August is nearing the halfway mark. We have yet to taste the cool morning air that will arrive with the end of the month hinting that fall is a possibility. Right now we are in those days when the breezes are few and the air has the heaviness of full Southern Summer. I have a particular fondness for this last full month of the season. Many of my memory pages are full of pleasant August times when we had the last free weeks before returning to school.
I grew up on a farm. More specifically, I grew up on a farm where the main cash crop was bright leaf tobacco. That meant, briefly, that the tobacco plants required our attention from the time the seeds were sown in the bed over Christmas until the last leaf came off the sticks and was hauled off to the market in early August. What with the setting out, and the howing and the dusting and the suckering and the cropping and the stringing and the hanging in the barn and the curing and the removing from the barn and the packing down and the taking off the sticks, our lives were a little busy during the first six to seven weeks of summer. Things gradually modernized with tobacco after I escaped it, but during the fifties, crews of kids with a few adults harvested tobacco. It was long, hot, nasty work, but all the memories are not grim ones. I especially enjoyed working on other farms. After about six hours of work, we would break for noon. We were fed well, and we enjoyed each others company during the couple of hours off. It was then back to the barn or field for another four or five hours. After the last stick was hung in the barn, we would load into the farmer's truck and head for home.
My best camping memory is of a time we got to go to Lake Winfield Scott with my Aunt Jennie and Uncle Henry and their girls. Tobacco season was over and our parents let us ride up to Atlanta on the train. This in itself was a major event. We took with us a shoebox full of fried chicken and other food to eat on the way. Mama took us to Valdosta to catch the train. It was my first time riding a train and it started a lifelong love of travel that way. I must have been about twelve at the time. All our other trips to the city had been either on a Greyhound bus or in our 1946 maroon colored Ford coupe. I remember falling into conversation with a woman about Blue Springs. Our Uncle Henry picked us up at the train station and whisked up out to Winona Drive in Decatur. Over the weekend we packed up and went camping, sleeping overnight in pup tents. We had Spanish rice cooked over the open fire for supper. I still remember swimming in the cool lake waters and playing in a little pebble lined stream. The next day we went for a hike among other things. It was a fine time.
Other memories crowd the scrapbook of my mind: our vacation up through the New River area of West Virginia when we took the boys white water rafting; our trip to Canada and back through New Hampshire and down to Concord where we saw so many of the sights around our America writers; our trip back to Minot and down through Yellowstone and Colorado; our trips to Amelia Island to the beach as the boys got older.
Since we met in one August and married in the next, many of our flashes of memory surround wedding and anniversary events. Until our fifteenth anniversary, it was a tradition that Klep bring me a dozen Margarete daisies for each year of our marriage. The boys enjoyed this, but there finally came a time when there weren't enough vases in the house nor table tops to accommodate the daisies, so we retired the tradition.
Perhaps the sweetest memories of August for me are those which return to the days when I was eight or nine years old. I can still remember the sights and sounds of the magic evenings in late summer before We would have to be in bed early for school. I can feel the cool I found sitting under the draping jasmine or the wisteria vines after the dew had fallen and just watching the light leave the sky. There was magic and possibility all around. Freedom and imagination were ours for a few more precious days. It was long before the days of daylight saving time and we could be up until there was a moon in the sky and we could say "I see the moon and the moon sees me; God bless the moon and God bless me!"
The magic of August is still with me. Tonight if the skies clear, I will go out and talk to the August moon again.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Scrambling Fore the Cause
The first weekend in August finds many of the KA alums and others from Valdosta State on St. Simons Island, Georgia for the annual golf tournament to benefit the MS Society in Georgia. The event is done in honor of my youngest son who was diagnosed with MS in 2007. The event raises money, but it also brings together a group of young men who care a great deal about each other. We were honored to be a part of it this year.
After a drive across Georgia on the Sawgrass Parkway, we swung north, crossing the graceful bridge in Brunswick and catching our first glimpse of the marshes. The plentiful rains of this summer have the marsh grass brilliantly green. I always love the first smell of the marshlands. It smells coastal and clean. We maneuvered our way onto the island and around road detours until we found Sea Palms Golf and Tennis resort where we checked in and found our room on the second floor of the Blue Heron building. The screen porch looking out over the pond was a sweet surprise. We also had good view of the fairway on the eighteenth hole of the golf course.
Friday night was the dress up event. We all gathered in the conference center at 6:30. We were easily recognized by most of the other attendees since we obviously were the oldest people in the group. We reconnected with many of the young men whom we had gotten to know during Kevin's years at Valdosta State. The year that he was pledge master, he had sent the pledges down to the house on several occasions. I also had baked for them when they had events going on. So, it was good to reconnect, find out where they were now, and to hear story after story of their children.
We had a delicious meal followed by a talk given by Amanda Moran from the MS Society of Georgia. Chad Jordan and Tommy Johnston each spoke for a few minutes about the purpose of the tournament. Kevin finished with a thank you to the organizers and to all the people who came for the weekend.
During and after dinner we were entertained by Don Drury who played his guitar and sang. His repertoire was broad and we thoroughly enjoyed the music. He played a little blues, a little folk, a little rock. He asked me what some of my favorites were and played those for me including "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." As we were slipping away a little before eleven, he surprised me with one of his cds.
Back at our room, we were serenaded by a huge chorus of frogs who were truly tuned up for the occasion.
Saturday began bright and early with a shotgun start for the tournament. During the golf, I enjoyed sitting on my porch watching the mullet jump in the water and the water birds swooping down trying to catch them. Traci spent most of the morning with me and we also saw several turtles of varying sizes in the water. We watched the fairway until we saw the foursome with our men in it play by. By then the sun had invaded our porch and we went in search of rocking chairs on a shady veranda.
By two o'clock everyone was off the course and eating a barbecue lunch outdoors. Prizes were awarded, a playoff took place, and all of us scattered for afternoon activities. Several guys headed out for another round of golf; many went to the pool. We headed to our room for naps and reading.
For dinner we selected Crab Daddies which is owned by Josh Williams, another of the organizers of the event. Rob and Traci joined us. By six o'clock there was already a wait, but we were soon seated and enjoyed a delicious meal. The biggest treat of the meal was the shrimp and grits dish. Of course, the salad was really good, too, and the dessert was special. We had a complimentary creme brulee and Traci ordered the bread pudding which is one of their specialties. It actually was just about the best bread pudding any of us had ever tasted.
Saturday night was an early night to bed for most of us. The sun had taken its toll and we were all sleepy. Sunday morning it was up and out for us and headed back to reality. One of our friends who was flying back to Alabama had a five o'clock flight. We were grateful that we were just on a wake up and go schedule! We finished off the weekend at breakfast with Rob and Traci. Kevin and Jake were already on the road to South Carolina when we left.
I had been ambivalent about attending the event, but I am glad that I went. There was a whole lot of love shown between these people. It was good to be a part of it. We drove home being entertained once again by the music of Don Drury as he sang about the Golden Isles of Georgia.
After a drive across Georgia on the Sawgrass Parkway, we swung north, crossing the graceful bridge in Brunswick and catching our first glimpse of the marshes. The plentiful rains of this summer have the marsh grass brilliantly green. I always love the first smell of the marshlands. It smells coastal and clean. We maneuvered our way onto the island and around road detours until we found Sea Palms Golf and Tennis resort where we checked in and found our room on the second floor of the Blue Heron building. The screen porch looking out over the pond was a sweet surprise. We also had good view of the fairway on the eighteenth hole of the golf course.
Friday night was the dress up event. We all gathered in the conference center at 6:30. We were easily recognized by most of the other attendees since we obviously were the oldest people in the group. We reconnected with many of the young men whom we had gotten to know during Kevin's years at Valdosta State. The year that he was pledge master, he had sent the pledges down to the house on several occasions. I also had baked for them when they had events going on. So, it was good to reconnect, find out where they were now, and to hear story after story of their children.
We had a delicious meal followed by a talk given by Amanda Moran from the MS Society of Georgia. Chad Jordan and Tommy Johnston each spoke for a few minutes about the purpose of the tournament. Kevin finished with a thank you to the organizers and to all the people who came for the weekend.
During and after dinner we were entertained by Don Drury who played his guitar and sang. His repertoire was broad and we thoroughly enjoyed the music. He played a little blues, a little folk, a little rock. He asked me what some of my favorites were and played those for me including "Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain" and "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay." As we were slipping away a little before eleven, he surprised me with one of his cds.
Back at our room, we were serenaded by a huge chorus of frogs who were truly tuned up for the occasion.
Saturday began bright and early with a shotgun start for the tournament. During the golf, I enjoyed sitting on my porch watching the mullet jump in the water and the water birds swooping down trying to catch them. Traci spent most of the morning with me and we also saw several turtles of varying sizes in the water. We watched the fairway until we saw the foursome with our men in it play by. By then the sun had invaded our porch and we went in search of rocking chairs on a shady veranda.
By two o'clock everyone was off the course and eating a barbecue lunch outdoors. Prizes were awarded, a playoff took place, and all of us scattered for afternoon activities. Several guys headed out for another round of golf; many went to the pool. We headed to our room for naps and reading.
For dinner we selected Crab Daddies which is owned by Josh Williams, another of the organizers of the event. Rob and Traci joined us. By six o'clock there was already a wait, but we were soon seated and enjoyed a delicious meal. The biggest treat of the meal was the shrimp and grits dish. Of course, the salad was really good, too, and the dessert was special. We had a complimentary creme brulee and Traci ordered the bread pudding which is one of their specialties. It actually was just about the best bread pudding any of us had ever tasted.
Saturday night was an early night to bed for most of us. The sun had taken its toll and we were all sleepy. Sunday morning it was up and out for us and headed back to reality. One of our friends who was flying back to Alabama had a five o'clock flight. We were grateful that we were just on a wake up and go schedule! We finished off the weekend at breakfast with Rob and Traci. Kevin and Jake were already on the road to South Carolina when we left.
I had been ambivalent about attending the event, but I am glad that I went. There was a whole lot of love shown between these people. It was good to be a part of it. We drove home being entertained once again by the music of Don Drury as he sang about the Golden Isles of Georgia.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Praising God
I was brought up in a traditional Baptist Church family in the South. We praised God by putting on our best clothes and going to Sunday School and church each Sunday morning, BTU and church each Sunday night, and prayer meeting each Wednesday evening. We were expected to behave ourselves, sing the songs with not too much gusto, and mind our manners. We did not clap in church. The only ones who spoke out while the pastor was speaking was someone deeply moved who would put in a well placed "Amen."
I am still quite comfortable with that type worship, but I know now that there are other ways of worship. We have all heard the old excuse for not attending traditional church. It goes like this: "I can worship God just as good from my bass boat, or my deer stand, or at the beach (pick and choose) as I can in any church." Of course there is truth to this, but those of us who believe that we are to live our lives according to the tenets found in The Bible, know, deep down that we are to gather together with like believers.
I have come to believe that the gathering together is necessary, but so are the other types of worship. One of the things that I feel should be an act of worship is how we live our lives. I feel that if we are believers that our actual breathing should be a praise to God. I believe that how we choose to approach each day and each person in our path should be an act of worship. I believe that when we do something for someone else, that is an act of worship.
I believe that when we feel the cool morning air, view a sunrise, hear a bird sing, watch a flower open, and remember to praise the creator of all these things, that we have worshipped.
It may not be good theology, but I think it is a pretty joyful way to live.
I am still quite comfortable with that type worship, but I know now that there are other ways of worship. We have all heard the old excuse for not attending traditional church. It goes like this: "I can worship God just as good from my bass boat, or my deer stand, or at the beach (pick and choose) as I can in any church." Of course there is truth to this, but those of us who believe that we are to live our lives according to the tenets found in The Bible, know, deep down that we are to gather together with like believers.
I have come to believe that the gathering together is necessary, but so are the other types of worship. One of the things that I feel should be an act of worship is how we live our lives. I feel that if we are believers that our actual breathing should be a praise to God. I believe that how we choose to approach each day and each person in our path should be an act of worship. I believe that when we do something for someone else, that is an act of worship.
I believe that when we feel the cool morning air, view a sunrise, hear a bird sing, watch a flower open, and remember to praise the creator of all these things, that we have worshipped.
It may not be good theology, but I think it is a pretty joyful way to live.
Nana Joy
A big grin from a three month old chubby arm full of little girl, the words, "Come on Nana!"-- both of these expand my heart to nearly bursting. We have all heard that there is no joy quite like being a grand parent, but until we experience it, we can not know the full measure. I have observed friends who were quite good disciplinarians with their children absolutely dissolve when it comes to the desires of a grand child. I fear that I am no better.
We have been richly blessed by the addition of two little girls to our lives. They do not live close, so we get to see them on the average of about once every six weeks. That is about as long as Nana and Papa can stay away. Our visits are never long. We know that when we go, we disrupt schedules and we know that our children have lives outside of us. So, we plan short trips and relish the time spent with the little girls and with their parents.
My three year old beauty, Ava Grace, has taken me as one of her special people. She usually has a "shy" period when I first arrive at her house. I have noticed that the time is growing shorter each time I am there. Within two minutes on our recent trip she and I were busily seeing what we had in the Nana bag. The two tee shirts that we brought from our trip to Maine and PEI were examined and put away as were the shirts for her little sister that she took to Leila's room.
Before long, we were in the back yard blowing bubbles. I had found some fruit flavored bubbles on my last trip to the Dollar Tree. She chose lemon; I chose pineapple. I was amazed at how well she sent her bubbles floating into the air. Also, we didn't even have a major bubble spill. Anyway, we sat out under the umbrella under a clear South Carolina sky and blew bubbles, talked about the weather, watched the air planes, listened to the birds, and made memories.
Later she showed me her latest tricks on the swings. I pushed her as she called, "I want to go high!" We did the count down as I raised the swing as high as I could and sent her swooping through the air, blond hair flying and giggles sounding as she went back and forth.
At supper at one of our favorite hamburger places, Red Robin, we colored a little and again explored the Nana bag, finding a few more treasures from DT. These took up the tine while we waited for the food to arrive. On the way home, we enjoyed ice cream cones, hers with sprinkles.
On Saturday while her mommy and sister went to the grocery store, we shared some real quality time in the playroom. I dressed as a wizard; she as a princess. She showed me her musical prowess as she accompanied us to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" on her small keyboard. We are hoping the neighbors enjoyed it as much as we did. We also enjoyed several quality cuisine items that she prepared on her kitchen unit. It is amazing that we were still able to enjoy the sandwiches later at lunch, but neither of us would want to offend the other cooks.
I think one of the things that makes these times so very special is that those of us who have reached the grandparent stage have already realized the brevity of the experience. What seems to be interminable when we are going through it, newborn, terrible twos, gawky kid stage, etc., actually passes quite quickly and like a bubble floating towards a blue Carolina sky is gone. At least when we have grand children, we get another glimpse into that magic. We get one more chance to be a wizard to the magic princess.
We have been richly blessed by the addition of two little girls to our lives. They do not live close, so we get to see them on the average of about once every six weeks. That is about as long as Nana and Papa can stay away. Our visits are never long. We know that when we go, we disrupt schedules and we know that our children have lives outside of us. So, we plan short trips and relish the time spent with the little girls and with their parents.
My three year old beauty, Ava Grace, has taken me as one of her special people. She usually has a "shy" period when I first arrive at her house. I have noticed that the time is growing shorter each time I am there. Within two minutes on our recent trip she and I were busily seeing what we had in the Nana bag. The two tee shirts that we brought from our trip to Maine and PEI were examined and put away as were the shirts for her little sister that she took to Leila's room.
Before long, we were in the back yard blowing bubbles. I had found some fruit flavored bubbles on my last trip to the Dollar Tree. She chose lemon; I chose pineapple. I was amazed at how well she sent her bubbles floating into the air. Also, we didn't even have a major bubble spill. Anyway, we sat out under the umbrella under a clear South Carolina sky and blew bubbles, talked about the weather, watched the air planes, listened to the birds, and made memories.
Later she showed me her latest tricks on the swings. I pushed her as she called, "I want to go high!" We did the count down as I raised the swing as high as I could and sent her swooping through the air, blond hair flying and giggles sounding as she went back and forth.
At supper at one of our favorite hamburger places, Red Robin, we colored a little and again explored the Nana bag, finding a few more treasures from DT. These took up the tine while we waited for the food to arrive. On the way home, we enjoyed ice cream cones, hers with sprinkles.
On Saturday while her mommy and sister went to the grocery store, we shared some real quality time in the playroom. I dressed as a wizard; she as a princess. She showed me her musical prowess as she accompanied us to "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" on her small keyboard. We are hoping the neighbors enjoyed it as much as we did. We also enjoyed several quality cuisine items that she prepared on her kitchen unit. It is amazing that we were still able to enjoy the sandwiches later at lunch, but neither of us would want to offend the other cooks.
I think one of the things that makes these times so very special is that those of us who have reached the grandparent stage have already realized the brevity of the experience. What seems to be interminable when we are going through it, newborn, terrible twos, gawky kid stage, etc., actually passes quite quickly and like a bubble floating towards a blue Carolina sky is gone. At least when we have grand children, we get another glimpse into that magic. We get one more chance to be a wizard to the magic princess.
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