The peaceful English countryside in Devonshire

[phs...@gmail.com]

Last year Ben, I, and my Memphis second cousin Carolyn Jenkins Carter visited the region of southwest England where Carolyn and my g-grandfather Jenkins came from.  It’s very peaceful and hasn’t changed much in 50+ years. 

 

I love the peace and beauty of “England’s Green and Pleasant Land”.

 

The last two photos are from my first trip to England in 1975 to do Roman archaeology in the Cotswolds.  I’m pointing to rusted-out iron bolts that held together turves that formed the rampart around the camp of the XIV Roman Legion.   

 

Sorry for being so blunt about London, but big cities are not my cup of tea.  Perhaps Julie, Tina, and Dean have photos that show what they enjoy about Roman Londinium.

 

Paul

[Margo Macdonald]

You are so young.  I feel the same way way about cities.  Margo

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<Exe River Valley from Jenkins house in Bickleigh Devon.JPG><2024_4_26 Carolyn and Paul at Wellington School closeup.JPG><79 E2 138 Dartmoor ponies.JPG><54 E2 82 Paul with rampart lattice Sect 87 Wroxeter.JPG>

[Christina Winter]

Paul - everything is so civilized. I enjoy the Brit accent, majesty and high tea. Plus I love the plays at the West End. Jennifer and I went to two plays in four days. I adore the theatre in London.! 

(But NYC or NC will work as well. I have season tickets to each season of touring Broadway at the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) in Durham. A long time dear friend who lives in Eastern NC comes up for each one of them, we spend the weekend touring Raleigh, go out to brunch on Sunday and go to the matinee.)

But back to London. Museums as well. 

Plus my daughter LOVES London. So just seeing her revelry there makes it a delight for me. She lights up when her feet hit the ground there!  

Cheers, Tina 

Christina S. Winter, Ed.D. 

christina...@gmail.com

919.868.0287

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[Paul Sisco]

Good to hear, Tina. I know you like Hawaii, too. 

Ben and I went to a Sherlock Holmes play in London once. It’s the first time I heard the term “nose-bleed seats”, because that’s where we were sitting. It was a bit scary, because the aisle was very steep and I had the feeling of falling forward even while sitting.

My best theater experience was in New York City where I got to see Jimmy Stewart and Helen Hayes perform in a revival of “Harvey”. Stewart played the invisible rabbit. There I had “catbird seats” in the middle of the front row of the balcony.

I know Julie thoroughly enjoyed her experience, which recalled that wonderful 16th birthday with her father.  And Dean has special memories of London experiences with his late wife, whom he adored.

Paul

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[Paul Sisco]

I see my 55-yr-old memory was not quite accurate. In the 1970 revival of the play Harvey Jimmy Stewart played Helen Hayes’ brother. He’s the only one who could see the invisible rabbit.

https://ronfassler.medium.com/more-of-jimmy-stewart-on-broadway-232f27615bd2

[Christina Winter]

Paul - Ah theatre experiences: Seeing Mary Martin in Peter Pan in California as a 6 year old. It started my love of the theater - Yul Bryner in The King and I in DC - Amazing. Oklahoma with Gordon Mcrae and Shirley Jones as a college student when my older brother took me. Hugh Jackman in the Music Man with my daughter & granddaughters in NY - and sooooo many more when they were little - Animal Kingdom, The Little Mermaid, Wicked. I simply love a Broadway musical on stage. And I have seen so many. When working in NY, some of us went every week - sometimes twice by going to Tickets and getting whatever were the last minute "discount" tickets. The Broadway touring shows in Durham are great. Last weekend we saw Beauty and the Beast - I had never seen it on stage and  the staging, voices, high energy Rocket style dancing was so fun! Great show. 

We are going to NY in February, 2026 with my step daughter Liz and her daughter Ada in February. Liz has done an amazing job of keeping me center stage as a "grandmother" noting that families come in all kinds of sizes and numbers. She and Ada flew in last year and I fly to Colorado to share time there. For 2026 we are meeting in NY so I can introduce her to NYC. Ada is in the 2nd grade, has never been to NY City and Jennifer and I are meeting them and doing the town. She is at a perfect age to tour the Met for the first time, sample Chinese in ChinaTown and go to a show or two. I will sign off now as I need to buy tickets for her first Broadway theatre experience. 

Cheers! Tina 

Christina S. Winter, Ed.D. 

christina...@gmail.com

919.868.0287

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[Paul Sisco]

Tina,

What a wonderful basket of memories.  And you got to share them.  And starting at age 6?!

Paul

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[Christina Winter]

Paul - I was actually 7. My brother who was 15 and without a driver's license planned a trip and drove my mother and me from Memphis to California on a two or three week trip, planning it all including many stops such as the Painted Desert, the Grand Canyon and Carlsbad caverns, theatre tickets et al. But that is another story. 

Have a great day! Tina 

Christina S. Winter, Ed.D. 

christina...@gmail.com

919.868.0287

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[Paul Sisco]

Tina,

That's an amazing experience.  Is your brother still alive?  He was obviously very mature for a 15-year-old.

When you have a chance I'd love to hear the story of that trip.

Paul

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[Christina Winter]

Paul - You asked about my brother and the trip - he and I were very close. He was my hero. He died last fall. He was 8 years older than me. 

When I was 6 and he was 14 my father, John Robert Surrency, who was the Asst City Attorney for Memphis or Shelby County - died. Bobby became Bob and the man of the family. He was extraordinary. He was very quiet, so responsible and mature - and so destroyed by my father's death. He and I had a very unreliable, unrealistic and probably a very diagnosable disturbed mother who was ok as long as dad was alive. "Bobby" contained and managed her for me until he left Memphis to go to Atlanta. 

He wanted to be a pilot or an astronaut. He attended Ga Tech on a full scholarship, did an internship at Tullahoma with planes in wind tunnels and was integral to every plane that Lockheed designed and deployed under military contracts - highly confidential - for decades. He held honors from the Department of Defense for his role in military aircraft. He was modest, secretive - his job involved highly confidential military clearance - I thought he was a CIA or FBI agent because I "knew something was odd" and I only learned some of his career details after his clearance and security period had expired. 

He was an old soul at 14. He still built his model airplanes and contended all over the US and won many National contests. His trophy collection was extraordinary. I have one small one on my desk. It was the only item I requested from his estate. 

The trip? My mother decided we were going to drive to California. She was a terrible driver with no concept of how to take care of a car. Oil? Radiator water? Gas? so he took over and did it. 

So yes. He was crazy intelligent, diligent to his paper route, ran an auto repair shop while in high school as the mechanic for any make car and did all the repairs by "the seat of his pants." The owner - when Bobby was 14, 15, 16 just said, "sure we can fix it" - and Bob worked on the car. He had an amazing intuitive knowledge of how to repair, build, fly, fix, diagnose machinery and sometimes more intangible things. He cooked my meals and at Ga Tech earned his rent by feeding three roommates by preparing dinner every night. As a father and grandfather he always had a spread, a barbeque, big meal for every occasion for everyone. His wife of 64 years did not cook as he loved to. (She is alive and doing well and came to visit recently for two weeks. A grand lady.) 

I have NO idea how he mapped a trip from Memphis across the USA through the Carlsbad Caverns, Painted Desert and a trip to San Francisco at 14 and bought tickets to Peter Pan. I just remember there was a bottled drink with no opener and he popped it open under the bed frame. I just remember his putting wet towels in the window to get some humidity in the car when we drove across the desert (no air conditioning then.) I suspect he had some cash and just managed it. 

I just remember that he managed the budget and we had money for gas to get home. He pretended to "miss a bridge" for a leg of the trip so we got home. 

His bio would say he had creds - Master's etc. There was so much more. A photographer, a coin collector, a gardener extraordinaire who carved beauty out of barren lots. A coach for all his kids' sports. A brother who sent me money in college. A father who embraced the most wonderful adopted son as keenly as his biological son. A man who always repaired his own vehicles. Played mean chess. Had a wicked sense of humor. Mentored and adored his grandchildren. 

He was about as special a brother as I can imagine. He was always there for me. When in Atlanta he broadened my culinary experiences - I had never had Chinese with fresh ginger. He took time to get me prepared for the PMP test and earned value - which I had studied in statistics but not remembered. He loved china, sterling, and crystal  and we haunted the Lenox outlets to set a fine table. We travelled as he loved Williamsburg and Charleston, Hawaii and seeing a Presidential Museum or a Smithsonian or DC site. Oh he loved history. 

He was my family.

Not sure what else I can tell you about him. 

Tina 

 

Christina S. Winter, Ed.D. 

christina...@gmail.com

919.868.0287

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[Paul Sisco]

Tina,

Both you and David McComas had very special older brothers. And you know how lucky you were to have him watching out for you growing up.  I really appreciate your taking the time to tell us his story.  What an amazing person.

Paul

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[Christina Winter]

Paul - Oh, he also made a mean margarita, and traveled all over the world focusing on gardens and history. At every chance, he bought his wife another beautiful piece of jewelry - she has a collection extraordinaire. He cared nothing about flash or clothes. Loved music, movies, and Broadway theatre. He wore his dad's watch. Very unassuming. I am sure many a car dealer or jeweler was surprised when he actually made a purchase. And a wicked, merciless teasing sense of humor. 

And with that, I will quit regaling about my big brother. I miss him every day! 

So who else has a family member that can offer your fond memories or funny stories? 

All, have a great day! 

Tina 

Christina S. Winter, Ed.D. 

christina...@gmail.com

919.868.0287

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