THE PRAYER SERVICE IN THE MALL PARKING LOT

I enjoy people watching. It's part of my sociology training. Especially interesting is watching culturally different people in the San Marcos Outlet Mall. During this time of year I've seen many Mexican Nationals shopping and interacting with their families. Today, I waited in the car while my husband ran in a shop to exchange a purchase he made before Christmas. I looked around the parking lot and saw two cars drive up close to where we parked. One man jumped out of a car and directed the driver of the other to back up several feet so the two cars had about eight feet between the hoods of their cars. They were facing each other. This small amount space provided an isolated location protected from traffic. It's where I observed their interaction.

The four men were similar in age, dress, and bearded dark faces. Their stocking caps fit closely on their heads. Three of them wore rubber like shoes without socks and one wore socks with his shoes. They were laughing and seemed to have an objective,  parking where they did. First, they pulled out 4 rugs, around 2'x4' in size. The style was not your typical type or the Mexican colorful design I have in my house. I decided the rugs were  more of an Asian influence. With my guessing, I began to suspect they were definitely not people I was used to seeing at the Mall interacting in this manner.

 One of the men picked up a bottle of water and poured it on his hands and arms. He repeated this action several times. Then he picked up his stocking feet and poured water on them  and rubbed them.  The other men who were without stockings poured the bottled water on their bare feet. They repeated this several times, as well. My husband returned to the car and I told him to drive around the cars so I could watch what they were doing. Of course he was not going to have anything to do with my being so nosy. But as we began to drive away, I looked over to the four men who were kneeling between the two cars on their individual rugs. In unison, they kneeled over and touched their heads to the ground at exactly the same time. At this point I realized I was probably observing Muslim men praying together.

This was a different experience for me to observe, since I live in a small south central Texas town and never have seen a  ritual, such as this.  But this is central Texas which has the fastest growing population in the country, according to Demographers and Census people. The site I saw demonstrates how different cultures are emerging and becoming more visible in our state.    

I researched some of the actions I observed of the Muslim interactions. First of all I found that today, January 3rd, 2015 is the birthday of the Prophet Muhammad. And although there are different ways to demonstrate the followers' veneration of their Prophet,  prayer is important.  Moreover, the washing of parts of the body before prayers is a form of cleansing and making followers more worthy. This explained the washing of the men's bodies. .http://www.islamweb.net/emainpage/articles/92744/obligatory-and-optional-aspects-of-ablution

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to see those of another culture perform a most important ritual on the Prophet's birthday. Now I understand better what the Muslims were doing. And it was so remarkable that they would exhibit their devotion in a public parking lot for anyone to see.

SHE SAVED ANOTHER LIFE

She is a quiet, composed, beautiful lady. She is intelligent, bright and doesn't miss anything that crosses her path. She speaks softly and loves deeply. Her husband is the love of her life and her children and grandchildren are the center of her universe. Her accomplishments in her career speak for themselves. She seems to always stretch her self and go beyond what common mortals  do. She taught herself computer programs and mathematical problems that were necessary in her line of work. And carried on the engineering goals, from her Father Reuben's genes and daily influence. She has been handsomely rewarded for the work ethic she diligently pursued and was demonstrated  by her role model, grandmother Nell,  since the age of fourteen,  when she worked in our grandmother's shop. My baby sister, Laurie,  recently retired from her career. She wanted to spend more time with her husband and family, but she didn't retire from her spirit of giving and her knack for observing what goes on around her.


A few years ago, my sister saved her husband's life when he had a massive heart attack at  home. She
performed CPR on him and later the EMS took him to the hospital and he recovered after he was packed in ice and brought out of an induced coma. https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2134402539885653021#editor/target=post;postID=8462564081228885629;onPublishedMenu=posts;onClosedMenu=posts;postNum=31;src=postname


Laurie and I were visiting about Christmas the other day and before we hung up our phones, she said, "I want to tell you what happened yesterday when Kenny and I were at Dillard's shopping for Christmas."

She continued, "A small older lady started screaming, 'Please help me'. As Kenny and I were walking toward her we saw a man lying on the floor with his eyes closed. People were standing around staring and not making any moves to aid the lady in distress. I screamed,  Call 911. Hurray." Laurie continued and said the lady was pushing on her husband's chest. But it didn't seem correct so Laurie gently pushed the lady's hand away and took over until the EMS arrived. She said it was interesting how the man's eyes began to open and then rolled around in his head when he began to take a breath.
She said she remembered how she compressed her husband's chest a few years before.

Laurie said the man began to sit up and his wife was going to help him stand to walk away. Laurie told them not to move and stay put until the EMS arrived to check him out. Shortly, they did arrive and she and Kenny bid their ado and began to leave the scene. She said the woman didn't ask her for her name or anything. So she didn't know how things turned out. The woman had revealed that her husband had been having trouble with high blood pressure recently. When she arrived home and told her son what happened he said, "Mother, do you realize you saved another life?"

Do you know you could save a life as she did? Look at this video and you can see, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSUC0wTFAjU>

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSUC0wTFAjU> Please be observant of what goes on around you. At least call 911 and attempt to do what Laurie did. You might give someone a new life in this New Year. HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR LOVED ONES.

HER MAJESTY, QUEEN ELIZABETH'S ANCESTOR, KING HENRY VIII, FOUNDED THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND CUT OFF HIS HEAD BECAUSE HE REFUSED TO LIE

I WAS REFLECTING ON QUEEN ELIZABETH'S DEATH AND THINKING OF 

     WHERE THE WINDSORS CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY:

Recently, I found a yellow, wrinkled piece of notebook paper. The three folds of the paper were pulling apart at the seams and barely held together. It looks very old. And so it is because I wrote excerpts of verses from Epictetus on it about forty-five years ago. I recorded the verses from a tiny book with gold binding I found several years before. I was so impressed with what the verses revealed of a man who wrote them many centuries ago. It was really my first encounter with a philosopher with whom I could relate, Epictetus.

The Epictetus readings became helpful in my second-semester English class at Del Mar College.  My instructor creatively taught his classes in a manner in which  Freshman students could relate. One of his favorite characters in literature was  Sir Thomas More, a 16th-century chancellor and advisor to King Henry VIII.  He assigned the play, A Man of All Seasons, written by Robert Bolt and was a featured film in 1966. It was one of our readings for the class. The play is based on the true story of More who wouldn't give in to the demands of King Henry VIII.  I used one of the verses from my little book, Epictetus, as a reference when I wrote my essay about the story. My literature instructor was quite impressed with my knowledge of this stoic philosophy by Epictetus.

More was a man with high academic skills as well as high moral ideals.  In 1534 More refused the oath which pledged him to approve the king's marriage to Anne Boleyn after divorcing his wife. Because of More's convictions against the King's unlawful actions that defied church law and custom he was imprisoned in the tower and later beheaded. His head was exhibited on London Bridge. More sacrificed an accomplished life and lost his head all because he failed to acknowledge the king's divorce and remarriage. In my essay, I quoted Epictetus, "Consider man at what price you sell your freedom of choice-if for no other reason that you do not sell it for a trifle". Epictetus was a Greek slave hundreds of years before and apparently dwelt on such matters often. I professed that in addition to More's faithfulness to the pope and the church he could likely have been a student of Epictetus's
philosophy of Stoicism. And he may have viewed his role as one not worthy of retaining, just for a lie. Or the acceptance of the king's marital position too trifle to forfeit his principles and values.

My English teacher was philosophical in his advice.  During the semester he suggested that as we read, we might find it enlightening to write down significant quotes from the literature. And reflect upon them from time to time. That is how I came to collect and record some of Epictetus's verses. I carried them around in my wallet and read them at times of boredom or at places I had spare time to wait. Eventually, as I changed wallets and purses the wrinkled paper was lost in a file or drawer, but definitely saved for my reflections. In my next post I will tell you about the other Epictetus verses I like to reflect upon and some I find relevant today.

***
Today, I think it is quite interesting that reading back to the time of King Henry VIII's reign in England,  he was purportedly responsible for the beheading of thousands of people, including two wives. Not to mention he is the one credited with founding The Church Of England which evolved as a result of the separation from Rome. During my Family research, I also found that one of my favorite lines in my genealogy, the Edwards, my ancestor, Richard Edwards is linked as an illegitimate son of King Henry VIII. One must be careful of whom he/she criticizes in history.


**Today, there are some who question Queen Elizabeth's direct descent from King Henry VIII.

 ( https://www.express.co.uk/news/royal/1334589/Royal-family-tree-Queen-Elizabeth-II-related-king-Henry-viii-Tudor-times)

I WAS NUDE FOR ALL TO SEE

After retiring from teaching for thirty years, I decided to work on my memoirs. How can I do this when I'm so unworthy, so ill prepared, so inexperienced in writing? I need to leave something to my descendents to know that I existed when I'm gone. Where do I begin and how do I make my experiences meaningful, when I believed my life was not that interesting? Who wants to read about me and what will I expose myself to? Will I be ridiculed, disliked, or thought of in a distasteful manner? I will be vulnerable and I did not like that idea. Some say it's like standing nude in front of a mirror or letting others see you do so. Especially if you publish for the public.

So, I procrastinated for a year or two and did some research into my geneology. I had a few ancestors to find information on so that I could join our local DAR. My grandmother's cousin joined years ago so all I had to do was to hook up with her work by showing a connection from my generation through my mother's, grandmother's, and her mother's and grandmother's records all the way to our DAR patriot who participated in the U.S. Revolution. Thank god for the internet and I could obtain census records and a few other  articles of information. Then I had to obtain marriage or death records that demonstrated marriages between the spouses or that they existed. I even discovered my grandmother's cousin in Pearsall, who at the age of 8o, was still ranching, riding a horse and living as others in our distant family did generations before. I called her and she sent me a copy of the 1910 DAR paper that her aunt used to join the patriotic organization over a century before.

It took longer than I anticipated, but I learned a lot about my ancestors who bravely pioneered in Texas.  I learned my great, great grandfather, John Alonzo Edwards, led a trail drive from Palo Pinto County, west of Ft. Worth to Oregon in the late 1800's. His wife, Harriet, my grandmother's grandmother stayed behind with small children waiting for his return. Her extended family was helpful, I'm sure. But there were reports of frequent Indian raids with killings of white settlers and the kidnapping of children. She must have been brave, scared and fearful for her life and her babies. Her husband did not return for two years from the distant trail drive.  I found a copy of a handwritten card from Harriet to her sister describing the children's well being. These stories made me reflect on my mother's courageous activities, who as a young mother, worked as Rosie the Riveter during World War II and later left her husband and moved a state away with her young daughters to start a new life. I gradually began to reflect on other events and realized I needed to get them written. Maybe, I could think of stories in my life that I wanted my children and grandchildren to know. Get on with it Janine and start telling your stories, I told myself.

Ana Castillo visited the University of Houston in Victoria a few years ago and lectured about her stories and her writing.  I found her beautiful and smart. Later, I googled her name and discovered she was to give a workshop on Writng Memoirs in San Antonio, Texas.http://anacastillo.com/docs/09sanantonio.pdf I made plans to go right away. Ana was an insightful coach who asked us what we were waiting for. Who was the voice telling us we couldn't do it? If we could, identify the source, put the source in a box and toss it out of the way.

I had a friend who wrote on a blog and I decided to do that. A whole new world opened when I began to read blogs. I decided my blog would be mostly my memoirs or others whom I knew. The first few posts were small. I told one story about my Rosie the Riveter Mom and I had a response from two women who had done research in that area and also had a blog, "Women's Memoirs" on Linkedin. http://womensmemoirs.comThey gave me some helpful pointers. Gradually, I lost most of my inhibitions and began to expose myself with my vulnerable posts. I told myself that if my mother and grandmothers took risks I could too and I would give it a shot. I didn't have to worry about Indians raiding my ranchito. The more I thought about my life experiences the more posts I wrote. When the feedback was positive, it boosted my courage to write more. Surprisingly, some whom I thought would encourage me never said a word or recognized what I was doing. I didn't let it bother me. That was the vulnerability to which I exposed myself.

My friend, Diana, told me about a social worker lecturer, Brene Brown,  on Ted Talk on the internet. http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.htmlAfter watching her speak on how vulnerability is part of our psychological growth, "It is the birthplace of innovation, creativity, and change," I realized that this is what Ana was telling us. They both were saying that we shouldn't listen to the negative talk that exists in our head. Or that we were afraid of receiving.

Like my fore bearers, I decided to purposefully make myself vulnerable and begin a new experience. I would begin by looking at past events that were meaningful to me and generally tell it like it was and how I worked through my problems of the past. That would be a true legacy for my children and grandchildren and I would be able to profit from it myself, as I stood nude for all to see.

SPARKLING CITY OF CUERO POPPED LIKE THE 4TH OF JULY THIS WEEK-END

Cuero, Texas is the sparkling city by the Guadalupe River. In the summer, few towns can dare to compete with the 4th of July Celebration. The city awakens and watches a children's parade with children riding their flag draped bikes and pulling colorful wagons. It ends with people rushing to the Episcopal Church's 4th of July Celebration in the Cuero Park with cake walks, hamburger stands, silent auctions, and various children's games. At dark the sky lights up with the city's magnificent fireworks display that can be seen for miles around. Moreover, in the winter, no town in Texas is any better than Cuero with a Christmas Light Festival that draws thousands of winter visitors to see the sparkling lighted displays of Nativity Scenes, Fairy tale stories, and Disney characters that light up the city park. It's the best place to jump into the Christmas spirit, come Thanksgiving week-end.(See link http://www.christmasincuero.com/-  However, all during the year, for the past several years, the city has been surrounded for miles around by lights from nearby oil derricks that bring more sparkle up and down the highways and corridors, again, lighting up the sky for miles and miles. The activity of the wells has brought more wealth to our shiny city and a proud sense of citizenship.http://www.google.com/search?q=eagle+ford+shale+in+cuero&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=zYWRUvK4Mcer2gXmkoDIDg&ved=0CGgQsAQ&biw=1456&bih=777

If that doesn't convince you that Cuero shines, visitors should stop by the newly opened Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum that outshines many other museums in the state or nation. It opened this past week-end with a bang like the fireworks in July.  It is a state of the arts facility and institution that gives visitors a glimpse of the past cowboy life in Texas, on the range, and the trails. One can peep into the ranching culture of clothes, saddles, guns and other artifacts that was influenced by other southern pioneers and the Spainards, who brought ranching tools and the Spanish names for the equipment and ranch work that was most familiar in Spain for hundreds of years. The new museum is tastefully decorated and exhibits the most modern educational screens for children to interact with lessons about cowboy life. One room, shaped like a chuck wagon seats approximately a dozen people. It shows a fifteen minute movie of the history of life on the range and where it started near Cuero. <http://www.chisholmtrailmuseum.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Round-Up_Fall_2013.pdf

The gift shop is filled with tempting goodies of art, such as: framed western prints, southwest jewelry, coffee table books, cook books, etc. The first day, people were lined up with hands full of items waiting to be rung up.

The Grand Opening began Friday night with a celebration for the museum members at The Venue. The Chamber Orchestra of San Antonio entertained those attending with "Appalachian Spring Suite," composed by Aaron Copland.<https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10201817234664354&set=a.1261009857154.109829.1586912905&type=1&theater The evening was topped off by tables of delicious foods and the social hour, where members mingled and visited, as they oohed and awed about their new cultural events in Cuero.

The next morning began with another Grand Opening event outside the museum in a huge tent, as there was standing room only. The temperatures had dropped with the recent Arctic cold spell, but it didn't stop hundreds of visitors from crowding around to hear speeches and congratulatory recognitions from dignitaries, such as Governor Mark White, Congressman Vela, County Judge Daryl Fowler, and Mayor Sara Meyer.

The beautiful museum was a grand effort by many people in several counties,  but was initiated by Robert Oliver, the president/chairman,  who returned to his hometown and kicked off his lofty vision over thirteen years ago. Through his diligence and hard work, the Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum is the newest bright star in Cuero that continues to keep Cuero shining.

If you get a chance stop by our sparkling city,  Cuero anytime, but especially during the holidays. There is plenty of entertainment for the family with the Christmas Lights In The Park,  antique shops for mom, and good restaurants for all the family. But particularly, don't miss our latest addition, our new Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum.

The following is a link to take you to the site of The Chisholm Trail Heritage Museum in Cuero, Texas for more information. Please come and see us sparkle and shine.
http://www.chisholmtrailmuseum.org/

WHERE WERE YOU WHEN OUR PRESIDENT WAS SHOT?

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1963

Many of you no doubt were not alive when President Kennedy was shot. However, fifty years ago many of you were. It is one of those important times as a nation, we are so shocked by an event that we remember it quite vividly. I was sitting in front of the TV set, watching my favorite soap, As The World Turns, in Houston, Texas. There was an interruption in the broadcast and Walter Cronkite came on the screen and told of President Kennedy being shot in a parade in Dallas. He did not have much other information, but did say he was in a most critical condition.  But it wasn't long before he came back and said that he died at 1:00 PM Dallas time, as he took off his glasses and wiped his eyes in a moment in which he was visibly shaken, as most of the world was, when we heard the terrible news. I cried and just couldn't believe it. My husband was calling on a customer in his home in Houston and asked to use his telephone when he heard the news flash on his customer's TV. He called to share the grief that he knew I was experiencing, as well.

We were big admirers of John F. Kennedy. We had seen him twice in person, the past two years, when he came to Houston. One time, he spoke at the Rice University Stadium,  in 1962. I was big pregnant with my third child and it was a hot day, but I was determined I would see him. Another time he visited Houston, we went to Hobby Airport when he arrived in the city and saw him pass by in a open convertible, on a street, near where we parked. As he stood up in the car to greet the onlookers, I was impressed by his handsome looks. He had, what appeared to be, a golden suntan,  light sandy hair and light blue eyes. It's hard to believe I saw his light blue eyes at that time, but over the years of seeing his photos, I guess I filled  in the picture in my memory. But I do remember his youthful beauty. Before his presidency, we had old men, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Harry S. Truman, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. None of whom,  you could call dashing or good looking, not as John Kennedy was.

Kennedy was also considered one of our most intelligent presidents. I remember Kennedy's press conferences on TV. Kennedy sparred with the newspeople and always seemed to have a smile on his face. He created laughter among the newspeople as he answered their questions in a clever manner. But there were scary days with the failure of Bay of Pigs Invasion and when the Cuban Missile Crisis became a standoff with the Soviet President Krusheff, as the Soviet President was sending battleships to Cuba. After several days, the Soviet battleships turned around and headed back to the Soviet Union.  For about a  week, we were unsure whether the crisis would lead to a nuclear war. People in Cuero, where I stayed during part of my pregnancy, rushed to the grocery stores to obtain surplus food to fill up their pantries, in case such an event were to occur.  As if that were the logical thing to do. The show down with the Soviet president resulted in the Soviet's withdrawal and it seemed Kennedy won.

Kennedy's family appeared exceptional. His wife, Jacqueline,  was beautiful, educated,  and a cultured woman who appreciated the arts, history, and fine music. Her figure and dress were immaculate and her good taste led to the renovation of the White House, where she gave us a tour on TV. We heard her speak for the first time. It was a gentle voice, soft as a young child's. Their children, Caroline and John John were adorable.  The White House couple was not flawless, as we learned later, but to us they appeared to be. We soaked up every bit of news on them. It was an exciting time in history to see.

There were so many things to admire and learn about this Kennedy couple, who often met  with their extended family of siblings and spouses and their children.  The grown Kennedy siblings played football on the lawns of the White House and their homes at Martha's Vineyard. They were constantly going and doing exciting and interesting things.  They practiced their Catholic faith in a most open and loving manner. The parents had experienced an exciting life, as well,  with their nine children. Rose and Joe Kennedy themselves came from an interesting background. Rose Kennedy was reared in the Fitzgerald family, who were politically involved Irish Amercans, and  made a big success in their country. John Kennedy's father was an ambassador to Great Britain during Franklin Roosevelt's administration and had been an extremely rich man in his work and investments.

In the week that followed Kennedy's assassination, we sat glued to the TV and watch the filmed events first hand. The horrible events that took place in Dallas that beautiful autumn day on Friday, November 22, 1963, became a week I will never forget.

Ask your parents and grandparents for their reflections on where they were on that fateful day, if you weren't around or too young to remember. This is just a snippet about where I was and why I had these emotional feelings about a very sad day in history.

P.S. This morning I watched a few Sunday morning talk shows and saw my favorite historian, Robert Caro, being interviewed. He had some glowing adjectives to describe John Kennedy. So, I looked him up on Facebook and found that he is on an NBC show airing next Friday night at 8:00PM (Central Time), called, "Where Were You: The Day JFK Died?" I swear, I didn't get my title from his FB before I wrote this essay. Sometimes,  inquisitive minds have the same ideas. Please click on this link for a clip of Friday's show. http://nvcdn.nbcnews.com/_util/jfk50/#category-2

D-DAY SURVIVOR REUBEN, THE TOUGH HOMBRE, OF THE 90TH DIVISION

                                             D-DAY SURVIVOR

                  REUBEN, THE TOUGH HOMBRE, OF THE 90TH DIVISION

The first hint that Reuben was a "Tough Hombre" was seen in his role as a  survivor from the sinking USS Susan B. Anthony, the day after D- Day, on June 7th, 1944,  during World War II.  The ship on which he rode to the shores of Omaha Beach near Normandy, France,  the USS Susan B. Anthony, won world recognition for having no fatalities when it sank close to the beach.  All 2,689 survived. In fact, The Guinness Book of Records documented it as breaking all kinds of records since it had the largest number rescued without loss of life. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Susan_B._Anthony_(AP-72).  Reuben was one who escaped the burning ship and went ashore with no weapons. He was a tough Hombre. Reuben was also a member of the 90th Division in World War II and moreover, it was properly nicknamed, the Division of Tough Hombres.

"T O" was the original name given to the 90th division because it was made up of men from Texas
and Oklahoma. During World War I there were many dangerous missions and consequently many losses. During World War II the reputation of bravery followed the 90th Division and so much so, the famous General George Patton nicknamed them "Tough Hombres."
http://www.tough-ombres.com/main/history_en.html

After my father, Reuben Koether, arrived on Omaha Beach, he survived long enough to move inland, but I don't know where he went exactly or how long he remained in France. I don't think it was long. Eventually, he was hit by shrapnel that punctured one lung and shattered it. And later, he was sent to England to a  hospital that was set up for the injuries of the June 6th D - Day and the battles that followed. He told us the story about his being triaged and left at the end of a hall in an old British hospital to be treated after the less serious were first treated. He said he waited for days and days before they finally operated on him. The main provisions given to the injured were GI cigarettes. They depressed their appetites and their state of boredom. At last, Reuben was operated on and most of his damaged right lung was removed. After convalescing for months in the hospital, he was then sent home to the United States with one lung intact and only a piece of the other.  He was a tough Hombre.

                                       D-DAY HOSPITAL, THE NETLEY HOSPITAL

The old British hospital, the Netley, was declared a military hospital during World War II. It provided care for the patients connected with the D-Day operations. It has an interesting history but was not a positive memory for Reuben. http://www.qaranc.co.uk/netleyhospital.php However, he persevered because he was a Tough Hombre.

Reuben returned to his home after his long convalescence in the old British hospital. He returned to his work as a civil engineer and was a city manager in Yoakum, Texas for 24 years. During that period of time, he developed a city park with a swimming pool, golf course, and eventually an airport on the north side of the city, all for his love of Yoakum.

When Reuben was in his 60's he retired to his surveying full time and died in 1980 from lung cancer. It was probably connected with many years of smoking. The smoking of the cigarettes was what he had been taught to exist on while doing his duty in the army.  And the shattered other lung, as a result of war injuries, was no use to him.  For several years before his death, while living with cancer, Reuben kept working in the south Texas heat, surveying and working cattle on his family ranch.  During this time he also applied for 100% VA disability from his military injuries because he had always felt that he deserved more than the VA gave him, which was only partial disability, rather than 100% disability. However, he was never able to convince the Veterans Administration that he was entitled to more disability because of his war experience. The VA always answered that his present health problem with cancer was "not connected" to his wartime injury because it was his other lung that had been ripped apart in France, not his cancerous lung.  In Reuben's heart, he knew it was related to his injury so he applied over and over and each time was rejected.

While dying in the hospital in Victoria, Texas, an attending doctor injected a medication into a hole that they had drilled in his back. When he asked the nurse what they had administered in the hole, she told him it was mustard gas. Of all the years I had known him, I never saw him so upset. He immediately associated the mustard gas with what he knew about the two world wars. And of course, it was terrifying to him. He asked, "Why?" I told him I would find out. That evening I called the doctor at his residence and asked him. He answered, "Don't worry about it. I'm the doctor and I'm in charge." Needless to say, this made me very angry. I had seen enough of Phil Donahue shows which were similar to the later Oprah Winfrey shows that appeared years later on TV. They were famous for exposing the idea that doctors were not gods. And that patients had rights. Reuben seemed to give up after that experience and died about a week later. He had been tough, but cancer won the final battle.

I promised my mother that I would try to help her receive the VA benefits that were rejected. I asked for the paper on which I needed to write a summary of why Reuben's World War II injury and his present cancer were service-related. I had learned to write summaries and abstracts at UT. So, I proceeded to write in as few words as I could in the small amount of space provided. I simply stated that had Reuben not lost his one lung while serving his country in the war, he more than likely would have been able to depend upon that lung to serve him when cancer took away the other lung. We had his home doctor sign it and alas it finally was approved. I know that PaPa Reuben was happy and smiled down from Heaven when that occurred.  

Reuben was indeed a  Tough Hombre and I'm glad his government finally recognized his valor in defending his country with the only two lungs he had.

• http://www.tough-ombres.com/main/history_en.html