Hootin' Anni's Day Trippin'

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Next week "free"

Great Plains in Winter

Blue snow in the moonlight,
Set back from the road, a house
with a single lamplit window.
The whole world holds its breath.

~Ted Kooser -U.S. Poet Laureate- Garland, Nebraska 1948-49 ©

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This is my HEAVY for the week. The photo was taken on February 9th, 1949. The Day I Was Born. The county snowplows cleared the country roads so mom could get to the hospital to deliver. No, really that is true....my family was blessed with good country folk ready to lend a helping hand, and the county officials kept the snow drifts off the country roads into town for her!! In the photo [foreground], two of my uncles and the one with the shovel is my dad who left the hospital after I was born, to help clear the snow in the yard/walkways, off roof-tops and around the barns, etc.; with the help of many neighbors. Heavy snowfall, heavy scooping, but that morning, then - not so heavy mom! LOL
[my dad's height was 5'10" ...]
It's reported online here that before the blizzard of 1948 - 1949 ended, parts of my home state received over 100 inches of snow and drifts as high as 30 feet.

...~end Photo Hunt Photo
[scroll down below the 'cake' clipart for commenting]


Oh, and to continue with the 'heavy theme' before the day's over, I will be a bit more HEAVY than when I woke up on my birthday too! I intend to 'throw caution to the wind' and celebrate with everything I enjoy. Fried Jumbo Gulf Shrimp, with tons of tartar sauce, and no doubt the fatty greasy french fried potatoes and all the other stuff that I spy on the menu. Then, maybe a movie...with popcorn --heavy on the butter!! The 9th is my birthday. The last year of the 50's too, so something a bit special pro'ly. Is 59 significant? Well, in my book it is. I'm not only OVER the HILL, but on a slippery road down hill now! But, truthfully, I'll enjoy the scenery every inch of the way.

The first thing I thought of with the week's theme was a song by the Hollies [1969] :::singing::: "He ain't heavy, he's my brother."

The road is long
With many a winding turn
That leads us to who knows where
Who knows where
But I'm strong
Strong enough to carry him
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
So on we go
His welfare is of my concern
No burden is he to bear
We'll get there
For I know
He would not encumber me
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
If I'm laden at all
I'm laden with sadness
That everyone's heart
Isn't filled with the gladness
Of love for one another
It's a long, long road
From which there is no return
While we're on the way to there
Why not share
And the load
Doesn't weigh me down at all
He ain't heavy he's my brother
He's my brother
He ain't heavy, he's my brother.

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The expression was first published:

In 1924, the first editor of Kiwanis Magazine, Roe Fulkerson, published a column carrying the title "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother". Dated September 1924, the article speaks of Fulkerson's inspiring encounter with "a spindly and physically weak lad" carrying a baby and "staggering towards a neighboring park". " 'Pretty big load for such a small kid' I said as I met him. 'Why, mister,' he smiled, 'He ain't heavy; he's my brother.' "