An Unspoken Hero

An Unspoken HeroThe Life and Times of Chip Chandler

A Memoir of Royce W. Chandler, Jr.

The beginningRoyce W. Chandler, Jr. born to Royce and Merle Chandler on August 18, 1954.

One of his aunts walks in and comments, Well, isnt he just a chip off the old block. Henceforth, the name he would come to be known of his entire life, Chip.

The Parents

Mom said she once took him out of church and spanked him. He started laughing at her. She spanked him harder and he laughed again and kept laughing. She said to herself, I cant take him back into church with him laughing, people will think I didnt punish him. When we cut up in church, which was only every service, mom would pinch the skin on our thighs and twist. Ouch! Maw maw ALWAYS had chewing gum in her purse. We would lay our head in her lap during the service. Sometimes she would save us a tiny piece of communion bread after she ate hers. When we would get in trouble and be sent to our room, to wait for a spanking, Maw maw would always whisper, go to your room, get in the bed and pretend to be asleep, then, maybe she wont whip you. Never worked but it was a sweet suggestion.

Mom frequently talked about Chip cutting up in church. One Sunday morning she was settling in the pew with a new baby (Russ) and Chip (4-5 years old) broke away and ran to the rostrum (which is what they called it!) The church was packed as the service was about to begin. He climbed on the pew on stage, threw the curtains to the baptismal pool around his back and sloshed in the water with his feet dangling. All you could see from behind the curtains was his butt and legs. Maw maw went to get him. When she got there he was done splashing and had climbed off the pew and back on to the stage. When he saw her he bent his knees and placed his hands on them and said, Maw maw, you know you cant catch me! She immediately turned on her heels, went and sat down (he was right, she knew she couldnt catch him). When mom started up front he immediately jumped down many stairs all at once (because he knew she could catch him), fell and cracked his head on the communion table. She took him out and spanked him.

Random StoriesMom was shopping at the Delchamps Supermarket on Court Street, caddy corner across from the Saraha Restaurant, looked around and Chip was gone! The staff and manager searched the entire store without success. The manager went out with mom to search the parking lot. He mentioned the apartment complex behind the store and that it had a pool. Mom said I can't go look, will you please go look in the pool for me? Chip was not there. She began asking people up and down Court Street, after calling dad and the police. A lady walking up the street said yes, I saw him walking toward Normandale Mall. Someone eventually said they saw him in the drug store or five&dime, eating a candybar and wearing the holster, guns & cowboy hat he lifted from the store, which is where they found him.

A black student reached for and placed his hand on top of Chip's cake which was on his school lunch tray. The boy said, now what cha gonna do...attempting to intimidate/aggravate Chip. Chip said, I'm going to eat my cake, and then planted his fork so deep in the top of his hand it was sticking out of the boys hand as he was helped away from Chip's table. Buddy Davis, the black coach we all loved so much, hauled him out of the lunchroom by the seat of his pants.

The Sister: AlisonI skipped church on a Sunday night. Chip was home also. I went next door and was playing with our neighbor, Mark. He talked me into climbing on the top rail of the swing set. As we were perched up there, feet dangling, Mark pushed me off. As I fell, the screws that hold the swings onto the rail, poked a hole in my wrist. I panicked and ran home. Chip saw my wrist and very calmly wrapped a towel around it and held pressure as he put me in the car and drove to the ER. I remember him running red lights and speeding all the way to the hospital. He kept my arm held up the entire trip so he could keep it from bleeding. As we waited for the doctor to come in and stitch it up someone called Mom and Mawmaw at the church. As Mawmaw came into the ER she glared at me and told me that if I had been in church this wouldnt have happened.

I (Alison) was watching Chip chew tobacco in the backyard. I was about 10, so he was 20. I was asking him about how to chew it. He gave me a jaw full. I kept it in my mouth, thinking I was one tough cookie. I asked him what to do with the spit that had accumulated in my mouth. He told me to swallow it. I did. About 10 minutes later I was puking. Of course, he stood by and laughed.

Angie Cooper and I (Alison) were dropped off at the skating rink back when we were about 14 years old, that wouldve made Chip around 24. We skated a few minutes and decided to walk across the street to the mall. We knew this was wrong and if caught, we would be in a heap of trouble. We did it anyway. While perusing JC Penney's clothes, Angie saw Chip walk in the store. She was so shocked that she yelled, "Oh my gosh! Alison, its Chip." Well of course he heard her. He looked at us and started laughing. We immediately started begging him not to tell on us. He continued to laugh and told us that if Mom didnt catch us on her own, we would be safe. He also told us to get back to the skating rink. We ran back and Mom never found out.

I (Alison) was talking with Chip one day about how Steve had asked me to marry him. He didnt say much or make his feelings known. He said I needed to be sure and that he thought Steve was a nice guy. Thats it. Several months later, we married. At the wedding, Chip came up to Steve during the reception. I saw him gently put his hand on Steves elbow and kind of guide him a few steps away from the crowd. I saw Chip say a few sentences tohim. I also saw Steves face. He looked shocked and then sort of grinned. Later that night, Steve told me that Chip had said this. "If you ever think about mistreating my sister.....I will find you. You are in the military and can always be found. If you lay a finger on her, I will kill you".

The Youngest Brother: CassChip would disappear for days, sometimes weeks during the summer when he was a teenager with a drivers license. He would pack a paper bag with assorted food (Vienna sausages, potted meat, sardines, crackers) take his army jeep, guns, fishing pole and head to the woods. One day mom told me she had not heard from Chip in many days, would I go see if I could find him to make sure he was OK. She thought he may be at the Crenshaw place. Mr. Crenshaw was a wealthy, down to earth man with much land which he shared. I rode my motorcycle, as I was only 14, and found him. He was camping in a big dove field on the edge of the woods. We talked and I swung on a low tree limb. He had a fire burning low which he would add to as night fell. I could tell he had killed, cleaned and eaten several things. Dont ask me what. He had a roaring fire at dark. He said I could spend the night which I tried to do. First in the jeep as I was not going to sleep on the ground as he did, then by the fire as the night grew colder. I rolled in the fire with my arm and burned it, barely! I heard something in the woods and he said it was just the wild dogs. I said how do you know? He said watch, turned the flashlight on and shined it in the woods illuminating many pair of eyes! I dont remember what we talked about but, I always felt safe and at home with Chip. About dawn, I had had enough and said I was leaving. I got on my motorcycle and left for home. Chip stayed several more days.

Bonus Memories from Cass I often wondered (mostly out loud and to anyone who would listen to me whine) why I ended up in Chattanooga. Chips home was half way between Montgomery and Chattanooga. I spent more time with him in the last 3.5 years than the last twenty..spending the night coming or going, drinking coffee at his office for hours, fishing or eating lunch and dinner out. I think I now know why I ended up in Chattanooga. God put me in Chattanooga so I could spend more time with Chip before he went to heaven. I would ask him about his children and he would run down the entire list of how each was doing. He frequently talked about the gift his children gave him of the trip to Texas to learn how to repair fishing poles/reels and that it was about time he scheduled that trip. He also talked about retirement, then early retirement and how he was managing the back pain. He never once complained. Then it was back to reality. I would log on to the City of Lincolns wireless and do my payroll. He would do his desk work and we would both swap stories about our employees. He was a good manager and all of his employees loved and respected him.

One time Chip went to a church devotional with Dennis Hendrix. He took some of dads liquor and got caught. He received a beat down when he got home.

Chip attended Country Day school on Woodley Road after we discovered he had dyslexia. He also went to a special school in Berea, Kentucky for teens with dyslexia.

When Chip and his family lived in Notasulga I drove my black 1984 Corvette there and Chip helped me put new gaskets on my piston covers. I didnt have a clue, but he did.

When I (Cass) first took the General Manager position with Ferrellgas and stopped by to see Chip he asked, you are working for who and doing what!?! After I told him he looked at me and said, You will never fit in there. I brushed the comment aside and said, oh yes, I am a professional, I can work with any group. I confessed several years later that he was absolutely correct. I didnt and never would fit in there but, would stay as long as they would have me. My friend Trish works with law enforcement officials throughout the state. After her divorce her law enforcement buddies suggested she get a gun for protection and it should be a pump shot gun. Reason being, the bad guys would hear her pump it and know what it was and leave. One night, after a couple of cocktails she brought it out to the deck. How do I work this she said? I loaded it and said ok, now here is how you cock it and here is how you unload it..uh, uh, hold the gun and let me call Chip. While on the phone with Chip she said, Ill unload it! Ill shoot all the shells out of it! NO, give me that gun, Chip how do I unload a pump shotgun? He told me how and offered to take Trish to the firing range to teach her how to use it. He was always trying to help.

The Wife: LindaDont take the whole cracker, Linda!

The first time Chip ever took Linda to his church, The Church of Christ, was decisively a unique experience for her, being Pentacostal and all. They came in as communion was being served and Linda, never seeing a communion cracker that large thought it was odd, however she took the cracker and continued in her reverence. To the dismay of everyone around her of course. Chip promptly took the cracker out of her hand, broke a piece off, handed it back to her, and threw the cracker back into the communion plate.

Daughter: MicheleDaddy was notorious, in our younger days, for his Food Fights! The first one we had ended in mom walking into a dining area filled with english peas. There were peas on the walls, floor, all of us, and probably the ceiling! The other most notable food fight was with flour when I was around 15. We were frying something or another for dinner and a little flour in the face turned into a massive flour war with me, daddy, and one of my friends screaming and completely white.

Daughter: Rebecca There is no doubt that I was a daddys girl from the beginning, but it would take me many years to fully understand just how much.

Daddy was always tormenting his childrenI can remember for years he would harass me and say the McDonalds Moon Man was my boyfriend.

I remember getting into a lot of heat with my dad for the never-ending arguments with my mom. I remember once, in high school I had crossed the line with my mother. As she dropped me off in front of the school, I cursed at her. Yes, a four-letter forbidden word had been uttered from my lips straight to her, about her, and intentionally meant for her. Interesting that to this day I cant remember which word it was. About an hour later I was called to the office. At this time in my life I was actually surprised to be called to the office because I was over my pop anybody in the mouth that looked at me wrong phase. When I got to the office there was my dad. I was surprised to see him because he never stopped by the school. I didnt have a good feeling for long. He asked me to step out on the front steps with him. He asked me, What in the hell did you say to your mother? (Kind of hypocritical, dont you think?) He chewed me a new a**hole to put it nicely. It would take me another 8 years before I uttered another cuss word to my mother

Grandfather at Work: Chip was a wonderful grandfather, to eight grandchildren, at the time of his death. I remember the day that I realized I had birthed a little Chip. I had heard of my grandmothers curse on my dad from many years ago May you have a child just like you, so you will one day understand the pain of raising a child just like you. I believe that happened for him with my brother, Chip, Jr. However, I never counted on having his grandchild, born on the eve of daddys 50th birthday, that would follow his every footstep. I remember thinking, I hope this child isnt as rambunctious as dad was as a child. We had all heard those stories growing up and I knew I would have time raising a child like that. I will never forget the day that I got an unsettling call from the daycare. Rhema, age 5, had ran away. By the time I was able to get the daycare on the phone she had been found. On my way rushing to the daycare I called daddy. He answered and I replied, This is all your fault! Im raising a little you and now Im going to have to beat her! Rhema felt she had been treated wrong and decided to leave and find me less than a block from the daycare where I normally worked at the elementary school. Even though I had explained to Rhema many times that during the summer I was working at another school all the way across town, she decided to go find me at the school anyway. Chips reaction to his granddaughter disappearing as he frequently did as a child? A giggle and Dont beat the child. She was just trying to let you know she had been wronged!

Near Death ExperiencesMom, dad and I (Russ, the younger brother) were were home one rainy day when the phone rang. It was the Montgomery County sheriff's department telling us Chip had been in a car accident. He was ok, but had totaled dad's "fishing/hunting" station wagon. The deputy went on the explain that he was found by a man who saw him get run off the road by another driver. The witness saidas he made his way down the 28 foot embankment, he could hear Chip laughing hysterically. When he asked Chip why he was laughing he said " I just saw my entire life pass before me, and it was funny as hell. I can't believe I am still alive!"When the wrecker brought home dad's station wagon home; Chip in the cab, as dad walked out the door,he said he didn't whether to hug him or kill him. The wrecker driver said there was no way he should have survived the wreck...God Himself must have been the that car with him.

More to comeThis is a very small scale of a much larger project underway. Please send your Chip stories to be included. Reply to: rebecca.dikes@yahoo.com

* Article reprinted with the permission of Elsie Hodnett and the Daily Home. Special thanks to the both.

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