At my cousin Ruby Gifford's funeral yesterday, I was reminded that she had two brothers to die as small children. When I got to the cemetery I went to their graves and found that Jasper was about two months old and Jesse was 3 years and 7 months. I talked with Lynn & Sherry White at the funeral and was told that Jasper died of SIDS. Aunt Lizzie found the baby dead in bed for no apparent reason. Jesse apparently had pneumonia and the doctor over dosed him on medication which brought on his death. Now, the wives tale: I can remember as a child how the old folks would get real "antsy" when whip-o-wills (we called them whip-er- wills) got too close to the house at night. They said it was a sign (omen) that someone in the household would die very soon. I recall Aunt Lizzie White recanting this about the whip-er-wills and telling me that the evening on the night that Jesse died, that she sat on the front porch holding her son and the whip-er-wills came closer and closer to the house until they actually lit on the front porch where she was holding her sick baby. How desperately sad it must have been for Uncle Walter and Aunt Lizzie to begin bracing themselves for the inevitable as they stayed up that night watching the life drain away from their son. Now not to Wives Tales: My Glennon grandparents lost their baby, Eugene, to a combination of measles and pneumonia when he was just over two years old. I heard my grandpa say nearly 40 years later after having lost two more of his children, "The darkest valley life can have is the loss of a child and it does not matter what age they are." He also stated of Eugene, "There has never been a day gone by that I have not thought of that child." Once there was a big party at my grandparents around a big fire out front, and Doris Glennon-Tanner (this is Thelma Ellis' sister) was there and probably considered the prettiest gal in the Valley. At this party, Doris was told that she would have to kiss the boy of her choice. My daddy recalls how he sat by that fire hoping that Doris would kiss him. Little Eugene came by pushing his little wheelbarrow when Doris grabbed him up and kissed him a bunch of times. It was very shortly after that that Eugene died. I am rambling. I have more to tell about my Uncle Eugene if yaw'll want to hear it. You are right, my dear cousin Rdea - Blessed be those old times not forgotten! BW