Ridge House - Chapter 2



Mud Hole would be Better than Ridge House

Once I had stepped into a deep mud hole and couldn’t get out. When they found me I was up to my neck in mud. They threw a rope to me and I managed to get it around my shoulders and four men pulled me out. I would rather be back in that mud hole than to be where I am now.

The Widow said he was sick but I know a drunkard when I see one, and he was a full blown drunk. He was sober enough to keep me busy repairing things he had let go for years.

He would try to hit me and yell at me to speed things up but I was going as fast as I could. I asked for some food and he said that I only was allowed to eat twice a day.

I thought if that is the case the breakfast was going to have to be a lot bigger than what I had the first morning. I was so weak from working and hunger that by evening I could hardly stand.  After all I was a growing boy.

My angel said to wash up and she would feed me. When I came back she said, “You missed some spots so do it again.

Once I returned and she had a nice big bowl of stew ready for me. It looked like most of the meat had been picked out but it was filling.

After an hour I felt much better but then was sent back down to the dungeon.

This same thing went on for six weeks, and I had managed to make a little headway.

I was tired of being abused by Gregory for no reason and one day there was a beam hanging by a thread. I was going to remove it but Gregory hit me and sent me to do another task.

When I returned a couple of hours later he lay there with the beam on top of him.

When Lady Johnson saw what had happened she at first blamed me, but I told her he sent me to do another task saying he wanted to handle this job alone.

She knew where I was so she knew I had nothing to do with it. She told me to take Gregory’s body to the poor people’s section of the grave yard and bury him there. I could hardly manage the task but finally I managed to get him under.

There was no one to say words over him and since I had been to many funerals I thought I would say something. I started by saying, “Lord” we send Gregory to you today. He wasn’t a bad sort (I knew I was lying about that part but I had heard preachers do that before for some of the worthless ones) so if you can some mercy for him we would appreciate it Amen.”

That was about the best sendoff I could give him so I got my shovel and went back to Ridge House.

I wasn’t very hungry that night but since my angel served it I ate it all.

Six months had passed when I was summoned to the big room and to my surprise there were three young men there with Lady Johnson (her grandsons). They were laughing and she was laughing with them. I had never seen her without her face in a frown.

When she saw me she called me over and said, “Stay,” then she told the young men to go and check out their rooms and see if everything was to their liking.

After they left she said that since Gregory is dead I would have to do his work and mine ( I was already doing it.)

I said, “That would be fine if there were some changes made.”

She swelled up as if she was going to bust and sputtered out, “What changes?”

I said I would now live in Gregory’s old room and eat at the table where he ate and get the food he got and the wages he got.

She told me that my father always got my wages and I still would get nothing.

I said, “Then let him do the work.”

She said, ‘He isn’t going to do that and you know it.”

I said, “Do I? The only way I will work is if from now on I get the same wages Gregory got?”

She said, “Okay and what are the other demands?”

“One, people will treat me with the respect they gave Gregory.”

She said, “Done!”

I said, “Fine then everything is settled and the work will get done in a first-rate manner.”

As I headed to my new room my angel walked with me and said, “I’m glad you have a nice room, for we can visit every night before we go to sleep.”

Things were looking so much better because almost a year sleeping in the dungeon was about all I could take.

The three grandsons appeared to do little of nothing. They would ask me to do small things they could have done for themselves.

Lady Johnson laid out for me a number of things to do, as there were going to be parties thrown in the future for the grandsons.

After a month I had everything finished she ordered and several more she didn’t have on the list.

Then the first accident happened.  Joseph the butler tripped going down to the wine cellar.

I was the first to discover him and upon inspecting the stairs I found a wire that would act as a trip wire and that was what he tripped over to his death. I quickly removed it before some else tripped over it.

Joseph had been with Lady Johnson for many years and she was overcome with grief.

The party was canceled for now even though the three grandsons insisted it go on.  They rescheduled it for two weeks later while moaning about it messing up their schedules.

The only person Lady Johnson would see for the next three weeks was Connie, and after that she got up and dressed, and acted as if nothing had happened.

The sheriff had been called in and I told him about the wire but he ignored that saying no one in this house would ever have done that so forget it.

He went on and said no autopsy would be necessary for it was obvious what had happened; he slipped and fell because he was old.

As a last resort I asked about the skinned places on his legs where the wire scraped him as he fell.  The sheriff said that could have happened anytime, anywhere.

After that I shut up and he left.  

I knew there was a murderer in the house and I wondered when he would strike again and who the next victim would be.

 

To be Continued

 

 

Ridge House - Chapter 1

A new Short Continued Story Begins today

 

Ridge House



 

"Marvin I want you to go up to Smoky Ridge to 'Ridge house' and help the widow Johnson for a few weeks."

Of all the words and sentences he could have said that was the last ones I wished to hear.

It was my Pa who uttered them and his word was law.  I saw my older brother rebel against Pa’s wishes once and I vowed I would never make that mistake.

After all these years my brother hasn’t fully got over Pa’s correction.

Ridge house was a fearsome place to go for a few minutes but to spend a few weeks was unheard of.

I thought about running away but I knew he would just send another brother in my place.

From all I had heard, the widow Johnson was a force to be reckoned with, and I sure didn’t feel up to the task but Pa said I had to go.

I gathered up what few clothes I owned and got a biscuit from the warmer above the cook stove and said I was leaving.  Ma came and kissed my fore head.  She said it was just in case I never saw her again or she me.

All the family gathered around me and said goodbye.  It seemed as if that was the last time they would ever see me or I them.

Hesitating, I stood on the bottom step of the porch while everyone went back inside and lit the lamp.

I knew I needed to hurry for the darkness was almost upon us so I took off a running.  I didn’t dare be caught in the darkness that surrounded Ridge House. It was almost dark around Ridge House even in the daytime.

Some bushes tore at my clothes as I ran along the narrow path through what everyone called the Evil Forest.  

I began to breathe almost normal when I arrived at the foot of the mountain Ridge House sat upon. There was an evil smell that surrounded the place and it burned your lungs if you breathed too deep.

As I climbed higher and higher up the path I could see a single light emitting from one of the dirty windows. Then there it was before me - - the door that opened into Ridge House.

I pounded on the door for some time until an old bent over man (who I found out later was named Joseph) opened the door for me.

He mumbled something that sounded like follow me, I couldn’t be sure but I followed him just in case.

There was a cold draft that blew through the great hallways and it caused me to shiver.  Then it got very warm as we approached the great room where the Widow Johnson sat patting a Great Dane dog.

He was huge and caused fear to come over me as he showed his teeth and growled with each breath.

She said, “Are you the worthless lad of the Levee clan?”

I didn’t know what to say so I said, “Yes… name of Marvin.”

She whispered to the old butler and said, “Bed him.”

He stared over my head at something and said, “Come.”

As he shuffled along I followed him and we went down, down, down till we were nigh unto the bottom that I could faintly see and hear the water as it dripped in the pool at the bottom of the dungeon.

There he said “Bed.”

I took it that he meant I was to sleep there.  Then I saw he had something in his hand.  It gave me a fright until I saw it was a teapot. He poured me a cup of tea and said, “Drink.”

I quickly drank the contents of the cup which was slightly bitter and he said, “More?”

I said, “No that was enough thank you.”

He then threw me what surely must have been a horse blanket.

He said, “Sleep,” and then left.

I blew out the candle he had left me and covered myself with the thin blanket he gave me.  

When the candle was extinguished I realized there were two windows that let the moonlight flood in and I could see my surroundings better than by candle light.

I didn’t feel like sleeping or so I thought.  I was awakened about an hour later (my guess) and the world was spinning. I couldn’t see clearly, and there was a vision of an angelic being before me but I couldn’t make it out clearly.

As the spinning ebbed it became a little more discernible as to what I was viewing. Then she covered me with a heavy cover that warmed me almost immediately and stopped my shivering. She then faded into the darkness and disappeared.

As I stared toward the ceiling, thinking about what just happened I noted the ceiling was about thirty feet above me and the walls were made of large stones hewn from a quarry. At one time there was mortar the stones were set in but it had dissipated over the years leaving large cracks in the stones.

Now that I was warm but still dizzy I drifted off to sleep.  I was awakened by the clanking of chains. The moonlight still illuminated the large room I was in and I saw an eerie figure slowly coming toward me dragging the chains.

As he neared me I began to climb the wall by using the cracks in the stones. He was grabbing at my feet until I was out of his reach and I was hanging on to the wall.  I hung on till I was exhausted I had to climb down. As I looked around he was nowhere to be seen.  There was a loud voice that could be heard a mile away after he had disappeared.

I lay there for about an hour and finally drifted off to sleep again for the rest of the night.  

When I awoke I looked for a place to relieve myself and saw where the stones had fallen away leaving an opening to the outside. I relieved myself through the opening and proceeded to find my way out of the dungeon type room. When I got to the top of the stairs I tried the door only to find it was locked.

There was an outcropping of stone at the top of the stairs so I sat on it waiting for someone to come and let me out. After about a half hour I began to beat on the door without any success.

An hour later I heard the key turn in the lock and waited for someone to open the door but it remained closed. I finally tried the door and it opened.

There was a small landing with five more steps up to the next floor of the house. I continued to climb upward on the steps and through doors I found myself on the main floor.

As I wandered through the house I was suddenly shocked to see a beautiful young girl (Connie) about my age (16) coming down the stairs and was there standing before me.

We stared at each other till she said, “Come.”

As my mind cleared I realized this is the girl of my vision and I think she is real.

I wanted to touch her to make sure but was afraid to. She led me to the kitchen and said, “Sit,” which I did as she gave me a small bowl of oatmeal. There was nothing to put in it, no milk, butter or anything.

I ate it and asked if I could have another bowl and she showed me the pan which was empty. What she gave me was little more than a taste and I was ready for some heavy eating but that was it.

She disappeared as a disheveled man came in and stared at me.  He would first stare at me and then roll his eyes to the ceiling making guttural sounds.

The butler entered followed by the old woman (the widow Lady Johnson). She said, “You the worthless Levee boy?”

I said, “Yes name of Marvin if you please.”

She, said, “Don’t you sass me or evil will come upon you according to my word.”

Those words caused me to all but lose control of my bladder… “No Ma’am I would never dare to do,” that as I shivered even though it was warm in the room we were in.

She said, ‘You been eating my vittles?”

“Yes Ma’am,” I said.

She looked at the disheveled man who was still making guttural sounds but quieter than before and said, “This is Gregory.”

She spoke to Gregory and said; “You know what to do, make him do your work, hear me?”

He said, “Yes Ma’am Lady Johnson.”

Then she looked at me and said, “He’s been sick. You gotta do his work you hear me?”

“Yes Ma’am Lady Johnson.”

Her eyes became like flames of fire as she began screaming for a long time. As she wound down, she through gnashing teeth said accenting every syllable; “Don’t ever say my name like that for your mouth defiles it.”

I was too scared to answer so I just hung my head and said nothing.

She spoke and said to Gregory; “Put him to work – Now.”

“Yes Ma’am,” he said as he grabbed my shoulder by the coat and pulled me out of there.

To be Continued

Chuck Wagon Cookie - Chapter 3

This short story ends today -
A new story begins soon - Y'all come back you hear?

 

Chapter 3

If they don't pay - We will burn it down!

Cookie asked Maria what she going to do now that the drive was over.

She said, “Get a job of some kind I guess.”

Then she asked what Cookie’s name was and he said, “Some call me Shorty.”

She said, “I know that much, but I want to know your real name.”

He said, “I think it was Leonard it’s been so long since I heard it I have forgotten what it is.”

She said, “From now on I will call you Lenny.”

He said, “The reason I was wondering what you would be doing was maybe we can get a job working together.”

She said, “Maybe we could.”

He said, “I know the guy who owns the stables let’s eat and go see him.”

She said, “Okay I’m hungry so let’s eat.”

After eating they went down to the stables and saw the owner Lester. The stables had some rooms out back where a person could live and several stables with a couple corrals also. When Lester saw Len he said, “Hello Shorty.”

Len said, “My name is Len now so call me that. He said we need a job for winter do you want some help?”

Lester said, “No I’m going to have to close down.”

Len said, “You have all the stables full and some more horses in the corrals.”

Lester said, “I have plenty of business it’s just that no one will pay me the money they owe me. He said I can’t collect it for I’m just too old to fight them and the sheriff won’t help me cause his horse is over there and he doesn’t pay me either.”

He went on and said, “The businesses on either side of me owe me a lot of rent money but they also won’t pay.”

Maria said, “If we collect the money owed you or most of it what will you give us?”

He said, “If you can get my money you can have a half interest in this place.”

She said, “I will be back shortly with a lot of your money.”

She explained to Len what to do and how to get the money from one of the guys next to Lester.

She went into the general store next to the stable and asked for a gallon of coal oil.  He asked her if she needed anything else and she said, “No, I think this is enough for once the fire is started it will do the rest.”

She said, “I’m part owner of the stable next door and we’re going broke because people like you won’t pay us.”

He said, “You can’t burn that place down for it will catch my place on fire.”

She said, “You might as well be out of business as we are. Oh yes, one more thing, please give me a box of matches.”

He said, “You can’t do that.”

She said, ‘You can watch it burn, or you could pay me and I wouldn’t need to burn it.”

A few minutes later she and Len walked in and handed Lester a good part of his money.

Maria said, “I think I will visit the sheriff next.” 

She smiled and I told the sheriff to get ready for his horse would be running down the street with his saddle on him unless he settled up.

This went on until they had almost all of the money owed to him.

Lester wanted to know how they did it and they said it don’t matter as long as we collected.

Lester said it looks like I have some new partners. Len and Maria took over the rooms in the back and settled in for the winter. Len went out and made some deals for enough hay and grain for the stock throughout the winter.

They also put a cover over one of the corrals to protect the horses who were housed there.

One evening someone tried to break in and steal one of the horses and Marie gave him a dose of large grain salt from her shotgun. It hurts like pellets but doesn’t usually kill.

Come spring new people were showing up and looking for a business to run. They had some offers for the stables, much more than it was worth. The three of them decided to sell to the highest bidder and now had a lot of money in their pockets. More than they ever hoped for.

A man from the East met Maria and asked her to marry him. She decided she had enough of the single life and he was well off so she wouldn’t have to worry about money any more.

Len and Lester saw her off as she headed East to her new home.

Len had an offer on a ranch to be the main cook and he decided to take it.

Lester built himself a small two room house and did odd jobs around town.

One of the town widows finally roped him and he is now a married man.

This is just one of the many chuck wagon stories some are true some are not, but all are interesting.

Finis

Chuck Wagon Cookie - Chapter 2

 

The next morning Cookie got up to find Maria was already hooking the team up to the wagon.

He said, “Let’s get some coffee from the cook’s shed and we’ll be on our way. Did you soak the beans like I said,” and she said a simple “Yes.”

He had already discovered she didn’t waste words unless she was angry and then she had a lot to say. They didn’t need to fix breakfast this morning for the hands would eat at the cook shack before they left for the roundup.

The ranch was large and it was going to be a chore to round up all the cattle for branding. The foreman had picked out three places where he wanted the chuck wagon set up while the roundup was taking place.

They had to have two meals ready each day with some jerky for the hands to take with them for during the day.

They had a water wagon that Maria drove and she was also responsible for keeping it full when near water. While rounding up the cattle there was always water near but once on the trail water could become scarce.

They needed enough water for the hands and a drink for the horses.  Only the working horses got water while the Remuda had to wait till they came to a stream.

There wasn’t much sleep to be had once they hit the trail. They were either cooking or moving to the next stop. Up early and as soon as the night herd guys were fed it was move up the trail and fix the supper.

It was a chore keeping up with the herd.  One of the hands named Joe rode alongside the chuck wagon and said I want some chili tonight instead of just plain beans and put a little fire in it. Cookie said alright that is no problem I’ll get right on it as soon as we stop for the night.

Some Like Chili Hot

An hour later he reached the stopping place and Maria got a fire started. She put on a large pot of beans that had been soaked overnight and put in a lot of chili powder and some cayenne also. As they were cooking she went and started to make some biscuits for supper.

Cookie came along not knowing she had already seasoned the beans and put some more chili powder and a lot of cayenne in them. He said if Joe wants hot then hot is what he is going to get.

After two hours they were ready just about the time the hands showed up yelling for some chili and biscuits. Joe was first in line and got a big plateful. About the third mouthful it hit him. He yelled out saying he never had anything this hot not even in Mexico.

Cookie said he fixed it like he always had and it was just his imagination. All the hands ate it because they were hungry but it almost seared their throat.

The foreman was the last one to taste it and he got on Cookie for making it so spicy. He quickly fried up some side meat and made some fresh biscuits for the foremen, Maria, and himself.

The next day all the hands were complaining about not being able to sit in their saddle for they were too sore from the Chili.

As they were nearing the end of the trail there hadn’t been any incidents with Maria for she kept her distance as much as possible.

She did a lot more washing of herself than the men did. Cookie figured women needed more cleaning then men do. The guys would have a good cleaning when they came to a stream and got the cattle settled in.

After dark Marie would slip down and have a bath by herself. Cookie would keep guard so she could have privacy. It wasn’t so much he thought she needed it but if the men saw her undressed it would stir up feelings better left alone.

The month was drawing to the end and so was the drive to the rail head. After the big payday it was get ready for the winter.  For some of the hands that weren’t needed until spring so for them, it was riding the grub line.

To be Continued

 

 

 

CHUCKWAGON COOKIE - Chapter 1

 

 

A new continued Story begins today. 

It is only three chapters, but you will enjoy it.

 

Chuckwagon Cookie

On The Trail

 

Shorty or Cookie as he was called on the trail had been at it for more years than he wished to remember.

Over the years he had tried to save a little money and that was what it was, a little.

Though he never got to town but every two months it was hard not to spend his wages on having a good time. If he went to the saloon and had a drink with the boys it was over for he followed them to the house of pleasure.

Two months wages spent in a few hours whose memory faded with the crowing of the rooster.

There was a few times when he got cleaned up, had a good meal, and settled in a nice hotel room for the night. Then the next day bought some personal things he needed and again had a good meal before heading back to the ranch sober.

Unfortunately this was the exception instead of the rule. Most times the next morning he would have trouble climbing aboard the horse he left tied at the hitching rail all night and tried to stay on him till he got back at the ranch.

He always swore he wasn’t going to take that first drink but yielded to the insistence of the hands that were willing to prime the pump by buying the first one. From there on he was buying for all his friends.

This time he drove the chuck wagon into town and went straight to the general store and bought supplies for the coming roundup.

His spices were limited to salt, pepper, chili powder, and cayenne powder. He needed a barrel of flour and a lot of side meat, beans, coffee, and some oats. There were a few things more but these were the most important things.

The store keep had to put the cayenne and the chili powder into some cans for they came in bulk. He said I guess you can tell them apart by tasting them. Cookie made his mark on one of the cans and said I guess that’d do it.

The foreman told Cookie to hire a Mexican to help him on the roundup so he stopped by a house where he knew a man that had helped him before and tried to find him.

A woman named Maria said the man he was looking for had returned to Mexico but that she could do anything the man could do and more. He was in a hurry so he said for her to get her stuff and to load up.

As they started off he was beginning to regret bringing her along for cowboys can get a little rowdy at times especially after being out on the trail for a few days. He was thinking I guess I can beat them off of her with a skillet if necessary.

It was then Maria reached in her bag and pulled out a knife and scabbard. She then pulled up her dress and fastened the scabbard above her knee and put the knife in it.

At first he thought she has nice legs but seeing that knife changed his line of thinking completely to I hope she doesn’t have to use that knife on one of the trail hands.

When the foreman saw her he started in on Cookie and said you know what is going to happen when we’re out on the roundup and especially when we hit the trail.

Cookie said I don’t think there will be much trouble after the first day or so and besides she was all I could get and I had to have someone to help me.

The foreman said, “Well just remember I gonna hold you responsible for what she does and what she gets.”

Cookie said, “Fine then let me get on with getting ready.”

The woman spoke pretty good English so there wasn’t a language barrier between them. He wanted to tell her about how he wanted her to conduct herself around the ranch hands but wasn’t exactly sure how to go about it.

He knew she would need some way to have some privacy at times so he rigged up a small tent and gave her a bucket once they were on the trail.

He knew the cowboys would be trying to get a glimpse of her so he was trying to get this across to her when she said, “I know how to handle these kinds of problems.”

He said, “Okay I’ll leave it up to you to do what’s best but no messing around for it will only lead to fighting among the men.”

She just rolled her eyes and shook her head for she had dealt with men who were rowdy before and was ready for what may come.

As it turned out the man Cookie had wanted to hire - had tried to take her by force and he got cut up in the process. That was the reason he went to Mexico for he was afraid of her.

Cookie told her that they were ready for tomorrow, so get some sleep for they would be leaving long before daylight.

To be Continued

I'll Keep on Loving You

Dedicated to my wife Hazel as we

celebrated 65 years of Marriage on December 1, 2014

 

 

I'll Keep on Loving You by Floyd Tillman

If the world keeps on turning as I'm sure it's bound to do

Then I'll keep on loving you

If the dawn comes tomorrow and we know that it is true

Then I'll keep on loving you

What the thing changes sky to fall

The dawn wouldn't come the world wouldn't stall

I wouldn't care as long as you're near it wouldn't matter to me at all

If the stars stay in heaven and the moon stays in the blue

Then I'll keep on loving you

If I ever should lose you then I know just what I'll do

I'll just keep on loving you

You are heaven to me dear you're my every dream come true

And I'll keep of loving you

Life is so sweet when you are near

I couldn't do without you my dear

 

I love you so I want you to know I think of you wherever I go

I will always be faithful and I'm sure that you'll be too

And I'll keep of loving you

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edmlzSxiYps

Langcaster House - Chapter 11

 

Todays Story is the Final Chapter of Langcaster House

A New story will begin soon !

 

Our Family gets bigger and bigger

 

Loraine, one of the cooks was so quiet that you wouldn’t know she was in the room. She didn’t speak unless it was absolutely necessary and then her answers were short and curt.

She just went about her business and didn’t bother anyone else. She was another one of those gals who was at the upper end of thirty and counting.

As a young girl she wanted a husband and children but because of the responsibilities her parents placed upon her she didn’t get to date much.

Being around Lucille didn’t help her situation because she was constantly bragging about all the men she was dating. Because of Lucille’s teasing Loraine about not having a boyfriend they got into some pretty heated arguments.

Lucille would tell about her dates and Loraine would say she was just making it all up. Barbra stepped in and told them to knock it off or they will be looking for new jobs. This calmed things down and they just wouldn’t speak to one another.

“The Man” had been given the responsibilities of guarding the children and as the families grew he couldn’t keep up with all of them. He told Charlie he needed some help for he couldn’t be in two places at once.

Charlie told him to hire as many men or women as he needed, and to just keep the kids safe.

Having been given the go ahead to hire some help he knew a man named Bruno who had guarded children before and was good with kids. He contacted him and he was available so he put him on after explaining what he would be expected to do. He then found a woman named Joan who worked for an agency who was well respected and she was willing to leave the agency she worked at and come to work for Charlie.  With his new reinforcements “The Man” had everything covered.

There was a couple of rooms with junk in them that Charlie had cleaned out and Joan the new guard moved in so as to always be near the kids when they were in the play areas.

There was an incident one day when two men tried to snatch one of the children and hold him for ransom.  Bruno was watching and spotted them as they approached the child.  One of Bruno’s favorite tools of his trade was a baseball bat.

He got behind the kidnappers and it was over in a flash. The men were unconscious and Bruno called “The Man” and told him what happened.

He said he would be right there. When he arrived one of the men came to and “The Man” told Bruno he could go and he would take it from here. It isn’t clear what happened after that but you can be sure it wasn’t pleasant.

Loraine would fix Bruno a plate whenever he came into the kitchen and gradually they started to go out when they were free.

Neither of them was very good at this dating business but they hit it right off. After a few dates he wanted to know if she would like to get married to him. This came as a surprise because it was unexpected.

She knew from the few dates they had he was very sensitive when it came to these personal things and while she wasn’t sure about getting married she didn’t want to say no.

She told him okay she would marry him figuring she could change her mind later if she decided against doing it. The only problem with that line of thinking was when he said he wanted to marry her he meant now; Like now this weekend.

She didn’t want to lose him for he might be the only one who would ever ask her but things were moving too fast for her.

Zeta one of the other cooks sat her down and explained how things happen fast sometimes and if she liked Bruno she better grab him.  

Zeta said she knew of a couple other women who would like to have him for their man.

That certainly helped her make up her mind pretty fast and they were married a few days later at Langcaster House.

Barbra told them to take a week off and then get back to work for they were both needed. Loraine couldn’t wait to tell the other cooks about her short honeymoon and how happy she was with Bruno.  This was a little much for Lucille for she still hasn’t found her man.

And so it goes at Langcaster House. It is hard to keep up with all the children who have been born so far but there are a lot of them. It is like cousins by the dozens. The older kids are fast becoming teenagers, which brings a series of new problems that is associated with that age.

In my case Linda is all over our kids and their problems. They seem to appreciate the fact she doesn’t cut them much slack like so many other mother’s do.

All this is possible because of a man named Charlie. You can say he is kind but all business. He will not tolerate any foolishness but yet he is always willing to help where needed.

He has slowed down the acquisitions of new businesses for which I’m glad for he buys them and turns them over to me to make them profitable.

The life at Langcaster House is just in its beginnings and who knows what the future holds for us all.  A final walk through the House Of Langcaster perhaps should be in order here.

The Wynn’s are gracefully growing older thanks to Charlie’s kind consideration of their needs. He still lets them be the hosts at many social events. He manages to do this without spending a fortune like the Wynn’s did in England. They have made the adjustments necessary to be considered the people you must have at your festive occasions.

Charles and Barbara

They have prospered in every way and are enjoying watching their children grow up. Barbara is teaching them the social graces while Charles makes them walk the common sense line. He is expert in running a business and now has been able to back off a little because of having a trained staff he can trust.

Brother Ryan

Ryan learned to control his wildness after his shotgun wedding and has done very well working for his father-in-law. He still lives with his wife’s family and his kids are doing well.

Brother George

George has given up racing himself but still sponsors a driver or two. His auto dealership is doing reasonably good and his wife Doris still is the life of the afternoon teas within their social group.

Brother Mason

Mason Jr., Elizabeth, and Anne, Mason and Elsa’s children are doing well. The girls have graduated from college and are married to a couple of company men who Charlie approved of.  One of the men was Black and the other was white. They are in the process of getting a family started. Mason Jr. is showing signs of wanting to travel. His father encourages him to go to Europe where his mother is from instead of Africa.

Sister Lonnie

She is doing pretty well with her doctor husband watching over her. Their child is growing into a well-adjusted young lady and is greatly loved by her mother.

Me and Linda

We are doing fine, since our marriage she has matured by leaps and bounds. She is doing a wonderful job of raising our children, and is the voice of authority in our home due to the fact of my busy schedule.  She still has the panties “the Man” tore off of her after her moment of indiscretion. She said she just wants to keep them to remind her not to do anything foolish again

Mary and Ellen

They are now busy raising their children who call Charlie grandpa. He cared for the two of them as if they were his kids and they are invited to every family event just like the rest of the family.

"The Man"

The Man is still watching over the household and is also one of the family. He is one of Linda’s favorite people. She is ever thankful he kept her from making the biggest mistake of her life. The kids all love him and he is their gentle giant.

Much of the staff is the same with some finally getting married and moving on.

Who knows how the future of Langcaster House will play out in years to come but I’m glad to be part of it.

Finis