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By Ruth Gadberry
November is headed for the finish line and we are having beautiful weather. A little bit of rain last week but not enough to brag about. Several people reported somewhere around ¼ inch of rain in their rain gauges. Yes, it was appreciated.
No church news again. Sunday was another stay at home day, in honor of the Covid-19 thing. If you are still packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, well, just hang onto them until next year. They’ve all been gathered up and taken to the next stop on their way around the world. A big Thank You to everyone who had a part in packing the boxes or in paying for sending them to their destination.
This week is supposed to bring us about three cold fronts. Obviously they won’t last very long if we are going to have three of them. Yes, maybe some rain Tuesday, and even stormy weather. Maybe later in the week, along about Friday, we might get some more rain. That’s okay. Great, in fact.
Thanksgiving Day? Well, the weather people seem to think it will be a beautiful day with temperatures up in the 70’s. Wonderful! If that’s the way it goes, that is. Thanksgiving, when the kids can play outside is super great.
The Gadberry gang get together will be at the home of Kenneth and Jan Barfield, near Bennington. It’s an ideal place to meet. They have a huge patio area with walls on two sides. Tables, chairs, porch swing, games; everything you could want. The kids can play out there even if it happens to rain. The guys like to hang out there too, and swap stories – hunting stories, fishing stories, whatever. The ladies usually stay inside and take care of the food. You know, things must be tested and tasted to see if it is just right to serve. It’s a big job but somebody has to do it.
Folks are, of course, urged and advised to cancel Thanksgiving gatherings this year or to keep them extra small because of the Coronavirus. JC has thought it over carefully and decided that staying away from crowds might be a good idea. After all, he and Ruth are both in the high risk age for whatever virus comes along. They are trying to stay away from crowds now and even missing Sunday School and worship services. That’s hard to do. Sunday School and worship services have been a regular part of their lives far too long to give it up easily. Even temporarily. They usually go to town one day a week, wear face masks, practice social distancing; the whole thing. They are trying to do their part to slow down the progress of the disease. Then, if they get it anyway, they just get it.
So, as of now they will probably spend Thanksgiving at home. That’s okay. They’ll miss seeing everybody but they can be thankful at home too.
The woods are full of hunters this week. Monday, Amber, Brooklyn and Carter were-hunting in JC and Ruth’s pasture. Zack was searching for a deer that was, supposedly, shot the evening before and couldn’t be found. They come to the house occasionally for snacks or a bathroom break. Someone needs to invent a deer stand with a bathroom. Maybe a snack bar and a small refrigerator. A recliner would be nice. Dream on.
Chris, is your deer cabin overflowing again this year? It’s a great time for the Edgar guys to gather in the woods for hunting and lots of bonding and fellowship. Families are important and if they can get together in the woods, wonderful!
Okay, straighten me out on this; is it warm, sunny days or cold, icy, wet days that are better for hunting? Comfortable? Or miserable? If you are sitting in a tree stand with a couple of little kids you’d probably vote for the warm, sunny weather, deer or no deer.
Oh yes, they did get one deer Monday. It wasn’t one you’d want to hang on your wall but it will work nicely in a frying pan. No, the other deer was never found. Apparently it hadn’t been hit at all. Just wishful thinking on the part of the hunter. Maybe the deer is off somewhere, laughing about his escape from the hunter.
The Covid-19 rages on, regardless of the weather or anything else. More and more people are testing positive and people all over everywhere are being quarantined. Zack, Brooklyn and Carter have been on the quarantine list. They’ve been in contact with someone else who tested positive and was quarantined but never sick. It did mess up their Thanksgiving trip to Kansas though. Those Kansas grandparents were probably very disappointed at not seeing Brooklyn and Carter. Well, yes, and Zack and Amber as well. Weren’t you going pheasant hunting in Kansas, Zack? Sorry you missed the trip but glad you are all still healthy.
Dickson Schools are closed so Zack has been teaching his on-line lessons from home. Now just how can you teach welding on-line? Amber wasn’t quarantined so she went to school and taught her on-line lessons to an empty classroom. What do you think the people of even just a few years ago would think about the way schools and teaching have gone this year?
Over at the Barfield’s, their grandson Rhylar -this is JC and Ruth’s great-grandson – was sick and was tested twice for the virus. Nope! He didn’t have it. It took several days for a report from the second test and he didn’t much like that. It kept him away from the cabin and all the cousins. Kinda lonely after usually being with them every day. But he didn’t have the virus so that was good news.
You’d think that after a while the virus would just give up and go away. So far that hasn’t happened. It’s getting more and more invasive. Everywhere. Work places. Schools. Sports. Churches. Families, everywhere.
Ray’s daughter, Dawn, is a volleyball coach at a school near Houston, Texas. Yes, the virus has invaded her team now and everyone is quarantined.
With the virus in the churches, some people are staying out for awhile to see if it won’t go away. Maybe if more people wore face masks? Practiced social distancing? Washed their hands more often? Probably most important, stayed at home, it would help.
Beth’s girl guinea. Cinnamon, is still missing and hope is gone that she will return. She was probably a nice dinner for a coyote or some such critter. Little Bit and Poka chatter constantly, as do the three guy guineas. She has named the two look-alike guineas ‘Thing One’ and Thing Two’. You may have to be a Dr. Suess fan, or at least read his book, to understand her reasons for those names. Or you can just think it sounds stupid and let it go at that. She hasn’t come up with a name for the other guy guinea. In fact, she might just wait and let granddaughter Kaelin name that one.
JC, Ruth, and Beth had eye doctor checkups last week. JC and Beth both got good reports. Ruth’s wasn’t all that bad but she can’t see quite as well as she could six months ago. But she still considers herself blessed. She can still see, though not as well as she used to, and so many people with Macular Degeneration can’t see at all. Her Dad was one of those. She would definitely urge anyone with a loss of eyesight, no matter how gradual, to be checked for MD. There is help but hurry, hurry, hurry. Dean McGee Eye Institute would be a great place to start.
Back to Thanksgiving. In all the excitement of seeing family and friends, enjoying a super great meal together, watching the game on TV, heading for the woods for one more chance to get the big one, don’t forget what the holiday is really all about. Thanksgiving. Giving thanks to the Almighty God for His many blessings.
How do people who don’t have a personal relationship with Almighty God manage? When you look around at God’s creation, your family and those you love, to whom do you say Thank You! If you don’t know God?
When you are moaning, groaning, and complaining that God didn’t answer your prayers, did you ever stop to think that NO is sometimes an answer?
