Denman Herschel And Vallie Davies Phillips

It was 525 miles to Hilton Head, S.C. From Franklin, TN. and took 8 and
a half hours. We stopped at mile marker 221 in Georgia, a McDonough, Ga.
exit. All my relatives lived near McDonough, Jonesboro, Flippen, and
Ellenwood, where I lived in the old schoolhouse the first few years of
my life.

I had some flowers with me and we drove to the Hasten Cemetary on the
northeast side of McDonough. The traffic was tough and tedious because
of construction.

At the cemetary, Janet and I cleaned the graves and replaced the old
flowers with new ones. I was overcome with emotion. Dad died 24 years
ago, a freak hospital injury that should never have happened, and Mom
died over 4 years ago on December 23, 1999, after almost 7 years in a
nursing home.

Me and my brother were lucky. They loved us, took us to church
regularly, loved each other, didn't fuss much, didn't drink or carouse,
and no smoking. They had a strong faith and tried to teach us about
God.

Ironically Dad was the President of the Lion's club when he died. His
project: collecting glasses so people could see. He died while having a
detached retina fixed.

They set good examples for us. I called my brother tonight. It was his
birthday.