2 Sons, 2 Days, Much 2 B Thankful For

     The trip to see Rich in Chattanooga, with David driving, was super, especially in comparison to how the trip began, with me leaving Rector before 7AM, driving to Memphis to have breakfast with David and his girlfriend, Colby. 
     You see, the Michelin Man, wearing a dark navy traffic control uniform and sitting in an all black, unmarked police cruiser, chased me down at 42MPH to give me a speeding ticket in Lepanto, Arkansas.  You've heard of Lepanto:  setting of John Grisham's The Painted House.  I knew I was going to get a ticket when "Fat Bastard" flicked a droplet of sweat from his nose as he slowly waddled to my vehicle.  It was well before 8AM, so if he had already exerted that much energy, I was going to get a ticket.  And I did.
   But, that is not indicative of the 2 days I spent with David and Richard in Chattanooga.

Meeting Colby was a treat.  She is a precious girl and quite cute.  Very much David's style:  long brown hair and great smile and personality.  Very prettygirl.

The affirmation I wish to share with you is this:
 My 2 Sons have grown up well.  For every positive vibe any of you gave as they grew, I sincerely thank you.
  ALL Moms should have this opportunity and live the rest of their days affirmed that they raised good guys who tip their white hats to ladies.  Both sons have grown into the men I could only have dreamed of, with God's help, and with all the good influences from friends and relatives that they have had, including my mother and daddy.

Rich is a most wonderful success story. Not that I did not think he had it in him.  I did. He does.  It's just so dramatic with Rich.  The short version is that he has been accepted into school at Charleston, SC.  He and his girlfriend, with her parents blessing and mine, are going to school there.  Rich is finishing up his schooling by earning an associates degree in horticulture and tree management and turf maintenance, including golf course specialty.  The work he did with the tree people in Bartlett trained him to climb and work specifically with residential tree services and his job in Chattanooga has been with a golf course. He has a job with a national affiliated tree specialty company in Charleston.

   He has an apartment, has his school grant, has classes lined out, has arranged for everything. 

I invite you to Google "Charleston, SC."  I have learned a lot.  Also, Google "Ocean Isle, NC" about 2 hours north.  Gosh.  I am almost jealous.
     Both Rich and David told me that they loved their childhoods and have appreciated having me love them and nurture them and support them. Even when I was all "up in their business." They both said, in their own ways, they were especially grateful that I have recognized that it is now time to let them fly. (I will say that Marvin has cued me in that it was time.) If we give them wings, they will fly.  That's what we raise them to do, and then they do it.
   When the military thing did not work out for Rich (hearing loss), he was so disappointed, because the school at UT Chattanooga was just going no where. Here's the scoop on that:  the UTC folks have admitted so many students that they can not move everyone along in their major fast enough, fulfilling all the requirements so students can graduate in a timely fashion.  Rich was looking at at least 1full year and another semester, trying to get all the course work when the school would not hire additional faculty to fill the need for the courses.  Rich says that every room at UTC Place now has BUNKBEDS!  That's how croweded the school now is.  Rich had enough.  He was wasting his time.

   His girlfriend, Maurene, is going to finish her course work at College of Charleston.  She is a dynamo and she and Rich are making a good team.  They have a blue-tick hound, a "smokey dog" - named Lincoln.  He's a very cool 4 mo. old dawg who is also going to Charleston.
I am so proud to have witnessed Rich in this proactive role as a young man in charge of his life.

David has learned to drive since I last spent a weekend with him in a car. He has also learned not to fuss with me. We actually had nothing at all, whatsoever, to fuss about.  Miracles do happen.

He is doing well and is happy, actually considering grad school in Sports Management and Marketing, and considering getting back into that field in the near future.  He has finished all his coursework for the Sports Management and coursework for teaching with this past semester at U of M.  Colby is finishing at U of M in fashion design and home interior design.  She has internships already lined up. 
My young men and their girlfriends are the berries.
So, for me, today, I am all smiles and All is right with the world.
AND, David has just about convinced me to join Facebook!

Wedding of the Century in Rector, AR

     A marvelously designed celebration for a daughter and a welcome to her husband took center stage in Rector on Saturday evening, July 21, 2012, beginning with a 20 minute exchange of vows at the First Baptist Church.  The couple departed in a coupe from the "waaaay distant past."

    The understated color scheme of taupe satin with black accent with white florals set the formal tone for the wedding of Jessica Hill to Michael Graham.  Jessica's dad is the local pharmacist and former mayor of Maumelle, Arkansas.

    Across "Gatewood-Crockett Pond" on a hill soon to be the construction site for the bride's parents' (Keith and Jan) new home, was erected an enormous Party Tent with manicured, lush green sod under foot.   This 'happening event,' cooled, lighted, decorated, and catered, began just before 7PM and concluded at 10PM sharp.

 A new focal point in wedding trappings was kept busy:  the photo booth.  A throw-back to carnival photography "friends and lovers" booths, this one processed 2 copies of 4 separate poses.  One set was pasted into a photo album for the bride and groom.  Always popular, both a punch fountain and a chocolate fountain dominated center segment of the dessert table.  The bride's cake was traditional but the groom's cake was red velvet shaped as an IPad, complete with about 12 APPS, completely edible.  A cold food table graced the south end of the tent along with an open wine bar. 

Shannon Freeman, a lively and entertaining star of the Rock 'n Roll shows, served as DJ and the band played mid-range music for dancing.  During breaks, CD tunes for group dances reminded me of Proms I had supervised.  What a trip!

   This exceptional party will probably never be equalled in Rector!


That's hubby and me all dressed up for the event. 
You can see more Photos and read my Wedding Favorites expose' on the Pages Section to the right.

A SPUDNUT Encounter - My First

Oh, Spudnuts!
        I grew up in south Arkansas, about 25 miles north of the Spudnut Capital of the Universe:  El Dorado, Arkansas.  Ok, so not the universe.  But, what was once a national franchise is now saved for 38 stores, ranging in location from Washington and California on the West Coast to Virginia and the Carolinas on the East Coast.  Along the way, in 1948, and currently in 2012, Arkansas fell into the mix.  Never had I encountered a “spudnut.”  That’s right – never.  While I have been to El Dorado so very many times, I was oblivious to the Spudnut phenomenon. 
          On 4^th of July, my sparklers often “Spudder(sic).”  And I have searched until I found a “Spud(sic)-muffin!”  I even share the observation with Sarah Palin that Spudnuts could fit in with a conversation about Sputnick. She said we needed a Spudnut Moment not a Sputnick Moment.  “We need free market ingenuity of ordinary American entrepreneurs, both great and small -- whether they make high-tech gadgets or potato donuts," Palin wrote. We need American Ingenuity and hard work.  We need “SPUDNUTS!”
         "Spudnuts are hilarious until you eat one, and it shuts you up real quick."  
          Spudnuts are different from doughnuts. For one thing they're made from potato flour and for another, they just plain taste better. They are lighter and not as greasy as a doughnut (donut). Shop owners state, “spudnuts are habit forming. Eating just one could turn you into a regular customer and one of our life-long friends. If you're not careful you could find yourself coming in to the shoppe on a daily basis to chat with friends or just to relax with a cup of coffee, a spudnut and a newspaper.”
         “It is hard to think of El Dorado, AR, without thinking of Spudnuts,”says one patron.  Personally, I think about oil wells when I think of El Dorado, but to each his own.

            This place (Spudnut Shoppe) is an El Dorado icon whose history goes back to the 1940's when its founder brought the POTATO style donut, also known as the "Spudnut," back home from California where he was stationed in the Navy during the war.
            After hearing that my cousin was looking forward to a trip to El Dorado to get some “Spudnuts,” Marvin and I had to experience what the the unique culinary hubub was all about.  So, before we drove back to Hot Springs from Camden, we drove 25 minutes south to El Dorado and pulled right up to the Spudnut Shoppe.  There we stood in line and bought a dozen “spudnuts” which we ultimately shared with Pam. 
          It was definitely worth the drive and constitutes yet another culinary adventure in Arkansas, this time in South Arkansas.

Community Salutes Our Military, Past and Present

      One of the most wonderful aspects of a small town that boasts a "throw-back" value system is the citizen's pride and gratitude to the US Military.  Being home of a very active Army Reserve Unit which has experienced at least 4 deployments into Iraq and Afghanistan, the town does not ever want any military or service personnel to feel unappreciated.
     Today, Rector First Baptist Church celebrated Independence Day and orchestrated a salute to the US Military.  Slide shows, videos, uniformed officers and enlisted men along with songs honoring our country were a part of the service.  The sermon was entitled, "Pledging Allegiance."

     Marvin's years in the US Navy during the years 1965 - 1969 were recognized along with the service of all service men and women in attendance today.
     I got in line to shake their hands, and as a bonus, I got to hug a handsome man who used to be in uniform.

Oreo - Milk's favorite cookie: "The finest of suppers, I think"

Some questions beg to be answered.  Questions such as, “If a man speaks in the woods and there is no one there to hear him, is he still wrong?” 

Questions that still surface among children and adults include, “If a white cow gives white milk, does a brown cow give chocolate milk?” Well, Duh!

Now, living in a rural farm community, I have some crazy experiences that just bring more questions which beg for answers. “If a white cow gives white milk, and a brown cow gives chocolate milk, what does an ‘OREO COW’ give?  Give me a break!

 While this question also begs “what is an Oreo cow, and have you ever seen one,” I will go ahead and answer thusly: an Oreo Cow gives both milk and cookies. 

I saw my first Oreo Cow on June 20, in a pasture on Hwy 90, just outside Rector.  Marvin pointed her out to me, as I would have missed the rarity, that was grazing peacefully with a few other heifers.  These cows, called “bandies” by cowboys and cowgirls, are rare and according to what I have read, they are raised for slaughter, providing meat for very tasty steaks and hamburgers. Not for me, not from an Oreo Cow! I am reminded of a poem from Childcraft days: milk and an oreo cookie will substitute for “the finest of suppers, I think.”          

 “Animal crackers and cocoa to drink make the finest of suppers, I think.”

"I'm CRAZY for loving you!"

One of our favorite singers is Patsy Cline.  Tragically killed at age 30 in a plane crash 70 miles from home in Nashville, Tennessee, Patsy was one of the best "torch" singers of anyone's time.  Whether belting out heart-break tunes such as "I Fall to Pieces" or "Faded Love" or entertaining with toe-tappers such as "Bill Bailey," she was a favorite performer whose career was meteoric. If anyone has ever experienced heart break or had a love go wrong, that person can fully identify with Patsy's hit, "Leavin' On Your Mind."  While neither of us have anything to shed a tear over today, we remember when it was not that way.  Hearing that powerful voice, live, on stage from a vocalist with the experience to sing lyrics that can rip your heart out, you'd think Patsy had taken up residence through channeling.
The Imperial Dinner Theatre in Pocahontas (almost due west of Rector, about an hour away) presented 3 performances in their Spotlight Series with Vicki Bishop singing the hits of Patsy Cline.  Along with the performance, in which Vicki sang 23 Patsy Cline hits with one intermission, the theatre offered a choice of desserts and coffees.  Marvin had banana pudding and I enjoyed a light caramel-apple french vanilla cake.  We both passed up Snickers Cake, a dark chocolate cake filled with rich caramel, chocolate, and nuts. Hostesses and servers kept coffee and tea filled at the private tables, appointed with place settings for the number in the party.  The room was set for about 100 patrons at each performance. While there, we met a couple who had lived in west Tennessee and then Kansas City, MO.  They had retired in Cherokee Village and had attended several shows at The Imperial.
     It was a great Date Night, which we kicked off with a good steak dinner at Don's Steakhouse, also in Pocahontas.
 

Happy Hour in Rector, AR

It's 4:00 somewhere!  Most likely, it's 4 o'clock in Rector, AR, and it's a very Happy Hour!  Cousin Pam and I have taken to having a mixed drink as a treat on some really warm days before or after shopping.  Sometimes she treats, and sometimes, it's on me.  I was quite worried as she has been on the wagon for most of her life.  When I told her not to worry, that I was driving, she wasn't completely grateful. Bossy Bertha ususally has to recalculate if I am behind the wheel!

Today, we noted the time and went to a local Happy Hour!  She got a Lemon Crush and I got 2 Strawberry Limeades, one for Marvin.  Our favorite spot:  The Sonic!  That special mixed drink with over 300,000 combinations is "the berries!"
Another take on Happy Hour is to celebrate the things that make you happy, or make you smile.

My most recent smiles have been the result of my niece's visit this past weekend.  Dawn Stewart, Pam, and I had a great weekend talking and sharing family lore plus finding a way to go shopping. We invited Marvin to join us for a wicked game of Mexican Dominoes, especially since he designed and crafted trays for our dominoes from wood he had in the shop.  He slaughtered us on most of the games.
Looking forward to some really great crock pot recipes that Dawn shared with me.  They sound delicious and will be super because I love the idea of staying outside most of the day, tending plants, fish, and enjoying the pool, and then coming in and "Voila'" supper is ready! 
Another smile is that I've been retired for 6 months now. Can't even believe that it's been that length of time. I am so at ease in this place and with this status: Retired!
I talked with Ken Demetriou, new BHS Principal, this afternoon.  He sounds so good, confident, and I was gratified to learn that Bartlett is headed in such a positive direction with SCS teachers, requesting transfers, desiring Bartlett HS as home. Their reasons could be getting in on the ground floor, if the City of Bartlett forms a municipal school system.  Whatever the reason, I am thrilled at the prospect of our new teachers and am so happy that Ken is feeling positive about the school and the future.
I wish for you MANY HAPPY HOURS!  and that you realize how happy your hours are.