A very blurry picture of Miss Cindy, Kenneth Roper, Granny Sue, B. Ruth, and Tipper 2014
Several long time Blind Pig readers have frequently asked me about B. Ruth. She used to comment on every post and had great insight to share about the culture and heritage of Appalachia.
I lost touch with her several years ago so I wasn’t sure what had happened to her, but earlier this summer I received a letter from her asking how we were doing. I wrote her back and asked if it was okay if I shared part of her letter with you.
B. Ruth was tickled so many of you remember her and said by all means please share the letter and please tell them all I said hello.
Tipper,
Thought I would drop you a few lines. I think about you and your family when all these many pop up reminders of the old website communications come up! My computer skills have waned these past few years. I also have been without my computer for about eight months. I have a new one and a printer still in the boxes sitting in the area but do not have it all connected. I miss looking around at people’s voices. I must say I miss seeing people’s voices. Sounds funny, I know, but true for me as I read about all the coming and going and activities everyone has in their lives.
These warm days is calling for gardening chores. We might try to plant some Spring produce—onions, radishes, lettuce! I absolutely love “kilt lettuce” and the best kilt lettuce is only best from home grown lettuce and onions in my opinion. I do believe I could eat just cornbread and “wilted” or “kilt lettuce” by itself! Maybe some pinto or white or mixed beans for good measure.
I wonder if you are still gardening in the spring? Raised beds are about all we can handle these days. Tomatoes and cucumbers are our favorite nowadays. We have a couple of arches that we plant a few climbing green beans. We are going to try this year if Ray’s back stays more or less pain free. We are now 84 and nearly 85 so bones ache more and our “get up and go,” just about got up and went so to speak.
We have a good chicken house and run and are doing some thinking about adding a few hens. Even though we still have those pesky hawks. The hawks picked off our hens; we will have to get the run covered!
Our daffodils are blooming and narcissus are full of buds. The forsythia (yellow bells) are also in full bloom. The “chorus frogs” “spring peepers” and our “leopard frogs” are sereanading us for weeks now. I think they have been sitting singing in the pond just waiting on this rain to come so they can do their “froggy business” with and in fresh water. I haven’t heard any of the big “Ga-Rump” sounds of the big frogs in the large farmers pond! When they start croaking they are very loud and sound like they are as big as ducks…
The birds are singing more every morning. I love hearing them. I am concerned about our “Mockingbirds!” They usually sing high on top of a power pole in the corner of our yard. Starting in late winter increasing more in the spring. We don’t have a “cat” now and he loved that cat and so did his family of mockingbirds. They lived to sing about how they could torment the cats and get away with it. Drove our cat nuts when the “mockers” would fly down and nip at their tails. So funny! Our cat was scared to death of that one old hateful mockingbird! Hiding under any bush he could find.
Well, guess I’ll close for now! Have a good spring and summer season.
Forgot to ask about Matt—I’m sure he is still bringing in “venison” to roast. Hope your mother is still well. I think about the story of Pap’s cast iron cake (pone) when I make pone cornbread on occasion.
All our close family is about gone now in N.C. When hearing of floods in Marshall and Asheville it about made me sick!
Talk to you later,
B. Ruth
I hope you enjoyed hearing from long time Blind Pig friend B. Ruth as much as I did. Nice to hear the thoughts she was having about spring of the year.
Last night’s video: Average Day in the Life of a YouTuber: Filming, Listing Merch, Family Time & More.
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
I find it extremely sad that B. Ruth has “…been without my computer for about eight months. I have a new one and a printer still in the boxes sitting in the area but do not have it all connected. I must say I miss seeing people’s voices. Sounds funny, I know, but true for me as I read about all the coming and going and activities everyone has in their lives.” I’m sure B. Ruth is not your only subscriber who actually needs her daily connection with you and your extraordinarily wide circle of online friends and family. Since the photo seems to indicate that she lives locally, surely there’s someone in the community or at a local school who can help her get back online. I’d volunteer myself if I wasn’t 560 miles away.
Doug, She doesn’t live here or I would offer too. The photo was from an event we held one time. She is very clever about things and has a large family so it’s likely more that she just hasn’t gotten around to it yet 🙂 You are very kind to worry about her! Thank you!
Tipper – thanks so much for posting B.Ruth’s letter. I always enjoyed her comments and have missed them so much. Glad to read she’s still “up and at’em” !!!
Tipper, I enjoyed reading the letter. She seems like a charming friend! My favorite part was the mean “Mockers” swooping down to bite the cat’s tail. I didn’t know they would do that. It sure made for an amusing mental picture. I can just “see” that illustrated in a children’s book! Praying for more better days with that darling granny. I miss seeing her! Love to all from Southern KY!
What a treat ! To hear from B. Ruth again , to see a beautiful Miss Cindy and to see beautiful Granny Sue ( Thankfully, I still keep up with Granny Sue ! ). Appreciate your taking the time to share with us all.
What a beautiful letter you received from B. Ruth! Handwritten letters are quickly becoming a thing of the past which is such a shame to me. I love to bless friends with a pretty card & always a handwritten note inside. It was a joy that she allowed you to share her precious, beautiful personal letter with us.
Prayers for comfort to Granny.
B Ruth has such a witty sense of humor and uses lovely vivid descriptions of things that bring them to life. Tell her how much we all enjoyed her letter.
Prayers for you all.
I have read and enjoyed many of B Ruth’s comments when reading blogs from the past. I agree with everyone that getting a handwritten letter means the world. When my sister lived in Colorado for many years, we wrote to each other every week. It was my lifeline to her. Neither of us could afford long-distance calls back then, so letters kept us close and involved in each others lives. Lucky for me, she is only a few hours away now. Thanks for sharing B Ruth’s letter with us. Also, I couldn’t believe how busy your days are with all of the videos and editing and answering questions. It takes a lot of work to do your job…glad you love it…so we can enjoy it!
Tipper, I enjoyed Ruth B’s letter VERY much! To me, it’s hard to beat a good letter, full of everyday details. If you get back in touch with her, please share this tip about keeping hawks away from your chickens. A friend of mine has hens in her big backyard, that has huge, old trees where hawks just love to hang out, eyeing her flock. She used 10 ft. river canes attached to her chain link fence with zip ties, spacing them maybe 10-15 ft apart. Then she tied fishing line to the tops (I assume she did that before attaching the poles to the fence) and she ran the other end to a tall shepherds hook in the middle of the yard. The line wasn’t pulled completely tight and it sort of moves & shimmers in the breeze and the hawks won’t try going between the lines. I hope I have explained it well enough and that maybe it will help someone.
Melanie, I have no problem with doing anything you can to control a hawk problem, even lead poison dispersed through a gun barrel. But just a word of caution, hawks are Federal protected birds and the Feds or local game wardens don’t fool around when they see anything they consider a trap.
Randy, hopefully she won’t get on the wrong side of anyone with her setup. There is plenty of room between the lines for a hawk to swoop down and grab a hen, but because the line moves in the breeze, the hawks probably can’t be sure, so they don’t try.
What a sweet person! I know you were happy to hear from her. A good friend is a special gift. I think of the songs,” Friends” that Michael Smith sings and then” You Can’t Make Old Friends that Kenny and Dolly sang especially when I am missing a friend that has passed on and believe me, there have been many, but I do treasure the ones I still have.
How interesting to read B. Ruth’s post. I enjoyed it so much.
I loved the video from last. Your family is the best!
As always, prayers for Granny❣️
Please let Matt know the “CURE” for stopping the burning after processing hot peppers with bare hands is to “wash” your hands first with VINEGAR; then hand soap. Vinegar neutralizes the capsaicinoids …
I have also seen folks wash with heavy cream for 3 minutes or soak their hands in a bowl of milk until the burn is gone …
*** Of course if he wants to be RADICAL … he could always wear gloves too (wink)
ps… I enjoy your posts!!
I sang a song when I was young and in the Girl Scouts
♪♪ Make new friends – but keep the old
One is SILVER . . . . . The other GOLD ♪♪
Thanks so much for sharing B. Ruth’s letter it made me smile to hear her say “Yellow Bells.” I’ve been reading your blog for so many years and always enjoyed her comments. In fact, many, many years ago you mentioned “yellow bells” in one of your very early posts and my heart jumped. It made me feel like you were kin to me as that is what my dear Mother always talked about in her stories of growing up. I’m also glad to know B. Ruth is still trying to keep moving and hope that she will get her computer set up in the future and be able to hear those voices again.
I want to say also that my goodness I had no idea all the work that goes in to being a creator on youtube. I commend you Tipper, bless your heart, and may God bless and keep ya all in His care.
Her comment – our “get up and go,” just about got up and went – can also be expressed as “My active ingredients have almost all leaked out”. Sometimes when I use that I have to explain that the active ingredients in us are the ‘get up and go’.
God has blessed me with many, many good friends in all walks of my life. How I wish I could meet them again. After years of trying to find a very good high school friend (1972) I was finally able to get in touch with him a few years ago. Now we often talk to one another. We laugh about the time he had got on my last nerve and I picked both him and his desk up and turned him over in one class after our teacher had left the room. I immediately helped him get up and get things back in place, just as we got everything back in place the teacher came back in the room and nothing was said. We thought we had gotten away with it. The next morning the teacher started out of the room again but stuck his head back in the door and said “let’s not be turning any desks over this morning.” I have wrote this before, my father in law said this to me after one of his lifelong friends had died “you know you are old when you have as many lifelong friends in the ground as you still have above ground.” It now seems like I am at this age. It seems like every week another friend from somewhere in my life dies.
B Ruth needs to get that computer hooked up and get back on here! I was not one of the piggies who asked about her, but I should have been. She is one of the readers whom I have often wondered about, as I missed her humorous posts. A pone of cornbread and a mess of killed lettuce and onions is a meal fit for a king, with or without the soup beans. My daughter bought me an Aqua Garden so I can raise my lettuce and get my fix year-round. The little machine is a fun gadget I think B would enjoy. Miss Cindy looks so young and beautiful in the picture.
Wonderful letter from B. Ruth. I was taken aback when I looked at the picture for B. Ruth is the identical twin to my wife’s Cousin Bonnie. Here are a couple of stories concerning Cousin Bonnie and Diane and me.
After returning from a fellowship meal at our church, World Harvest Church North, Bonnie was taking me home. I could not drive at the time due to a seizure disorder. Approaching the intersection of 129 and Martin’s Creek Road where the fire station use to be Cousin Bonnie failed to see the curve due to very bad eyes.
At the last moment Bonnie saw the curve and made it on two wheels. I never moved a muscle. Cousin Bonnie asked me if I was a little scared about what might have happened. I said no because if we crashed I knew where I was going and if we didn’t crash I would be home in a couple of minutes. Cousin Bonnie laughed and continues to bring up this story whenever we talk on the phone. She moved back to Tampa 6 years ago.
The other story deals with my wife Diane and I attending the funeral service of a member of our church, World Harvest Church North, and when we walked in I never saw so many people giving me and Diane “stink eye.” That’s an Hawaiian expression for mean or angry. I took Diane up to the oldest member attending the service and introduced Diane as my wife.
The church member then asked me who I was with in church. Diane told her that it was her Cousin Bonnie. As word spread through the room stink eyes turned to smiles.
Again love your YouTube videos and the blog.
We still are praying for Granny. Bless you.
IF YOU EVER GET DOWN TO THE DOTHAN , ALABAMA AREA, PLEASE BE MY GUEST FOR DINNER! I WOULD LOVE TO MEET YOU. EVERY BLUE MOON, I ALSO TRAVEL TO THE TOWNSEND AND GATLINBURG AREAS!
There’s only one word describing old friends…PRICELESS.
I am very new to the Blind Pig readings, but thoroughly enjoying them! I grew up and still live in Shelbyville Tn about 50 miles from the Alabama line. So many of our ways are just like yours ( at least for us country folk, I married a city boy 40 years ago and he doesn’t have a clue ). We always called “kilt lettuce” wilted lettuce and always made it with fresh garden picked lettuce, green onion and hot bacon grease. Like Ruth B. we always had pintos and a skillet of corn bread with it. My family lived a lot like your’s in Wilson Hollow but we didn’t have a hollow, just a very large farm that still exist today and I still have an uncle, great aunt and 3 cousins living on the property. Several have passed away and I live in the city. Finally it is so good to see that someone still writes a hand written letter, that is a dieing art. Love your volg, your channel and thepresleygirls channel. Thank you for sharing your life with those of us that can no longer live the way we would really like too …May God continue to bless you!
Clear to me that you make friends and keep them, even through long lapses of contact. You got some “good news from a far country”. My wife makes and keeps friends like that to; me, not so much. Among us here, I expect different ones of us look especially for posts by certain others, (not to name any names though). Her words about the ” Ga rump” frogs (bullfrogs) remind me of what Dad said they were saying when we were on Cumberland River fishing. First bullfrog on far bank: “come across, come across, come across”. Upriver and on near bank “too deep, too deep, too deep”. Way downriver, ” he’ll drown, he’ll drown, he’ll drown.”
I had missed B Ruth too as well as others, some I know are no longer around and some I wonder what happened to them. I can only imagine what it would feel like to.have a computer in a box and not be able to catch up on pig news. One reader I wonder about was from South America I think. He played guitar or banjo and had interesting comments. It is fun to try to discover the different personalities of the readers and some are very memorable. I’m so glad to hear from B Ruth.
It’s always nice to hear from old friends. Mrs. B Ruth sounds like she’s still busy doing what interests her and that her husband is also involved even though they are in their 80’s.
Great to hear, if vicariously, from B. Ruth. I keep a maple leaf print she sent me from the days when she was active on BP&A; I believe it was after I’d mentioned being out bushwhacking looking for old home sites and slipping on newly-fallen leaves down a steep bank and being deposited in Durham Branch of Deep Creek.
Such a sweet lady with a fun sense of humor.
How wonderful to “hear” from Miss Ruth. How I wish I could scoot over there and help them. And oh how I miss her comments and Mr. Ken Roper’s….but the best and first I always looked for was Miss Cindy’s. Her love and admiration of you and the family shone brightly. Prayers continue for Granny and all of you. Blessings ❤️
Don, your story of slipping and sliding reminded me of Tennessee turkey hunter Sam Mars, who had shot a gobbler that was flopping down a mountainside. Sam was half running and half sliding, trying to catch up with the turkey to anchor it, when they both tumbled over an unseen dropoff. Sam was dazed and had to lie there to catch his breath, but he was uninjured and his gobbler was dead beside him. Sam had many reasons to pause and give thanks thatspring morning many years ago. We published his story in Turkey Call magazine.
Her words gave me the vivid images of spring. Perhaps I’ll start planning for next year early.
I love the phrase “seeing people’s voices” that is a great visual of what storytelling is.
Good morning from Southern Illinois.Watched the video last night and what a lot of behind the scenes work goes into the videos. Just happened to think of a couple of things while listening to you. In southern Illinois there are a lot of St.Louis Cardinal fans . Its often said what did the cardinals do last night or what did the redbirds do,pertaining to them we use both interchangably. Also I ran across a video of Milburn Stone (he played Doc Adams on Gunsmoke) dressed in a suit on someones show singing When you and I were young Maggie. Did a very good job. Thought you might check it out.
What a wonderful, descriptive letter. I guess I haven’t been reading your blog long enough to remember her comments or maybe I just missed them altogether, but she sounds like a beautiful person with lots of colorful and interesting stories to tell. Thank you for sharing her letter with us. When you write back, because I know you will when you have time, please tell her we enjoyed her letter too.
there’s nothing like a letter, handwritten especially, God bless you all and have a great day
I really enjoyed B. Ruth’s letter! She sounds like your “kindred spirit.” I could just “see” everything she described. She and her husband sound very productive! I hope she can get back on line if she hasn’t already done so!
I have read some of B. Ruth’s comments on the older posts. It is good to know she is alive and well. I have never ate kilt lettuce but like her, I love cornbread and pinto beans. In fact that is what I had for my supper last night and I finished up with bowl of cornbread and milk for dessert. Please, only unsweetened cornbread for me. I remember when Mockingbirds chased everything around the house, especially cats, but I don’t see as many anymore. Come to think of it, I don’t see many birds that were once common around here anymore.
Mrs Ruth B sounds like such a sweet lady. I know you were thrilled to have heard from her.
Tipper, I see you do alot keeping up with the Blindpigacorn and the Utube web site. You are faithful! Thank you as I look forward to all of it! My granddaughter said to me the other day hey Mawmaw you sure like listening and watching that lady (Tipper) every time I come in here you have it on! lol
Praying for Granny always