The Story of Bud

From the carpet mills of Georgia to the levees of Louisiana, I grew up . . . Well, there's a little more to the story than that, of course.  During the first four years of my life, my family lived in Dalton, Georgia (the "carpet making capital of the world") where we were surrounded by my dad's extended family: lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins with unusual nicknames.  I have an aunt Bit, an aunt Doolum, a cousin Sissy, an uncle Buster, a cousin Fella, and a cousin Peanut, to name just a few.  As a student and now here at Mayhew, my name has always been ED.  But within my family and around my neighborhood growing up, I've always been BUD (or lil' Bud if my dad's around.  As the original Bud, he still get's the 'big' prefix, even though I'm now taller than he is). 

LIFE IN GEORGIA was fun: my dad was a long distance truck driver and my mom worked in the cafeteria at the local elementary school.  I got to play with my best friends who lived next door and my favorite cousins who came over to visit frequently.  My life revolved mostly around matchbox cars and tonka trucks.  All good things come to an end, though, and my family moved to the Bayou State before I turned five.

LOUISIANA WAS NICE: I got to see more of my mom's family, and I started kindergarten.  The memories of my first year in school are kinda blurry;  Mostly I remember my first day, when I cried and begged my mom to take me back home.  But somehow I made it and earned my first-ever diploma.

BACK TO GEORGIA we went the next year and on to a new school I went.  Dug Gap Elementary was pleasant enough but somewhat uptight about rules and procedures.  For starters, they insisted I couldn't move on to first grade until I was six years old!  In other words, I had another year of kindergarten ahead of me.  Well, at least I would already know the material.  Then, they decided that nicknames weren't appropriate for school, and my life as ED began.

Left to Right: my niece, Ashley; my brother-in-law, Charles; my sister, Lisa; my nephew, Colin; me, (lil') Bud; my dad, (Big) Bud; my mom, Debbie; my niece, Sam; my niece, Mattison; my niece, Niki; my sister, Angela; and my brother-in-law, Matt.