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.
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.
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