In Memoriam of Howard L. Pentecost....My Grandpa, My Hero, My Friend!!

On October 17th, 1921, the world changed forever when my grandpa, Howard Pentecost, was born.

He was a great brother, husband, father, uncle, cousin, grandfather, and friend. He and I had a nickname for each other and I'm not sure anymore how/when it originated. That nickname is "Fat Baby".

He was in the army when he was younger and loved to tell stories about his time in the service.

He and my grandma, Geneva were able to share just over fifty years of wedded bliss together before she left this world. I only hope that Brett and I can have the kind of love that they had.

My brothers, cousins, and I learned many things from my grandpa (some things our parents probably wish that he never taught us) and loved us all so much.

He loved to make us laugh any chance that he got and loved to sing silly songs. Some were made up on the spot, some were tweaked by him, and some were legit songs. He loved to sing, "Barney Google, with the goo-goo-goo-ga-ly eyes", but he had his own lyrics for it.

He even did his own "dance" called "The Mighty Mouse". If you would ask him to do it, he would act like he didn't want to do it, but in reality, he did and would.

He loved his animals (dogs and cats). They were ALL his babies and he treated them like they were humans. He had a shed for his St. Bernard dogs that had heaters in the winter and more than one fan during the summer months. Some days, he could even be seen napping in the pen with them.

Just over two years ago, we said "See ya later" to him after his earthly battle ended. We knew that the day was coming, but that didn't make it any easier.

I can't wait until the day that I can see him, my grandma, and other family members that have gone on. Until then, I will remember the good times that we had.


I obtained some pictures of my grandpa (and even a couple of him with my grandma) so that I could show just what a great guy he was! 

The Pentecost Clan

 Below, are some pictures from his Army days:

I'm Gonna Guess That He Sent This to My Grandma

In Uniform

 

My Grandpa (in the middle) & Members of His Gun Crew

Another Picture of My Grandpa and His Gun Crew

My Grandpa (left) and His Brother, Carl in Germany

My Grandma, Geneva and Grandpa Howard When They Were Dating

Years Later...Still In Love!!

Fishing...A Favorite Hobby of His!

Doing "The Mighty Mouse" at the 50th Anniversary Party For Him and My Grandma (That's his brother, Carl, next to him)

My Grandpa "Resting His Eyes" as He Called It

And now, a video that I uploaded to YouTube of my grandpa reciting a poem that he learned as a youngster and never forgot it.

This Makes Me Giggle/Smile Every Time That I Watch It!

As you can see, my grandpa was quite a character.  I think about him, my grandma, and my other relatives that have gone on before me every day and love to reminisce about the good times that we had and just wanted to share some memories of my grandpa with you, my dear readers.  I hope that you enjoyed this "journey" down memory lane as I pay tribute to my grandpa.

When he passed away on August 24, 2011, I made the following picture as my profile picture on Facebook in honor of him.

And That's What Sarah Says!!!

BOOK REVIEW: Rent A Husband: A Romantic Comedy by Sally Mason

As a member of "Amazon Prime", I am allowed one book per month from Amazon's library.  For the month of August, I chose "Rent A Husband:  A Romantic Comedy" by Sarah Mason

This book was kind of slow getting off the literary ground, but I decided to stick with it and am glad that I did.

The main characters are Darcy Pringle, who was dumped by her husband of 20 years for his secretary and Forrest Forbes, a playboy who is down on his luck after his family's fortune is lost.

Add to the mix, Carlotta "Lottie", the town gossip, the town klutz, Billy "William" Bigelow, and a newcomer to the town, Bronte, who quickly takes a liking to Billy, but he's got a crush on Darcy. Oh, and there's also Eric, Darcy's gay neighbor/friend, who is a TV producer or something like that and Forrest's friend's sister, an Indian (the country, not the kind of Indian that has tribes) princess.

I won't tell what all happens, but I thought that I had the ending all figured out, but was happily wrong for the most part.

The characters are likeable and believable and I found myself not wanting to stop reading just to see what would happen next.

I could see this being a movie.  Maybe not for the big screen, but definitely a TV movie.

I give this book four out of five stars!

And That's What Sarah Says!!!

BOOK REVIEW: Hollywood Stories: Short, Entertaining Anecdotes about the Stars and Legends of the Movies! by Stephen Schochet

I chose to borrow this book from Amazon as my "free lend of the month"...back in June.  It is now almost September, and am just now finishing this book because it is THAT long!

I didn't think that I would ever finish this book.  Not that that is a bad thing.

This book is full of interesting stories about every actor/actress that you can think of.

From The Three Stooges, to Walt Disney, to John Wayne, and tons more, this book has a story on just about anyone that you can imagine!

Some stories I had heard before, but most I hadn't.

This book gives a "behind the scenes" look at many Hollywood celebrities.  Some stories were funnier than others, but they were all entertaining, nonetheless.

If you like Hollywood gossip or like reading about celebrities, I highly recommend this book!

I will probably end up buying this book, so that I can reread it over and over again, because I am sure there is something that I missed!

Click here for the link to the book on Amazon!

And That's What Sarah Says!!!

Let's Talk About Paula Deen, Shall We?

You won't see me giving an opinion very often, but today, I wanted to talk about one of my favorite "Southern Women", Paula Deen. 

The "Southern Belle"

Unless you have been living under a rock or something like that, you probably know that Paula Deen has been the topic of many a news story lately.

Lisa Jackson, a former employee of restaurants owned by Deen and her brother, Earl "Bubba" Hiers, filed a lawsuit alleging racial and sexual discrimination. In her deposition for the suit, Deen stated that she has used the "N-word" at times, saying "Yes, of course. But that's just not a word that we use as time has gone on. Things have changed since the '60s in the south."

Because of this, Deen's contract with Food Network will not be renewed at the end of this month.  As of yesterday, Smithfield Foods dropped her as a spokesperson.

And now, my thoughts (in no certain order):

•  Haven't we all said something before that we might regret now?  I know that I have!

•  At least Paula isn't denying that she said the word. 

• I have a feeling that Food Network will regret dropping Paula, and rightfully so.  She's one of the biggest stars/moneymakers for that network!

• As for Smithfield Foods, it is rumored that they're in talks to be bought out by a Chinese company, so if I were Paula, I wouldn't sweat that one!

•  Because of Paula's background story (overcoming Agoraphobia), she has inspired many people. I know one of my good friends is inspired by her because of this.

•  I (along with many of my Facebook friends) have joined a few of the support pages that have been created in support of "Miss Paula". Here is one titled, "We support Paula Deen".

• Sure, she hid the fact that she had Diabetes from the public, but I don't go announcing to the world every single ailment or disease that I have.  

•  I understand that she was being somewhat of a hypocrite by cooking foods that weren't very "Diabetes Friendly", but again, we all make mistakes.  At least she finally admitted that she had Diabetes.

• It seems to me that there is a double standard going on here.  What about all of the so-called rap artists and movie producers that use that kind of language every single day? Do we ever hear anybody condemning them for any of their language use?  Not like this, we don't!

• A word only has "power to hurt" if we let it.  Remember the sayings "Sticks & stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" or  "I'm rubber, you're glue, everything bounces off me and sticks to you."  My favorite is best said by Mr. Pee Wee Herman, "I know you are, but what am I!?!?"

• We need to stop giving words like the "N-word", "cracker", and "honky" power to be hurtful. 

These are only my opinions/thoughts on this whole situation.  You may or may not agree with me.  It's like one of my best friend's dad always told us when we were growing up, "Opinions are like butt holes...everyone has one!"  

Don't we have bigger things to worry about than to worry about a person's past words.  Paula has already apologized. What else can she do?  The racial slur was said in the past and she regrets it!  

Let's move on!

P.S. I welcome anyone's opinion on this topic, so feel free to comment below!

Yes, She Does!!

Even "Grumpy Cat" Supports Paula!!

And That's What Sarah Says!!!

 

Wow, It's Been a While!!!

So, I just noticed that my last post to this blog was August of last year! Whoops!!

I'd like to say that I've been busy with exciting things, but that's not entirely true.  Well, unless you count having surgery and some trips (one to Disney World) "exciting"!

Since doing a post, I've had a long awaited surgery done.  This surgery was to fuse my right ankle in the hopes to be one step closer to walking again.  Next up...hip replacements!  *cue my excitement*


Brett and I have also done some traveling.  We made a trip to Florida in March for 3 weeks. One week was just Brett and I at Walt Disney World, then the following week, Brett's parents joined us along with Brett's niece and nephews.  The third week was spent in Gainesville at Brett's brother's house just relaxing and resting up for the trip home.  I have lots of pictures from this trip that I hope to share in an upcoming post.


As I have done for the last couple of years, I made a personal challenge to read a certain amount of books before the end of the year.  I have many book loaded on my Kindle to read, but just haven't felt like reading lately.  However, I am going to try to wean myself from spending the majority of my time on Facebook wasting time playing games and stuff and instead try to read more.

I will be attempting this later today and hopefully, I can do it.  I made a goal to read 200 books before the end of the year, and am nowhere near being halfway to that point!!

I will be sure to keep my progress posted here as a way to be held accountable.  Right now, I am reading, This Little Piggy Went To The Liquor Store by A.K. Turner.  I'm not very far into the book yet, but so far, it is pretty funny.


Well, that's about all that I can think of to tell y'all at this time.

I am hoping to be more committed to blogging in the future. Lord knows that I have a lot on my mind these days that maybe I should start sharing some of the things!!

And That's What Sarah Says!!!