Those Atkins Boys Can Do Anything!

The Atkins Boys label originated with our former neighbor and still good friend, Jeff Duckett.

Jeff is a talented real estate appraiser who is, shall we say somewhat lacking, when it comes to certain skills needed to get things done around the house. At the risk of telling family secrets, a good example is when his wife, Yvonne, purchased a new shelf system that Jeff had volunteered to install in one of their closets. Yvonne worried and worried because she just knew he would do it wrong. He did. The shelves fell down not too long after being fully loaded. I'm not sure Jeff ever realized that he had installed certain components upside down. None of us had the heart to tell him after such a valiant effort on his part.

When faced with seemingly impossible household problems to solve, Jeff learned to look next door at the oldest Atkins Boy. After a particular knotty problem with their clothes dryer was solved by Carl and Scott removing a bird's nest from their dryer vent, Jeff stood back and declared, "Those Atkins boys can do anything!" So began the nickname of their little group.

Last week brought another typical Atkins Boys project – the installation of a new shower door assembly in the master bathroom. After the senior Atkins's purchased it at Home Depot, they were informed that delivery would cost $79.00 and Home Depot doesn't offer installation services. Ta Da! The youngest Atkins boy and his dad took the truck and handled the pick-up and delivery.

The middle Atkins boy arrived on the next rainy day, ready to dismantle and install. While he handled the heavy work, the oldest Atkins boy became the go-fer. Carl later declared that he exceeded his doctor's recommended ten trips up and down our two flights of stairs by at least three times that day.

Now installing a new shower enclosure doesn't sound like such a huge task but consider what an insurmountable task it would seem to those who are mechanically challenged. Consider what a $79.00 delivery charge plus several hours of labor would add to the cost. Not to mention that our old shower door was installed backwards by the builder. Carl has awkwardly climbed around that shower door for fourteen years. It finally took the lone female of the family to say, "Enough is enough!" and set the project in motion. Just look at the result. This picture doesn't show the design in the glass. Trust me, it's very nice.

Those Atkins boys can do anything!

Irish Roots

St. Patrick's Day is a good time to reminisce about Irish roots if one can truly claim them because, as they say in Ireland, "If you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough.".

Well, the oldest Atkins boy has a valid claim to Ireland by way of his great grandmother, Judy Emmeline McLaughlin who married Carl Morris Hicks. Judy's father was John McLaughlin who told stories about falling into Lake Killarney at age five and being rescued by an older brother. This would have been sometime in 1811 - not quite 200 years ago. By 1850 he was married and living in Putnam County, WV, with a large family. We've never discovered exactly what route he took to get there.

A trip to Ireland in 1998 was perfect for finding Carl's McLaughlin roots – we thought. Much to our disappointment, we discovered that Irish records for that time are practically nonexistent, there are three lakes in Killarney, and old tombstones have no readable inscriptions. So much for finding Carl's McLaughlins but at least we saw the area from whence John McLaughlin came. The picture above is one of the Killarney lakes near an ancient castle.

After spending a couple of nights at a B&B in Killarney, we proceeded on our way and one day spotted a McLaughlin coat of arms in a little pub near the tiny town of Clifdon. As it turned out, the owner of the pub was a McLaughlin woman who thought it was pretty amusing that she was meeting a McLaughlin "cousin" from the U.S. We had a great time with them since we were the only Americans there and also their only customers. They were especially fascinated by the video taken by our co-traveler, Camilla Perrill, and Ms. McLaughlin consented to a photograph with her long-lost kin.

Take a look at the picture above. Do you not see a family resemblance? Once a McLaughlin always a McLaughlin. Cuimhnigh Ar Do Gheallamhnacha. Remember Your Promises. It's a good motto for today and every day even if you're not a McLaughlin.

The First Family Member To Be Immortalized On The Wall Of A Restaurant

Well, at least the first Atkins boy in this particular family. We can't account for Chet who was born in Union County, Tennessee. His picture undoubtedly graces many restaurants around Nashville but he isn't a close relative.

It isn't every day that someone gets his or her picture posted on the wall of a restaurant – a celebrity who has eaten in that particular establishment. All of us have seen those autographed pictures displayed for patrons to admire while they dine on food that, presumably, the celebrity enjoyed.

Readers of this blog know all about Greg's 1967 Barracuda, lovingly restored by his dad with help from Greg. It is Greg's prize possession. This Viper Red muscle car has won several awards in antique car shows around town but never the coveted First Prize.

Last Saturday Greg took his car to the latest Mopar competition sponsored by the Georgia Mopar Club. And the winner of the very best restored classic Mopar car was the one, the only Gregory Michael Atkins with his 1967 Plymouth Barracuda! It was especially gratifying to win first prize because many of the cars had been professionally restored while the Atkins boys' car is a work of art personally accomplished by just the two of them.

This particular show was the very first car show attended by Miss Hannah Oliver who enthusiastically accompanied Greg. There are some people out there who think that Hannah brought them luck – including the two Atkins boys. After all, it never hurts to have a drop-dead gorgeous twenty-year-old sitting next to one's antique car.

So now Greg is immortalized for all time on the wall of the Galaxy Diner in Tucker, Georgia, hosts of the event. If you ever go there, look for his picture. The two younger Atkins boys report that the food is excellent too.