Mason, WVa

Friday evening, after leaving late from Louisville (surprise), we finally arrived in Mason. Aunt Velma lives at the top of a ridge as you come into the town opposite the river. Her house oversees a trailer court (her family owns) and the bridge spanning the Ohio river. Because the house is on a ridge there is a rather steep incline to the driveway. I used to ride bikes down this driveway when I visited in the summer and I can attest you can get going pretty fast without even trying.

As we drove to the top of the driveway that Aunt Velma and Sarah share we saw a gray and white cat lazing in the middle of the driveway (pictured above). This isn't terribly different than usual (they have had dogs and cats that roam in their pretty expansive yards). This cat however was different. As we approached it didn't move out of the way. Perry had to get out and coax the cat off the driveway. We were later to learn that this cat has dementia and is probably deaf. Aunt Velma felt it should be put down but the vet said the cat was no different than an elderly person and refused.

Perry is always amazed by the cattle (I have to admit I was when I was younger also). Aunt Velma has a lot of land (500 acres if I remember right) and has always had some cattle on the land. She said at one point it was down to just a few head of cattle but she never wanted to completely get rid of the cattle because the city had passed an ordinance that cattle can no longer be kept in the city except for those grandfathered in. She now has over 40 head of cattle that Aunt Velma's grandchildren (and one of her sons) help take care of.

One side effect of having cattle and a pretty impressive garden is the freshness of food. We had called when we reached Point Pleasant to say where we were. Aunt Velma, Johnny, Woody, and Paula kept dinner warm for us. We were able to eat with them as soon as we arrived. Fresh corn on the cob, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, and cucumbers all came from the garden. The beef brisket, well...it came from the backyard also.

Johnny led us in prayer and then eating and catching up began. Aunt Velma sat at the head of the table. Paula had obviously been a big help to Aunt Velma and organized the meal.

I sat by Woody, Paula's second husband who was also her high school boyfriend in the south end of Columbus. We got to hear stories of their courtship both then and now. Woody is also a writer. In the past Vincent and Woody have had rather animated conversations about writing and books. Since Vincent wasn't with us this time the literary element of our conversation was not as predominant.

Johnny is Aunt Velma's youngest son. He now lives in Huntington but comes home every Friday to stay with his mom and to help take care of her. Aunt Velma said that she always has someone there to sleep over since Uncle Bill died in the 1980s. I can remember Grandma coming down from Columbus partly for this reason. Grandma would sleep in Aunt Velma's room and my cousin Rebbecca and I would sleep in the "blue room," one of the spare bedrooms with two full size beds, a fireplace, and a couch in it. For all of us it was a little like a slumber party. Perry and I stayed in the same room this time but without the second bed which has been removed for Uncle Bill's massive desk from his office.

Billy dropped by after dinner and told us about his recent trip to Chilicothe. He had seen the outdoor drama Tecumseh. He gave a pretty good review of the performance. Billy and Paula were both close to Dad when he was young. Billy's daughter Rebbecca was the cousin I was always closest to. It is nice to see how families interact. Unfortunately on this trip I didn't get to see Rebbecca and her two daughters, but I did get to hear about them.

On all the trips I made from Columbus to Mason we had to cross the Ohio River. There is a bridge that spans across the Ohio from Pomeroy, Ohio (a mile wide and as far back as you can see) to Mason, West Virginia. On some of my trips when the bridge was being repaired we would take a ferry. I always enjoyed the ferry but found it a little intimidating. The past few visits a new bridge was being constructed along side the old bridge. This time the bridge was finished and after dinner Johnny and Aunt Velma took us across the bridge. It had only been open about a month. The old bridge had been dynamited in sections and torn down. The bridge was pretty with black lights. It also aligns perfectly with the Wal-Mart entrance. I'm sure Wal-Mart paid a pretty penny for that to happen.

Here you can see the red light at the end of the bridge that you must stop at as you enter Mason. Notice the Wal-Mart straight ahead. To actually get to anything in Mason you turn left.

Perry got up early Saturday morning to take a picture of the hills behind Aunt Velma's house (Cardboard, Humpback, and Frankenstein). When I was younger Rebbecca, Kevin Don, Sterling, Emma, and I used to climb the hills and go back to the Indian Cave (a cave where we could find arrow heads). When I was a teenager Uncle Bill had the log cabin that my Grandfather and Aunt Velma was born in torn down log by log, numbered, brought to his land, and reconstructed. The cabin is now on the top of Humpback, the hill to the far right in the picture below. It is surrounded by trees so is not seen from Aunt Velma's house but you can see everything from the cabin including Wal-Mart that is a little farther right of the hill.

The hill on the left is Cardboard. It is covered in broom sage. In the fall when the broom sage is tall enough you can sit on a piece of cardboard and slide down the hill. It is like sledding but without the cold. I never was there to do it but I've seen pictures and heard tales. Of course with any walking in the pasture/hillside you have to watch for cow patties.

Here is a picture of some of Aunt Velma's animals, including the crazy dementia cat. You can also see Perry's shadow. He was up early and the animals might of thought he had breakfast for them.

Aunt Velma made breakfast for us Saturday morning. It was not a very Weight Watcher friendly breakfast but that didn't stop it from being good. I explained that our normal breakfasts weren't this heavy but she insisted. We had eggs, bacon, fried potatoes, fresh biscuits, coffee, and orange juice. It was an old fashioned breakfast as if we had been working outside with the animals before eating (instead of meandering and taking pictures).

Perry seems to love to take pictures of me with my mouth full! But I have to admit I enjoyed breakfast. Perry really liked the fried potatoes (he had several helpings).

At breakfast we got to talk with Aunt Velma a little more. She is now 89 (my Grandpa's baby sister) and suffers from osteoporosis. She admitted that the garden is now taken care of by Sarah (her daughter) and Sarah's children. She has been banned from the garden after a fall that scared everyone. She still has her car but she said that it hasn't been driven in years and that she relies on Sarah and Johnny and the multiple grandkids to get her around.

Here is Aunt Velma and the crazy cat. Aunt Velma took out food for it. When she took the lid off the cat couldn't seem to be able to find the food without help. Perry was able to catch the last few seconds of this ridiculous routine before the cat was successful and found breakfast.

Johnny sitting on the back porch overlooking the pastures. This is the porch I remember spending the most time sitting on when I was younger. It enters into the smallest room in the house (the sitting room/TV room) but this is where everyone congregates.

Perry has an affinity for cows.

-- Stephanie