This is a picture of cousin Ryland Howard in front of our grandparents’ house in 2016. It was taken by his lovely daughter Isabel who graciously sent it to me. This is my reply to her.
Isabel,
I’ve been past it myself. It’s a law firm now. There was an air conditioned porch on the south side (to the left). Dr. Howard, Dal or Daddy Philo as people called him, sat there every day as an old man. He listened to the [baseball] game and played pitch with me using enormous cards. Diabetes hurt his vision. He ate figs and spoke very little. The house was originally a block to the south on West Alabama. My dad and I weathered out Hurricane Carla at his house with Nannie Mine and him. I was about 13. Chunks of the palm trees from the median blew down the street. My mom said many of her older relatives passed away in the house. As a girl she and her friends pulled old clothes out of trunks in the attic and put on plays with them. Our grandmother was very wise and good with money. Her mother died when she was little. She live with her mom’s sister who married a man who adopted her and left her and her sister Bessie land. Nannie Mine’s was “the farm” in Chambers County.
Much love,
Sperry
[See other post about Dr. Howard and baseball. Also, the name Hunt on the awning is strictly divine comedy.]