This picture is of my Granddad and Grandma Atha (Eddie Lee Simpson/Atha and Calvin William Atha).

My Granddad Atha

My Granddad Atha's full name was Calvin William Atha, but went by Cad. Granddad liked to tell stories to his grandchildren, I think just to see their eyes widen. I remember sitting on his knee and the telling of stories of black panthers screaming in the night and such.

One story he told was of living in a dug-out on their homestead in Oklahoma. He loaded an old muzzle-loading, fifty-caliber rifle with birdshot and went after some quail for supper. He was standing on a creek bank when he spotted a covey of quail. He shot into them and the kick of that old muzzle loader knocked him backward into the creek. When he came up out of the creek he had a couple of catfish in his overalls and had got twelve of the quail.

I remember his telling of some of his travels as a young man when he and Grandma were first married (after proving up on their homestead in Western Oklahoma). One time they hitched a team to a wagon and tied their saddle horses to the back of it. They journied up through New Mexico where Granddad had a friend who ranched near Raton, New Mexico, and they spent some time there. Then they went on up into Colorado, where one of Granddad's brothers, Uncle Lieu, lived.

I guess they were pretty adventuresome and enjoyed the traveling and camping. Grandma was part Indian and a pretty good camp-cook. Granddad was a crack shot so they ate a lot of game in their travels. While in New Mexico, one of their riding horses came in and they thought it was bred to a real good stud, but after returning to Oklahoma the mare's foal turned out to be a mule because there were some Jacks on that ranch also (story related to me by my Uncle C.W. Atha). This trip took a year and was somewhat different than the quick camping trips we've taken to Colorado.

I remember seeing Granddad playing baseball for the community team when he must have been over sixty years old. When he would catch a fly ball he would wave his mitt back and forth so to say, "I've got it!".

I remember shooting his old pistol with him holding on over my hands, as it would probably jumped out of my hands (it was a forty-five colt revolver).

I remember one day my cousin, Troy Dean, told Granddad that he could walk faster than Granddad was driving that old 1935 ford. Granddad promptly stopped the car and said, "Let's see". Anyway, Troy changed his mind.

Granddad was always drawing pictures. He would be talking with someone and doodling with a pencil on a tractor hood or anything at hand. I must have inherited this trait as I always liked to draw, especially when I was young.

I remember the day that he died and how hard it was on my Grandma, Momma and her brothers and sisters. I was eight years old and it was the first time I'd seen my Momma cry. At the funeral there were more people outside the church than in (as the church couldn't hold all his family and friends). As I continued to grow up I remmeber some old timers that when discovering I was Cad Atha's grandson would tell me stories about him. I remember one if particular about duck hunting at a lake near Meridian, Oklahoma. After shooting the ducks, Granddad cut a long pole for balance and walked a fence out into the edge of the lake. He raked in the ducks one by one and carried them back.

How very blessed I was to have had the loving grandparents I had and the good memories of them.

Will Roger's Wisdom

One of my dad's, and I believe both granddad's, heroes was Will Rogers. So I decided to include the list below of some of his wisdom and good advice.

*1. Don't squat with your spurs on.

*2. Good judgement comes from experience, and most experience from bad judgement.

*3. Lettin' the cat out of the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back in.

*4. If you're riding ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.

*5. If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.

*6. Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.

*7. There are two theories to arguing with a woman, neither one works.

*8. Never slap a man who's chewin' tobacco.

*9. It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.

*10. Always drink upstream from the herd.

*11. The quickest way to double your money is to fold it over and stick it back into your pocket.

*12. Never miss a good chance to shut up!
Will Rogers