By Olivene Godfrey
FLORIDA YEARS....
Since my husband, Ralph, was in bad health during his retirement
years before his death last year, I am grateful for the four
years we spent in Florida when we were young and healthy.
In the spring of 1958, we sold our northwest Georgia home and
furnishings and packed our personal possessions in a U-Haul-
it trailer. We hitched the trailer to the rear of our new 1957
Chevy, unaware that it would one day be a classic. And one early
morning, we headed south. Our destination was New Port Richey,
FL where Ralph's sister, Agnes, and her husband, Alvin, lived
with their oldest son, John, who was a two-year-old at that
time. We stayed in their guest room until we found a place
to live and Ralph went to work temporarily with Alvin who was
a builder.
When we were settled into a new home, we were all busy with
work and good times, especially on weekends when Ralph, always
an avid fisherman, and Alvin, who owned a boat, went fishing
a lot. Fish has always been one of my favorite foods and we
had plenty of it, not counting what Ralph caught, but we could
go down to docks when the fishing boats came in and buy fish
fresh off the boats.
We often enjoyed picnic suppers on the beach, with Agnes frying
chicken on a small, gas stove. We visited Tampa's world port
and marveled at the huge boats and watched as bananas were
unloaded and we made a lot of pictures. (I have family albums
that date back 60 years.)
I remember vividly one Saturday when we wore swim suits under
our shorts and shirts and with a picnic lunch aboard, we all
went out in the Gulf of Mexico in Alvin's boat to a beautiful,
isolated island with a pink sandy beach. We ate our picnic
lunch on the beach and explored part of the island. When we
returned home, we ran into a squall and I was frightened but
Alvin was a skillful sailor and we made it home safe and sound
and content after a happy day.
Another fun adventure was when we drove down to Clearwater
beach one night and went out in the Gulf with a lot of other
swimmers. That was before the movie, Jaws, and we were not overly
afraid of sharks. At that time, the beach was lighted at night.
Sometimes Agnes and I went shopping. Alvin's mother. Granny,
lived in an apartment attached to their home and was often a
sitter for John so Agnes and I would go to Tampa or St Petersburg
and shop. We played Rook with them often, too. At that time,
few homes were air-conditioned so we always had large fans turned
on us. In the hottest months, it was difficult to sleep in the
extreme heat.

The days flew by and Ralph found a job at St. Petersburg and
we moved into an apartment there. I was always thin and gained
a few pounds. Ralph met a co-worker who owned a boat and they
soon became fishing buddies.
Another co-worker lived on Treasure Island beach and owned a
duplex there which he offered us at a reasonable rental fee
so we moved there and another adventure began for us. We still
saw Agnes and Alvin frequently and a number of relatives and
friend visited us while we lived there. They would rent a motel
on the beach as our duplex apartment was too small for more
than one guest. I often prepared meals for the guests and we
cooked out a lot, too.
I remember when my sister, Jeanette and her family and
another couple spent their vacation on the Treasure Island beach
and we had a great time with them, including a cruise one day
from St Petersburg to Tampa with lunch served aboard the boat.
and then my Aunt Helen, now 99 -years old, visited us for three
weeks when she had been recently widowed. She and I ate lunch
every day in restaurants on the beach and had a great time.
To this day, she says the three weeks were among the happiest
she ever lived. The visit was marred only by my extreme fatigue
that had recently hit me.
When my aunt returned to her home in Chattanooga, TN, I went
to a doctor in St Petersburg about my fatigue. I was anemic
but the big surprise was that I was pregnant after a childless
12 year marriage. I remember driving home on the causeway to
Treasure Island with a big smile on my face. Needless to say
we were very happy and I can assure young women that being
pregnant while living on a beach is wonderful. I bought a
maternity swim suit and practically lived on the beach and Ralph
and I often walked late in the afternoon on the beach. Agnes
was also pregnant with her youngest son, Brian, who was born
four months before my son, Barry, and Agnes loaned me her
maternity clothes. The doctor had given me iron shots and I
was soon healthy and happy. I was never nauseated or had any
problems and felt great right up to the birth of Barry, who
we called our Miracle child.
We soon moved to a charming small house in St. Petersburg were
we had more space for the baby. Our large yard was like a Garden
of Eden with tall palm trees, pink grapefruit trees, avocado
trees and various types of tropical plants. Life became very
different for us as we became devoted parents to our son.
When Barry was two-years- old, we became homesick for our beloved
north Ga mountains and the friends and relatives there. So we

returned to Georgia where we have lived since those Florida
years. Still I cherish those years in Florida that we enjoyed
so much as we were never able to experience the plans we had
made for our retirement.

Please Send Comments To olivene21@netscape.net

By Olivene Godfrey,

EVERYONE NEEDS SOMEONE, OLD TRUNKS AND MORE ABOUT CRAPE MYRTLE BUSH....

Her friendly face and cheerful greetings lifted the spirits of everyone who entered the small Florida beach town shop. I had been a regular customer at her shop for many months before I discovered that her life had been touched by a great tragedy.

Most of us never get beyond the outward appearance of people we come into contact with in our daily lives. We look at them and often judge them in terms of social position or whether they please or annoy us. Or, perhaps, we judge them in terms of efficiency or morals.

I don't mean to imply that we should pry into the personal lives of everyone we meet. But, we should learn to look at people and realize they are human beings. It isn't only the weak who have inner needs. The strong and successful person often needs a shoulder to cry on. Everyone needs someone sometime. Perhaps when someone annoys us that person is struggling to meet a problem or crisis s best as he or she can. We shouldn't encourage people to relate long accounts of their difficulties or triumphs but if they can see that we see them as real people, they will respond to us.

TRUNKS DISAPPEARING.

In an era now cherished by sentimentalist every home had a trunk. And usually the family mementos were kept in it.

I remember a small trunk that was placed underneath an old wooden wall telephone at my father's home place in Tennessee during my childhood. My grandparents and two spinster daughters lived in the house at that time. They never spoke of the trunk and it became a source of mystery to me. Finally, I asked my parents about it and they told me the little trunk contained personal possessions of a daughter who had died young. I've often wondered what happened to the little trunk after my grandparents and aunts died.

The contents of old trunks were often Mama's wedding dressed, wrapped in paper, the special occasion white linen tablecloth, a pretty souvenir from a long ago dance, garments of loved ones who have died, as well as documents and family photographs, love letters and baby's first shoes.

With the advent of the train and steamboat travel, the saddle and harness makers began to manufacture trunks. But, alas, the automobile brought an end to the trunk's popularity . But the trunks were well made and they lasted. So, their function became that of storage space or hope chest or a place to keep personal possessions.

If you are lucky you may can find an old trunk stored away in an attic. Some of the trunks have are being used as coffee tables or as a storage place for blankets. Each of the old trunks could surely tell many fascinating stories of birth, death, partings, reuniting and of long journeys.

CRAPE MYRTLE BLOOMING.

I recently wrote that the crape myrtle bush we planted in memory of my late mother had not bloomed and Barry had speculated that Mother, who was a feisty lady, might have been displeased with us and prevented the bush from blooming. If so, we must have made amends as the bush is blooming now and is very pretty. It was a gift from my husband's brother, Ray Godfrey, and his wife, Joyce.

HIP CAFETERIA....

Son Barry takes me out to eat lunch e very Sunday and we enjoy eating at a variety of restaurants in the area but the one we continue to return to is a small cafeteria in our hometown here in northwest Georgia.

The cafeteria is neat and spotlessly clean and serves delicious Southern home style foods to the many patrons who flock there to eat a meal, especially Sunday lunches, when there is a long line of diners waiting to be served.

Being a people watcher, I enjoy watching the patrons who come from all walks of life and all ages. Just as the cafeteria is a favorite place older people in their Sunday finery, the young think the cafeteria is a neat place, too. The young dewy faced girls wear their low slung jeans showing their midriffs and ultra mini skirts while the young guys often sport tattoos. Some Sunday bikers sit near a table of law officers. A group of young people are employed at the cafeteria and are friendly and efficient as they keep your glasses of sweet iced tea filled to the rims as well as keeping the patrons satisfied with their service.

By Olivene Godfrey

COLONSCOPY and BROKEN TOE

Written August 14, 2003

Well, folks, I am having a bad week, to say the least. I checked out of the hospital yesterday afternoon after spending two days and a night there. And, at seven P.M. last night, I went to bed and fell into a deep sleep for eleven hours. And no wonder! I had been awake 48 hours and was about to pass out. This all started a few days ago when I had an alarming experience with rectal bleeding at three A.M. in the morning. The sight of anyone's blood makes me feel queasy but seeing my own blood terrifies me.

I had a similar episode a few years ago that was never explained after tests. And now the new episode threatened me. My son, Barry, took me to the hospital in the wee hours of the morning where I was examined by the ER doctor who said blood was accumulating on my colon but he didn't know why so I was admitted to the hospital. My doctor came by to check on me in a little while and said she would send a surgeon to see me about setting up a colon scope which was what I had been worried about.

I've had stomach problems all of my life and a vivid memory of my childhood is the "pin k medicine" that my mother kept on hand for my nervous stomach. So, over the years I have had countless tests and later scans and ultrasounds and the like to no avail. I won't go into the gory details of being prepped with laxatives for a colonscopy . If you have had one, you will know what I mean. I was up most of the night going to the bathroom and being attached to an IV machine didn't help my mood. The previous day I had been given a liquid diet and I felt like my stomach was empty. Boy! Was I wrong!

Finally, the time for the dreaded test arrived and the bad time began as I am allergic to Demerol and Morphine and other sedatives that have been tried haven't worked for me. So, I was wide awake despite a sedative that was given to me during the entire procedure which wasn't pleasant. The surgeon didn't find a reason for the bleeding so we were back to square one.

I can't sleep in hospitals and hadn't slept a wink during my stay there. I was becoming annoyed by little things, such as the blood pressure machines that torture patients with their tight grip on your arm where the cuffs are and other minor things. The nurses were very nice and patient with me so I tried to be nice to them, too. Since I have been at home my mood has improved although I am still apprehensive about the blood incident and the possibility of another colonscopy. I feel like I am too old to go through those kind of tests but I do need to know what is wrong with my body.. I have an appointment in two weeks with my doctor so I can have some time to recover from the past week's experiences.

Now I have another small but painful problem. I have broken my left little toe and it is swollen and black and blue and hurts something awful. I am having to hobble around and it is taking forever for me to do my normal chores.

This bad week followed a really nice Sunday when a column was published, written by the editor, about me and my writing background and my entry into the world of blogging in my old age. I had told the editor that I would be happy to be the Grandma Moses of writing.

I will keep you posted on the outcome of my medical problem and keep your fingers crossed, and maybe say a prayer, that it will come out well in the long run.

So, long, for now.
olivene21@netscape.net

By Olivene Godfrey.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO FALL IN LOVE!

Love may make the world go around but it has lots of people going around in circles. And love is one subject that people never seem to tire of reading about, hearing about, singing about.

And despite what some young lovers may think, you’re never too old to fall in love. A survey in the U.S. a few years ago showed that some people, 100 and over, were involved in love affairs and courtships and maintained a lively interest in the opposite sex. This reminded me of my 99-year -old aunt who has a boyfriend. She had two husbands, and was widowed twice, and a few years ago she became romantically involved with her present boyfriend. She lived alone in an apartment complex until recently and her boyfriend ate supper with her every night. Now that she is in a nursing home, her boyfriend calls her every night before she goes to sleep. Now, that’s romantic!

Despite all the songs, movies and stories of unrequited love, studies of a cross-section of engaged couples showed that most people fall in love at the same time. That seems to prove that when you fall in love with someone, chances are that person is falling in love with you at the same time.

REGRETS?

When I was very young, and hadn’t lived long enough to have had many regrets about anything, I read about someone who said he regretted only what he hadn’t done. I thought that was a great philosophy at the time.

Now that I am older, I’ve changed my mind . In the first place, I can’t imagine a normal human being who has absolutely no regrets. I don’t have a great many regrets but I do have some and there are periods in my life I’d like to re-live and hope I would live them in a different way.

MOTHER”S CRAPE MYRTLE.

Following the death of my spry, pretty mother who died at age of 92 in the fall of 2000, my husband’s brother, Ray, and his wife, Joyce, gave me a check to buy a plant for our yard that would be in memory of my mother.

My son, Barry, lovingly planted a crape myrtle bush in memory of Mother that we had purchased and it thrived and bloomed from July to first sign of frost last year. But we hadn’t seen a single bloom this year and Barry and I were speculating about it and Barry said, “ Maybe we have done something to upset Grandma. She always was feisty, you know.”

We laughed about it and the next day there was a single bloom but there hasn’t been any blooms since then. We would like to hear from anyone who has advice for us so maybe we can correct the problem before next summer.