When God Calls, You Will Answer!. George A. Ross
My mother was faithful in her prayer. I can remember her sitting on the porch in the evening, in the cool under the shade trees, with my paternal grandparents and Mama Dear, my maternal grandmother whose name was Elnora Hall. Mrs. Shelley, from across the street, and about two or more other neighbors would join them to praise the Lord and sing songs. Then they would start their humming until it became a groan, loud enough to rock the gates of hell and open up the windows of heaven. They did this faithfully every evening, just before bedtime.
I was too young at that time to truly understand the value of prayer as the old patriarch that stood in the gap for their offspring. These are the things that build the home, family structure, faith and the power to succeed in life. We do not understand all of that until we grow up and witness life for ourselves; then it all comes together for us. The light comes on and we can finally see all of the things that our parents were trying to teach us when we were too hard-headed and ignorant to listen. As my grandmother and mother would always say, “Good sense comes from the school of hard knocks. You just have got to bump your head a little bit, and then it will knock some sense in there.” Well, I did not listen well enough and bumped my head a lot. Thank God for good parents that loved us and took the time to teach us about the facts of life.
My mother was the oldest of three girls. She and her little sisters, Amelia White and Lillie Bell Miller, were very close and shared much love between them. It was obvious when they got together and started talking about their childhood days how much love they had. They would reminisce about the lessons they were taught early in their lives that have influenced them into adulthood. I could see the circle unfolding in my own life as we learned how to communicate from them. They took their time to explain how they grew up so that we would also grow up to be productive individuals. I can hear my mother saying to me as she has so many times before, “George, always seek to do well in your life.” These words always come up when I need to make a decision.
I always tell my children and grandchildren the very same things. My mother and I became very close after the death of my father. I feel that we became best friends. I can remember that we spent a lot of precious time together; my mother always listened to my problems and never turned me away. I really miss my mother now that she has gone home to be with the Lord. I have no doubt that she is there in heaven, because she was a faithful servant to Him.
My Oldest Brother
First Sergeant Arthur Ross, Jr.
(AKA “Pops”)
I was so proud of my oldest brother, Arthur Ross, Jr., because he was good at all that he wanted to do in his life. I can remember when he was the starting point guard of the basketball team. I enjoyed watching the team warm up because they had a jacket that had a collar that hung down below the center of their back. And when they did a layup, the collar would lift up like a superman cape and I thought that was awesome. I couldn’t wait until I was old enough to play varsity basketball so I could have that jacket. I really enjoyed seeing him play, especially when he shot a free-throw or had a jump shot. He had an excellent free-throw record as well as jump shot. When he called the play, his teammates respected his leadership and followed his direction. When the game was close, the team always counted on him to make a clutch shot and he was always up to the test.
We both played in the band. He was the first seat clarinet in the marching band and also in concert band. I remember at his graduation, he played a solo and it was a beautiful song. He had practiced it so well that he was awesome. I can remember him sitting in a chair or just lying on the floor somewhere fingering his clarinet and he didn’t even have his horn. He practiced and concentrated on playing his clarinet until he became an excellent clarinet musician. He always worked so very hard at everything that he wanted to accomplish.
When he finished high school, he enlisted in the Army and made a career of the military. I remember the time he went to Vietnam after he finished his boot camp and after his jump school training. My brother was an Airborne Artillery soldier. I remember pictures of him jumping out of the airplanes and you can see in his face that he loved it. He completed his first tour in Vietnam and came home on leave in a new Camaro; it was a top of the line vehicle at that time. This was the era of the high performance car in the 1960’s. My brother was in a zone and he was enjoying his leave partying and living it up. After his thirty-day leave was up and he left for his new unit, he had a car accident and totaled his car, leaving a facial scar as a reminder of the accident. I really don’t know just what my brother learned from this accident but I feel that he thinks about it even to this day.
My brother was a wild thing in the prime of his life. He did another tour in Vietnam and never went to war again. He spent the rest of his career training younger troops and he excelled in this area. He was promoted to Master Sergeant and achieved success in his career. Of all the achievements in my oldest brother’s lifetime, one of his greatest was to make his younger brother proud to be a brother of such a great individual. Even though he doesn’t realize, he became an inspiration to me early in my young life by giving me the tools to achieve the success that I have today. It has never been a dull moment looking up to my oldest brother.
Lafungia Franklin
My Second Oldest Brother
Staff Sergeant James Douglas Ross
(AKA “Old School”)
Now my second oldest brother, James Douglas Ross, was truly a brother of many talents. He was good in everything that he put his mind to. He was so proud of his name and he earned the nickname, “Cocky Ross,” because he studded around like a beanie rooster. My second oldest brother was his own man and nobody could tell him anything. He also was an excellent athlete in high school. He played cornerback in football and was fearless. He weighed about one-hundred-thirty pounds, one-hundred-forty at the most and he was tackling two-hundred-thirty or more backs with ease. He just never feared anyone larger than him. James Douglas Ross was a threat to all who came his way; he was a little spit fire. He also was a point guard on the basketball team just like our older brother. And I also loved to watch him play because he was so quick. He would run around a guy before the other player knew what happened.
And he would fight a person if he looked at him wrong or if he thought he looked at him in a way that was challenging. My brother was a live wire and he knew that he was able to take care of himself. He would always say, “If you see me and a bear in mortal combat; don’t help me.” After beating his chest he would say, “Help the bear, help the bear!” My brother, James, could come up with the strangest things. He was also an excellent catcher at baseball too. We did not have a baseball team in our black school at that time, but during the spring and summer months, we always had a baseball league. When James finished high school, he just laid around the house resting after all of his little ventures until I finished high school and enlisted in the Army. When I went to Vietnam, I received a letter saying that he joined the Army too. I told them to send him somewhere else for his overseas duty and the Army sent him to Korea.
James also became a career soldier and did twenty years or more before he retired. I believe that he was a cook and his rank at retirement was Staff Sergeant. I learned many things from James; especially that how you carry yourself will determine the outcome of your life.
I love my brother, James Douglas Ross, and I can see some of his qualities in my granddaughter, Kierra. She also plays catcher for her softball team and I can see that she carries herself something like her Uncle James.
When