There's not much wrong with you that a generous application of 

Vicks Salve  (Vapo Rub) won't cure.  



Sherrouses are pretty much related to everyone in Polk County, and 

maybe even the state.  And if you wanted to know how and when that 

relation came to be, he could tell you  - in great detail.  



Your integrity and reputation are everything and the best way to 

insure that both are sound is to always set a good example.  Say 

what you mean, mean what you say.  Your word is bond, a handshake 

is a contract.    



If you are not hungry at mealtime, you should eat anyway -   to 

keep from getting that way.  And while we are on the subject of 

mealtimes, they should always be at the same time - breakfast at 

6:00 a.m., dinner at noon, and supper at 5:30 p.m.  



Coconut cream pie and coconut cake are the best desserts - and don't 

forget the ice cream, either.  Quail House has the best coconut 

cream pie in the state.  



Start each day with a song.  It will put you in the right frame of 

mind, and also serves as a good alarm clock for everybody else in 

the house.  Many of his favorite songs you have heard or will hear 

today.  



You should also start the day very early - try to get up every day 

between 4:30 and 6:00 a.m., even if you have nowhere to be or anything 

in particular to do.  When everyone else stumbles out of bed, greet 

them with a strong and hearty "Good Morning"  - even when their 

response can best be described as a grunt.  



Texas Pete hot sauce is good on most everything,  and a midnight snack 

of tomato juice is a real fine way to get through the night.  



Share your life with the same spouse - for a lifetime - and take pride 

in your choice of spouse and the many years together. 



The "pot liquor" is the best part about eating vegetables, especially 

for collards, other greens, and swamp cabbage.   Don't drain off that 

good stuff.  



Attend church regularly.  Develop and nurture a strong faith in God.  

Encourage others to do the same.  



Feed all the varmints that show up at your house, including cats, 

possums, squirrels, raccoons, fox, and fish.  



Conversation is a good way to pass the time…but there is nothing 

wrong with a good dose of silence either.  



Love and appreciate the land -  take care of it and it will take 

care of you.  



ABOVE ALL,  be pleasant and even tempered to everyone you meet.  

Adjust to and accept whatever life stage you are in  - with grace 

and dignity - there is joy to be found in each stage.    



Some examples about these last several points from his daughter, 

Lois,  as  she believes that these characteristics defined all that 

he was.  She says -  "I knew he was special, but the last two years 

of caring for him brought these qualities into clearer focus and 

were his final gift to me."  



*	When he was attempting to undergo a last series of radiation 

treatments toward the end of his life, he was in such pain that he 

could not comfortably sit in a chair.  The compassionate staff of 

the Center for Cancer Care and Research moved him onto a stretcher 

to alleviate his discomfort while waiting for the doctor to examine 

him.  I left the room momentarily, and when I returned, there were 5 

or 6 nurses gathered around him on the stretcher.  He was in the 

process of learning each one's name, and then sang them one of his 

favorite songs - "Blue Moon of Kentucky" from his prone position there 

on the stretcher.  He received much applause.  



It didn't matter where he was - if he was around people, he was talking, 

joking, and smiling, and their reaction to him was as predictable as 

night following day.   They would turn to me and say, "your father is 

the sweetest man" or "he is most adorable man."  



*	Every day when I arrived to stay the evening and overnight, 

a ritual of greetings was exchanged.   I was always greeted with a 

hearty and energetic "HEY" as though my arrival was the highlight of 

his day.  I would then ask him "how was your day?" and his response 

was always "I had a GOOD day."  



*	When the daytime caregivers and home health aides arrived, 

each was greeted with a song that he had written and which included 

their names in the first lines of the song.  They, too, were made to 

feel that their arrival was the highlight of his day. 





*	My daddy enjoyed a life of considerable physical activity and 

independence.  My brothers and I were all worried about pieces of that 

slowing being taken away from him.  We needn't have been.  At each 

stage, he adjusted and accepted.  



When he needed a little support for walking,

o	He started using a cane.  

o	When the cane wasn't enough, he switched to a walker.  

o	When that no longer worked, a wheelchair and liftchair suited 

him fine.  

o	Bedridden?  No problem - there were stout and healthy women 

to help him. 



When he could no longer drive the pasture to inspect his cows, 

o	He was content to be driven -  but with plenty of instructions 

on where he wanted to go



When he could no longer work the cows, 

o	He encouraged my brothers, nephews, and sister-in-law to take 

it on, 

o	He was content to sit on the fence, then under a tree, and 

finally in a car and watch

o	When he could no longer ride in a car, he took great interest 

in just hearing about what went on, and how many baby calves Laura was 

having to nurse back to health





*	I bid him goodnight at the nursing home one night shortly before 

he died,  and even after he could no longer eat or drink, he replied  

"I'll be right here tomorrow - enjoying life as much as possible."



*	As we discussed end of life issues one night, I realized that he 

had also accepted that there would probably be no more comebacks (and 

there had been many) for him.  He told me this: 



"what we have here is an old piece of equipment, and sometimes, you can't 

salvage an old piece of equipment."  



Here's the bottom line on our Daddy and his philosophy - 

Keep on the Sunny Side of Life.