Meltdown

If you've seen my other blog you know that we are experiencing from technical difficulties. My computer is on meltdown.

The county is building a new bridge and our phone lines are attached to the barb wire fence with twisty ties. With all the rain our temporary road is waaayyyy to muddy to go to town. Which isn't so bad because the out-laws can't come for a visit. I find something positive in every situation.

I'm typing very fast before my computer shuts down.

I'll be back soon. If my computer stays on long enough I'm ordering a laptop or if the road dries up I'll get one from Wal-Mart.

Check out "Thoughts of a Smalltown Girl". I have a link on my blog list. Her article "Saving Grace" is haunting. You will love her.

Talk to you soon, Love, Territory Mom

Wordless Wednesday - I Love Jesus

Love,

Territory Mom

http://www.5minutesformom.com/7383/wordless-wednesday-heading-to-grade-two/

Interview With An Okie - Troy Dunn, The Locator

Troy Dunn

Photo courtesy WEtv.com

I love the show, The Locator. I'm a family historian searching for my roots so I knew this show was for me. Then I find out that Troy Dunn graduated from Enid High School, well I love it even more, so much that I blogged about it back in March to let everyone know about the beginning of the 2nd season. The Locator's 3rd season begins Saturday, Sept. 12th at 8:00 pm. (central) and because I had blogged about the show I received an email from Katrina who works on the show. WEtv is scheduling a telephone conference with "a few key online voices" for a chat with Troy.

We had our chat this morning. It was me, Erika at Scrapbook Obsession http://scrapbookobsession.wordpress.com/ , Gina at The Clan McLeod http://dewgin.blogspot.com/ and the man himself, Troy Dunn. Oh, Katrina was on the line too. We all had to have two questions prepared and if there was time we could ask more.

Erika goes first. She asked very good questions about scrap booking and photos. Troy said how important it is to do scrapbooks for keeping memories alive. Photos are key and that he uses them to help transition the reunion. For instance if a parent has been separated from a child since they were a baby the parent still sees the child as a baby. He can show them a photo of how they look as an adult and it helps the reunion process. This was Erika and Troy's conversation so please go to her site for her intake.

Now at this point my son has had enough and he keeps asking, is that grandma? I shake my head no, is that grandma? I shake my head no, I want to talk to grandma.

Gina is next. Again great questions. One was about the amount of time Troy spends on a case. He said the shortest time was 6 1/2 minutes. The longest case that was solved was 8 years. Gina ask if Troy's job has brought him closer to his own family. My son starts yelling at this point and all I hear is that every person he has worked with feels like family. Please go Gina's site for a more eloquent version.

Okay, its my turn. Katrina lets him know I'm from Oklahoma.

Troy: Oklahoma! Where are you located?

Me: Near Okemah, the home of Woody Guthrie

Troy: Oh, yeah Woody Guthrie

I told him about my blog and about the fact that I have Dunn relatives he said that we might be related. He said his family is around the Pawnee area now. They had been in and around Talequah.

Me: I know you graduated from Enid H.S. were you born in Oklahoma (this is my first prepared question)

Troy: No, I was born in Topeka, KS. My dad's family is from Oklahoma and that's why we moved back which I'm glad because that's where my wife is from, Enid.

Me: Oh, she's an Okie too

Troy: Yes, her family goes back generations.

I hit my forehead with the palm of my hand because I knew that. I even blogged about his wife being from Oklahoma. Then I wander for a second. I want to know who his wife's people are, I bet they were in the Land Run. There's no time, stay focused.

My next prepared question:

Me: I cry every time I watch your show

Troy: Me, too

Me: Has there ever been a story that got to you emotionally and you thought I can't do this anymore?

Troy: Yes, every month for the last 17 years.

My beautiful son starts yelling at this point to get my attention I apologize and Troy says, "that's okay I have kids."

I think Troy said something about how supportive his wife is and there are times when he comes home and sits down and his wife just knows he was working on a tough case.

Then I sneaked a 3rd question.

Me: I love your mom

Troy: Me, too

Me: Are you ever going to feature your mom's story on the show?

Troy: That's a very good question. I don't know, it doesn't have a happy ending.

Then everyone got to ask one last question, but I didn't hear any of them.

My son was yelling and the more I "shh" him the louder he got. I went out on the back porch and he follows me. Then it finally occurs to me to my thumb over the receiver.

Then it's my turn:

Me: Have you ever been in a situation where you felt uneasy?

Troy: Pause

Me: Fearful?

Troy: You know I rely on my gut feeling. I rely on my wife and my mom. You know that woman's intuition.

At this point my son has thrown my notebook out in the yard. I hear my daughter yell, "Sissy's in the house", I had to bite my tongue so I wouldn't yell, "get that coonhound out of the house".

Then I see a pink cowgirl hat in the mud which would result in tears if I didn't act quickly.

So I think Troy said: You know a lot of the cases involved abuse and you don't want to put someone back in that situation.

I think at some point I did yell at my kids, "y'all be quiet I'm trying to talk on the phone". You know like when you are trying to tell a Bible story and you yell at your kids, "stop fighting so we can talk about Jesus".

I did tell Troy about a Dunn cousin who found my website. She had been kidnapped as a baby by her father and was not reunited with her mother until shortly before her mother died. Her mother had given her the family bible. He said how important a family bible can be, just the little lines in the front of a bible can provide so much information.

Then Troy graciously thanked everyone and told us how much he appreciates us (mommy bloggers) for getting the word out about the show.

I get off the phone and this is what I see sitting on my new chair,

She knows she is in trouble she wouldn't even look at the camera.

This was a great experience. Troy is a very gentle and fair man. It is very clear that he is doing what God put him on this earth to do. Please watch his show, The Locator. You will be blessed.

Love,

Territory Mom

http://www.wetv.com/the-locator/ P.S. Remember God is working behind the scenes on your behalf. I never would have thought I would get to talk to The Locator. We never know what God is up to. Thank you, Lord.

Best Wishes, Dean

This is my grandma's cousin, Dean Barnett Brown. She died on December 30, 2007 at the age of 78. I have recently been contacted by a Dunn cousin who found my website. He put me in touch with his mother and last night I talked to his uncle. I will blog about our conversations later. Right now I am soaking in their voices of "home". I will tell you that I feel more connected to my Dunn side than ever before. Anyway, we found out Dean died. Her mother was Mamie Dunn Barnett and her father was Charlie Barnett. She was born and raised at Comanche, OK. When I was a little girl my grandma took me to her house to visit Aunt Mamie. Dean was caring for her. We went into this little house with sparse furnishings. It was the cleanest house I had ever seen. We sat on a vinyl couch or devan in the front room while my grandma visited with her cousins, Dean and Inez. Then my grandma took us into the next room where her Aunt Mamie lay dying. Her bed was in the corner with a little table and a chair next to it. The floor was linoleum and it was sparkling clean. I can still see Aunt Mamie, she was small and her hands looked like my grandma's. She had dark skin and long white hair. I thought she was very pretty.

The 2nd Aunt Mamie

Mamie Dunn Barnett

I found Dean's obit in the Duncan Banner:

The Duncan Banner

January 2, 2008 Angie Verdean ‘Dean’ Brown

COMANCHE — Angie Verdean “Dean” Brown 78, of Comanche, passed away Saturday, Dec. 29, 2007, in Waurika. Memorial service will be at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Ray of Hope Church with Dow Pannell officiating

Today, I found her obit from the Dudley Funeral Home:

Angie Verdean Barnett Brown, seventy-eight, of Waurika, Oklahoma, passed from this life December 30, 2007, in the Jefferson County Hospital. She was born November 5, 1929, in Comanche, Oklahoma, to Charley and Mamie Dunn Barnett. She attended Comanche High School up to her junior year when she dropped out to marry Bob Brown. Mrs. Brown was a lifelong resident of Comanche, except for a year and a half when she moved around with Mr. Brown while he worked in the oilfields. She was a charter member of the Comanche Rebekah Lodge, a member of the Womens' Club, the 49er's Club, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Lions Club. She worked at Opal's Style Shop, the drugstore on Main Street, and owned two flower shops - one in 1974 named the Comanche Tepee and one in the '80s called Dean's Flowers. She was preceded in death by her mother in 1971, her father in 1962, her beloved husband in 1996, and a grandson who died at birth. Survivors include: her son Daniel Brown and his wife of Duncan, OK; her daughter Robbie and her husband Bret Bernethy of Waurika, OK; two grandchildren - Krystal Henderson of Comanche, OK, and Robert Wayne Davis of Comanche, OK; three great-grandchildren - James Matthew Smith, Whitney Lynn Davis, and Mason Luke Houston; one brother-in-law - Jack Brown of Comanche, OK; two nieces - Debbie Carr and Sandi Odom; and several cousins including Wilma Fitzgerald and Linda Bailey. A memorial service for Mrs. Brown will be at 1:30 PM, Tuesday, January 3, 2008, at the Ray of Hope Church in Comanche with Dow Pannell officiating.

Happy Grandma's Day.

Love,

Territory Mom

http://www.dudleyfuneralhomes.com/angiebrown.html