seen. Well tonight I saw them loose three games in a row. They really know how to volley ball in New Mexico.

My Dad and Mom.

This is a picture of my Mom and Dad. They look happy. I estimate the year of the picture as 1920. Dad would have been 39 and Mom 31. The last two of their nine children were born after this picture. Warren was number eight and I was number nine. Unfortunately I do not remember this couple. Mom passed away when I was five. Dad had a massive stroke when I was 14 and was an invalid for the last 17 years of his life. I have supported myself since I was 14. I highly recommend having both parents around for most of your life!

Genealogy Data.

Charles Abner Monson b. 1881 in Covington, KT d. 1957 in Downey, CA Age 76.

Olive Knowlton Monson b. 1889 in Stirling, KS d. 1931 in Los Angeles, CA Age 42.

We lost Charlie!

Charlie lived next door and was one of my best friends. He would come over most every day to visit. You knew it when Charlie scratched on the door. Often he would see my car coming home from his yard. By the time I got to the garage door he would be there. He would do his best to act like a very happy puppy. He would sort of jump and wag his rear end. Charlie was 15. That is very old for a lab,

When I was told last night that Charlie was dead my eyes got wet. I said to myself "You can not cry over a dog dying." I was wrong.  I dried my eyes and cried later. Charlie was always so glad to see me. I know that he loved me. I was very fond of him.  A couple of weeks ago he came over. I went over the memory of that visit. His arthritis was so bad that the pain made him stop and rest every 20 steps or so. He had lost weight and looked ready for Dog Heaven. I will miss him!

Granddaughter Corrie.

What is such a nice girl doing in such a beautiful place? I sure admire Corrie. She is a real climber! She is a Pastry Chef in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. I do not see any ovens in this picture.She really goes places on her days off. This is Table Mountain.

Navy-Louisiana Tech Football Game.

There was a big crowd. I went over to the stadium about an hour before game time. There were streams of fans and police everywhere. People were parking 3 to 4 miles away. I said "nuts!" and went to shop at Walmart.

Later during the second quarter I went back to the game. Traffic had settled down and the police were at the game. I was able to sneak into a parking place just a half mile from the stadium. A football game at Tech is a real show. With my student body card I get in free. I loose money if I stay home. I watch the play on the scoreboard a lot. And the replays are worthwhile.

The Navy drummer played with the Tech Band during the halftime show.

The Navy Band and Cheerleaders celebrate a touchdown.

The Louisiana Tech Cheerleaders celebrate a score.

Pep Rally for Latech/Navy Game

Louisiana Tech is playing a football game against Navy this evening in Ruston, Louisiana. A pep rally was held downtown at noon. It was hot. The VFW participated. I did a tiny bit. Placed a flag in a holder.

A color guard brought the flag.

And raised it high.

JD Harper, Commander of the local VFW Chapter was proud to salute the flag.

The Tech pep squad danced.

They posed for a group picture. Typical Louisiana girls, kinda beautiful!

The Tech Band came and played. After all this work Tech should win the game tonight.

Four Monson Men

Keith

I do not have a group picture of the four Monson men. So I picked out a nice picture of each. They are all WW 2 era pictures. One of us was in the Marines, one was in the Navy, one was in the Army, and my oldest brother, Keith, was a defense plant worker. He made airplanes in El Segundo. He was married with children when the war came along. The pictures are arranged by age. Top is Keith, then George, then Warren, then Chuck.

Genealogy data.

Keith b. 1916 in Redlands, CA d. 1975 in Pomona, CA Age 59.

George

George b. 1918 in Riverside, CA d. 2003 in Van Nuys, CA Age 85.

Warren b. 1921 in Chino, CA d. 2003 in Seattle, WA Age 82

Chuck b. 1925 in Pomona, CA

Warren

Chuck

We had a lot of  discussions about who was winning the war!

My Five Sisters

This is one of my favorite pictures. It is of my five sisters. I guess that it was taken around 1915. Ten years before I was born.  I had five assistant Mothers. From the left they are Jean, Thelma, Donna, Nita, and Dallas. These were the senior citizens of my childhood. They were so nice to me. They were fun to be with. I love them much!

The youngest were the twins, Dallas and Donna. Their oldest sister Nita is holding Dallas and has Donna leaning on her. Don't you know that Nita was a busy older sister?

Genealogy data on my sisters.

Nita b. 1907 in Elk City, OK. d. 1993 in Blythe, CA age 86.
Thelma b. 1909 in Long Beach, CA d. 2001 in Roseburg, OR age 92.
Jean b. 1912 in Redlands, CA d. 1977 in Pomona, CA age 65.
Donna b. 1913 in Redlands, CA d. 2009 in Hanford, CA age 96.
Dallas b. 1913 in Redlands, CA.

Dallas is still living it up in Oregon City, OR. I visited her in July. She will soon be 97.

Tune in again for data on my three brothers.

  

Hank and Patsy

Last night I enjoyed a show at the historic Dixie Theater in downtown Ruston. Starring in the show were Hank Williams, Senior (Jason Petty) and Patsy Cline (Carolyn Martin). They had a good country band with them. It was a very good show. I mean we have culture in Ruston, Louisiana.