"A Mother's heart is like a rose.. Always open and Always loving.."

Mom was a dignified and proud lady who was always proud of her Indian heritage. I had been told that she was really a "pretty" lady more than once. Matter of fact I had a gentleman about twenty years ago ask who this "pretty" woman was as he kept describing some unknown lady. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out who he was talking about. But as the description continued and he used the term "pretty" about three times it finally dawned on me that he was describing my mother.

I knew she was pretty but never said that much about it until me and one of the neighbor boys got into a fight over whose mother was the "prettiest." Mom broke us up and told us how "Everybody's mom was pretty."

She could be blunt and to the point when she needed to be. And although there might be some who thought they had her "fooled" her, she knew what was going on at all times. But she was always loving.
She was very proud that she went to Chilocco Indian school. And loved to go to the Chilocco Alumni reunions. About the only thing I ever heard her brag about was how good a dancer she was. She was proud of her dad, Tyler Burgess and for being raised around the home place near 111th St & 129th East Ave. She always liked to recall that near the intersection of 111th & 145th East Ave was the community of Elam that was later moved what is now Broken Arrow.

She liked to recall how her mom (Mima Beall) and her dad would take people in although there were 9 kids in the family. She recalled how down in the pasture there used to be rodeos. And of course she always talked about 'walking' to school near what is now Cedar Ridge country club near 101st & Garnett. And I always would tease how about how she used to walk to school with two biscuits in her pockets on windy days to keep her from being blown away.

She was proud of her Indian friends, neighbors, and relatives. The neighbors may have lived ten miles away but were still considered "neighbors" back then.

She loved to tell about her dad and his exploits in the new town of Broken Arrow. How they used to ride in a wagon to go to town or visit their neighbors and relatives. She described herself as being a tomboy and being the only girl that could ride the horses bareback with her brothers. And how her brother Daniel got mad at her one time when she was riding with him and wouldn't let her hold onto him while he ran the horse as fast as he could. But she managed to hold on without falling off.
She liked to talk about being able to run as fast as most of the Indian boys because they had some pretty good races while either going or coming from school. It must of been some sight to see all those kids walking to school together back then.

She and dad (Bim) got married married in Amarillo, Texas but were in Greeley, California when Danny was born. She liked to talk about Danny being driven around in a jeep by my dad. And how all the friends would take care of each other's kids.

She talked about working at McDonnell Douglas in the payroll department and how she would ride a bicycle to get to the places that she needed to go. And how there would be car pools going from Broken Arrow to work. She mentioned all the different friends that she met while working there that lived in Broken Arrow.

As Danny and I grew up she and dad were so faithful in attending our sporting events. Even our practices. And that sticks out in my mind more than anything. It was always a good feeling to know that she and dad were there. Although it might have been just slightly better knowing that she was there and wasn't going to be as critical as dad was going to be. I don't ever remember playing a "bad game" in mom's eyes.....

Mom always loved to go places and talk with people. She was quite the sports fan. I asked a few years ago how she happened to actually like sports since not all women do. And she talked about how athletic she was and that it was just natural as Danny and I got involved in all the sports that we did. She was especially entertaining to watch during our wrestling matches. She recalled how she had a little more confidence in Danny being able to take care of himself but only one time did she ever have to go outside the gym while one of us wrestled. It was while I wrestled as a freshman against a senior in a championship match.  And by the way, I won that match in the very last seconds.

She was so proud of Danny for being the 'ever protective' older brother who took care of the little brother who would "get him into trouble" from time to time.

She talked about what it was like as a mother to have a son in Viet Nam. And how once again Danny was the older brother not wanting his little brother to come over there while we both were in the Army. Once again, mom showed how strong she was and how she trusted in the Lord.

After we lost Danny in 1999 and then lost dad in 2001 I actually thought that mom would "give up" and be gone within a short time. But once again she showed how strong she was by living a good life. It wasn't until about four years ago that her health would not let her go to all the places that she wanted. She used to be able to go to wild onion dinners and pow wows and visit for hours with all her Indian friends. She used to be able to go to the First Methodist Church in BA and she wasn't able to do that anymore.

But she made the adjustments and lived a good life with her limitations. She began watching CNN every day and keeping up with the world events and most certainly would give you her opinion on any political situation that arose.

Mom died peacefully at home Sunday June 15, 2007 at approximately 6:22 pm. She did not spend her last days in a hospital.. An hour before her death she looked up at me and asked, "Now who are going to be my pallbearers?" Although we had talked about everything else concerning her inevitable passing we had not talked specifically about that detail. She was definitely a strong woman who was resolute to the end and most certainly not "afraid" of death. She knew she would soon be with Danny and Dad and I know within my heart - she was "ready." Most certainly she faced her passing proudly and with dignity.

The above was written after a friend of mom and dad wrote her a letter asking how she was doing. It was not received until after June 15. I felt an obligation to let him know how things went.  It was written around August 2007. 

First Blog

The reason I started this blog is because I want to make available something that I wrote about my mother, Leda V, shortly after her passing.. A friend of hers and dad wrote a nice letter asking how she was.. He had not learned that she also had passed away.. In sitting down and explaining how things had gone for her I apparently wrote two pages of details.. Now four years later I ran across the letter and wish that I could of "posted" it on Mother's Day. Earlier this year I posted an old picture of her on Facebook after I saw several thoughtful people proudly posting their mother's pictures.. And the theme of the 'posts' was: "How pretty our mothers were!"
After I figure out how to "link" the Word document to my Facebook page I will just see if I have any interests that catches the attention of anyone else.. I certainly don't plan on being Ernest Hemingway but I suppose he didn't intend to be that popular either..
If you take the time to read this I certainly thank you and hope this isn't a waste of your time..