Wish you were here with us to celebrate, we miss you!!!! Love you always!!!

Over the years, both Vee and I enjoyed looking at cookbooks.  She could look at a recipe and tell how it taste, what could added and in what quantity to improve it and if it was right for us(both having diabetes and weight issues).  We began to collect them as we went to estate sales, and acculated quite a trove.  In Vee's memory, I donated them to the Research Library at TWU.  They counted 694 items - books, pamphlets and loose recipe collections.  Vee would have enjoyed  being remembered like that.

At one point, while we were struggling to keep up with the house on Chesley, which we loved but which was too big for us, we decided to sell some sterling silver.  We went in to one of the various places that buy silver, and began the transaction.  As part of it, he was to use half of the total weight as the basis for paying us.  The following exchange took place:

Salesman: That's 1800 grams, and half would be 600 grams.
Vee: No, half of 1800 is 900.
Salesman:  Wow, you're really good at math.

Vee was really tickled by his response, and always after that, when she made a calculation or wrote a check or made any kind of comment, she would add, "I'm really good at math, you know." 

Bear with it - this is a long post, but it sums up 35+ years of teaching.

Vee

Oh, we love the halls of ivy that surround us here today,
But we will not regret it the day we walk away.
In nearly forty years, I've seen them come and go,
Students, Principals, fads, different ways to know,
Friends, parents, philosophies and paperwork galore,
Forms, files,stacks of papers, report cards - Nevermore!
A Teacher's Aide (store) is going broke, book stores are in mourning,
There will be a meeting - without me - it makes my heart sing!
Ms. Henderson will no longer come by and see my total mess,
And say,"I'm not a neat freak, but.." or,"Organization is something yoy should address,"
I think she finally concluded that organization was not my strong suite,
Besides, the archeological dig will bear such wonderful fruit.
I'll have less places to lose my things, although I can do it at home, too
Has anyone seem my keys? My phone? My purse? Or my car?  It's red, not blue....
And all those wonderful teacher-training films - how will i spend my off times,
Without being told to write to write your name in the upper left hand corner - 10 times!
Oh, I'll miss the some parents, but others won't know I'm not there,
They never read a thing or pay attention, their heads are full of air.
And lesson plans - ask me how I'll miss writing those at 11 on Sunday night,
With all the crazy rules and restrictions in which Ross Avenue seems to delight.
The daily race with Mr. Sweeney for the best parking spot,
I won't be up that early again a whole lot.
And waiting at the corner of University and Skillman while the light is red,
Now I'll just smile and turn over in bed.

Oh, we love the halls of ivy that surround us here today,
They hold more memories than we could ever say,
Live the Lions Reading Group - glaciers move at a faster pace,
I would have held them all back - they were an educational disgrace.
Or the slow reading group I had at Mark Twain, staying awake was a chore,
I'd been out on dates to one or two, and arose to throw papers at four.
Or my little Chinese boy, Rae, who as his vocabulary began to grow,
Answered every question and comment with a very loud, "NO!"
Or my little Mecician boy at Travis, who asked me for my first name,
And then would come up and say, "Well, Vergie," without a sense of shame.
Or the mother at Twain, who really did say in a note she sent to me,
"Just punish the next to mine, and he'll straighten up - you'll see."
Or how Mengun came up and explained he'd lost his dollar bill,
But since it had a five on it, it would be easy to find - that little pill.
Or the kids at Twain I was teaching phonics to, to sound their words out-
"Mmmmm - ooooo - ppp - Floor!" or "rrrrrr - aaaa - ggggg - Shout!"
And then there was Nikki Getavong, and that huge monkey she gave me,
It was bigger than her, but the pictures we all took I can still see.
Or when I asked the 5th Grade for foreign countries to name,
And got the Atlantic Ocean and Oklahoma among the answerslame.

Oh, we love the halls of ivy that surround us here today,
But it's the people memories that with us will always stay,
Barbie and I were running short of folders, as was the school,
But staying out of the supply closet was a request, not a rule,
As Ms. Henderson came in the front, we were in the back where we hadn't ought,
Everyone was surprised, but I had enough presence of mind to blurt out, "Caught!"
Or the first year Barbie and I and I taught together, one very hot Picnic Day,
The sprinkelers were running, so we let the kids run through - and joined them in the spray.
Which would have been alright, except a parent saw the fun,
And promptly called in and disapprovingly reported it to Ms. Henderson.
Or the Friday afternoon it was raining hard, so I used my grade book to cover my head,
While I got my umbrella from my car, came back in, and to to my dread,
My grade book had disappeared, so Becky and Barbie helped me look,
All over school, for an hour, with announcements, I needed that book!
Report cards were due, what could I do, some one had broken in and stolen it,
But then I remembered, and right where I'd left it on the seat it did sit.
You'd think just driving back and forth to school, such a short way,
There'd be no problem, I go the same way every day.
But when the Surburban was new, I took everyone to lunch in that car,
But it's bigger,as Barbie and Sylvia found out in the back so far,
I guess the curbs I hit threw them around a bit, but not to fear,
I don't drive that car, especially since the UPS truck hit the rear.
I love books and love to read, and always looked for different books to buy,
I don't always remember which ones, so sometimes a second or third I'll try,
Some books are fun to read, and some are serious, and some will bring a tear,
Like "Bridge To Terabitha" or Plocaco or "Peef' or even "Charlotte's Web" I fear,
But I didn't think "Owls In The Family" would get to Barbie the way it did,
Although her revenge, "Faithful Elephants," will dampen my eyelids.
Even Bill got in the act, seeing both Barbie and I bawling after a story,
Wondering if we were alright, and imagining some problem quite gory.
As I have gotten older, some wisdom has come into my head as well,
And it is easier to ge forgivness than permission, as Charles likes to tell,
I'm proud that I've been able to advise some of my friends of pits to avoid,
Although my wisdom come from the School Of Hard Knocks, not Freud,
And if my coworkers have valued my support and encouragement and love,
The feeling goes both ways, and I wouldn't have made it without what they've given of,
And I treasure the children whostill come up to me and give me a hug,
Or greet me in stores and resturants, or sit in my lap, safe and snug.

Oh, we love the halls of ivy that surround us here today,
And we will not forget, though we be far, far away.
 

Vee's Freshman year at TWU was a fun year for her.  One of the quaint customs the girls in the dorm had was to go up on the roof when one of them had a date and throw pebbles on the couple as they left the dorm.  Another time, she and some of her dorm mates decided to see what all the fuss about smoking was about. They crowed into a room and each of them smoked a pack(!) of cigerattes.  Beside making her sick, it enabled Vee to swear off smoking the rest of her life!  When asked if she ever smoked, she would say, "Once - for less than 24 hours!"

I have just dropped off over 500 items in the Virginia Vee Williams Cookbook, Cooking Phamphlet and Recipe Collection to the Research Library at TWU.  Being there reminded me of her favorite stories.When she was a Freshman, she lived in one of the dorms on campus.  She had two roommates, one of (I think Hedda) was from Crosby, Tx and had grown up one a rice farm.  While getting to know each other, the third roommate asked Hedda, "So, how does rice grow?  Does it grow on trees?"  Farmer (Not!!) Vee quickly broke in with,"Of course not!  Everyone knows it grows on vines!"  Hedda just shook her head. 

One day, way back when, I had had a stressful day working with Bookstop customers. They demanded discounts on top of discounts, and threw temper tantrums if they didn't get their way; it was trying absorbing the abuse sometimes. So when I got home, back to Ellsworth, Vee noticed that I was grumpy and sullen. She asked why I was down, and I told her. And she said, what would make you feel better. I said, "I don't know. Comics. Chicken fried steak. Mashed potatoes." And she said, "Well, let me get my shoes." 

And, off we went.

I do miss her, quite a bit.  

Vee always loved to travel, and her mother was a frequent traveler with her.  On one memorable occasion, they took Scott(teenager) and Paul(not quite a teen), on a road trip to Washington, DC and points East.  Vee's mother, universally know as "Meem", was slightly hard of hearing.  During the trip, she asked various people to repeat what they had just said, as she had missed.  Finally, after a visit to some attraction, as they were all getting back into the car, when one of the boys, in frustration at being asked to repeat something, burst out with, "Meem needs a cheap hearing aid!"  Meem, just getting into the car, asked,"A cheap what??"  

Vee loved teaching First Grade, but particuarly at the start of the year, communication can be difficult. They can't read, and don't know enough sign language either.  On year, she lost her voice and had to communicate though whispers and gestures.  It was a hard day, but she and the class got through it.  At the end of the day, one of the children came up to her and said, "Mrs. Williams, we sure hope you find your voice.  Do you know where you had it last?"