Stop the Antler!

Antlers… what is this perverse need men and boys have to show off the antlers of dead animals. Dudes I do not care. Kill me a nice dinner at Forbes Island or The Pelican Inn that would impress me.  Is it the fact that you can provide food? You killed the terrible deer beast? You are good with a gun/rifle/bow?  I do not want to be searching for a photo of some ancient relative and have to scroll through your endless 

photographs of dead deer, turkeys, hogs or any other varmint you shot. I do not want to come across a photo of you and your cousin Bubba standing in a circle of death.

 Your 8 year old son in a jacket that looks like a sleeping bag grinning up from a pile of antlers is not endearing.  It would be like me lining up all my shoes and taking a photo with them. Look ma I killed me shoes at the mall!!! And posting it online somewhere so it shows up in random searches.

Here is my challenge…what to do with the beautiful Poinsettia P & P gifted me with. They are subtropical and do not like it cold, below 50, so I suppose I should bring them in off my porch. Keep it away from the drafts of doors and windows (I am not implying mine or your windows leak). Find it a sunny place in your home (that would have to be near a drafty window). Let the soil dry slightly before watering each time and use a water soluble fertilizer once a month. In late winter, before spring, cut back the red, pink or white leaves called bracts. The plant will branch and this causes the roots to become stronger. After all danger of frost is over move the plant outside and re-pot  It will enjoy our sweltering summers and grow. Unlike me who withers and shrivels up in the Texas summers. Bring the plants back inside when the temperatures starting falling to the 40s. You can make more by pinching off 3-inch cuttings and potting them. By September they will be 6 inches.

I was asked to participate in a mystery this weekend. In a book written by Pearl she claims her cousin Bettie Prieston was married to Ned D. my first cousin 2x removed and gave birth to twins which died after which they divorced. The year is 1929. Yes I changed the names! Off I go with a mission in mind to research this. I find I do not have a cousin named Ned D. So I look up the last name D and work from there. I find him. His name is really Edmonton D. Edmonton Winston D. He lives with his mother and her sister in 1927 and is living with them in 1930 also. He marries a woman named Abigail.  Still no Bettie I can find. No divorce. I look him up as Ned and Edmonton. What I did find was an entry on a death registration ledger that says N.W.D and Bettie Prieston had a child on 8-11-29, cause of death is listed as premature. Hmmmm… maybe it is Cousin Ned. I was encouraged and dug around more. I came up with a death certificate. It states that N.W.D is the father. It states that Bettie Prieston is the mother. That the Baby is a boy and his name is Maxwell. He was born 11 August 1929 and died 11 August 1929. The time frame for his illness 30 minutes; he is given the last name of D. 

Here is what had me believing it is possible. Ned’s father’s name was Maxwell. Not a common name to be sure. Edmonton was called Ned all of his life. He is listed as a business owner under Ned. Directories and phone books list him as Ned. But nowhere did I see his name linking him to this baby. Would you like to know the age of Ned during this? 24 Would you like to know the age of Bettie? 17  I found only 1 baby not twins. I have a few theories. Al of them would be wonderful. Do you have any thoughts to share? On this from the evidence available?