Gather the Roses Outside the Box

At this turn, the paper trail jumps from “the box” of antiquities, and picks up the pace or changes lanes at least. The meanderings surrounding my mother began in Kentucky and are examined via poems of affection from my father, a few letters to or from her, pieces from notes, or conversations, memories, or reflections, all attempts to creatively capture a very private person--my mother.

Elizabeth Deane Jones (Edmondson)

May 19, 1920 - May 10, 2005

Daughter of Hattie Mae Timmons and Morris Jones
Married July 21, 1940
George Bibb Edmondson, Sr.
1908-1978
Son of William Thomas Edmondson and Mattie Gilmer Bibb (Edmondson)

Excerpts from my book:

"Yearly autumnal gold glowed from the three namesake trees that covered the postage-stamp yard of the house in Fulton, Kentucky, where Momma lived as a child. Elizabeth Deane appeared shy, studious, and serious, a different breed entirely from her cabaret sister, Mary Sue, clearly the star of every endeavor. For the most part, the days waxed carefree and simple in their childish minds. The only acknowledged fear came from tremulous encounters and lingering impressions of the “The Mummy”, or “Frankenstein” brought home from the theaters their father managed in the town.  Those were the early imagined fears. The real monster entered their home and on a larger scale, the entire country.
The Great Depression choked life from their family and most others, depriving them of independence, opportunity, and hope.  For Momma, it meant a new role of greater responsibility in the on-going drama called family.
Along with the drastic economic changes,  Momma's father fell into a personal pit of despair with an exaggerated case of diabetes. His demise placed his oldest daughter in an accelerated role of nurse-maid to a father who rarely exited his room and even less frequently spoke. Momma's mother continued taking in odd jobs, trying to stitch the impossible things into an impression of stability for the family, but she too relied more and more on the oldest child for help. My mother's life began to resemble the white-wrapped mummy whom she had once viewed at her father's movie house.  She too became enshrouded, her encasing woven from duty.
An unexpected move after her junior year of High School took her and the Jones family to Beaumont, Texas, where Hattie Jones had relatives. Graduation from Beaumont High School and excellent grades afforded Elizabeth Deane a window and ticket to freedom via a scholarship to a nearby college, but the winds of reality quickly slammed the opening. The family’s reliance on the small income she provided as a car-hop disabled her departure.
Elizabeth Deane’s smile and shapely legs, showcased in the required shorts and roller skates, won the attention of many customers at the local drive-in restaurant. One gentleman in particular, a “Montgomery Bud”, took a serious yen toward this beautiful brunette as she glided a tray to his car and her way into his heart."
On the "bud" tomorrow.