I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

Author: Sheila Morris

  • The Three Little Huss Brothers and How They Grew


    Worsham Street looks much the same as it did when we lived there from 2010 – 2014, but that’s about all that does in our little town of Montgomery, Texas which is growing, growing, growing. We had wonderful visits with some of the Little Women of Worsham Street and, of course, a memorable encounter with the Fabulous Huss Brothers.

    Dwight and George start a project after school 

    Pretty gets involved – stirring putty for a

    Star Wars mold

    Dwight discovers new Star Wars candy container

    for his Mini M&Ms

    Oscar is almost as tall as Miss Sheila…

    but still young enough to be happy to see her

    The Fabulous Huss Brothers in 2014

    Our Worsham Street visits are always too short, we missed seeing some of our friends…but we will save them for another time when we return to Texas. We always do.

  • Go West, Old Lesbians, Go West!


    We left Ponchatoula, Louisiana this morning with clean clothes  and high spirits as Pretty loaded the car with our assortment of suitcases and a gazillion “little things” that defy description and seem to multiply each day. Cheetos, Doritos, pretzels, M&Ms with peanuts, peanut brittle, unnamed chocolate covered almonds, diet cokes, dr. peppers, chewing gum, camera, worthless gps, dog leashes, walking cane; the list goes on and on of the “little things” on the floorboard of the passenger seat that have to be carried to and fro with the suitcases. Yikes. Thank goodness for Pretty.

    Atchafalaya National Heritage Area 

    a wonderful swamp ride on I-10 between

    Baton Rouge and Lafayette, Louisiana

    Pretty and I have enjoyed this section of interstate every time we’ve been through it. The images of thousands of dead tree trunks rising  up from the water that stretches as far as the eye can see on both sides of the interstate and even in between the eastbound and westbound lanes of the bridges in some places are breath -taking. Atchafalaya – the name itself is a national treasure. I indulge in wishful thinking that I should have the DNA of  an indigenous person whenever I speak it, although my Ancestry tests prove otherwise.

    Lake Charles, Louisiana

    (Pretty takes a driving break)

    Following an absolutely fabulous lunch of the consistently best fried shrimp on the planet just outside of Lafayette at the Boudin Shop a/k/a Chikin on the Bayou, we continued west on I-10 to Lake Charles and Pretty took an antiquing break. Luckily, she was able to find a few treasures, but Charly and Spike lost a lot of their traveling space in the back seat and weren’t too pleased with their new riding arrangement.

    As a matter of fact, we had a harrowing incident with Charly who has been a nervous wreck today in the car for some reason and slipped out of her collar when Pretty let the dogs out for a potty break in Cleveland, Texas at a very busy corner with cars and 18-wheelers whizzing around us. Charly spotted several blackbirds on the ground ahead of her and impolitely shook her collar over her head and ran off. We were horrified and hollered at her to come back – which she did – running joyfully and leaping like the terrier she is. We were not amused. Charly didn’t understand the hoopla. She may have a better understanding since Pretty purchased a new harness for the would-be Houdini.

    Aahhh…zzzzz…

    Happiness is a king-sized bed at a

    pet-friendly La Quinta in Conroe, Texas

    So glad to be in Texas once again and have had such a great trip to get here!

     P.S. Pretty just told me the Washington Times reported today that the current DT administration has decided the federal government isn’t interested in identifying the country’s LGBTQ citizens in the 2020 Census. No need to know. Seriously? Not included in the 2020 Census? Pretty and I are a make-believe family? We don’t exist? Well, I never. Shame on you. I’m calling it a night.

     

  • SHOW ME YOUR FOURS!!! GO COCKS!!!


    Okay, my daddy always told me, She who tooteth not her own horn, the same shall not be tooteth. Here’s my horn, and I’m tooting it today…

    GAMECOCK MEN AND WOMEN

    BASKETBALL TEAMS 

    IN THE MIDDLE OF MARCH MADNESS!!

    GO COCKS!!

    Gamecock basketball fans can’t figure out where to make their Final Four reservations this week – the men are going west to Phoenix and the women to Dallas for the final weekend of March Madness in 2017. Question: How much “madness” can the University of South Carolina stand in one wild, wacky, wonderful basketball year? And the answer is Ding, Ding, Ding the Daily Double – both teams are Regional Road Warriors and Winners.

    As PJ Dozier said at the Welcome Home celebration for the men in Columbia Sunday at the Colonial Life Arena,  Gamecock Fans, Show me your Fours!

    The names Sindarius Thornwell, Notice, Silva, Dozier, A’ja Wilson, Davis, Gray, Cuevas-Moore, Harris, Cliney are household words in the homes of South Carolina fans who revere the round ball and will now take their deserved places in Gamecock basketball lore as they have led their respective teams into the record books for the school and the SEC as well.

    A’ja Wilson – 1st Team All American

    Congratulations to # 22 A’ja Wilson, the junior from Hopkins, South Carolina who was named to the All American 1st Team. The honor couldn’t be more well-deserved because Wilson has been not only the spark plug for the spirit of the team but also the checkered flag- waver to help her team stay focused to cross the finish line of every game this season whether on the bench or on the game floor. This girl has spunk, and I love spunk. You go, girl.

    Last night Pretty and I plus our dogs Spike and Charly who had been rescued from the Doggie Day (and night) Care in New Orleans stayed in Patchatoula, Louisiana off I-10 to see if our women were Final Four bound. And so they are, and so we will continue our love affair with Coach Dawn Staley and her team and turn west toward Texas to make sure we are there to support them in person this final weekend of the season.

    Whatever the scoreboard says in Dallas or in Phoenix, our young women and men are winners and for us personally have provided more than enough entertainment to lift our family from a self-absorbed political pity party we have had since November. For that, we say a huge thank you and good luck in the next games.

    P.S. I couldn’t believe we would leave New Orleans without once hearing When the Saints Go Marching In and Sunday night at the very last possible minute, a wedding party parade outside our hotel had a very loud band playing the song while everyone danced in the streets. Magical moment. Memory Maker, as Granny Selma would have surely said.

    New Orleans version of a wedding party

    Pretty documented it for us

    Say goodbye, New Orleans and Hello, Big D, little a, double l, as.

  • Saints and Sinners Festival Fun, Fun and More Fun!


    I served on a panel with other authors Rich Barnett, Martin Hyatt, Martin Pousson and moderator Jeff Mann. The topic was Home is Where the Art Is: Or is It?  So fascinating to hear everyone’s stories about the impact our beginnings have had on our writing…from Appalachian mountain man to Louisiana Bayou boys, from Voodoo practicing to Pentecostal preachers, from families and extended families who couldn’t understand us –  we escaped to places away from home like San Francisco, New York City, Rehoboth, Delaware; Columbia, South Carolina. The journeys became the impetus for our words.

    I had an opportunity to read an excerpt from my short story that is included in the Saints and Sinners Anthology for 2017. It was really fun! Pretty and my other two Peeps who made the trip from South Carolina were the best support anyone could have had…really made it much easier to read when I saw them beaming in the audience.

    Beignets anyone??

    You bet!

    Peep Posse in New Orleans

    Our good Columbia friends Nekki and Francie met us in NOLA and we have been women on a roll in the Big Easy. Francie and I watched the Gamecock men bust everyone’s brackets this afternoon from a perch at the Boomtown Casino while Pretty and Nekki took a historical tour of the city where they saw a poster for a Chris Rock concert tonight. Enough said.

    So, if you’re looking for us tonight, go to the Saenger Theater and get ready to throw down with Chris!

  • Bright Lights, Big City


     

    New Orleans downtown – amazing architecture

    Colorful flags everywhere!

    Signs of the season

    Pretty loves what? Art galleries – Shopping!

    Looking down Royal Street

    Lunch with famous blogger

    The K9 Miss Harper Lee

    (and her human mommy Suzanne)

    One of The Red Man’s favorite blogging amigas was the gorgeous golden femme fatale Miss Harper Lee. Harper Lee and Red shared romantic messages in cyberspace for many years, and Slow and Pretty were delighted to meet Miss Lee and Suzanne up close and personal for lunch on their first day in NOLA. Harper Lee was the perfect hostess and the sensation of the courtyard setting in the Amelie Restaurant. Food was delicious; cocktail, wine and ice tea refreshing, but the real treat was the company. It was a perfect introduction to our visit. Miss Harper Lee rocks and rules…forever.

    Getting down to business – 

    What SAS festival author managed to sit on a slow-leaking sprinkler head in a courtyard during the Gliterati Literati cocktail reception, didn’t realize it until she was totally drenched, and then had to have Pretty walk closely behind her as they politely excused themselves? (Think the scene in Bringing up Baby when Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn made their rather awkward one-on-one exit from a swanky restaurant.)

    Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play?