Trying to put it all together!

In Honor and memory of my Parents, James V. and Ruth Harris Bozeman! James V. Bozeman, October 24, 1918 – January 12, 2012 Ruth Harris Bozeman, August 22, 1925 – April 24, 2005 James C. Bozeman, December 21, 1950 - Just thinking out loud on the Keyboard! The Bozeman family journey began a long time ago and much work has been done to keep up with the journey. I regret my real interest in the journey has only began to take root in me in the last few years. When Mom went home to be with the Lord on April 24, 2005 and then my Son-in-Law Darryl Smith soon followed her, something began to happen in me that caused me to want to know more about my family and our history. From what I see in the Bible, the Old and New Testaments, give us great illustrations of how important family history was to the people of that day. Matthew and Luke give us generations that take us forward to person of Christ and also a look back at His ancestors. As a matter of fact, the people of the Jesus day would have the 14 generations that represented our Lord's family tree, committed to memory. So with that said, it is clear to me that time spent on a Family Tree is time well used. When all is said and done, I thank God that "we once existed.”

As for as the early part of my life is concerned, memories only return to me in little increments of events. I remember living in Greenville, Alabama. I have quite a number of pictures concerning living in Montgomery, Alabama but I only remember “visiting” Montgomery, not living there. We lived in a number of houses in Greenville and even a little while in a little place called Antioch for a short time. Daddy would love to still have that place as we had a little acreage while there. For the most part, Greenville, Alabama and the city limits were where my childhood days were lived out. We lived in two different houses just behind the courthouse in Greenville. One location was 215 North Conecuh and the other was on Thames Street just around the corner from there. Prior to that, we lived at place called “Grayson’s Store. Back toward town from there was the Greenville Church of God where we went to church. Funny, I guess, what you remember about church. One Sunday night I remember holding Mom's hand and then I must have needed to run because that was what I did and still holding my hand she tried to keep up but the both of us tripped and down we went in the Choir loft. That Church is still there but unfortunately the house we lived in at Grayson's store has been dismantled and is no longer standing. There were four almost identical houses in a row there and all are gone now but one. Amazing isn't it! Like the houses, our memories seem to go away. However, I will never forget the old Catalpa Tree out back where we used to get plenty of fish bait. The tomatoes plants that we just let run all over the ground back in those days are so real at the moment, I can almost see me planting them. Daddy had me to dig a hole and pour some water in it. Next, came the tomato plant and the repack of the dirt around it and then pour more water on it so that it would get a real good start. The end result would be tomatoes running all over the ground. Amazing, the small things that make such long lasting memories! The smell of sardines that had been left on the table in a house without air conditioning is still in my nostrils to this day. That's right no AC. How did we ever survive back then? Now out beyond the back yard and to the South East of that house was Mr. Jones Pond. Across the road from that row of houses was a school where the Black Children went to school in those days. That reminds me of another memory about life in the South in those days. Over across town from the house at Grayson's Store was a Dairy Queen. Forever etched in my mind are the words above the windows where you made your order, "White Service", and on the other side of the building was another window for folks to place their orders and that was the window for "Colored Service". Never as long as I live will I forget seeing that with my own eyes and back then I actually thought that was “normal!” There is nothing "Normal" about such a practice thank God that doesn't take place anymore, at least that I know of and hope it never does. Right beside Grayson's Store and just back toward town was a house in which Granddaddy and Grandmother Harris and my Aunt Judy lived. Delivery trucks in those days were very versatile because the truck would bring a load of coal on day and the same truck would bring ice for the refrigerator the next day. I guess I said all that to say that each place we lived provided the unique times of our lives in general and my life in particular and oh what a good life it has been. My memories of these Childhood days fade in and out and some of them are very precious memories indeed. Well, like the one that just came to me! It was late one afternoon and we were all home. By then I had learned to read because what I was about to read shook me to the core even being so young. If you have ever read or heard sung and old Hymn called "Supper Time" you will know what I am talking about. There was a Hymnal there in the living room and I picked it up began reading and I happen to read that one. I lost it big time! Same thing usually happens today with one tremendous difference. Mom can't come running to me and wrap her arms around me! There are other songs that come to mine such as the one Grandmother Harris used to sing quite frequently, "You are my Sunshine" and I know she wasn't singing about me! She was singing about Jesus! Speaking of my Grandparents, they were, Willie I. and Elizabeth Harper Bozeman. Melvin L. and Lessie Reeves Harris were Mom’s parents. I spent the most of my childhood with my Grandparents. I never got to meet my Granddaddy Bozeman. He died in 1945 so I only know about him through what Daddy and others have told along the way. They all loved me and I will always treasure the time that we had together. I can see Grandmother Bozeman sitting in the old straight back chair in the house on Water Avenue in Selma. My Aunt Mildred would be right by her side all day long. I hear Granddaddy Harris talking to the old mule as he plowed the fields and I feel the heat of the sun as I walked the cotton rows, hand applying the soda (Ammonia Nitrate) to make sure he had a good crop. Grandmother Bozeman could make the best Apple Turnovers in the South. I remember the biscuits that came from the old wood stove in a big city called “Industry” Alabama. How firmly planted in my mind was the dislike that my Granddaddy Harris had for "Nut grass". You would have to have dealt with it to know what I am talking about with that stuff. Yes, they practically raised me. While Dad and Mom were away at work and I wasn't old enough for school, I would be with my Grandparents. Granddaddy and Grandmother Bozeman rest in Good Hope Baptist Church Cemetery in Covington, County Alabama. Granddaddy and Grandmother Harris rest in Sunrise Cemetery, just outside of Greenville, Alabama. Me and Dad would visit both Cemeteries several time over the last few years and now, of course, Dad and Mom rest at Pine View Cemetery North of Selma on Highway 22 North. Our crowd is getting real thin on both sides of the family. Just a handful of us left, if you can even call it that. Nothing is going to slow the process down! A day at a time and the years have all piled up and taken the toll on the Bozeman and Harris families. It all just proves Dad was right and I never will forget it because it is almost just like he just told me. In reality, it was probably 1957 or so that he said, “Boy when you get to be 15 years old, your life will fly by” and my how fast the years have gone and it seems to me they go by faster than ever before.

Just thinking about Old Times, Family, and Friends!

Sure do Miss them! So goes the Legend of Roy and Boze Boze was a Truck Driver from Selma Town Roy did everything and was from out of Town They hunted and fished and ner did take a doze So goes the Legend of Roy and Boze. There is many are yarn spun about the life they led Told often and caused folk to shake their head Some say that Boze was lightning fast to set the hook. And as for Roy, no fish was to small to cook.. The rampage grew wilder with each passing day Blinds, Boats, Pirogues, and Bayous, no other way Then to their surprise, a North wind blew in and they began to slow down Morning huntin and fishin changed to afternoon without a frown.. Bouge Chitto, Chilatchee, Spiegner, Jones Bluff and Eufaula. All had been visted by these two fella. Even down to White Oak, and Gunter Hill, and Swift Creek Way up to Fellowship Hunting Club where the Legend began And the call of the wild they would always hear again and again. 31 years of huntin and fishin For Boze, a Truck Driver from Selma Town and Roy who did everything and was from out of Town All who know of the Legend will always remember how they lived and continue. And look forward to the day when we're all at that Heavenly Venue. So goes the Legend of Roy and Boze. I got plenty of room on my Stringer, what you talkin about Cullin. You want me to get my knife and go to cuttin. Does that Spider bite still burn? Don’t do it Roy, but it was to late, set the hook and all them stitches turned loose. Ha Ha Ha, laughed Sandee and Roy as they watched Boze blow on Cold Soup! Thank, Thank you, Thank you dear God for letin me and Bonnie be part of this group! Good to sit a spell around that old Birch Avenue Fire Place or by the pond out back. The more I type the more remember so I better stop and cut you folks some slack. So Goes the Legend of Roy and Boze! November 9, 2011 A month in which we would have been on that special Ledge Down in Chilatchee!

Here is a wonderful pic of Dad and Mom in the 1940's and I don't know how close to March the picture was take but that is when they were Married, March 1942! Man do I miss these dear folks

End of Day thoughts!

Lord have Mercy how technical this stuff called blogging really is today in a "User Friendly" World! LOL! Just trying to get this thing set up so the outside world knows all about the valuable stuff your are typing is getting out there to be viewed is quit the chore! At any rate, if you see something on the blog that Ministers to you are encourages, or produces a grin, post a comment and let me know I said or posted something that made sense or maybe did not make any sense! Either way, Take Care Y'all!

The Legend of Roy and Boze, Pt II This legend is sort of like our lives; it’s all jumbled up. You know the old saying, "Parts is Parts". Speaking of jumbled up, that reminds me of the time me and Roy took off on a fishing trip that I previously mentioned. You remember, the one to Eufaula, Alabama. That is one big lake that’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 88 miles long. I’m sure glad Roy didn’t have the previously mentioned Bass boat back in those days because we would never have gotten to fish. Well our first day on the lake was full of excitement. We went by some treetops that were real close to and old creek channel and we could see those fish all over the depth finder screen. I always felt better about calling those thing depth finders as opposed to “fish finders” because if I didn’t catch any fish you could blame it on the "Depth Finder". The thing is a Depth Finder right, I mean you never had anybody ask you about catching depth, right? Never mind! Anyway the fish icons were all over the screen and we got all excited because we just knew that we had found the jackpot of fish and were going to load the boat on Bass and Crappie right there in that one spot. We had abandoned the faith again and even bought some live minnows. Well we baited up real good and over the side the baits went and down through the limbs of those trees to the bottom. Well it wasn’t long before Roy was setting the hook and we just knew things were about to get underway. Roy said, “this one is not to big because it sure isn’t pulling much”. I was soon to start laughing till I thought my sides would bust because he reeled in a Catfish that wasn’t much bigger that the minnows we use for bait. Well, while I was laughing so hard at Roy my cork went down and I set the hook and it wasn’t long before I said something like, “this one is not to big because it sure isn’t pulling much”. You guessed it, a Catfish that wasn’t much bigger than the minnows we were using for bait. Well we did find some Crappie that day and we lost some artificial baits during the process. That would cause us to have to make a trip to Wal-Mart that night to restock on Beetle Spins and the like. We made it back to the hotel and cleaned the fish and put them in freezer bags. We put them in a freezer that the hotel manager had said we could use. With all that taken care of, we were off to Wally World to get the artificial baits we needed. Roy was in a real hurry to get Wally World. We had our tackle boxes, rods and reels and most everything else in the back of the blazer. All the rods and reels were propped on the back seat. You know what I mean. The reels and the butt end of the rods were on the floorboard of the back part of the blazer. The rod section was leaning on the back of the seat so they were all nice and neat and organized. That is until we pulled out of the parking lot. Roy must have thought he was back in the boat again because rammed the gas petal forward and that old Blazer jumped like she had been spurred and the next thing I knew he was trying to get that old Blazer to plane out. When we finally did find the Wal-Mart, everything in the back of the Blazer had been shifted around and thrown around from taking curves at a high rate of speed. It was all piled up on one side due to the force at the last turn. I looked over my shoulder to see what had happened. The sounds that had been coming from the back of the Blazer as all that stuff shifted were quite unique. The sounds of spinner bait blades clanging into each other made it sound like Roy had wind chimes in the back of the Blazer. Every now and then there was the sound of thunder back there. That was not a result of the exhaust system on that old Blazer, it was heavy laded tackle boxes rolling over and over with the rapid change of direction. Thank the good Lord all our trolling motor batteries were still in the boat. Oh my, I really don’t even want to think about what that might have caused. Can you imagine going into Wal-Mart with battery acid all over you. What could be worse than walking into Wal-Mart wearing a bib with no cap on it! I have just got to get Roy on Decafe! It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because when it came to fishing and even going to buy bait, times were tense most of the time. You have to know that everything we experienced on the way to Wal-mart we would experience again on the way back to the hotel except in reverse. When we got there I looked back over my shoulder again to see what it looked like this time. It looked like it did before only worse. Then the Counselor side of Roy came out of him as he looked at me and said, “it will be alright”. Did I mention that things were all jumbled up? It is one thing when you unhook your spinner bait from your rod guides but when you are unhooking your spinner bait from somebody else’s rod guides you know the ride was interesting. We probably lost three to four hours of fishing time during the week due to having to untangle all that stuff every morning. We could have made an artificial reef what Roy had created just driving down the road. Roy would probably get real upset with me if I didn’t come clean and tell you about what happened with some of those brand new spinner baits the next morning. We had gotten everything straightened out and loaded in the boat and headed South. I had remembered some places where I had fished in a State Federation Bass Tournament years before and was lucky enough to find those areas again. Well, I had to tie a bait on a rod that more ultra-light that the others I brought and I had what’s known by fisherman as a “super-loop” on that rod. So I flipped they bail back and started stripping the line back until I got all the loops worked out and I reeled in some of the line. Well I thought this is as good a time as any to tie on one of those new baits. I reached in the tackle box and got a bright shinny new beetle spin. Next I looked down for the end of my line and finding it I proceeded to tie on this brand new bright shinny beetle spin. I tied probably the best knot I ever tied and instead of reeling up all the slack I just threw the beetle spin over the side. It just kept sinking and sinking and sinking and the line on my rod was not following it. All of a sudden I saw the end of a piece of line in the bottom of the boat rapidly moving in the direction of that rapidly sinking beetle spin. I threw my rod down and got on my knees reaching after the line but to no avail. My brand new bright shiny beetle spin was gone. I never got to cast it or catch a fish on it and all I could do was watch go toward the depths of Lake Eufaula. By this time I begin to hear something that sounded like chuckling from the other end of the boat. The Comedian was coming out of Roy again. “You tied that beetle spin on that line in the bottom of the boat didn’t you”! He was trying to be a blessing again. I have always suspected, to this day, that he knew what I was doing the entire time and never said anything. That event must have taken place 15 or more years ago and I can remember it like it was yesterday. The reason being, he frequently reminds me about it! Every time we get around some new friends or friends of old and the subject of fishing comes up, the Historian part of Roy kicks in and starts telling a tale of a guy he knows who just throws his spinner baits over the side to watch them sink! So goes the Legend of Roy and Boze

Thinking about old times and Old Friends Some of you have read much of the thoughts you may be about to read, however there are needs to post these stories and thoughts on this particular blog! So that being said, Take Care Y'all and enjoy thinking on the Keyboard! Began writing this Legend in the later part of 2005 The Legend of Roy and Boze! This is dedicated to my friend and Brother in Christ, Roy Shirling! What you are about to read is the real life account of two friends and their families that have lived a lot of life together. You will encounter a lot of the comical side of the life and times of these two families and these very unique individuals, Roy Shirling and me, James Bozeman. Life is as the Bible states, “a vapor” and that is the reason I write these words. The stories that we have are so important! It is so important to have these life stories deep with in us. They are stories of who we are and what we have done related to who we are. They are special treasures that are rich with grace and love of God. I just don’t think, well I know, life cannot be enjoyed to the level of joy and peace I have experienced through it all, without the Lord Jesus Christ! The Bible says that “the joy of the Lord is my strength” and that is what we need while were here. I always heard Dr. Tommy Starkes say that “we need to enjoy our Salvation” and maybe that is what was taking place as the events that made up these stories were unfolding. The really startling thing about all this is that it went by and goes by so quickly. So here goes with "The Legend of Roy and Boze" It all started on a dark and stormy night! No it didn’t, that's just the way they start these things off. Actually it all started on a bright sunny morning sometime in the Fall of 1979. My dad, James V. Bozeman, and myself, James C. Bozeman, had joined a Fellowship Hunting Club. Fellowship Hunting Club was North of Selma, Alabama and was real close, as the crow flies, to Plantersville, Alabama. I had hunted the property associated with this club throughout high school with Smitty Blackwell. Now we would get to hunt there again with one major difference, now we had to pay! Anyway, on that morning it was my task to help with the building of a Pump House as we were having a work day. Now mind you that I had never laid brick nor block in my life and the guy that I was working with began to get real concerned about the stability of our project because he kept talking about the size of boulders I was putting in the mortar mix. Listen, if there is still one thing standing today at Fellowship Hunting Club, it has to be that old pump house. It might not be level but I suspect it’s still there. Our next meeting would be at another house of much greater importance to the both of us as one Sunday morning at Church, in walks the brick layer and his family. Roy, Sandee, Timmy, Elise, Neal, and Jason Shirling. That bunch was a pack a pew family if there ever was one. The only problem was that the Church we attended didn’t have pews. We had those folding metal chairs that make you squirm whether the sermon is hot or not. With that said, I guess this is where you are supposed to say the rest is history. Well, that’s why I’m trying hard to remember it so I can preserve it for the rest of history to come. So goes the legend of Roy and Boze! Sounds like I have gone to singing doesn’t it! That’s what trying to remember so much stuff will do to you. This legend of sorts covers Alabama and Louisiana and a trip to Eufaula, Alabama that no body will believe. I still can’t believe it and I was there! The one time in mine and Roy’s lives in which we were as innocent as could be, we were in more trouble than I can comprehend even to this day. I can still remember thinking, this is one more life like dream I’m having. Any way I’ll save that one for a little later in the Legend of Roy and Boze. This bricklayer, block layer was and is a jack-of-all-trades. Man he is a plumber, electrician, auto mechanic, wood worker, pond builder, surgeon, and comedian. He thought it was real funny when I was holding wires on my boat battery and I got grounded out real good. When the sparks stopped and the smoke cleared, there I was, I can’t remember what gauge wire that was, but my thumb had the imprint of all them strands of wire in it. Real funny! By the way, Roy was always real wise when it came to electricity. Like the day when he was trying to rework the wiring in the box where the service line comes into the house. It was that old fiber coated wiring. He needed some slack so he grabbed a two by four and forced it between the brick wall and the service line and gave it a real hard pull. Well you might know that the sides of that old service box was good and sharp. They were not good for anything else, but they were good and sharp. The place where the wire went through the box, sliced through that old fiber with ease. It looked like the 4th of July briefly and he held out his hand as if he wanted me to be apart of the fire works. No thank you sir as it is always the guy on the end of the line that gets the surprise. Just look at my thumb! Well, so begins and so goes the legend of Roy and Boze. It has been a long time since 1979. We have been through a lot together since we first met at that old pump house. God has been good because God can’t help Himself, He is just so good and so good to us! All things considered, me and Roy probably should be with the Lord already for the stunts we pulled and things we’ve done. I thought I was going to Heaven some time back when we were doing the cooking at a “Mother’s Day Fish Fry” at church. My propane tank smelled like it was leaking and I made the mistake of saying “I wonder if this tank is leaking”? Well Roy says “I don’t know, let’s find out” and sticks a lighter to the neck of the valve on that bottle. I don’t know how to spell the sound that was made as that propane bottle ignited. I hate it when he does stuff like that! At least you can die of a heart attack before the flames make you a part of the Fish Fry. Man this ought to be a movie but whom would they cast for the two parts. I really want to know whom they would cast for Bonnie Sue and Sandee. Bonnie Sue,my wife, can read your lips at fifty yards and Sandee sharpens dental floss just for the fun of it. That’s not funny either! But so goes the legend of Roy and Boze! Chapter 2 To begin this chapter or this part of the legend, I need to be real serious for a moment. Roy has always been there for me. But now Roy has done went and “Seceded” from the Union. He moved to the great state of Florida. They seceded January 10, 1861 and the great state of Alabama seceded on January 11, 1861. Roy seceded August 2006 and the great state of Alabama seems a bit empty these days. I love you my friend! We have sort of been through it all haven’t we buddy. I preformed weddings for your children. I even buried your grandchild. There was no way of knowing back in 1979 that God would cause the journey to be filled with so many different events and very important times. It’s true, that old hunting club, that old pump house brought us together! Now you know why they call it "Fellowship Hunting Club". We have lived life together as friends and well yes, as brothers. That closeness, that bond, took us and takes us through these years. Friends have come and gone my friend, but I do count you as my brother that I never had and I only wish we had been able to spend more time together so the legend would contain more than it will at the conclusion of writing. We just need another trip to Chilatchee Creek and everything will be Ok. Speaking of Chilatchee, Creek, the last time I went down there with Roy was one real foggy morning and he, now having this new Bass Boat that he has, has turned into a speed demon or sorts. The fog was so thick you could hardly see the front end of the boat from the steering wheel. It took all I could do to keep him from parting the fog with that boat. Something happens to an old man when he sits down behind the wheel of one of the super sonic Bass boats. I just knew if he ever got cut loose with that thing, I was going to wear the Red Bluff home with me that day, or that for a truth I would become a permanent fixture on Red Bluff. You folks, you do know where Red Bluff is on the Alabama River don’t you! It’s that high red bluff just South of Bouge Chitta Creek and just North of Chilatchee Creek. I had already been too close to that bluff years earlier on one of those Brown, Blackwell, and Bozeman outings. Whew! I never will forget that day but that’s for another legend story. Back to the Fog Bank and Roy. For the better part of what must have seemed like an eternity, Roy listened to me say “easy Roy, easy Roy”. It’s a good thing that fog bank was in place that morning because if he had got started down that river he would have went to Mobile Bay before he settled down. Can you imagine what it would have been like to hit them locks at Miller’s Ferry. Amazing what a boat like that will do to a man. Well, I don’t remember how many Bass we caught that day but Roy was saving up visions of speeding back to Bogue Chitta Creek to the boat landing. When we hit the river he finally got to shove the throttle all the way forward and that ole Bass Boat jumped like she had been spurred. You know how they do, they come straight up out of the water where you can’t see anything in front of you. Thank goodness we weren’t close to Red Bluff just yet. Next they level out and then back up as you start tapping the Trim Button until you haven’t got but about three inches of the hull of that boat in the water, plus the motor which is screaming by now. By the time we got even with the Red Bluff, my cheeks had rolled all the way back and was slapping my ears severely. I was trying to hold my hat on and I thought I would swallow my partial due to the windblast coming directly into my wide-open mouth. The Good Lord was looking out for me because I thought we was going back to Selma without the truck and trailer. I could just imagine Roy pulling in City Park Marina and handing me the keys and saying “go get the truck”! I would have hated to walk back to Orrville, Alabama. You folks know where Orrville, Alabama is don’t you? It’s South of Selma and North of Bogue Chitta Creek and Chilatche Creek and well, never mind. We got to Bogue Chitta in record time and I didn’t suffocate nor did I choke to death on all them bugs I was collecting under my partial. I was so glad when my cheeks returned to their normal position. I think I then looked over at Roy and said something real intelligent like, “boy, that was quick”! You got to be kidding me. I had been fishing Bogue Chitta Creek and Chilatchee Creek since the early 70's and I had never covered that distance that quick. I had never gone anywhere that quick. I guess that trip really affected me because the next time we got to go fishing we abandoned the faith and went to a Catfish Pond. You know, one of those ponds that you can cast all the way across! Well at least that it cuts down on all the heavy boat traffic and speeders like Roy. Come to think of it though, if you could get in a boat and speed it would blow away the smell of that bait and the flies that are gathering around. Whew! Where is the rain when you need a shower? Speaking of rain, it used to rain every time we went to pond or river. That also produced some interesting Legend moments as well and I will tell you about them later. So goes the legend of Roy and Boze! I told you that you wouldn’t believe so that’s why I’m calling this thing a legend. Some of you, just maybe, some of you, especially you Outdoor types and County folks would believe what you have read and will be reading. My Lord is my witness, apart from my Sometimers and the length of time between all the events unfolding on these pages, all are true. I promise they are true. My grammar is awful, my spelling is disastrous, but maybe you will get a laugh or be able to relate to the events in the life of Roy and Boze. So goes the legend of Roy and Boze. Oh by the way, He’s Roy and I’m Boze!

Well today is another rainy day and it has been coming down for 3 days now! Today I am trying to get back to blogging and thinking on the keyboard with Memories, Thoughts and More! Right now, thinking about how I am going to arrange and what will I post on this Blog! Y'll take care now! Be back later! Boze Out!