"Why'd They Have To Build Missouri So Far Away?"

The house sat at the dead end of a lonely country road. 'Most anything could happen there and no one would even be around to know about it. The young girls huddled together in their room as the intruder slammed into their bedroom door again and again. They could only imagine what would happen to them if he broke through their door. Not the type to cry, they waited until it seemed that the person had stopped, realizing that the hinges were going to hold. They slowly opened the door, seeing that the hinges were almost torn from the door. One of them spoke, "Brent, you are going to be in big trouble when Dad finds out you almost broke our door down."

Sure, you know him as a fun-loving, laid-back gentleman, but it has not always been so. Once, he was a fun-loving, excitable little kid. But, that's Brutus for you. He spent several hours trying to fix the damaged hinges when Dad did find out. Of course, there was no fixing the black plastic nose that came off of his pound puppy after bashing it against that same door.

Brutus was never the bravest of the brave. One dark pre-Halloween evening, Dad took the four young LavyKids into the orchard for a story. It was about an old woman who still roamed their haunted orchard at night, doing dastardly things to young kids who were unfortunate enough to be out in the orchard in the dark. As the story came to an end, behind the kids came an apparition seemingly floating through the darkness toward them. Their mom had consented to dress in a flowing white sheet and it looked much like a ghost in the pale moonlight. When Dad told them to look behind them and began screaming for them to run to the house, Brutus took the command seriously. At one time there were five rows of apple trees at the Lavy orchard. After that fateful evening there were only four, as Brutus mowed tree after tree down on his flight to the safety of the house.

One year the Family Vacation took us to Branson, Missouri. We started from our house in Pleasant Hill at about six in the evening. Many hours later as we travelled through the night, little Brent asked sadly, "Why'd they have to build Missouri so far away?"

Any way you look at it, Brutus is the number three kid out of four (or five, if you count Dudley, which I guess we must do) and we would be in big trouble with all girls. So, let's all give a big "HOORAY" for Brutus.

G,G,S,P,R,G,D,A,D,L,R,J and D

Just a quick note about Saturday, Nov. 24. The Lavys had a mini-get-together at Grandpa Lavy's new room at the Brethren's Home. Grandpa had a full house as Grandma, Stephanie, Paul, Roy, Geneva, Danette, Allyson, Dudley, Lowell, Rena, Janet and Don all came to visit at once. It was really Stephanie's fault for all the commotion. She drove up from Florida to visit and wanted to see the rest of us. We did not get to see her ferocious cat, Boo, who travelled with her. It was neat to see Stephanie again. She reminds me a lot of her mother, who we lost several years ago. I could make Marilyn laugh easily, and Stephanie has a quick laugh, too.

When you get a chance, go see G and G. Next time we visit, we plan to meet BRUTUS!

Ode to Belle or A Mouse in the House

'Twas the night before Thanksgiving

When all through our house

The only thing heard

Was the squeak of a mouse

Belle had reclined

On the couch by a chair

In hopes that a fair prince

Would notice her there

When out in the kitchen

There arose such a clatter

I sprang from my bed

To see what was the matter

Dudley had charged

From out of Al's bed

His ears at alert

On his magnificent head

To the cabinet he ran

Where the cereal boxes were

And waited by the door

For the adventure to occur

The mouse had no clue

Of the danger in the air

While Belle stood nearby

Way up on a chair

I opened the door

Dudley crept in real close

His eyes were quite focused

Alert was his nose

The mouse must have thought

He was safe as could be

The next thing that happened

Surprised even me

The dog took a leap

By a Raisin Bran box

And his jaws snapped shut

Like those of a fox

He backed from the cabinet

His mouth full of mouse

And walked with great pride

Through part of our house

The rodent then dropped

On our nice kitchen floor

While Belle was threatening

To go through the door

Then Belle came down

And stayed at our house

She said, "Thank you, Dudley

For killing the mouse"

LJL 2007

"My Name Is Not Danette!"

It was 2:22 a.m. on 2-22 several years ago. Mom was ready, the baby was ready, but the doctor was not quite ready! So, she waited until 2:26 to make her entrance. Bellehog had arrived and she seemed to cry for the first ten weeks of her life. Of course, when your sister wants to name you "Pignail", you are probably going to have a rough time of it!

Belle is the number two kid of the family, and we would be much poorer without her. She arrived in Anderson, Indiana, becoming our only Hoosier. Now she lives in Kentucky, so perhaps living in Indiana, Ohio and now Kentucky has contributed to her becoming the person she is today.

Once while driving on the interstate, she was involved in an accident. She was hit from behind. When she called to tell me, she said after being hit she steered her car off the roadway to avoid hitting the car in front of her. I asked her if she went into the median, and she replied, "No, I drove into the grassy area in the middle!"

Our family has a tradition of going on Family Vacation every June. Our most cherished memories come from those times together. Our lowest rated vacation was probably when we went to Mackinac Island a few years ago. It was a little too chilly to receive a high rating in the Family Lavy Actual Vacation Official Rating System (FLAVORS). However, that week gave us two anecdotes that have helped us to remember Belle in a special way.

We were walking on the island and viewing the remains of ancient Fort Mackinac. High above us, the wall of the fort was visible on a steep cliff. Thorny bushes covered the hillside. Belle remarked that the attackers would have had a terribly difficult time navigating through all the "sticker bushes". We reminded her that the arrows, musket fire, cannons and maybe even the occasional cauldron of hot oil poured over the side might have been worse than the brambles.

Finally, we took a carriage ride around the island. (I might add, this is a beautiful island, especially when the lilacs are blooming. If you don't mind a little chill in the air, I recommend Mackinac Island as a vacation spot.) We were able to rent a carriage and actually drive it with a team of calm horses. The girls took turns driving while Brent and I said prayers and hung onto whatever was available. Belle eventually took the reins and apparently did something which Mom did not like. Mom said, mistakenly, "Allyson, watch what you are doing!" Belle replied indignantly, "MY NAME IS NOT DANETTE!"

The lesson we have all learned from Belle is this: if you are going to have a second kid, you will want one exactly like our dear Bellehog!

The First One

Dec. 27, several years ago was cold and wintry. I was in bed eating cashews and minding my own business at about 11:00 at night. My peaceful evening was shattered when Rena announced it was time to go to the hospital to see about getting our firstborn kid. I drove to the hospital hurriedly not knowing that I would have to endure more than eight hours of labor before I got my first kid. I guess it was probably a long night for Rena, too.
Finally, at 7:46A.M. on Dec. 28, The Hedgehog arrived. Now, I have no idea where the Hedgehog came from. Well, I know where she came from, but how she got the name is beyond me. All the kids have nicknames, as you will see in the coming LavyKids stories. She was Redgehog the Hedgehog and greatly loved. And the first thing I noticed about her were her long, purple fingers!
Let's fast-forward eighteen months. In the tub is Regina shaving her legs and bleeding all over the place. She wasn't trying to be like me, I can tell you that!
She was strong when she was little and still is. I could hold her by placing my hands on her calves, raising her above my head, and she could hold her body straight, parallel to the ground. I could also hang her by her hands on the back of the pew in front of us at church.
Finally, we find ourselves in Branson, Mo. on vacation. Regi is racing go-carts around The Track. When it was time to come off the track, she did. The accelerator and brake were both mashed to the floor. Into the pits she raced and knocked about three parked carts out on to the track. She still drives a little bit like that.
There is just not enough time or space to tell all about the Hedgehog. There may be some other memories that her sisters or brother or even her cousins can dredge up.
Guess which kid is going to be featured in our next visit. Yep, here comes The Bellehog!

Special Announcement

Springfield, Ohio 11-10-2007

Allyson Lavy, eighteen-year-old daughter of Rena and Lowell Lavy of Versailles, Ohio, was named the All Around Youth Winner of the Central State Horse Show Association at Courtyard by Marriott here on Saturday evening. Ally is a 2007 graduate of Old Paths Baptist Academy, Covington, Ohio. She showed her horse, Dandy Asset, this year in the All Around classes, ages 14-18. She was president of her 4-H club, Boots and Saddles, for the last two years. She was first out of five contestants, winning four out of six divisions of the contest including Best Costume, Horsemanship, Interview and Sportsmanship. Ally received monetary gifts, several horse-related gifts, a new saddle and a sizable scholarship toward college for her efforts. Congratulations to Allyson for her hard work toward this goal.

Aug. 2,1980

Without Victor and Doris Lavy, there would have been no 8-2-80. Without Ray and Billie Collingsworth, no 8-2-80. 'Course, I guess Adam and Eve were important, too. Actually, there would have still been an 8-2-80. (Well, maybe not without Adam and Eve! )It just wouldn't have been an important date. Maybe it would be important to someone. As you can see, sometimes I get what is commonly called the "Allyson Lavy Syndrome", where a person just blathers on and on before getting to the point.

Aug. 2, 1980 dawned clear and hot. I awoke in my room at 9163 Neff Rd. and prepared to go to Dayton, Ohio to be married. Sometime in the forenoon it was time to leave. My father, good old Vic (Blinkle, as I affectionately called him) hoisted my 165lb frame onto his shoulders, and hauled me to my beautiful, blue 1976 Chrysler Cordoba, in which I would be taking my last drive as a free man.

To make a long story short (of course, this goes against the Ally Syndrome) it was`hotter than blue blazes at the Air Street Church where Rena and I were wed. You would think they would have had "air" at Air Street, but believe me, there was no air. After about an hour and a half, all the formalities were over and we could get on to the reception and then on with the show! However, no description of the wedding would be complete withhout reminding everyone that there were two little girls who noisily told all who would listen that the wedding was taking too long. By the way, those two girls were almost exactly the same age. They looked just alike. They still look very similar. One lives out west somewhere and one lives in Ohio...Oh, well, that's OK, I thought it was too long, too.

After the reception it was off to Georgetown, Kentucky(you thought that was just where the Bengals practiced) and then Gatlinburg, Tenn. We loved Gatlinburg so much, we have been going back for years, sometimes even taking the kids along.

Next time we visit,the Hedgehog arrives.

A Phone Call, An Offering and A Massage

Before I get to deep into the LavyKids stories, let me tell you about three memories. In the 70's and 80's, I was privileged to teach in a small Christian school, Tabernacle Christian School(TCS). Not every memory from there is pleasant, but that is not what this is about.

One day while at school, I called my mother for some reason. In those days, we had a party line (three or four neighbors having the same phone line is probably the best way to describe it). When I called her, the phone somehow rang at our next-door neighbor, Margaret's house at the same time as it did at our house. Both Margaret and Mother said hello at the same time. I spoke with Mother for a minute and then hung up. Apparently, they spoke after that for several minutes, both wondering why the other called. I don't think either ever figured out what happened, but they still had a nice conversation without even meaning to talk to each other that day. Old country neighbors...now we don't even know our neighbor's names, it seems.

While teaching at TCS, I had occasion to have all of my nieces and nephews in school at one time or the other. That is a fond memory for me. Soon before my marriage to the former Rena Collingsworth, I asked Paul Lavy and Kevin Lavy to ask their fathers, Merrill and Don, to be ushers in our wedding. One of them ( not sure which one) went home and proudly told his father, "Uncle Lowell wants you to take up the offering at his wedding." That would have been very nice of them if they had passed the plates for us!

Here is one final memory for you from my teaching days. In her English PACE, a student of mine was required to write a thank-you note to the pastor. When asked to check her writing, here is the note that I found. "Dear Pastor, Thank you for the massage on Sunday. It was very good. Love, Debbie."

Well, there you have some of my memories. See you next time when we may remember Aug 2, 1980. That's Wedding Day if you didn't know .

Regi Insisted

Regi insisted that I begin a blog so here it is. It may be the most boring blog in history. We shall see how it goes. In the coming days I will relate to you some of my most prominent memories of my kids. If you are a Lavy Kid and there is something that is not allowed to be published "Speak now or forever hold your peace". 'Course, it probably wouldn't matter any way, it would probably still be published. Once again, if you are bored beyond belief here at LJLAVY.blogspot.com, BLAME Regi!