November Month Of Many Friends' Births

11-11-11. My Uncle Thurman reminded me frequently during his later years of the importance of the numeral eleven in his life. In addition to being born on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in the year 1911, Thurman Morris Gupton also wore the number "11" on his football jersey when he was the quarterback for the West Columbia Roughnecks in the late 1920s. Thurman was probably the original "T. Gup," long before the nickname was stuck on me. He was the first child born to my grandparents, Samuel Morris "Buff" and Eula Gupton, and was 10 years older than my father, Rex Gupton, who is pictured below at left with his brother Thurman. This photo, which I took on the steps of the Baptist church in West Columbia on the day my cousin (Thurman's granddaughter) Cindy and Earl Saville were married, also includes Thurman's wife Gladys Gupton and Mrs. T.M. Smith, who was one of my Sunday School teachers when I was a child. Sharing the November 11th birthday with my Uncle Thurman, who is deceased, are two of my son Brian's best friends and classmates, Courtney Johnson and Chris Maynard. Photos of Chris and Courtney, as well as other dear friends and family members who also were born in the month of November, will be featured in a followup companion piece to this blog entry. I was unable to upload additional photos and don't know if the Blogger software allows only a limited number of pictures per blog entry or not. So read through this little piece I put together and then check out the followup entry about other family and close friends with November birthdays.

The two sons of Diane George and Garry Tims, Jamie Tims and Bubba Hutcherson, both celebrate their birthdays in November. Jamie and Bubba spent big chunks of their younger years growing up in the Gupton home, practically as brothers to our sons Brian, Bret and Blake. Jamie was born on November 4th in the same year as our eldest son Brian, who was born in 1982. And while Bubba was born on November 16, 1985, his late birthday put him in the same grade as our middle child Bret, who was born May 9, 1986. Jamie and Bubba, who are the younger half-brothers of our adopted son Kirk, fit right into the Gupton family, being the same ages as our two oldest sons, Brian and Bret. And just like my own three sons, Kirk, Jamie and Bubba were always more than willing to pose for "Daddy" T. Gup's camera. I have always loved this photo at right that I took of Bubba in 2000. Like his natural brothers and his "adoptive" brothers, Bubba is very photogenic. The first picture below shows Bubba at an early age between my sons Bret, left, and Blake at the playground. The photo below that is one I took of my four baseball All-Stars, pictured from left: Blake Gupton, Adrian Pipkins, Bret Gupton and Bubba Hutcherson. That season Peggy and I signed up both Bubba and Adrian to play baseball in the same youth league as our two younger boys. Our older son Brian was playing baseball in high school by that time. Bubba and Jamie are pictured in the lower photo with their older sister, Kasandra George.

Turning 24 years old yesterday (November 16, 2009) was Garry Anthony Hutcherson, pictured above and at right). Bubba Hutcherson has been a vital part of the lives of myself and my family since he was barely out of diapers. So the fact that Bubba, or "Deuce" as he prefers to be called these days, has now entered his 24th year makes me feel extremely old. Our family picture books feature many photographs of Bubba throughout the years, from his "little boy" photos from preschool and elementary, spanning the years through high school and now in his early years as an adult. Bubba is the younger brother of Jamie Tims, featured earlier in this article, who both are just like sons to me and my wife Peggy. David Carey, who is celebrating his 40th birthday today, is pictured below in a current photo that was borrowed from David's Facebook page. David is also pictured below in photos taken in the summer of 1990.

Reaching his 40th birthday, November 17, 2009, is much more of an accomplishment than most readers of this blog could ever possibly imagine. David Wes Carey, pictured above in a 1990 photo taken in Tempe, Arizona, with his older sister Anita Rutherford, right, and younger sister April Carey, was born on this day in 1969. Happy Birthday David from T. Gup in West Columbia, Texas. I was born in Bay City, Texas, where David Carey excelled for the Bay City Black Cats on the baseball diamond, the footbal gridiron and the basketball court. But while a freshman baseball player at Scottsdale Community College in Scottsdale, Arizona, David's dreams of one day pitching in the major leagues were shattered by a gunblast. An errant bullet from a pistol being handled by roommates in David's apartment struck him in the back while he slept in his bed in the wee hours of the morning, turning him into a quadriplegic. David Carey, whose story is told in more detail in the blog entry below this one, is pictured above with family members in Tempe, Arizona.

Not only one of my favorite cousins but definitely also one of my favorite friends is my first cousin Angie Kyle Gupton Middleton, pictured above with her husband Jack Middleton. The Middletons, who live in Cove, Texas, near Baytown, are both November babies. Jack celebrated his birthday on November 8th while Angie was born on November 21st. Angie and her big brother Hank, whose birthday is two days before his sister's, are pictured above with their mother, the late Terry Gupton, at a holiday gathering at the Anahuac home of Hank Gupton and his wife A. Lynette Parsons about 10 years ago. The photos above that were taken at the same family get-together. Hank and I are comparing our Gupton similar physical features in one while Angie hugs her hubbie Jack in the other. In the photo below, my fourth grade teacher and kissin' cousin Joyce Lester is pictured with her late husband, Charley Lester, on the steps of the First Baptist Church in West Columbia at the 1995 wedding of my cousin Cindy Brandt and Earl Saville. Joyce, who has a November 26th birthday, is now married to Ralph C. Warne. Joyce was not only one of my favorite teachers during my younger years growing up in West Columbia, but has always been among my favorite people. I love her immensely and miss her husband Charley so very much.

The photograph at right below of my cousin Hank Gupton and his bride Lynette was taken in my West Columbia backyard in 1992. Like my musical idol John Fogerty, cousin Hank married a Hoosier from the great state of Indiana. Raybourne Ricks "Hank" Gupton celebrates his birthday on November 19th while Indiana's finest export to the Lone Star State, Lynette Parsons, has a December 4th birthday.

Although both missed being born in the month of November by only a few days, my wife of 29-plus years, Peggyjo Hall Gupton (at left in the top photo), and my cousin Hank Gupton's wife A. Lynette Parsons are among the most beautiful, intelligent and compassionate people in my small circle of friends. The two photos above were all taken in the summer of 2000 on a trip the four of us took to The Beau Rivage Hotel and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi. Hank, who is the son of my father Rex Gupton's younger brother, Marvin Aubrey "Hank" Gupton, was born on November 19, 1946, and will be celebrating his 63rd birthday in a couple days. Lynette, his soulmate and best friend, was born on December 4th. Peggy, the love of my life who has put up with all of my shit for far too many years, was born on December 7th. Since I was brought up right by a mother who claimed she was 39 for over 30 years, I will abstain from revealing Peggy and Lynette's ages. Not simply because I am a nice guy, but also because both women can kick my ass. So I wrap up this little salute to the friends and family members I love so very much who each have their November births in common, as well as their contiguous ties to me to boot, by wishing each of you a heartfelt "Happy Birthday" and adding three little words as icing on the cake. "I Love You" for being so very special to me over the span of the many years that I have been around on this great earth. Each of you mentioned above mean more to me than words can adequately describe. Here's a little toast to all of you, so raise those glasses high and clink them together in unison while I say from the bottom of my heart, "May each of you live forever, and may the last face you see be mine!"