My mother-in-law was raised on a farm in south Alabama. She dropped out of school in 8th grade, but she was one of the sweetest, smartest women I ever knew. She didn’t go back and get any kind of degree, but if they handed out degrees in common sense, she’d have a Ph.D. She took care of everybody, and she had plenty to take care of. Her father-in-law and then her first husband had Huntingtons. She had 4 kids; she took care of 3 of them who had Huntington’s. Besides that, she did anything she could to help anyone in the community. She had the greenest thumb and was a master cook, and shared those gifts freely with everyone. She was my shero.
My Maternal Grandfather was an 8th grade dropout too (N.E. Colorado then S/W Kansas)! Probably because his father was killed too young (probably source of the bi-polar/chemical imbalance family genetics) & took care of his mother (who lived until 96 YO). Became a self-taught genius with much common sense & knowledge, WWI Vet, excellent ability in numerous trades, the father of 9 outstanding children (6 sons, 3 SIL, all Veterans), 38 Grands, 75+ Great Grands, and I've lost count after those! He even learned shorthand to communicate with my "baby aunt" (8th & 11 years my senior) when she took it.
I'd like to meet this nurse. A late friend of mine and mother of my best friend, was from Alabama. She wanted to go to high school, but her daddy made her stop school after the 8th grade and work the fields with him. She had four children by her first husband, and when he died, she married one of his cousins and had four more children. She worked hard as a seamstress in factories, stores and at home. She lost her youngest girl at age 2, in 1963, and her husband in 1979, and one of her sons in his 50's. She used a Roto-Rooter to plow her garden, and canned vegetables from it. She used a come along to string fence around her garden. She broke her back in the yard, crawled back to her trailer and got her son to drive her to the ER. She wore a clamshell brace for several weeks but never stopped taking in sewing or doing gardening and housework. When she was in her middle 80's, she went back to high school, passed the GED test and finally got her high school diploma. I tried to talk her into going to the local college, but she said she was too old. She died in her early 90's sometime in the early 2000's. She was cut from the same sturdy cloth as the lady Sean talked about in his story today. Those Alabama folks are tough. My dad was from Alabama.
She sounds like one tough and determined character. I wish she had gone to college, if nothing else just to show folks she could and for all the things she might’ve learned. I hope it was a rototiller she used in her garden. Might be a lot more work than even she would do with a roto-rooter.
Been there. Poor white trash. I always knew it but I didn’t stay there. I was the first of my family to finish high school, with an A average but then did what most young women do who don’t think they have a choice. I got married and had kids. But then I decided I wanted to do something else. The hubby said he wouldn’t pay for school unless I finished quickly and could get a job after. Nursing was my first choice, but it took a long time. So I took an accounting class at a VoTech school and finished that 9 month class in 6 weeks. Went to work the day after I graduated. Thankfully, that choice got me through two divorced. I raised my granddaughter by myself, bought a house and a car, and finally retired in 2023. Don’t tell a Southern woman she “can’t “. Because she can and will.
She proved she was not "white trash." She's a proud American from Alabama, who believes in taking responsibility and working hard to take care of people who need her care. You find these people wherever you go. God leads to to them, so you can tell their stories and give them credit for the work they do in keeping people safe and healthy. Keep up the good work, Sean. In these chaotic days we need all the happy stories about good people that we can find. And you provide them, for which we thank you, Sean.
Our Father can make all things & people beautiful in His time. We are not to question His timing but accept it & minister to all people around us in His name.
“We know that all things work for good for those who love God,* who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
My Bigmama had an 8th grade education….smartest person I’ve ever known. She’s been gone 40 years and I still miss her every day. She was kind and loving to everyone..even those who didn’t deserve it. The nurse in your story sounds like the same kind of special person…
The experts figured out that every year after college that you don't work in the field you studied you forget most of it in 7 years. The young gal in the largest teaching hospital in Richmond came to take some blood. I gritted my teeth. She tried and tried the other arm. Torture. Thank God she gave up and left the room. This old nurse came in. One minute later she had drawn blood with no pain. I guess the first gal either missed the class or was taught virtually. Our education system is becoming more about money for the school and the student. My grandson got straight A's and was turned down by a Fla. College because he didn't play sports. Beater's wife would not do well in school today because she truly wanted to learn. Thanks Sean for the history lesson. Oh. My Mohawk friend was a crane operator who couldn't read or write. He was asked if he could set a large piece of equipment between two tall office buildings. He surveyed the job and placed it in. All the expert crane operators said it couldn't be done.
Sadly, a college degree has become just a piece of paper. Kudos to that old nurse, and the “non-expert” crane operator…relics of the good ole’ days when our world was so much better.
It was a big deal when my Mom got her GED in about 1980 or so. She worked her tail off to get it. I was thrilled to be able to give her the usual $10 graduation gift. It made her cry. Made me cry, too. Good on ya, Missus Beater and your hubby!
My mother-in-law was raised on a farm in south Alabama. She dropped out of school in 8th grade, but she was one of the sweetest, smartest women I ever knew. She didn’t go back and get any kind of degree, but if they handed out degrees in common sense, she’d have a Ph.D. She took care of everybody, and she had plenty to take care of. Her father-in-law and then her first husband had Huntingtons. She had 4 kids; she took care of 3 of them who had Huntington’s. Besides that, she did anything she could to help anyone in the community. She had the greenest thumb and was a master cook, and shared those gifts freely with everyone. She was my shero.
My Maternal Grandfather was an 8th grade dropout too (N.E. Colorado then S/W Kansas)! Probably because his father was killed too young (probably source of the bi-polar/chemical imbalance family genetics) & took care of his mother (who lived until 96 YO). Became a self-taught genius with much common sense & knowledge, WWI Vet, excellent ability in numerous trades, the father of 9 outstanding children (6 sons, 3 SIL, all Veterans), 38 Grands, 75+ Great Grands, and I've lost count after those! He even learned shorthand to communicate with my "baby aunt" (8th & 11 years my senior) when she took it.
Wow is all I can say to that, Sharon.
She sounds amazing! May Her Memory Be a Blessing ❤️
There’s not a day goes by that I don’t miss her!
She might’ve thought she was Alabama white trash but what she really was a diamond in the rough.
I'd like to meet this nurse. A late friend of mine and mother of my best friend, was from Alabama. She wanted to go to high school, but her daddy made her stop school after the 8th grade and work the fields with him. She had four children by her first husband, and when he died, she married one of his cousins and had four more children. She worked hard as a seamstress in factories, stores and at home. She lost her youngest girl at age 2, in 1963, and her husband in 1979, and one of her sons in his 50's. She used a Roto-Rooter to plow her garden, and canned vegetables from it. She used a come along to string fence around her garden. She broke her back in the yard, crawled back to her trailer and got her son to drive her to the ER. She wore a clamshell brace for several weeks but never stopped taking in sewing or doing gardening and housework. When she was in her middle 80's, she went back to high school, passed the GED test and finally got her high school diploma. I tried to talk her into going to the local college, but she said she was too old. She died in her early 90's sometime in the early 2000's. She was cut from the same sturdy cloth as the lady Sean talked about in his story today. Those Alabama folks are tough. My dad was from Alabama.
She sounds like one tough and determined character. I wish she had gone to college, if nothing else just to show folks she could and for all the things she might’ve learned. I hope it was a rototiller she used in her garden. Might be a lot more work than even she would do with a roto-rooter.
Been there. Poor white trash. I always knew it but I didn’t stay there. I was the first of my family to finish high school, with an A average but then did what most young women do who don’t think they have a choice. I got married and had kids. But then I decided I wanted to do something else. The hubby said he wouldn’t pay for school unless I finished quickly and could get a job after. Nursing was my first choice, but it took a long time. So I took an accounting class at a VoTech school and finished that 9 month class in 6 weeks. Went to work the day after I graduated. Thankfully, that choice got me through two divorced. I raised my granddaughter by myself, bought a house and a car, and finally retired in 2023. Don’t tell a Southern woman she “can’t “. Because she can and will.
Just so you know, Connie…you would have made a WONDERFUL NURSE!
Thank you. I think I would have. I love helping people. My granddaughter is a MICU nurse, and I’m so proud of her.
You found another angel, Sean. Many blessings to this wonderful wife of Beater, who just wants to help people—we need many more like her.
And many blessings to Beater, who was the Wind Beneath the Nurse Angel’s Wings. I think he earned his own set of wings while supporting her!
She proved she was not "white trash." She's a proud American from Alabama, who believes in taking responsibility and working hard to take care of people who need her care. You find these people wherever you go. God leads to to them, so you can tell their stories and give them credit for the work they do in keeping people safe and healthy. Keep up the good work, Sean. In these chaotic days we need all the happy stories about good people that we can find. And you provide them, for which we thank you, Sean.
Yes! Exactly!
I couldn't find the right words but you did, John. She's a diamond and so is her man. Good people.
Our Father can make all things & people beautiful in His time. We are not to question His timing but accept it & minister to all people around us in His name.
“We know that all things work for good for those who love God,* who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28
White Alabama Gold🌟
My Bigmama had an 8th grade education….smartest person I’ve ever known. She’s been gone 40 years and I still miss her every day. She was kind and loving to everyone..even those who didn’t deserve it. The nurse in your story sounds like the same kind of special person…
Love this, Beautiful Woman. Being of service and help to others is the highest calling and greatest blessing of all, White Trash, or not.
I think she proved white trash NOT!
Betterin’ other people’s lives is one of the best things. When we work on ourselves that’s often the result. It’s what we’re made for.
I believe it was Melinda Gates who said, "To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived, this is to have succeeded".
Gates said it was a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote.
The experts figured out that every year after college that you don't work in the field you studied you forget most of it in 7 years. The young gal in the largest teaching hospital in Richmond came to take some blood. I gritted my teeth. She tried and tried the other arm. Torture. Thank God she gave up and left the room. This old nurse came in. One minute later she had drawn blood with no pain. I guess the first gal either missed the class or was taught virtually. Our education system is becoming more about money for the school and the student. My grandson got straight A's and was turned down by a Fla. College because he didn't play sports. Beater's wife would not do well in school today because she truly wanted to learn. Thanks Sean for the history lesson. Oh. My Mohawk friend was a crane operator who couldn't read or write. He was asked if he could set a large piece of equipment between two tall office buildings. He surveyed the job and placed it in. All the expert crane operators said it couldn't be done.
Sadly, a college degree has become just a piece of paper. Kudos to that old nurse, and the “non-expert” crane operator…relics of the good ole’ days when our world was so much better.
I love her and Beater. May they have many more years together and to continue doing good work. ♥️
It was a big deal when my Mom got her GED in about 1980 or so. She worked her tail off to get it. I was thrilled to be able to give her the usual $10 graduation gift. It made her cry. Made me cry, too. Good on ya, Missus Beater and your hubby!
She had a story that many are afraid to tell. Thank you for sharing it with us.