150th Anniversary of The Battle of Shiloh touches Rector

150 years.  Much ado. 
A steam locomotive troop train carrying Reenactor Confederate and Union Troops and Civil War cannons sped through Rector yesterday, March 28, 2012, at 12:55PM.  The troop train was headed to Marion, Arkansas, where the Reinactors would then join a caravan headed to Shiloh.  The train would continue into Little Rock, AR, where it would remain for a day hosting school children and tourists wishing to tour the train and participate in the event.
Marvin scoped out our vantage point and we loaded up and drove to the former Rector train station and Downtown Park.  Several classes of Rector School students were there, watching from the park's Gazebo, and along the sidewalk and side street. Dozens of local citizens joined the crowd that awaited the locomotive's arrival.
We clammored into the truck bed and sat on the tool box, each one of us with a camera;  Pam took stills, I took video, and Marvin could take both.  The train came toward us, whistled and blew its very loud whistle, whizzed past with the Troops waving to the crowd from within the passenger areas.  It took all of 50 seconds to fly past us.  150 years, not so much.
I do remember the decade of the 1960's with the Centennial celebrations.  Camden's part in the Civil War was also commemorated as Camden had been overtaken by the Yankees during the Civil War since it was the largest town in south Arkansas, and a port city, and a railway hub. Some of the made-for -tv movie, The North and the South,  with Patrick Swayze, was filmed there during the 1980s, at the Reader Railroad.  Several generals from the Union set up headquarters in the homes on Washington street, declaring the town "too pretty to burn."  As in Savannah, GA, the end-mark for General Sherman's March to the Sea, in Camden, the Confederates had already retreated.  That fact saved Savannah from certain destruction (Atlanta was torched), and it saved Camden, too.
Seeing the troop train head toward Shiloh for the 150th Anniversary Reenactment was a thrill to see.

Elvis Looks Great & Alive! at Collins Theatre

www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3nPFC7ycgE

The link posted is for a sample of The Ultimate Oldies Concert at the Collins Theatre.  Marvin and I have seen 3 of these exciting shows and the one we just saw provided an evening of Rock n' Roll from the 60s, and early 70s.  Quite a few of the new people we've met from Rector attended also, and we all enjoyed Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Billy Joel, Neil Diamond, and even Etta James and Whitney Houston to name a few of the celebreties showcased in the show.  One of our acquaintances plays bass guitar in the band and his daughter is also a really sweet and friendly young lady.
My favorites of the evening included "Killing Me Softly" and "I Will Always Love You."  There is not a show in Branson that could rival these performers.  A husband-wife duo (The Morris') sang "Unforgettable."  Thin Elvis made his entrance to the traditional Space Odyssey and had all the moves and the tunes.  He looked great for being 76 and dead.
The evening was a smash hit with us and with the other 500 who attended Saturday night.  A Friday night show was equally well-attended.  We were out "partying" way past our curfew (ha, ha), but it was worth skipping that nap before bedtime.

Survivor: Rector

     It's been 1 month, and I am still surviving, still putting one foot in front of the other, walking once in the morning (1.5 miles) and once in the afternoon (.5 mile).  That is, if it's not raining, or if my personal slave driver is not on vacation.  My cousin is so much more disciplined in this area than I.  She actually seeks out mountains for us to climb - ok, hills or inclines for us to huff and puff over.  My talking sometimes gets in the way of a good course time because I use a lot of oxygen running my mouth!
      If my personal trainer (nicer name for the evil cousin) is not present, as she may have taken a trip, then it's the dog that's on my case, whimpering and going to the door and begging to take the afternoon walk. Hershey loves her walk around the cemetery, taking care of her business along the pathways and driveways throughout the trails.  The Woodland Heights Cemetery is a popular walking venue, as it, too, has flatlands and steep (ok, gradual) inclines.  Hershey takes delight in prancing along from one side of the path to the other, sniffing and swishing, waving the flag of her tail high in the breeze.
     Hubby has been preoccupied updating and expanding the insulation in the attic to reduce the utility bills for the summer, as his most current project, so his exercise has been in doing those things and in being a bounty hunter for frogs invading the goldfish and koi pond.  But, I digress. 
     I'm on a mission of better personal fitness.  I still must cook and we all enjoy that, but my noon meal has been more Greek yogurt (great protien), apples (natural sugar), and fewer sandwiches.  The evil cousin has pulled out a rear-view picture of me trying to hoist myself onto a Tube for a butt-beating ride around Lake Hamilton.  As if that were not enough, I am thwarted by my husband's love of tiny chocolate tidbits.  The other day, I was tied to the stove and forced to bake a Fudge Pie.  Imagine! 
     On a better note, I feel great and am thorougly enjoying the Spring weather and the walks.  The course is filled with flowering trees such as redbuds and dogwoods, pretty flowers like jonquils and tulips, and friendly folks who will wave and sometimes stop and talk.
     Survivor: Rector is entering its second month of walking for better health.  There is no tree-mail and no immunity idol, so it's up to me to survive and advance, up to me to win this game and thus enjoy "feeling like a million bucks."

Strong Women

In the midst of these days of discovery, please, Dear God, let me not lose sight of whose power brought me to this point in my life.  Each event (and non-event) of my life has you upon it.  Every choice, every open window or closed door is presented by You, alone.
If God were a puppet manipulated by prayer, I'd be in a very different place.  God listens to the prayers of His people, listens to our petitions for ourselves and others, and answers.  The human condition, however, often does not allow us to see His answers.  If we believe, and I do, that every answer is there and in His time, we will always thank Him for his answers. 
For our own sakes, He answers in line with His plan for good for our lives, turning pain, hardship, distress, disaster to good, for those that love the Lord.  (It is the human definition of good that gets in our way.) Our time and God's time, our understanding of God's action in our lives limits us unless we are engaged in communion with God throughout the moments of our days.
The understanding of Healing can also have human understanding. I read a sermon in a collection of sermons by local ministers, this one being by the then-director of the Church Health Center in Memphis.  God heals and restores, but sometimes, that healing is only found in Heaven, not on earth.
During the short days of this phase of my life, I have seen again and again women battling life-threatening disease.  They are here in Rector, in Memphis, everywhere. Families are upended, turned inside out. Women are praying. Strong women are praying for each other.
I know how God responds and I praise His Name for my own deliverance and his guiding hand in my life.  I also petition His Mighty Hand for the deliverance and healing of these women who are engaged in a battle for their very lives.
God knows who they are.
We just need to pray, unceasingly, with Thanksgiving, Celebration, and Petition.

March Madness Predictions: "And The Crowd Goes Wild!"

A Girl Wins the “Upstairs Teacher’s Lounge” March Madness Basketball Pool.  When Tournament Time came, we all added to lesson plans the notion of game plans.  The bracket was hand-scribed by one of the football coaches and it cost moola to play. The pay-in price was probably $1.00, back when that amount could buy 4 Cokes or quite a number of cups of coffee.
Much discussion centered on who the top teams were, but there was no big complicated math that went into the selection process, at least none that we knew of.  The girls were (and still are) basketball fans and Love the Memphis (STATE) Tigers.  During one of our after-school chat-fests prior to the drive home, we determined how we’d fill out our brackets.  Don’t be alarmed, but those decisions were NOT based on conference record, common opponents, or strength of schedule.  No.  Our determinations were exceedingly more complex than that.

Cuteness of Point Guard or Head Coach, Style and color of Uniforms, Long-time preference for or against a team or coach, regional stereotypes, and Natural Selection:  a cat will eat a bird every time ( relevancy of mascot match-up).
I am here to tell you” for real” -  A girl WON the pool!  …and the Crowd went Wild!

With that said, here are my First Round March Madness selections:

WEST REGION:
Michigan (has anyone heard of Brooklyn outside of baseball?)
Memphis (of course – better Ba-ba-cue and view of the River)
New Mexico (surfers don’t do well on basketball court)
Louisville (Petino Mob puts horse head in bed with private small college)
Murray State (proximity)
Marquette (The French over the Mormans)
Florida (Gators chomp gentlemen from Virginia; have you seen Swamp People?)
Missouri (where Mike Anderson was the coach; now at Arkansas)

SOUTH REGION:
Kentucky (western Kentucky is a directional school with a losing record)
Iowa St (“U-con” does the name Calipari sound familiar?)
Wichita State (common wealth is UnAmerican)
Indiana (Hoosiers is a great movie!)
UNLV (ties to our own Suzanne Sugarbaker)
Baylor (Love the Camo Uniforms)
Notre Dame (better Catholic connections)
Duke (can beat a college that sounds like a chocolate drink)

MIDWEST REGION:
North Carolina (love the Carolina Blue and Roy Williams)
Alabama (Elephants stomp “croutons”)
Temple (S. Florida has Stan Heath former fired Ark coach)
Michigan (I could never be for anyone or anything from Ohio)
NC State (Surfers can’t jump)
Georgetown (big boys in prison attire beat tiny Belmont)
St. Marys (Gene Cady has a really bad wrap-around)
Kansas (Detroit won’t suit up the Pistons)

EAST REGION:
Syracuse (even without their 7’ guy, for now)
So. Miss (conference ties)
Vandy (two brainiacs, but only one from around these parts)
Wisconsin – (not enough people in Montana to field a team)
Cincinnati (“Eyes” of Texas = 0; “Eyes” of Cincinnati = 3)
Florida St (Tommahawk massacre of saints)
Zags ( can West Va even spell Gonzaga?)
Loyola (going for the Catholic connection against anything Ohio)

My predictions for the next round will include Memphis beating Michigan State, just so you’ll know.  You can use my “bracketology madness” or design your own.  The whole reason I fill out a bracket:  Simple Fun!  Ya’ll Have Some!!

Iconic NE Arkansas Bookstore: For Sale

Recall Meg Ryan’s dismay in the movie “You’ve Got Mail” when she must sell The Shop Around the Corner, that neighborhood bookstore founded by her mother.  Businessman Tom Hanks as Mr. F-O-X brings in the Evil Empire of Mega- Bookstores with coffee bars and escalators.  Fox Books puts her out of business (yes, it is personal), but Tom’s charm brings Meg ultimately into his arms.  That’s a movie.  This is real life.

That Bookstore in Blytheville is for sale by its owner, Mary Gay Shipley, as she has reached her time to retire.  She opened the store in 1976.  She will be running for a seat in the State Legislature representing the Mississippi County, Arkansas, district.  With strong ties to the local high school (helps plan her class' 50^th HS reunion) Mrs. Shipley is probably a shoo-in for the position.  MGS  is a Mid-America bookseller celebrity with That Bookstore.  However, she is leaving her downtown independent bookstore for different adventures and hopes to find a buyer by the time Children’s Book Week concludes later this year.

How did I learn so much about her?  Just talk to her when you visit That Bookstore in Blytheville.  Not only will you learn about the store and its owner, you will overhear shoppers share their tales of local color.  Unabashedly and with no concern for who is listening, patrons talked among themselves and with MGS  about what makes a 50 year marriage work (“We don’t boss each other around”).  In addition, another customer held forth about someone’s husband and his Tunica escapades with another woman on his wedding anniversary. Classic line from that conversation: “I’d of (sic) just shot him and gotten it over with.”

Autographed posters of book releases line the walls with notables  including Laura Bush, Hillary Clinton, John Grisham, Jill Conner Browne, Cassandra King, and Kathryn Stockett (The Help) to name just a few.  Oversized rocking chairs serve as seating and focal points in the back reading area.  Complete with original hardwood floors and shelving, this area invites me to take a seat in one of the rockers, so I do and spot the folding chairs autographed by well-known authors, one signature per slat of the chair.

As I am later browsing the hard cover titles of fiction and non-fiction, easy conversation flows with the booksellers, mostly about books we’ve read lately, those we loved and those we want to read next. They have a copy of The Rebel Wife, the author (Taylor Polites) visited Memphis this week promoting his story of a woman’s strength during Reconstruction.  “TBIB” also has on its shelves copies of several  local authors’ works, (including Whistling Dixie in a Nor’easter and Yankee Doodle Dixie by Lisa Patton), plus all the #1 Best Sellers such as Defending Jacob by William Landay.

TBIB brochure states that they embrace all the ways people read, from the paperback to the e-reader and gladly sell them all, in person or on-line,  to cultivate the generation of readers to come.  A sign posted in the shop reads, “Snack, Nap, Read.”  Hmmmm, that sounds like a phrase synonymous with my early days of retirement.  It’s time for me to go read a book.

                                                                      www.tbib.com