Memories from Elise

Here are a few more memories about Tom - these being from his sister, Elise:

*Grandma Libby took us to Orlando to visit Disney World & Sea World on two separate occasions. Mom and Dad did not go with us on the first trip; only the second one. The first of the two trips to Florida was just Grandma Libby and 5 kids. She was a brave woman! Grandma was always worried about losing one of us when we went places and there was always, always, a centrally located spot designated as the "if you get lost or separated, go to this spot". I don't remember what it was at Sea World and as luck would have it, Granny "lost one". Here's the story.
Sea World has multiple tanks with all types of aquatic life. Naturally, there was a tank with dolphins where you could purchase a little carton of these tiny fish to throw into the dolphins' mouths. Tom was fascinated with feeding the dolphins. We all got to do that and then moved on ahead to other things. We paused for some refreshments and Tom was allowed to leave the Carter "huddle" to purchase a cold treat. I believe he was told to come back to the same area or meet us at the next tank or something like that. After a while, Grandma Libby did a "head count" and realized Tom was not with us. Mike, the oldest sibling in the group was promptly dispatched to find young Tom. And where did you think he found him? Tom took the money Granny had given him and went back to the dolphin tank and bought more dolphin food. And, that is where Mike found Tom; leaning over the side of the dolphin tank tossing in those little fish. Boy, Grandma Libby was so upset with him, but after she calmed down, we all had a good laugh! Grandma Libby wore herself out trying to keep up with us all and that incident is also the reason why our Mom and Dad were required to go on the next trip.

So...for the rest of our lives, anytime someone goes missing or we don't know what's up or we just want to disappear for a while, the code words are "gone to feed the dolphins."

*There were so many times I can remember Tom launching into one of his "Robin Williams" tirades. He would talk so fast and furious that it could sometimes be hard to keep up, especiallif he was imitating the character "Mork" from the Mork and Mindy show.. I can still hear him say "na-noo, na-noo!" He could also imitate "Steve Martin", which would be equally hilariously. He would have us rolling.

*Grandma Libby sent us to summer camp, which was sponsored by her church, Bull Street Baptist. It was a two-week session, with the first week being at the Savannah location and then, for the second week, we were going up to Toccoa GA near the big GA Baptist Convention Center. I'm not sure what the attraction was for Toccoa but that was the plan. As the departure date for Toccoa got closer and closer, Tom began to experience the worst stomaches. They tried to make Tom feel better in the infirmary, but....strangely...nothing worked. Grandma Libby was called and she drove out to the camp to pick Tom up and take him back home with her. She did check in with me but I was all excited about the bigi bus trip and all that other mess; I was older so I guess that made the difference. Anyway, as the story goes, Grandma LIbby gets home with Tom, and Grandaddy Carter was none too happy. He picked on poor Tom saying he was just homesick and that Grandma Libby should have left him there. Then came the hamburgers. Grandma Libby made some of the best hamburgers in the world. When she asked the sickly Tom what he felt like eating, he said hamburger. If I remember correctly, Tom consumed at least two of those hamburgers and amazingly, did not get the least bit sick. Grandaddy Carter huffed and puffed and said that anybody that could eat like that didn't have stomach problems. It was funny, but as usual, Grandma Libby didn't mind. She loved having any of us around. On Sundays, after church, there were trips to Krispy Kreme or Baskin Robbins. Sometimes Grandma Libby would take us out to lunch after church adn we'd meet up with some of her church friends. I remember one lady in particular, Miss Mary Dewberry!! What a name!

*Back home, it was a never ending battle to control of the television selections. We only had 3 channels so I can't imagine how much fighting we could get into over what to watch. BAck then, though I hated Star Trek and it used to make me so mad if he got to the tv first. I am a big Trekkie now but it is partly as a result of that forced brain washing, having to watch it with Tom.

*Tom was a picky eater. If Dad was home and Tom didn't eat his dinner, Dad would simply tell Tom to go to his room. Somehow, Tom was getting peanut butter and jelly sandwiches smuggled to the room. I cant remember if Mom was doing it or if Tom was sneaking out after the kitchen area was clear and getting it himself. There were definitely occassions of finding PB&J scraps on a plate under his bed.