Me and Pappy were sitting out on the deck waiting on T.J. and Mammy to make our dinner. Sophie my schnauzer was sitting in one of  the chairs across from us. She had just been groomed and trimmed. So Pappy said how pretty she was and i asked her Sophie are you beautiful and she nods her head 2 or 3 times. We laughed so hard and asked her again and she nods her head again. This time we laugh till we cried. I will always here his wheezy laugh it is the one thing i remember most about him.

A phone call to the Funnel Cake Company many years ago, a flight to Tennessee and then Tommy in my driveway in California with a funnel cake trailer.  After a couple of days of hands on training in the driveway on how to operate the trailer and cook cakes Tommy said you are ready gal, go get em.  Things seemed simple initially but then turned crazy dealing with the Los Angeles Health Dept.  Tears and frustration on the phone with Tommy, I came so close to giving up but Tommy kept telling me I could do it and yes 11+ years later I am still doing it.

Tommy will always be in my heart and there will continue to be times when I wonder just what am I doing but will always hear Tommy saying" you can do it gal".  Every event is a challenge and the balloon festival was no different but the challenges were overcome this time because Tommy was there as my strength just as he has been at so many other times.  We were so busy but did manage to get this picture.  Each balloon is unique as are you so this glow was dedicated to you Tommy  to celebrate your life.  You will continue to glow in many hearts for years to come.

Love you,

The Funnel Cake Lady

I just wanted to let everyone know what a great dad "Pappy" was. As time passes since he left us, I find myself feeling like part of me is gone. He was such a great person. I am happy to have shared his love with so many other kids as we grew up. You see, he was not only my dad, but many kids looked up to him as a father figure. He wanted all kids to know that no matter what their family situation, they had a dad. He would give anything he had to make a kids life better. I am amazed at how much he cared. Truly, cared. I never knew how much of an effect he had on other people that I grew up with till now. It makes me so proud to hear people say how much they loved him for things he did 30 years ago. I couldn't have asked for a better dad. He was the best and I am very grateful to have been his son. I will miss him more than words can express but I rest easy knowing that he is probably in heaven treating one more Son as his own.

Yes! ask Bonnie "Sue" ! ... The two of us grown men holding hands and skipping down the streets of Key West, FL.... what a riot he was ... and ask Bonnie about that Jamican wig he bought there! LOL ... oh the memories! ....wow .... a little bit of tears now as I write but he is in a better place! Thanks Be To God!

I still to this day don't know why he called Bonnie ... "Sue"   ...lol  

Well... I just bought a 25' sail boat ... And either one of knew how to sail! So off we go for a week of adventures ... in storms, ocean and lots of FUN! .... Out to the ocean with 12 knots ... boat was only supposed to go 9 knotts.... It was storming with lightning and all plus a lot of winds and waves at 3-5 feet... Then after we started to get use to it ...days later! We were in the Charleston Bay... when a huge tanker was coming in ... He asked me what should we do! I said " I thought you would know" ... well we headed right into its wake, it had to be 25-30' high. that little boat went up straight to the sky and down the next side of the wave. After it was over he said with his smile.... 

 " I need a beer or two after that !!!!!!!  "

well that was "Tommy" always smiling!

"Friends always show their love. What are brothers for if not to share troubles?"- Proverbs 17:17

Tommy and Bonnie spent a few years leading the youth group at the Hillsboro Freewill Baptist Church in Hillsboro, Ohio. I remember one camping trip where we weren't behaving late at night. We were yelling and cutting up late at night rather than going to sleep. Tommy fixed the situation by making us run laps around the campfire until we were ready to go to sleep. He solved the problem and we still had a blast.

Another youth group event was a rocking chair telethon held at their house. We spent all night rocking and having a blast.

The Goolsbys were always generous to us while we were growing up. By unselfishly giving us their time, I'm sure they kept many of us out of trouble while we were growing up.

I have many fond memories of Tommy. He always had a smile for you.

me, pappy, n cristal went 2 a football game n pappy was cracking us up he would do the craziest stuff just 2 make us smile. we went through almost every drive through there was lol we had a blast =)

i will never say he was a old man.i got the spankin of my life when i thought pap was to old to get me when i was on the bed. well ill tell you one thing the man knew how to jump! i flew off the bed and you can guess what happened next if you ever had a spanken from pappy. ill never forget them. but that was not my last one! 

When I called to speak to Bonnie, I just paused each time to hear Tommy answer the business phone.  I could hear his beautiful voice , laugh and see the great big smile every time. His many friends will remember him and miss him as will I.  kay swank.

Few couples have shared a love story as wonderful as ours. Starting our lives together when I was 13 years old and Tommy was 15 with  everyone telling us it would never last.  When love is so deep you can almost read each others minds and speak without saying a word is a union blessed by God. Even though Tommy is no longer physically with me I feel his spirit, hear his laugh,see his smile, and hear him saying "I love you,girzus". I will forever tell him good night, "I love you".

All of you know how much dad loved to ride his bike but I don't know if all of you got to experience the pure terror of riding the "Dragon" with him. Just to fill you in, the dragon is a road over by North Carolina that has something like 4 billion hairpin curves in a distance of about a mile. I may be going overboard but you get the picture. Anyway, dad thought that he was 18 years old on a crotch rocket with some kind of super human motorcycle skills. Maybe it was the meds. I don't know. LOL I tryed to inform him that people actually die on this short stretch of road every year. He would just laugh and say "yea, but their not me". I road it with him one time. That was enough. I tried to keep up on my smaller, lighter bike but evidently didn't see the green flag drop. There were sparks flying all over the road from his crash bar as I watched him do a balet of bike shifting at break neck speeds. I thought to myself, this is the same guy that when I was younger turned the distributor on my camaro so it wouldn't run over 55 mph but now it's OK to cheat death on the most dangerous stretch of road in the country! LOL Never again. He loved that road. I think it brought back the kid in him. Hell, it had to. He acted like he was 4. I'm not sure but I think he still holds some kind of record for quickest time on the oldest bike. If you ever get the chance to ride the "Dragon" take it and think of dad passing by with that huge smile laughing all the way!!!