SPOTS!

I want to talk about spots on clothing and peoples' attitude toward them. What's a spot not? It is not intentional. It is not planned. 

A spot on your shirt or other item of clothing is an accident. So! Why, when you're at a luncheon or a dinner party or a function of any kind does some clod walk right up to you and say accusingly, "You have a spot on your sleeve; or "you have a spot on your collar;" or as I heard at bridge the other day, "You have something that looks like dog puke on your jacket!"

Must we continuously be reminded that we are human and occasionally spill something on ourselves even unto the 8th generation?

I think next time you start to say something about a spot on somebody's clothing, you should take a little time and realize that that person will find that spot eventually and get rid of it all by themselves.....unless you expect them to rip out another item of clothing from their purse or pocket and change clothing right then and there.

I don't know about you, but I wear my spots proudly! I don't care if they do look like dog puke. :-)

Please do not politicize this commentary. :-) Thank you!

TO BABY SISTER, YOU RAT FINK!

Hi......................................To my baby sister........

The last time I talked to you it was rather awkward, because I had assumed you were voting conservative, and you didn't vote conservative and didn't tell me.  So I told you a "funny" joke that I wouldn't have told you had I known.  Well, I have a lot of liberal friends, and I don't hold that against 'em, so I don't know what the big deal was that you wouldn't tell me in the first place.....says to me you don't trust me.  I could be wrong...I often have been.  :-)  However, if you chose to vote for a liberal agenda...hey....that's your prerogative in this country (at least for now).  Just tell me next time, so I won't make an ass of myself.  :-) I'm tired of doing that, because some people are so secretive, and I happen to trust EVERYBODY.   I've also learned over a period of time that you have a hard time laughing at yourself.  You need to learn to laugh at yourself.  :-) Life just doesn't work unless you can laugh at yourself.   I guess I'm lucky in that department.  Anyway...I love you and whomever you chose to vote for, I'll champion your cause.......after I champion mine.  :-)

Just wanted you to know, because there are many things you do not know about me, because you have never bothered to ask. 


With all my love,
Big Sis

Greece is in the middle of an interesting situation...a little reversal of promises by their new "leader". Surprise, surprise. And in honor of one of my favorite comedians Jim Nabors....one more..... SURPRISE! Coming soon to YOUR local country.

Racism

The term "racist" has been thrown around what seems like every few seconds this year.  Does anybody know what a racist really is?  People who openly criticize Obama are not racist, because racists are covert.  I think of Obama as equal;  therefore, I can openly criticize him, because the color of his skin is not important to me.   Racists hide behind lies and masks.  They're secretive.  They pretend.  They hide the fact that they voted for Obama from their friends and neighbors, especially if their friends and neighbors voted conservative.  They're not very proud of their vote obviously.   

GOOD MORNING, BREAKFAST CLUBBERS!

Good morning, breakfast clubbers! Jim surprised me with tickets to see Carol Burnett in "concert" at Rudder Auditorium at A&M in College Station last night. We drove over, had a leisurely dinner at Cheddars and went to the show then spent the night at the Holiday Inn. Thank you, darlin', for a great early anniversary gift. Carol was delightful....mostly she answered audience questions and talked about her career and herself; showed clips from some of the funniest and earliest shows she and Harvey,Tim, and Vicki had done. She admitted to being shy, and made the statement that she could not tell a joke to save her life. So she and her ensemble all call themselves comic "actors", rather than comedians (as in stand up comedian). Hence the "skit" format of her show. Well, it was the treat of my life....she's always been my favorite actress. The evening was relaxed and spontaneous and I will cherish the memories. ♥

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  Dinny Lucas Your evening sounded wonderful! By the way, you walked right by the last office I had in Rudder on the first floor. Great place.

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  Brownie Mackie Dinny, our waiter at Cheddars was an A&M freshman majoring most likely in civil engineering....sweet and well mannered young man named Kirt. He is a big football fan, so we congratulated him for being part of the big Alabama/A&M win! It was a wonderful evening.

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  Brownie Mackie Hey...all my "Once Upon a Mattress" kids...let me hear from you. I have such hilariously funny memories of that show and the first "musical" we did from McCullough on a stage at Oak Ridge..."Jack and the Beanstalk".

  17 hours ago · Edited · Like
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  Dinny Lucas Was it still very noisy at Cheddars? I remember the noise and the good food.

  16 hours ago · Like
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  Brownie Mackie Yes, Jim kept adjusting his hearing aids, but we survived. It's always noisey in the chain restaurants....bad acoustics...sound isn't absorbed.

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VETERANS' DAY! I am beyond PROUD of my husband Jim, who spent his whole career in the Army and served with military intelligence; my son Craig, who was a medic with the Fleet Marines and served for four years; my son Eric, who served in the Army with a special cannon unit before and during Operation Dessert Storm and is now with the US Border Patrol; my first husband, Morris High, and father of my children was in the Naval Reserve for two years and served on Guam; my dad and uncle who served with the Texas Nat'l Guard for a long time during WWII. And in addition: my gt. uncle Glenn Younger who served in WWI with the army. And gg uncle William Armistead Younger who died from disease while in a Yankee prison camp during the Civil War and is buried at Rock Island, Ill Confederate Prison Camp. My gg grandfather John Wilson McKisick, who served in Texas during the Civil War and his grandfather before him, Daniel McKisick, who served as a Captain in the Rev. War during the Battle of Ramsour's Mill in Lincoln County, NC and was wounded severely. Not to mention....my ggg grandfather, Absalom Bonham, who served in the Revolutionary War in both MD and NJ. And there were those who served in the War of 1812, Williamson Younger and Edmund Barry. (Edmund was a Confederate spy) :-) And to our many military friends and relatives.....

All you guys did your part, and I salute you! And I love you all with all my heart! Thank you for helping to keep our country safe.

LET THEM GET MARRIED!

With Emily Dickinson in mind:  "This is my letter to the world, who never wrote to me......"  Actually, this is my letter to all the "good Christian"  bigots who never wrote to me......

In high school, I ran around with lots of people...both straight and gay.  I didn't know what straight and gay were back then (we didn't discuss such things), and I weighed 90 lbs. dripping wet and was about as sexy as a leafless stick on a dead tree, so I didn't know anything about sex either and frankly, didn't want to.  But I was artistic and musical and "dramatic"....so learned to love a great diversity of people.

 I think the seriousness of the difference between being straight and gay really hit home to me after I began teaching.  I had lots of students ages 14 and up who came to me to talk about their homosexuality, because they felt they couldn't talk to their parents. Many were contemplating suicide even back then, because they didn't know if they could live in a world that shunned and treated them so badly because they weren't considered to be like everybody else.  Well, I put the quietus on the "suicide" bit immediately.  I told the kids to be themselves and be strong and reminded them that suicide is the most selfish thing that anybody can do to their family.  AND...if they killed themselves...they would have no chance to change other peoples' thinking.  Fortunately, none of my students committed suicide.  We just had fun instead.  But I learned more from those experiences than they did. And I began to look at homosexuality differently and with great respect. 

It amazes me that there is still the need for them to struggle to be accepted after all these years.  It amazes me that there is still hatred and bigotry toward these wonderfully talented and kind and gentle people.  

By damn...let them get married legally!  What's so tough about that?

My next topic will be "Good Christian Bigots".  :-)

REPUBLICANS! As a current staunch Republican and conservative I want a party that prays less, preaches less, and understands ALL people more. Prayer is good...but it belongs in the church and home....not on the political field nor in a diverse public. Our party needs to embrace all people. We've got intelligence, perseverance, business acumen, and morality in our favor, but it's not necessary that we wear any of that on our sleeves; it is necessary that we use those talents for good, not talk about them incessantly. Stick your noses to the grindstone and get to work!

 

 CAMPAIGN 2012

We hope we learn from every experience. One thing I have learned from the 2012 campaign, is that there are more white people who hate white rich people than there are white people who hate black rich people.

JUST SAYIN'

Just sayin'! I noted one comment on FB this morning that Joe Biden needs to do something about his "pointy finger". That particular trait is evident in Obama as well. Some of us grew up or lived with "pointy fingered" people. One particular person with whom I was close (a person of charm and ability but of a very uneven temperament) stuck the finger in my face with amazing regularity and shook it vehemently when displeased with me. My mother did the same thing. So, I grew to abhor the "finger in the face" routine. It's condescending and demeaning. I have been known to bite a finger or two and also (I have a very strong grip) grab the aforementioned finger and hold onto it until the pointer begs for release. Don't know if I can stand another four years of "pointy fingers". My TV may not survive.

 

A couple of people have accused me recently of being a closet liberal. Nah! I'm just open minded and loud mouthed...I figure that I'll probably not be around for much longer (although I'm pushin' for 95 at least), and that I can say whatever I want to say and think whatever I want to think and study whatever I want to study. At 76 I'm lucky to still have my mind working. Although there's some

question regarding the body. But...politically I'll never be a liberal...as politically I'm not a devout conservative. I'm certainly not happy with their performance this go round. But...that's just me. My DNA has been around for 60,000 years, and it's learned a lot. It's impossible for me to adhere to the doctrine of any organized group for any length of time. I'm basically a loner...always have been...am never happier than when I'm doing something by myself.....but recognize the restorative qualities of having good and diversified friends, children, and a husband whom I adore, whom I can look up to and banter back and forth with and sometimes trump a thought or two just for the fun of it (friends and husband in turn).

But then...it's not all about me. :-) It's about all of them and you.

Food for a Christian's Thought

Food for thought. WHAT DO YOU PEOPLE WHO OPPOSE GAY MARRIAGE THINK IS GOING TO HAPPEN IF GAYS ARE GIVEN THE RIGHT TO A PIECE OF PAPER THAT SAYS THEY'RE LEGALLY MARRIED, SO THAT THOSE GAYS WHO ARE MONOGAMOUS CAN HAVE THE RIGHTS OF INHERITANCE AND THE RIGHTS OF A SPOUSE IN THE CASE OF SEVERE AND CHRONIC ILLNESS AND DEATH OF THEIR PARTNER? Do you think the world is coming to an end? What is your main beef? Do you feel threatened? I don't get it. Clue me in. Homosexuality is part of the natural order of things. It is not a choice. Can we please stop beating up these sweet, talented, intelligent, productive people? God made them, too. They deserve more than they're allowed, because they contribute more than most. One piece of paper. So what?!!!!!!!!!!

Billy Graham speaks

We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and reversed our values. We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery. We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare. We have killed our unborn and called it choice. We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable... We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self esteem. We have abused power and called it politics. We have coveted our neighbor's possessions and called it ambition. We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression. We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it enlightenment.

Billy Graham

 Friend of mine posted this on Facebook this morning:  Comments below are mine. 

 

 

 And how does one earn a living in the fields? "Shiva is a philosopher, an environmental activist, author and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books." My...where does she find the time to write the books? The above lumps all corporations into one mold. Many corporations contribute much of their earnings/profits to the good of others. Corporations contribute to education, grants, scholarships, and work/study programs. Humanitarian programs are financed by corporations. As Obama is your pet president, I'll use him as an example....how the heck do you think this guy matriculated at an ivy league school? His grandmaw sure didn't have the funds to send him. Who paid for his education? He sure didn't. We get rid of corporations; we go back to the fields (I am for doing away with subsidies and allowing farmers the freedom to grow what they want to); we lose funding for research; we lose funding for all kinds of programs that we now have, humanitarian as well as educational and medical research ....you think ordinary people support these programs....naw....corporations do.

Miss Brownie

Her name was Stella Brown McKissick. She was born in 1889 on a ranch in Bosque County, TX not far from Meridian. She was the third child of Edward McGary McKissick (sometimes spelled McKisick) and Lily Barry McKissick.  Her siblings were Jules Edward, Jesse Barry (sister), Stella Brown, and Mary Wingfield. She was my precious Grandmother (Mamma) Younger.

Stella called herself "Brown" which later became Brownie and then Miss Brownie. She was a true red head. I have locks of her hair, which were cut when she was sixteen.
She was a feisty, energetic girl, who played the piano, rode horses, and did chores on the ranch. She had a good sense of humor, and she was very playful.

Brownie was named "Stella Brown" after her sister's piano teacher. Brownie's mother was Lily Barry, daughter of Griffith Coombe Barry and Mary Wingfield Claybrook Barry, first generation Texans. Griffith was son of James D. and Julianna Coombe Barry of Washington, DC. Mary was daughter of William Peyton Doswell and Narcissa Nantz (Nance) Claybrook of VA, KY, and MO. Narcissa died at 44, and WPD remarried to a Miss Broadus, and they moved to Hot Springs, AR where they are buried. They had one daughter, who is also buried in the family plot.

Recently, because of DNA testing I've discovered descendants of Jules Edward McKisick, my grandmother's brother;  Charles Abel, Laurie Abel-Hovey (Charles' daughter) and Chris Gookin.  Chris and I have corresponded frequently, and he pointed me in direction of the others.  Laurie lives less than two miles from me.

Other cousins from the McKisicks (also Lamb, McGary, and Barry) are Linda Daniel and Netta Martin. 

As of Jun 18, we have another, Mrs. Carol Barry Bellon of Austin.  Carol has three children, a husband Paul, and she works for Whole Foods, although she is an attorney by education. 

to be continued.......

We are beginning to see changes in the operational functions of our medical facilities.  To illustrate:  Jim went to the ophthalmologist yesterday, and a usual one hour appointment took three hours, because of the new mandate that all patient records must be computerized.  Windows XP was the OS.   Written records will go into storage until they can be destroyed.  My regular doctor apologized to us last month because he could no longer present himself personally without computer in hand.  How long before a great disaster occurs?

 Religion began because man didn't want to die.  There is a certain fear of death that prevails in our lives. But we will be okay, if we know that we're going to keep on living after we are brain dead.  Many people are the living brain dead. 

The Bible was written by people who were trying to make sense of it all.  The Bible was translated by people who were trying to make sense of it all.  The Bible was changed and changed and changed by people who were trying to make sense of it all.  The Torah, the Jewish holy scriptures, is simply Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deutoronomy...the first five books of the Old Testament.  We all have the same God.  Whether we worship Jesus, Allah, Cows, Budha, or any other entity, and if there's a God, we all have the same God...no  matter what we call him/it/her.  It's complicated.  And most of it makes no sense.  All of it is supernatural; unexplained.     Have you read the Book of Mormon?  Have you read the Torah?  Have you really read your Bible?  Have you studied multi religions? 

Jim's Cancer

Jim started exhibiting side effects of the drug Sandostatin at about 1 a.m. in the morning of April 7….after receiving two shots of it on Friday, April 6.  We were not informed of side effect;  however, I looked them up on the internet. 

He was sick for two solid days.  We were not aware that there was a doctor on call at M. D. Anderson, The Woodlands, on weekends:  so we refrained from calling and decided to e-mail the problem.  We were told to go to the ER at St. Lukes on Monday morning by Tennile Campbell, nurse to Dr. Coscio. 

Jim was clearly suffering from side effects of Sandostatin.  He was finally beginning to recover and felt much better on Monday morning when we heard from Dr. Coscio’s nurse, and she said to go to the ER at ST. Lukes.  (we sent the e-mails on Sat. or Sun……why didn’t somebody pick them up then if there was a doctor on duty?)

The ER at St. Lukes tested Jim for everything BUT…..everything but symptoms of side effects of Sandostatin:  they tested him for blood clots, heart problems, lung problems, intestinal blockage.  They wanted to bring in Dr. McTague, Jim’s emergency room surgeon in Conroe, who did his first surgery in September. ???? We said that if we needed a surgeon, we would use Dr. Fleming at M. D. Anderson in Houston and have him take out the carsinoid tumors in addition to anything else that was there. 

I am concerned that this lack of empathetic treatment of Jim and the lack of appearance by his oncologist at the ER when we followed her nurses instructions to go there are indicative of lack of communication and possibly more serious problems.  Certainly lack of communication. 

At this time I feel as if the whole situation is going to kill my husband rather than help him.  We certainly hope that that’s not the case. 

Jim and I have lived a long time.  We are both observers of people and things.  We have observed that some people spend more time at church than they do with their families and friends.  We have observed that people seem to think that being in a beautiful church building on a regular basis will get them to "Heaven" faster than being with family or close friends.  We have observed that building stone churches is more important to some people than building relationships and setting examples QUIETLY for other people. 

There are several things that I thought would end before I was gone; racism, homophobia, and sensationalism by raving "Christian" naysayers. They've all gotten worse instead. I firmly believe that Blacks need to address their own racism against whites. It strongly exists and complicates matters, because I do not believe that most intelligent whites feel any kind of prejudice against Blacks. Homophobia is just stupid and has no basis in fact at all. Raving "Christian" naysayers have the "demonic plague". They promote all the above. It's how they make a living.

IGNORANCE prevails and is the real sin.

There are peaceful Muslims and radical Muslims;  there are peaceful Christians and radical Christians.  Just confirms my lifelong belief that religion or misuse of it thereof causes wars.  Religious prejudices and beliefs have caused more wars than anything else.  We have peaceful Muslims down the street from us.  They're lovely neighbors.   I don't like Obama, because I think he is weak and devious, but I'll not use his religion as an excuse not to like him.  The more hate that's stirred up, the thicker it will get.  I refuse to stir the pot.  :-) 

TWINLESS TWINS

AMAZING DISCOVERY!  Thank God, I lived long enough to find this. It explains my whole life as well as my sister's. 

Leading to the "Elvis Story" One Of Four In A Series Of Articles: Twins World Magazine (Exploring Early Twinloss) Leading to the "Elvis Story"by Peter 0. Whitmer, Ph.D. In the summer of 1928, Thornton Wilder addressed a packed auditorium at the University of Michigan.  The occasion was a whistle-stop lecture tour across the country after winning the Pulitzer Prize for his second novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey.  In speaking to the audience, he discussed the thought behind his creation of a character, Esteban, and casting him as a twinless twin.  A member of the audience was intrigued, and asked the origin of such an unusual individual.   "I was myself a twin brother, though only for a few hours," he told the gathering, referring to his twin, Theophilus, who died shortly after birth.  "The realization has remained with me merely in the realm of amused and affectionate speculation as to what it would be like to have an identical self going about the world with one, writing perhaps, collaborating, perhaps.  But before I knew it, these tranquil speculations turned out in the book to be more and more serious.  But for me, the real thing I was interested in throughout that chapter [Esteban] was the suffering of inarticulate people."  Thornton Wilder was one of five twinless twins whose twin died at or very near birth, who became successful creative artists in the 20th century. In addition to Elvis Presley and Wilder, they include the science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick, from whose works the movies Blade Runner and Total Recall were made, the Mexican Muralist, Diego Rivera, and the only other twinless twin with whom Elvis Presley ever discussed his plight, Liberace. Each of these artists and also many twinless twins whose loss comes as an adult have demonstrated an unusual ability and drive - the twinning motif.  Their careers are dominated by a compulsion to bring together different strands of creativity, and render something completely new. By doing this, they are attempting - for a lifetime - to seek a more fuller understanding of why they lived while their twin died. It is their attempt to replicate, in life, what can only be accomplished in death.   Ultimately their life's most profound driving force is toward becoming re-united with their dead twin.         One of the first articles to ever address the strange compulsion of a twinless twin was written in 1981 by George Engle, a physician at the University of Rochester. He used himself and his late brother as a case study. Engel reviewed the parallels in both personal and professional lives the two had shared, noting that only after completing medical school did they go separate ways.  Unknowingly, they emulated each other's career.  Both combined previously unrelated areas of medical specialty into one. He said, "Note that both of us held dual, or twin, professorships, unusual in those days, and that both created new academic entities, virtually simultaneously at that. Just as I at one moment could be a psychiatrist and at another an internist, so, too, could [my brother] Frank be a physiologist and then an internist. Each of us was preoccupied with fusing two disciplines into a single entity. Such "twinning" behavior is significant: The drive is always to be two, yet be unique from all others."        For Thornton Wilder, nearly every piece of his literature or drama dealt with the attempt to bring together two fundamentally different themes: the praise of life, and the possibilities and fascination with death. Repeatedly, in Wilder's works one finds the theme of death, trying to understand death from the point of view of the dead, and communication with the dead. From The Bridge of San Luis Rey, through the play Our Town to his autobiographical novel, completed at age seventy five, Wilder compared, contrasted and investigated the fragile quality of human life that, he felt, could only hold meaning when braided together like rope with themes of death.         At the core of his novels and plays was the core of Wilder himself; he spent a lifetime searching for the part of him that was missing, and always came up empty handed.  His emotional reactions to his successes were pure guilt: after winning his first Pulitzer Prize, he felt "a glib and graceful hypocrisy" begin to emerge within him.  He retreated to his mother to be 'cured' and said of his sense of loneliness in the world, "I don't belong."         In his journals, begun at age fifteen, he ruminated incessantly on the theme of his twin as a driving force in his creative life.         When only a few years older than Elvis at the time of his move to Memphis, Wilder wrote his mother about his high energy level and zest for life. He told her the reason for his personality: "because I am a twin, and by his death an outlet for my affection was closed." In mid-life, he struck up an intense relationship with another twin, Montgomery Clift; they developed a magnetic rapport when the two discovered both were twins.  Clift was cast in both of Wilder's Pulitzer Prizewinning plays, Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth. Clift's twin sister was alive, but the relationship tormented the man, leaving him debilitated when apart from her and "mystically close" when together. Clift told Wilder he "experienced uncertainty as to which twin he was." Wilder counseled him, saying, "All twins suffer from identity crises."        And in his life, Wilder would constantly seek out people to continue this investigation: he visited Sigmund Freud twice, once in Vienna, later in England. He spent time with the occult philosopher Gurdjieff in Fountainbleu, France; with the existentialist Jean Paul Sartre in Paris; with Carl Jung in Zurich and with Albert Schweitzer in Aspen, Colorado. He was relentless in his "seeking."         Twins are everywhere in his works. In his most important works a twin is always cast as a character, but often subordinated to his main theme of investigating aspects of death: its randomness; its commonness; its comfort and magic. His last work Theophilus North, took its title from his dead twin's name. In the book the twin lives, and goes through life as a problem solver and a healer, patching together people and problems that have been ripped apart. In his play, Our Town, one day in the existence of a small village, twins are born on that day; the third act takes place in a graveyard and explores how another character, Emily, fits in with the village dead after she has died in childbirth.  The Bridge of San Louis Rey is about an investigation by a Catholic Monsignor into the reason for the deaths of five particular people when a bridge collapses in the Andes. In the first draft of the work, the bridge collapsed on Wilder's birthday. His autobiographical portrayal of one of the dead, the twinless twin, Esteban, was so convincingly effective that, in 1928, a reader wrote him the following:  Dear Mr. Wilder,         I'm a woman fifty-five years old.  My twin sister died three months ago.  My husband is a good husband, but he does not understand.  I even think he has always been jealous of my love for her and now gets cross with me for I can’t always hide my grief.  My children, too, although they are grown up and have children, do not understand.  But from what you write about twins in The Bridge of San Louis Rey, I know you do.  How do you know?  Please send me a few words in your own hand....   The other twinless twins' creative efforts differ in nature from Elvis Presley's, with the exception of Liberace’s fusion of classical and pop music, done in an iconoclastic and exotically flamboyant style.  But all of the successfully creative twinless twins made a life's work of devising a new art form by entwining different components.          For Diego Rivera, it was the fusion of art and politics. He created a democratized mural form for everyone; too large for the museums, it had to be publicly displayed, He felt a life-long sense of loneliness and failure, would work himself to exhaustion, loved the "shock appeal" of his murals, and called his style of frenzied effort while painting "sheer animal joy."           His works held a potent, unavoidable message of social consciousness and the need for societal reform that drew international attention to him. He became a lightning rod of cultural redirection, if not revolution. In 1933 when his mural in New York City's RCA Building, commissioned by John D. Rockefeller, was found to contain a small portrait of Lenin, guards blocked off the mural and mounted police restrained the public from viewing it. The mural was demolished.           For Philip K. Dick, the death of twin sister Jane, at age five weeks, was the single driving force of his life. His own identity was so impacted by her death that he suffered from attacks of panic all his life, fearing that he might suddenly cease to exist. At the same age as Elvis Presley when he left Tupelo, Dick wrote that for him, "the real fear is that you yourself - which at one time did not exist   - may again not exist; fear inside you, flooding over you in wave after wave of panic." Nine years before his death, established as a science fiction writer, he wrote about a failed suicide attempt brought on by his difficulty in forming an identity as an individual. "I am desperately trying to find a center for/to my life," he wrote, "but I am failing.  I am still 'stateless'." (State of going Twinless, Ed.)              His writings were about attempts to resolve dualist dilemmas: science fiction versus mainstream writing; human versus android existence; fake versus real life. At the center of his drive was this sister, she was everything to him.             All of the successful twinless twins, and all of those who were part of the author's Twinless Twin Study Program show a remarkably clear-cut behavioral paradigm that, as the individual grows older, plays an increasingly predominate role in their lives. As an adult, the power of this paradigm is tyrannical and the psychological pain nearly unbearable; the suicide rate among twinless twins is seven times that of the general population.              The twinless twin: it would be decades before research would illuminate the impact of this phenomenon. No one in the Presley family had an objective understanding of the life forces that had been unleashed, but Elvis and his parents knew of its powers instinctively. His entire life had its taproot in this rare, but psychologically seminal event. To be born a twinless twin is a potent birthright that spins one's life off in a certain direction, like being born with musical or mathematical genius, or growing quickly to a height of seven feet.    ~~' The hallmarks of the twinless twin are clear. Those who have lost a twin at or near birth share reactions that forge the personality in strikingly similar ways. Both the surviving twin and his family show the imprint. The impact and its lifelong psychological repercussions mold these individuals with a common, defining character. In early life, the pressures stemming from this initial loss are felt as identity confusion and an aura of strangeness. *       The sensations of alienation and isolation ‘ from others crystallize as the person ages. There is a psychic pain that not only endures for life, but also becomes more severe as time passes. To deal with an adult twinless twin is to experience a person suffering the extreme inner torment of unresolved grief        Some aspects of the twinless twin paradigm involve the entire family system. Some involve just  ‘ the surviving twin. But always the bond between mother and child becomes electric. After the simultaneous birth and death, the parents continue to think of themselves as parents of twins but often the father is put at an emotional distance. He is made a pariah while the mother and the surviving twin develop a relationship that is unusually close, enmeshed and of an abnormal intensity. Such mothers usually think of the survivor twin not as an individual, but as a twin; in some sense both children are always present. Having had the ineffable experience of going through a birth and a death at the same time, survivor's mothers' become suffocatingly protective. They do more than just worry the way normal mothers do; they obsess over issues of safety and health. Fears of injury and death permeate the remaining child's world. Survivors internalize these concerns, which, often emerge late in the form of sleep disorders and nightmares.          There are other aspects of the mother-survivor relationship that can seem even more bizarre to the uninitiated. Mother and surviving twin will routinely discuss the dead twin. Together, they will "converse" with the dead twin, often looking for the deceased's response in myriad superstitious ways. The relationship between the three can be occult, like some strange theological trinity. In the best sense, this sort of communication can be seen as a form of natural therapy to ease the loss and allow grief to be expressed. Carried to extremes, of course, the negative impact clearly outweighs the positive benefits. Under any circumstances, to outsiders, such behavior can appear odd and preternatural. Consequently, mother and child keep it a secret, thus tightening their bond even further.          As youngsters, twin survivors are aware of an uneasy, poorly articulated, yet pervasive emotional sense of 'feeling different' from others in their age group.          When informed they once had a twin, these feelings suddenly make sense and crystallize as part of their identity. With this intellectual awareness, their sense of "feeling different" is validated at which point, two opposing forces emerge. The tension created by this inner psychological conflict is driving compelling, relentless, often more personal than public, and painful in the extreme. The twinless twin wants to prove his uniqueness, to stand as an individual. Yet he is also powerfully pulled toward being re-united with the dead twin.           The over arching mythical nature of the twinless twin's predicament is particularly ironic and unresolvable. To win the mother's love, they must grieve for the dead twin. Yet at the same time, to establish self-love and their own security, they must compete with the very person they are compelled to mourn. The compulsion to be unique defines a life-long attempt to prove that they are a separate and whole person. Surviving twins constantly strive to demonstrate their autonomy and completeness. They look to others around them for indications of their success in this. Simultaneously, the opposing force, the tug to be re-united with their lost twin, surfaces, to be powered by survivor guilt. Twinless twins blame themselves for their sibling's death. They reproach themselves for having deprived their mother and father of the special status that is attributed to parents of twins.         Thus begins an emotional pendulum swing.  At the mercy of complex and conflicting motivations, the twin strives to assert his uniqueness through behavior designed to demonstrate to others just how special he is. The more successful he becomes in achieving attention and recognition from those around him, the more guilty he feels.   Deep down, he is convinced he should be sharing the wealth because he does not deserve to succeed. He believes he should be condemned rather than commended for having reached such levels of achievement. Gradually, this pendulum of emotions swings out of control - farther and farther in each frustratingly contradictory direction.        These two forces - to prove one's individuality, and to become re-united with the other twin yet always in view of the mother - make it extremely difficult for twinless twins to develop normal relationships with others because they are already intimately involved. Self-imposed alienation is the normal. Yet by definition, the relationship with the dead twin is incomplete and never fully satisfying. Real human closeness is almost impossible, and the sense of pain and isolation becomes intense.        Another characteristic of the twinless twin is an unusually high energy level. The playwright Thornton Wilder wrote his mother about this when he was twenty years old. Saying, "I suppose that everyone feels that his nature cries out hourly for it knows not what, but I like to believe that mine raises an exceedingly great voice because I am a twin, and by his death an outlet for my affection was closed. It is not affection alone, but energy, and in it I live and because of it I believe I seem to see my life as more vivid, electric, and marvelous than others . . .1 am perpetually enthusiastic." The science fiction writer, Philip K. Dick, was tormented, driven and inspired by his sister’s loss for his entire life. He spoke of her powers over him, saying "She (Jane) fights for my life & for hers, eternally ... My sister is everything to me. I am damned always to be separated from her/& with her, in an oscillation."         In the summer of 1956, the performer Liberace first met and discussed with Elvis his feelings due to having lost his twin at birth. He felt this had fueled his compulsion to perform. Further, he described what he called his need "to work in a frenzy." In the process, he gave Presley the first of numerous lessons about how to flaunt his uniqueness, especially through style and dress.   Liberace called it "showmanship." Both called it success.         Early in Elvis' career, Gladys spoke of her son’s source of talent, drive and energy.  She pointed to his birth and his twin's, Jesse', death as the crucible which forged Presley's "destiny to do great things. He is living for two people," She proclaimed. "He has the power of two people."  Elvis himself would refer to his dead twin as his  "original bodyguard." He sought communion and re-union with the twin, sensing that the dead brother was a spiritual guide who directed him to search for meaning in life. He did this through meditation, numerology, compulsive study of both the Bible and numerous other spiritual tracts and, ultimately, through drug use.         Twinless twins can live a lifetime with most of the people in the world completely unaware of their operative core dynamic. They inhabit, in a sense, the ultimate private world. One speaks with, seeks guidance from, and feels constantly in some form of contact not Just with an invisible being - but with a genetic carbon copy of one's self, in fact, who occupies an almost God-like position in this twisted but profoundly spiritual mental relationship. This is not the kind of stuff suitable for open discussion. Editor’s Note: This confusion and aura of strangeness of which Dr- Whitmer writes has been evidenced to me in the hundreds of interviews conducted and letters received by me. Dr. Raymond Brandt

A Brief Biography

’54  One year at Arlington State College.  ‘55   Marriage.  ‘56   One year at Baylor School of Dental Hygiene.  ‘57 Three years in Austin while spouse was finishing at UT.  ‘58 Two years in Dallas working as secretary to Chief geologist in oil and gas dept. at Southern Union Gas.  ‘60 Spouse transferred by his company to Orange, TX.  ‘61   Oldest son is born Jan 2.  Move to AR.   ‘62     Move to Rockford, IL.  Daughter is born Aug. 23.  ‘65   Job change to Pfizer, Inc..  Move back to Houston, TX.   ‘67   3^rd child, a boy, born July 29.  ‘69   4^th child, a boy, born Aug. 13.   ‘70  Move to Spring/The Woodlands, TX  ‘75   Matriculate at SHSU and graduate w/BFA in Theater Magna Cum Laude in ‘78.  Graduate School at U of Houston.  Earn MFA in Theater in 81.  Start teaching at McCullough High School in The Woodlands.  Divorced in ’91. Taught also at Klein Oak (notable student of mine, Jim Parsons) and Klein High Schools before retiring in 1994.  Jim and I married in 1995, and moved to Colorado.  He was retired.  I retired.  We traveled all over the country…west to east and back again. …north to south and back again.  Took grandchildren (nine count at this time) with us in our motor home.  My favorite trip was a summer spent in Canada on Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.  Toured the whole of Canada twice.  Family is scattered from coast to coast, and we enjoy visiting them when we travel.  Spent last July 4 in upstate New York with Jim’s family at the family retreat, which is three homes on about ten acres in West Eaton 30 miles south of Syracuse and about five miles west of Hamilton.  We love to camp and sail. I love doing genealogical research and have had my DNA done, which has disclosed numerous "new" cousins across the country and the world.  That’s been fun, and learning the history behind it all has been delightful.  We both do volunteer work with the Senior Center and Friends of the Library. 

We live on what used to be Lake Conroe (before the drought :-) in Walden in Montgomery, TX.  Have been here 9 years in March.  My daughter lives twenty mins. away.  Two sons are in the Austin area, and one is in Laredo.  Jim’s son lives with his family in Columbia, MD.  His daughter is with the Parks dept at Crater Lake in OR.   We have our sixth family member going to SHSU…our oldest granddaughter.  We have four granddaughters and five grandsons. 

I've stayed in close touch with Mary Whitten Gibbons, Elaine Russell Olson, and Leonite Selzer Moore (until her untimely death).  Before my mother's death, I took her around Sherman and we filmed all the houses we'd lived in.  I love to get out the CD and watch it.  Sherman hasn't changed all that much really...not to me at least.  Two of the houses we filmed are now gone, however.