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By Ruth Gadberry
This week already shows signs of being a hot, hot week. Yes, there is a possibility of showers but don’t get too excited about it. The chances are higher that the showers will bypass us completely. Well, just a possibility is encouraging. No, we aren’t nearly as dry as we have been in previous years but a good rain would be more than welcome. We have had more showers than we’ve had in a lot of years.
There was a bunch of people at church Sunday morning. It’s hard to estimate how many are there when they are so scattered out, both in the sanctuary and the gym. This social distancing thing seems to be working though.
Apparently there have been some exciting volleyball games following the worship services on Sunday. Ruth, though, is in that generation that prefers to go home for a quick lunch and a nap.
The ladies at First Baptist Church have resumed their meetings and will meet again on Sunday evening, August 23rd at the church.
So, how are things going now that schools are starting again? How are the teachers and the kids coping with the mask wearing thing? Wearing a mask all day, every day? That must be hard to do and a REAL CHALLENGE. Some places of business require masks for all employees as well as customers. At least customers can go outside and yank off their masks for a few breaths of fresh air. The employees are just stuck with the masks and, for many of them, plastic gloves as well. Don’t you know they are hoping for a speedy end to this Covid-l9 thing?
Back to the kids and their masks. You can imagine what a job it is to keep the masks on the kids. One mom reported that her child went to school wearing a Mickey Mouse mask and came home wearing a Road Runner mask. Trading masks with friends isn’t exactly what it’s all about.
Ruth is one of these people who, if given a choice, probably wouldn’t wear a mask. At least not everywhere and probably not at church. JC, however, thinks everyone should wear masks everywhere they go so she does wear one, even though she doesn’t consider it absolutely necessary. Beth and Ray are strong believers in masks as well. In one of Ray’s many softball trips last year he went to Japan. He reported that EVERYBODY wears masks ALL THE TIME they are out in public in Japan. Adults, children, even little bitty kids wear masks. He also reported that Japan is a very clean nation. There is no trash anywhere. Not in their streets, alleys, ANYWHERE. They also carry along plastic bags to pick up any trash they might see. No trash along the streets and roadways, vacant lots, etc. would be great, don’t you think?
We do need to be careful though and do whatever we can to protect ourselves, our families and whoever else we might come in contact with.
One family learned that the hard way. Over in Wardville, Gale Layton has the corona virus. Not only Gale but her Mom, Dad, Sister, Brother-in-law and Niece have the disease. Some of them are hospitalized while other suffer and recover at home. Your prayers for this family would be very comforting.
Kathy’s knee replacement surgery was a success and now for the hard part, the physical therapy part. She will make it and be up and going again real soon.
Each school teacher, administrator or whoever in the church was honored with a gift from the church Sunday morning. Teachers, and other school people, you are definitely appreciated!
Yes, Chris, Ruth tried the longhorn okra and you were right, it’s delicious! Pam, Ruth shared some of the fresh produce you brought with her daughters. They didn’t get the cantaloupe though, or the tomatoes but she shared cucumbers, squash and okra with them.
Daughter Jan brought a bucket of peaches Sunday afternoon. They weren’t the kind that you can easily peel so she just cooked them, peelings, seeds, and everything and now they are ready to make jelly. Well, you’d probably call it jam. No, don’t worry. The jelly/jam won’t have any seeds or peelings in it.
Another year, another wedding anniversary for JC and Ruth. Number 67, in case you are counting. Ah! August 9th, 1953 at 3:00 o’clock on a Sunday afternoon was the day it all began. JC came home from Army basic training and was ready to get married. Ruth, on the other hand, wasn’t all that sure about marriage. She expected marriage to be forever and, was she ready for that? She just wasn’t sure. She didn’t have much time to decide. JC was persuasive and she finally agreed, just in time to do the blood test thing and the marriage license thing, and visit with the preacher. Then, five days later, JC left for Fort Lewis, Washington and then, North to Alaska! She joined him there in November and they’ve been pretty close together for 67 years now. They said it wouldn’t last!
Did Ruth ever tell you about the time she visited the fortune teller? Several of the girls from the telephone office where she worked as a telephone operator; back in the ‘number, please’ days, decided it would be fun to go to the fortune teller. They must have been working split shifts or late shifts because they weren’t working that afternoon and it just seemed like the thing to do.
This was about a month or so after JC and Ruth were married and she thought she’d be smart and confuse the fortune teller. She removed her wedding ring and replaced it with another ring. Dummy. Of course that didn’t work. The fortune teller told Ruth that she was married and would have a very happy marriage but it would be very short. Well, that was nearly 67 years ago. How many years does it take to have a long marriage?
People do dumb things don’t they? Or stupid things, or… Like going to a fortune teller. God says ‘don’t do it’ but they went anyway. Wonder how things might have been if Ruth had really believed what the fortune teller told her, about her marriage being very short. Would she have worried every day about when her ‘short’ marriage might come to an end? Just another reminder about God’s mercy, grace, and forgiveness. Thank You, Lord, for mercy, grace, and forgiveness, even when we do dumb, stupid things!
Sunday was really a good day. Both and Ray, Jan and Kenneth came after church Sunday morning and even brought everything needed for lunch, including cake and ice cream. Roy and Kathy were missed but that was understandable; Kathy had knee replacement surgery last week. Remember? She wasn’t ready to be up and about just yet.
Some more of the Barfield Bunch might have been there but there was a birthday party taking place for Jarret. He chose their anniversary to make his first appearance. Eleven years ago, wasn’t it?
Anyway, they just sat around and visited Sunday afternoon. Kenneth had a nap. He sat down in the recliner to elevate his foot and went to sleep. His foot had somehow managed to get under the hoof of a big cow and the cow walked away, uninjured, while Kenneth had a very badly bruised foot.
Alas, alas! There are no guineas in the Guinea Inn! Beth and Ray brought them out last Monday evening and they were spry and lively. Tuesday they were doing great. Wednesday morning it rained and three of the smallest ones didn’t make it. There was a dry area where they could have gone but the little ones obviously didn’t find it. That was sad. The others were okay.
When JC and Ruth came home from Bible study Wednesday about sundown, there was one guinea running around and around the Guinea Inn, trying to find a way back inside. They opened the door and got the little fellow back inside.
Thursday morning when Ruth went out to feed them, there wasn’t even one guinea in the pen. They were all gone. Every one. She did find one little wing and that was all. JC thinks a possum or some such creature came into the pen, tunneling under the shelter part of the Guinea Inn. There was a big hole there and Ruth should have filled it in and put rocks in there to block it off or something. She didn’t. So, no more guineas. So, that means that she went out of the guinea business in a hurry. They didn’t make it but a couple of days. Her only hope would be to get already grown up guineas, rebuild the Guinea Inn; that sort of thing. But where do you get grown up guineas? If you could find some, how would you catch them? They prefer to roost in trees and if they don’t want to be caught, they won’t be caught. Anyway, JC doesn’t feel up to repairing the Guinea Inn and he doesn’t want to take care of them anyway. That was going to be Ruth’s job but that’s out now too.
In the meantime, Beth and Ray’s guineas are growing and seem quite happy in their fancy guinea house and pen. It’s a dandy pen and Ray thinks it’s safe from any intruder. Well, Ray, a snake could get in with no trouble but maybe the guineas are big enough that a snake won’t bother them. Anyway, raising guineas is a totally new experience for Beth and Ray and they seem to be enjoying the experience. The bigger guineas are already getting up on the roost and the little ones are trying to figure out how to get up there. They’ll make it in another few days. Then when they all get a little bigger they will let them out of the pen, one guinea at a time, so they will learn to come back to the pen at night. Well, until they discover how much more fun it will be to roost in the tree at night. They can eat all the grasshoppers, bugs, ticks and all those other annoying little creatures they can find.
This is the week Beth’s daughter, Dionna, and her family will be moving to Durant. Just in time for Jordan and Kaelin to start to school. That’s Kaelin RUTH in case you didn’t know it. A great-granddaughter for Ruth to share her name with! They all seem to be excited about the move, though Ruth is still in shock at Dionna leaving Texas. Hopefully both girls will enjoy Durant school and soon feel at home there.
Live the best you can today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow isn’t here yet.
