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.