My mother's father died on June 27th, 2005. Roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes before his 96th birthday. The last time I saw him alive was his 95th birthday. That's what this LJ tells me if I check the tags, but I can only remember anything as recent as his 94th birthday.



The last time should have been the 2005 Battle of Lewisburg Living History and Reenactment that was held in his honor but that ended up being the same weekend I was put into Crossroads for the first time.

Right now I just wanted to repost the tributes.

Last night I was in Crimora. It's about 20 miles west of here. One of those you blink and miss it types. Anita rented this tricked out cabin there to celebrate her birthday. I was lucky enough that I didn't have to work. This place has speakers mounted everywhere so you could hear XM Radio on every level of the house and outside.. Satellite TV. Flat screen tvs. Just crazy when you think about the area, and the fact that you get poor signal most of the time for cell phones. Cappy was there, it was the first time that I got to see her since I saw her off at the airport when she left for Costa Rica. It was also a long time since I had seen Anita. Basically it was wonderful to see my friends that I miss ever so much and meet new people. I would like to also state that I still am an atrocious pool player.. Definitely entertaining.. But all in all it did feel very surreal having everyone in my neck of the woods so to speak. I only got about 2 hours of sleep before I had to leave so I could get ready for work.

Day #3 of SBux being open. The highlight of my work day had to be Ed. He is a regular at the Waynesboro store and a very friendly guy. He ordered a cup of coffee and an oatmeal cookie. I went about ringing it up to realize after the fact that we didn't even have any oatmeal cookies out. So asked him to pick something else out and opted for a chocolate chip cookie. I refused to let him pay the difference and he went to sit against the wall and relax. Shortly after I went on my 10 minute break and went and sat down with him and just talked.. About this store is compared to the Waynesboro one, about the area, his sons, and traveling. We got onto the topic of upstate NY and I mentioned dad's genealogy and grave hunting in people's land over near Poughkeepsie. I had to get back to work and later Dad comes into the store, of course I give him a hard time. Its the energy of the store. We're all very playful. Dad manages to order a different drink then a Vanilla Latte! Pumpkin Spice is the new test. I have my arm around him and he jokes that I'm very friendly with strangers.. There were about 5 other partners working at the time and I just said how can I not when he looks like Santa Claus! Andy said 'In that case I want an XBOX 360." Ed picks up on the fact that Dad is well, my dad and strikes up a conversation... So the two talk for at least a good half hour about NY. Even after Catherine and Mom show up in the store. Dad feels that it's just something about himself that people want to talk to him.. It seriously felt like the Starbucks Experience. So much feel good vibes. He's going to be a nice regular. He better come back, I said so. He doesn't need to be up in Waynesboro anymore when we're so lovely. ;) lol

I'm hoping I'll get some good sleep tonight, for once.

My cousin Opal woke up Thursday morning to find that she couldn't walk very well.  She called her best friend Betty who rushed straight over and realized that she was having a stroke.  Betty took her over to Pocahontas Memorial and after evaluating her they sent her to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital.   It was Opal's choice and most likely because Betty works there.  I figure her other option would have been Charleston.

She worked all day Wednesday at Pearl Buck and helped feed 50 tourists and then came home and canned 12 jars of beef.  Also missed taking her blood pressure medicine for two days...and had quit taking her aspirin because the doctor had put her on some other meds and she said "I thought I was taking enough without the aspirin"..

She is in good spirits....but pretty frail.   Facial paralysis (left side).  Struggling with movement of her left arm and hand, and her leg just won't 'listen' to her.  This most likely means the stroke affected the right side of her brain but we haven't seen results of a CAT Scan yet.  She's mentally sound and easy to talk to and understand which is a good sign.    Another good sign is that the hospital wants to get her started on rehab.

My sister put in her 2 weeks notice at work yesterday. Saturday she and Mark signed off that they'll be out of their apartment by the end of August. We will be moving her down here with us. This makes me happy. Seriously.

My sister sent me this link..


Riel Language

Saturday I got to watch most of Big Girls Don't Cry...They Get Even. Hurrah for Jenny Lewis acting like a total bitch (she just plays one on TV, because how CUTE IS THIS?!). Don't forget Foxfire! I could go on and on but seriously she's cool cuz she was born on January 8th. =)

My other reason to watch the movie is Patricia Kalember, who I used to watch on Sisters as Georgie. I loved that show. All the sisters had their own autonomies, were beautiful, and something wonderful about them. For example young Teddy always stuck out in my mind because she was such a rebel and that bad girl image is so attractive. She was always so cool to me, I think I wanted to be her. I had a major crush on Frankie, I just didn't know it then. I really hated her Boxer boyfriend/husband. Lucky? Yeah he was lucky alright, lucky to have Frankie... I also loved the fact that they never used their full first names, that they used nicknames that sounded more like a man's name. Ambiguous names have always been appealing to me. hmm I really should watch them again to see what went over my head as a nine year old.

Now that I've fully gotten off track... We didn't even finish the movie because Mark wanted to get going. We went to Nordstrom's at Pentagon City Mall and ate at their cafe. (I didn't even know they had one). I had the chicken ceaser salad and sprite, it was just okay. I got sprite because I have decided to quit/cut back on caffeine. I wanted to see if that was part of the reason for my hand tremors. Only it's harder then it sounds, giving up cigs and alcohol are easy, caffeine isn't.

My cousin Chris (the one living in NYC) is getting married on September 30th, so we were at the mall looking for an outfit. I seriously wanted a suit, so that's what we got. Ended up being a size 6 from the Limited. Granted it's their new Cassie style which is more curvy... But I'm still confused. Now, I don't think I'm fat, but I don't ever remember being a size 6 in anything else.. Now just as long as I don't retain too much water between now and then it will still fit. I am so stoked about having a suit you have no idea. My biggest problem now is shoes, but that's an issue for another day.

Later that evening Dave, Liz, Maram and I went to the Cheesecake Factory in Arlington. I thought I would be safe by ordering what I thought was chicken tenders (actually called CAJUN CHICKEN "LITTLES"), which they were, and I thought they were going to be 'spicy' only they were just spiced and it sucked. That’s ok I didn't go there for the main food. I go for the cheese, and the cake, and the WHIPPED CREAM, yum. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake FTW!

Once our bellies were full Maram drove us and while we listened to music and talked. It was really nostalgic for me. :) Liz and Maram talked about the Enneagram test, which is kind of like Myers Briggs (ISFJ) only not. I still haven't figured out which I am because each test I've taken is different and I've ended up with different results. It could be my mood effecting it as well, but 4, 9 and 1 show up the most so far. What do you guys think?

Ysarric: oy vey, there's too many extremely demanding women out there
SaraLe: yes
Ysarric: (reading profiles on a dating site)
Ysarric: reading stuff liek this makes me think that mebbe my loner path isn't so crazy after all
Ysarric: i do miss the fun physical contact, but at least i don't have to play games or met someone else's nutty demands
Ysarric: lord knows, i certainly wouldn't fit them right out the box!
Ysarric: hahaha
Ysarric: oh oh oh
Ysarric: this reminds me
Ysarric: i was at mom-mom's on sunday after work
Ysarric: small gathering. just them, crys n I
Ysarric: and we're sitting, watching the game, reading stuff, occassional chats
Ysarric: and i guess it was getting quiet, so the g-parent's were poking some fun at me and my lacking dating life
Ysarric: and pop-pop of all people sez, "what, are you waiting for the perfect guy to come along?!"
Ysarric: i'm like "dude, that's even more wrong coming from you"
SaraLe: WTF. lol
Ysarric: and there's laughter. i think a moment and ask "what, would ya liek fer me to be a womanizer to make you feel better? :-)"
Ysarric: and now mom-mom chirps up and sez, "that'd be nice! :-)"
SaraLe: omg your family -_-;
Ysarric: so, now i can find hot chicks and grope their tits and THEN tell them "yeah, sorry. I'm jsut trying to make my grandparents proud!"
Ysarric: i think that's a cool deal
Ysarric: playing that game agian?
SaraLe: lol
SaraLe: omg i need to post that.
Ysarric: hahaha, my mockage is fair game :-)

I love Jason.. His family is cool, but its scary when they turn this stuff on me.. Can we say deer in headlights?

I got home from work today, and my parents told me to have a seat... That I should in fact be sitting we talked. How can that ever be a good sign.

"We have...an unwanted addition to the family." My father tells me. Only, my sister isn't pregnant and never was for that matter.... and yet Mark has a son that was born a few weeks ago, sometime shortly after my mother's birthday. Cathy found out Friday night. Friday night was evidently a bad night for my sister, but that's only the beginning...

The women in my family have PCOS. In the past my sister has had cysts that had to be surgically removed.. This past week she had two different Pap Smears that tested positive [for Ovarian Cancer]. Then they did some more testing and didn't find anything, so there's more testing. It's all iffy. Speaking of testing, Maram suggested that Cathy should test for STDs since Mark obviously had unprotected sex with another woman. But according to Cathy they "haven't been that way for a long time."

My sister has made no attempts to kick him out or anything. In fact she saw the baby today. This bothers me. I am afraid that she may be too desperate in her judgment. Most likely my sister will never be able to have children, ever, and as fucked up as this situation is.. here comes a chance to be a mother.

The funny thing is that Mark is scared of losing Cathy. And he is scared of us, as he should be. He's damn lucky that we live down here now. Mark's parents knew about the baby before Cathy did, and they are concerned for Cathy's sake, and the marriage.

I tried calling her tonight and she wouldn't speak to me about anything. She sounded real happy and asked if I got the Easter card that she sent me and if we could talk tomorrow after work... Mark must have been home.

I'll type more as I remember it clearly, I just don't know what to think right now... other than the one thing that has never changed: There will never be a man I hate more than Mark Salas.

I'll leave you with a quote from my father.."Why do they call it a bastard when we already know who the bastard is?"

Georgia and I went to pick up her laptop at Circuit City in Harrisonburg. On the way back, my car decided to stop working right before exit 220. I had to call Will to pick us up.

My parents are at Cathy's, and they have both sets of keys for my dad's car. So right now my beautiful girl is sitting alone on the side of the road all alone. DID I MENTION ALL ALONE??????????????! I can't do anything about it till tomorrow after work. Jessie is going to pick me up for work tomorrow, and take me to the bank and all that fun stuff.

Georgia is kinda just stuck here, but I doubt she really minds that much.

From mom and dad
2 T-shirts
1 dress shirt
1 nightgown (short sleeved)
Counterstrike for XBOX
Space Jam (2-disc Special Edition) on DVD
The Company of Wolves on DVD
Se7en (New Line Platinum Series) on DVD
$100

Silver Bulova watch (Birthday)

To myself
Love Spell silkening body splash
Endless Love skin-silkening body lotion
Passionate Kisses ultra-moisturizing hand and body cream
(Victoria's secret has a 3 for $20 sale going on, so I used a GC that I had from over a year ago..)

Jamiroquai - Traveling without Moving on CD
Kylie Minogue - Body Language on CD (Import)
Amber - Naked on CD

From Jessi
Picture box set that came with 2 frames

Christmas shopping so far... Is extremely lacking.

I've gotten Jay's present, but I've had that for ages and made him open it today.
Bought Georgia's yesterday.
Only got the first part of Rachel's today.
Eddie tells me he wants an earring, but I can't find anything I like, and have had zero luck looking out for the type that he wants to get Nick.

I have absolutely no idea what to get my family... Or the rest of my friends.

At least Hallmark still rocks my world.

I realized that I forgot to pick up Lysi's. I'll have to do that tomorrow...

Apparently I slept through an earthquake, Catherine called to inform me. More like confirm, but I had no clue.

Jessi called. Pizza party Thursday night from 7 to 9. Secret Santa/Breakfast next Wednesday morning at 8. I still have to buy Jeremy something..

Steve is pissed at Jessi because she doesn't want to do Winchester so she won't, but she's now on the shit list with him.. So we'll all stay one happy family at Staunton..

Will pointed out that Buffy Season 5 came out today. He bought it. I don't have the funds to at this moment. And as hard as this may be to believe, I haven't even watched my Season 4 DVD's.

My parents are in Lewisburg.

My granddaddy. The one I talked about here. He turned 94 this past Saturday. Cathy drove down here to the house and then I drove us over to Lewisburg. We hadn't been there in years, so it was kinda trippy. Open house was from 2-4pm. The birthday cake was from Walmart, and it had a picture of him on it. It was just so wrong, because mom cut him him half. Clear down the middle. Very Buffy of her... Actually I thought of Kung Lao first. There were so many people there I didn't know. Juanita, her sisters and nieces have gorgeous long flowing hair. So beautiful. I kept trying not to stare at her 19 year-old niece. I failed miserably. I think.

Everyone kept debating if Cathy looks more like Mom or Dad.... And I'm just standing there thinking "WTF?" I'd get like the once over and then they'd go back to looking at Cathy. Apparently I'm not old enough to look like either of my parents yet.. pffft.

Speaking of Cathy... She and Mark have been married 7 years. Holy Crap I didn't even realize how long it's been. That just means to me it's been 7 years since I 'graduated' from Poe Middle School. Well, that and she got married at my current age, 20. Mom and dad got married when they were 19. I can't even imagine myself getting married.. ^^;;;

^^ Apparently Granddaddy kept going on about wanting grandchildren. Later, Cathy and I were like "Shit, at least we don't have all the pressure, cuz there's our cousins Suzanne and Chris." Dad joked about bringing him our kittens though..

Sunday Eddie and I leave for Texas. He's going to drive to Staunton after work Saturday night and we leave Sunday morning in my car. The drive will be fairly easy, just like going to Arkansas, only farther. I figure I'm going to try to do most of the driving and let Eddie sleep in the morning and we can switch later. We're both extremely excited. All we can think is ROAD TRIP!!! Eddie has been driving with an expired license since the end of April so he has to take care of it before we leave. Otherwise, you are NOT driving ma cah, sugah!

I've been playing SSX and SSX Tricky trying to hone my skills before I go up against Joan and Vince. Vince may be out of town while we're there. That would suck, because I really want to meet him. I'm excited about meeting Leia too. It's such a big deal for Eddie, ^^;;;

Speaking of SSX, SSX3 is coming. Booyaka. Mac, Elise, Zoe, Moby, Psymon, and Kaori will be returning characters. 10 characters in total, including that French chick they have in the trailer. I'm so psyched. Plus I get my 3 characters, Moby, Psymon and of course my girl Zoe. Eddie and Sheldon must be pissed that I get my faves while they don't... See, last year when the four of us played SSX Tricky like mad, it evened out so that we each had 3 characters that were ours. We each had our one fav +2. No one dares mess with my Zoe. Sheldon has Brodi, Eddie and Elise. Jackie has Kaori, Mac and Marisol. Eddie has JP, Luthor and Seeiah. Granted Sheldon still has Elise, but Brodi was his favorite. Frankly I'm surprised they got rid of JP, Poor Eddie lost everyone. But this new girl seems promising, I have a feeling that she will be a fav along with Zoe.. She's got that look that I like. ~,^ Jackie will be happy with Kaori and Mac.

Screen shot of Zoe from SSX3
Screen shot of Frenchie from SSX3 (My nick for the chick, heh)
Concept art of Frenchie from the Revamp of mercurycity.com

On the way home from Jay's we were listening to Kae's remix of Schala's theme from Time & Space. Here's the conversation that ensues.

Sara: YAY FOR SARA'S THEME
Pernell: What? I'm confused. I thought it was Schala's theme.
Sara: Well, actually if you play the Japanese version it's Sara, not Schala.
Pernell: Luckily I'm an American, so that doesn't apply to me.
Sara: You have a problem with the name Sara?????
Pernell: Schala sounds better.
Sara: FUCK OFF
Pernell: What? You bash my name all the time!
Sara: What? You don't like it when I call you "Pern?"
Pernell: I love it when you call me Pern!
Sara: Your logic is flawed.
Pernell: My logic is always flawed...

My parents took Pernell and me out to eat at Texas Steakhouse. We had a beautiful waitress named Erica. Pernell was smitten. So he flirted, and thought that she was flirting back. I told him otherwise, but he didn't want to believe me. Apparently a smile is flirting. We kept teasing him every time she came to the table or when she passed by. It was so funny. He actually asked for her phone number. She was surprised. The look on her face was priceless. She replied with "I'm gladly spoken for." Then added a thank you, and that it always makes her day when she hears something like that. So Pernell said he was happy to have made her day. I was trying so hard not to laugh while she was there, but I probably had a huge grin on my face. She was too specific with her wording. My dad was joking, asking if she had any rings... Yeah she was wearing 8 sliver rings, all but her pinkies. Seven piercings on her ears exactly like me, three on the left and four on the right. Bernice, yeah right. LOL

Charleston Daily Mail
Bill Dysard has an unusual past
His father was veteran of Civil War

Friday April 11, 2003; 10:00 AM

When Bill Dysard says his dad was in the war, he means the Civil War.

He's proud of that.

Dysard spent 49 years in West Virginia road maintenance. When he started, most of the work was done with scythes and shovels.

Minding his own business when it came to politics, he never lost his job when administrations changed. As a foreman for 30 years, he never asked a man to do something he wouldn't do.

He's proud of that, too.

Dysard has lived in the same house on West Washington Street in Lewisburg for 70 years. His wife, Eula, who died in 1997, had a way with flowers. Passersby on U.S. 60 can't help but notice the lawn, which is still a thing of beauty.

"I've always tried to do the job right," he said. "Actually, my wife said I was a little too tidy."

He and Eula were in the sanctuary every Sunday at the Old Stone Presbyterian Church, established in Lewisburg in 1783.

It is no coincidence that their son William Dysard Jr., 62, who received a math degree from Harvard in 1962, wound up a minister. Now the pastor of Kitchell Memorial Presbyterian Church in East Hanover, N.J., he's coming home for a visit the week after Easter.

The senior Dysard had lackluster grades at Lewisburg High, so he asked his mother's permission to drop out at 16 and go to work for the State Road Commission.

His father, Cpl. Asbury K. Dysard, who fought with the 26th Virginia Infantry from 1862 until the war ended in 1865, had died a couple of years before.

"When I was born, he was 65," said Dysard, who will be 94 on June 28.

"He lived to be 80. I can remember going to town with him, sitting in a buggy and holding the reins while he went into the bank."

The Sons of Confederate Veterans, a 30,000-member organization headquartered in Columbia, Tenn., is aware of only 133 real sons like Dysard. The United Daughters of the Confederacy in Richmond, Va., has 20,000 members, including most of the 120 real daughters known to exist.

Dysard doesn't recall discussing the Civil War with his dad.

"I don't remember him bringing it up, and I was just a kid and not much interested," he said.

His mother, Betty, was the widow of a Union soldier, John Hunter, with whom she had three children. She met Asbury Dysard when he moseyed into Lewisburg from Pocahontas County, introduced himself, and tried to sell her a tombstone.

Dysard has his father's enlistment and discharge papers, and most of his musket, which was retrieved from an outbuilding on the farm near Lewisburg where he grew up. Most of the stock has rotted away, but the barrel is intact and bears an "1862" inscription.

"The war's been over for 138 years," he said. "I guess I'm lucky to still have that much."

Dysard retired from the Department of Highways as an assistant county superintendent in 1975.

He started in 1926, the same year that West Virginia put up its first route markers.

In Greenbrier County, the state initially was responsible only for U.S. 60 and U.S. 219, which were nine feet wide, he said.

Crews worked 10 hours a day, six days a week, for 30 cents an hour. From spring through fall they installed guardrails, cut filth, cleaned culverts and patched potholes.

"One man had a bucket with a spout to pour tar out of," Dysard said, "and another man came behind him with a wheelbarrow full of gravel."

There was no work in the winter months and no goof-offs on the payroll at any time.

"You worked or you didn't stay," Dysard said. "That's the way it was when I started out."

Not until the 1930s did it become a matter of who you knew instead of what you did, he said.

"When the Republicans came in, they laid the Democrats off, and when the Democrats came in, they laid the Republicans off," he said.

"I was lucky that I never got laid off. I just did my job the best that I could and stayed out of politics."

That's something to be proud of.

It's Fall Break, and of course I didn't go home, because I'm already home. Isn't this fun? I'm sure all the people who get to stay in the dorms are feeling the same way. My parents went to Lewisburg, West Virginia to visit my grandfather. I didn't go, because hopefully Eddie will be coming down to see me tomorrow morning. He wanted to come after het got off work tonight, but his dad said no. That's a good idea, because I don't think he'd be able to do it tonight and I would prefer Eddie here in one piece. I'm still supposed to be cleaning my room.... which I should go back to doing now... -_-

Wow, it seems like a lot of people I know going somewhere.. Dena's in PA, I called her tonight, and she didn't sound too happy with me. oops. lol.

My grandpa and my mom's cousin Opal are coming to see us on the 1st... as is my cousin Chris and his live-in girlfriend Kate. And to top things off Cathy and Mark should be coming here too at the same time.. HAHA. I think my room has to be OFF LIMITS to the public, otherwise they'd all freak out.. lol. women, women everywhere, and all a little bare... ;) Actually when I saw Chris in NYC I told him in a round-about way, that I was gay. I assume he understood me, but I don't know that for certain... since I didn't just come out and say that I was gay.. LoL.. come out.. anyways..

oh and i would really appricate it if people signed their comments!!!!

Today seems to be a good day.. I finally finished Shenmue, it uh took me about 2 years to do it though. ~,^ I think I'll wait to get Shenmue 2 on Xbox, but in the mean time I'll play Jay's.. lol. Dad and I went to Walmart today to buy Cathy a new printer. So we got that, and I got my new cordless phone (and a headset) so I'm all set, and I don't have to use dial-up anymore to connect to the internet because ADELPHA SEEMS TO OF FIXED THE LINE.. My cable works now.... so we get good signal, the upper channels, and powerlink!!!! Ydes!! I also got Dad to get me the rip-you-off XBOX mag just so I could get the DOA3 booster... Before heading home I went to Kline's for the first time... I got a chocolate milkshake, which was really good.. ^__^

I finally got the "A" ending for Valkyrie Profile.. Only "C" and Seraphic Gate left... Now Jet Set Radio Future, and Halo, are pissing me off.... I'm almost done with them, and they are too hard right now... Not cool.. I decided to try and finish Shenmue today.... until it FROZE and pissed me off even more.... I'm right near the end... The funny thing is before today, I hadn't touched it since November 20th, 2000. !!!!!!!!! My dad keeps trying to get me to go out, but I don't want to do anything... My sister wants me to come over Sunday evening just so I can plug the phone line into her computer.... (essentially that's all I'll have to do... ) God... I swear, and she's having a fit because I didn't go like a week or 2 ago... Eddie I was wondering if I could pick up my VMU, Badge and Move CD on Sunday after I go to Cathy's... From there I'm heading to Jay's and going back to Staunton on Monday... That fool gave *me* an ultimatum to go see him... heh...