2 B Faithful to the Green Godess or 2 B a Damned Hypocrite: That is the Question

While chatting with a drunken neighbor the other day the discussion of native songbirds being displaced by non-native intrusive species came up. You know - how European Sparrows and Starlings and such have displaced the original American Buntings and Tanagers and such? They've been doing it for hundreds of years now encouraged by the encroaching landscapes of agricultural and suburbian growth.

He intensely tells me how he hates these intrusive birds and says he takes a gun out and shoots them every chance he gets.

Him being an aggressive, redneckish, self confessed drunkardly sort of person, I was surprised to see him have such a passion for native species ala the "environment."

I was surprised just to hear him act like he liked anything really other than beer.

Thinking I was in some kind of normal semi-intelligent conversation, I started reasoning with him how, "Well, these other birds are creatures of nature also and just want to eat... blah blah ... the earth changes, animals migrate... etc... I'm not sure despising, trapping and shooting all of them is the answer... and so on"

Foolish me.

He got extremely irrate, looked at me in appalled disgust and said, "Why you're nothing but just a God-damn hypocrite!"

He hollared at his wife he was soundly going home now and stomped off. I thought he wanted to punch me. (We were at least friendly acquaintences before that.)

I didn't know what to say and really felt dumbfounded.

I don't believe I've ever been called a hypocrite before. It didn't make sense. How can you be a hypocrite about basic nature and the environment with a "things-like-to-eat" stance.

(I have a degree in Environmental science and I sacrifice much to live in the Texas hill country wilderness where I live. I love animals and nature. I never use pesticides. I gave up hunting cause I don't like killing, and I'll carry a spider or insect out of the house to set it free outside instead of killing it.)

I pondered for weeks why he so vehemently dispised and rebuked me so under his "realization" that I was hypocrite.

Then it finally dawned on me.

This was some kind of religion to him.

He's a member of some kind of Green Goddess cult.

It's religion. How else could one become a hypocrite, except within the confines of some kind of a religious proclamation?

(By the way, he works for a construction company that claims to be very eco-friendly and has the green image built into their marketing.)

First Great Adventure

my little 5 year old nephew was swimming in the Blanco river the other day..... water was high and rapids were flowing. we got caught up in a flow and kind of got swept downstream... i was struggling a little bit but being very sure to hang onto his arm.... i was going to drown myself before I let him get into trouble... he couldn't swim, but I wasn't really too worried cause i knew that the rapids weren't too long and they were shallow. we were never really in any danger though i'd had a beer or two and i shouldn't got caught up with this little one in the rapids in the first place.

we came out of it after falling about and sucking water a few times. I pushed him to the shore and came out myself.

he walked up to his dad, who was a little bit bit worried and would've jumped in to save us both at any given moment, and commented, "I just had my first great adventure."

It was cute and funny and dramatic.

What struck me the most was just the awareness that this little boy had of his own life - to the extent that he could frame up in his own little mind his own life to the extent of viewing his whole life in his mind - and he figured this was his first "great adventure."

I was honored.

I hope he'll remember me and his first great adventure.

driving home drunk

i was driving home this evening and i realized that you should wear your seat belt especially if you're drunk. I was kind of swerving across the double yellow lines without my seat belt on and it struck me - if I wrecked, I'd be hurt even worse without my seat belt. So I'm going to try and remember and encourage everyone else. When you drive drunk, be sure to wear your seat belt. It'll give you a little bit more protection in case you wreck.

Open Response to cousin Kirby Grider in Iraq

Sent Fri 5/25/2007 9:10 AM

Dear Kirby Grider,

What an honor to receive such a complimentary letter. Just this one letter expressing appreciation for the work I’ve done gives me hope that it’s not done in vain. Knowing there are others like myself who just want to know and appreciate those people that came before us and generated the seeds that today have become myself - makes it an honor for doing it all. Thank you very very much for expressing your appreciation.

I hope this letter finds you and you can forgive me for the long delay in response. You may have been put aside, but you were not forgotten. Thank you for the bravery it takes to keep up such faith.


[Your letter has been sitting on my desktop as I’ve pondered and played and forgotten. But I’ve left it there to remind me to make the time to reply in a proper manner.]

In response to your letter:

So you knew Goldie, huh? That’s cool. I’ve got some pictures and video of her and me in her last years. She gave me lots of good material, documents, and photos. I need to trace back to where you say your family and mine tie and maybe I can find some pictures you’d be interested in.

So you remember stories of Grandma Phoebe, huh? That’s super cool. There’s maybe one or two people left alive that actually remember her. One of them is my Uncle Roy who was a child when she was around. He is about 80 now. (I’ve named my dog “Phoebe Dove” as a keepsake of her name.)

Scotch-Irish blood is a bit of a misnomer. There was hundreds of years of warring and land switching between the three sections of northernmost England between the mixed bloods of Scotch/Irish/English. This is what has come to be known in common language as just “Scotch-Irish”. They in reality were migrants from those warring tribes in that three-fold area that arrived into the 13 colonies right AFTER the main English settled the coastal plains. Since all the good lands were taken, they were forced to reside and “settle” the backwoods lands and into the Appalachian foothills.

They were a warring and migrant class of people where the women kept what little homes they maintained and the men did mostly warring. They were tough and fit into the rough life of mountain living and Indian fighting. These were where the original hillbilly archetypes come from.

The families moved up and over the Appalachians and up the Ohio valley which pretty much ends in the Kentucky, Southern Illinois, Missouri valleys and bottom lands. (Look at a relief map and you can envision it.)

That’s the high level view of what populated these areas and where our ancestors in Southern Illinois came from.

As far as your personal family history goes… considering that you have two children and the interest is deep within your heart, I would strongly recommend you not put off pursuing your father and his history.

Get at least the names and pictures before it is too late. Don’t put it off. Your mother may be embarrassed or something, but she needs to get it off her chest also. It will make for a blessed conversation between you and your mom.

Thanks for being a soldier and taking on the hardship of being over there in Iraq.

My advice:
Research, find, and write down who you are, where you came from and what you think.
You never know who it might help plus you’ll make it that much harder for them to forget about you.

Again, my sincerest apologies for such an extreme delayed response.


Your friend and cousin,
Mitch Sanders

Meet Kirby Grider - A distant cousin

Subject: Ingles Descendant
Date: Wed, 21 Feb 2007 00:44:15 +0300

Mr. Sanders,

Let me first say, that I am very impressed with your research into the Ingles family and that if I may contribute at any time, I am at your call.

Let me first tell you who I am. My name is Kirby Scott Grider, son of Linda M. Montgomery. She was married twice previously, first to Paul Grider, second to Ricky L. Shipman SR., and then thirdly to Craig Montgomery. She is the daughter of John Wesley Eudean Ingles. Who of course is the brother of Goldie Ingles, who you spent a lot of time with.

Now that you are aware of who I am, I would like to say thank you for the work that you have done. I know Goldie was very much interested into our family blood lines and unfortunately I did not get to spend a lot of time with her talking before she left us. I joined the Army as soon as I was old enough and been traveling the world. I am actually writing this email from my desk in Iraq. I have tried to keep up with any updates you have posted on your website and to my best recollection it has been updated since I last looked at it. You have preserved my families history for years to come, thanks to the technology age and computers.

I have been very interested in my families military background and continue to try and research it. Most significantly Samuel and Andy Ingles. The Civil War time frame is my favorite period in our Great Counties history. The ability for it to fight in those conditions and stay a country and not let itself divide. Brothers fighting Brothers and Cousins fighting Cousins. It must have been a very trying period. Abe Lincoln is my favorite president at that. He must have been a great man to deal with the things he had in those four years and the decisions he made to include his significant losses in his family.

One of the things that interest me most is my families ties all the way back to the homeland, which ever it may be. Ireland or Scotland. The different cultural background as well is interesting that Phoebe had Native American blood, pipe smoking and fortune telling. I remember my grandparents telling me stories of her when I was young and thought they were just stories your grandparents told you. They made her out to be a very strong woman. It was also very interesting that Goldie would say that the Pollard side was Spanish. I just wonder where that side would eventually lead to. The possibilities are endless. I was born to Linda Ingles in 1979, she was a single mother and to this day, I do not know who my biological father is. I could probably find out if I asked my mother since she has kept it a secret from everyone, but I suspect one person knows, but that time will come when I can complete the background of who I am and my family genes. I lived with my mother, grandmother, and the other siblings

I was born to Linda Ingles in 1979, she was a single mother and to this day, I do not know who my biological father is. I could probably find out if I asked my mother since she has kept it a secret from everyone, but I suspect one person knows, but that time will come when I can complete the background of who I am and my family genes. I lived with my mother, grandmother, and the other siblings of my mother which are 7 total including my mom until my mother met the man I call Dad. My dad met my mother when I was two years old and they finally married when was three. I have two sisters and a brother. My older of the two sisters was Paul Griders and the younger brother and sister are born from Rick Shipman. Family history is very important to me and I am grateful for what you have done. I have read your site more than a few times and always intrigued by my family and their history, as I am sure you are with your side.

I am probably not very good at relating how my family history goes, but I have two children of my own. One not born from me and the other is 3 years old who is my biological son. Its very important to me that they understand their bloodlines and their families lives in history. I think it really tells a story of how we came about and who we are. Any advice or interesting things that you could tell me would greatly be appreciated. I know I have been rambling on. So I will let you go.

Thanks again for the work.

KIRBY S. GRIDER
SSG, USA
Senior Human Resources SGT
2nd BN, 14th IN
VoIP 242-7678

Abbie Ostrem - The Magic Touch

Abbie Ostrem is a great photographer and if you were a friend of hers you might be lucky enough to get a few shots of yourself published on her website.

I happen to be lucky enough.

She's a truly awesome photographer and when she came by the other day we were preparing our garden. She brought her camera and just ripped off a few shots. They came out awesome and my mom has since framed a few to decorate her home.

Thanks Abbie. I'm honored.