THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is here, so close that you can almost smell the turkey and dressing, and pumpkin and pecan pies cooking in the oven. It seems that this time of year really flies by and once Halloween comes it is just wham bam until Thanksgiving and Christmas have past and we are looking at a whole new year. It is really true what is said about time flying faster as you get older. It seems that I was just cooking Thanksgiving dinner and here it is time to do it again.

I think we all start thinking about the things that we are thankful for around this time of year. I am thankful for my family, friends and the fact that I have lived long enough to have raised my children and am now enjoying watching my grand kids grow. I am thankful that I am still able to work and have a job I enjoy and fellow workmates that make my job more interesting to go to each day. I am thankful that my children have picked wonderful mates that are dependable and hard working and devoted to their families. Most of all I am thankful for the fact that grew up in the time that I did.

I grew up in a time when we not only could but were expected to pray each day before class started and we were expected to say the pledge of allegiance with our hand over our heart and taught how to honor our faith and our flag. I grew up in a time when everyone assumed that God was a man and when we said "Our Father who art in Heaven", we new that we were talking to our heavenly Father. I grew up in a time when we celebrated Christmas and never heard anyone of any faith protesting the fact that a Nativity scene was set up on any one's lawn, or in front of a church or public building. I grew up in a time when we actually Christmas caroled in our neighborhood and was never confronted by any negative comments and when we put up our Christmas tree, it was not a Holiday tree, it went up a few days before Christmas and I still remember how excited we were when we finally screwed enough bulbs to make the whole string of lights come on at once. We should all have that excitement like we had when we were little.

I think we have all become so politically correct that we have forgotten how to just bask in the simple pleasure of the moment. We should trust each other enough to believe we are capable of tolerating our individual differences.

I am thankful for the memories of the past, which seem a little naive, even to myself now. It was nice thinking that our President and other politicians had our best interest in mind. It was nice thinking that a family consisted of a Dad, Mother and children. It was nice thinking that all children were loved and cared for. I am thankful that I grew up in a small town and was able to experience all the things I have written about above. I think if I was a child growing up now I would be a total misfit.

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Getting into the Holiday spirit

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

We elfed ourselves, then I lost us in a change I tried to make, but I think I have elfed us again. Lord I work so hard trying to figure out some of this stuff. Here I am missing most of Dancing With the Stars, but I think I got it. My George I think I finally got it.

VETERAN'S DAY

Thank you to all our troops serving at home and in foreign countries. Thanks to all the service men and women that have fought in years past. These people have insured the freedom's that we have today.

I am proud to say that I have two son-in-laws that are serving their country now. Both have served in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and many other places. My son served in the navy. My Dad and brother served in the Army and Army reserve. John's brother served in the navy and served in Vietnam. John's Grandfather fought in the trenches during WWI. My uncle was a prisoner of war in WWII and my friend's son is serving in Iraq at this time. They are and were doing a job that most of us could or would not do.

Thanks Again -

AUCTION ON SATURDAY

Wind mill that we will have to assemble

Lawn furniture we will need to repaint

A huge bird house

A globe

A cute little corner cabinet.

This has been the most beautiful weekend we have had in forever. The sun was bright, the sky was perfectly clear and the breeze kept it from being too cool or too hot. My only complaint was that I didn't take a hat or sun screen when we went to the auction on Saturday. So today I have a bright red neck ( that has nothing to do with the fact that I live in Alabama) and a red nose that makes me look sort of like a wino. We spent most of the day sitting out in this little pasture where the auction was being held. We were oblivious to the rays.

When we first got there I didn't think we would find anything worth hanging around for. But if you have ever been to an auction, it doesn't matter how much junk is there, you manage to find a treasure and suddenly your hand is shooting up in air waving wildly to the auctioneer. About an hour into the sale I started looking around for a Porto potty. There was none to be had and the house that was being sold had been unoccupied for a few years. So there was no facility and no relief in sight. After about another 15 minutes I broke down and found the lady that lived in the house next door, and yes, choked on my pride and ask it I could use her bathroom. She was very gracious and I thanked her to the point that I knew I was over doing it a bit. The rest of the day went much better.

We bought a corner cabinet that was probably made back in the 40's. We decided this because of the thickness and the width of the wood. I have it shoved in the corner in the kitchen, but will carry it to Keepers as soon as we get an empty spot. We got the wind mill that will need to be put back together. The blades still turn smoothly and I thought it was cute so up shot the hand.

Next was the bird cage that must be designed for a parrot or some other large bird. I certainly don't have room for it, so it will go to Keepers also, along with the globe. John did bid on something for us. It was a set of lawn furniture, a table with a thick glass top and four chairs . It is heavy as a lead pipe and we like never force all this stuff into the back of the van. We finally got it unloaded this afternoon. I know the neighbors must look out the window and say, "What the heck are they dragging home now".

Our kids just have to be patient with us. We don't smoke, we don't drink, we don't have any other hobbies. We just like to collect junk. We have the satisfaction of knowing that when we die, the kids will have to have an auction to get rid of all this stuff. It's pay back time children:)

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

This last week has been a very busy one for me and John. We have traveled thirteen hundred miles in a short span of time between last Thursday and this past Tuesday. We drove from here to Ft Bragg N.C then down to Myrtle Beach S.C, then back home. We are still driving the Dodge van which has close to if not 200 thousand miles on it. We debated on renting a vehicle, but decided to tempt fate one more time and take the van. Even though we have broken down on every trip, in every major city, on the busiest interstate highways in America we still chose to drive our own. I must say it is probably a good thing, because I don't know if we will ever be able to vacuum all the cookies and Cheeze-its out of the back seat. I don't think the car rental place would have taken kindly to the mess the kids made.

Sarah and Cody came in with the kids on Sunday evening around midnight and left out for Ft Bragg on Monday evening about the same time. They Luke and Charlotte with us for a couple of days while they went ahead and got the furniture settled in. We entertained the kids and they entertained us for the next couple of days. We left around 12:30 on Thursday morning so we could get into the trip while the kids slept. When we got on the other side of Augusta Ga. Charlotte needed a diaper change and I realized she was running a fever. After that stop it was drive a few miles, stop and do a diaper change, drive a few miles.....

We got into Ft Bragg around 2:30 that afternoon. The kids were glad to see mom and dad and their new house and check out their new rooms. We helped hang some curtains and pictures and piddled around putting things away. That night Luke wanted Maw maw to sleep with him. Sometime during the night he rolls over and said "Maw maw my tummy hurts". You guessed it he was running a fever and had an upset stomach. I am convinced if I make it through this episode without getting sick, I must be a pretty tough old bird:)

We had a nice visit and it is always good to have an idea where you children are living. We decided since we were so close we should drive down to Myrtle Beach and check on John's mom.

We got there about 5:00 went out to the K&W and had dinner. The next morning John and Rose went to church then we went to Friendly's and had breakfast. John and I went and had the tires rotated on the van and hit a few thrift stores. That night we went to a little Calabash restaurant and had seafood. ( Man I am still stuffed from all the eating we did.) We left Tuesday morning heading back to Alabama and arrived here at 6:30 Tuesday night. I had to be up at 4:45 this morning and to work by 6:00. I am kind of dragging my tail tonight.

I will back track just a bit now. John's mom is 86 years old and has been living on her own since John's dad died a number of years ago. I know it is hard to give up your independence and everyone wants to keep that sense of being in charge of your life. I do think there comes a time when you have to let your children take some of the responsibility for you. Let them worry about where you left your purse, or what you did with the house key. Let them drive you to church so you don't have to get their an hour early just to find a spot up close to the door. Take this time to enjoy your kids, grand kid and great grand kids some of whom you haven't seen in years or ever. Interacting with them will help keep your mind active and help unclutter the things that are there just to irritate. This may be the time to make those choices.

RAMBLING AGAIN

Red skies at night. Sailors delight

Sun rise, sun set, swiftly goes the days. I thought these were beautiful fall pictures

Do you ever get the feeling that you are fishing in a dry hole. Well that is how I have felt for the last week or so about posting something on my blog. I have come in here and sat down at the computer several times in the last few days but for the life of me no words would come out. That is a little unusual, because most of the time I can start off typing and suddenly I am rambling on about all kinds of nonsense. So I thought I would try one more time.

Mark had his 32 ND birthday on the 16Th of this month. Talking about time flying, it seems like just yesterday that he was riding up and down the hall on the vacuum cleaner, wearing Sondra's little floral house coat. He also use to dress up in tights, a cape and cowboy boots and pretend to be a super hero. He was always running through the house jumping off chairs, the couch and beds rescuing us from great danger. Thank goodness the Dukes of Hazard came along and rescued us from the super hero. He went through a stage where he was Bo and continued to be Bo until he was in probably the second or third grade. Luckily he figured out which one was Bo, because one day when we were at the drug store, Mark was about two or three, the cashier said to him, " Well you sure are a cute little boy. What is your name". He looked at her and said just as serious as could be, "Ennis". We had to point out the characters to him the next time he watched the show. Dear Lord, I didn't want anyone to think we had really named him "Ennis". We must have all known the theme song to that show as well as Waylon Jennings did.

Sarah and Cody and the kids will be moving east soon. We are waiting to get the final word on when they will leave for Ft. Bragg. I declare they are like a band of gypsies. We were trying to figure out how many times they have moved in the six years they have been married. First to Omaha, back to Alabama, back to Lincoln, back to Alabama, to Huntsville, to Killen, to North Platte and now to Ft Bragg. I think there were actually a couple of more moves but I just can't get my mind wrapped around it. I hope they can be settled for at least three years. If I had to even think about moving all our junk I would probably be over come by exhaustion just from contemplating it. Good thing they are young and adventuresome.

John Pearson's football games are over for the season. He has done really well and I am thankful he made it through without getting hurt. Hopefully he will take a growing spurt before they start practicing for next season. Emily has one more softball game. Most of the games have been rained out. Her game is supposed to be this Thursday and guess what? It is supposed to start raining again Thursday. Oh well.

I am still trying to avoid the flu. We have had lots of people out sick but so far I haven't taken it. Knock on wood. John is still hacking and coughing but has no fever anymore. Emily has been here at the house with John for the last two days. She has been running a low grade fever. Our manager has been off work for over a week, but came in today and had to leave because she was to sick to stay. ugh!! Hope she is not contagious. Oh well again!!!

The leaves are starting to turn slightly and by the time the week is over and a couple of light frost things will really start to burst out in a kaleidoscope of color. I hope this happens before Halloween. I still have happy memories of going out on Halloween night with friends, trick or treating, walking through the leaves that had fallen and the sound of the soft crunch the leaves would make under your feet. Sadly Halloween is almost a thing of the past here. I guess most people don't feel comfortable letting their kids get out and ramble around half the night. Most things have changed, for me too much. I wonder if the kids just got to wild or the parents became to cautious. We all need simpler times.

A MAWMAW'S WORK IS NEVER DONE

This has been another crazy week. I don't know if it is just me or if I have more hectic weeks now than in the past. I guess it just seems that way sometimes.



Work was a little more nuts last week because Denise's father-in-law died and she had to go to Georgia for most of the week. When she is not there, it means that usually Doris and I have to pick up any loose ends. Between doing our jobs and trying to handle Denise's job, we start feeling like we are chasing our tails.



Wednesday morning I got up and got ready for work as usual. I left the house at 5:15 and was riding down the road listening to the radio and singing along with Kenny Chesney to "I'm Alive" ( I guess that is the name of the song). I thought to myself, "man I really feel good today, this is going to be a great day". Well I drove on down the road about a mile and just like that, it hit me and I said to myself, "man I don't feel so good". I started breaking out in a cold sweat and my hands started to shake and I didn't know if I could drive much farther, but was afraid to pull over on the side of the road, because it was still dark and I was afraid I was going to faint. I managed to call John to tell him I was sick. He said he would come and pick me up, but I decided to try to make it on to work. I finally got to the UNA parking lot and got out of the car. One of my co-workers was getting out of the car when I got there. I ask her to help make sure I made it down the stairs OK. When I got to the office I sat down and checked my blood sugar. It had dropped to 48. I was given some orange juice and about 30 minutes later it started to level off. I finished up the work I needed to do then went home for the rest of the day. It is really scary when your sugar bottoms out like that.

I had a doctors appointment on Friday and she gave me a pill to take along with my insulin. I need to take more carbs out of my diet and exercise more. I guess I will add another mile to my walk each day. Oops! I forgot to walk today.

We went to David and Jackie Berrens' 50Th wedding anniversary celebration Saturday night. They renewed their wedding vows at 5:30 Mass and there was a dinner party following Mass. The gym was transformed into the most beautiful setting. Sheer white tulle with hundreds of tiny lights was draped from the ceiling and down the walls to form a huge tent. The dinner was delicious. The meal was beef roast, pork roast, green beans, mashed potatoes, gravy, squash casserole, salad and wedding cake. There was about 300 people attending so it was quite a production. There was a DJ there and we danced for a while after dinner. Lots of fun.

Johnny, Tracy and the kids came over for dinner. I cut Johnny, JP, Emily and John's hair after dinner. Tracy brought pants to be hemmed for the kids. Tomorrow is Columbus Day, so the kids will be here with John tomorrow and they both have ball games tomorrow night. Looks like the makings of another busy week.

GIRLS NIGHT OUT AT THE FAIR

We couldn't figure out how you get into the truck.

Emily riding the pony.

Big wheel keep on turning.

Having a good time.

Lawrenceburg fair

Livestock judging

Emily is a winner.

Heading out for the evening.

Yesterday was a beautiful Fall day. The temperature had dropped just enough that is made getting outside and spending the day just tulling around a pleasant treat. John has been sick this week so we have stayed pretty close to home, but yesterday he wanted to get out and get some fresh air. We drove up to HWY. 101 and stopped at a few yard sales. It was a route that went from Moulton to TN. and there must have been a yard sale every 100 feet. This was the first year that they had started this one, so looks like we will have to remember it next year.

Tracy, Emily and I headed up to Lawrenceburg TN. for the county fair. First off we had to make a stop at the Goodwill store. It was having a half off everything in the store sale, so we found us a few treasures and then stopped at the Dairy Queen for a chili dog combo (yummy). We decided to eat before we got to the fair. You know how tempted you are when you smell all that fair food. I don't know why you want to try everything the corn dogs, the funnel cake, candy apples, cotton candy. After we got their we opted for a popcorn for me and Tracy and a snow cone for Emily.

The fair never changes. There is always the sound of the hawkers wanting you to play the games and the sound of the merry-go-round and other rides. Before you get to the gate you hear the roar of the monster trucks or the motorcycles putting on the show in the grandstand. There is the sound of girls ( and sometimes the guys) squealing while riding the roller coaster and the Ring of Fire. You see people of all ages from elderly people to the tiny babies that look like they could only be few weeks old. There were literally hundreds of people there. A couple of times I looked back and the people were just elbow to elbow. I know one thing for sure, these fairs take in a boat load of money. At five dollars a person to get in, two to five dollars to play a game, three dollars or more for a ride not to mention all the food that is sold, somebody has to be making money. This may be something John and I need to look into to supplement our social security check:)

We enjoyed looking through the exhibits at all the homemade food and handcrafted items. We signed up for all the giveaways and will probably get a hundred telephone calls from everyone from Avon dealers to Home Depot home improvement specialist.

The only thing that I didn't see and don't know if they still have it or not is the hoochie coochie dancers. I remember when I was real little and we would go to the fair in Florence, that daddy would always make a bee line to the dancers tent. We would stand out front and watch the girls gyrate around while the announcer would talk about the exotic show that would be performed inside. Then when they actually started selling tickets, we would go play some games or ride some rides. I don't think I ever remember daddy actually going to one of the shows. Maybe he was afraid mother would beat the crap out of him if he spent money on a girlie show.

I guess that the fair is one thing you can count on stay the same.

TIME AND SPARE PARTS

Where has the summer gone. It is already the first week of the Fall season and I feel like I have been caught up in a whirlwind. The time has literally flown this year. Do you ever get the feeling that individual days sometimes drag to the point that you feel like you are in slow motion and then before you know what hit you, it is the end of the week and you say to yourself now how in the world did that happen?



Time has a way of playing tricks on us. When we are doing something, like work, it kicks us, punches us and just outright annoys us. It puts us through the ringer and spits us out the other side. Time can dawdle around like Prissy in Gone with the Wind.



When we are doing things that we enjoy and want to make the most of the short time available to us, time rushes past us. It leaves us standing there looking dumb struck, as it looks back at us and laughs. Then shoots us a bird as it speeds off into the past. So one way or the other we are trying to hurry time up or slow it down. One thing is for sure "Time waits for no man", it moves at its on pace and we are not in control.



So much for my yammering about time. I really am just thankful for the time I have now, have had in the past and hope to have in the future.



As I grow older, it never ceases to amaze me at the things that can go wrong with this container that we call our body. The other night John and I were sitting in the living room watching TV. I was in one recliner with myself hooked up to a portable electrode device that was sending electric waves into my shoulder and back. John was in the other recliner cleaning his hearing aids. ( Yes John finally had something fall apart). I thought he just had selective hearing , but apparently he has moderate hearing loss. So if you ask us what we have on our night stand, it will be all our spare parts. Glasses, contact lens, hearing aids, electrode device, glucose tester and a glass of water in case one of us has to take an anti acid during the night. Oh the joys of aging.



I can remember when I was a very young child of going to my Grandparent's house. My Grand daddy had lost an eye when he was a young man. When he didn't have his eye in, he would have it sitting in a glass of water by his night stand. My Grand Mother kept her teeth in another glass on the night stand. I would go into the bedroom and kneel down next to the night stand with my chin propped on the edge of the stand and stare at the eye. Now I was not to impressed with the teeth because I knew people lost teeth when they were little and they grew back. I just figured that is how old people's teeth came back. But the eye was a different story. I had never seen anyone keep their eye in a glass. As I would stare at the eye I would wonder if it could see me and in that case could Grand Daddy see me through that eye even though he was sitting the living room. ( You have to remember I was just a little kid. Not stupid.) I guess these were some of the things they kept on their night stand.



I call all these things our spare parts. I just hope things level off soon or we may have to get a bigger night stand.

BUSY, BUSY, BUSY WEEK.

Emily getting all grown up.

Andrew, Matthew and Aaron.

Motley crew

Sondra and Daniel.

Johnny and Daniel

Look how big I am

Sondra and best friend Tracy

Long time friends of the family.

4:30 A.M. Sondra and the kids heading for the airport.

Family picture after church on Sunday.

This has been a very busy week. A lot of company coming in and out to visit Sondra and the kids. Sondra, David and Daniel got in about 12:00 P.M Wednesday night. By the time we got home it was about 1:30 and I had to be up at 4:45 to get ready for work. I was a little draggy the next day to say the least.

Since the weather has been so nasty, we stayed pretty close to the house on Thursday and Friday, but on Saturday, Sondra and Tracy spent the afternoon getting manicured and pedicured for the big twenty year reunion at the Marriott later that evening. Charlie and Jen came by to see Daniel and David. Everyone was all excited to be seeing old friends.

Monica, Tim and the boys came in from Memphis and Mark came in from South Haven. We had a lot of activity going on but I guess that is always the case with a large family. After church on Sunday Donnie Rohling offered to take a family picture for us. I wish we could have all been here. It is so hard to get the whole family together. We are shooting for New Year's Eve. Hopefully everyone can make it in then.

We all went out to eat Chinese food after church. Then everyone headed out in different directions. Mark back to South Haven. Johnny and Tracy had to take JP to ball practice and Emily to a skating party. Monica and Tim left a little bit later in the afternoon after squeezing in the tiniest bit of a nap.

Before we knew it the visit was over and Sondra and the kids were ready to head home. It is hard when families are so spread out over the country. It is almost impossible to see everyone at once but we are grateful for the times we do have with our kids and grand kids.

And by the way it is still raining almost every day. We did get an insurance adjuster out to look at the water damage. He said we had a lot of wind damage on the roof. I guess most of it happened when we were out in Colorado and then a wind storm shortly after we got back. I guess if it had not have come these torrential rains in the past week, we would not have realized anything was wrong until next spring. Thank God for insurance. I wonder if that is something they are going to make universal. Well that is another story, can't get into that right now.

RAIN,RAIN AND MORE RAIN.

Leak in the ceiling and yes that is a dust bunnie clinging to the corner.

In the bed room.

Our back yard.

Front side yard.

Back yard.

Between our house and the neighbors.

Between us and the neighbors.

This has been the rainiest week we have had in I don't know when. Although the whole summer has been rather wet, Mother Nature has really out done herself this week. I think we have had about six inches of rain and the weather people are predicting another six inches in the next three days.

We have lived here in our house for forty years come Janurary. We have never had a ceiling leak in all this time, but Thursday afternoon when I came in from work, there was this big water circle in our bedroom ceiling. There was a smaller spot in the corner and another in the bathroom. This really makes you feel sick. So the insurance people are coming out the first of the week to estimate the damage. Hope we can get some kind of ajustment from them. I'm sure we are looking at a new roof and I hope not to much damage to the ceiling. We will just have to wait and see.

John made pictures of the water around our yard. This was the most we had ever seen. Our house is sitting on a little rise in the subdivision and we were starting to look like an island. We have always wanted a piece of water front property and for a short while we had it.

Stuff like this always happens when you are having company. Sondra, David and Daniel got in on Thursday night. Mark is coming in this morning and Monica, Tim and the boys are coming in this evening. I hope the tarp that John put on top of the house holds or we may have a ceiling cave in on us.

Every since I looked and saw the damage to the ceiling , I have been thinking of this song that I use to listen to when I was a kid. I think Rosemary Clooney sung it in the fifties.

THIS OLD HOUSE

This ole house once knew his children

This ole house once knew his wife

This ole house was home and comfort

As they fought the storms of life

This old house once rang with laughter

This old house heard many shouts

Now he trembles in the darkness

When the lightnin' walks about

CHORUS:Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer

Ain't a-gonna need this house no more

Ain't got time to fix the shingles

Ain't got time to fix the floor

Ain't got time to oil the hinges

Nor to mend the windowpane

Ain't a-gonna need this house no longer

He's a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

This ole house is a-gettin' shaky

This ole house is a-gettin' old

This ole house lets in the rain

This ole house lets in the cold

On his knees I'm gettin' chilly

But he feel no fear nor pain'

Cause he see an angel peekin

'Through a broken windowpane

CHORUS

This ole house is afraid of thunder

This ole house is afraid of storms

This ole house just groans and trembles

When the night wind flings its arms

This ole house is gettin' feeble

This old house is needin' paint

Just like him it's tuckered out

But he's a-gettin' ready to meet the saints

CHORUS

This ole house dog lies a-sleepin

'He don't know I'm gonna leave

Else he'd wake up by the fireplace

And he'd sit there and howl and grieve

But my huntin' days are over

Ain't gonna hunt the coon no more

Gabriel done brought in my chariot

When the wind blew down the door

CHORUS

WORK, COMPUTERS, WD-40 AND ICY HOT

Here we are at another Friday evening. I am truly beat today. This has been a long week to be such a short work week. We were closed Monday for Labor Day, so I like most everyone else had a three day weekend. I don't know if I try to shove too much into the time I'm off or if I'm just getting old. I'm sure my kids would agree that it is the latter. I just hope I'm around when they get to be my age so I can see how spry they are. Of course if I'm around when my youngest is my age now, I will be 98 years old. As my father-in-law use to say, "The closer it gets, the younger it looks". Oh well I'm still beat after this work week.

We have this new system at work that we are trying to learn. I, as you know am not a computer whiz, so all these changes come really hard for me. It took me quite awhile to get comfortable with the old system, but after I did, all the ordering and inventory and keeping up with everything became second nature. Today I had to put my order in twice because somewhere in the process I lost the first one. I guess it floating somewhere in cyberspace.

Denise, Suzanne and myself have hunted and pecked to figure out what we are supposed to do. The guys at the other unit were more lost than we were, so we have to pretend that we know more than we do. I guess this is the ideal "Fake it til you make it" situation.

I guess John and I will go to an auction tomorrow. The last couple we have gone to were very unimpressive. We need to find an auction with some really good stuff. Some really inexpensive good stuff:). Sarah bought us a plaque that reads, "We buy junk and sell antiques". You know, this is not an untrue statement. People get rid of things that other people are willing to pay for. We are kind of like the middle man. We try to find the things that people are getting rid of and place these things with people who don't have the time or the inclination to go out and find them for themselves and we have fun doing this.
I guess that makes everyone happy.

Now back to the fact that I'm beat. I have had to do a lot of lifting at work this week and my frozen shoulder that has not completely healed has really bothered me for the last few days. My question is, "Has anyone every used WD-40 on hurting joints"?http://www.wd40.com/ I know that my dad used it for awhile when he had something wrong with his back, but I can't remember if he said it worked or not. Well I had John rub some on by shoulder a little while ago. I guess I'll see for myself if it does any good. I just hope I don't get asphyxiated from the fumes during the night. I'll let you know if it is the miracle cure I'm looking for. If it is I will head to the patent office.

By the way that is one of my biggest regrets. I used Icy Hot for years to cure a sick headache. (migraine) I told everyone I knew, that said they had a headache, to rub a little on their temples, forehead and the back of their neck and the headache would go away. Well guess what came on the market awhile back. "Head On".http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HeadOn I should have headed to the patent office sooner. As always "I'm a day late and a dollar short". The story of my life.

Everyone have a great week end.

CELEBRATING BIRTHDAY'S AND FRIENDSHIIP

This labor day weekend was a nonstop three day marathon. It was filled with celebrating birthday's, meeting new friends and appreciating old friends.

I got off work about 2:00 on Friday. I knew that Mark was coming home and bringing a new girlfriend with him. I wasn't sure what time they would be arriving, but wanted to make sure that I had dinner fixed for them when they got here. As it turned out they arrived around 9:00 pm. I know it is hard for a person you are meeting for the first time to come in and immediately sit down for a meal, but that is what we did. Paige proved to be a trooper and did not seem intimidated by the situation. Afterward we sat around and talked for a couple of hours then I had to go to bed. I had been up since 4:45 that morning so I was worn out.

Saturday was filled with working on our booth, watching parts of football games and working around the house. Sunday we all met at church and then had lunch at the Chinese Restaurant. I had to squeeze in a short nap in the afternoon.

On Sunday evening we went out to Freeman's lake house for a birthday dinner for Sandra. It was just a small group with Sandra, Charles, Suzanne and her husband and three kids, John and I, Mark and Paige, Johnny, Tracy, John Pearson and Emily and two other couples that are friends of Sandra and Charles.

The meal was great. Suzanne had made a Broccoli casserole, potato casserole, salad and Todd had smoked some really great chicken. I had made a chicken stew and carried it. We had plenty to eat and we ate plenty. Including a wonderful orange pineapple cake also made by Suzanne and watermelon.

The thing that I would really like to post about is the friendship that our two families have shared over the last 60 years. Sandra and I first met when her mom and dad moved into our small town when I was four years old and she was two. Our families would get together and make homemade ice cream on lots of Saturday nights. The kids would take turns sitting on the old wooden hand cranked ice cream freezer. Our Dad's would take turns turning the crank. They would turn until the handle just wouldn't turn anymore. Then they would wrap towels around the freezer and let the ice cream sit for a few minutes so it would get harder. In the mean time all of us kids would be standing with our bowls in our hands trying to rush the process. I can still remember how you would get the brain freeze after eating the first couple of bites too fast.

Sandra and I had always gone to the same church and was involved in church activities together. I was close friends with her sister who was my age and we graduated the same year. As I have said in and earlier post, we both met a couple of Catholic boys. She met Charles in high school and I met John at Kmart. Charles was a barber and John would go down to the shop and get his hair cut. John and Charles hit it off really well and the four of us started hanging out. Sandra and Charles got married in Nov. and John and I got married in Jan.

For a number of years we would go to both the Methodist Church and the Catholic Church on Sunday morning. We would go to early mass, leave church stop at the quick mart and get a pack of Cameo cookies and a carton of milk and eat these while driving from Florence back out to Killen to the Methodist Church. ( Sandra and I say this is where we went wrong. We ate too many Cameo cookies:(.

We spent many a evenings playing cards and making dinners for each other. We took picnics and hit every park and roadside area that we could find. We didn't have much money for going out so we made our own entertainment. We always had fun just enjoying each others company.

As we started having our own families we continued to do things together. We took a number of vacation to Gulf Shores and to Myrtle Beach. Our kids have always been friends so it has been easy to continue our friendship. It has been like a huge family.

We were laughing at some of the crazy things we had done over the years. Back in the 70's people claimed to have sighted UFO's up at the Lexington dump. One night Sandra, Charles and their three kids pulled up in front of the house and honked the horn. John was working late that night, so when they asked if me and the kids wanted to ride up to the dump with them, I said sure. I got my four (at the time) and we loaded into their car. Now that was nine people in one car. Oh I forgot to mention they were driving a little Vega. That was before you had to have a seat belt for everyone in the car. We were packed in like sardines.

Then there was the time that we were going to Myrtle Beach. John, Charles and three of the kids had to go to a band competition in Birmingham. Sandra and I with the other five kids went in our car. We were planing on stopping in Atlanta and staying over night, but as usual we got a late start and didn't get going until about 9:00. it is a five hour drive from here to Atlanta. We made it into Atlanta around 2:00, but I decided we should drive to the other side of Atlanta so we could miss the morning traffic. We got to the far side of Atlanta when the alternator went out on the car and their we sat. There were no lights on the side of the road, no traffic to speak of and just a massive wooded area off the side of the road. I was scared to death.

John had made me carry his 357 Magnum pistol with us, but I didn't have a clue how to use it. Sandra had a great big old purse with her so she told me to give her the gun and she put the gun inside. I guess her dad had taught them how to shoot. She and I got out of the car and made Johnny lock the door behind us. We got the hood up and I was looking under the hood while she held the gun . Out of nowhere up drove a State Trooper. I whispered to Sandra, "Put that D*** gun up before me and you both get arrested".
He ask if he could help and we ask if he could take us to the nearest place open. He said he would take us up to the La Quinta Inn that we could see down the road. When me and Sandra and then the five kids piled out car he looked a little surprised and told us he didn't think he could get us all in the car. After a little shifting around we were able to get into the police car. He dropped us off at the Inn and just as we drove up the No Vacancy sign came on. There happened to be a Waffle House open next to the Inn and we spent the night sitting there with a drunk man hitting on the waitresses and throwing money all over the place. The next morning we had a tow truck tow the car and had a new alternator put on. Finally we were on our way. It took us over twenty four hours to make the trip. When we got to Myrtle Beach, the house that we had rented had been sold and we were without a place to stay. We got to the real estate office and Sandra went in. I'm not sure what she told them but when she came out she had the keys to two condos. The vacation turned out to be one of the last vacations that we took together to Myrtle Beach. But it sure is one we will never forget.

One more tale and then I really need to head off to bed. One day Sandra and I went down to East Florence to a little variety-floral store. We we looking around and I noticed this floral arrangement. It had a little plastic telephone with the words "God called" written on it. I picked up the receiver and said "Hello, just a minute. Sandra I think it's for you". Well Sandra and I got to laughing so hard that we had to leave the store. We walked down the street to another similar store. The lady that ran the store said."Well you girls are sure having a good time. What's so funny". I told her we just saw the funniest thing and described the floral arrangement. She looked at me without cracking the slightest smile and said "Well that's my best seller". I looked at Sandra and she looked at me and we both burst out laughing again and headed for the door. I don't think I every went back to either store again.

My mother celebrated her 89th birthday on Sept. 2nd. She was born on Labor Day in 1920.