WHEELCHAIR MALL TOUR, PERFECT LUNCH, BARRY'S DELICIOUS TOMATOS, & PEAR TREE....

By Olivene Godfrey

This past Sunday, son, Barry, drove us to Chattanooga for a pleasant outing. The weather was hot, sunny and humid but we were comfortable with the car AC going full blast. Our destination was the huge mall, Hamilton Place, in Chattanooga.

Our first stop at the mall, shortly before noon, was the Piccadilly cafeteria which we love and our lunch can only be described as "perfection." Afterward, we checked out a wheel chair in the mall and with Barry pushing me in the wheelchair, he gave me a whirlwind tour of the mall. I had never been able to walk, because of my breathing problems, all over the mall so I saw part of it for the first time. Barry shops often at the mall and was a perfect guide, pointing out shops and stores that he thought would interest me. The AC in the mall felt delightful.

We had eaten early, before the Sunday crowd of shoppers had arrived. Barry is a fast walker and we moved along at a speedy clip. We made a brief stop at Sear's big store where I purchased some kitchen hand towels that were on sale.

Later, when we were home safe and sound, I watched the 6 P.M. Chattanooga TV newscast and I thought of our guardian angels looking after us. We had missed violent weather that had struck all around us and also a multi-car-truck crash that stalled traffic on the expressway for two hours.

I wrote last spring about Barry planting two tomato plants in a large container and was growing them on the patio. The plant has castor wheels on the saucer and Barry can move in under the eaves the house when violent weather is forecast. His tomatoes are getting ripe now and are delicious. Since we have had so much rain this summer, Barry says the tomatoes haven't got enough sunshine so they aren't as large as ones grown in past years but they have a sharp, tangy taste that I love and I am eating a lot of sandwiches, such as BLT, with slices of the tomatoes and as a side dish for dinner. The plants are about seven feet tall and have outgrown the cage Barry had put on the plants. He says next year, he will prune the plants so they won't grow so high. He likes the patio planting so well that he plans to grow squash and okra in patio pots next year.

When we moved into our house 26 years ago, there was a tiny pear tree in the yard. My late husband, Ralph, would cover the tree with a garbage plastic bag before an expected frost. Now the tree is gigantic and its branches this year are loaded with pears. Trouble is, the pears are only good for eating raw as they do not make good preserves as I found out when they came out like a sauce after cooking. I let my late mother and my neighbor try cooking the pears and they had the same results I did. So, we can't possibly eat all of the pears as delicious as they are so we will be giving away a lot. The ones that fall on the ground are eaten by the deer that come through our yard often, and other wild animals.

See you next time.

WATERMELON, CLEAN WINDOWS, MOTHER"S CRAPE MYRTLE BUSH, & REQUEST PRAYERS FOR SISTER, JOAN....

By Olivene Godfrey

I think I was born with a love for chilled, sweet, red watermelon in the summertime. I was a tiny girl and could eat an enormous amount of watermelon with no ill effects. All of our relatives and friends knew of my watermelon love. One summer when I was spending a couple of weeks with my grandparents and two aunts at the family farm in Middle Tennessee, I experienced a watermelon serendipity.

The family planned a trip to the nearest town to do some shopping and my grandmother bought me a new dress which I loved and when the time came to start back to the farm, I was tired but happy.
One of my aunts who was finishing some shopping and my grandfather met us at the car and when it was time to leave I heard Grandpa and my aunt laughing as they inspected each other's purchase of a big watermelon. It seemed each one had slipped off to surprise me with the watermelon. We laughed all the way home about it and it was a watermelon serendipity for a little girl.

Later, when my late husband, Ralph, and I were dating, we shared a love for watermelon. And, one summer night, we bought a big watermelon and took it to my house. No one was home at that time, so we placed newspapers on the kitchen table and Ralph cut the watermelon into two halves, one for me and one for him, and we ate the hearts out of those halves, a nice ending for the evening.

These days, I only buy slices of cold watermelon at the grocery store as Barry doesn't share my love for watermelon, and now I could never eat a whole watermelon.

CLEAN WINDOWS.... Early this past spring, son Barry decided he would clean all 25 of our house's windows during this summer. The windows, except for a large picture window, have old fashioned storm windows that have to be removed to clean .
When Barry had spare time, he has cleaned one or two windows and he cleaned them thoroughly and the screens as well.
He also cleaned the Venetian blinds in some of the windows.
This past weekend, Barry finished the job by cleaning the last two windows. And we celebrated with a Subway sandwich Sunday night which is always a treat for us.

MOTHER"S CRAPE MYRTLE.... When my mother died four years ago, Ralph's brother' Ray, and his wife, Joyce, gave me a check to buy a plant for our yard which would be in memory of my mother. I purchased a crape myrtle bush and Barry planted it and has taken good care of it. Now it is covered with lovely red blooms and reminds me of my 92-year-old mother each time I look at the bush. It also reminds me of Joyce and Ray's thoughtfulness.

JOAN.... My sister, Joan, who has lived in West Palm Beach, FL for many years, is very ill, and we would appreciate prayers for her from this column's readers. She is a tiny woman with a big heart and has survived several tragedies in her 72 years
and we are so worried about her.

See you next time.

MEMORIES ARE ROSE-COLORED

By Olivene Godfrey

I believe it was the late Hal Boyle who once described memory as a walking dream. And, memories do have rose-colored glasses.

Most of us don't need our memories on sunshiny days when life is beautiful and happy. But, sometimes memories are a great comfort when skies are gray, the rains come, and aches afflict our heart and bones. Small things here and there may remind us of a place or a person who has played a special part of our lives.

Memory softens the harsh reality of yesterday, bringing back the best and glossing over the worst that has happened to us.
Memory is often able to soften or erase the hurts we knew and casts a magical glow around them. It takes just a whiff of memory to carry us all the way back to another time or place.

We've all heard that, " you can't go home again", and since everything changes with time so little remains recognizable to us. And, perhaps we begin to think that those sacred places weren't so wonderful after all. But, of course they were. In their time and place it was as it should have been, happy and meaningful. It's been said that a little bit of every place and person goes with us throughout our lives.

We haven't really lost anyone or anything but it is the combination of all that we've lived and learned that builds our character and teaches us the way of life. Most of us wants to go forward, to try new things, visit new places. and live life to its fullest. Yet, on some days it's nice to remember the past, the loving faces and happy times we knew.

Sometimes it seems necessary to stop and consider where we are and why we are there. If we are enjoying success, or if we are suffering from failures or wavering in the middle of the road, we're where we are because of someone or something special. Most people can pinpoint a time in their lives when there was a turning point, either good or a change for the worst.
But the personal self is the one basic factor who turns us one way or the other. We're born with the right to choose, the only living creatures with that right. And, whatever we choose, there will always be someone there to help us to be good or to be bad. There will be those who will encourage us or discourage us, often in ignorance, not realizing the effect of their words on us. But, when we are discouraged, we need to remember that theirs is only an opinion, and to muster the strength to hold onto worthwhile plans and dreams.

See you next time.

SENSE OF HUMOR HELPS IN LIVING

By Olivene Godfrey

Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." Not many of my life adventures are very daring but my life is seldom dull. Some of the things that happen to me could probably be described as disasters rather than adventures.
But there are always small things that keep my days from becoming routine.

Like, turning on the water faucet in the kitchen a few years ago and having the whole contraption fall apart, shooting water
as if from a fountain all over me and surrounding areas. All in a day's routine.

Then, there was the time I was cooking dinner for guests. I started to place a large can of used cooking oil on a high shelf in the kitchen cupboard when the can suddenly slipped from my hands, covering my face, hair and clothing. I didn't have to worry about dry skin or hair for months after that incident.

I've been told that I have large eyes and that may explain why I get such weird things in them so often. I seldom get specks of dust or eye lashes in my eyes like most people. No, I get things like a speck of cornbread, coffee grounds, dishwater, cleaning liquids, you name it.

I've also been told that when my life isn't interesting I create havoc. Maybe unconsciously I do since I confess I am inclined to dramatize everything that happens to me. And it does keep life from becoming a bore. I wonder sometimes how people without an active imagination are able to survive in this old world.
Facing realism which is often unpleasant constantly without retreating into a bit of fantasy would probably send me up a tree.

There are certainly times when all of us have to face reality and try to cope with it. And into each life some rain must fall.
But, we can better cope with life's blows if we keep a sense of humor and if we work to keep our lives interesting.

Most of us have periods when we indulge ourselves a bit in self-pity. I hate myself when I do that. Of all the emotions, surely the most terrible is self-pity. One way we can snap out of it is to think of others who are much worse off than we are. And most of us do know persons who have few blessings to count and live daily with intense pain and despair. Yet, many of those persons are cheerful and should make us feel ashamed for giving into our self-pity.

So, don't just sit back and wait for adventures to come to you. Get busy and create your own. Or, dream up an adventure. It could come true, especially if you give it a little help. Many of my personal dreams may never come true. But, so many others have, some I never dreamed had a chance to come true. So, I know, especially if I work at it, some other dreams may one day come true.

See you next time.