"I Won!!!! - Something!!!"

The White County Creative Writers 17th Annual Writers' Conference held at Harding University Campus sponsored a New Writer Contest, among 12 other contests.  This contest subject was a "storm story" either true or fiction.  I won 2nd place!  It's a milestone for me, the first time I entered a writing contest and won - anything!  I don't know how many entries there were or what kind of real competition existed, but I really don't care!  "I won, I won, I won - something!"  My story is entitled, "I'll Have 2 Krystals" and is a somewhat fictionalized account of a trip several of us made to Huntsville, Alabama, in the middle of a tornado outbreak.  I have published it in JOURNEYS - to the right.  Hope you'll enjoy it!

NOT A GRINCH!

Age and Health.  This post is Good News.  You can read on in peace.
Marvin's twin brother experienced a heart attack in January.  He is fine, but his ordeal and subsequent follow-up care served as a wake-up call to us.  How long had it been since Marvin visited the Stern Clinic?  Hmmmm. 5 years.  Time for a check-up.
The tests are far more sophisticated than they were even 5 years ago.  New tests have been added and more combined tests are performed.  Thank Goodness for SCS Insurance Benefit for Retirees.  Don't ever take that for granted!
After the nurse took him off the treadmill test when his BP spiked, we became concerned.  Well, turns out, that spike in BP was fairly normal.  After a week, Dr. Heart Specialist's secretary called to say - "He has a Perfect Heart."  It may be larger than most given the kind of work he's done all his life, but there is Not One Thing wrong with this man's heart.
It took a lot of money and days and tests to state in one sentence what I could have told them, from my perspective.
Marvin's Heart is huge with a capacity for love and tenderness like I have never experienced. He is so easily touched and moved emotionally with stories of family and sacrifice.  It is also a complicated heart, bruised and wounded through years of living. X-rays and CT scans do not reveal scar-tissue and caloused areas built up to cover pain.  His mouth sometimes betrays his heart, but who among us has not had that happen? Marvin's big, tough-guy persona and old-time, long-held value system puts a different picture out in public, sometimes, but I am here to state unequivocally, if anything is wrong with his heart, it's that it is 2 SIZES TOO LARGE.
Other Health News:
I'm fine!  Exercising and losing some stress weight, I hope.  I am cooking healthy stuff, cutting down on Diet Coke, eliminating fat-filled goey chocolate desserts, catfish and hushpuppies, and planning to live for a very long time.
Another Hallelujah health report comes from my dear friend Anita Simmons. She had been incognito for a while, but called me 2 weeks ago.  I felt like a piece of MY heart had been found and reinserted, making it whole once again. She is doing well and had a negative breast biopsy from tests last Wednesday.
Prayer requests for Lorraine Griffin.  She is fighting cancer which was well-advanced when discovered.
Try to remember that DARK CHOCOLATE is MEDICINALLY RECOMMENDED.

CAUTION: "Your Phone May Be Smarter Than It Looks"

Yep, we have new phones.  Both of us have DROIDS, RAZR. 
We have OtterBox Cases; mine is Pink over a white phone. I have loaded pictures into the Gallery.... "SWOOSH!" and there they are. Voila'!
Ringtones from my former-fone were easy to move over. I love the size; it fits so nicely into my grasp. So much less likely to drop the thing when I have 5 things in my hands and easier to find in the bottom of my purse.  And, it has a car mount that fits into the air vent in the car.  Cool!
This phone may replace my desire to hold a map....I can just hold the phone! I could be even more dangerous.
The service is Verizon, so the reception up here will be much better, and nation-wide, too, as I have read. 
For the contact photos, I have selected the most beautiful and handsome for each of you.  So, if you are worried about the photo I have for you, best get one sent my way!  Hershey has a cute one for her contact (Vet, Grooming, etc. hahaha), and you should, too. No, she does not talk on the phone, but, could the voice activated mechanism translate doggie into southern?  
The phone calendar syncs to my Google Calendar and to my Google+ Account. I have no excuses!  This should be fun.
As Jana stated, local numbers will sit much better with the constituants, since Marvin is on the ballot for City Council.  Jana suggests I might be First Lady of Rector City Council - might be a stretch!    Marvin Gatewood for City Council, Pos#2
If I look in my rear view mirror, I will probably see this Pink Fone, trying to sneak up on me, looming larger than I might have imagined.

The Candidate, 2012

     Robert Redford starred in the 1972 movie, The Candidate, a great movie wherein an unknown political newbie emerges to win an election over the corrupt establishment.  I remember being so taken with both Robert Redford and the movie that when The Senator was playing out at the Mall of Memphis, nothing would do but that we attend!  Yes, the showing was a late show, but that did not garner any special attention.  Yes, we were among about 50 people standing in line to get in.  Yes, I did get "carded."  I know I am a young looking chick, but really.  Even in New Orleans at Pete Fountains at age 17, I did not get carded.  Hmmmm.  This is most unusual, I thought.
    The Senator was an X or XXX rated movie that showed me far more flesh than I could take in.  The movie scenes on the deck of a yacht had me covering my eyes.  "We've got to go!" I said, begging to leave.  "It'll get better," he said.  "Yeah, but what do you mean by better, that's what I want to know!"

        Today, 40 years later, I am married to The Candidate, my version of Robert Redford.  Marvin has filed for Position 2 in the West Ward of the City of Rector for City Council.  Election Day:  November 6, 2012.  That's exciting.  Does this mean that I need a new wardrobe since I am the wife of the candidate?  Is this a call for Extreme Shopping? Marvin said he thought it important to immediately start kissing babies.
              I told him that was OK, as long as they were wearing diapers!

Hero, General, King of South Carolina

August.  School.  Meeting to drop retrieve children. Flood of memories.
     David and his girlfriend Colby kept Hershey for a few days while Marvin and I had some out of town business to attend to.  So, today, I drove to McDonald’s in Marion, AR, to pick up Hershey.  When she saw her Mommy, she was all moving legs and tail: wiggle-wiggle-wiggle to get to me!  That is a treat - to have my baby want to come back home with me, because when I retrieved my sons from visiting their Nana and Poppy, they did not want to get into my car. Back to reality was no fun, whatsoever.

     One such extreme memory involves Richard.  When he was in Camden, he was Hero, General, and King of the World.  Who would want to leave that kingdom to come back to Memphis to begin the school year in 3^rd grade!  He was thrilled to see his Mommy, but when we started loading His Things into my car, he wanted to load My Things into Nana and Poppy’s car.  Why couldn’t Mommy just go with him and stay down there.  They don’t have school down in Camden!

     When we explained reality, it was not well received.  Richard tried to hide under the seats by scrunching as far down in the floorboard of the back seat as he could.  Then, he’d become a dead weight and I had to literally drag him out of their car.  I wanted so badly to crawl in there myself! As they drove away from the Dillard’s parking lot, both Richard and I were crying.

Now, Richard is Hero, General, and King of his own life and has moved to Charleston, SC, to finish up his schooling in Landscape/Turf Management, Tree Doctoring, and similar.  A great place to be with that field is South Carolina. There must be a million golf courses and a national tree company that has tons of business.  Plenty of opportunities for internships, etc. exist there.  Not to mention, it’s where Rhett Butler’s people are from and where Scarlett went to “get him back.”

Marvin and I did not get to Charleston when we were in Hilton Head in April, but it was an area we loved.  And, I think it’s a perfect fit for Richard.  His girlfriend Maurene is there, also.  And so is Lincoln, their hound dog puppy.

His schooling there starts August 20, and it’s what he wants, where he wants, and what he wants to do.  No one is pulling him out of the car to do anything else! 

Hot Chicks in Rector: Girl Weekend

             Are there any topics that Kelly and I left untouched in our brief visit Friday evening and Saturday, July 27-28, 2012?   Hmmmm.  Nope.  We covered them all.  Don’t get too nervous, girls, everyone was treated fairly: we did not overlook anyone or anything. You should have been here to join us! 

While we had terrific conversations when we both worked at BHS, we never had time to get it all talked about. We talked like men and “cut to the chase.” We’d be in one or the other’s office conducting business, gradually begin to share a few girl-talk moments, and the radio would page one of us or the phone would ring, and off we’d go. Regardless of the age difference, as in “my older son is your age,” we are friends and respect each other’s opinion and insight. 

Marvin said he did not realize how much more talking I could do with a girlfriend than I usually do each day.  Thanking Kelly for coming up, he joked that with every topic she and I talked about, that was one less he had to hear about!  (Ha, Ha!  He’s so funny.)  He was astonished that we rarely took a breath and had no silences.  Don’t worry about him, as he has been exposed to my life and times for 7 years now, and there is not much he has not heard. He knows all the major players and their stories. 

Saturday, after breakfast, we headed for the pool and he went off to do good deeds around town, spreading good will and cheer, 5 months ahead of Christmas.  I had bought Hershey a one-piece “swim suit” – actually a pink and brown life preserver, size XS, when I was at the Doggie Duds shop in Chattanooga.  She looked so cute in it, but regardless, frantically dog paddled at the side of the pool and wanted out.  Then, she was so upset, she tinkled on the pool deck.  Poor Hershey – sacrificing for fashion.  When Marvin came home for late lunch, he said he could hear us talking and laughing when he pulled into the driveway.  I’m actually not surprised, at all.

Kelly mentioned a road trip. So, what do ya’ll think about Charlene’s up near Dyersburg in Halls, TN? The experience at Christmas is one of a kind and Kelly has been there, really enjoying it.  More to the Colony now and updated (new and improved!). http://www.charlenes.net    Kelly mentioned doing a day over there during Fall Break.  Ya’ll check out your calenders!  “Life is always better with friends by your side. I’ll go if you’ll go….” 

Wouldn’t it be fun to enjoy a Charlene’s shopping and tea room experience and then, come on over to my place for a “bunking party!” The more the merrier. Check on it, girls! The pool will be closed, but everything else will be open for the business of Good Talk and Good Times.

Country Living: By the Side of the Road

CT Gordon/ Horne Home 1932

     The side of the road carries a fascination to me.  Richard was embarrassed, but he and I dragged home a blue “pleather” Queen Anne chair to provide extra seating for the Cordova den. It had a short shelf-life. A Peabody hotel key fob and other treasures are apt to be unearthed by adventuresome trash-pickers.  Though not a dumpster diver, I have found excitement in digging for buried treasure. As a disclaimer:  treasure does not include road-kill. One of our favorite programs is “American Pickers” on the History Channel.      
      Another treat often found on the side of the road is the Roadside Fruit and Vegetable Stand.  Growing up in south Arkansas, I experienced the delicious beauty of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables that my mother, my grandmother and her sisters brought home.  We often drove to the “meeting place” outside El Dorado, AR, on the road to Ruston, LA, to exchange produce between Camden and Ruston.  We often brought muscadine jelly and plum preserves, made in my grandmother’s kitchen at The Big House. These muscadines were picked from vines on the old Gordon homeplace in the Mt. Holly area of Union County.  Mamie (our long-time family cook), Mother, and Nana would make the jellies and preserves and put the delicious concoction into Ball jars, add paraffin to the top for sealing, then add the lids so they would form a seal to keep all the goodness in.

1932 Dec. Newspaper protects radiator.

I did not help, but would watch in fascination. After the day-long kitchen adventure, they’d store the multitude of jars in the cool room under the back staircase.  Some of the jars would be placed into a handled long basket for “Sookie.” We’d also take tomatoes and some beans and peas. Depending on the season, we might share some pecans that fell from a multitude of trees on the CT Gordon home site, the CG Horne Home location where I lived until 4th grade. 

Dec. 1955 Trip to Florida Sookie and Nana

      At the meeting place, Sookie would unload Ruston Peaches from the trunk of her car.  She’d usually have other goodies, cakes, etc. that her cook had made and even some Shipley’s donuts that were incredibly delicious when warmed up. I looked forward to these road trips.  We got to see Jack, Dot, and Sookie (my great aunt Susie Gordon Ritchie). This was also the place we’d meet if Mib (Nana) was going to spend a week with her sister in Ruston, or vice-versa.  These sisters were the best of friends.
     To continue the tradition, I always have my eyes open for good roadside fruit and vegetables.  One such place is Brinkley, Arkansas, behind the Exxon and the McDonald’s.  Going to or coming from Camden, I always stopped at Brinkley.  They have wonderful peaches, cantaloupe, tomatoes, and new potatoes.

      When my route to south Arkansas changed and I-40 was no longer heavily traveled, I had to find another place to get peaches and other fresh fruit and vegetables.  Living here in Rector, that quest is not a problem.  Here’s the scoop:  Campbell, MO for peaches.  Local farms and gardens have roadside stands for tomatoes (Warren Tomatoes!!) and cantaloupes.  Outside of town is a large garden to get green, yellow, and red peppers, tomatoes, and sweet corn. Our yard has 3 cherry trees but the apple tree is not doing well.  The grape arbor has lots of grapes, but I did not get into grape picking this summer. During the fall, Marvin’s mother’s yard is the site for gathering pecans. Nothing like fresh!  Nothing like “side of the road” or your own back yard.

 Marvin and I have sliced tomatoes with supper at least 4 times a week.  We love stuffed green peppers and pork chops smothered with colorful peppers and tomatoes make a delicious entree.   Peaches are the main fruit July – August in a large bowl of fruit salad (strawberries, bananas, grapes, and peaches).  We enjoy the fruit salad for dessert or served on cereal or oatmeal for breakfast. The fruit is also a great side for Mother’s Pound Cake. Don’t forget peach cobbler (all my men love this dessert) and homemade peach ice cream.

          I did not realize how significant are my fruit and vegetable experiences, such that they form memories that celebrate my family.  With every purchase at the side of the road, and with every meal I prepare with fresh produce, I salute Mother, Nana, and Sookie, and of course, Mamie!