Phoenix Journal 197 - Four Winds 10

Mam (grandmother) was the enforcer. Mam kept track of who was bad and kept a record sitting right up
there on top of the warming oven, in a crock. She and Pa (grandfather) would not fall for our little stories,
or our shenanigans. The rules were followed to the strictest measures (Ten Commandments, rules of
ethics, rules of morals, rules of conduct and rules of the house). Now to understand Mam, you would have
to understand a Southern, hard-shelled Baptist! That was Mam. What Mam said was law: count on it!
Not even Pa ventured so far as to make Mam unhappy. Many a time, I saw that little lady (she was less
than 5 ft. tall), take a broom and soundly smack Pa in the backside until out the door he went, at which time
he would stand outside under the plum tree, hands behind his back, shuffling from one foot to the other until
Mam allowed him back into her house. When he reentered, his plate was turned upside down for a spell.
This is called respect. Each respected the other, and each respected the rules and the application of
methods of punishment for breaches.
Pa, and his seven brothers, Will, Lon, Arthur, Henry, John, James and Phil Carey started out as Texas
Rangers. Henry later became a judge. Pa went into the service of the U.S. Marshal’s office. This was a
pretty much do-it-by-the-book and no-nonsense family. We had the rules and we lived by them.
It is wondered by me what this generation of law makers, and law enforcement officers, some Texas
Rangers, some Territory Marshals, a president and a judge would have thought about all of this going on in
our current administrations, including and not excluding, the 104th U.S. Congress’ “Contract on America”.
Then I wonder what would Mam have done if she would have had these bad boys and girls in her house
breaking the rules???
NOW THINK ABOUT THIS!
In Mam’s day the women raised chickens, had gardens, did sewing, etc. They sold the excess eggs,
sewed for other women and sold the excess canned products. From this the household could run through
emergency periods. Winter expenses were met. Doctor’s bills, etc., could be paid. These were the
emergency household funds.
These emergency funds were, in essence, for (a) the common use of the household, (b) use for common
defense against what ever came up against the family unit, and (c) it was a common fund of protection.
This emergency fund was commonly called the egg money.
THINK ABOUT IT!
When taxes are collected and paid into the U.S. or state treasuries, this is the community egg money. It
was collected for common defense, general welfare and for the guarantee that all laws be made which
were necessary to protect and insure the common defense and general welfare of the common family
communities. For this purpose Congress was authorized to lay taxes, posts and duties on foreign imports.
Those same provisions are granted to the civil governments of the territorial states (those not among the
original thirteen states of the United States). The civil governments of our states laid taxes for the common
defense and general welfare to protect these inhabitants within that state from falling into harm’s way, and
for that purpose attorneys general were appointed for the specific purpose of (1) insuring the moneys
collected from taxation were spent according to the taxation, and (2) to insure that the laws of the people
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