Jane's Window by Sibley Jane Dunn;Haley James L.;Comer Jim;Haley James L;

Author:Sibley, Jane Dunn;Haley, James L.;Comer, Jim;Haley, James L;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Texas A&M University Press
Published: 2013-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

Family crowd seated beside Waller Creek for Children’s Day at Symphony Square

He needed us and we certainly needed him. Soon, he was working with us every day. One of his strengths was his imposing presence. One day, a city inspector—much like the policeman who had objected to spraying oil on the street—was harassing us about the doorknob on our front door. He insisted that we had to have a modern doorknob. We had an old one with a square lock on the back. We first tried arguing with him. “The one we’ve got works fine.”

“No, it’s not up to current standards. You can’t keep this door knob.”

That dispute had one on for some months, until one day, we looked out the window and we spotted the inspector. Fortunately, General Blood was in the office and he told us it was his turn to talk to the officious man.

Although the general was a kind, gentle man, he could also put on his “General” image. In that guise, he was impressive and very much in charge. He went out into the hall and said to the busy-body inspector, “I’m General Blood. What can I do for you?”

In response, the inspector almost saluted.

Then the general told him about all the things we were doing for the community. That inspector departed quickly, his tail tucked tightly between his legs. He never came back. The general won our skirmish without firing a shot, and we kept our doorknob.

Another time, General Blood was in the office with Peggy and me. “You know, girls, I’d be perfectly happy if one of you was flying my right wing and the other was flying my left wing.” That was one of the loveliest compliments I have ever received, especially as it came from a three-star general who had flown everything from Stinson trainers to supersonic jets. Compliments do not get any better than that one. Eventually, we added the general to our board so he would have some official status with the symphony.

General Blood passed away in the fall of 2009 and can never be replaced.

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