What a day!

 

Started out the day with my usual bird feeding, watering, bunny visit, etc. Took a few photos.

However, when I started in on my morning kitchen chores I got a rude surprise. We still use ice trays, and each morning I dump six of them into a large container. Well, this morning two of the cubes were stuck, I gave an extra yank, and one of the ice cubes hit me in the face just above my eye. Actually left a bleeding scratch! Injury by ice cube- too funny!

Went to the new library in Durant to return some books and look for a biography in one of the older Oklahoma history books. I am so pleased with the new library! They have made so many improvements and it is so beautiful and comfortable.

 

Next, I drove to the court house in search of a will from 1933. (Yes, those are still in storage.) I couldn’t park because an older woman had apparently fallen in the street and another woman was helping her up. Two men were also in the middle of the road and a service truck was parked at an angle. I waited in the middle of the street because there was no place else to go. In less than a minute a police car appeared and parked on the opposite side of the street. I could hear the older woman yelling across the street as soon as the officer got out of his car-  “I’m okay. I’m fine. No, no, it’s okay.” Then the guy from the service truck tried to talk to her and she kept shaking her head. Pretty soon the guy got into his truck, parked behind the squad car, and started talking to the officer. The other woman talked the older one into walking across the street and at that point I could see that her elbow was bleeding. And I could finally park my truck, which I did.

I walked in to the courthouse and stopped at the first office to inquire about where I needed to go for the will. By the time I got back to the elevator a local attorney and the woman from the street were also getting in. She was still bleeding and seemed a little shaky. She started talking and told us that she had dropped her papers, bent down to retrieve them and the guy in the service truck had backed into her and knocked her to the street. She also explained that it “clearly wasn’t his fault” so she didn’t file a police report, and she wasn’t “really hurt” so she was just going to “finish my business upstairs before I go home”. OH MY! I was just speechless and so was the attorney. She popped out of the elevator before either of us could stop her and was off to complete her errand.

Please, friends and neighbors, if anything remotely similar to this ever happens to you, file the report and go to the doctor immediately. Her elbow could have been cracked or she could have had some injury that didn’t show up until hours later. I’m not sure why she was in such a hurry, but I wondered later in the afternoon if I should have been more assertive and followed her down the hall. Probably would have asked for a restraining order against me! 

And speaking of restraining orders…let me just say that spending an hour and a half in the office of the court clerk is a life lesson you won’t get anywhere else! The very helpful ladies pulled two probate packets for me- one from 1933 and one from 1941. I made myself comfortable at the side counter and read them and made notes for over an hour and then waited while they copied the most important ones for me. In the meantime I heard bits and pieces of conversations as about a dozen people transacted business. Wow! There are troubles in the world that you really don’t want to think about. I will pray long and hard tonight and I will also be very thankful for my blessings.

Oh, back to the will and probate papers. LOTS of information for my next book- names and dates and property records that I needed. I am so thankful to the women at the Bryan County Genealogy Library for teaching me how to do research! They have coached me for many years. I stopped by for a few minutes to show them the will and to copy a couple of funeral records.

On my way home I encountered more road construction, this time directly in front of the house. This is the third time this week I’ve had to wait somewhere for the “okay” to proceed down the road. And each time it has been on a different road! At least we know there are a lot of repairs being done!

Still found time for my nap this afternoon. Hope you rested and stayed cool!

Comments

[Megan]

What an adventure!

About the little old lady. I too feel like she should have been seen. Years ago I was in a minor fender bender. Our insurance insisted that we go to the hospital to be checked immediately. We went and nothing was wrong.

But a little old lady/ Poor dear. She was probably thinking that it was the "high road" to not do anything, but I totally agree with you that she should have been seen. I hope she is okay.

Your research projects sound really interesting. I love your inquisitive and dogged determination.

You should snap a few pictures of your filing system or three ring binder or whatever you use to keep track of all the little things you're looking for. I can't imagine the sticky notes or folded corners you must employ.

Happy sleuthing!