“History is history; there’s no use sweeping it under the rug.” -Sweet Home Alabama
The year is 1954, and the man in the above photo is my thirty-year-old father, who strikes a handsome image as an officer in police uniform. He was also well known and liked in the small town of Taylor, Texas.
Born in Taylor, Texas, he was the child of Czechoslovakian immigrants, and part of the large Czech community. He married my mother, I believe in 1946, after he came back from the war. In 1950 my sister was born and I came along in 1954.
Coming back from the war and becoming a police officer was nice for the town of Taylor since he knew almost everyone and vice-versa.
But, as we know, change is inevitable, and the small town of Taylor was no exception. The town began to grow rapidly, bringing more people and more diversity. And as we would expect, over time, the identity of any town, would change.
It was July of 1954, and my father was on duty, by himself. My mother was at home, with a four year old daughter and seven months pregnant with me.
It was about 8:00 o’clock at night, and my father encountered three men; two brothers and a friend. The two brothers were drunk, and the friend was sober. My father requested the sober friend to take the two brothers off the street. Some words ensued, and the first brother attacked my father, and threw him to the ground. Then both brothers jumped on my father and held him with his back to the ground. My father called for help from the sober “friend”, who pulled one of the brothers off of my father. When my father was able to free himself from the other brother, he got back on his feet and then commanded the two brothers to sit down next to a wall.
They squatted down with their backs to the wall, while my father, held them at gun point, and flagged a passer-by to telephone the police department for help. But shortly thereafter, both brothers got up and advanced toward my father, whereupon he killed both of them. The facts established that the two brothers acted in concert, justifying my father’s self-defense. (Grieger vs. Vega. Supreme Court of Texas, July 14, 1954)
Now, let’s fast forward to 1999. My husband and I would be driving our daughter from Tennessee to Mississippi for a ballet camp.
When we arrived, we checked in to a hotel, where we would spend the night. The next morning, as we prepared to leave, I was walking down the hallway of where our room was, when history came back to me in person.
A young man, of about 16 or 17, was walking down the hotel hall. He was wearing a t-shirt that had “Taylor Ducks” written across the front of the t-shirt.
Now, Taylor Ducks, is the name of the high school football team, and the only high school, in the town of Taylor, Texas; the town where my family lived until I was about four or five.
Upon seeing this young man, I stopped and spoke to him, telling him I was born in Taylor. As we were chatting, the young man’s grandmother came by. I introduced myself and spoke of my connection to Taylor. I gave my maiden name, of Grieger, and spoke of my parents and extended family in Taylor, and that my father had been a policeman there.
As soon as I spoke of my father, the grandmother, hearing my father’s name, suddenly changed the expression on her face, and said; “I know that name. He shot those boys. They were good boys.”
Well, you can only imagine how I may have felt. I did not know how this was going to turn out. And all I could say, was, “Oh, my!” and “Well, we need to get on the road, so I guess I better go. It was nice to meet you.”
Yeah, I had never had that happen before! So when I got home, I called my dad the next day, and told him the story. Immediately, he was back in time with that situation. He verbalized that the two boys jumped him, and one of them grabbed his gun from his hand, and the gun went off, killing the young man.
Later, I read the legal reports after finding it on the web. The document is interesting and of course, the circumstances are documented in legalese. But I was quite surprised to see the suit on the web and the decision acknowledging my father’s sense of apparent danger, death or bodily injury, and thereby protecting himself.
Today, our country and the people of our country, particularly parents, are being fed, with a certain amount of expectation, of perspective parameters of implementation regarding raising one’s own children and potentially having parental right usurped.
On March 22, 2022, Senator Marsh Blackburn verbalized challenging evidence, regarding Ketangii Brown Jackson, outlining her interest in implementing decisions that affect children’s development without parental consent, thereby removing the right of parents to intervene on their child’s behalf and their right to reject imposed laws affecting their family values and children.
She (Marsha Blackburn) states: “Americans need a Supreme Court Justice who will protect our children and will defend our parents Constitutional Rights to decide what is best for their own kids.”
Also a comment of great concern made by Ketanjii Brown Jackson was a public endorsement of the “transformative power of progressive education.” Please take the time to research and gain understanding of what children may be exposed to, without parental consent.
Paulette is a wife, mother, grand-mother, writer, poet, and Licensed Professional Counselor for women and couples. As a therapist, her interest is to support clients in relating to life in a more connected, authentic way, as well as with a greater sense of well-being with others, themselves, their heart and soul. And writing, whether it is a blog, a poem, or a published article, is a part of that support. Visit her blogsite at www.facetsofcounseling.wordpress.com or email her at facets@bellsouth.net.
