A trip with granddaddypop.

Me and Great Aunt Martha Siler

Great Uncle Ralph and Granddaddy Pop Siler

Nanny Siler

I went to Memphis, Tennessee with my grandparents, Elesa (Nanny) and Joe (granddaddy pop) Siler, my Aunt Noresa (My father's adopted sister).  We went to visit my grandfathers brother Ralph Siler and his wife Martha.  We took our time getting to their home and did some sightseeing along the way. 
Remembering that I am chlosterphobic while I tell this story will help you know how I felt about certain stops we made.  I love nature and find great pleasure in seeing it in all its many forms.  While on our way my grandparents decided to stop at a cave that I cannot remember the name of.  Within this cave there were many beautiful things to see, I had difficulty concentrating as we went deeper within and the walls got closer together.  At one point we literally had to crawl through a hole that opened up into an underground lake.  When I came to the hole I told my grandmother I could not do it.  Now Nanny was not the kind of person to put up with any nonsence or phobias so she grabbed my hand and literally pulled me through the hole.  I was panicked but had no choice but to stand there with my grandmother inside an enormous "room" within this cave.  Inside this room there were small glass bottom boats to take tourists out onto the lake.  The water was so pure you could see to unfathomable depths.  There were underwater Stalagmites and very unusual fish.  It really was beautiful, I concentrated very hard, trust me, and was able to enjoy the experience.  It is not an experience I would not repeat for myself but I would recommend it to others.
On this same vacation we stopped at Rock City and Ruby Falls near Chattanooga.  While in Memphis we went to the Zoo.  I do not remember anything specifically at these places I do remember enjoying them.
Once in Memphis we all stayed at Uncle Ralph's.  Aunt Martha was an unusual woman.  She was perhaps the first person I met in my life that had obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD).  The first night I was there I asked where the towels were so I could take a bath before bed and I was given, a washcloth, a towel, Comet and a scrub brush.  She gave me the instructions to literally clean my way out of the bathroom after having bathed.  I ended up smelling like cleanser when I was done, so there was really not much point in a bath, but then if you did not bathe you would be in worse trouble.
For breakfast the next morning Aunt Martha cooked eggs.  You know how some eggs have little white things found in the clear part of the egg?  She called them "ickies."  So she would dig them out before she would cook the eggs.  She was constantly cleaning and straightening.  I loved her from the moment I met her, along with her husband, they were such fun and happy people.
Granddaddy Pop's mother lived nearby Uncle Ralph's so Noresa and I walked over to visit often during our vacation.  Mrs. Siler was quite elderly, very sweet and had the longest hair I have ever seen.  Her hair was whitish-grey and was so long it literally drug the floor when it was let down.  Normally she kept her hair in a tight braid.  At her advanced age she was rather sickly and was having horrible head aches.  Noresa asked if she could wash her hair for her which was a major task given it's length, so she consented.  Noresa carefully unbraided her hair and lowered her head over a huge deep sink she had in her kitchen.  She washed the hair then towel dried it and began to brush it out.  As she brushed it our she commented on its beauty.  Noresa braided it back and then without notice to anyone suddenly cut the braid off at the shoulders.  Mrs. Siler had never cut her hair in her entire life.  She screamed like someone had stabbed her.  Noresa laughed, I nearly fainted and was very sorry for the woman.  I could not believe Noresa had done such a thing.  Poor Mrs. Siler cried hysterically for quite a while, we finally left the house to go back to Uncle Ralph's, once there I quickly told him what Noresa had done, I was worried about her.  The adults flew out of the house to check on her.  Mrs. Siler could not be consoled and Noresa was totally unrepentant.  She felt she had helped Mrs. Siler with her headaches.
We left Memphis a few days later (earlier than originally planned) without an invitation for Noresa to return.  As a matter of fact all of us were angry with her and yet she kept her smug satisfied face.  Mrs. Siler kept the long braid to be  buried with her; to her it was a matter of shame to have had her hair cut. 
  

Me, Aunt Noresa and Great grandmother, Mrs. Siler.  Notice Noresa is the only one smiling.