Lawson Leonard Delony III and Lawson Delony

00:06 My name is Lawson. Leonard. Deloney 3rd. I am 63 years old.

00:16 Today is March 27th, 2021.

00:22 We are in Little Rock, Arkansas.

00:29 And my conversation partner is my father.

00:35 I want to give your name babe. I'm lost and lonely Junior.

00:40 I'm 92.

00:46 Dorsett Vapor birthday is today, which I celebrate happy. Lee.

00:52 And I got the circle call. So don't talk about that. My location is here in Little Rock.

01:01 Standing side-by-side. Okay, he's been my mate here for many years and friends are growing up together and we are celebrating. That one thing is this is the first time we've been together since March 7th of last year there in that day, when I was leaving after visit. I realized that the covid and damn, it was a really serious deal. And so I've been pretty much back in my home in Fort Worth since then. And there has been here and we had we went to my granddaughter's

01:42 Birthday last year at this time right now. And you were here up here for that. And that was the last time I left the house until I took my flu shot in November and October. That's it in the future. As the first time. I left the house. I'm not a daughter, was bringing me food from the grocery store and wipe to get and putting it in up for me. And I'm at stand by the house here.

02:11 And,

02:14 It's really, really been a great time for me to learn about birds and other things in the neighborhood that have wonderful neighbors who take care of me. I'm both sides are very supportive and across the street they call from time to time and bring me food. And I've had some real great experiences over this period of time with friends. And neighbors are really over all. It is been a positive experience during this time. Just cuz you had a sense of, that's right. I didn't let it bother me. I didn't go in fight person to begin with. I was doing my real self care. I fix my breakfast with my favorite bill, and I fix my lunch and I, and I walk with a walker because of some problems with my right leg in the flow of blood in. But I'm able to get around and, and fortunately, my mind is stayed relatively stable.

03:14 Memory problems in a little bit from time to time but my my spirit and attitude have been great and in my family has been my survival with the daughter by son. Both and look what they do to help me out a lot from you. Over the years in relationship, kind of taking what comes and kind of rolling with it as much as possible like this year has been for me, of course, difficult with so much uncertainty and so much suffering.

03:50 But personally, my experience is also been pretty positive, my wife. And I've had a safe place to live and in a real sense of connecting without being close physically, with lot of people and wanted, that's been one of the amazing things I've learned is that through things like, Zoom, that there are lots of ways of connecting with people. I think of a sort of A Soulful way, especially important during times of difficulty. So so it was really part of my hope. Is that through this hard time.

04:28 We will all kind of learn ways of connecting in new creative ways with the kind of Soul stories and who we are. I was thinking, this is your birthday, happy birthday. It's been started up fixing my breakfast even. So what were some of the things you remember? That time being hard time? Getting to be very different from what he have but we're going to have challenges. But what was it like for you from time to time?

05:05 I was born in 1929 and I said, I think I created the depression with all of the things that we're going on at the time and being born in March in the Depression started, in October of 1929.

05:20 And I ended up being my Father, Was An Architect and

05:27 I ended up going to kindergarten at a school building, that was designed and built by his architectural firm and is now on the national register here, Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock, Central, High School.

05:44 And I went, I said it took me a long time to get through High School through that's cool. Cuz I went to kindergarten there and in the night early 1930s, a 1933 Ford and five. I think it was and then I ended up going to high school there and I tell my friends I said it took me from 1934 to 1947 to graduate from high school and they started this right. Yeah, he started until he died. Just a few years ago.

06:31 And my mother and father would take me out. And I remember going to his house is a very young age of four five and six year old and been on their porch and talkin to their family. They are my good Prince brother was paralyzed in and so we had a lot of went to that house to stay a lot of times and she was a very sweet wonderful mother but our friendship remained and we were always challenging each other with different things that we did do it. Whether we play tennis or give me a hard time. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Alright. Well, he was a lot smarter than I was but you have to do there, but when we were in high school days in the 1940s, when we were taking algebra, we both do our math assignments, but from the teacher.

07:28 It's Central, High School in and then I call him or he'd call me and we can compare our answers to make sure they were right. We both may days in the course because we would eliminate where we both goofed up on doing an answer to a question that I asked you about the neighbors that kind of relationship. And then we went on trips to a place out in Arkansas here at the Petit, Jean Mountain, his mother being paralyzed. They had the nurse that had to take care of her and we'd be blood room. And she be with her nurse in the lodge in me, and I would read together and he wearied out books and he was a bunch of well-read person. And one time we stayed up late.

08:28 Reading to each other, two stories old history stories or whatever. And we went to bed late in the early. The next morning. We were awakened by the bishop who was across the hall from this hollering to minister down the hall. Do you have any shaving cream, or something like that and it woke us up in an irritated this. So we thought that day all night waiting on you, the doors were not locked in this Lodge.

08:59 In and out, so we thought we'd do something there. There was a place for parties to be held at the lodge in the common room at the corner. And so, after everybody went to dinner. We took the 15 bottles of liquor bottles and things like that, and put them in the Bishops. Root them in the creatures room and got cracker crumbs and butter cookie crumbs and put them all the four on the floor, and made it look like they had a party. And then and then we went to and we went to dinner and we didn't think about it when you're not too smart because we were Fourteen and fifteen or something like that. He's only a month apart from me. He always said I was older than he was cuz I was in March and he's in April.

09:47 But,

09:49 We were sitting there eating in the person who ran the place came up and tapped us on the shoulder. And said, we need to talk to you when you get through eating because they didn't want to say it in front of his mother.

10:02 In a nurse who was sitting to the right of us. And as we sat there we wondered what it was about. We could have any idea. Why would they want to see us? Well, we the bishop wants to see you.

10:18 We went out in the Bishop looked at us and he said, you have insulted a man of my profession and I really very sorry you did this. I think I'm going to take you into the city of Marlton and have you all arrested and we thought, oh my God, it's what we do and we try to act and he said you were messed up our rooms and you're the only children in the lodge. So it wasn't a dead giveaway. We didn't think about that thing or the next day. We went out to there's Play Store.

10:53 Suicide leap, is it? There was a lady who was the name that the page that is named after she apparently committed suicide by jumping off. So we went to that played like we're going to jump off the bridge but we never did do it. Of course, working out. We were children. Yeah. It's so they backed off and just trying to scare you but pretty hard. So don't you get involved with anybody. Last night is a Ministry in a little bit more about those early years, you know, first 10 12 years. Other than when you were twelve or Fourteen and said that upon each other things, remember about making it through a difficult time.

11:53 Russian.

11:58 Really? I think most of it was just the things that you had during the war, when the war broke out. I guess, you might say 1941.

12:13 We had a lot of things that became problems to this like everybody and sure did you need to shortages? Like I work for a survey company went to 14 15, 16 is a ride and Shane and in during the war. We went to a place in east Arkansas from Little Rock and on the way over, we had a tire that blew out. And so we went on and put a spare tire on. And then went over to the east side of Arkansas. Did I worked on the way back? We got it was in the middle of the summer.

12:54 In the mosquito sprayer is riding a rice field. There's mosquitoes are everywhere in our other tire blew out that we had and week during the war, you could buy tires, anywhere. We were not where you could buy. So we had to call to Little Rock and have them bring it to us about 30 miles east of Little Rock. And it took us several hours or so. What we did is Bill smoke to get out of wait for the mosquitoes and couldn't sit in the car cuz it got too hot and it was really a it was another fire.

13:39 And I guess lie was short and so you had credit that you had cards for number one, two, and three priorities. And and I remember my Father Was An Architect to design. The prisoners form over in Mississippi and he had to go to make inspection. So we always had no problem with getting gas leaves my ass but people have just had the eighth card was just in for the family and then they bad enough for them to go buy groceries. That's about it that I had not heard before that. He had gone around and measured and from what the works progress. There was no construction going cuz all the materials we going to the war effort in every manufacturers doing everything and so that he had very little to do so he can he can the government worked out this program.

14:39 I'm the wa for Architects to go and do bears are bits of the other buildings and I had an eternal architect who was doing some research and found all these documents that my father had done Measuring Up key buildings in different parts of the state of Arkansas. He said that these papers that your father, where an extremely important help to the people of us down to know about the buildings. And what's in them in what was there. If it's Billy's been removed, but there's a lot of history to all of. It did was in the historical historically, important buildings that he was working with me alone and family has been in Little Rock for so long. I forgot how far back when was it?

15:39 Moved up from Old Washington maybe during the Civil War but they came in when he was a baby and then into Arkansas and 1860 Northern Tool, only family was in Hempstead County in Southwest Arkansas, in starting from 1918, - 1860. Is that a capital for a while? It was during the Civil War they moved because of the Yankees and tell me the Arkansas and they invaded Little Rock and so they took all the records out of the state capitol building at that time down to hot springs for a brief while and then they moved it down to Old Washington, which was became the capital of Arkansas in 1818. I think 1863, I believe it's 64.

16:39 We're building was where Bill Clinton, but a lot of the family moved up here in the late eighteen hundreds. I think it was it, maybe 1890, something, and living in Little Rock. Ever since my grandfather and Saba third-gender your 4th generation as far as direct family than your family, then a v, i r nephew, your grandson has a son. So there's a couple more that are mostly married women from India. So it's not the lonely anymore, but I was fascinated how you lived in the same area, a lot of the family and it was downtown. Just not far from the governor's mansion, but you said you lived in the house and your uncle kept chickens, they are in love.

17:39 Rhode Island. Reds and

17:44 Turn off the rocker chick and she had three different kinds he let me help clean out the chicken pass. Let me do that after I would have an egg eating contest at his house. He grew up in scrambled eggs. We have met before 5 eggs at what time and stuff, but he let me work in the chicken that poops area. And is he taught me about chickens and raising them in? And he always seems he always talked about everything but he was also a country boy, and he decided he was going to make himself a lawn mower. So he took and a rotary. Lawn mower. That was one way you push pull.

18:32 And got an electric motor off of old old washing machine, that it going out and put the motor still works. I put it off and put it on this lawn mower and then got in a long extension cord. And he was one of the first electric a rotary. Lawn mower to tell Uncle young lives in the duplex. So your aunt and uncle live Wo Hop in your cousin below when the rains would come sometimes in the roof would leak, but we would know about it down below. We had a one-bedroom apartment house that we lived in my grandfather, charged during the Depression to eat. My grandfather, charged him that I think $10 a month for rent for the house. In this one bedrooms in log hog. It had a steam radiator.

19:29 And it did no one blast in the back and in the dining room and the kitchen, and then a sleeping porch. That was my unheated and I always relieved, we bought cotton sheets for you and your dad, cuz there were asleep out there. And that was also during the 1930s, when the criminals were catching children in and taking them from time to time for kidnapping, is it was known. And I remember sometimes we had at the head of my bed was a window in a porch there by about the head. And so, it might try to hide myself. I'd put the pillow over my head. Sometimes, guys are going to come and get me at you here, talkin about kidnappers and I thought that could be me, but I remember hiding from crocodiles.

20:29 They are asleep and then my dad passed sister and she would take care of me with my mother. And dad would go to the events and meetings, and whatever, and I would stay with her. And it ain't Christmas time. I was sleep on their porch and I remember hearing the Santa Claus flying in an airplane cuz we never did get smoke. So I remembered Santa Claus coming to hear us when we were in, when I was sleeping on the porch and she was wanted to talk about mothers dying and I thought I told her one day when I was upstairs staying with her ask her. I said, you know if my mother dies do you think you could be my mother? Then cuz I like her that much. She fixed me gingerbread, gingerbread. It was delicious and invite me up there to help me eat it. She put real butter in it, and it was just ideal life.

21:29 What do you hear about? Your grandfather was right next door to her house when we played baseball and meet, all the kids would come there and we play baseball and it was just a glimpse at it and everything else in the barn down at the bottom. If you hit it, you got a home run by hitting the barn and we had a good time for The Neighbors. The friends, in our neighborhood, there. We played, Kroger, we played the

22:12 Croquet Games The Neighbors together and we would get together in the afternoons. On Sundays are with the neighbors. And my mother was a Pianist. And my neighbor's wife was afraid. They'd play cross handed, pianos, and we'd sing together. Do things together, that families would do me. And these children, we would play out the street and the toys. You had it during the Depression days. Even going back to that. We would take a make a stick by Ben and there's over and Ben make it stable and make a thing to hit a can with and you hit up that street and you wrote on your skates out in the street and Druid of the whole skate wheels in just a few games because I wearing them out and run the skates by playing on those little rough streets, but really hot and then we could we play games in the neighborhood had go seek.

23:12 Thanks like that. They were the old games of the of the time.

23:17 Well, I'm sure. Glad you were born around long enough to the till even your great-grandsons and stories and help him, kind of learn. What I really appreciate. The the kind of resilience of through the help of nature partly, just being present, like to the birds and that sort of thing. And that's what I was wanting us to talk about. The other thing that we're celebrating is that, this is the 50th year. Since I came home from football, practice, and 7th grade. So I'm not on my neck and within a week, we're at st. Jude Children's Hospital cuz I had Hodgkin's, you're playing some football in the 7th grade and and and they found that knot on his neck on a Friday. The 13th of November in 1970. I never will.

24:17 Get that day. I came home from the office where I was working, as in the Savings and Loan business at the time.

24:24 Is an alternative savings loan and he had to talk to her doctor who was right down the street. From the doctor was very excellent and he lifted laying. And he said, I think maybe we better get the test run for you and we can do surgery on Monday and we went in on Monday after the 13, 14, 15 16, that we went in to get that node removed. It was on his dick that was enlarged and they didn't have the answer to it.

25:09 For several days for a couple days. We got it on Wednesday to answer and I remember it very well. We were at the hospital st. Vincent's Hospital here in a little rock in. Dr. Hedges was our doctor. Who do we call them super doctor? Because he was so good to us, but I said something about what, what are we going to do? And he said, well, we got good doctors here in a little rock and good Hospital. Saint Vincent's is real good hospital, but I said, well, how about Saint Jude and you know, he said, you know, I've already called over there and we're going to go over there in the morning. I'll go over there with you and I'll fly back. And so the next morning at about 7:30 or 8. We left Little Rock to go to Becca's, to go to St. Jude to get Lynn.

26:01 Into the same Jude hospital and he picked up the protocol. That's a doctor's head.

26:07 Robert St. Jude and they can send medications and treat him over here. Some after he had gone through his previous. I mean, his early stages of that, that jumped way ahead, but after a lot of treatment radiation C'Mon surgery, I had my own nail here in Little Rock that he hammered into the wall, so he could go to the IV drip.

26:33 Set very first week. Do you remember me? I remember feeling really overwhelmed, even just for the biopsy. It was just so disorienting and it helped a lot to have dark hedges in the backseat with us as we're driving over to Memphis. But a lot of it was just a blur, write it first or your brother and I did share some tears. I'll guarantee you that and we didn't know what we were going to get into you and didn't know what to expect and how long it was going to take and what was involved. But we were going to get you the best of care that we could. And there was the time that your mother and I were would discuss and talk about what we going to do, and then we're going to make sure you will, you know, St. Jude is just such a wonderful place and I know that my call the ministry came out of a lot of different things that were experience of being really vulnerable. Haven't gone from football at hundred.

27:33 Bounce that about 75 lbs in 6 months and being so sick, but at the same time, really being aware of how much people cared and that just this kind of sense of compassion. It really made a huge difference for me and so long the way, you know, that first year, I remember so well that I was after lost much weight and was able to act a little rock, get the treatment from Doctor Hedges with male on the wall. I couldn't go to school cuz I was too weak and I'm done teacher, but I remember and kind of an Awakening going out into the backyard just lying down on the grass. And you helped me before that even to just really appreciate being present and nature and knowing in a way that, you know, now it was safe to login, but I was learning that and kind of

28:31 So it really changed my my awareness of feeling it before I would just so numb, so overwhelmed for somebody treatment, but that really helped me get going to turn the corner in a way that they didn't fix everything, but I was able to kind of breathe into and through a lot of it rather than get kind of rigid. Cuz I know what that procarbazine that those pills at 3 every night. And I could it take an hour and a half because I knew that they would make me so sick in the middle of night. So it was hard to convince myself to take the pills in. But I learned

29:07 Automotive in being able to let go of those medicines was mustard gas and they're injecting it into his veins. Of course. I don't think they're using their support of the early stages of care for. They had just started making progress. I called shotgun effect and if they would just throw everything at it and since the night, my body experience that. But I also learned a lot about how to kind of be Brazilian go with with what can be learned that the best you can and whatever situation. So when I had the relapse and 9th grade, I didn't get nearly as sick and even though I had more treatment overall in the year and that surgery were tortured in an all kind of things were really critical. Actually. I mean, that help with Uncle Bill being there who we lived with.

30:07 Said he was a urologist, was able to be there in the surgery. Is that the real powerful sense of trust and and just being able to not being in denial, but just trusting and I think that there are lots of ways that I was given that being able to too short to be aware of that. And that place, I said that was very much at the heart of my call the ministry. So I later became Hospital. Chaplain at University Hospital in

30:48 Various you serious. You got degree from university, did I did study and was able to do a lot of that and learn a lot about mindfulness and ways of a kind of letting go of the anxiety enough to open up to you, what helps roll with the punches, which is what you taught me so much, and you're still doing now, and ask you what covid isn't example, but to be able to help people. So, his Hospice, chaplain want to be able to go into what's a very difficult painful situation, but feel that again, that Soul Food Connection of of our stories that are woven and why's that

31:38 That are beyond words, but are in some ways, more powerful, than anything we can do. And I that's what I've been convinced over the years and feel really strongly about with, with wanting others to doing doors. All these things that difficult time to find ways. I guess, that's where the generic Lee mindfulness contemplatively various ways of letting go of the anxious reactions in there. It is fascinating stuff. They're learning. Now that can help us, but I think at the heart of, it was being able to be present to the bird. So now you told me to have appreciated Birds. Now when I hear a cardinal or whatever sorts of birds, it turns me into what was healing back fifty years ago during the covid 6 time. One time last year. I was sitting out in the backyard just relaxing late in the afternoon and watch it, and listening to the sounds of the

32:37 And I had my grass is real long. They're cutting it the first time and that's what the man started doing in the backyard now. And anyway, there was the rabbit that had been born in the mother. I could see the brother rabbit teaching, the little child that has grabbed it to baby rabbit.

33:01 To get walked out of that in the grass, get along. And and I watch the girl is it went along over the weeks and one day I was sitting there in the backyard and that rabbit came over to the wall by where I was and sat down and looked at me and wondered what it was, what I was doing out there. He came over and put that down right by my foot within 3 in of my right foot and stayed there for 5 minutes and didn't leave. And I thought this is my real friend Amanda, while I was sitting there. My telephone ring is in the backyard and I didn't answer it. I was afraid it would make him run away. I didn't answer, but then the rabbit did, they answer is either. Anyway?

33:52 I sat there watching birds and their relationship with the squirrels and the birds and life and God's creations. And it means a lot to me to be able to take my time rather than worrying about what was going on in the world or whatever, whatever else it is. It took a lot of my interest and concern for what God had created for us to have to see and enjoy and through the experience St. Jude is to have an eye for what to be grateful for. Not denying the difficult stuff, being very aware of it. But being able to, to be present in a way that like I said, nature is still for me, what helps me to connect a? I do, I think of it as sort of A Soulful weirdness that

34:52 I think people around the world know what that's like and that in a time like this where we've had a worldwide pandemic. I think that whatever ways and I see you doing it with everybody. You talk to strangers that there's that personal kind of connection in the in the real, they sense the, the care and compassion, and into me. That that's what it's about. You know, when I always like to tell the story of why you quit hunting and then we were in our Duck Blind one time. And the limit of ducks. You can shoot a Duck Blind. It was limited to person, and I was calling the Ducks and we were in the Blind, and I got out because it was getting slower in the morning, and I started to pick up the water. Something a little bit and see if I can get him. Somebody land and sure enough.

35:46 They came in, and he was using a single shot shotgun. He's just getting started at 8:12 and he shot and she got his first. I miss mine as about in the woods for a little bit and I got to get a shot either. But anyway, another dude came in there. A couple of them and he shot got his second one and he's smart mouth turned to me and he said, Dad I've got by when are you going to start on yours? He took that. And we were thinking about what I do. Shoot those pretty birds like that. There's such pretty ones as green heads in the dip. And actually I remember but sweetie. I'm glad that I saw some people that I guess they were in their twenties. They were just kind of laughed and talked about a Slaughter and that they were going to go in and try to turn my stomach, and I realized that connection of care and compassion for all of creation.

36:46 Shooting with the camera. That's this much better. I started taking him hunting when he was 4 years old and we were up in, Danville Arkansas, and he got out into the field and finally got tangled up in storage and started crying while we're out there. So he he started hunting in the burial on young a. He didn't have a gun at that time, but he went along. So we always make sure I was always whether I kidded my wife and told her, the only reason I'm are there so perfect place to go bird hunting, but that didn't go over too. Well, she didn't really appreciate that. I mean, what guns are not big with us, we'd comfortable with him, but it's for both of us. Depreciation in the Wonder sense of wonder like the last time we were together over a year ago. We were driving around town by Stuttgart and around there and installed thousands and thousands of geese and we just stopped and and

37:46 We watched that you thought your grandkids to appreciate. I didn't know, but I guess that's going to go east and you had you got to happen to catch a whole house and we were very fortunate. As I was one of those things that occurs when you're taking a guess. We'll I am so glad that we are able to celebrate your 92nd birthday. We're going to get with family tonight. After all these, these months. We've all had her shots and are able to get together and what it, what is celebrated as being a Survivor and that being a

38:46 Driver said, you really means a lot to me and our family to having such a son that we're proud of that. If we keep on learning appreciating and learning you were in, not only to take a long time to get out of high school. But you kept on College after you retired in for years and years and years and just keep on being in Wonder and curiosity. And that's, that's a real gift that you give darkover family.

39:18 I think that's a wrap.